Answer

1. Why is it so important for businesses like Sheffield Forgemasters to invest in R&D? Explain how R&D has enabled Sheffield Forgemasters to gain competitive advantage.

            In recent years, inventiveness has turned into a major foundation of economic policy in developed countries such as the United Kingdom. It is considered as the catalyst to increased productivity and improving productivity. An essential contributor to innovation is the investment that organizations make in R&D. Such benefits have the capacity to increase the company’s global image since the R&D and increased absorptive potential lowers limitations to exporting. The extent of R&D marketing incorporation needed relies upon on SFIL’s new product strategy and its conceived ecological uncertainty. SFL’S capacity to accomplish R&D marketing incorporation is affected by its internal factors such as organization and reward mechanism and socio-cultural differences between R&D and marketing executives. In theory, every firm that has an R&D function, a marketing function that markets the products developed by R&D must exist (Song and Thieme, 2006). SFIL works inside the high-tech business environment, where inventiveness, and as a result R&D play a significant role. Sheffield Forgemaster’s has a separate R&D functions that are concerned with innovation inside the firm.

            The case study on SFIL shows that the firm is a prospector in its own industry. SFIL is a pacesetter, experiencing imitation attempts by its competitors. Further more, even if the industry is conventional, the firm is experiencing a vibrant business atmosphere, where competition is also creative and provides comprehensive solutions with practical support to the customers. In respect to the organizational aspects, SFIL is formalized in the way that most of the procedures are explained in written documents. On the contrary, the informal levels of organization are as well present inside the firm. The rewarding mechanism and executive management standards are properly incorporated into SFIL culture.  Centralization has been established to be a significant incorporation strategy in initial studies on R&D marketing incorporation. The case study also confirms to us that new product development success is determined by the extent of R&D marketing incorporation.

            Jeffery (2004) argues that the paradigm of competitive advantage has shifted over time as a result of technological innovations. SFIL’s innovation potential is now being regarded as one of the most essential tool toward developments and sustainable competitive advantage.  Running of the firm and its capacity to take hold of resources can be easily and productively conducted via innovations. Utilization of technology and creating this strategy will assist SFIL to adhere itself to the vibrant setting and improve its competitive spot. In addition, it assist the firm develop business value. Thereby, this means it would be easier for SFIL to offer quality products and services, raise level of productivity and maximize profit. Improving the innovation mechanism of the firm is a complicated procedure as it involves the whole management. The concept of technology is to improve innovation so that the firm will productively increase quality products and make sure improved manufacturing process and services. Essentially, it includes the social arrangement of the company since the workforce is internally linked to flow of knowledge and experience to affect SFIL’s competitive performance. The case study further shows that upgrading innovations capacity is a never ending function of the company. It involves a dynamic transformation of planning and research in advancing abilities or raising utilities. The further the firm is mindful of the transforming conditions of the environment, the more it will come up with fresh plans and improve technological potential for it to continue to be successful, acquire more assets and have a competitive edge (Drucker, 2005). 

            SFIL has persisted in its efforts in developing ideas, creating new products, improving materials and developing the processes. Inventiveness covers essential courses for product development. In addition, it can as well be conducted in product improvement or in the design of fresh processing mechanisms. SFIL has acquired competitive edge by taking proactive efforts from its consumers. This strategy has been improved through SFIL’s R&D, engaging actively to the present and prospective consumers so the firm can design new products, services and processes. The chief goal of R&D is produce goods and services that will achieve the needs of the future consumers. R&D is a very costly process yet a very important investment for Sheffield Forgemasters. Research and development has helped save SFIL’s future and it will continue to provide necessary and sufficient solutions with respect to the problems of production (Canto and Gonzalez, 1999). Thus without R&D, SFIL will fail to innovate. However, the company’s R&D department has constantly improved manufacturing processes.  SFIL has continued to change its manufactured products from time to time with regard to the extent of customer demand. In doing so, this has helped SFIL to be customer driven in a bid to securing a competitive advantage. By undertaking R&D Sheffield Forgemasters has continued to supply markets in UK and the rest of the world; R&D has also helped the steel company to focus on product design and to some degree marketing i.e. quality factors of production.  Since SFIL undertakes R&D the firm has had a greater absorptive potential founded upon far-reaching factors.

