Studying Behaviour of the People in an Organisation - Essay Example

Mainstream and Critical Approach to Globalisation Table of Contents Introduction 4 Interdisciplinary 5 2.Explanatory 5 Globalisation 5 International Theory: 6 Significance of globalisation 7 Approaches of Globalisation 9 Mainstream approach 9 Limitations of mainstream approach 11 Critical Approach 12 Silences and Absences in the Mainstream Approach 13 Economic Power 14 Political Power 14 Positive 15 Negative 16 Conclusion 16 Reference 18 Introduction A structure of various interrelated sub-systems such as technological, administrative, production, decision making and the most important human is known as organisation. Example: business, hospitals, retail outlets etc (Sims, 2002, p. 1). Organisational structure is important to establish the relation between different individuals working together in an organisation. Organisational structure can further be defined as the process of creating different post for different people to achieve the organisational objectives. The relations between individuals at different posts in an organisation are used to define the superior or the leader and the followers (Singla, 2010, p. 225). The behaviour of the people associated with an organisation can be defined as the organisational behaviour (Fox, 2007, p. 1). Organisational behaviour in context to the organisation deals with the factors such as feelings, behaviours and thoughts of an individual. Organisational behaviour can be termed as a complex subject and because of this reason it has been segmented into two important elements: 1. Interdisciplinary Organisational behaviour is associated in the process of developing disciplines for the purpose of studying behaviour of the people in an organisation. 2. Explanatory Explanatory deals with the explanation of individual and group behaviours within an organisation. The explanations in context to the organisational behaviour are avoided from being invented as laws and rules because of the complexity matter associated with the organisational behaviour. Relatively, the explanatory method develops into models and theories to derive the relationship between different variables of organisational behaviour (Martin & Fellenz, 2010, p. 14-15). Globalisation Globalisation can be defined as the outward venture of a company into the international shores to expand its objective, market share and explore new opportunities. Every major company worldwide have ventured or are planning to venture in foreign land to grab the opportunity lying ahead in terms of resource availability, manpower, technology, etc. Internationalisation has helped bring the business around globe under one umbrella by making the goods & services available across the different continents and emerging as global brands. Global marketing is the need of the hour in today’s time with more & more organisations making their presence felt in almost all countries. Global venture for the organisations has helped to standardise their products, improve the services and lastly integrated marketing (Johanson, 2008, p. 11-15). There are number of companies from different parts of the world who are now not subjugated as companies concentrating on domestic market, but, can be termed as companies catering to multi-domestic market. British Petroleum can be taken as an example of such organisation which can be better known as multinational company (MNC). Organisations like British Petroleum have believed in being a global company then a domestic player with their approach of considering every country as their home country and doing business as per the ethics and cultural background of that country. International Theory: There are various internationalisation theories regarding the organisations preferring to cross national borders to achieve greater value for the firm. One of the theories which can be discussed extensively is “Internationalisation entrepreneurship”, this theory specifies on the main aspect of firms like British Petroleum going international and the main reason behind that. There are organisations that have being doing well at home country and not cross national borders even being in business for decades. But, on the other there are some organisations that are venturing into different offshore countries and have been a successful entity across the globe. Firms like Mc Donald’s, KFC, Starbucks, etc, have been the pioneers in the internationalisation entrepreneurship theory by making their presence felt throughout the world and are still expanding and exploring new territories (Jones, 2009, p. 21-23). Further discussing about the internationalisation theory the important questions that the organisations need to ask themselves are- “Why cross borders for business purpose?” and “What will they do to make it possible? These two questions are of utmost important nature for any firm that want internationalise and be a part of the global business entity. The internationalisation process for any company has to be or is rather in a sequence process to make the proceedings hassle free and more productive rather than jumping directly into the ocean of global marketing. Every firm indirectly or directly want to a part of the global business community but the approach is through better understanding of the target market, segmentation analysis and marketing objective (Kuada, Sorensen, 2000, p. 9-13). Significance of globalisation Globalisation draws a great impact on the organisational behaviour. Companies like British Petroleum venturing into new territories will face certain challenges leading to the organisational behaviour and culture. Globalisation and its significance in context to the organisational behaviour can be discussed below: Globalisation can be referred to