BUMGT5920: Global Challenges & Opportunities for Woolworths Botswana

This essay examines the international challenges and opportunities faced by managers in a global environment, using Woolworths Botswana as a case study. It identifies challenges such as managing multicultural staff in virtual environments, issues related to Botswana's strategic intentions for globalization, forecasting difficulties due to time zones and seasonal demands, managing demand and capacity amid Botswana's regulations, competition from local retailers, supply chain management complexities, human resource issues, and job design management. The paper also highlights opportunities in demand and capacity management strategies and planning and scheduling systems. The conclusion offers recommendations for Woolworths managers to achieve success in an international setting.

Running head: MANAGING IN GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Managing in a global business environment: A case of Woolworths Botswana, Gaborone
branch
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Executive summary
The paper has analyzed the international challenges and possible opportunities for
managers operating in a global environment. Additionally, the paper has described the
problems of managers in managing the international competition and expansion and has also
described the strategies undertaken by the managers in maintaining the effective running of
operations for the attainment of quality Woolworths service standards. The challenges facing
managers in international corporations and specifically in Woolworths have also been
identified. The challenges include working and engaging in virtual environments resulting in
challenges in managing multicultural staff, issues in Botswana’s strategic intentions for going
global and managing the service process design, forecasting issues due to time zones and
seasonal demands, challenges in the management of demand and capacity due to Botswana’s
contradictions and regulations, competition challenges and resistance to foreigners and
multinational enterprises, travel and transport logistics and supply chain management
challenges, human resource management challenges and job design management challenges.
The paper has also identified possible opportunities for managers operating in a global
environment which include opportunities in the strategies for demand and capacity
management and planning and scheduling system opportunity. The paper has also concluded
and made recommendations to Woolworths managers on the best strategies to undertake in
order to ensure business success in an international environment.

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Table of Content
Executive summary..................................................................................................................1
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
Company and branch overview..............................................................................................3
International challenges faced by Woolworths managers....................................................4
Working and engaging in virtual environments resulting to challenges in managing
multicultural staff...................................................................................................................4
Issues in Botswana’s strategic intentions for going global and managing the service process
design.....................................................................................................................................4
Forecasting issues due to time zones and seasonal demands.................................................5
Challenges in the management of demand and capacity due to Botswana’s contradictions
and regulations.......................................................................................................................6
Competition challenges and resistance to foreigners and multinational enterprises..............6
Travel and transport logistics and supply chain management challenges..............................7
Human resource management challenges..............................................................................7
Job design management challenges.......................................................................................8
Opportunities available for Woolworths managers..............................................................8
Opportunities in the strategies for demand and capacity management..................................8
Planning and Scheduling System opportunity.......................................................................8
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................9
Recommendations....................................................................................................................9
References...............................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The paper focuses on analyzing the international challenges and possible
opportunities for managers operating in a global environment. The paper is based on
Woolworths Gaborone branch, which is located at the Central Business District (CBD) of
Botswana, Gaborone. Woolworths is a retail store which is well known and has its operations
in Australia and other countries globally. Woolworths Gaborone branch has high customer
service and product quality standards (Nair, 2015). The Woolworths Gaborone branch current
scenario is that the company has been facing challenges in the management of staff
performance thus resulting to a decline in the service quality which has led to a reduction of
business (Frost and Hall, 2015). In addition, the paper also describes the problems of
managers in managing the international competition and expansion and also describes the
strategies undertaken by the managers in maintaining the effective running of operations for
the attainment of quality Woolworths service standards. Furthermore, the paper provides
conclusions and recommendations on how challenges and solutions could have been handled
more effectively.
Company and branch overview
In the current era of global competition, Woolworths has set its quality of services and
operational standards on a high notch. The company is clear about its responsibility and
objective of offering quality services and goods to millions of consumers worldwide
especially across New Zealand and Australia. The goal responsibility and objective has given
Woolworths Gaborone branch a goal and responsibility of understanding their impact and
managing their long-lasting benefits to the retail industry (Serebro, 2016). The company’s
operations have standards that are set and usually affect the supply chain, customers and the

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organization’s shareholders. The operations of Woolworths are known for their quality
services and goods across different regions. Since early this decade, the company has been at
or near the top. Woolworths has improved the refurbishment of its stores with an aim of
bringing new customers and retaining existing ones (Mwakikagile, 2009). Recently, a review
of Woolworths Gaborone branch has highlighted challenges in its management which have
been leading to the ineffective and inefficient performance of its operations. Employees have
taken for granted their personal performance which has led to challenges facing the managers
of the company.
International challenges faced by Woolworths managers
Working and engaging in virtual environments resulting in challenges in managing
multicultural staff
Under the operational management perspective and working in virtual environments,
the challenges identified by international managers include technical issues, language
challenges and challenges in making decisions, the assertiveness and tone challenge. Lack of
face-to-face communication at times makes hard to pass directives which may result in I poor
performance of workers. Lack of proper communication also leads to challenges in
implementing job design, human resources, design process, supply chain, demand forecasting
and capacity issues (Kreitz, 2008). The challenges have resulted in a decline in business,
service quality and employees’ personal performance.
Issues in Botswana’s strategic intentions for going global and managing the service
process design
Woolworth’s managers have been facing challenges in ensuring that the company
steadily continues to retail their product combination of quality services and goods in
Botswana due to a conflict with the country’s long-term planning. However, the managers of

