Improving E-Mail Marketing Response

August 12th, 2017

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Improving E-Mail Marketing Response

Read the following case study.

Students, please view the “Submit a Clickable Rubric Assignment” in the Student Center.
Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.

A company wishes to improve its e-mail marketing process, as measured by an increase in the response rate to e-mail advertisements. The company has decided to study the process by evaluating all combinations of two (2) options of the three (3) key factors: E-Mail Heading (Detailed, Generic); Email Open (No, Yes); and E-Mail Body (Text, HTML). Each of the combinations in the design was repeated on two (2) different occasions. The factors studied and the measured response rates are summarized in the following table.

Table: Improving E-Mail Response Rate  Run    Heading    Email Open   Body               Replicate           Response Rate 1    Generic        No             Text        1                46 2    Detailed    No             Text        1                34 3    Generic        Yes             Text        1                56 4    Detailed    Yes             Text        1                68 5    Generic        No             HTML        1                25 6    Detailed    No             HTML        1                22 7    Generic        Yes             HTML        1                21 8    Detailed    Yes             HTML        1                19 1    Generic        No             Text        2                38 2    Detailed    No             Text        2                38 3    Generic        Yes             Text        2                59 4    Detailed    Yes             Text        2                80 5    Generic        No             HTML        2                27 6    Detailed    No             HTML        2               32 7    Generic        Yes             HTML        2               23 8    Detailed    Yes             HTML        2               33

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

1.Use the data shown in the table to conduct a design of experiment (DOE) in order to test cause-and-effect relationships in business processes for the company.
2.Determine the graphical display tool (e.g., Interaction Effects Chart, Scatter Chart, etc.) that you would use to present the results of the DOE that you conducted in Question 1. Provide a rationale for your response.
3.Recommend the main actions that the company could take in order to increase the response rate of its e-mail advertising. Provide a rationale for your response.
4.Propose one (1) overall strategy for developing a process model for this company that will increase the response rate of its e-mail advertising and obtain effective business process. Provide a rationale for your response.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

•Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
•Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

•Build regression models for improving business processes.
•Design experiments to test cause-and-effect relationships in business processes.
•Use technology and information resources to research issues in business process improvement.
•Write clearly and concisely about business process improvement using proper writing mechanics.

