Carnival PLC is a cruise company which carries out its operations in places like North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. It is the largest cruise ship operator in the world which owns 11 brands of cruise lines. The company also offers numerous holiday and vacation products to a base of customers with different tastes and preferences. These customers come from different backgrounds, communicate in different languages as well as having different ways of spending their leisure time. In addition, the company is in ownership of a tour company that complements the operations of the cruise. The tour company combined with all the other cruise segments, Carnival PLC boasts in terms of attracting ten million visits in one calendar year, (Carnival Corporation, 1).
One of the attractive policies of Carnival PLC is on sustainability. First on the agenda is the preservation of the environment, respect to employees and their communities as well as giving shareholders good returns for their value. In as much as the company has come up with an environmental management system, other strategies can be implemented. There are a number of challenges that face the world; for instance, climate changes, depletion of resources, loss of biodiversity, and shortages of water, (UCL, 2). The company should address these challenges in light of the development of the economy, change in society and justice. This will enable the company address the impact of the environment through its operations and activities. Currently, the company is undertaking sustainability strategies that conform to the environmental laws in place, and the law does state specific operations that the company must implement.
Global expansion should also be another strategy. The Asia market is an open market that gives the company a seize-able opportunity. Another strategy is to be a market leader the first segment; that is, the North America region and Europe. To penetrate the Asian market for instance, the company needs to develop new products and services which will entice the customers in that region. This also applies to the existing market. Making partnerships with other cruises is part of market penetration. Developing products gives consumers satisfaction for their money; they feel whatever they spend on in the company’s investments is worth it.
New markets need to be developed. This means that market penetration only takes place in already existing markets. A good example is the establishment of headquarters in South Korea. This, however, does not ultimately end market development. As said earlier, the Asian market is big, and other areas need to be developed. The headquarters in South Korea is just a step in the right direction.
Closely tied to this strategy is market diversification. This means that wide ranges of products need to be developed, skill and interest development as well. Here Carnival PLC has also placed a foot in the right direction. Forming a partnership with Thomas Cook PLC is a good show to the public. Their loyalty is won when a company gets a good reputation especially when another company recommends it. Having a change in the world of business also boosts the morale of the workers. It is like an energizing injection into the company. There will be a new course for which the employees are working towards to achieve; for instance, new objectives and new management, (Mannaart, 1).
Looking at the examples of brands available, Carnival PLC has ventured and developed the market. This is where strategic planning comes in. This is a management tool. The sole purpose of it is to aid a company in performing better. It ensures that a company focuses on its energy so that every member who works for the organization is tasked with the attainment of the same goals, to look at the direction of the company and adjust to the environment that is ever changing. This planning is dedicated to the production of worthy decisions and actions that may result in a positive shape up of the company, what, and why it does it. This is because the planning is something that is for the future, (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 1998-2013). In the many brands that Carnival PLC has, it has to maintain the moment. After raising the bar for cruise shipping, it has to ensure that it stays ahead and never gives room to competitors to catch up or overtake it. One way of staying ahead is embracing innovation. This refers to the renewal, change or creation of more processes, products and/or services that are effective. In business terms, this might as well mean implementation of new ideas, improvement of services that are already existent or creation of dynamic goods. This is because innovation acts as a catalyst to your business’s growth and success and also goes a long way to making the business adapt to the market place and also grow. Another point to note here is that there is no way innovation can mean invention. Innovation is so wide; it might as well mean that one is just changing his/her business model so that the business is well adapted to the environmental changes and also delivering goods and services that are quality, (Bordes, 12). In any business strategy, there must be an in-built section for innovation. This will enable the manager to create an environment that is conducive for problem solving that is creative and explore thoughts that are innovative. When considering avenues of innovation, an analysis of the environment of the market must be conducted. In addition to this, needs and wants of the customer and the competitive environment should not be left out either. Development of a strategic plan that is responsive should follow next. It should list innovation as a key process in the business in the entire company. There is also the enactment of leadership in innovation. Every employee of the company has to be empowered to have innovative minds, and this comes from a leader who inspires and motivates. The other part that is of importance too is a connection with the employees and customers so that ideas are generated for improvement of services, goods and processes both in and out of the company.
Day in day out, the wants of the consumers are changing. Technology is always advancing. This needs to be incorporated in the travels that the guests make wherever they are cruising. They need to be made to feel that they are at par with the world; that they are missing nothing. This is why innovation is a key element to being a market leader.
People need to aware of the presence of Carnival PLC. People need to be motivated to travel. This means that Carnival PLC should have selling points, cutting edge advantages that people need to feel that they are missing out. Sales people come in at this point. Here are the intermediaries between an organization and the clients. Considering the huge role they play in an organization, they need to be autonomous and thus they need to be in charge of solving problems without having to be monitored by supervisors, the trainers, or even educators. In Carnival PLC, managers should come up with propositions whereby the sales managers can use self-directed learning, which is an adult concept of education. This will act as a supplementary strategy for traditional sales. The aim of this is to combine educational methods with sales force training, which will go a long way in improving the performance of the people, involved in sales as well as performance of the company.
Lastly, there is the selection of employees. A trustworthy and loyal employee is an asset to a company. This is because he/she dedicates his/her work towards the betterment of the company, not just for the sake of working and earning salaries. As a manager, you should create a portfolio that will be used for the selection of employees. One best way of selection of employees is the use of validity. This refers to the level to which performance on the measure scale is directly related to performance on the field; that is, on the job. To know the validity of a selection method, there must be a connection between test scores and the job performance scores. Interviews may be done to come up with these evaluations.
In conclusion, Carnival PLC is a leading company in the world in cruise ship operations. It has made investments and ventured following certain recommendations; it will maintain its market leadership and popularity. Some of these recommendations include prioritizing the challenges that face the world in terms of sustainability, global expansion, strategic planning, incorporation of sales people, proper selection of employees, and embracing innovation.
Work Cited
Balanced Scorecard Institute. The basics of strategic planning and strategic management. Balanced Scorecard Institute, 1998-2013
Bordes, J. Strategic Management Assignment: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage. Atlantic International University, 2009.
Carnival Corporation. Sustainability, 2006. Retrieved on 3rd February 2014, from, http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=140690&p=irol-sustainability
Mannaart, B. Strategic presentation Carnival Corporation & PLC. Prezi Inc., 2001.
UCL. Green environmental sustainability strategy for UCL. Retrieved on 3rd February 2014, from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/greenucl/docs/ucl-es-strategy-2013