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Woolworths understand that the service process design requires the participation of
customers since without customers it’s impossible for the services to take place. Research by
Ton and Huckman (2008) shows that international managers face challenges in establishing
the standards from manufacturers to the retail outlet and the service quality provided by the
employees. The challenges have been associated with employee diversity and different
cultural ethnicities which have affected the relations among employees resulting in poor
customer assistance and poor display of goods on the shelves. Woolworths Gaborone branch
depends on the participation of customers, which has led to challenges for managers in
establishing an effective service process design (Crush, Nickanor, Kazembe, & Wagner,
2018). The aspect has led to declining customer satisfaction and poor service quality.
Forecasting issues due to time zones and seasonal demands
According to Leenheer & Bijmolt (2008) forecasting is a central focus function in
retail organizations as it gives managers the ability to foresee their organization’s future
needs and assists in the effective performance of related functions. However, challenges in
time zones, seasonal demands, and travel and transport logistics activities linked to the
forecasting function include staffing, inventory management and next supply (Chen & Ou,
2011). Managers at Woolworths face the challenge of an unstable international business
environment which has made forecasting difficult. For example, the grocery manager at
Woolworths Gaborone branch faces challenges in forecasting due to the unpredictable
performance of the grocery products. In the international market expansion, Woolworths
Gaborone branch struggles at satisfying the unique customer demands in their store.
In addition, the store manager has been facing challenges in the provision of
commendable performance due to the old cultural procedures and lack of interest of
customers in purchasing from an international corporation. There are inadequate resources for
the manager and poor evidence that has led to the manager depending completely on

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quantitative approaches in managing the organization’s international expansion to Gaborone.
The quantitative approach challenges facing the manager include the lack of casual variables
or the past historical data vital for forecasting goods demand that requires the qualitative
approach.
Challenges in the management of demand and capacity due to Botswana’s
contradictions and regulations
Capacity management is important in scheduling workforce and in demand
management. Research by Chen et al. (2010) shows that the management of demand is an
attempt for influencing the customers’ requirement for services and goods. On the other hand,
capacity management ensures that the organization is capable of meeting the demand of
customers for goods and services. The host country’s contradictions have led to the
understanding of customer demand to be insufficient resulting to challenges for managers in
managing the fluctuation of demand in the international market since it involves the capacity
of the organization in fulfilling the demand. In addition, managers at Woolworths Gaborone
branch face challenges due to the inadequate capacity of minimizing the customers’ waiting
time at the purchasing counter.
Competition challenges and resistance to foreigners and multinational enterprises
In Botswana, competition in the retail sector has been on the rise with a decline in
growth opportunities for Woolworths Gaborone branch (Egu & Aregbeshola, 2017).
Woolworths Gaborone branch faces intense competition from local retail giants in Botswana
like Checkers, Game/Massmart, Spar and Pick n Pay. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has
increased which has been caused by high food demand in Botswana and competition by
retailers attributed to the relaxation of regional integration, political stability, exchange
controls, changes in consumer tastes and preferences and growth of disposable income.

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Citizens in the country are also resistant to multinational enterprises and prefer to purchase
from local retailers which have led to the retailers mounting great pressure and competition
on Woolworths which has given Woolworth’s managers a hard time in acquiring new
customers and maintaining the current ones. To survive, managers at Woolworths have
implemented competition strategies including loyalty cards to reward loyal customers thus
maintaining a consistent customer base and improving their competitive edge in the retail
industry.
Travel and transport logistics and supply chain management challenges
Supply chain management is the process of overseeing the flow of finances,
information and materials from manufacturers to consumers (Christopher, 2016). Supply
chain management integrates activities that procure services and materials and transforming
them into final products and intermediate goods for delivery to the final consumer.
Woolworths Gaborone store managers face challenges in the management of the supply chain
including the travel and transport logistics and lack of space for storing certain products and
delivery of goods in bulk. In addition, the tracking system is inappropriate. Furthermore, the
bullwhip effect affects the employees. The managers have faced challenges in managing the
employees resulting in ineffective management control systems. Poor handling of the stock
has also led to products being out of demand and product expiry.
Human resource management challenges
Managers at Woolworths Gaborone branch have faced issues in managing the
multicultural human resource leading to difficulties in designing jobs and managing labor in
order to efficiently and effectively utilize the skills of employees. For example, managers
have failed to offer equitable pay which meets the employees’ physiological and physical