Case Study help file attached
Activities – Assessable vs. Exploring and Reinforcing
To help you further explore the content of the unit and to help reinforce your learning, some questions are posed and exercises suggested throughout the material. In addition to these questions and exercises there may be additional suggestions included in a section at the end of each Learning Object entitled ‘Activities and Exercises – Exploring and Reinforcing’. These ‘Exploring and Reinforcing’ exercises are designed for your benefit and will not be assessed.
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Your progress throughout the unit will be formally assessed via participation in discussion forums. These activities are described in the section entitled ‘Assessable Activity’ and will be assessed. The details of the ‘assessable activity’ will be located at the end of the last Learning Object to be covered in any given week (i.e. where two or more Learning Objects are covered in one week, the ‘Assessable Activity’ will be detailed in the last Learning Object).
Discussions will occur on the main discussion board or in groups. Included on the unit website under ‘Extra Resources’ is a short PPT presentation on group work, and a resource concerned with working with an online group on a group assignment. These are important resources to understand effective learning in this environment as well as to successfully complete future assignments.
Discussion and Written assignment expectations
This unit has been designed to facilitate your learning through discussion of the material with students and the unit facilitator on an ongoing basis. By doing your preparatory reading at the beginning of the week, interactive discussions can occur with others during the course of the week. For each week of the unit, your individual response to the discussion topic is to be posted by the deadline nominated at the end of the week at the latest. However, you should regard the deadline as only the final point at which your participation will be recognised (unless you have sought an extension). It is the minimum requirement, and experience strongly suggests that your learning will be enhanced by entering discussions early in each week. This approach will also allow the unit facilitator to interact, rather than merely provide comments after the event. To give effect to this, it is strongly advised that you undertake the reading at the beginning of the week (preferably as early as the weekend) and begin discussions with others around mid-week.
You are also expected to write to a professional standard and produce rigorously argued and appropriately referenced reports, both in the group assignment and in individual assignments. Discussion board contributions can be more discursive than your assignments. However, in all your discussions and reports, you are expected to critique and analyse situations, behaviours, published materials, organisation policies, procedures, etc., and be cognisant of the rules of plagiarism. The learning materials provide frameworks, models and concepts to assist you in your analysis and evaluation. To do well in this unit you should expect to supplement these with additional relevant material discovered through your further research. Note that simply describing events, behaviours and situations is not sufficient. You are to analyse them, utilising (where appropriate) relevant concepts and theories from the literature, thus demonstrating your understanding of relevant theory and how that may apply or not apply to the situations you are evaluating and analysing. In this way you are developing alternative perspectives and (where applicable) a range of potential solutions. You are also demonstrating higher levels of understanding if you appropriately utilise relevant frameworks, models or concepts to assist in your analysis of particular contexts.
Exercise: Take time to examine a few of the resources provided to assist you with critical thinking and analysis. The ‘Extra Resources’ button on the unit website contains specific resources targeted at helping develop a critically analytical approach to your studies. They are: a comprehensive PPT presentation on critical thinking, a file containing aspects of presentation related to theories, models and concepts, a file on the appropriateness and credibility of sources of information; and (at the bottom of the page) a Library tutorial and website with tips and other library-related information.
Where an assessment task requires you to discuss or write about an organisation’s situation and issues, keep in mind that there are three possible stakeholders in the outcomes of your work: the unit convenor, who has expectations as outlined in the assessment itself and in the marking criteria; the organisation you are writing about may also have requirements in that they may wish to consider the recommendations (it is always a good idea to evaluate your report assuming you may need to convince the organisation to take your analysis and recommendations seriously); and yourself. Consider your own learning needs as you ask yourself: what do you want to say about this subject and the consequences of what you have learned for organisations and business in general? Sometimes this may be a difficult balance, but the reality of the commercial environment is such that learning to balance stakeholder requirements is a necessary skill.
Also, at postgraduate level you are expected to be able to write reports of a professional standard. It is expected, for instance, that you know how to set up a Table of Contents, include appendices, write an ‘Executive Summary’, and
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include recommendations that flow from the arguments made within the body of the report. There are numerous ‘style guides’ available to assist you (refer to the Library), and presentation is a part of your assessment.
It is also expected that you know the importance of referencing your sources of data and argument, and of attributing other people’s ideas and materials appropriately. In all cases please reference according to the Harvard business referencing system (http://www.swinburne.edu.au/lib/researchhelp/harvard_system.htm) available from the library.
