DB745: Whittaker's Business Project - Strategies for Development

This business project report delves into the strategies Whittaker's can employ to enhance its business operations and adapt to market changes. It highlights the increasing pressures on businesses due to evolving client demands and global competition. The report suggests that risk factors can be mitigated through collaboration with other businesses, technological advancements, CSR activities, and improved workplace communication. A thorough analysis of the chocolate industry is presented to demonstrate how Whittaker's can address challenges using these strategies, covering aspects of organizational communication, the importance of CSR, and the role of advanced technologies. Data collection and analysis methods are detailed, leading to discussions, conclusions, and recommendations aimed at increasing Whittaker's market attraction and competitive advantage.

Running head: BUSINESS PROPOSAL
Business project report
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Executive summary
The purpose of this business project is to shed light on the fact that how the management of
Whittaker’s can make some real advancements in their way of doing business and also to find
out how well they can adapt to the drastic market changes that has been observed in recent times.
It has been seen that nowadays the managements of the business organizations are under a lot o
pressure regarding the increasing uncertainties due to the frequently changing demands of the
clients and also due to the extreme rivalries that has been seen increasing in the global market. It
has been observed that the risk factors can be lowered reduced if the management of the chosen
business organization can collaborate with other business organization operating in the same
industry and also by improving technologies and CSR activities along with increasing g
workplace communication. Therefore a thorough research has been done looking at all the
aspects of the chocolate industry in order to exhibit how well the management of Whittaker can
eradicate the issues by employing the above mentioned three strategies.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Background of the company........................................................................................................4
Aims and objectives.....................................................................................................................4
Scope............................................................................................................................................5
Purpose........................................................................................................................................5
Literature review..............................................................................................................................5
Organizational Communication...................................................................................................5
Importance of CSR......................................................................................................................7
Importance of using advanced technologies................................................................................9
Data collection and analysis methods............................................................................................10
Data collection...........................................................................................................................10
Data analysis..............................................................................................................................10
Data Analysis.................................................................................................................................11
Discussion......................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
Recommendation:..........................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................18

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Introduction
Background of the company
Whittaker’s or J H Whittaker is a reputed confectionary located in New Zealand. This
business organization is currently second largest chocolate brand that operates in New Zealand.
It has been seen that the management of the business organization somehow owns more than
40% of the chocolate market of New Zealand which can be looked at as a major success of the
business organization (Clarkson et al., 2015). It has also been observed that more than 30% of
the production of the organization gets exported to many countries and the business concern is
generating a good reputation of the New Zealand’s chocolate industry and also becoming a
global brand day by day. The organization was founded by James Henry Whittaker in the year of
1896 in Christchurch and it has earned huge reputation in their domestic market of operation
(Humphries, 2017). The business organization earned a good reputation due to their good quality
products and also for the company’s strong initiatives regarding social responsibilities.
The analysis has shown that the company was not taking in to consideration the use of
effective communication that had led to the losses. The company also needs to get a better
insight regarding the CSR theories so that it can promote the products in the market along with
the advance use of technology. The report also provides recommendations based on the findings
so that the company can take up the policies and increase its rate of attraction in the market.
Aims and objectives
The aim of the research will be that to provide suitable recommendations to the company so that
it can help in increasing their market attraction among the customers: This can be done by the
following ways:

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1. Increasing the sales and decrease the cost
2. Using social media to improve efficiency of business
3. Collaborating with other brands so that it can help them in gathering insights regarding
making the products in a better manner
Scope
The scope of the project will be to take the company in to consideration and increase their
consumers in the New Zealand market. The project will cover fundamental theories regarding
effective communication so that it can provide a better insight to the company. It will also
provide ideas regarding the use of social media so that it can attract the consumers towards the
company that are present in the market.
Purpose
The primary purpose of the project is to give an overview regarding the characteristics
that the company needs to take up so that it can interact with the consumers in a better manner.
The increased rate of interaction with the consumers will result in increasing the competitive
advantage of the company in the market.
Literature review
Organizational Communication
The communication that is effective in nature is necessary for the business to improve its
operations. The use of proper communication techniques will help the management in planning,
organizing, controlling and motivating the employees. The use of communication also helps in
building relationships with the employees so that the duties and responsibilities entrusted upon
them can be carried out in a proper manner (Shockley-Zalabak, 2014).

