Management-Case Study about Avon

Avon was on the top of its game for the last five years, however, in 2005, things got ugly. The company suddenly began losing sales all around the globe and problems started weighing down causing many shareholders to quit. Andrea Jung was then advised to take a new “outside” perspective and forced her managers to think logically and rationally rather than following one’s intuition. She favoured globalization and became analytical in managing the company. 1. Why would a new “outside” perspective help Andrea Jung manage the turnaround of Avon? Having an outside perspective may help manage a falling company because managers can think of new strategies to prevent the company from further destruction. Having only internal perspectives, it is hard to control the continuous depreciation of the resources and the rapid renouncement of the shareholders because of too much confusion. External perspective helps managers see the other side of the coin, in order for them to see what could be wrong with their “pyramid”.

These external aspects may help influence the managers’ strategic planning in order to save the company. 2. Is it always better for managers to make decisions based on fact rather than intuition? Most of the time, yes. Making decisions, especially as managers, is quite risky. You will always have to think of what would happen to the company if ever you will make such decision. Rather than just following one’s instincts, it is better to have a data of information about the problem before making a move. The intuitive approach is possible, but has a huge risk despite the manager’s certainty, especially when one makes this decision while in a state of panic. The optimizing approach, with the right amount of information, a clear mind, and a formal plan, is usually the better way to go when making corporate decisions. 3. What are the potential advantages for an organization becoming more data-centric?

In today’s trend, being data-centric is the game. Data-centric companies have competitive advantage compare to other companies thus giving it the upper hand. The data they have is not just an asset; they build, use and maintain its database to the best of its ability. Instead of using the data they have to solve the problem, they first analyze the problem, then gather data in order to make the best solution to it. They collect data from everyone, everywhere, in order to satisfy the customers. It has an analytic life; it analyses, gives insights and solves business problems in a systematic way, using data as its main ingredient.