Business English portfolio

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Title page

Title: Business English portfolio

Name: Arbanas Alexandru-Valentin

Student number: 2934140
Cohort: 2016
Class: FIE1E
Learning Arrangement: PLA 6- Business English
Lecturer: Ms. Caroline Jacobs
Institute: Fontys International Business School
Course of studies: International Business and Management Studies
Study Phase: Propaedeutic phase
Academic Year: 2016-2017
Date of Completion: 13.12.2016
Place: Venlo, the Netherlands
Spelling: American English
Confidential: No

II
Table of contents

Title page…………………………………………………………………………
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………….... I
Part A
Assignment 1………………………………………………………………………1
Assignment 2……………………………………………………………………... 3

Part B
PLA 1 Report…………………………………………………………………....... 8
Reference List PLA1………………………………………………………………28
PLA 6 Portfolio Checklist…………………………………………………………29

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Part A- Assignment 1
Part A- Assignment 1

Wide range of emotions

Hoo-ah! The Speech Scent of a

The Speech woman
Hoo-ah!

Oscar winning movie Al Pacino Complex and original

The aim of the hereby essay is to engage the readers of it into watching the movie Scent of a
Woman because of multiple factors.
Firstly, the movie is about character and integrity. The movie seems to belong to a bygone era
because it is frank, without any sugar coating or any of the used Hollywoodian clichés.
The movie is also great because it gives a wide variety of emotions. All the scenes in the movie
surprise the viewer with different states of emotions. From goosebumps to crying, sorrow and
anger. Of course, these emotions are possible because of the main character, Lieutenant Colonel
Slade, played by none other than Al Pacino. In the movie, Colonel Slade gets blind through an
incident with a hand grenade, becoming as others would tell him later a “bitter disappointment”.
This transforms the character into a grumpy man, having no will to live anymore and threating
people bad.
Al Pacino gets an Oscar for the role for one of his most complex roles. This is probably one of
the most complex characters in the history of cinematographic, giving the actor, Al Pacino a
well-deserved Oscar for the role. Furthermore, the character becomes even more complex
through the entire movie, making his development as a character even more interesting. This
movie is a perfect example of “one man makes a difference”. This movie is not about the word
or action, it’s more of a drama, a cry for help of a man that seems to be losing his will to go on.
Why does it make such an awesome movie to watch, people ask? It’s because there are so many
developments of the character, combined with problems that people have every day. The

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simplicity of the movie makes it even more astonishing. The character’s passion makes it look
like he overwhelms everything surrounding him. A good example for this is the tango scene.
What is truly amazing is the fact that even though he is blind, he makes it look like sometimes he
is the most lucid person in the movie, having intense feelings and emotions.
Secondly, we can imagine the power of this movie by reducing it to: “Ho-ah!”. Never has an
interjection been so powerful in the history of cinematography. This alone is a statement of the
never before seen performance of an actor. Even though the character was made to be hated, the
audience slowly starts loving him more and more. This interjection is used by him whenever he
has a feeling or he does something that he enjoys or wants. One example is when he drives the
Ferrari.
The film pits two characters who are diametrical opposite. The dialogue between the two starts
somehow boring and totally predictable. Also, the characters are bond to face certain problems
each other, some of them being the difference between life and death. At the beginning of the
movie we can see that the two characters are being cold one to the other. Then, by experiencing
certain things they become more bond with each other. Finally, at the end of the movie we can
start seeing a different personality of the Colonel, one more loving and calm.
Secondly, the movie has a lot of memorable scenes that make the audience even more captured.
One of them is the tango scene in the restaurant, where the Colonel dances with a young girl for
a brief moment. This scene makes us see for the first time the different side of the character, one
more refined and emotional. Equally, the movie has funny scenes as well, one of them is when
the Colonel drives a Ferrari: Charlie: "You're going to get us killed!”, Colonel Slade answers,
"Can you blame me? I'm blind!". Scenes like this make us actually believe that the character
lives in total darkness, that he is truly a blind man. Additionally, the movie ends with the speech
of the Colonel, a speech that still echoes on the lips of everyone. This is not your ordinary
Sunday church speech that your priest gives. This is The Speech, because it is still used as a
reference to every motivational speaker, conference maker and public speakers. It is like God
himself descended for The Speech, like a divine human being speaking. The speech is the
statement of the character of the Colonel: passionate, upfront, simple. A man of great integrity
and courage, the speech is like an elaboration of the human soul, complex it gets more passionate
with every response he gives to the head master, until it gets at the point where he yells so
everybody will hear him.
As a conclusion, this movie is impossible not to like. It is a true statement of character, passion,
making a character apparently simple in the beginning to one of the most elaborate and complex
characters, a labyrinth of the human mind and a roller-coaster of emotions. The movie itself is
simple, relevant to the everyday struggles of everyone, but the way that Al Pacino acts makes the
movie to be one of the few movies that can shake even a man made out of rock.

