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Crucial Cog

Decent Essays

| Crucial Cog | Management 521 | | | 6/5/2014 |

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In 1997, what is now arguably the most recognized brand name, was caught in a downward spiral further fueled by a rapidly maturing rival. In an effort to stem the hemorrhaging, the flailing company had cycled through one Chief Executive Officer to the next, but yet continued to lose market share and profitability. It was not until the return of a high-profile alumnus did said company reverse course and ascend to technological supremacy, drastically altering the consumer culture landscape along the way. Steve Jobs, in assuming Apple’s reins in 1997, armed with vision, a new strategy, and an implementation plan, shepherded the fabled technological turnaround of the …show more content…

While savvy marketing and a targeted sales pitch may lure customers, it is how a company relates and responds to customers’ needs and concerns that determine successful customer retention. In the current social media age, consumers have a multitude of platforms, to include Facebook, Twitter, or Yelp, through which they voice their satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction with a particular company’s policies, practices, or products. Such feedback is not only instantaneous, but far-reaching as the social media explosion allows for mass promulgation of unfiltered comments, concerns, and reviews. Thus, the need for exemplary customer service practices is more pronounced today than ever before. Sound customer service can include many different services and activities, and can vary from company to company, depending on the sector and size of the organization. The onus is upon managers to formulate effective policies and attainable goals through which customer service is enhanced for their respective company, thereby improving supplier-customer interaction. (Tucker, 1994, pp.32-40)
As quickly as a gifted manager can right the proverbial ship, an inept manager can sink a wayward one in an even faster fashion. Unlike the aforementioned Apple case, Sears and JC Penney are often cited as companies where poor management expedited the demise of formerly solid institutions of the American retail industry. Eddie Lampert of

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