Southern New Hampshire University
Bus-225: Critical Business Skills for Success
Professor Michael LaRosa
January 8, 2023
Elizabeth A. Hauck
Application
Most successful organizations have excellent critical thinking skills
Critical thinking is defined as the capability of a person(s) to use rationale
and clear judgements by a disciplined process of conceptualizing, applying
and analyzing information. Utilizing critical thinking skills is pertinent to an
organization because it helps ensure the company avoids certain failures by
Kimberly-Clark's diversification plan, the team had to evaluate the
advantages and disadvantages of each industry that they considered
entering into. This can be determined by understanding the costs, the
competition, and the target market that is associated with the new inventory
11.
Analysis
Kimberly-Clark is a manufacturing company that has many well-known
global brands including Huggies, Cottonelle, and Kleenex. The company was
founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin and expanded into more than 175
countries/locations and has over 40,0o0 employees. Kimberly-Clark's mission
is to "make the essentials for a batter life with well-known brands that
matter every day - at home, school, work, and on the go." For over a
century, the company has offered trusted and innovative products that are
essential for the quality of consumer's lives.
A diversification strategy is a method that is utilized to help the business
expand and/or grow. It can involve launching new products, product line,
and/or entering into a new market. Kimberly-Clark's diversification plan is to
continue adding value to their portfolio by introducing new brands and
highlighting their most iconic brands by leveraging the company's cost and
financial discipline and allocating in value-creating ways (Market Insider,
2023).
Kimberly-Clark had to make executive decisions that required critical
thinking skills and understanding what outlook they were trying to achieve.
According to the textbook, this could be determined by (3) three questions:
1. How attractive is the industry that they are considering entering into?
2. What is the cost associated to enter into the industry?
3. Will the new product/firm be better off?
According to an article by Royston Yang, Kimberly-Clark has had to find
new ways to increase their sales growth. Over the last few years, the
company has experienced flat YOY sales performance. The company
experienced 3% in sales from 2018-2019 and a 2% increase from 2019-2020
With their competitor Proctor & Gamble reporting a 7% YOY sales growth.
Thus, the company made the decision to add new products to their portfolio
to help with their diversification plan and sales growth.
111.
Conclusion
There are (3) three different types of decision-making models according to
our textbook findings:
1. Rational Decision-Making
2. Instinctive Decision-Making
3. Recognition Primed Decision-Making
Kimberly-Clark successfully utilized the rational decision-making model by
using logic, evidence, and/or arguments in this process. There was clear
evidence of low sales growth thus leading to low profit, this identified the
problem and the company decided to compare reports to their competitors
to look into a proper diversification plan. The company established the
problem and did the necessary research to ensure they