2. What policy guidelines can you suggest to Sheffield Forgemasters to ensure that it retains or improves its position in a very competitive market place?

            Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd was built the personality of its people. That personality is mirrored in the firm’s values, which have been vital to its success for more than 200 years. SFIL’S persistent success relies upon each individual doing his/her part to uphold these values in their everyday work and in all the decisions they make, as mirrored in the firm’s principles. These principles emanate from the company’s purpose and value (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990).  While SFIL compete hard to accomplish leadership and business success, the firm is interested not only with outcomes, but with how those outcomes are accomplished. For SFIL to carry out its business with integrity in a legitimate and responsible way, the company is required to be alert to circumstances that pose ethical concerns. SFIL is expected to have a sufficient knowledge on its values and the laws that are germane to the work they do and they decisions they make. However, mostly importantly of all, SFIL should utilize good ruling in establishing what plan of action is most suitable. There is no exclusive set of rules that can offer clear guidance for every circumstance that may be experienced by an international company such as SFIL. Therefore finally, SFIL must depend on every employee to utilize appropriate judgment in everything s/he does. The employees are expected to remember SFIL’s values and policies. 

            As a growth-oriented company and one of the world’s leading steel firms, Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd holds the belief that nothing is more essential that ensuring that on a day-day basis, their workers return home unharmed to their loved ones. All personnel should wholly uphold safety initiatives if SFIL is to accomplish the outcomes they believe are germane to developing and sustaining an effective work environment. SFIL should other global industry pioneers safety challenges and solutions as a benchmark, as this will help the company to improve its position in the competitive market place. For instance, SFIL can choose DuPont to assist inculcate a culture transformation and a safety approach.   DuPont is regarded as one of the safest organizations across the globe. SFIL employees can work in conjunction with DuPont to develop and carry out a solution in a joint effort that takes full advantage of each of their strengths. Whilst procedures and policies offer the apparatus to enhance workplace safety, the solution to the transformational success still depends on influencing behavior. By concentrating on safety awareness and training via everyday meetings, SFIL will be capable to have workers take the initiative in establishing and singling out potential dangers. Persistent advancements of a safety culture need constant reinforcement of policies and procedures, training and motivation, responsibility, and personnel buy-in. Safety attitudes inculcated at workplace are carried home, which impacts the community on the whole. However, the planning should be comprehensive so that improvement towards the company’s goal is not hindered (James and Jerry, 2004).  

            Setting up a coordinated safety mechanism between SFIL and its personnel will be potentially challenging because each employee group tends to have its own safety management procedure. Furthermore, there will be a need to balance behaviors and customs have been the fashion of conducting business over the years.  The initial phase SFIL will undertake will involve conducting of the DuPont six-step employee safety management mechanism. This course of action will assist in developing a clear and explicit roadmap for the company’s employee safety advancement process. Consequently, this will help improve the bar on safety standards expected of workers in the industry. The concentration on training and experience development in the six-step procedure will also another benchmark in the industry. There is however a mounting influence that persists to ensure sustenance of safety regulations amidst personnel, both inside and outside the firm.  Another matter of urgency for SFIL is for DuPont to establish key safety advancements concerns and limitations, and discuss pitfall experienced by firms seeking better safety performance.  In the end, this process will involve top-level management to acquire their understanding and as well as their unconditional support. The board of SFIL will be familiarized by DuPont to its confirmed procedure in personnel safety management, offering a perspective for the company to develop a competitive advantage for both SFIL and for its workers. Upon being introduced to the DuPont culture of safety spread across its plants, labs and offices throughout the globe, Sheffield Forgemasters will fast understand the advantages of having both personnel and contractors from varied professions corroborate under the safety umbrella (Cohen, Levin and Mowery, 1998).    SFIL should apply an exclusive performance standard to every of its global manufacturing plants. This will be strengthened by training and compulsory annual internals audits. Plants have tractability in the manner in which they accomplish the policy, so that local situations can be put into account and costs can be regulated. Sheffield Forgemasters should utilize audit scores and performance against a set of essential standards to evaluate how productively facilities are carrying out the global policy.  Overall, SFIL must be devoted to having safe and healthy operations across the globe to safeguard the life and wellbeing of its personnel and the community within its operations. It is the role of each personnel to understand and be accountable for integrating safe attitude in everyday business operations. Evidentially, SFIL has historically pursued, and persists to seek, to accomplish clean, safe, incident-free operation at all of its facilities. This policy is guaranteed by internally sanctioned guidelines of operation applied globally. This devotion to accountability is carried out by facilities following formal environmental mechanisms endorsed by competent personnel groups in legal, engineering, human resources and product supply.  SFIL environmental quality policy, which is applicable to all of its global enterprises, suggests that SFIL will persist to aim for improved environmental quality of its products and operations across the globe. Conversely, SFIL should continue to respect personnel privacy and dignity by ensuring that the company only collects and retains private information from line workers that is needed for the productive function of the company or as stipulated by law. 