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Assignment 2

History

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 New findings
Important
Battles events

History

Civilizations
Countries

Leaders

The aim of the hereby essay is to talk about the importance and beauty of history and to present
interest facts, knowledge and teachings that should be applied in our days.
History is one of the biggest and most intriguing subjects with important effects in modern times
as well.
The first human civilizations appeared in the Middle East mainly in Mesopotamia and were
formed mainly near rivers. It is considered the cradle of civilizations, a place where the first
writings were discovered and the first signs of a start of a more advanced society. The Sumerians
where the first civilization that invented the writing, around 3000 BC and the first cities.
Furthermore, because of their location (along the valleys of Tigris and Euphrates) the Sumerians
where able to develop their agriculture, meaning that they could settle in one place.
From the Middle East, it is believed that some of these civilizations travelled to Europe, a new
category appearing(Indo-European).
The first European civilizations that are known are:
 Greeks
 Illyrians
 Thracians
 Celts

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Greece is considered the most influential European country in this time, developing every aspect
of the social life. The first advanced civilization in mainland Greece is considered to be the
Mycenaean’s. The peak of this civilization is at the end of the Bronze Age, a period in which the
Greeks have flourished and became a true power in every aspect. We owe a lot to the Greek
civilization:
 Literature
 Politics
 Arts
 Religion

As a result of the social development and growth, Greece became a power. At their peak, they
were considered the largest empire that existed, stretching from Europe almost to China.
History has proven us many times that tends to repeat itself. A lot of the teachings given during
our past have an effect in the future as well, giving us the opportunity to fully understand and try
to avoid the same mistakes.
Because of this, it is known that if you want to define the future you need to study the past.
Wars are made to prosper. Tracing back in ancient times, we can see that the biggest and most
powerful civilizations have something in common: war. Empires were made only by wars,
destroying other countries in order for them to prosper. Also, every empire had at least a great
ruler: For Macedonia was Alexander the Great, for the Persian Empire was Darius, for the
Roman Empire was Caesar. Furthermore, history thought us that wars are costly only for the
ones that lose. Human lives were often neglected for the power and riches promised through
wars. Surprisingly, you would think that human kind has evolved and understands the problems
that wars bring, but no. These can be seen also in the 20th century, during the World Wars, greed,
power driving leaders into countless feuds and wars. As a result of these wars, many human lives
were lost and many countries were thrown in the middle ages.
Every Empire has its downfall. The bigger they are, the higher they fall. It is perfectly true in any
domain and history made sure it is one of it. Every empire had its downfall, a period in time in
which it was destroyed or almost destroyed through bad decisions making. One bad decision
could possibly mean the beginning of the end. Another cause is greed, one of the oldest and most
common mistakes made by people, trying to destroy everything for the wellbeing of himself and
others, making bad decisions on bad temper or excess in everything. Excess is considered by
many Greek philosophers the destroying of human spirit and mind. These teachings are
important even today, which is outstanding if you think they were written approximately 2000
years ago.
In conclusion, history is beautiful and mysterious at the same time, it gives more perspectives on
how human kind has evolved or how it should evolve by avoiding previous mistakes. Regardless,

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people should look sometimes in the past in order to make better decisions in the future. We are
here to learn from the mistakes and help others in the process as well. All things being
considered, I would like to end giving a Latin phrase: “Alea jacta est”, meaning “the dice has
been cast”.

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Part B- PLA 1 Project

The road to success

Company analysis of Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH

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9
Title page

Title: The road to success

Company Analysis of Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH.

Name: Arbanas Alexandru-Valentin

Student number: 2934140
Cohort: 2016
Class: FIE1E
Learning Arrangement: PLA 1- Project: Business Organization
Lecturer: Ms. Thea Thuijls
Institute: Fontys International Business School
Course of studies: International Business and Management Studies
Study Phase: Propaedeutic phase
Academic Year: 2016-2017
Date of Completion:
Place: Venlo, the Netherlands
Spelling: British English
Confidential: No

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Executive summary
Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH started off as a small dealership for used cars in the year
1954 by Matthias Timmermanns. In the year 1975 the car dealership closed a deal with the car
manufacturer BMW. Since then the company is continuously growing. The first dealership was
situated in Düsseldorf. Since then the company opened 3 more car dealerships: Neuss, Kaarst
and Nettetal.
Despite its influence, Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH faces certain problems as any other
company that is in the process of growing and expanding. These problems can be viewed under
two different perspectives. The first perspective is based on the internal operations of the
company while the second perspective is based on the external environment affecting the
company.
In order to analyze the internal and external environment our team has conducted an interview
with the management of the company. Al, our team has conducted desk researches for a better
understanding of the factors that affect the company and its management.
The aim of this report is to analyse Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH internal and external
environment and to give them recommendations for the company. The research
methodology is as follows: the macro environment was analysed using the PEST analysis, the
internal structure of the company was analyzed using the McKinsey 7s Model and as a
conclusion the analyzed data was displayed in a SWOT overview.
The company’s strengths come from its numerous services for customers. The company
sells new and used cars, BMW’s and Mini Cooper’s but it also offers a vast number of services
for its customers and sometimes discounts or special offers. The most important thing that
makes Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH one of the top car dealerships is its long-lasting
partnership with the customers because the company put high accent on the satisfaction of the
customers and the services made for them. The services offered by the company include:
changing tires, verifying the car and various components, headlights and cosmetics. These
services are offered at an affordable price, and some are even free of charge if it’s the first time
you change them since you bought the car (headlights and tires). Buying a car from them also
comes with a warrantee.
However, the company has weaknesses as well. Firstly, the company has no long-term goals
and plan, meaning that it is vulnerable to future problems that cannot be foreseen. Also, this
means that the company can’t go in a certain direction because it doesn’t have a certain view
towards the future, leaving the company weak to potential bad decision-making and probably
missing future opportunities. Secondly, the company’s structure is horizontal, the company is
divided in several branches, every branch having a branch manager that directly responds for the
respective branch. This means that the staff needs to be highly trained and experienced in
working with each other for good results and quick decision-making. The problem that occurs is
when the important members of the staff are replaced or stop working at the firm, new staff not
working before with the employees, which can lead to bad decision-making or too much spent
time for certain decisions. The recommendation is to develop specific training programs for
employees, even w this will be costly, it can save the company from possible bad decisions.

