Final Report Public Administration

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Public Administration: Final Report

Businesses rely heavily on intelligent decision-making when alternative options are available. Information processing and analyzing the market conditions are valuable steps that firms need to be efficient in. Defining alternatives and then signing their weights based on their importance is useful for maximizing the chances of selecting the right alternative. This paper aims to reflect Hanna’s Hats alternatives in the light of the business objectives with the help of unweighted and weighted matrices. Afterward, an evaluative report would be presented to fix the company’s financial dilemma.

Part 1

In this section, the first step presents the unweighted matrix in which a scale of 0 to 3 is used. 0 denotes the alternative that does not meet the objective, while 3 denotes meeting the objectives well. Four alternatives and four objectives are aligned within the tables below.

Step 1: Creating Unweighted Matrix

Comparison for alternatives

Objective 1 rating

Objective 2 rating

Objective 3 rating

Objective 4 rating

Total

Continue selling hats in the same way as done before

Selling them through retailer

Selling online

Selling through subscription service

The reason for assigning the relevant ratings to the alternatives and objectives is to meet the business objectives previously designed. Continuing to sell hats is not a viable solution since the business is already facing problems, and continuing to work in the same manner would not produce effective results. Hence, adding a family deal would not be feasible for the first objective. The second objective, showing interest in having two investors, might not be feasible again since they would not fund for business practice that is already being conducted in the same old manner not showing positive results. The third objective of having more IT employees on board and the fourth objective of generating a separate inexpensive line would not be operative since they would require extra investment for the same traditional method, which is impossible if new investors are hard to acquire.

Selling hats through retail would be a good option; that is why it has a relatively higher total score. Adding family deals and gaining investors to open new retail scores would be beneficial under this alternative. Having more IT employees and separate inexpensive hats lines would also be good options for the new retail stores for IT sales management and attract customers for less expensive hats.

Selling online seems the best alternative as it has been assigned the highest ratings for all four objectives. Online presence for businesses these days is indispensable since a large part of the worldwide customers are online. Moreover, they look for online reviews and feedback from other customers, for which website testimonials would be an added advantage for the company. To further boost sales, targeted content should be displayed on the website and social media platforms to increase the brand’s visibility.

Selling through a subscription service is another great alternative that matches most business objectives. Objectives one, two, and four are given a rating of 2, which means these alternatives almost match the objectives. However, the third objective does not match with this alternative as the role of IT employees in working for a subscription does not seem to apply.

Step 2: Creating the Weighted Matrix

Comparison for alternatives

Weight

Objective 1

Objective 2

Objective 3

Objective 4

Rating

Score

Rating

Score

Rating

Score

Rating

Score

Continue selling hats in the same way as done before

Selling them through retailer

Selling online

Selling through subscription service

Total

The same ratings are also used for the weighted matrix; however, weight from a total of 100% is assigned to each alternative in decimals. It gives weightage to the decision matrix and each of the alternatives, as it is important to determine which alternative is deemed more significant than the other.

Continuing selling hats as was done previously is given the lowest weightage since it is not what is working well for the company currently. Selling them through a retailer is given a higher rating of 0.30 since retail and the next alternative, online selling, are the two most lucrative options for businesses these days. These two options should be prioritized to stay ahead of the competition. Selling through subscription is given the second lowest weightage since this method is perceived unpopular despite people subscribing to numerous subscriptions each year, such as that of Netflix (Schlossberg, 2016). However, customers believe that under the name of subscription, there are hidden that companies come up with, making it hard for the customers to revoke their memberships. Business models keep evolving with the changing needs of the target markets. Today’s Generation Z customers prefer the “from fee to free” approach, so diverse customers can be catered to with quick and quirky options (Huotari & Ritala, 2021).

Step 3: Evaluate

Based on the decision matrices, selling online is the best alternative with two business objectives: adding a family deal package and showing interest to two investors. The reason for selecting this alternative and assigning it the highest scores in the unweighted matrix is to opt for the best alternative. The reason for assigning higher ratings has been explained in the previous section.

For the weighted matrix, the highest percentage of 100% is assigned to online selling but is suitable for first and second alternatives. Since the weights were assigned after carefully evaluating the available options, the scores for both these objectives were the same. Hence, these two objectives seem appropriate for the firm to pursue.

Part 2

For moving forward to take the business out of the financial challenge, the first and second business alternatives, adding a family deal and showing interest for two investors, would be suitable for selling online. With online selling, businesses would not only grow with an online presence but also would take advantage of this market scope. On a global level, the data for the year 2020 showed that 85% of the consumers shopped online (Chevalier, 2022). It is deduced that many consumers are online, and missing out on this opportunity would lead Hannah Hats to suffer on a large scale. Certainly, the company would not want to stay behind its competition and capture the online market.

Another bright aspect of selecting this alternative is that the online market has expanded exponentially during and after the pandemic (Gu et al., 2021). Restrictions on going outside, social distancing, and physical store visits were closed, so online sales increased. The accelerated direction of online selling has continued till now as it has tended to change lifestyles and motivations behind purchasing. It could be perceived that the strength of the online market was not explored to its full potential before these circumstances.

Building relationships with investors and chasing them to invest in HH’s business for growing online presence would be a fruitful option. They can invest in the infrastructure and the products that consumers are interested in buying more (Wong, n.d.). The company would send them updates on how the business is performing on an online platform and expected financial sheets that it aims to achieve in the coming six months or one year. The company’s progress would instigate them to fund the prospects, or the firm could email them to visit the actual facilities to see how the company is making plans and undertaking them for expanding online sales. A team could be hired to professionally handle online platforms, revamping the entire overlook of the website, financial management, etc., and other pertinent departments.

The other objective, adding a family deal, would also help build an online business as an individual who has to buy a single hat before going on a vacation, for example, would now think of buying hats for his entire family. A single purchase translated into selling four, five, or six family members would entice the company and the consumers. Some ways HH has already brainstormed for this purpose are discounted products and services, free delivery, and other relevant benefits. Moreover, research has suggested that creating a family-oriented image would positively impact consumers’ purchase intention as they think of the company as more strategically aligned for consumers’ benefits with a holistic approach (Zanon et al., 2019). Similarly, HH’s image would prioritize and make it more connected with the consumers as the consumer-company identification (CCI) index would be high with a close bonding with the brand (Zanon et al., 2019). When consumers’ values match what the company is already offering, there is an amplified attachment and loyalty to the company. The same is expected for HH with online selling of family deals.

With this comes another advantage; when consumers engage with a family-oriented brand, as HH is planning to reveal itself through the introduction of family deals online, the consumers feel more inclined to share such online posts on other social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter would form the foundational grounds of positive word-of-mouth (WOM) for HH. This alternative would help the company attract and retain more consumers globally. Evidence has corroborated that consumers more engaged with the brand are likely to spread positive eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) and advocate for it (Srivastava et al., 2021). Higher and faster online engagement with improved brand presence is the best strategy mix that HH could opt for.