Management in Practice: Overcoming Challenges at Riverwood Logistics

This report delves into the organizational challenges faced by Riverwood Logistics in Singapore's competitive logistics market. It identifies key issues such as rising customer expectations, outdated technology, poor communication, and increased market competition. Through a PESTLE analysis and the application of consumer satisfaction management theory, the report explores potential solutions to these challenges. It emphasizes the importance of understanding customer expectations, updating technology, improving communication strategies, and adopting sustainable practices to enhance Riverwood Logistics' market position. The report concludes by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed solutions, offering a comprehensive approach to managing organizational change and ensuring long-term success.

MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Research Question......................................................................................................................2
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................3
Industry and Company Research...............................................................................................4
PESTLE Analysis...................................................................................................................5
Identification and Analysis of Tools, Models and Theories......................................................6
Strengths and Weaknesses.........................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9
1

Introduction
Managing organizational challenges have become a necessity in today’s dynamic business
world. The rapid transformation of technology and science has led to a huge business boom
—encouraging the entry of newer organizations on the international business scenario
(George et al. 2016). In order to keep up with the fast-changing concepts and technologies, it
is important to conduct appropriate reforms and amendments in the particular organization’s
structure, functioning and approach to delivery. An organization might need to change itself
in more areas than one, including technology, strategy or contemporary population. However,
managing and organizational change is a complex process as it requires in-depth knowledge
regarding the Company’s position in the world market, as well as the relevant theories and
literature on the subject, in order to bring about a structural and systematic change.
Efficient management of organizational changes includes critically analyzing the Company’s
internal and external factors, so as to develop an appropriate approach for implementing the
changes. Organizational changes might trigger employee resistance or turnover, and it is
crucial to minimize such risk factors, while devising the approach to implementation
(Georgalis et al. 2015). Along with that, the managerial body must improvise to make sure
that the Company doesn’t have to bear much cost to the organizational changes that are being
implemented.
Research Question
This research takes up the particular organizational challenges, as identified from the detailed
study of Riverwood Logistics in Singapore, and offers ways or methods to counter the
particular challenges, by devising an approach that would be most relevant to the Company in
discussion. After a detailed analysis of the current internal and external conditions of the
organization, the four major challenges that could be identified are the following:
 Rising customer expectations
 Lack of updated technology, resulting in over-consumption of time and costs
 Poor internal and external organizational communication
 Entry of new enterprises in international market, leading to a loss in client base
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This particular research would emphasize on the various ways that can be adopted to reduce
the mentioned organizational challenges, in the context of Riverwood Logistics, Singapore,
and further explore as to why the chosen approach would be the best solution for this case
(Chadwick and Raver 2015). The particular questions that the research would address and
analyze are:
 How can we cope with the rising consumer expectations?
 How can we bring about updated technological assistance in the organizational
processes?
 How can we enhance communication management?
 How can we come off as a competent market force in current dynamic market
situation?
Therefore, the aim of this project is to investigate the various approaches that can be
undertaken to reduce the specific organizational challenges in question and critically analyze
them to justify why they would be the best ways to bring about an organizational change.
Literature Review
In order to build a strong grounding knowledge regarding the nature of various kinds of
organizational challenges and their nature, this research conducts and extensive Literature
Review, taking into account various theories, previous studies and discussions regarding the
management of challenges. With a strong network of theories as well as practical
experiences, it would be easier to construct an ideal approach for the Company, keeping in
mind it’s contemporary time and geography.
According to (Baruah and Ward 2015), there are various factors that play important role in
determining a Company’s organizational challenges and they include both internal as well as
external factors. The external factors of a Company include its political scenario, social
stability, legal boundaries, market competitiveness and more. Amongst the internal factors
would be economic stability, access to the new and relevant technology, sustainable
practices, etc. Specific tools and techniques have been devised that help in measuring an
organization’s potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, which further help
in identifying the most relevant approach that should be undertaken to make the optimum
decisions regarding solutions. A detailed knowledge regarding all the factors of the
organization is utmost important for the in-depth understanding of the particular issues.