as the networks of product market, suppliers and the global competition (Mattsson, n. d., p. 1). Globalisation and its forces play an important role in shaping the structure of an MNC like British Petroleum. The different forces related to the globalisation are technology, cultural diversity, multicultural staff members, investment opportunities, etc (Gupta, 2010, p. 47). The Global managers of British Petroleum have made it possible for the company to globalise. These managers are creative in doing business in different countries around the globe. They are more adaptable and carry forward the legacy of the company to new country as well. Globalisation has made British Petroleum bridge the gap between different cultures as it is operating in different countries with different language and cultures. Approaches of Globalisation Globalisation is evaluated on the basis of two types of views namely mainstream approach and critical approach. Mainstream approach Globalisation is the word which defines an organisation, its mission or goals in context to expansion purpose & a long term vision through internationalisation. Global marketing has to have certain parameters attached to its name, like the company’s motive or purpose for internationalisation, its main objective, its mission to serve its customers in better way with better service and keep satisfying them continuously and try building a strong and long-standing relationship (FAO Corporate Document Repository, 1997). Internationalisation brings in responsibility for an organisation as it has to take care of the cultural sentiments of the different countries people and work accordingly. Also it has to impart the company’s long- standing values to the employees from the country and then to carry forward the legacy, mission & vision of the company. Here it can be justified to say that mission & vision along with other factors holds an important place in the plan or strategy of any organisation. Market opportunity and market size can be said to be the reason behind internationalisation of MNC’s like British Petroleum (Buckley & Ghauri, 1999, p. 29). Every company seeks opportunity to further increase its brand value, customer base and larger market share. But, before deciding on the internationalisation purely on the basis of opportunity a company needs to transform itself in a different entity where it wants to build an empire of its own by rising above competition and planning to be different in the world of business competition. A company should create an image in the minds of its customer that they rather also see the company as opportunity for them in the long run. Globalisation is a vast topic; it not only means the growth of an organisation or the process of expansion. Globalisation is very much related to the functioning of an organisation in different territory, its impact on the organisational behaviour, the difference occurring between different cultures. Some organisations which are believed to be tagged as the multinational companies due to their presence in almost every country have different approach towards globalisation. Few of these MNC’s operates all the business and decision making process from the Headquarter situated in the native country. The others prefer functioning as an autonomous entity. The credit for this goes to the communication technology, internet which has made possible for the company like British Petroleum to communicate with its subsidiaries around the world. The growth factor associated with the globalisation also leads to cultural differences within the organisation. This cultural difference will further have a greater impact on the organisational behaviour (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2009, p. 309). Limitations of mainstream approach The mainstream approach of globalisation is said to assume that the managers are well equipped with the knowledge of how to expand in the new territories with maximum efficiency. Further there are many other assumptions related to the mainstream approach which can be discussed below: Mainstream approach assumes that it is very much possible for the managers to analyse the market. But, it misses out on the fact that managers are human beings and are bound to create certain mistakes instead of using technology for the process of decision making. It is also assumed that the mangers are capable of implementing certain organisational models even though it is a well known fact that they are not completely informed of all the things related to the organisational model (Knights & Willmott, 2007, p. 464). Critical Approach Globalisation is said to be everything but not a neutral procedure. Globalisation has given rise to winners as well as losers. For this very reason it has both opponents and supporters. The process of globalisation has given a whole new meaning to the word global power. This global power is applicable and obvious in context to every country and has an impact on the different cultural community as well. This leads to the fact that it is impossible to resolve the local issues and problem without taking it in the global perspective. But, at the same time globalisation is facing the heat through agitations, strikes, human right demands, etc (Robinson, 2006, p. 24). Globalisation and the MNC’s are very much linked to each other. The critical approach to globalisation is different from the mainstream approach in various ways. In the critical approach it can be said that differentiating British Petroleum from the ecological, societal and political impacts. British Petroleum as an MNC cannot be regarded as a rational player but is moreover a transnational company. British Petroleum being a transnational company is being able to transform knowledge, capital and ideas to