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Learning Object 1 Learning Object 1 Learning Object 1Learning Object 1Learning Object 1 Learning Object 1 -1: The Key Challenges for The Key Challenges for The Key Challenges for The Key Challenges for The Key Challenges for The Key Challenges for The Key Challenges for The Key Challenges for Organisations Organisations Organisations Organisations Organisations Aims and Objectives
In this first week you will be given the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the unit and gain a broad appreciation of the potential contribution of ‘organisation design’ to the key challenges facing organisations in today’s business environment. For those who have completed other units involving interactive discussions and group work, some of the first week’s exercises will be familiar. To those of you who haven’t, they are critical in developing an online presence and becoming familiar with online learning.
In this unit you will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of the unit materials by considering their application to your own (or a known) organisation where possible and appropriate. There will also be case studies used throughout the unit, and you are encouraged to utilise other published and web-based resources about these companies, to augment the supplied materials.
A major objective of this learning object is to provide you with an understanding of some of the key challenges that affect business organisation in the current business environment. In the next learning object we will look more closely at the concept of organisation and the development of organisation theory and design.
Note that we will be referring to Daft (2013) frequently. This textbook provides a summary of a broad range of the vast literature on organisational theory and design – therefore you are encouraged to go beyond the text. To assist in this task, the unit will supplement the literature summarised in the text and contrast it with other sources. Students are encouraged to explore as well as critique the materials presented both here and by Daft and others, and to undertake their own literature searches to facilitate effective critique of the topics and issues. In your assignments, you will need to demonstrate understanding of unit content. Therefore, you will benefit from demonstrating that you understand the theories, arguments and issues arising out of the learning materials presented here, and perhaps also considering them as a springboard for your further research. Key Concepts, Constructs and Debates
1. Organisation design in context
Daft (2013, pp. 34-35) remarks that the level of analysis one chooses to study organisations can be one of four possible levels. Human beings are the basic building block of organisations, and therefore the first level of analysis is the micro-level study of individuals (often termed ‘Organisational Behaviour’). In this Master of Commerce program, the unit ‘Leading and managing people in chaos and complexity’ deals mostly with this level of analysis of organisations, and the approach adopted here is complementary to those materials.
The next three levels of analysis utilise varying macro perspectives and comprise what Daft terms ‘organisation theory’. They are: group or department; organization; and, inter-organisation sets and community.
Organisation theory “might be considered the sociology of organizations, while organization behaviour is the psychology of organizations” (2013, p. 35). Organisation theory and design, however, does consider the behaviour of individuals but generally in the aggregate, at a group and organisational level.
The value of this distinction is being challenged as the complexity of the business environment increases. As an example, Dunphy (2008) suggests that dealing with the scope and speed of change and building (within the organisation) human capabilities that are aligned with the challenges of sustainable development and sustainable
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business represent high priority challenges to business-as-usual. Separating human factors from organisational factors seems to make such alignments more difficult.
Daft (2013) also recognises that a changing role for management combines human factors (such a new leadership skills) with organisational factors (such as inter-organisational collaboration). He suggests:
If a top manager looks down to enforce order and uniformity, the company is missing opportunities for new and evolving external relationships. [Such] horizontal relationships now include linkages with suppliers and customers, who become part of the team. Business leaders can learn to lead economic co-evolution … [and to] appreciate … co-operative relationships with other contributors to the ecosystem … [to] collaborate and communicate effectively across organizational boundaries … (p. 188)
Also, with an increasing concern of business being the satisfaction of a wider range of legitimate stakeholder concerns, some of which are on a global scale, the design of organisational information flows and interactions among stakeholders is considered important for addressing risks to business from shifting agendas in economic, social and ecological domains. Multi-faceted and complex relationships, diverse cultural norms, tension and paradox, compromise and trade-off, etc., potentially characterise such an environment. Hence, separating organisational factors from human factors may be both challenging and unhelpful.
Nevertheless, Daft (2013) suggests that it is necessary for managers and employees to undertake multiple levels of analysis (micro and macro) and understand interrelationships between factors simultaneously when considering organisation design matters. It is important to understand how the more traditional forms of organisation, i.e. groups, departments, functions, organisations and inter-organisation collaborations, work effectively in these circumstances to fulfil the integrated economic, environmental and social objectives of business.
However, it is equally important to recognise that many of these interrelationships may be characterised by forms of dynamic co- or inter-dependency consistent with the complexity of a multi-stakeholder business environment and the pressure to address economic, environmental and social objectives of business simultaneously. Daft’s (2013) chapter 6 discusses complex organisation design for the international environment, where “multiple, interrelated, complex issues requires a complex form of organization and structure” (p. 247). He recognises that this ” … integrated network of individual operations … [is] linked together to achieve the multidimensional goals of the overall organization … [through] interdependence … [but] more than just an organization chart … it is [also] a managerial state of mind” (p. 247)”