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Preface
In this theoretical I am going to explain the context in which this report has been written.
Our assignment is part of the Propaedeutic learning arrangement 1 which is Business
Organization. In order to analyze the company, we have chosen (Autohaus Timmermanns
GmbH) we formed a group of six members. Our task was to analyze the internal and external
environment of a company that we chose. We chose Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH, a car
dealership which has 180 employees and sells new and used cars, having a partnership with
BMW. The company has 4 dealerships located in 4 different cities: Düsseldorf, Neuss, Kaarst
and Nettetal.
After choosing the company we got theoretical input on how to analyze a company’s
environment in the PLA1 classes. Then we conducted field and desk research to gather primary
and secondary data on the company. Primary data was gathered during an arranged interview
with the management of the company. With the help of the interview and the secondary data
collected I wrote the report.
I would like to kindly thank Mr. Timmermanns because he accepted for our group to conduct
the research and made time for us during the interview and giving the needed information and
details to write the report. Secondly, I would like to thank our lecturer Mrs. Thuijls for helping
us and responding to our questions when needed and last but not least to my group colleagues
with whom I worked for the group file and the details of this research.
The title of this report is “The road to success” inspired by the passion to drive cars alongside the
road to success that comes from sharing the values, the respect for German engineering and the
quality of the drive, the values that are shared by the company through their partnership with
BMW.

Venlo, 19th of November, 2015

Alexandru Arbanas
Signature: _______________

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Table of contents
Title page....................................................................................................................................I
Summary....................................................................................................................................II
Preface......................................................................................................................................III
Table of contents......................................................................................................................IV
1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 1
2 Company description............................................................................................................ 2
2.1 General company information........................................................................................... 2
2.2 Products........................................................................................................................2
3 Project description................................................................................................................3
3.1 Problem description......................................................................................................3
3.2 Project aim....................................................................................................................3
3.3 Research approach........................................................................................................3
4 Theoretical Framework.........................................................................................................4
4.1 External analysis...........................................................................................................4
4.2 Internal analysis............................................................................................................4
4.3 SWOT overview...........................................................................................................5
5 External analysis (PEST analysis) ........................................................................................6
6 Internal analysis ………………………..............................................................................8
6.1 McKinsey 7S analysis..................................................................................................9
6.2Interconnection of the 7S.............................................................................................10
7.SWOT analysis....................................................................................................................11
8. Conclusion..........................................................................................................................13
9. Critical appraisal..............................................................................................................14
10. Recommendation...............................................................................................................15
11 Reference list.......................................................................................................................16

Glossary
PEST: A business tool to detect a company´s macro environment according to its Political-,
Economical-, Socio-Cultural- and Technological factors.
McKinsey’s 7S model: Is model which helps an organization to analyze how well it is
positioned to achieve its intended objective based on the shared values, strategy, skills, staff,
style, system and structure
SWOT overview: A method to overview the gathered information from the PEST and 7S
analysis as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the analysed company

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GmbH: Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, means Limited Liability Company. A GmbH is
liable to corporate income tax, solidarity surcharge and trade tax.

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1.Introduction
Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH is a car dealership founded in the year 1954 by Matthias
Timmermanns. The company started off by selling second hand cars until the year 1975 when
the car dealership closed a deal with the German car manufacturer BMW. The company sells
new and used cars (BMW and Mini Cooper) and offers services such as refurbishing
headlights, repairing of cars and changing tyres.
The expansion of globalization process makes it harder and harder for small and medium
companies to succeed often becoming more of struggle for them to survive on the market
because of the constant changes that occur daily and the power that the big company have.
The German car industry is regarded as the most innovative and competitive industry in the
world and has the third biggest car production in the world. Being a car dealership that has a
contract with one of the car manufacturing companies certainly has its advantages but it also has
some downsides as well.
This report was written in belief that by analyzing the strong and bad parts of the company the
management can take them into consideration and try to implement them for a better overview
and results.
The report has the following structure. The second chapter contains the description of the
company alongside the services it provides.
In the third chapter the report provides a description of the project aim and the research patterns
used to obtain it.
The fourth chapter brings in discussion the theoretical framework of the factors that are
influencing the company macro-environmentally(PEST) and micro-environmentally
(McKinsey’s 7s model).
In the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters the company’s actions and structure are analyzed using
the business tools described in chapter four for gathering the required data. The results are then
interpreted in the form of conclusion by using the SWOT analysis.
The eight chapter is a conclusion structured on the gathered information that was shown in the
previous chapters. The ninth chapter shows the suggested recommendations that the company
should implement.