3. Has Sheffield Forgemasters followed a product oriented approach or a market orientated approach. In your answer debate the pros and cons of each of these approaches.

            According to Harris (2009) the UK steel industry operates in a viably market-oriented environment. London based steel manufactures tend to be more vertically integrated by severely sourcing for and acquiring iron ore resources and providers.  R&D and inventiveness has helped SFIL to remain one step ahead in the pursuit of new market niches and establishing new means by which to take full advantage on existing markets via more productive production, increased integrity of product and solution to the available and new manufacturing problems.  By finding and creating advanced technology and sophisticated niche products, SFIL remains beyond the reach of developing countries competencies for a long time. SFIL is committed to encouraging less technologically developed countries to purchase technology in developing a supply network.   This has permitted for more technologically developed nations to acquire bulk manufactured products from the developing economies. To endorse a growing client network, SFIL has taken the initiative to develop subsidiary plants, Vulcan SFM, RD26 and Steel Propeller.  In offering professional services ranging from research and development to create consultancy, engineering solutions to contract management has helped the company to take full advantage on project management. With regard to opportunities, prospect growth will be maintained against threatening competition by offering better engineering challenges and services for niche markets and emerging ones.in the last few years, SFIL has produced more technically challenging products than anybody else in the industry. 

            Growth through global trade has taken two versions. The first one is to create and design trade with available clients by offering the greatest likely endorsement and service, in terms of technical experience and quality of product. Second step is to examine upcoming economies such as India and Brazil to establish new consumers and markers to work in. for instance, SFIL has successfully operated in Russia for a decade now. Some of the emerging markets to improve include supplying products in industries such as power generation, defense and civil engineering. Having the potential to react as fast as possible to market setting is essential. Many of the markets SFIL operate in are cyclical, and whilst one sector could be less dynamic at the moment. for the government to be able of handling manufacturing competitiveness they will have to support energy initiatives to make sure security of supply and help with cost competitiveness. Technological improvements are take place at a fast pace, therefore large scale investment to update machinery and enhance productivity is a continuing priority for SFIL.  Audretsch (2002) further suggests that the proportion of internal investment on product innovation, training and R&D surpass industry standard, and ensures SFIL is way ahead of its global competitors. Taking on a technology-oriented trade means SFIL persists to splurge considerable resources into its R&D program.  All of the SFIL’s proceeds are ploughed into the company’s future and SFIL invests between 5-10 percent of its proceeds into R&D. The company continues to seek diversification and expansion through niche markets and high-risk products (Adams, Chiang and Jensen, 2003). As opposed to establishing the advancement of economies in Asia, SFIL has capitalized on its capacity to offer a topnotch product and apparently supply essential power generation parts into these nations.  SFIL use of innovative production technology highlights a third innovation path surpassing R&D.  This approach is focused upon carrying out process innovations by investing in new production facilities. Process innovations in the industrial manufacturing of steel products are presently founded on an extensive scope of technologies such as SFIL utilization of simulation software (Silva and Alves, 2002).  Technological advancement is germane to increasing energy efficiency and improving steel manufacturing, and key to accomplishing steel development and environmental preservation. SFIL steel industry must endeavor to obtain energy preservation and employ input energy. The company has regarded itself as an inconsequential value-added steel producer. UK government must readapt the manufacturing design of the steel industry and improve it to the essential value-added network (Buxton, Mayes and Murfin, 1991).   

