Executive summary
Cintas Corporation is a leading uniform business and recognized all over the world. It operates in gaming, hospitality, food service, automotive, healthcare and cruise industry (John, 2008). Report shows that Cintas provides services that are highly specialized to all types of businesses especially those within North America. According to William C. Gale, the senior vice president and the finance and chief financial officer of Cintas, the Corporation went public in the year 1983. The corporation had opened close to twenty three thousand restaurants in one hundred and ten countries making it the largest company in the industry and the market leader with people giving it credit of having the best reputation. This amplified the revenues to 3.4 billion dollars every twelve months and 207, 772 dollars cash and equivalents of cash at the end of 3 month period (appendix 1). Cintas became extremely busy in that it opens new outlets every three hours. It has twice the market share of other uniform shops and their closest competitors in North America. Through its over twenty three thousand shops internationally, Cintas serves about 1% of the world’s population with uniform and uniform related facilities on any given day (appendix 2, appendix 3). The biggest attraction and the backbone of the corporation are uniforms. By constantly coming up with new-flagged items to add on the catalogue, Cintas maintains it is ready for action advantage. Towards the end of this paper, there will be answers for every question concerning Cintas (John, 2008).
The codes of ethics that govern Cintas Corporation are exceptionally clear. They fully commit to them, and they have staff whose work is to check and make sure it followed to the letter and complied. Many issues that the shops heads audit against, periodically by both internal and external mechanism spell out because of this code of ethics. The code is a form of promise that promises to conform to standards of business behavior. Integrity and keeping off potential conflicts that maybe in private or public nature are among the things the code promises to maintain. This makes sure that Cintas is transparent on its course action that they use to resolve any action. By so doing they work towards convincing relationship with the stakeholders who include their customers. Cintas Corporation has the ethical conscientiousness of declaring the returns to the shareholders on the economic gains. These returns strictly observe, punctual, accuracy, transparent and required depth. The promises that the codes give are to uphold the regulations of North America and Northern American businesses, to act with transparent facts, without malice, and with reasonable care that will suffer from any pressure coming from third parties. Business freedom demonstrated to the second party auditors that are independent is what the corporation cherishes. Unless dully authorized, the codes of ethics bring the employees tight together to maintain the corporation’s confidentiality, which is vital. Another promise is ensuring all employees have exceptional quality communication flow and regularly to update the stakeholders on any financial matter that comes up in the business. It adheres to everything it says and follows it to the letter.
Introduction
Strategies and performance
Mission defines the primary purpose of an organization describing its existence as well as what it does to achieve its vision. It means to set out the picture of the organization's future. A mission statement gives details of what s done and tends to answer the question: “what do we do?” For example, Cintas’ mission is to be the best uniform service experience. For them, to be the best, they will have to offer to their customers’ superior quality of uniform material making every customer leave their shops smiling. Many competitors present in the industry have gone far ahead beyond their traditional ways of getting revenues from the market. To remain in the competitive end, Cintas has come up with some strategies like creating more awareness to the customers, more product familiarity and even opening more stores depending on the culture.
Cintas has the best strategies of all time, it is evident on the cash register, and annual returns as earlier mentioned. Cintas has ensured that its employees are familiar with their products and there easy to explain to customers. The shops have deadlines to certain sales because it knows that many people meet deadlines and this happens when they have certain products on offer.
Organization’s ability to put into action what it has learned through the research of the market is a function to being successful in the consumer arena. Apart from being successful, it should stay and thrive there.
Analysis of the external environment
When it comes to general environment, Cintas has significant and important general trends in the social, economic, demographic, technological, and natural environments, which affect the firm in different ways including positive effect. The main tool for promoting Cintas is creation of awareness of a new product or one that has been in existence but has in the lost marketability in the past. There are various reasons that come with it including the creation of awareness in new products, increase in demand, positioning, competition outperformance and establishment of brand equity.
Cintas has come a long way and trends shown are promising since they are legal. The trends and forces help regulate the economic issues and without knowing, they become strategies thus making the company better. In every company, it is good to have the forces and trends that favor the customer and the employees too. Using the porter’s 5-force model, the table below summarizes the business environment.
The key success factors are uniforms because every country has workers and students who go to job and schools wearing uniforms from Cintas. The industry seems to be very attractive to Cintas (Grundy, 2006).
Internal analysis
A market segment is the strategy used by company to divide the larger market into small groups depending on the consumers wants. For demographic, it meets the needs of all ages starting from the parents to the children. For geographic segmentation, Cintas divided the nations, states and cities and served them just as they wanted. Many firms in the industry are jockeying for greener pastures and better position in the market using strategies that are offensive. As a result, other firms including Cintas have to take defensive measures to guard against the offensive strategies (Grundy, 2006). Cintas gets pressure from other firms because they come up with more substitute products aimed for competition. Substitute products in the industry are a big plus and customers always prefer them. New potential suppliers with more bargaining and competitive power are a threat to Cintas. As a result, suppliers remain neutral since they are multiple suppliers for the same products. Having many physical locations is a good way to overcome this competitive force (appendix 3).