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According to (Novak, Zarubinska and Perederii 2017), a vast knowledge regarding
organizational concepts and a first-hand experience in the competitive business world, are
two most important managerial skills that sets a good manager from the rest. Adequate
knowledge regarding the relevant technologies and their updated versions, in relation to the
organization’s structure, is another crucial element that plays vital role in organizational
management. The implementation of the management theories in practical areas depend
completely on the specific circumstances and the discretion of the manager; in some cases,
the situation demands a mix and match of theories and concepts to bring about the required
changes in the organization’s setup. In order to bring about an effective change in the
organization, it is important to have strong knowledge on the various management theories
and then compare them against the current situations to strike an ideal approach that satisfies
all requirements.
According to (Rozdolskaya and Ledovskaya 2015), a Company’s success in the international
market can only be ensured by fulfilling customer expectations. An effective customer-
oriented approach in all business activities, including decision-making, is bound to bring
about a worthwhile change in the organization’s performance abilities. Be it business-to-
business or business-to-consumer oriented business, the fulfillment of consumer expectations
is the parameter of organizational success. Various methods have been identified, which play
a vital role in managing consumer expectations. These methods include, having a strong team
of skilled professionals who would be able to take up consumer satisfaction issues and deal
them using relevant knowledge; lead a more time-oriented approach, when it comes to
carrying out organizational processes; maintaining good intra-organizational communication
and keeping realistic and optimistic attitude.
Industry and Company Research
In order to successfully conduct an extensive research of the Company and its particular
industry, it is required to investigate and analyze its external factors that play a vital role in
affecting the Company’s performance (Eikeland and Skjærseth 2016). A complete industry
and Company research would need a particular perspective that analyzes the Company, as in
relation to its contemporary business market, competitors and stakeholders of the same.
Therefore, a PESTEL analysis has been conducted to fulfill all the requirements.
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PESTLE Analysis
Political Factors: The logistics industry of Singapore has been booming rapidly due to its
unparallel global connectivity (Gary 2016). The government’s active role in authorizing new
logistics Companies emerge from its capability to ensure sufficient success and expansion in
this field.
Hence, multiple new logistics companies have sprung up in Singapore’s business market,
causing particular disturbances to the Riverwood Logistics Company’s organizational
performance. With more suppliers available, their customer base is being split amongst the
various Companies in this industry, causing them to lose more customers. Fragmentation of
the client base is one of the most serious issues of an organization, especially with ideal
political conditions that support the emergence of more new start-ups in the Logistics
industry (Ardeli and Kurmala 2017).
Economical Factors: The logistics industry of Singapore has been enjoying the economic
benefits of a lenient trade system, allowing private Companies to invest in industrial sectors.
Many start-ups in this industry gained their momentum with the benefit of economic stability
(Vu 2016). With the increase in competition in the logistics industry, the Riverwood
Logistics has to shift their focus to other departments like, freight management, warehouse
management and retail market management.
On the other hand, with the powerful entry of large-scale organizations like FedEx and Agile,
in the logistics industry of Singapore, the Riverwood Logistics has turned to be weak and
incompetent.
Sociological Factors: The sociological factors also play a dominating role in determining a
Company’s position amongst its contemporary business industry market. With rapid changes
in the global community as a whole, certain changes in the consumer trends could be spotted.
With access to more supplier companies of logistics, the consumers now have multiple
options from which they can choose the one that suits them best.
Simultaneously, third-party providers like the Riverwood Logistics Company, face a grave
threat of losing out on its customers, as stronger Companies emerge with better quality of
services.
Technological Factors: Another important factor to consider is the technological factors of
the industry and the Company in specific. With advanced technologies, consumers now have
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the access to buy services via online mediums and interfaces, thereby accessing a range of
Companies that provide similar services at a wide variety of prices (Wu, Straub and Liang
2015).
However, the lack of proper technological assistance in the management of organizational
analysis or market analysis is playing the role of a huge barrier for the Riverwood Logistics
Company (Kucukaltan, Irani and Aktas 2016). The lack of technologically skilled workers in
the organization plays a role in creating organizational chaos and ambiguities.
