Business Report

Workforce on Tap: A focus on market orientation to achieve superior business performance Kristen Laurent October 2009 MBA503- Marketing Management Student ID: 69250645

10

Executive Summary

Since the early nineties academics and practitioners have demonstrated a keen interest in market orientation and its relationship to business performance. There is consequently a vast body of literature relating to the conceptualisation of market orientation, the characteristics that engender a market-oriented organisation and the consequences that stem from successful implementation of a market orientation. From a behavioural perspective market orientation is described as the organisational activities relating to the generation and dissemination of, and responsiveness to, market intelligence. From a cultural perspective it is described as an organisational culture that encourages the behaviours necessary for creating superior customer value. The behaviours that embody an organisation’s activities relating to the generation and dissemination of market intelligence and its coordinated creation of customer value are characterised in terms of: 1. Customer orientation – a focus on understanding the needs of the customer to develop products and services to satisfy and create value for the customer. 2. Competitor orientation – a focus on understanding the strengths and weaknesses of competitors in order to develop strategies for competitive advantage. 3. Interfunctional coordination – the coordination of an organisation’s activities to create value for customers based on customer and competitor intelligence. Research has shown that a market orientation can generate significant benefits for an organisation, its customers and its employees. Market-oriented organisations demonstrate superior skills in understanding and satisfying customers and are therefore more responsive to customer needs. For the organisation this can enable innovation and the development of new products and services. For the customer this can mean a perception of quality in relation to the organisation’s goods and services, satisfaction and loyalty. Implications for employees working towards the common goal of customer satisfaction include improved staff morale, job satisfaction, customer orientation and organisational commitment. The ultimate outcome for the organisation is increased profit. In light of the intensely competitive nature of the recruitment industry in Australia the implications for Workforce on Tap management are clear: 1) a substantial market orientation should be the foundation of their competitive advantage strategy; and 2) they should strive to improve their market orientation to achieve superior business performance. Workforce on Tap’s customer orientation, competitor orientation and interfunctional coordination were examined to assess the organisation’s current overall market orientation. A strong focus on customer focus was found to permeate the business. A competitive focus and “interdepartmental connectedness” were also evident. On this basis the organisation has a solid foundation on which to further enhance its market orientation. To provide Workforce on Tap with a cohesive approach to developing its 2

market orientation specific recommendations are proposed within a change management framework comprising the following key steps: 1. Further assessment of Workforce on Tap’s current orientation and barriers to becoming more market-driven. 2. Demonstration of top management commitment to a more market-driven orientation. 3. Alignment of the strategy with the structure and human resources 4. Encouragement and rewarding of market-driven behaviours. By adopting these recommendations Workforce on Tap can increase the extent to which market-driven behaviours are embedded in culture of the workplace, thereby enhancing the performance of the business.

3

10

Table of Contents

1.0

Executive Summary..............................................................................................2

2.0

Table of Contents..................................................................................................4

3.0 Introduction...............................................................................................................5 4.0 Market Orientation....................................................................................................6 4.1 Customer Orientation............................................................................................7 4.2 Competitor Orientation..........................................................................................8 4.3 Interfunctional Coordination.................................................................................8 5.0 Benefits of a Market Orientation...............................................................................9 5.1 Organisational Performance..................................................................................9 5.2 Customer Consequences......................................................................................10 5.3 Innovation Consequences....................................................................................10 5.4 Employee Consequences.....................................................................................11 6.0 Workforce on Tap’s Market Orientation................................................................11 6.1 Overview of Workforce on Tap...........................................................................11 6.2 Workforce on Tap’s Customer Orientation.........................................................12 6.3 Workforce on Tap’s Competitor Orientation......................................................15 6.4 Workforce on Tap’s Interfunctional Coordination..............................................16 6.5 The Culture of Workforce on Tap.......................................................................17 7.0 Recommendations...................................................................................................18 8.0 Conclusion...............................................................................................................21 9.0 References...............................................................................................................23 10.0 Appendices............................................................................................................24 10.0 Appendices

