A Sticky Situation
Dura-Stick is a popular company that pursues correct strategy at the label market. It applies new technologies, considers its costs, and has loyal customers. Among them is Spray-On, which has remained a partner of Dura-Stick for years. The customer is satisfied with the enterprises performance and trusts its quality. For this reason, it places a big order. The account manager Kent Graham cannot resist taking this order without giving prior notification to his company. Later, his colleague informs the manager that they must outsource the production of the new order. However, Spray-On insists on fulfilling its request only by the organizations own forces.
Article Summary
Dura-Stick specializes in a particular type of label production. It uses the latest technology but is limited to a certain style of labels. The enterprise hires a new account manager named Kent Graham. He enjoys the benefits of the loyal customer base, which had been built due to the excellence in work and trustworthy relations with long-term business partners. They completely rely on the companys quality. Kent Graham has a family with two children and carries responsibility for their well-being. For this reason, his weakness wins despite the fact that he cannot guarantee adequate terms of the project completion, and he agrees to take the big order from Spray-On. In such a manner, the man takes responsibility for the whole company and risks to fail with the loyal customer.
Individual Solutions
Kent Graham is running a big risk of not fulfilling all the customers requirements. He does not intend to communicate the specificity of the order from Spray-On. The manager concentrates only on individual achievements and does not analyze the companys situation in general. However, he still has a chance to meet the contract requirements and to avoid spoiling relations with the customer.
One of the solutions is to explain the situation to Spray-On in detail hoping for its understanding. The customer has been working with Dura-Stick for a long time, and it has the right to know all aspects of the order completion. However, the manager must describe precisely why the company wants to outsource manufacturing. Another solution is to improve relations with a subsidiary company to raise the quality of products Spray-On does not trust other companies because it is afraid of poor order fulfillment. It means that in any case, Dura-Stick must improve its supply chain and raise demands for its stakeholders.
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Case Analysis Justifications
On the one hand, Kent Graham has a difficult family situation. On the other hand, he carries responsibility for the company as well. The man understands well the importance of retaining the loyal customer. For this reason, he has mixed feelings about accepting the offer.
The account manager cannot reject the order, but the sequence of his actions must be changed. He must add more honesty in the relations with Spray-On. At the same time, Kent Graham is an account manager, and he cannot know all the specifics of production. Thus, he must improve his communication and enlist the cooperation of his colleagues.
Other References
The most rapidly growing branch of business is IT. However, according to Koring, IT employees are too much engaged with the work process, and this commitment makes them treat customers like a product (n. p.). For example, they do not understand that any changes in the software development must be communicated to customers. Instead, IT professionals take independent decisions about features which can be added to the program. Another example is the ethical experiment of Gino, which proved that people that made oral commitments to their colleagues did not betray them in the future (n. p.). Thus, ethical consciousness helps to build sincere and open communication in the company. Moreover, according to Lee Yohn, retaining of the right customers starts inside an organization (n. p.). For example, building correct relations with them begins with the sales persons participation in all stages of production and promotion.
Conclusion: Possible Outcomes
The account manager risks either losing a loyal customer, or delivering poor quality. The lack of communication between all stakeholders may tarnish the companys reputation. At the same time, this lack of information may be the reason for the managers haste. However, all employees should always remember that the brand image, as well as the good name, is difficult to built and easy to destroy. If Kent Graham wants to remedy the current situation, he should reveal the fact that the company wants to outsource the production. The 20 years of successful cooperation mean that the companies can negotiate any changes in orders.
Additional Research
Ethical topics are always important for sustainable business growth. Thus, they must be constantly explored and discussed as closely as possible. Many businesses are concentrated only on numbers. They become complacent and stop trying to deliver the best quality and add value to their customers. However, they do not understand that a sustainable brand can be built only in the long-term perspective, which involves ethics in the first place. For this reason, businesses should always look at all of their concluded deals from the ethical angle.
