Business Environment of Tombow Pencil Company - Essay Example

The firm that is analyzed in the paper is Tombow Pencil Company Ltd is based in Japan and is headquartered in Tokyo. The company was well known throughout Japan for its products that were carefully designed to win the market share as well as to improve the profit margins. Whilst business has been steadily growing, it can be noted that the changing environment has somehow affected the operations of Tombow. The strategy implemented by the organisation could not be fully sustained in the long run and this has prompted the leadership to seek changes in the structure of the organisation as well as its operations.

The business environment in which organizations operate during the contemporary period is characterised by changes such as technological innovations, competition as well as the ever-changing needs of the consumers. In the given case of Tombow, it can be seen that its operations have been adversely affected by changes in the environment such as competition as well as improvements in the distribution channels of different pencil products offered. Such changes in the business environment have affected Tombow in different ways but the major notable effect is that of declining profits that can be attributed to these changes taking place in the business environment.

As such, Roussow (1) posits to the effect that the organisation’s success in this competitive and dynamic environment mainly depends on its capacity to develop, implement, monitor as well as evaluate its business strategy such as knowledge management. The main problem bedevilling Tombow Company Ltd is related to several functional departments. There are many players involved in the supply chain where sales agents as well as wholesalers have been used in the distribution process. The other problem is related to innovations in the distribution channels that have challenged traditional ways of doing business by this organisation.

This has resulted in late deliveries of the products. This has also led to piling of different products pending delivery and meeting the expectations of the customers is still a challenge for this particular company owing to changes taking place in the business environment where it is operating. Whilst it can be seen that there are many players involved in the production as well as distribution process, it seems that there is lack of adequate networking among the players involved. Dyer & Nobeoka (2) suggest that networking between the production as well as supply chain of the organisation is very important in as far as knowledge creation is concerned.

These authors suggest that learning in an organisation is very important for its success and it can only be achieved through networking of vital organs, which can promote institutionalisation, as well as flow of knowledge within it. A good example can be drawn from the automobile industry especially the case of Toyota which achieved its competitive advantage through networking its production as well as supply chain which promoted sharing of knowledge among vital stakeholders involved in its operations.

Basically, learning in an organisation which promotes the creation as well as sharing of knowledge is often seen as the locus for organisational development especially in the ever changing business environment in which organisations operate. Bilateral knowledge sharing between the organisation and its suppliers is very important given that there will be high chances of achieving the goal of the organisation since mutual understanding among the vital networks would be promoted. Continuous learning as well as knowledge creation and sharing are seen as very important components that can lead an organisation to gain a competitive advantage over its rival competitors.

The network system is very effective in transferring knowledge from one point to the other within an organisation, which is essential for its long term growth and development. Any organization that is concerned about its growth ought to harness on the strategy of organisational learning. Over and above, it can be noted that organizations operate in a