The newspaper industry is facing many challenges in the digital era. Newspaper circulation has gone down, and so has the advertising revenue. The internet is a formidable competitor for newspapers on different fronts of their business, and it is the primary cause of the newspaper industry challenges. The Los Angeles Tribune is facing three main problems of rising cost of paper, reduction of circulation revenue and a decline in advertising revenue. The purpose of this paper is to use the principles of goal setting to address the three problems.
Performance management is a process whereby managers work together to plan, monitor and evaluate employee performance (London & Mone, 2012). The first step in performance management is goal setting. Goal setting sets the tone for efficient and effective use of resources. It also brings different stakeholders together to facilitate mutual understanding and foster alignment.
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Goal # 1: Rising Cost of Paper
Goal statement: To reduce the cost of paper by 15% within the next three months.
The cost of producing a paper has significantly gone up. Print paper is becoming more expensive as well as the cost of printing. The high price of printing has reduced the Tribune’s profitability, and it is not addressed, the company will have to reduce the personnel. Hence, the first step in reducing cost is by increasing the price of the paper. A single copy of Los Angeles Times cost $1.00, but by increasing the rate to $1.25, the company will increase its revenue by a quarter. Newspaper pricing is not elastic such that a significant price hike will not have a substantial effect on the circulation (Karimi & Walter, 2015). Los Angeles Times readers will not mind the small rise in price as long as they access their daily copy of the paper. The goal will be evaluated after three months by subtracting the total cost of production against the total revenue to find out if the problem of rising cost still exists.
Goal # 2: Reduction in Circulation Revenue
Goal statement: To use digital and print by 10% in three months through promotions.
The newspaper industry is struggling with reduced circulation. Many newspaper readers now get their news from online channels; hence the Los Angeles Tribune should also adopt a digital strategy. The newspaper should offer an online subscription program for three months, six months and one year. For example, the paper can offer a three-month digital subscription for $19.99. The digital subscription is more affordable than the print subscription, but since the organization will not incur the cost of print and distribution, the program will increase profit and circulation. The digital subscription will also appeal to a younger market and improve the newspaper’s circulation. The paper can even come up with a promotion program for traditional distribution to enhance loyalty among regular customers. Customers would rather pay $50 once for a three-month subscription than pay $1.25 for a single paper every day. The total number of subscriptions will be used to evaluate the improvement in circulation.
Goal #3: Reduction in Advertising Revenue
Goal Statement: To increase advertising revenue by 10% in the next three months through online advertising.
Los Angles Tribune will adopt a multi-channel advertising platform to appeal to the advertisers. Multi-Channel advertising revenue will include an effective digital marketing platform for the digital subscribers, Los Angeles Times website and social media. A multi-channel approach to marketing will enable the paper to retain advertisers and appeal to digital-oriented advertisers (Cosgrove & Gomaa, 2014). After three months, the goal will be evaluated to judge if the number of advertisers and advertising revenue have increased.
References
Cosgrove, E., & Gomaa, A. (2014). The Cross-Roads to Digital: Newspaper Models and the Change to an Industry. European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies , 6 (2), 36.
Karimi, J., & Walter, Z. (2015). The role of dynamic capabilities in responding to digital disruption: A factor-based study of the newspaper industry. Journal of Management Information Systems , 32 (1), 39-81.
London, M., & Mone, E. M. (2012). Leadership for Today and the Future . Bridgepoint Education.