4

3.0 Introduction Market orientation is increasingly being recognised as a pivotal factor in achieving and maintaining market leadership (Pulendran, 2000). Pulendran, Speed, & Widing (2000, p.119) assert that “…understanding the culture, activities and processes associated with market-oriented activity have significant implications for organisations in Australia”. The aim of this report is provide Workforce on Tap (WoT) with a comprehensive overview of market orientation and the benefits that can be derived from its implementation. WoT’s current market orientation is assessed and subsequent recommendations are proffered for improving its market orientation in order for it to achieve superior business performance. Following a review of literature relating to the conceptualisation of the market orientation construct, a description of the behaviours and activities that characterise a market-oriented organisation is presented as three distinct behavioural components 1) customer orientation 2) competitor orientation and 3) interfunctional coordination. This presentation framework is based on the construct of market orientation presented by Narver & Slater (1990). Research into the consequences of market orientation has identified numerous organisational gains. The benefits are discussed in terms of organisational performance, customer consequences, innovation consequences and employee consequences. Narver & Slater’s multi-item scale – MKTOR (1990) - is used to measure WoT’s current market orientation. Insights into the structure, culture and processes of the organisation have been obtained through several interviews with the Managing Director undertaken throughout September 2009. This report presents observations of WoT’s customer orientation, competitor orientation and interfunctional coordination. Although the MKTOR scale does not address the important cultural dimension of market orientation, relevant cultural aspects of the organisation are also considered. This leads to a proposed plan for WoT to further develop its market orientation.

5

4.0 Market Orientation Market orientation is a business approach founded on the marketing concept that “a business has a greater chance of meeting its goals when it is organised in such a way that the current and potential needs of customers are met more effectively than by their competitors” (Doyle, 2006). It is an outwardly-focussed customer orientation that evolved in the second half of the twentieth century as organisations began to realise the importance of meeting customer needs as the best means of achieving sales and profits (Pride, 2006). Two perspectives of market orientation have emerged within marketing literature. Kohli and Jaworski (1990, p.6) define market orientation from a behavioural perspective as “the organizationwide generation of market intelligence pertaining to current and future customer needs, dissemination of the intelligence across departments, and organizationwide responsiveness to it”. In contrast, Narver & Slater (1990) present a cultural perspective of market orientation, focussing on the norms and values of an organisation that encourage behaviours necessary to create superior value for customers. As illustrated in Figure 1 they address three specific behavioural components: 1. customer orientation, 2. competitor orientation, and 3. interfunctional coordination , that together embody an organisation’s activities relating to the generation and dissemination of market intelligence and its coordinated creation of customer value.

6

Figure 1

Kohli & Jaworski (as cited in “The market-led organisation” Retrieved Oct 4, 2009, from http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=210405)

Narver & Slater (1990, p.22) emphasize that marketing orientation has a long-term focus in relation to profits and the implementation of these three behavioural components. As explained by Pride et al (2006, p. 440-441), a long term perspective is important because customers are more financially profitable over a lifetime. A customer-oriented organisation therefore recognises that satisfied customers are a true economic asset and sees the value of satisfied customers in terms of profit.

4.1 Customer Orientation Customer orientation is a focus on understanding the needs of the customer. It involves the generation and sharing of customer intelligence in the target market to identify their current and future needs. This knowledge is then employed to develop products and services that satisfy and create value for the customer. This is supported by Narver & Slater’s definition of customer orientation as “the sufficient understanding of one’s target buyers to be able to create superior value for them continuously” and their suggestion that it encompasses all of the activities associated with the generation and dissemination of market intelligence (1990, p. 21). 7

Information systems play an important role in the generation of comprehensive market intelligence. Pride et al (2006, p. 15) go so far as to suggest that an organisation cannot be market-oriented without an adequate information system. The understanding that is gained through the generation and sharing of customer intelligence enables marketoriented companies to identify latent and incipient customer needs, creating new opportunities for organisations to be innovative (Doyle, 2006). It also enables organisations to be responsive to the changing needs of their customers, thereby satisfying customers through the development of appropriate products and services.

4.2 Competitor Orientation Competitor orientation encompasses all of the activities associated with the generation and dissemination of intelligence about an organisation’s competitors in the target market (Narver, 1990). Satisfying customer needs better than competitors is viewed by Narver & Slater as the key to obtaining sustainable competitive advantage and achieving superior business performance. A competitor orientation is therefore important to achieve an understanding of competitors’ short term strengths and weaknesses and as well as their long term capabilities and strategies. Competitive benchmarking is an important process for a competitor-oriented organisation to measure customer satisfaction against that of its competitors(Doyle, 2006).