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2. Company description
In chapter 2 the brief history of Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH is covered alongside the
description of the organization and the services the company gives to the customers.
2.1 General information
Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH was founded in the year 1954 as a small car dealership and
garage for second hand cars until the year 1975 when it closed a deal with the German car
manufacturing company BMW. The partnership proved to be a very good decision and from
then until now the company opened 3 more dealerships in: Neuss, Kaarst and Nettetal and
reached a number of 180 employees. The company now sells new and used cars as well as
service provided for the customers that buy cars from them and also people that own BMW cars
and Mini Cooper, making the company having earnings from more departments and not
depending only on one specific department for the earnings.
2.2 Services and products
Apart from selling second-hand and new cars, Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH offers a
wide variety of services that include changing tyres, the regular checkup of the car,
headlights system. The company also offers special packages with discounts that include
numerous services. The company also sells original BMW and Mini Cooper parts for cars. The
customer satisfaction and safety is highly valuable for the company; thus, the company
encourages customers to come and check their cars with special offers and discounts. Also, a
warranty is given to customers that buy cars from their car dealerships. The company has a
schedule for customers that buy new cars, the garage calling customers after one year of buying
the car for the annual inspection of the car, making the process quicker and easier for the
employee. Also, the communication with customers after the car is sold is very good, the team at
the garages making appointments and also preparing the required services and products that the
customer needs and demands, making the whole process of checking the car quicker.

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3. Project description
Chapter three describes the project. Chapter 3.1 defines the company’s problem. Chapter 3.2
presents the aim of the project, while Chapter 3.3 shows how the research was done.
3.1 Problem definition
The problems of the company are important and must be taken in consideration. Firstly,
the company is structured horizontally. This structure has some advantages but disadvantages as
well. One of the disadvantages is that the company relies heavily on the staff experience and the
capability they must work as a team, for making the best decisions. This becomes a problem
when the company changes certain members of the staff. Also, without a proper communication
between the management of the departments the CEO will receive the problems too late or not
correct, possibly resulting into a bad decision-making
Secondly, being a distributor(dealership) and not a manufacturer or producer of a certain
product means that the company is directly affected by the actions that affect the car
manufacturer company (in this case BMW). This makes Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH
vulnerable to problems from outside the company.
Thirdly, the company is also affected by political factors in Germany, and by external factors
(competitors, world trends).
3.2 Project aim
The main research goal is to analyze and interpret Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH internal and
macro environment in order for recommendations to be given. The tools used to analyze the
company were: PEST model for the external factors that affect the company and the McKinsey
7s Framework for analyzing the internal structure of the company.
3.3 Research approach
The research approach was the following. First, secondary research on the company was
conducted using information available on the internet. The company’s macro environment was
analyzed using the PEST model covering the political, economic, social and technological
factors. The internal structure of the company was analyzed using the McKinsey 7s Framework
covering the company’s staff, style, structure, skills, system, shared-values and strategy. After,
the primary research was done with the help of the interview we had with the CEO of the
company, Thomas Timmermanns.

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4. Theoretical framework
This chapter displays the theoretical framework. 4.1 explains the external analysis that was
done with PEST. 4.2 explains the internal analysis that was done with McKinsey’s 7S
model and 4.3 explains the SWAT overview.
4.1 External analysis
For the external analysis, PEST was used. This is a business tool for identifying the political,
economic, social, technological forces that affect the company.
Political forces are about laws, regulations, policies and governmental agencies that might limit
a company (Kotler and Armstrong 2012, 105). This political issues are crucial for the success of
companies. They are made to prevent illegal activities and to assure that they protect citizens
from being abused by certain companies.
Economic forces consist of interest rates, inflation rates, business cycles, unemployment rates,
GNP trends and economic stability (Drummond and Ensor 2004). Economic forces are
important to consider because of many facts. Broadly speaking, companies sell more in markets
where the unemployment rates and economic stability is high.
Socio-cultural forces are different from country to country, and from one region of a country to
another. The socio-cultural aspects concern the values and beliefs which have an influence on
the possible customer behaviour. These factors are very important to be analysed by a company
in order to understand the buyer’s behaviour and to build a profitable customer relationship
(Drummond and Ensor).
Technological factors take into consideration technology issues that affect how a company
delivers its products or services to the marketplace. Among the specific problems of this topic
are technological developments, the life cycle of current technology, government spending on
technological research and generational shifts (technology differences to be considered by
companies between generations)
4.2 Internal analysis
The internal environment of the company was analysed using the McKinsey 7S model. This
business tool model divides the seven areas of an organization into “soft areas” and “hard areas”.
The hard elements are: Strategy, Structure and Systems. The soft elements are: Style, Staff,
Skills and Shared Values. The hard elements are much easier to identify and manage compared
to the soft ones.
Strategy is a plan developed by an organization to achieve the desired targets and to successfully
compete in the market. Every company needs to develop a strategy to be able to respond to the
constant changes happening daily.
Structure represents the way the business divisions and units are organized. Structure provides
coordination and cooperation between the departments (Waterman, Peters and Philips 19). Also,
this area shows the primary processes which are linked with the production making and services.
Systems are the processes and procedures of the company, which reveal the business daily
activities and how decisions are made. Systems are the area of the firm that determines how
business is done and it should be the main focus for the managers. There are many types of
systems: company’s performance, decision making, performance appraisal, recruitment of staff
and so on.