4. Advise Sheffield Forgemasters on what continuous marketing research programme it should have in place in order to keep up to date with business trends and customer needs

            In the extremely competitive and vibrant setting of present business world, it is considered essential for steel companies to understand the changing needs and preferences of their consumers (Ricks et al., 2005). Large steel companies such as SFIL characteristically commit substantial monetary resources to continuous market research on their consumers and how to profitably achieve their adjusting needs. Steel industries need a persistent flow of vital market-research data to make it possible for the industry’s whole vertically-connected supply-marketing chain to adapt suitably to these kinds of transformations. Acquiring market-research knowledge on consumer needs is often more challenging for steel industry. These challenges are connected to the typical environment of steel industries in which many small and large scale companies should be coordinated via the supply-marketing chain. Whilst market-research program includes various component investigations, the general incorporation of the information from the numerous component studies is particularly essential for the development of the industry’s marketing techniques. Outcomes of the market research have been and persist to be carried out by the industry. SFIL should give development and motivation of numerous techniques to assist the industry’s required changes to be successful within their vibrant and competitive business situation. An essential early component of the steel market research was the consumer focus groups. These groups will utilize exhaustive analysis to discuss consumer views, preferences, negative and positive experiences with the company’s products (Lu and Chang, 2002). 

            All of SFIL policies and operations must be channeled towards satisfying consumer needs. Before carrying any research the company will need to be explicit about what it wants to accomplish. Successful marketing needs timely and essential market knowledge.  A cost effective research program, based on questionnaires offered to repeat customers or potential ones, has the capacity to unearth dissatisfaction or possible fresh products or engineering solutions. Market research will as well establish trends that affect SFIL sales and profitability. The company will start by laying out goals which in itself is an essential marketing campaign. On the other hand, examining the circumstance will help SFIL to prioritize the information the company needs. It is significant to conduct secondary research prior to secondary research. Thus far, a marketing strategy establishes consumer groups which SFIL can better serve than it immediate competitors. Evidentially, the strategy must deal with unmet consumer needs that provide for sufficient potential profitability. SFIL getting its products/engineering solutions to market productively and efficiently is cornerstone to market infiltration, sales growth and profitability. A SWOT analysis is a configured approach to examining the strategic position of SFIL by establishing its strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. It will offer a simple technique of synchronizing the outcomes of the marketing audit. Furthermore, SFIL’s marketing plan must be founded on the recent market intelligence and research. The company will as well need to highlight its attributes: how it will distinguish itself from the competition (James and Jerry, 2004).

            Managing demand means managing customers. A firm’s demand emanates from two groups: new clients and existing clients.  Conventional market theory and practice have concentrated upon attracting fresh consumers and making the sale. Presently, however, the focus is shifting. Rather than just creating techniques to attract new consumers and develop transaction with them, firms now are opting to retain repeat consumers and creating lasting customer relationship. Expanding markets mean a surplus supply of new consumers. Organizations are however today experiencing some new marketing realities. Shifting demographics, sluggish economy expansion, more complicated competitors, and overpricing in many sectors. Many firms today are fighting for a share of the slumping markets. Consequently, the costs of attracting fresh consumers are increasing. In essence, it costs threefold as much to attract fresh consumer as it does to retain a repeat client satisfied. Attracting fresh consumers still is a considerable marketing management responsibility. Therefore, SFIL should concentrate on retaining current consumers by offering them with the best engineering solutions as well as building profitable, lasting relationships with them. The cornerstone to consumer retention is superior customer value and contentment (Ricks et al., 2005). Conversely, the production concept asserts that consumers will prefer products or services that are existing and exceedingly affordable. Thereby, SFIL should follow a philosophy of high production and reduce costs so as to lower prices. However, it must be noted that firms operating under a production philosophy run a risk of concentrating too intently upon their specific operations. Another key idea guiding sellers, the product concept, explains that customers will prefers products that provide the best in quality, performance, and innovative aspects. Accordingly, SFIL must commit energy to making persistent product improvements.  

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