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Organizational communication helps in addressing primary areas that are present within
the business. This helps in eliminating the forced communication that is present within the
organization as well. The advantages of communication in the organization are as follows:
 Communication within the workplace helps in motivating the workers, and it encourages
the employees of the companies to increase their level of [performance so that efficiency
can increase as well.
 Communication within the workplace works as a data source and helps in building up
effective strategies of leadership and enables the management to recognize the elective
strategy (Kramer, 2014).
 The use of communication results in providing a peaceful environment for the employees
to work. The use of diverse level of communication techniques will result in motivating
the employees so that they can work in an efficient manner.
 The companies need to interact with each other so that they can get to know the latest
technologies that are available in the market, which will help in increasing the level of
production (Garguilo, 2014).

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Aspects of communication
(Kramer, 2014)
 Apart from different elements of administration or management, communication
additionally helps to control the administration procedure. The directors are allowed to
take the feedbacks of the employees so that the major causes can be identified and
eliminated that will help in making the work environment positive in nature. .
Communication is one of the vital pillars of management. It is very important for the
management to use communication so that the confidence of the employees can be increased
(Wehmeier & Winkler, 2013)). Communication can be non-verbal or verbal in nature that will
help the administration in giving proper insights to the employees.
Importance of CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of the basic practices of business that are
being accepted by the organizations. Most of the business organizations are taking up CSR
practices so that it can help in building a proper image and reputation in the market (Costa &
Menichini, 2013).
The CSR techniques plays an integral role in increasing the competitive level of the
organization so that it can help in giving an advantage to the firm. This helps the company in
making proper arrangements so that it can help the business to prosper in its operating market. It
also helps the company in being closely associated with the stakeholders as well (Huang, Cheng
& Chen, 2017).

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The primary focus of the business organization is to achieve its sales target by increasing
the level of production so that a better rate of return can be provided to the stakeholders and the
employees. The European Commission had stated that CSR is the accumulation of duties by the
organization that has a positive impact on the society (Siddiq & Javed, 2014)
The business organizations that take up CSR activities helps in increasing their level of
profit to a significant level. Additionally, the organizations that take up CSR activities are also
more committed towards benefitting the customers so that they can maintain goodwill in the
market (Clarkson et al., 2015).
The use of CSR in the organization helps the management in reducing the level of
liability in the society so that they can continue with its operations in a proper manner. Most of
the firms in the recent times are taking up CSR policies so that it can help them in managing
their work environment in a proper manner and the employees can be motivated as well.
Corporate social duty gives employees a feeling of unparalleled joy. The representatives
take pride in teaching needy individuals who have not received go to customary schools and get
formal instruction. The use of CSR exercises helps in strengthening the bond between the
employees so that they can work together as a team (Costa & Menichini, 2013). The changes in
the corporate levels due to the increase in the devotion time of the employees help in increasing
the level of production so that more products can be available in the market. This will help the
customers in connecting with the customers so that better rate of returns can be seen in the
organization (Siddiq & Javed, 2014). It also helps in increasing the level of trust of the customers
towards the organization, which results in increasing the customer base as well.

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The competitive nature that is present among the organizations help in increasing the
work environment in a positive manner (Costa & Menichini, 2013). This will help in reducing
the shift hours of the employees so that they can maintain the balance between work and life.
Importance of using advanced technologies
Innovation and introducing latest technology efficiently affects the operations of
business. The use of latest technologies help the organization in gaining advantages so that the
management can earn better profits by increasing the level of production as well. The use of
proper framework helps in increasing the business relations so that the data that is being stored
can be secured as well.
The use of innovative technologies help the organization in maintaining a positive
relationship with the customers due to the change in the user-interface (Nah & Saxton, 2013).
The raw materials can be purchased at a proper manner and the deficiency can be identified as
well. It also helps in increasing the level of communication so that the firm can manufacture the
products at a faster rate (Trainor et al., 2014).
The use of innovation also helps the organization in dealing with the needs so that the
production can be enhanced and the assets of the company can be stored in a proper manner as
well. The distribution centers also help in dealing with the expenses that are related to storing the
products so that it can be made available in the market (Scarborough & Corbett, 2013).
Most business organizations of the today’s world are accountable to security dangers and
vandalism in the workplace by any kind of third party sources. The use of the latest technologies
help in securing the information that are related to money and other data so that the organization
can maintain a competitive advantage in the market (Johnston & Marshall, 2013). The use of