Legal Factors: With the gradual expansion of the industrial sector beyond the geographical
territories, the Singapore government employs seven separate regulatory bodies that look
after the entrance of new start-ups in the logistics industry (Tongzon 2018). The massive
increase in business transactions in the logistics industry has resulted in legal lenience and
free trade policies that make the transactions with foreign Companies and clients less
expensive.
Therefore, it helps the Riverwood Logistics to maintain their transactions in other
departments like management of freight management or retail services, almost without any
added costs.
Environmental Factors: One of the most influential factors that impact the success of an
organization is the environmental factors. With a globalised and sustainable approach to
business, it is utmost necessary in the international business market, to be a market force that
is not only competent but also aware and conscious of the sustainability measures (Joyce and
Paquin 2016). In contemporary business market, only responsible companies that actively
take up Corporate Social Responsibilities are regarded as trustworthy market forces
(Høgevold et al. 2014).
One of the major areas to focus for the Riverwood Logistics Company is their transportation
department that actively contributes to harmful emissions in the environment and the
depletion of natural resources. As the larger companies evolve stronger with their emission
mapping technologies, companies like Riverwood Logistics, fall out of date.
Identification and Analysis of Tools, Models and Theories
As per the identification of the major challenges faced by the Riverwood Logistics Company
and the detailed analysis of its contemporary business industry, the theory for managing
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consumer expectations can be identified as one of the major tools to help control the damages
(Zeugner-Roth, Žabkar and Diamantopoulos 2015). The consumer satisfaction management
theory emphasizes the fact the most decisions made by consumers are backed by rational
thinking and preference, instead of impulsive erratic behaviors. The most essential factors
that dominate the consumer’s expectations include a wide range: income of the consumer,
price of the product or service, necessity of the product, availability of the product, available
alternatives to the product and many more. It also incorporates the management of change
theory, implying that change in consumer preference is not sudden, rather a gradual shift
from one product to another, under the influence of a plethora of factors like, changes in
tastes, preferences and changing environmental atmospheres (Slater 2017).
One of the major challenges of the Riverwood Logistics Company has been identified as the
rising expectations of consumers and therefore, this theory proves to be an appropriate guide
to a better understanding of the issue and its solutions.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
1. By applying the Customer Satisfaction Theory, it will be possible to interpret the
expectations of the customers in a more analytical way, which will further help the
Company to restore their consumer’s loyalty and build a strong a relationship
(Gornostaeva and Sorokina 2017).
2. Applying this theory will help the organization to enhance the value of their products
and services by making them more customer satisfaction oriented. The products and
services offered by the organization would evolve to be more relevant, attractive and
acceptable to the consumers.
3. Implementation of this theory will help the organization to measure their success or
achievement with the parameters set according to the consumer-expectations index
(DEMTSURA 2017). The desired expectations, when compared against the actual
performance of the organization, identify the specific areas that still require change.
Weaknesses
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1. The theory might prove to be useful but incomplete in ways as it would fail to
incorporate other attributes that need to be incorporated or amended and has not been
reflected from the gathered consumer expectations or demands.
2. No matter how efficient the customer satisfaction management tools are, they would
only be able to reproduce a vague and ambiguous idea of customer demands and act
with the assumptions for an organizational change.
3. Certain shifts in customer choices may be caused due to a change in the consumer’s
personal taste, style and preference, instead of an external shift in the supply, prices
and quality of the available services (Vohs et al. 2018).
Conclusion
To conclude, the research approach suggested here specifically emphasizes on the
management of consumer expectations, which has also been identified as the biggest
challenge faced by the Riverwood Logistics Company, Singapore. A detailed investigation of
the Company and its Industry, followed by a critical analysis of the particular external factors
that have a huge impact on the performance of the organization as well as its organizational
challenges have been conducted in order to determine the most relevant approach to
controlling these challenges. The Consumer Satisfaction Management Theory has proven to
be relevant to this case, as it sheds light on the various challenges faced by the organization in
discussion. However, certain lacks and shortcomings in using this theory have also been
discussed, hinting at its incompleteness and ambiguities. Using a mix and match of various
tools and techniques might prove more beneficial in this case, instead of relying on just one
theory or concept.
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