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Skills show the abilities, capabilities and competences of the staff which make a company stand
out from its competitors (McKinsey & Company 2015).
Staff element is concerned with what type and how many employees an organization will need
and how they will be recruited, trained, motivated and rewarded.
Style concerns the way the company is managed, dealing with how time is spent, manager’s
ideas, beliefs and leadership skills. Based on these factors, the company can adopt several
management styles such as task oriented, relationship oriented, dictatorship, autocratic.
Shared values what the company wants to achieve (McKinsey & Company 2015). This area
states the mission of the company which states the purpose of the company, the vision, which
states what the company wants to achieve and the values, which show the fundamental ideas on
which the company was created.
4.3 SWOT Overview
The SWOT analysis is a business tool that concludes the analysed strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats of a company. The SWOT analysis helps the company to avoid the
interference with negative factors and actors and helps to exploit the opportunities and internal
capabilities of a company to its advantage. The goal of this framework is to match the company’s
attractiveness to the opportunities in the environment, while eliminating or reducing the
weaknesses and lowering the threats (Kotler and Armstrong 2012, 78).

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5. External analysis
Chapter five contains the external analysis (PEST). 5.1 analyses the political factors that
affect the company. 5.2 analyses the economic factors that affect the company. 5.3 analyses
the socio-cultural factors that influence the company. chapter 5.4 analyses the technological
factors that influence the company.
5.1 Political factors
Being a car dealership located in Germany, Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH is influenced by the
German laws and the laws established by the European Union.
Germany has a very stable political system, having an overall of 74.4% economic freedom score
making it the 17th freest country (heritage.org) with a growth of 0.6% since last year.
In Germany, the law governing authorised dealers is based on case law, with the main legal
precedents all relating to the motor vehicle sector, which is now in a state of flux following the
abolition of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption.
In contracts for authorized dealers, manufacturers are increasingly inserting clauses imposing
qualitative standards on dealers (fitting-out showrooms, stocks, availability of contract goods).
These things put high pressure on car dealerships, Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH being no
exception from the rule making them more dependent on car manufacturers and also lose money
because of the investments they need to make. Failing to meet the requirements can damage the
reputation of the car dealership and ultimately can lead to extraordinary cancellations of the
contracts. Also because of the abolition of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption, Autohaus
Timmermanns GmbH and other car dealerships are mostly unable to sell other brand cars
because of the fact that manufacturers can now negotiate non-compete clauses, resulting in even
more dependency of the car dealerships.
All facts considered, Germany is a very stable country which gives high investment potential,
very stable political system, but also has downsides, one of them as a car dealership being the
fact of having constant pressure from car making companies and very powerful competition.
5.2 Economical factors
Germany has the largest economy in Europe and the second largest population making it a
very good country to invest. Also, Germany is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles,
chemicals, and household equipment and benefits from highly skilled labor force.
Being an authorized BMW dealer, Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH is directly influenced by
factors that influence BMW. Also, the market share for German cars on the local market
dropped, only BMW managing to have a constant growth making it to be regarded as a very
well-organized company. A positive economical factor is the relatively low inflation rate of the
country, between 0.4-0.8 in the last 5 months. This is very important because if the inflation
rate is low it also reduces the cost of operations in a long run. Also, it means that clients are more
comfortable spending their money because of a more stable economy and a higher buying
power.

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In conclusion, Germany is a very well developed country, with a low inflation rate and a high
economic stability, having more advantages than disadvantages. The overall profit for every
company depends on the ability of the company to profit from the advantages of the marketplace.
5.3 Socio-cultural factors
Germany is the largest country in Europe, in terms of population, having 82 million residents.
Germany is considered a modern, multicultural country.
Even though a lot of social changes take place, the family is still the most important social
reference unit. Society is very important, it determines a big role in the company’s decision
making. Companies started paying a lot of money to understand buyer’s behavior and what kind
of products they like. To begin with, the role of cars changed drastically in the last decade from
being considered a luxury and a status of wealth to fuel efficiency and low emission cars. These
factors made in a major increase in the number of cars sold. Another factor is the changing
buyer patterns of the consumers. Since the recession, the buyer’s pattern of buying cars changed.
People tend to look for smaller cars, efficient and reliable, lower consumption and that have a
smaller price. Another factor that has high influence on Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH is the
growing concern on the pollution of the environment. People started buying cars more
environmentally friendly, having less emissions and less fuel consumption. This is also because
of the policies made by the European Union to make people more responsible. Also, it became
mandatory for car manufacturers to build cars with less emissions than 130 grams of CO2/km
(2015).
Concluding, Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH needs to adapt to the changes that occur every day
in the marketplace and to take actions and make decisions based upon the trends that are now
and the needs of the people and buyers.
5.4 Technological factors
Due to the rapid advancement in technology, companies struggle to be up-to-date with their
technologies. Technology is very important, it is the spark that keeps human kind going on.
Being an authorized BMW and Mini Cooper car dealership, Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH is
directly affected by the technology development and improvements of their car manufacturer.
Being a partner with one of the best car manufacturer in the world certainly has it’s perks for
Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH, one of them being the fact that they have one of the best
products, making the cars they sell highly desirable. Also, in the past year’s efforts have been
made for the cars to be more affordable and more environmentally friendly, opening for a
premium car manufacturer a wider range of potential buyers.
Quality alongside performance and progress are the key factors that define Autohaus
Timmermanns GmbH. The company has a multitude of services for their customers and it is one
of the most advanced car dealerships in terms of the machinery and equipment used, making the
process of repairing a car or changing parts less expensive and quicker.
Summing it up, it is crucial for every company to be in touch with technology to have the upper
hand against competitors and Autohaus Timmermanns made sure to be up-to-date with its
technology.