In recognition of the value that can be obtained from fostering multi-disciplinary perspectives, we will also be exploring and critiquing approaches to decision making and innovation that are grounded in ‘design’ disciplines. These can facilitate the exploration of issues and potential solutions through collaborative and iterative interactions with affected parties, achieving emergent outcomes relevant to broad stakeholder agendas.
2. Key challenges for organisations
Many commentators have identified that the challenges facing organisations today are different from those they faced in the past, because the world is changing at an increasingly fast pace. There are many sources in the literature that suggest this possibility, and it is fast becoming accepted that business-as-usual conditions involve the ability to deal with relatively continuous and fast-paced change.
Daft (2013) identifies the current challenges faced by business under the headings of globalisation, intense competition, ethics and social responsibility, speed of responsiveness, the digital workplace, and diversity.
Exercise: Read about these key challenges in the text on pages 8-11 before continuing.
Daft (2013) further adds that pursuit of effectiveness over efficiency will focus an organisation’s managers on “the interests of various stakeholders in setting goals and striving for effectiveness” (p. 23, emphasis in the original).
The concern for a broad range of stakeholder influences is also reflected by Graetz, Rimmer, Lawrence and Smith (2006) in their book entitled “Managing Organisational Change”, where they suggest we are “experiencing a major paradigm shift in the nature and composition of organisations, not only in terms of the systems and structures that
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served so well in more benign and certain times, but also in intra- and inter-organisational stakeholder relationships” (2006, p.147, emphasis added).
Reflecting on the challenges of complexity, Daft (2013) suggests that “[t]he world is full of uncertainty, characterized by surprise, rapid change, and confusion. Managers can’t measure, predict, or control in traditional ways the unfolding drama inside or outside the organization” (p. 34), thus perhaps challenging a wide range of traditional perspectives on identification, collection and dissemination of appropriate data and information, retention of organisational knowledge, the gaining and accommodation of multiple perspectives, etc. However, these perspectives and conditions also challenge decision-making effectiveness.
For many years, business commentators have argued that ‘… when the organizational environments are hostile, complex, and turbulent … organizations should be designed primarily to facilitate the making of organizational decisions’ (Huber & McDaniel, 1986 p. 572). Given the complexity and dynamism of the contemporary business environment, organisational capacity for decision-making should be an overarching concern in designing organisational interactions – both internal and external.
Influences such as globalisation and technological innovation exert pressure on business decision-making in areas such as: the basis of competitive advantage in a global market place; the lifecycle of products and services; a highly mobile, diverse and demanding labour force; the digital revolution; and the effect on people and processes of the increasing volume and pace of overlapping paradigmatic change. These require decision-making capabilities that leverage multiple perspectives, as well as intra- and inter-organisational connectedness, to facilitate ever quickening adaptive responses at organisation and business unit levels.
Graetz et al (2006) recognise these challenges and suggest:
“the new business environment requires an ‘inside-out’, wide-angled view of the world, coupled with go-to-market speed, flexibility and adaptability … [that has] … necessitated a shift from the traditional hard, rational, quantitative approach to managing organisations to a softer, more qualitative, intuitive, people-focussed approach, and an appreciation of the importance of considering both social and technical components in workplace design …” (2006 p. 147).
At a micro level, there are also practical challenges such as regulatory and legal frameworks, power bases, established traditions, self-reinforcing networks, and the massive task of culture change that accompanies shifts disturbing the status quo.
In addition, the ‘sustainable development’ agenda ushers in a significant set of new pressures and challenges for traditional organisation design concerns.
3. The impact of ‘sustainable development’ on organisational ‘design’ challenges
When concerns about ‘sustainable development’ are added to the mix of change drivers, additional matters such as:
? ethical and social responsibility
? resource stewardship of non-renewable resources
? the negative spill-over effects (or negative externalities) of business
? innovation capacity
? cradle-to-grave technologies and recycling
? new business models
? multi-sectoral, cross-industry and multi-national collaborative alliances and associated social capital
? more sophisticated models of decision-making in uncertainty
… add to the list of important issues for business and organisations to consider and manage.
We will discuss many of these throughout the unit. For those new to this topic, some further background to the ‘sustainability agenda’ is provided towards the conclusion of this learning object. However, at this point it may be useful to consider the most contemporary influences from a ‘sustainable development’ agenda.
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An example of the possible future impacts of ‘sustainability’ agendas on business is provided by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) “Vision 2050” report (http://www.wbcsd.org/vision2050.aspx). This scenario envisions a future for business that involves business collaborating with governments and communities to resolve the challenges of achieving a stable population of 9 billion by the year 2050, where people are “living well and within the limits of the planet” (WBCSD 2010). They suggest that meeting this challenge invites a radical rethinking of the roles and behaviours of business in achieving and maintaining sustainable human activity on earth. Significant challenges for business would appear to include redefining business success and associated measures, and fundamental changes to the way decisions are made and resources are utilised.