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proper security gateway allows the business in securing the prospective data that cannot be
accessed by other companies.
Data collection and analysis methods
Data collection
Collection of data can be done by two types, either by collecting primary data or by
collecting secondary data relevant to the topic of the project. Primary data can be collected by
the researcher by interviewing the respondents of the research or by surveying the researcher can
collect data which may appear important in the course of action of the project (Taylor, Bogdan &
DeVault, 2015). On the other hand, information can be collected from numerous secondary
sources also and those are company websites, annual report of the chosen business organization,
numerous government and private websites, journals, books and many more.
For this particular business project data had been collected from numerous secondary
sources of information like journals, books, websites and magazines.
Data analysis
Qualitative data analysis is a scientific method where the researcher after collecting
information relevant to the topic of the research project can analyze the non-numerical data. This
type of research work refers to the definitions, concepts metaphors, and descriptions of numerous
objects and many more and is immensely useful to conduct the research work.
Quantitative research and data analysis is another useful tactic to conduct the research
work accurately (Silverman, 2016). It may be referred to as an empirical investigation of
observable phenomena by mathematical and computational strategies. The researcher can choose

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quantitative research in order to develop mathematical models and hypothesis and important
theories. Quantitative data analysis can be performed when the researcher has to analyze any
mathematical data.
The literature review that has been conducted provided insights regarding the use of
effective communication so that it can help the company in interacting with the important
stakeholders as well as the consumers. The researcher has considered analyzing it with the
secondary sources, as there are many literature available with respect to communication and the
ways through which it can be enhanced within the organization. CSR is also an important aspect
of the company, as it will help in gaining popularity of the company in the market where they are
operating. It helps the company in connecting with the society so that it can increase its market
attraction.
The use of technologies will also be studied using the secondary sources, as it will help
the researcher in providing better recommendation with the use of advanced technological
methods. The use of the technologies that will be beneficial for the company will help in
increasing the level of efficiency of the company as well so that the more number of products
can be delivered in the market.
Data Analysis
It is nearly impossible to establish; whether to lower the cost of the company and at the
same time increasing the generation of revenues. There are several factors that influence within a
domestic or international market. It can be observed from the collected data that the company
Whittaker’s has applied several methods to increase the revenue so far (Taylor, Bogdan &
DeVault, 2015). The company understands the fundamental metrics of increasing profitability;

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therefore they prefer increasing their annual revenue to a certain scale. In terms to increasing the
sales, Whittaker’s has applied a successful marketing strategy so far, however, from the collected
information; it can be found out that the company has not been able to provide much benefit to
the customers. There have been several stock clearance sales; however the company has not
conducted any other procedure for identifying its customers’ choice so that they can offer more
benefits in order to increase the sales. The collected data also indicates the face that Whittaker’s
has always picked a right price for its customers after a detailed research on the other
competitors. However it can still be observed that the company has products that are mostly high
end. As indicated in the annual report of Whittaker’s, the company has been able to reduce costs
in order to increase its profitability, however in last few years the profit margin has not been
significantly high.
Whittaker’s has always utilized the traditional methods for communicating within the
organization along with its customers. The annual reports indicate that the company has allotted
a huge budget for the organizational communication. The company recruits a group of
employees every year who can communicate with the customers and the other stakeholders face
to face (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015). This form of organizational communication has been
given the most importance in the company so far. In addition to that Whittaker’s also
communicate with its stakeholders through telephonic communication. It has offered the
management of the organization to get instant feedback about their products and service,
therefore telephonic communication has been much praised in the company. The company also
put importance on the print and broadcast media for promoting their products to a wide range of
customers (Bartel, Baldi & Dukerich, 2016). The company publishes newsletters, advertisements
in newspapers and magazines, brochures and journals in order to communicate with its target