4.3 Interfunctional Coordination The marketing concept guides a market-oriented organisation’s overall objectives and activities therefore it is important all parts of a market-oriented organisation work together (Pride et al, 2006, p.14). Narver & Slater (1990, p. 22) refer to this organisation-wide coordination of resources as “interfunctional coordination”- the goal of which is to create superior value for the customer based on customer and competitive intelligence. As stated by David Packard, cofounder of Hewlett-Packard, “Marketing is far too important to leave to the marketing department”(Day, 1990). This sentiment is supported by Gummeson in his article “Marketing Orientation revisited: The crucial role of the part-time marketer” (1991) in which he advocates the importance of all 8

members of an organisation playing a role in the delivery of customer value. Gummeson views all people, outside of the marketing department, who have an influence on customer relations, customer satisfaction, customer-perceived quality and revenue as “part-time marketers”.

5.0 Benefits of a Market Orientation 5.1 Organisational Performance A link between market orientation and business survival was suggested as early as 1960 by Levitt in his seminal article “Marketing Myopia” (1960). The notion of a market orientation as a key determinant of business performance has been widely accepted by both academics and practitioners. This relationship was validated by Narver & Slater’s empirical study of the effect of a market orientation on profitability (1990). Narver & Slater identify profitability as being the overriding objective of a market-oriented organisation. Their results demonstrate that the higher an organisations market orientation the higher its business performance. Research conducted by by Jaworski & Kohli (1993) suggests that this relationship is affected little by environmental moderators, supporting Narver & Slater’s claim that market orientation is relevant in every market environment. Day (The capabilities of market driven organisations, 1994) proposes that superior business performance, as validated by Narver & Slater (1990), is the result of superior skills in understanding and satisfying customers. He refers to these skills as ‘marketsensing’ and ‘market-linking’ capabilities. Day suggests that an organisation with these capabilities has a competitive advantage because it will be more responsive than its competitors. He later refers to these capabilities as a company’s “invisible assets” (Market driven strategy: processes for creating value, 1990, p. 358) and argues that these capabilities reperesent the most sustainable of all competitive advantages because they are difficult for competitors to imitate. This is consistent with Narver & Slater’s belief that a market orientation can facilitate sustainable value for current and future customers. In relation to organisational performance, meeting needs generates higher margins than selling products (Doyle & Stern, 2006, p.43). Subequently, an organisation that 9

satisfies customers builds profits. A customer’s increased profit potential over time (lifetime value) underlies the need for a long-term commitment and perspective by market-oriented organisations. As stated by Doyle & Stern (2006, p. 49) “loyal customers are assets”.

5.2 Customer Consequences Jaworksi & Kohli (1993) propose that customer-perceived quality of an organisation’s products or services, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are consequences of a market orientation. Customer satisfaction and loyalty are enhanced because the market-oriented organisation anticipates customer needs to provide goods and service that satisfy these needs. Brady & Cronin (as cited in Kirka, Jayachandran & Bearden, 2005, p. 25) suggest that market orientation can enhance the customer’s perceived quality of an organisation’s products and services by helping to create and maintain superior customer value.

5.3 Innovation Consequences A market-oriented organisation understands its customers and can harness this knowledge to identify new and better ways to meet their needs through the creation and implementation of new ideas, products and processes, and new product performance (Kirca et al, 2005, p. 25). As suggested by Day (Market driven strategy: processes for creating value, 1990, p. 360) organisations that are attentive to their customers’ underlying requirements and problems can innovate to better satisfy the customer, providing real opportunities for growth and profit (Doyle, 2006).

5.4 Employee Consequences Kohli & Jaworksi (1990) posit a number of psychological and social employee benefits in relation to market-oriented organisations that they believe stem from employees working towards the common goal of customer satisfaction: •

Better ‘esprit de corps’;

•

Job satisfaction; 10

•

Customer orientation- supported by Doyle & Stern’s (2006, p. 45-46) suggestion that an organisation that structures itself in such a way as to best serve its customers’ needs has the potential to empower and motivate its frontline staff in satisfying customers and delivering results;

•

Organisational commitment.

Market orientation can also reduce role conflict stemming from the incompatibility of communicated expectations (Kirca, 2005).

