Answering comprehensive questions analytically

Cretan Tradition Company SWOT analysis

Strengths
i. Products are pure and of high quality
ii. Excellent organization with original ideas and fast service
iii. Clear and unrivaled market

Weaknesses
i. A small and limited market
ii. Limited human resource capital
iii. Reliance on ‘handmade’ production

Opportunities
i. Adoption of technology for production
ii. Access to outside global markets
Threats
i. Competition
ii. Family disputes

Strengths
Products are pure and are of high quality – Cretan Tradition sells traditional products e.g. handmade marmalades, local sauces, and spoon sweets which are locally produced, pure in nature for they are produced in the local farms.
Excellent organization with original ideas and fast services – the business has clearly established and authentic ideas i.e. the local traditional products, and the organization is clear i.e. source of products, products made and how they are made, and the target market.

Clear and unrivaled market – Cretan Traditions targets the Cretan and Greece market, and so far, there isn’t any clearly identifiable competition.

Weaknesses
A small and limited market – the business sells only in Crete and some buyers in Greece. This market is limited and small for expansion of the business.

Reliance in handmade production – this limits the business as expansion could be countered with the inability to meet supply.
Limited human resource capital – currently, the business has only 25 employees, this number is way too small to support increased demand.

Opportunities
Adoption of technology for production – currently, products are handmade, adoption of technology is a potential for increased performance

Access to outside global markets – the business is only in Crete, with a few outlets in Greece, expansion to the international market is a potential investment

Threats
Competition – the rise of a firm dealing in the same products in the same areas would significantly affect the business negatively
Family disputes – the business is family owned, therefore, a dispute among the family members should affect the business significantly

Topic 2
Company competitive advantage and strategy to achieve it
Competitive advantage

The company will seek to provide products that are low-cost that are well-specified for the target customer. Currently, the products on the market are diverse – provided by the first ranking multinational, and low-cost – as provided by the second-ranking multinational. There is, therefore, a gap in the market for well-specified products that address the specific needs of the customers down to every detail, and at a considerably low cost.

The strategy
The company will adopt the focus strategy and the cost leadership strategies to achieve the above competitive advantage.
The focus strategy requires that concentration is given to a particular niche and by understanding the unique needs of the customers. The company has been in this market and the sweets and chocolate products niche for over 30 years. This means that the company has advance knowledge of the market and the niche. Through additional research and development, it would be possible to produce products that appeal to the customers more.

The cost-leadership strategy would then be adopted for cutting down the production cost to allow for a reduced selling price and yet a significant profit margin. Currently, the company has 45 employees and an extensive supply and distribution chain. The number of employees will be cut down to around 30. The company is at the small and medium scale level thus, it should be expected that the reduction of employee numbers would not affect operations. Secondly, the supply and distribution chain would be significantly reduced to serve only in the most crucial regions and completely eliminated where not needed at all. The products would be delivered directly to retailers, thus cutting down on costs accumulated on the supply and distribution chain.
It is expected that these cost-cutting strategies would be significant enough to allow for a reduction of the current selling price to a level where the products can compete with the second-ranked company products. Products that are better focused on the needs of the customer and at a lower price are expected to cut a fraction of the market share currently held by the first and the second-ranked multinational companies.

Topic 3
a. Performance standards
Production rate per hour
What is the rate of food production from the point when raw materials are received in the kitchen to the point it is ready for the customer? This standard seeks to establish the number of food units that are produced within a set number of hours from the various production lines. For example, how many units of grilled chicken are produced within an hour? This is important as it ensures a high production rate to meet high demand.

Cost of production
What is the cost of production for the various food units? The cost of production is important in that it helps to cut the production cost which has the potential to raise the profit margin. Cost production is in the form of finances and time.

Production personnel
How many employees are working in the production process? The number of personnel in the production process is crucial as it should be only sufficient to sustain a steady production; not too many to cause confusion and not too little to cause strained production.
b. Kind of control for each standard
Production rate per hour – production rate per hour should be standard to ensure maximization of the production resources. All production resources should be normally used at full operational capacity. For example, the oven should be filled to capacity during the chicken grilling process.
Cost of production – the number of personnel in the production process and the time taken to produce a specific food unit should be cost-effective. The control would be through effective personnel allocation as per standard regulations. For example, it takes five minutes to grill a chicken at 120 degrees Celsius, then that is the control standard to save time and resources.
Production personnel - production personnel are to be trained, experienced and certified to operate on their specific fronts. Also, the number of personnel in the production process should be effective for optimum operations that meet the restaurant demand. For example, the personnel operating the oven can also double in preparing the chicken for grilling.