The more a company has many catalogue items the more the customers it has. Cintas has made sure it incorporates many new items in the menu, which attract more customers. These items could come with cheaper prices or more prices depending on their nutrient and content value. Cintas has over the years, refined its managing and process of its stores making it more efficient as it possibly can. This has advantage over the competition whereby they can produce more effectively and efficiently than other small companies hence still the number one. Through the introduction of long lasting products and a wider variety of alternatives, Cintas has tried to diversify the company (Grundy, 2006).
Major strategic issues
Cintas suffer from political threats coming from wars between the countries it operates in moreover, governments (John, 2008). On top of legislation, it has forced them to provide life span notices on their product. The reasoning behind why Cintas has turned out to be the focus of attacks and terrorism groups is that they have become a symbol of capitalism and Americanism. The political factors are beyond their control, and this led to more suffering. The only way they could turn away from the crisis is through leaving the war-stricken countries. Leaving would mean closing down some outlets and, therefore, loss in revenue (John, 2008).Lately, economical problems too are heartwarming Cintas. From uniform business, Cintas has established a recent fall in sales. The drop in sales is a suggestion that customers want more freedom of choice than the current offer (John, 2008). This is difficult to get from Cintas since it does not support that. This has resulted to buying other companies such as Prêt a manger with the aim of increasing revenues by offering more varieties to customers as they demand (John, 2008). Cintas has over the years, refined its managing and process of its stores making it more efficient as it possibly can. This has advantage over the competition whereby they can produce more effectively and efficiently than other small companies hence still the number one. Through the introduction of long lasting and a wider variety of alternatives, Cintas has tried to diversify the company (John, 2008).
Available alternative strategies
Many competitors present in the industry have gone far ahead beyond their traditional ways of getting revenues from the market. To remain in the competitive end, Cintas has come up with some strategies like creating more awareness to the customers, more product familiarity and even opening more stores depending on the culture.
Cintas has the best alternative strategies and translates well on the annual returns and cash registers. Cintas has ensured that its employees explain the products effectively and on time to customers who need their assistance. Cintas like mentioned earlier in the report has deadlines to certain sales because it knows that many people meet deadlines and this happens when they have certain products on offer.
In ten or so years to come, products that are more recyclable products will come up, and environment will be well taken care of. Globalization is a reality and no longer an abstraction that small and large firms face. For the firms that want to survive in the 21st century, they must confront globalization. It is no longer an option choosing not to be part of the global market. Regardless of size, all firms must come up with strategies to enable them adapt and change configuration of these markets.
Today’s managers find it difficult to navigate global waters and establish direction successfully. Contending with complexity is a product of contextual factors in the global environment. Confronting competition is a very good way of responding to such challenges regardless of the degree of global market.
Recommendations
Regardless of where the firm is intends to go within the global market; there must be response to forces shaping the challenges present and the global surroundings. This makes it clear that in order for the firm to be successful, it must put more effort in its market than in the past. The current global market has many challenges to managers and they therefore require different responses on the organization depending on the level of involvement.
Conscience relates to the responsibilities morally and socially in the market place globally. Many companies have created more awareness on the need to take measures that limit the environment from going bad. Another major area is customer education and well being of the public and this is in respect to social responsibility. Mostly this is an important issue in the developing or third world countries where poor customers are not able to judge on the success of apple. The standards of product safety should be parallel to international standards. This should present even where such regulations do not exist (Grundy, 2006).
The main reason as to why Cintas could be declining in the market share, in the latest performance, is the inability to develop its products. Although the older customers are still attracted to its products, young people are getting used to the same quality products. Cintas Corporation has a variety of products in the catalogue but the young people want surprises for new products each new day, but that is not one of Cintas’ marketing policies. Cintas should change the similar meals and improve on the variations. Franchise structure is another problem for Cintas. Since it has low or no barriers to its new franchisees, Cintas has enormous problems with the new, naughty franchisees that cause instability and poor working conditions in the counter (Grundy, 2006).
References
DeRuyck, EM. (2011) Elements of strategic planning required to merge the three delivery systems in Minnesota corrections. Minesota: ProQuest.
Grundy, T. (2006) Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porter’s five forces model. Cornfield School of Management. Google Scholar.
John, V. (2008). Sustainable' bio-plastic can damage the environment. London: Guardian.
Mark, O. (2005). Global Marketing Strategy, New York: McGraw-Hill.
Yves L. Doz. (1987). The Multinational Mission, New York: The Free Press; Christopher A. Samantha Ghoshal. (1999). Managing Across Borders, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