In a further example of the challenges raised by ‘sustainability’ for organisation design, Nidumolu, Prahalad and Rangaswami (2009) conclude, from their examination of a number of organisations embracing a sustainability agenda, that “[i]n the future, only companies that make sustainability a goal will achieve competitive advantage. That means rethinking business models as well as products, technologies and processes” (p. 58). They also note that some companies not only develop new sustainable products and services and new business models, but also build ‘next-practice platforms’ that “change existing paradigms … question the implicit assumptions behind current practices … [and] … synthesize business models, technologies, and regulations in different industries” (p. 64).
Mohrman and Worley (2010, p. 291) suggest that “some redesign is likely required to build the capacity to achieve the more complex set of sustainability outcomes”. Companies addressing the sustainability challenge (such as Gap Inc, Nike, GE, etc) have “created new structures, stakeholder linkages and roles; changed their work processes; created new goals and metrics; and changed the criteria for decision-making; built sustainability performance into their reward structures; and brought new competencies into the organization”. They also recognise the challenges of effective implementation, highlighting that, beyond the challenges of technical process change, “[p]eople have to learn to think and make decisions differently”, otherwise necessary changes will be short lived. Their research findings reveal ‘recurring themes’ around ‘deep and pervasive’ organisational design challenges associated with enhancing sustainability, which include:
? the need to align purposes (between shareholders and stakeholders, or between business operated for wealth creation and between business contributing to societal goals);
? the cross-functional nature of the transition (from functional silos to more collaborative integrated approaches);
? the building of cross-boundary connections and networks of value creation; and
? the capability development challenge – which might include “new cognitive maps – ways of understanding the inputs and processes of the organization and beyond – and ways of working with stakeholders to yield sustainably effective performance” (p. 292).
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), in conjunction with MIT Sloan School of Management, undertook research that indicated there were significant advantages for organisations that embrace ‘sustainability’, and noted that the challenges for organisations are about developing new capabilities in the areas of: long-term systemic thinking, collaboration across internal and external organisational boundaries, process redesign, financial modelling and reporting, and stakeholder engagement (2009, p. 6). BCG also partnered with the World Economic Forum to examine successful innovation in dealing with sustainability challenges in emerging markets worldwide, noting that some companies ‘are in the vanguard of businesses working to solve fundamental environmental and social challenges and to reshape their business landscapes. Collectively and individually, these companies are becoming inspirational models not only for their emerging-market peers but also for businesses worldwide’ (https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_innovation_redefining_future_growth_sustainability_champions/).
The elevation of sustainability agendas to a priority focus for business, either through innovation as noted above, or through regulation (e.g. renewable energy targets, potential carbon emission constraints), through pressure for sustainable supply chains, or through legitimate stakeholder concerns and associated risks, present challenges to a number of traditional views on the roles, functions and activities of business. These include, among other things, the primacy of shareholder value creation as the main objective of business, the value of a short term focus, humans as resources or factors of production, and the role of hierarchies in a constantly changing business environment.
All these matters can be of concern to effective organisational design, as they involve determining the relevant information, how it is accessed and processed, and how effective decisions are made utilising that information.
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3.1. From shareholder value to stakeholder value?
Graetz et al’s (2006) comments (above) about a paradigm shift in organisations fuelled in part by changes in relevant stakeholder concerns. The increasing challenge for organisations is to move from a narrowly defined purpose of business (i.e. about maximising the value created for one group of stakeholders, i.e. the shareholders), to creating value that is seen as appropriately satisfying the legitimate interests of a wide range of stakeholders.
At the broadest level, society can be perceived as a business stakeholder group – and, increasingly, society seems concerned about unnecessary or inappropriate depletion or harm to resources. This has been amply demonstrated in the ongoing global financial crisis and associated debates about risks and rewards in the financial sector impacting negatively on quality of life for many around the globe. It has also been highlighted in climate change debates which target carbon emissions from energy generation and transport in particular. The debates around ‘peak oil’ also reflect concerns about high levels of dependence on fossil fuels and security concerns where these become increasingly expensive as a result of short supply. However, while these are significant global issues affecting many business organisations both now and in the future, they are not the only influences on how business is conducted within the society in which it operates.
Some issues capture the headlines (e.g. pollution, global warming, recession, financial stimulus

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