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6. Internal analysis
This chapter contains the internal analysis made with McKinsey’s 7S model. 6.1 will first
analyze the four soft elements the 3 hard S’s in the company’s structure. 6.2 shows the
interconnection between the elements(S’s).
6.1
Skills
Autohaus Timmermanns has 4 different locations and a total 180 employees. The company puts
high accent on the employees training and capabilities. The company is giving special trainings
for new employees for the specific tasks they apply for. This results also in high quality services
and ultimately on high satisfaction for the customers. Autohaus Timmermanns puts high accent
on skill development of the employees and on the working environment, teamwork between
employees being crucial for the day to day tasks, a thing that differentiates the company from its
competition(interview). Furthermore, the company has a strong marketing department that
helps track the changes that occur in the buyer’s behavior and to analyze the preferences buyers
have. This helps decision-making being taken care of quicker, being one of the keys in adapting
to the market conditions of today.
Staff
The staff is one of the main topics of interest at Autohaus Timmermanns, the company
requiring a well-trained staff and well-equipped to remain successful in the business.
Having a highly-trained staff and customer-oriented also helps to build the image of the
company. Keeping the staff motivated is also important. To do so the company rewards the
employees for their dedication brought to the firm. Furthermore, the company puts accent on
direct approach relationships with their customers, the sales department being specially trained
for better communicating with customers. Appraisal systems are used for tracking down the
performance of the staff and for promoting and demoting. This makes the employees motivated
to work harder and to give their best(interview).
In summary, the staff is important for the company, thus the management and human resource
branch pays high attention on the development of the staff and on their dedication to teamwork
and work environment for better results and outputs.
Style
The management of Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH operates under a democratic management
style. Every branch of the company is divided into branch managers, each branch manager
having the task to report the problems within itself to the CEO (Interview). Based upon the
importance of the problem and the necessity to analyze the CEO makes management meetings
or branch meetings. Based on these meetings and the personal believes, the CEO takes actions
according to the problems questioned.
One of the main advantages of the management style of the company is the correlation between
task oriented and relationship oriented. It is essential for Autohaus Timmermanns to focus on
reaching their goals, but also to do it by having strong relationships within the company itself,

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making it a place in which you can come to work fresh and with fulfillment that your ideas and
belong in the team.
Shared values
Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH shared values are the following. Firstly, honesty. Secondly,
discipline has a high value among the company. Lastly, expertise on the work you have and
problem solving, this being developed through work and time spent as an employee(interview).
As it can be seen, the company runs under the belief that to satisfy the customer needs and to
improve the services you must improve within inside, putting high hopes in the developments of
each of the staff and management of the company. Sometimes, this can become stressful for the
employees, feeling the pressure of being pushed towards being a better version of themselves
rather than discovering the inner strengths alone. Also, the company is improved their approach
towards clients by making the site more user friendly, easier and with a familial aspect. This, in
the vision of the management is the key to success and the upper-hand against competitors,
because with the passing of time buying a car became easier than ever through internet.
Strategy
Autohaus Timmermanns conducts researches and searches for new market opportunities
to achieve bigger targets. Because of the previous researches, the company was able do
segment the market in the regions they have car dealerships, the cars sold and certain services
being changed from region to region. Also, the company is certain that the investments made in
the internet site and internet publicity will make the company expand and gain more influence
and customers.
However, there is also a problem for the company. The company doesn’t know if it should
invest more in potential new partnerships or to invest in making the company bigger and to open
more car dealerships. This is also because the market tends to change every day, new
technologies appear, new opportunities and threats as well.
Structure
The company’s structure is as follows. Autohaus Timmermanns is divided into two branches:
operative (new cars, second hand cars, parts, services, sales) and central (Marketing, Human
Resources and Accounting). All branches have a branch manager that directly responds to the
CEO after talking the problem inside the branch itself. Depending on the case and on the
problem the CEO will attend the branch meetings(interview).
The company is structured horizontally, allowing the members of the company to work more as a
team, with everyone contributing and having an input and every branch having the same power.
Horizontal organizations have fewer rules and put more power in the hand of the employee,
which can increase employee satisfaction and can identify himself easier within the company,
knowing that he can contribute directly to help the company. Furthermore, for the operational
areas it is used a matrix to break down the performance of every employee(interview).

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System
Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH is run by well-established and coordinated internal systems.
One of the systems is the performance monitor, used to track down the employee’s work.
Because of this the management has a better overview of the work the employee has put
together for the company.
Also, in the operative area special systems are used to track down the performance of the
employees. For example, in the sales department the performance is tracked with a system that
shows not how many cars the employee sold, but how many offers were send and how many
customer conversations were taken (interview).
Another system used by the company is the “Four-eyes principal”, meaning that every vehicle
must go through an end control with documentation, this simplifying the process in finding
problems at cars, and helps keep track of the evidence of these problems.(interview)
Because of the systems used within the company, time is saved for the employees, meaning they
can be more productive and problem oriented, giving them more time to perform other tasks
which can be more important.
6.2 Interconnections between 7S’s
The first interconnection is between skills, structure, staff. The company’s structure is
horizontal, meaning that employees participate in the decision-making, contributing more to the
internal processes in the company. Because of this the staff of the company is more motivated to
actively participate and to have better results overall. Also, by having multiple tasks inside the
structure and participating in the management, the staff can develop new skills that ultimately
help the company. From this we can conclude that the interconnection has a positive influence on
all three S’s.
The second interconnection is between shared values, style, staff. The style of the company is
based on teamwork, encouraging employees to share their ideas for synthesizing all the available
information into the best decision. Honesty, the first shared value of the company can be
witnessed within both the staff and style. This is because the staff represent the values of the
company, values which are given by working together and everyone expressing themselves
freely.
The third interconnection is between skills, structure, system. Because of the structure,
employees actively participate in the management of the company, teamwork being the key
feature of the system and structure. The two are correlated, having the focus on decisions made
within a group, everybody having a contribution to the final decision for a better result. With
time, the skills are developed and the company works better because of the trust inside it and
employees having the same vision. This is how Autohaus Timmermanns skills, structure and
system are working together.

