Achieving Goals in Management - Essay Example

0 Introduction Every organizations wants to achieve success and one way of doing so is achieving the defined goals and objectives. In the absence of proper management, no organization can achieve its targets. Therefore, the role of management holds significant importance. It is due to management that the goals are attained with the proper utilization of human and other resources of the organizations. Several authors have presented definitions for management. Boddy (2007) describes management as the act of getting things done with the assistance of people and other available resources. In the words of Henry Fayol (1987), management is all about forecasting, planning, organizing, forming coordination and keeping control. This implies that management is made of four interlocking functions namely planning, organizing, leading and controlling (Porter, 2008) Management is a continuous process because its four functions are interdependent on each other therefore, management never stops. A deep insight into the concept of management shows that the task of a manager is to ensure that all resources of the organization are working in harmony with human resources. A manager is responsible for creating such an environment where workers are motivated and they do not lose their focus. Management as a whole is dynamic in nature. It involves the use of various disciplines such as economics, ethics, psychology and sociology etc in order to guarantee that workers achieve their targets on time by utilizing resources optimally (Terence Lucey, 2005). Competing Values Framework (CVF): There are a number of approaches to management and fortunately they have all come together in Quinn’s (1981) competing values framework (CVF). The idea behind the introduction of this approach was to simplify the language which is useful in defining organizational effectiveness in terms of its designing, analysis and development. This framework can have multiple purposes: it serves as a learning system in the organization, an idea generator, a map and a mechanism that makes sense of organizing. It helps in the identification of factors and guidelines which assist the managers in managing conflicts, congruencies and relationships at different levels of the organizations (Wesley, 2008). The competing values framework (CVF) helps the organizational members and managers create value for the organization as well as improve its performance at both internal and external levels. Cameron and Quinn (2006) proposed that organizational effectiveness can be demonstrated by four of competing values namely internal, external, flexibility and control. The model illustrates that the vertical axis represents structural preferences of organizations from flexibility to control and the horizontal axis shows the perspectives from internal (people oriented) to external (organization oriented) emphasis (see Appendix). The framework is further divided into four quadrants namely human relations model, internal process model, open system model and rational goal model (Quinn & Rohrbaugh, 1983). 2.0 Application 2.1 Name and Challenge Establishes in 1875 and headquartered in the city of Newark, NJ, Prudential Financial Inc. is one of the leading companies which offers to its customers various products and services of financial nature. These offerings include investment management, mutual funds, annuities, life insurance policies and special services for the retired citizens. For over more than hundred years, the company is enjoying successful operations in Latin America, United States, Europe and Asia. So far, the number of permanent employees associated with Prudential Inc. has reached up to fifty thousand one hundred and four. There are three main divisions of the company namely: U.S Retirement Solutions and Investment Management, International Insurance and Investment and U.S Individual Life and Group Insurance. Of the many challenges Prudential is facing, the challenge of climate change holds significant importance. Global warming has given rise to the issue of climate change worldwide. As Prudential is included in the list of environmentally friendly organization therefore, the challenge needs to be addressed precisely. 2.2. PESTEL The political factors Prudential faces are from the government regulations regarding insurance, funding and investments. Economic factors include recession, globalization and taxation. Social factors are based on the types of customers Prudential serves. Environmentally, the company is taking measures to go green. Lastly, laws regarding insurance and securities are major factors that Prudential experiences. 2.3. PORTERS FIVE FORCES The threat of new entrants for Prudential is low because the brand is old and well established. Prudential is facing threat of substitute products and services because other financial companies are also offering similar products and services and doing their best to gain customers. The rivalry in the financial industry is strong and Prudential is avoiding being victimized by diversifying its portfolio. The bargaining power of buyers is low owing to the entry of new companies. The bargaining power of suppliers is from moderate to high depending upon the market share in different countries. 