Management Issues in a Global Business - Coursework Example

Introduction In order to understand the functions of management and leadership and their impact on issues of global organisational effectiveness, it is imperative to begin by explaining the meaning of the two terms. The concepts of management and leadership are often confused in several ways. Thus, according to Kleynhans et al (2006), management is about coping with complexity to achieve organisational goals. In this particular case, managers ought to be good at planning, organising, leading and controlling as well as making decisions and they should be able to analyse situations and find solutions to the problems that may exist. On the other hand, leadership is defined as the ability to influence a group of people towards the achievement of organisational goals (Robins S.P., Odendaal A.& Roodt G. 2001). Basically, leadership is concerned with the vision of the organisation while management is concerned with the practical implementation of that vision. It should be noted that leading is a function of management hence the two are somehow related. A leader suggests change and a manager is there to implement and manage change (Buhler 2001). Another relationship between management and leadership is that a leader takes a leading role in developing and inspiring staff while the manager supervises staff. The aim would be the same, to achieve organisational goals. Leadership and management are related somehow though they are often regarded as the same. Against this background, this study seeks to critically analyse the functions of management and leadership in a bid to improve organisational effectiveness in a global business. The study is divided into two parts as going to be discussed below. Functions and management issues in a global business During the contemporary period, it can be noted that globalisation factors have created a situation organisations from different countries can establish business in any country. Whilst globalisation liberalised trade and encourages multinational companies to operate in different parts of the world, it can be noted that the management of any given organisation has key functions to perform to improve organisational effectiveness. As noted in the above definition of management, it is primarily concerned with getting things done through people. Thus, effective management is tied to the organisation’s overall performance and is mainly seen as a twofold process where the managers seek to accomplish the task and satisfy the employees at the same time. The managers of the multinational corporations operating in different parts of the world ought to consider quite a number of factors in view of their operations so as to improve the effectiveness of their operations. Operating in a different country requires the managers to bear in mind the knowledge about the local economies. Effort should be made in order to establish the nature and extent of the inflation rates of the host country. It would be folly and equally dangerous to operate in a country where there is a runaway inflation rate. If the economy of the host country is badly performing, in order to reduce risk, the management can respond by downsizing or scaling down its operations in order to effectively operate without incurring losses. For instance, it can be noted that Barclays Bank is an internationally acclaimed institution which operates in many countries across the globe. A good example to illustrate the functions of management as a way of improving the organisation’s effectiveness as well as minimizing risk when the economy of the host country is badly performing can be drawn fro one particular country in the Sub Saharan region. Zimbabwe’s economy has been in a freefall for over a decade and the management of Barclays promptly responded by downsizing its operations in the country. Various branches were closed and the workers were downsized as a way of improving the effectiveness of the organisation. This decision was also timely since continuing operating on a full scale had become so risky. Managers have the task of monitoring the operations of the other workers in an organisation. However, all the organisations operate in a dynamic environment which constantly changes hence the need for the managers to also constantly develop so as to be able to cope with the changing times. More and more people are migrating to different regions in search of employment and the regional managers should be developed so as to be impartial when they recruit or hire employees. The managers should not be influenced by such factors as race, gender, religion or culture when selecting employees to join the organisation or when dealing with people already employed by the organisation but hailing from different cultural backgrounds as this would increase the risk of creating a negative image about the organisation. Coca-Cola is a well known multinational company operating in various countries across the world. It can be seen that the major functions of management of this organisation include the practice of fair employment policies which has seen it continuing to thrive the world over. Managers in different regions ought to be accommodative to diverse cultural values so as to create a peaceful working environment that is characterised by mutual understanding where the employees can freely share their ideas towards the attainment of the organisation’s goals. There is need for constant development of the management in this area as this ensures the smooth operations of the organisation in the face of changing times as well as the business environment. These managers ought to create flexible working conditions which can motivate the workers to put optimum performance in their day-to-day operations as away of improving the effectiveness of the organisation’s performance. Regional managers should also be better positioned to develop their employees as well as put measures in place that would ensure staff retention. These managers should put measures in place that treat the employee as a valuable asset to the organisation as a way of motivating them to do their best in as far as performance is concerned. The regional managers should also be accommodative to different cultural values of different people from different cultural backgrounds since globalisation promotes the migration of labour from different regions to the others. The management should also consider the aspect of political stability of a country as part of their basic function as a way of minimizing the risk likely to be encountered by the organisation. It would be equally dangerous to invest in a politically volatile environment as this coupled with economic recession would have a great toll on the operations of an organisation. In countries where there is tension, it would not be advisable to make an investment as the chances of disturbances in the operations of the organisation would be very high. Case studies drawn from many Sub Saharan countries can be used to illustrate this basic function of management as a way of minimizing risk. Due to political instability in Zimbabwe during the past decade, the management of various companies responded by relocating to countries such as South Africa which is seen as stable. There is a lot of risk in operating in volatile countries as explained below. There also can be disruptions in operations since the workers may fail to turn up for work in the event of rioting caused by tensions arising from the tense political situation in the country. Peace and stability in a country are very important since they ensure that there would be limited chances of risk which may result in heavy losses after disruptions by civil unrest. The operations of any organisation are guided by the legal framework of the host nation. The national government would be the final authority in determining how the organisations would be run. In this regard, it can be noted that the basic function of the management is to ensure