6.0 Workforce on Tap’s Market Orientation 6.1 Overview of Workforce on Tap

Workforce on Tap (WoT) is an independent recruiting company that operates within a highly competitive market in regional Victoria and Southern New South Wales. The company employs twenty-three full-time equivalent staff across four separate branches. It provides recruitment services for temporary and permanent staff to a wide cross-section of business clients in industry, commerce and government, including national and international corporations. Key competitors of this organisation include Adecco, Drake and Skilled. Following a change of management in 2003 WoT has seen a two-fold increased in business. The organisation has recently engaged an external marketing consultant to assist reassessment of its market positioning and to develop an effective plan for promoting the business. Subsequent initiatives such as the client newsletter and client case studies allow WoT to engage its customers and leverage its strengths in relation to customer service and safety. In this report a distinction is made between WoT “staff” and “employees”. “Staff” refers to employees working within the various branches of WoT that are involved directly and indirectly with servicing their business clients through the provision of temporary or permanent candidates. The temporary and permanent candidates are referred to as “employees”.

11

6.2 Workforce on Tap’s Customer Orientation Numerous observations support a customer orientation within the organisation. These include: •

Evidence that organisational objectives are based on customer satisfaction WoT’s objectives are reflected in its mission and vision statements (Appendix 1) which are framed around the understanding of customer needs. The organisation seeks to satisfy the perceived needs of its customers for the benefit of the customer and the organisation. The specific reference to “mutual positive business outcomes” demonstrates that WoT also has an understanding of the derived needs of its business customers. WoT’s vision is to achieve “preferred provider” status, meeting the needs of customers better than its competitors through a focus on “quality” and “value”. If quality is the key to value creation and customer satisfaction, as suggested by Kotler, Keller & Burton (2009, p. 137), WoT’s objectives are clearly driven by customer satisfaction.

•

A demonstrated understanding of customer needs Day (Day, 1990) stresses that a market-driven organisation must keep close to its customers and ahead of its competitors. In a highly competitive market environment WoT has successfully engineered two key competitive advantages based on an understanding of customer needs:

12

1. Superior responsiveness to customer needs WoT recognises that the larger size and hierarchical structure of their national and multinational competitors impedes their responsive to customer needs. In contrast WoT has a decentralised structure. Its strategy is to allow individual branches to exercise a high degree of autonomy in decision-making to enable faster customer response times. In addition to benefiting the customer this empowers frontline staff to take responsibility, accept accountability, exercise initiative and deliver results (Doyle & Stern, 2006, p. 46). This capability to respond quickly to customers is central to WoT’s positioning as the recruitment firm that is the fastest and easiest to deal with. 2. Value-added safety Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) functions within recruitment firms are typically managed by branch managers. Recognising the customer-perceived importance of employee safety, WoT has established a “Corporate Safety Manager” position with a sole focus on safety. This allows WoT to include specialist OHS consultancy as part of its value proposition. The after-sales service provided by the Corporate Safety Manager is important in building customer loyalty through the creation of institutional ties. •

Business strategies are driven by the creation of customer value

WoT’s business strategies are derived from beliefs about how they can generate greater value for their customers. This is clearly illustrated in Table 1:

13

Table 1:

Major attributes and

Associated strategies

Key Performance

benefits identified by

Indicator (KPI)

WoT as being valued by customers 1. Timeliness

•

Being fastest to

•

respond to a request for a quote •

Timely delivery of service and quote

•

Timely response to

Delivering a candidate

client orders (“Lead

in the shortest

Time”) and inquiries

possible time

1. Quality

•

Provision of accurate

•

and timely invoices Providing the best

•

possible candidate that can add value to the client’s business •

Absence of customer complaints

•

Quality customer relationships

WoT’s “Satisfaction Guarantee” (Appendix 2)

•

Monitoring candidate performance

•

Provision of a qualified OHS Officer

•

Adopting an attitude of exceeding client expectations

•

Customer satisfaction is measured frequently and systematically WoT has a systematic internal process to measure customer satisfaction following the placement of a new employee at a client worksite. This involves:

14

1. An “Employee Appraisal” (Appendix 2) – involving customers’ active participation in an appraisal of the employees’ performance one week after initial employment and monthly thereafter. This collaborative effort is crucial to the organisation meeting its “Satisfaction Guarantee”. 2. Weekly client visits - one-on-one communication between the Branch Manager and the client in order to monitor the client’s needs and satisfaction. 3. A “Customer Satisfaction Report” (Appendix 4) - a quarterly client satisfaction survey. Responses to this survey are reviewed by management on an ad-hoc basis. The data is not systematically measured and reported across the organisation. •

WoT provides comprehensive after-sales service This includes the processes for measuring customer satisfaction and the Corporate Safety Manager’s ongoing client support. WoT is also responsive to customer complaints and in the event of customer defection is active in investigating the customer’s motivations. These activities enable WoT to cultivate highly satisfied customers and build customer retention.

These observations are indicative of a customer orientation. However, consideration does not appear to have been given to measuring the organisation’s commitment and orientation to serving customer needs, either through measurement of customer perceptions by an independent source or through a self-critical analysis. The implications of this are twofold 1. In the absence of a crisis, such as the loss of a major client, the organisation may become complacent with regard to their customer focus. 2. The organisation has no meaningful measure by which further achievement in customer orientation can be recognised. (Day, 1990)

6.3 Workforce on Tap’s Competitor Orientation Indications of a competitor orientation within WoT include:

15

•

Sharing of competitor information Competitor strategies along with market trends and developments are regularly discussed at quarterly Branch Manager meetings. Strategic planning also occurs in this forum, involving a SWOT analysis to evaluate competitor threats to the organisation’s success in achieving its objectives.

•

Competitor benchmarking WoT benchmarks its performance against that of its competitors in two measureable areas: safety (as measured by Workcover costs) and rates.

This competitive focus allows WoT to be highly responsive to competitor actions. This is clearly illustrated in the following case study: In 2007 following a strong long-term relationship with Rubicon Systems Australia, WoT was challenged to respond quickly to a competitor threat. This threat coincided with the client being awarded a lucrative Government contract which it anticipated would result in a substantial increase in the client’s requirement for temporary recruitment services. In response to the competitor’s lower cost proposition and with consideration to the client’s new status in terms of “customer lifetime value” WoT promptly modified its offering to provide a revised rate schedule for the client based on volume. On this basis WoT was able to retain the client and continued to cultivate the relationship to secure a loyal and valuable customer. WoT’s responsiveness to the changing needs of its customers is supported by following unsolicited testimonial of Rubicon’s Production Manager, Kevin Shelton, in 2009 (Appendix 5): “From recruiting casual staff for seasonal employment, through to permanent placements, Workforce on Tap is Rubicon’s first choice. WFOT continually evolve and improve their services to maintain a close alliance with our business requirements”.

6.4 Workforce on Tap’s Interfunctional Coordination Jaworski and Kohli (1993) refer to “interdepartmental connectedness” as an attribute that encourages employees to act in a “concerted” manner in relation to the generation and utilisation of market intelligence. The following factors have been identified as fostering interdepartmental connectedness within WoT:

16

•

The exchange of market intelligence is facilitated through intra-branch and inter-branch meetings that involve staff from all functions.

•

The existence of technological links including a central network and Customer Relationship Management database to promote physical proximity (Jaworski, 1993).

•

Their cross-functional approach to client visits. In keeping with the Narver & Slater’s suggestion that “the most effective way for a seller to discover opportunities to increase buyer value is to visit a buyer’s business and the buyer’s customers frequently” (1990), Branch Managers, Operations Managers, the Regional Manager and the Managing Director follow a regime of scheduled visits to client workplaces so that there is a shared understanding of customer needs.

6.5 The Culture of Workforce on Tap WoT’s workplace culture described by management as fun, friendly and team-oriented is integral to its market orientation. The “New Employee Induction” presentation (Appendix 5) provides insight into how both a customer focus and competitor focus are instilled in staff at an early stage. It emphasises the importance of customer service and satisfaction, and requires the inductee to identify competitors to WoT in their region. Other factors that have been identified as fostering a market orientation include: •

Strategic planning for the organisation is a cross-functional, participative process.

•

Management recognise that sales staff have a ‘customer-satisfying’ role so consequently there is a supportive relationship between senior management and sales.

•

In all functions of the organisation there is an emphasis on the recruitment of staff who can provide exceptional customer service and have the potential to take on the role of “part-time marketer” (Gummesson, 1991).