2.4 SWOT Strengths: The brand name of Prudential is recognized worldwide. The financial position is strong as compared to other financial service providers. Prudential has a significantly high rating among its competitors. Human resource is the strongest asset of any organization and Prudential is fortunate enough to have more than fifty thousand employees. The products and services of Prudential are diversified in nature. Weaknesses: Due to healthy job opportunities available in the finance industry, employees follow the trend of job switching. The name of Prudential has been involved in a major fraud case in U.S which is a negative point for the company. Opportunities: The presence of Prudential is in almost all the major regions of the world and it continues to penetrate into new markets. The portfolio of Prudential is diversified which means diverse base of customers. The company is gaining more market share by joint ventures and acquisitions. Threats: Global recession has given rise to a major threat for Prudential. Cases of frauds and volatility in the areas of insurance and securities have been observed. Prudential is facing threat from competitors such as ING Group and JP Morgan & Chase. 2.5 Management When we study the effectiveness of Prudential in accordance with the Competibg Values Framework (Quinn et al., 2003), we come to the conclusion that Rational Goal Model is suitable for our organization. This is because the primary objective of Prudential is earning money. 3.0 The Challenge – Climate change Apart from the everyday financial challenges, climate change is a challenge which Prudential, like other multinational organization faces. With the awareness of global warming, Prudential is taking steps towards its commitment to environment and society (Nanda, 2011). 3.1. Impact on Prudential Because of major threat posed by climate change, like many other organizations, Prudential is also making sustainability as part of its core business. Prudential has partnered with various environment protection agencies and is taking initiatives to contribute in saving resources. Prudential is encouraging its employees and other providers to cut down on the use of resources for. Paper work has been reduced to negligible by Prudential so that it can play its part in coping up with climate change. Use of light saving bulbs, promoting public transportation, encouraging recycling and reusing technology and encouraging employees to generate ‘green’ idea, Prudential is doing its best to overcome the climate challenge. The competing values framework (CVF) is useful in understanding the effectiveness of Prudential towards establishing and maintaining sustainability. 4.0 Recommendations Although Prudential is facing the challenge of climate change bravely but there is still room for innovation. This is again where CVF comes into play because the organizational culture and effectiveness has to be streamlined with sustainability. It is therefore recommended that Prudential take advantage of Open System model because innovation is required for future survival and challenges. 5.0 Conclusion Prudential is a leading global financial product and service provider which is facing the challenge of climate change. Due to global warming, the issue of climate change has become a major concern for the company. Prudential realizes its responsibility regarding sustainability and it is taking possible measures to face this challenge. According to CVF, Prudential needs to make use of innovation in order to fight with climate change in an effective manner. 6.0 References Admin. (2012). Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU). Available: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=pru. Last accessed 13th May 2012. Admin. (2012). Prudential's Commitment to the Environment. Available: http://www.prudential.com/view/page/public/15961. Last accessed 13th May 2012. Alan T. Belasen (2000). Leading the Learning Organization: Communication and Competencies for Managing Change. Albany: State University of New York Press. 317-323. David Boddy (2007). Management: An Introduction. 4th ed. London: Pearson Education Ltd. Henri Fayol, Irwin Gray (1987). General and Industrial Management: Henri Fayol's Classic . Pitman Learning. 1-112. Kim S. Cameron, Robert E. Quinn (2006). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.  Kim S. Cameron, Robert E. Quinn, Jeff DeGraff, Anjan V. Thakor (2003).Competing Values Leadership: Creating Value in Organizations. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Michael E. Porter (2008). On Competition. USA: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation Ricky W. Griffin (2008). Fundamentals of Management. 6th ed. USA: South-Western Cengage Learning Robert E. Quinn and John Rohrbaugh. (1981). A Competing Values Approach to Organizational Effectiveness. Public Productivity Review. 5 (2), 122-140. Robert E. Quinn, Sue R. Faerman, Michael P. Thompson, Michael McGrath, Lynda S. St. Clair (2006). Becoming a master manager: a competing values approach. 4th ed. New Jersey: Wiley. Stuart L. Hart, Robert E.Quinn. (1993). Roles Executives Play: CEOs, Behavioral Complexity, and Firm Performance. Human Relations. 46 (5), 543-574. Terence Lucey (2005). Management Information Systems. 9th ed. London: Thomas Learning. 66-67. Ved Nanda (2011). Climate Change and Environmental Ethics. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. Wesley A. Mart (2008). Evaluating Organizational Effectiveness. Parkway: ProQuest LLC.   Appendix Read More