Zara Case Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Zara Case Analysis - Research Paper Example This paper analyzes Zara’s current IT infrastructure with regards to its strategy and makes recommendations on the way to go forward. Description of the case The case details the dilemma that Mr. Xan Salgado Badas, the Head of IT for the clothing giant Inditex, is currently facing with regards to the IT infrastructure of Inditex’s flagship brand Zara. Mr. Salgado needs to decide whether to upgrade Zara’s IT infrastructure or retain the status quo. From the case we can tell that the Inditex’s Head of IT had been deliberating on this issue for quite some time; he and Mr. Bruno Sanchez Ocampo – the technical lead for Zara’s POS - had swopped roles as protagonist and antagonist several times before as they endeavored to evaluate the weight of each side of the argument. To enable us appreciate the dilemma that Salgado was facing the case describes Zara’s business model. The company derived its competitive edge from the speed of its product cycle in combination with decentralized decision making. Zara also employed a different marketing strategy that focused on its stores and the shopping experience rather than advertising like its main competitors. From the case we see that the firm’s IT infrastructure as is was able to make its operations the most effective in the industry. Also, given that it was largely developed in-house Zara’s IT infrastructure was largely proprietary and well-customized to meet its strategic goals. Furthermore, it was easy to install, use and stable. With all these advantages we see why the Head of IT had to take time to deeply consider the company’s next move with regards to IT infrastructure. To give us a balanced picture similar to that which Salgado had, the case also highlights the shortcomings of the current system. Analysis of the company’s goals/strategy Corporate strategy is about what a company wants and how the company should go about to satisfy this want. To achieve its main goal the company employs a grand strategy. Grand Strategies fall into three general categories which reflect what a company’s overall goal would be: growth, stability or retrenchment (Daft, 2000). From the context of the case we are informed that Inditex executives felt that ample room for growth existed within its current markets (Mcafee, Dessain, & Sjoman, 2007, p. 5). This could be construed to imply that Zara’s overall goal was that of growth. The grand strategy is like a framework of the whole business strategy. To achieve its goal Zara would have to focus its attention on business-level strategy. According to Porter (1998) business-level strategy includes numerous strategies, that can be classified into two, either competitive strategy or cooperative strategy. The objective of either strategy is to help the company to achieve competitive advantage against its rival. The difference between these two strategies is in the form of the action taken. There are three ways through which an organization can achieve competitive advantage namely: management, marketing and supply. Zara thrives on speed. It has to respond very quickly to the demands of its target customers who are young, fashion-conscious city dwellers (Mcafee et al., 2007). For Zara to be able to deliver styles while they are still hot, the organization realized that it had to take advantage of the intelligence and judgment of its employees throughout the company. For this reason store managers at Zara were given much more responsibility than those at rival clothing chains. Also Zara employed commercials who worked with designers and store managers to

A short essay ( A level standard) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A short ( A level standard) - Essay Example The events which led to the demise of his twin brothers, Dan and Jacob a year ago. He dearly missed them, his friends, play mates and also royal confidants. His life took a new turn that day when the three were playing in the house and Dan, the eldest among them tried to switch on the electric cooker and make a sandwich. The mother had gone to the market to buy their favourite foodstuffs so that she could prepare them a delicious meal. However, this would not happen as Dan was instantly electrocuted and the same fate befell his brother Jacob as he tried to assist him. The celebration mood turned sour and Janet, their mother, watched in disbelief as her sons bodies were hurled into the back of a waiting police car and to the morgue. David, the youngest observed with shock as her mother wailed in disbelief on seeing her son’s lifeless bodies lying on the ground. He was eight years then and thus could not fathom the magnitude of the occurrence as he was too young for it. But the mother knew what exactly the death of her beloved sons meant to her. It meant eternal physical separation from his twins whom she had treasured since birth and had vowed to protect, even with her own life if need be, all the days of her life. But now she had lost it all, she could not restore their life, they were gone forever. The pain and grief was unbearable, she was devastated and was hospitalised for depression. She was later discharged after immense help from a psychosocial counsellor and was able to cope and move on with life. This affected her performance at work as she could not be able to deliver the services required of her. She was thus relieved off her duties and was jobless for several months before she bumped into a secretarial job in the firm she is currently working in. Six months after the incident, Mr. Brown was diagnosed with a rare cardiovascular disease and was scheduled for operation in December. David