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requirements which have led to a decline in staff performance leading to a loss for the
organization.
Job design management challenges
According to Grandey and Diamond (2010) job design refers to the combination of
tasks for the formation of complete jobs. The use of principles of job design for international
expansion is important as it ensures that job descriptions are clear and that employees are
successful and motivated for the completion of tasks. Woolworths Gaborone managers have
faced challenges with their employees due to persistent absenteeism resulting in business
reduction leading to reduced customer service levels. In addition, the managers face
challenges in the design of service processes to match with customer requirements. Customer
contact matrix and service matrix tools should be used to address the issues.
Opportunities available for Woolworths managers
Opportunities in the strategies for demand and capacity management
Woolworth’s managers have an opportunity of using various tools like the break-even
analysis for the evaluation of capacity. With the help of the break-even analysis tool,
international managers can analyze the store status as it provides a clear overview of the
number of goods produced and sold (Scarborough, 2016). In addition, international managers
have an opportunity of using the six sigma tool to attain an effective system for the company.
The sig sigma will assist Woolworths Gaborone branch managers in the identification of
improvement gaps and assist in the collection of data for the closure of the gaps. Woolworths
managers in Botswana can commit themselves in the implementation of the tools for an
opportunity to improve service quality leading to customer satisfaction thus resulting in a
higher revenue for the company.

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Planning and Scheduling System opportunity
Woolworths Gaborone branch managers have the opportunity of using the advance
planning and scheduling system to attain an efficient system for operation in the branch. The
managers will have an opportunity for integrating algorithms and other linear programming
techniques to improve the competitive edge of the company by implementing planned
schedules. The system will assist managers to manage future demand including the type and
quantity of goods to order from suppliers.
Conclusion
Issues raised in the paper have revealed the international challenges faced by
managers and possible opportunities for improvement. Cultural differences in managing a
multicultural workforce have been discussed as a major contributor to poor service delivery
to customers and poor employee standards of performance. In addition, challenges in
competition and resistance to foreigners and multinational enterprises, forecasting challenges
due to time zones and seasonal demands, travel and transport logistics and supply chain
management, service process and service selection and design have also been discussed.
Addressing the discussed challenges affecting the employee standards and service quality
will improve customer satisfaction thus resulting in an improvement in the company’s
business in Botswana.
Recommendations
Woolworths Gaborone managers should ensure that an efficient design of service to
the customers is present. The managers should change their strategies according to the change
in the tastes, preferences and requirements of the Botswana customers to ensure maximum
customer satisfaction for the improvement of sales in the country. To gain a competitive
edge, the managers should implement strategies aimed at gaining customer loyalty like

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loyalty cards and discounts for bulk purchases to maintain their customer base and gain a
competitive advantage. Improving employee performance requires managers to motivate
employees through the provision of incentives like cash rewards for the best performing
employees. In managing the multicultural workforce, the managers should ensure that they
train employees on how to communicate and work in a multicultural environment so as to
improve their understanding and appreciation of different cultures.
The managers should also implement quality control strategies like the six sigma tool
in order to minimize errors in the workforce and minimize the performance gaps. In addition,
the managers should improve their supply chain process and minimize challenges in travel
and transport logistics by hiring skilled employees who will be responsible for overseeing the
overall supply chain which will directly solve the challenges in demand and capacity.
Motivating employees with a good pay, cash rewards and offering a conducive working
environment will ensure that employees give out their best in their roles. In addition, the
managers should ensure that they match employees with the job description to ensure that
employees are working in their right capacity which will result in a higher productivity.
Moreover, implementing proper forecasting techniques will solve the time zones and seasonal
demands challenges and enable managers to understand the international market and
formulate strategies for curbing forecasting challenges before they occur.

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References
Chen, F. L., & Ou, T. Y. (2011). Sales forecasting system based on Gray extreme learning
machine with Taguchi method in retail industry. Expert Systems with Applications,
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Chen, H., Chen, Y. F., Chiu, C. H., Choi, T. M., & Sethi, S. (2010). Coordination mechanism
for the supply chain with leadtime consideration and price-dependent demand.
European Journal of Operational Research, 203(1), 70-80.
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.
Crush, J., Nickanor, N., Kazembe, L. N., & Wagner, J. (2018). Revisiting Africa’s
supermarket revolution.
Egu, E. M., & Aregbeshola, R. A. (2017). The odyssey of South African multinational
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Book 2.0, 5(1-2), 27-37.
Grandey, A. A., & Diamond, J. A. (2010). Interactions with the public: Bridging job design
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350.
Kreitz, P. A. (2008). Best practices for managing organizational diversity. The Journal of
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Leenheer, J., & Bijmolt, T. H. (2008). Which retailers adopt a loyalty program? An empirical
study. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 15(6), 429-442.
Mwakikagile, G. (2009). Botswana since independence. New Africa Press.

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Nair, R. D. (2015). The implications of the growth of supermarket chains in southern Africa
on competitive rivalry1.
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Ton, Z., & Huckman, R. S. (2008). Managing the impact of employee turnover on
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