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7. SWOT Overview
This chapter displays Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH internal strengths, weaknesses and
external opportunities and threats. The displayed data are from the previous internal and
external analysis. 7.1 consists of the overview. 7.2 will explain the displayed data.
7.1 SWOT Overview
Strengths Weaknesses
Highly qualified staff Dependence on car manufacturer (BMW)
Variety of products and services Staff experience very important because
of the management style
Fast decision-making and adaptability
No long-term planning

Opportunities Threats
Established in a stable country that is Constant market changes
an Eu member
High competition
Internet sales may increase because of
Technology developments in other
the improvements made to the site
countries
Large and profitable market

7.2 Explanation of the displayed data

Firstly, the company’s strengths and weaknesses are going to be explained. The company’s
internal structure shows the need for companies to act as a team, empowering employees to
actively participate in the decision-making process, thus obtaining and developing new skills.
This makes the staff more motivated and satisfied, this factors having an impact on the quality of
the work. The next strength is the variety of products and services. The company sells new cars
and used cars, BMW and Mini Cooper and offers high quality services to the customers.
Autohaus Timmermanns uses high tech machinery and computers for the check-ups of the cars,
delivering their services at a smaller cost and quicker than their competition. The last strength is
fast decision-making and adaptability. Because the company is structured horizontally, it can
address problems within a certain branch quicker, saving time and other departments can work
on the daily tasks. The structure has proven to be well coordinated with the working
environment, however future problems might appear when certain members of the staff stop
working for the firm.
The first weakness of Autohaus Timmermanns is the dependence in BMW. It is an
advantage and disadvantage at the same time. Being a car dealership that is authorized to sell
BMW’s and Mini Coopers can become problematic for the company because of the market
limitations. The consumers targeted by the company are exclusively BMW or Mini Cooper fans

23
or people that previously owed or owe cars from them. The second weakness comes from the
structure of the company. The structure of the company is horizontal. This means that for the
company to have good results it needs to have an experienced staff for teamwork to be good and
to trust each other. The last weakness comes because the market is highly influenced by a lot of
internal and external factors that the company can’t really influence. These can make decision-
making hard and the outcome unpredictable. Also, the daily changes on the market don’t help to
see the direction the company needs to follow.
Here are the opportunities and threats. The company is in Germany, a country that is very stable
in terms of inflation rate and a high economic freedom. This comes to aid the business
environment and can make a difference against competitors situated in other countries. The next
opportunity is the possible raise in sales online because of the improvements the company site.
The company made the site more user-friendly, making online purchases easier, which in turn
are expected to grow the income. The last opportunity, large and profitable market can help
Autohaus Timmermanns to increase the sales. The thing that is more important for the company
is to differentiate itself from the competitors in a market such as this.
The first threat can make the management of the company adopt bad decisions or take a
bad direction. Because of the changes, the company management is put under pressure to
quickly act and because of these bad decisions can be made. The next threat is the high
competition that the company has on the market. Autohaus Timmermanns needs to be careful
that the customer needs are fulfilled, otherwise customers can go anytime to competitors and in
time can have a huge impact on the company. The last threat comes from the technology
developments in other countries. Germany is the leading country in terms of car manufacturing
but it can be expected that in the future will lose this position because of the government not
making enough efforts in improving the infrastructure for electric and hybrid cars. For example,
Japan has the most electric charge points in the world. This will affect car manufacturers because
the sales for electric and hybrid cars grew in the last years, which will affect Autohaus
Timmermanns sales due to the small numbers of electric cars it will sell in Germany.

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8. Conclusion
In this chapter conclusions are drawn, based on the information from the previous chapters.
These conclusions highlight how Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH can improve the internal
organization and respond to the external factors.
The internal organization within the company has proven to be effective and to be well-
equipped and trained for the day to day obstacles. However, there are also some concerns
that need to be addressed to prevent future problems within the company. To start with, future
problems might come from the structure of the company. Because of the structure, the staff
needs to have good coordination for better results and less time spent. Problems occur when new
employees are hired because the communication in the beginning won’t have the same results.
Furthermore, the company doesn’t have a long-term plan, which can be very problematic
because there will be no clear vision on what direction to follow and possible opportunities are
missed and can make the company vulnerable to future outcomes that are unpredictable.
Autohaus Timmermanns macro-environment affects the company in positive and negative
ways. Political factors in Germany affect the company positively, being a stable country with a
low inflation rate and high economical freedom which favors and encourages the development
of business. Socio-cultural changes in the way the car is perceived positively impacted the
company because of the increased importance attributed to cars nowadays, from a status of
luxury to a necessity, thus the number of cars sold increased. Also, being an authorized
dealership of BMW and Mini Cooper cars ensures the company to have one of the most desired
products on the market, helping the company reach high sales and high customer desires.
However, this also has a downside, Timmermanns being unable to sell other car brand, thus not
reaching more potential clients that chose other car companies.
Considering the facts above, the following conclusions can be drawn. The company needs to
implement a long-term plan due to the risk of not being prepared for future events that can shape
the way the company will go. Furthermore, the company should invest in further development
in the training of the staff, being very important because of the management style adopted. A
plan of integration for new employees should be made to develop the special skills needed within
the company. Another problem for Timmermanns is the market limitation of the company,
reaching only certain customers because the company is limited to only two brands, thus
reaching only BMW and Mini Cooper fans or people that owed or owe cars from them.