•

Staff regard each other as ‘internal customers’. Gummeson (1991) regards internal marketing as being a positive influence on external marketing. 17

7.0 Recommendations The following recommendations are intended to assist WoT in achieving a higher degree of market orientation by increasing the extent to which market-driven behaviours are embedded in the organisation’s culture. The proposed plan provides a cohesive approach to this task and follows Day’s fourstep change management framework (Day, 1990): 1. Assessment of WoT’s current orientation and barriers to becoming more market driven. Day (Day, 1990) believes that “measurement is essential to recognisable achievement”. To establish a baseline measurement of the organisation’s market orientation and to identify potential barriers to becoming market driven, further assessment of the organisation’s current orientation is required. This should involve: a. Measuring customer perceptions – ideally through a third party to assure objective feedback. This independent customer audit may include ‘focus group interviews’ and/or customer surveys. There may be potential to tap into the survey tool that is planned for establishing a “Regional Business Confidence Index”. b. Management judgement of effectiveness – Narver & Slater’s MKTOR scale (1990) of market orientation used in this report would be a suitable tool for WoT management to assess the organisation’s commitment towards its customers. Farrell & Oczkowski (1997) propose a refined version of this scale based on their study of its effectiveness in a sample of privately owned Australian companies (Appendix 6). Results of these audits should be communicated to all staff so that they have an understanding of how customers judge the organisation, where the problems lie and what can be done to increase competitiveness (Doyle p. 56). 1. Demonstration of top-management commitment to a more market-driven orientation 18

Jaworksi & Kohli (1993) consider top management emphasis on market orientation, through continual reminders of the need for staff to be sensitive and responsive to market developments, as an essential prerequisite to a market orientation. Day (Day Mark Drive Strategy p. 48) also identifies leadership from senior management as important in achieving a cultural shift towards a greater external focus and in ensuring broad participation in, understanding of and acceptance of new directions. He refers to the need to “energise” organisations to be market-driven. Actions to reinforce management commitment to market orientation include: •

Greater dissemination of customer satisfaction results - collated data from the quarterly customer satisfaction reports could constitute a Key Performance Indicator that is published for all staff. This KPI may also influence assessment of Branch Managers performance.

•

The existing organisational chart could be turned upside-down - many of today’s leading companies are recognising that everything starts from a customer perspective therefore employees closest to the customer are positioned at the top of the organisation chart (Doyle, 2006). Inverting WoT’s organisational structure would reflect the customer focus that is facilitated by the decentralised management of the organisation and would serve as a powerful symbolic gesture (Appendix 7).

•

There should be an emphasis on customer and market issues during strategy reviews (Day, 1990)

19

2. Alignment of the strategy with the structure and human resources Customer satisfaction should be the central task of all personnel (Kotler, 2009). Gummesson (1991, p. 18) suggests that marketing orientation “only becomes alive when all members of an organisation have asked themselves “How do I contribute to excellence in customer relations and to revenue?”, have answered the question and implemented the answer”. WoT should further develop staff understanding of their role in influencing customer relationships by asking them this question. Specifically, •

Upon recruitment of new staff - this may involve dedicating part of the “New Staff Induction” presentation to addressing the importance of market orientation and customer focus within the organisation. The staff member should be actively engaged in answering this question as a basis for further discussion. As part of the training process new staff should also be provided with detailed information on the most valued customers and competitors before they start working (Becker, 1999).

•

As part of ongoing performance appraisals.

Additional means of aligning the strategy with human resources include: •

The implementation of market-oriented training – to heighten staff sensitivity to customer needs thereby eliciting market-oriented behaviours (Ruekert, 1992).

•

Further cross-functional activities to enable well-coordinated interfunctional efforts (Becker, 1999) and decrease the likelihood of interdepartmental conflict which can impede market orientation (Jaworski, 1993).

1. Encouragement and rewarding of market-driven behaviour throughout the organisation. Whilst sales growth and profits are rewards for past successes, Jaworski & Kohli (1993) believe rewards that are based on the contributions of individuals in sensing and responding to market needs can be instrumental in shaping these marketoriented behaviours. To motivate staff actions that enhance market orientation, WoT should introduce an ‘externally oriented’ reward system for all staff using measures of market-oriented behaviours such as: 20

•

complaints and complaint handling

•

customer satisfaction, particularly measures from external sources

Practical implementation of market-driven rewards could include: •

Suggestion boxes to encourage the sharing of market-based ideas (Pulendran, 2000).