different territories through the process of globalisation. Globalisations of the MNC’s are meant to enhance the growth factor of both the company and country in which that MNC is operating. But, the process has somehow been opposite as poverty stills continues to be a hindrance despite of large investments through these MNC’s. It has especially been noticed in developing countries where large MNC’s as British Petroleum expands to explore new opportunities for their business. The other side of this story can be that though British Petroleum has not been able to contribute towards the eradication of poverty but still it has contributed towards employment. MNC’s are often criticised for their over exploitation of natural resources which leads to fast depletion of these resources. It has been major issue related to the MNC’s like British Petroleum. Moreover, the negligence of countries to handle the issue poses a great threat of people acting against the move of globalisation. British Petroleum invests huge capital in different countries around the world making efforts towards the economic growth of that country. At the same the risk to environment is brought along. British Petroleum was lately in news for the oil spill case in the Gulf of Mexico. Globalisation is the power of capital which creates opportunity and also gives rise to criticism. Silences and Absences in the Mainstream Approach The silences and the absences in the mainstream for the globalisation are concerned with the economical and political power of the MNC’s. Economic Power MNC’s are exploring newer territories for their expansion plans. This has been made possible because of the economic power they hold. Different nations change their policies to make it easier for the MNC’s to invest in the country. It is known that with more MNC’s coming in the more money is pumped into the country’s system which helps it gain an upper hand over other economies of the world. MNC’s like British Petroleum which is into oil exploration hold great economic power which is demonstrated through FDI inflows in different countries. The economic power of British Petroleum also lies in its ability to create employment. The countries change their policies, minimises the taxes to ensure higher FDI inflows in the country. British Petroleum has been managing it global venture effectively and has been able to maximise the market share and profit, which can be stated as another element of being a economic power. Political Power Political power is what everyone aims for. The purpose behind the economic power of MNC’s is to emerge as a political power. Different MNC’s around the world are not only gaining in terms of profits but are making their presence felt in the political arena as well. MNC’s uses both the visible and invisible power in the quest to gain in terms of political power. The visible power of the MNC’s like British Petroleum can be related to the decision will involves public participation. Invisible power is what organisation use to create barriers to not allow participation and the whole process is politicised backstage. The strategies and decision involved are kept hidden from the public. Both economic and political powers are the need and demand in today’s scenario of business market. MNC’s are creating their niche while emerging as global power house. Apart from this there are many controversies related to the MNC’s around the world which can be discussed both in positive and negative manner. Positive MNC’s spreads wealth and improves the standard of living (Campbell, Mackinnon, & Stevens, 2011, p. 13). Helps to improve the technology by bringing new technology through investment process in a country. Boosts economic growth of a country. Gives rise to the culture which is accepted worldwide and can be termed as commercial. Negative MNC’s are criticised for their political power. MNC’s are looked upon as exploitative agents. Lacks dedication and loyalty towards the host nation (Goldstein & Pevehouse, 2008, p. 338). Criticised for unethical practices. Issues of sovereignty are also involved with the MNC’s. Conclusion Globalisation has taken the world by storm; the boundaries between the countries have vanished. MNC’s are exploring new territories, creating new opportunities in terms of revenue and market share. Globalisation has emerged as a tool which has led to the foundation of a new beginning in the world of business. It has made the availability of certain products and certain brands all over the world. Employment has been created, countries have benefitted. MNC’s have brought in latest technology, new methods of business. The word globalisation does not only define the positive things but also the negative things. Though globalisation has made MNC’s rise to power, but it has also made these MNC’s use unethical ways of doing business. Various MNC’s have been criticised for their lack of commitment towards the host country. Overexploitation of resources, loyalty factor might have been major issues related to globalisation and MNC’s but one cannot neglect the fact that it has also created employment, given a boost to the economy of the countries around the world. More importantly globalisation is the need of the hour which leads to new opportunities across the globe. Reference Buckley, P. J. & Ghauri, P. N. (1999). The Internationalization of the Firm. USA: Cengage Learning EMEA. Campbell, P. J., Mackinnon, A. & Stevens, C. R. (2011). An Introduction to Global Studies. USA: John Wiley & Sons. FAO Corporate Document Repository. (1997). Global agricultural marketing management. [Online]. Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/W5973E/w5973e02.htm. [Accessed on 17 April 2012]. Fox, W. (2007). 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