Cango Analysis
My initial observation is that CanGo is a company that has had some success so far. Liz and her company have many great ideas for the future of the company. However, they still need to create a mission statement to show what the company is trying to accomplish as well as what they are about. Liz was given an award, and just glossed over the story, because she had no idea how CanGo came to where they are. There was lack of planning, and didn’t even have a vision for her company. CanGo has identified a growing trend within the gaming industry that they want to use to bring them success, which is online gaming.
They only problem is that they have taken on an area that is not within their normal range of business. Without looking at the challenges or risks, CanGo has jumped on board.
SWOT
When looking into the SWOT analysis of the company. It is sad to say but the strength that I could come up with is luck. Due to the lack of planning, and many other areas, I am surprised CanGo has made the success that it has. Yes, CanGo does have some employees that know what they are doing, and did help contribute to that success. But overall I would say they had luck on their side.
Unfortunately, I have seen a wide array of weaknesses for the company. One of the biggest is communication. There isn’t any. When they had a meeting to discuss online gaming, there were never any decisions being discussed. It was, this is going to happen, hope you can deal type of situation, which leads to the strategic management of the company, or in this case lack thereof. The management of the company has no decision making processes, they just jump in head first without looking for the consequences or risks. Yes, there are benefits, but you need to check into things before making rash decisions.
The company contains many levels of organization and a variety of people on their staff. Debbie seems to be the most knowledgeable and organized of the group. She is willing to help others, as well as do her own work. Nick on the other hand feels he is on top of everything and well organized. When in actuality is very far from it. Then there is Warren aka “Coach”. He has a direct approach when talking to his team members. However, gives very little guidelines. Another area that needs addressed is the work ethic of the employees, as well as giving assignments and tasks to qualified individuals.
The entire project was basically put on Nick’s shoulders. He is not organized, and is not even prepared for this kind of work
Recommendations
The first recommendation we have for the CanGo Company is to develop a mission A professional development program would aid the CanGo staff in learning the strategic management process. This program would also aid in dealing with the dysfunction between the Operations Manager and the staff. Through study of the strategic management process, the Operations Manager would learn that moderately difficult goals are more likely to be met than impossible ones.
His assignment for handling the entire online gaming project to one unorganized staff member, shows he needs this training. For example, Liz stated that their goal was to provide customers a one-stop shopping experience. Therefore, in a way stated one area of the mission for the company. Going into the entertainment service of online gaming is a step in the wrong direction, and would go against the mission statement. When giving out projects, make sure to assign it to the correct employee(s). Giving a project to the wrong employee can make or break the project, especially if they have poor organizational skills.
The management also needs to follow through and give tasks to the correct person, but also give more direction. The Operations Manager needs to be more hands on. CanGo also announced an expected 500% increase in orders during the holiday season. Instead of making the online project the most important aspect or project, they need to work on the increase and making sure every area is covered. The company’s success is not based on the online gaming. They made their success through their one-stop shopping site, and they need to deal with the number of challenges that they are being faced with dealing with that.
It is has a higher priority as well as is more in line with their business goals for the company. I would recommend making Debbie the Operations Manager for this project. She is well organized, is able to help teach how to best prioritize, as well as brings everyone together. I think she would accomplish more, because she is able to identify the problem without much difficulty and creates specific goals for each person for their daily activities. Plus she shows things in diagrams, such as a Gantt chart, to let everyone know within the group what needs to be done and what is a priority.
The final recommendation I would make is to have CanGo go through some communication changes. They need to make a clear communications path between everyone. If someone is overwhelmed or confused, they need to be able to ask questions. If they are going to take on a new project, make sure it is discussed. So you can find out all aspects, such as challenges, risks, etc.
References
- Prentice-Hall, Inc. , 2002. Class Videos. CanGo Quicktime Videos Week 1. Retrieved on 05/07/09.
- Prentice-Hall, Inc. , 2002. Class Videos. CanGo Quicktime Videos Week 2. Retrieved on 05/07/09.