•

Rewards for employee suggestions that lead to an overall increase in WoT’s customer orientation (Becker, 1999).

•

Awarding prizes to anyone who consistently provides useful market intelligence (Becker, 1999).

These initiatives will focus staff on the common goals of a market orientation strengthening long-term customer relationships (Doyle, 2006) and creating “unity of function” (Day, 1990).

8.0 Conclusion Management’s sustained focus on exceptional customer service and alignment of the organisation’s resources with customer needs appears to have instilled workplace norms and values that are consistent with a market orientation. Subsequently, WoT demonstrates a strong customer orientation, a competitive focus and “interdepartmental connectedness” - an antecedent to interfunctional coordination. The Rubicon case study provides a key insight into WoT’s market orientation, illustrating its ability to satisfy customers and build long-term relationships. Despite this strong foundation, there is scope for WoT to increase the extent to which market-driven behaviours are embedded in the organisation’s culture. The recommendations for improving WoT’s market orientation have been formulated on this basis, with a view to enhancing business performance and to helping the organisation to achieve their vision of market leadership. By building on its solid foundation of exceptional customer service WoT can achieve a level of market orientation that sets the benchmark for its competitors.

21

A brief presentation “Achieving Market Leadership” has been produced for the management of Workforce on Tap and can be accessed via the link: http://wotmarketorientation.blogspot.com/

22

9.0 References Becker, J. (1999). Market-Oriented Management: A Systems-Based Perspective. Journal of Market Focused Management , 4, 17-41. Braithwaite, I., Attree, K., & Rosenstreich, D. (Revised 2009). Marketing for Managers MBA503 Study Guide. Charles Sturt University. Day, G. (1990). Market driven strategy: processes for creating value. New York: The Free Press. Day, G. (1994). The capabilities of market driven organisations. Journal of Marketing , 58, 37-52. Doyle, P., & Stern, P. (2006). Marketing management and strategy (4th ed.). Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Farrell, M., & Oczkowski, E. (1997). An Analysis of the MKTOR and MARKOR Measures of Market Orientation: An Australian Perspective. Marketing Bulletin , 30-40. Gummesson, E. (1991). Marketing orientation revisited; The crucial role of the parttime marketer. European Journal of Marketing , 25 (2), 60-75. Jaworski, B. &. (1993, July). Market orientation: antecedents and consequences. Journal of Marketing , 53-70. Kirca, A., Jayachandran, S., & Bearden, W. (2005). Market Orientation: A MetaAnalytic review and Assessment of Its Antecedents and Impact on Performance. Journal of Marketing . Kohli, A. &. (1990). Market orientation: The construct, research propositions, and managerial implications. Journal of Marketing , 54, 1-18. Kotler, P., Keller, K., & Burton, S. (2009). Marketing Management. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia. Levitt, T. (Retrieved June 20, 2009). Marketing myopia. Best of HBR 1960 . Narver, J., & Slater, S. (1990). The effect of market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Markeing , 54, 20-35. Pride, W., Rundle-Thiele, S., Waller, D., Paladino, A., & Ferrel, O. (2006). Marketing: core concepts and applications (Asia Pacific ed.). Milton, Queensland: John Wiley & Sons.

23

Pulendran, S., Speed, R., & Widing, R. (2000). The Antecedents and Consequences of Market Orientation in Australia. Australian Journal of Management , 119-144. Ruekert, R. (1992). Developing a Market Orientation: An Organizational Strategy Perspective. International Journal of Research in Marketing , 9, 225-46.

10.0 Appendices Appendix 1: Workforce on Tap Mission Statement, Vision Statement and Values Appendix 2: Workforce on Tap Quality Policy Appendix 3: Workforce on Tap Employee Appraisal Appendix 4: Workforce on Tap Customer Satisfaction Report Appendix 5: Workforce on Tap New Employee Induction Presentation Appendix 6: Farrell & Oczkowski’s modified MKTOR scale Appendix 7: Workforce on Tap Existing Organisational Chart & Inverted Alternative

24