I would like to shed light on the organization where I am currently employed, LCE Marketing Communications, Lahore, Pakistan.

One of the major strengths of this organization is its people the building blocks and the energy fuelling the growth of any organization. In the services industry especially, the quality of the product is embedded in the people of the organization itself. We, as a group of individuals from diverse backgrounds, dispositions, and professional experiences, are unified, with the objective to take the organization at unprecedented heights, at our common work platform. Currently, Hawk eyes HR policies are in place to hire and train handpicked talent and caliber; and a competitive pay scale, in relation to other firms in the industry, to retain it. Secondly, the successful implementation of an SAP CRM system, since a number of years, gives the organization a significant advantage over its competitors. The CRM system makes account management, of a portfolio of services offered by the organization, of individual corporate clients including Tetra Pak, GLOW by Warid, and Metro Cash and Carry, extremely efficient; it allows the organization to track all individual transactions with the respective client, and through a tool of built-in opportunity insight, infer potential for provision of further services. On the other hand, I consider weak preventive internal controls within the organization, and an absence of whistle-blowing policies, as one of the greatest weaknesses. Although every expense posted in a client s account is matched with supporting documents, which includes reimbursed travelling and dining expenditures these controls are detective in nature. Another, perhaps ironic, weakness of the organization is that there is no concept of branding the marketing services. The clientele base of the organization primarily gains its strength from the goodwill LCE Communications has earned in the marketplace word-of-mouth testimonials from its customers based on the premium quality of services offered. Unsurprisingly, referrals are the most important sales driving component through which prospective clients contact service representatives. As the CEO of LCE Communications, I would firstly inculcate employee branding in the vision of the company, by changing what drives and retains the most important asset of my organization its people. I strongly believe that the motivation to go the extra mile is intrinsic in nature; hence as a means of applauding the efforts of the most out performing employees, I would enforce monthly acknowledgement events as a reward of recognition. Further implementations by me, geared towards employee retention, would include flexi-time arrangements, open workstations and an informal dress code to shun bureaucratic routines and make the doors of creativity open wider; I would also advocate the introduction of absolutely indispensible facilities to be offered at the workplace which would include a cafe, lounge and games room, day care centre, and a gym. Secondly, I would strive to brand the credibility earned by LCE Communications since its startup. This would enhance the reputation of the company for both: employees and customers. The positioning of the brand is clear: the vision of the company articulates the reason of its existence in the marketplace to provide superior marketing and communications services to the target population: individual and corporate clients. However, I feel that clarity achieved in the above mentioned aspects of positioning

does not fully encompass the definition of positioning differentiation of the brand in the minds of the consumers. For successful brand positioning, the perception of the quality of our services should be embedded in the minds of the consumers already existing. It should not be dependent upon positive recommendations from existing clients or an after-thought based on the experiences of a new client.