25
Recommendations
In this chapter recommendations are given based on previous analysis that can help the
company resolve certain problems and find solutions to them.
By analyzing Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH internal and external environment, the conclusion
makes me give the following recommendations for improving the problems stated above.
The first recommendation is about making a long-term plan to meet future needs. This can be
achieved by stating the mission the company has and how it plans to achieve it in the next 4-5
years. The company needs to look at the short-term gains and develop strategies for improving
them in the future, for example training employees is a short-term plan but the long-term plan
would be training programs developed for the skills they require.
The second recommendation is the need for new training methods for the employees. The
company already has training for new employees, but needs to develop training for employees
that will have a role in the management of the firm, because it is important for them to have
experience in working with the team otherwise bad decision-making can be made or the time to
make decisions may be too long and lose opportunities.
Lastly, I suggest the company to find new markets in other countries. A good and not costly
idea is to open a new car dealership in a country inside the EU due to the favorable trade
conditions, duty taxation within the EU doesn’t exist. Also, the country being close means that
the operations won’t have a very high cost. Also, because the company is closer the
communication can be better and the external environment will be to some extent close to the
forces affecting in Germany This can make the company deliver the products in services at low
prices that can in turn generate more profit and a bigger market share. The countries that can
represent a new start point for the firm and have high rates of new cars bought are: Italy,
Portugal and Spain. These countries had the highest increase rates in the year 2015 for new cars,
but further knowledge and analysis are required.
By improving all the risks and factors shown above, Autohaus Timmermanns can strengthen its
internal structure, have a better overview of the actions it can take or that can have an impact on
the company in the future and improve the skills and training of the employees to meet the
requirements to operate in the company for the best output.
These are the recommendations given to Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH to improve the
company and strengthen it.

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10. Critical appraisal
In this chapter the critical appraisal is stated. Here the conclusions and recommendations are
critically appraised. Furthermore, the limitations of analytical tools are stated.
Firstly, Autohaus Timmermanns GmbH analysis has only been conducted on its internal
structure and macro environment. This means that the micro environment, more specific the
customers and competitors of the company haven’t been analyzed. This makes the analysis not
complete from a point of view, without relying on the certain facts on these topics.
Secondly, the primary data for the interview was gathered only through an interview with the
CEO of the company, Thomas Timmermanns. This means that the information given was only
from one perspective. For better information and analysis there should have been interviews with
more members of the staff.
Thirdly, the report is made based on the knowledge and capacity of a student in the first year.
This can be bound to certain mistakes in interpretation, lack of concise vision and analysis. Also,
the conclusion and recommendations are drawn from a personal point of view, hence they
cannot be fully reliable in terms of positive effects.
Finally, the recommendations given don’t cover all the problems inside the company.
Furthermore, because of the lack of knowledge and insight of the company the information
given might not be reliable or can be used by the company.

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Reference list
http://www.timmermanns.de/bmw/home/ (accessed December 02, 2016)
http://www.best-selling-cars.com/europe/2015-full-year-europe-car-sales-per-eu-efta-country/
(accessed December 09, 2016)
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/vertical-structure-vs-horizontal-structure-organization-4904.html
(accessed December 07, 2016)
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/germany/inflation-cpi (accessed December 06, 2016)
http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking (accessed December 06, 2016)
http://legalknowledgeportal.com/2015/01/27/current-situation-of-the-law-governing-authorised-
dealers/ (accessed December 06, 2016)
http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/cars_en (accessed December 07, 2016)
https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/mckinsey-7s-model-framework.html
(accessed December 08, 2016)
https://www.gtai.de/GTAI/Navigation/EN/Invest/Investment-guide/Establishing-a-
company/Company-forms/Corporations/limited-liability-company-gmbh.html – (accessed
December 04, 2016)

Book list:
Kotler, Philip & Gary Armstrong. 2012 Principles of Marketing, 14th edition. Pearson Education
Limited
Drummond, Graeme, John Ensor- Strategic Marketing 2004
Waterman, Robert h., Jr., Thomas J. Peters & Julien R. Phillips. 1980. Structure Is Not
Organisation

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PLA 6 – Portfolio Checklist
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 Following binding, is your text readable?
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III. Cover
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IV. Title Page
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 Is your date and place of completion given?

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  Have you indicated whether you are using BE or AE spelling?
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 Does the table of contents clearly reflect the structure of the report?
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 Are there all pieces of homework with feedback from lecturer?
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 Has the spelling been run through a spelling checker?
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 Does the portfolio contain the preface and summary of the PLA1 report?
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 Have topic sentences been highlighted and signal words been put in bold?

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