that there is compliance with the dictates of the statutory regulations with regards to labour laws in host countries. Failure to adhere to the requirements of the laws of the host country may even lead to the cancellation of the operating licence which would not be a good thing to happen especially to large multinational corporations. It is imperative for any multinational organisation to abide by the rules and regulations of the country to ensure cordial relationship with the government so as to minimize the chances of conflict. As noted, the management is concerned with the implementation of different policies that affect its operations. Risk of clashing with the responsible authorities in different countries would be minimised if the managers advocate for the adherence of statutory regulations that ought to guide their operation in different parts of the globe. Role of leadership and impact on issues of global organisational effectiveness Leadership plays a great role in promoting the effectiveness of the organisation from a global perspective. Leadership is primarily concerned with vision of the organisation as well as change in order to achieve the organisational goals. Against this background, it can be seen that the leaders play a very important role in influencing the other employees to increase their performance so as to be able to achieve the organisational goals. Effective leading often leads to the organisation’s effectiveness in its performance towards the attainment of the organisational goals. We are living in a dynamic environment that is characterised by constant changes hence the need for the leaders to keep a close eye on these changes. It can also be noted that one does not need to be a manager to become a leader. The leadership and the employees ought to work hand in hand in order to achieve the vision of the organisation. In the event that the organisation has decided to expand its operations, there should be mutual understanding between the leaders and the followers to be able to implement the proposed changes. A leader often takes a leading role in developing and inspiring staff to improve their performance which in turn leads to increased productivity in terms of offering satisfactory products and services to the customers with the aim of achieving organisational goals. A leader should always display positive traits that can be emulated by the juniors who are followers in the company. A leader should always motivate the workers so as to minimise the chances of conflict in the organisation which can negatively impact on its effectiveness. Another function of leadership is to provide basic training to the employees so that they can be equipped with the required knowledge to undertake the challenging tasks that can be brought about by change in the operations of the organisation in a global set up. Training can be in the form of coaching and mentoring which are all very important in motivating the employees to have a positive feeling towards change. Mentoring is an important support tool that an organisation can use to help young inexperienced employees to develop a better understanding of the work through the guidance of an older, more experienced employee or mentor (Jackson and Schuler 2000). On the other hand, coaching is a planned one on one instruction method where a coach working with only one learner at a time sets a good example of what is to be done (Kleynhans 2006). A one on one coaching situation is suitable for this case since there would be likely chances that the employee would quickly understand the dictates of the new policies since it would expose them to first hand experience. Mentoring can also play a critical role in which an established employee in this particular case can take a leading role in guiding the development of a less-experienced worker in a bid to increase his competencies, achievement and understanding of the new policy framework. This would remove unnecessary fears among the employees as they would immensely benefit from the knowledge of senior and experienced workers in a cordial fashion which encourages growth of interpersonal relationship. Where there is a cordial relationship among the workers, there would be very high chances of successfully achieving the goals of the organisation. Coaches also encourage their trainees to discuss difficult situations as they arise and work through alternative scenarios to deal with those difficult situations as a way of attempting to achieve the positive results anticipated from implementing the new global policies. In house training is very effective for ensuring the retention of workers. No organisation can function properly without communication (Kritzinger, Bowler and Goliath 2003). Effective communication entails that there is mutual understanding between the stakeholders particularly employees and their employers as far as communication of organisational policy is concerned. All organisations are structured in such a way to achieve organizational goals and this helps to make the flow of information or organizational communication more effective. It can be seen that another major function of a leader in an organisation is to communicate effectively as away of increasing the effectiveness of the organisation through timely communication of important information. There should be feedback from both ends to ensure that there is mutual understanding within an organisation. Timely response to communication from both ends would remove the barriers that may exist which can block the free flow of information. Where there is an open channel of communication, there are likely chances of communicating effectively since the parties involved would be agreeing on one thing which is aimed at attaining the goals of the organisation. My chosen leader is Bill Gates, the boss of Microsoft. I admire this person for quite a number of reasons as going to be outlined briefly below. Bill Gates is charismatic and is exemplary in the way he portrays himself. This person does not look down upon the less disadvantaged people in different societies despite the issue that he is the world’s richest person. One other thing why I admire Bill Gates is that he is a focused person. He has got a long term vision for his organisation and he has never disappointed his customers the world over. In short, this person can be called a visionary leader who keeps pace with the constant changes that characterise the global economy. Conclusion Over and above, it can be noted that leadership and management are two interrelated concepts in that they complement each other. The leaders are involved in influencing the workers to improve their performance while management is concerned with attainment of the organisational goals through the use of people. These two concepts play very important roles in ensuring the effectiveness of organisational performance from a global perspective. Organisations are primarily concerned with the achievement of particular goals and it can be noted that both leaders and managers play a very important role towards the achievement of theses set goals. The global economy is characterised by various changes hence the functions of the leaders and managers are very important in influencing organisational effectiveness so as to be able to keep pace with these. Bibliography Buhler P. (2001). Teach yourself Management Skills in 24 hours. USA. BookEnds. LLC. Carrell, R. et al (1995), Human Resources Management: Global Strategies for managing a diverse workforce, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, USA. Jackson, S.E. & Schuler R. (2000). Managing Human Resources: A Partnership Perspective. NY. South Western College Publishing. Kleynhans R. et al (2007), Human Resource Management: fresh perspectives, Prentice Hall, S.A. Kritzinger E., Bowler A. and Goliath D (2003), Effective Communication: Getting the message across in business, Afritech Robins S.P., Odendaal A.& Roodt G. (2001), Organisational Behaviour, Pearson Education Read More