Global Challenges for Business and Leadership - Essay Example

GLOBAL CHALLENGES TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION..3 COMPETITIVE VALUES FRAMEWORK..3 BARCLAYS BANK..6 BMW8 CLUB MED.9 GREENE KING11 Various kinds of global challenges in the world of business, like an increased rate of the economic complexity, multi- culturalism, globalization, the explosion of the information technology, sustainability and also the changing nature of the employment, which generally require leaders and managers in order to have the ability and the knowledge to draw on both the traditional as well as on the contemporary approaches to the management when ever formulating the business decisions. (Boddy, 2001, pg 200-226) INTRODUCTION Management in all the human organizations as well as in the various companies is simply the act of getting people together in order to accomplish all the desired goals. Management basically comprises of Organizing, Planning, Leading and Staffing or controlling and directing an organization or any company for the aims and the purpose of accomplishing any desired goal. On the other hand management can also refer to the person or to different people who perform the various acts of management. COMPETITIVE VALUES FRAMEWORK There are a number of approaches to management but the competitive values framework is the framework which comprehensively covers a number of management approaches. The Competing Values Framework for various cultural assessments was developed and well defined by Quinn and Rorbaugh in 1983 from the analysis of Campbell's longer list of efficiency as well as effectiveness dimensions into two major dimensional patterns. Cultural Dimensions Horizontal: In or Out The horizontal dimension basically defines the degree to which any organization generally focuses inwards as well as outwards. Towards left, attention is basically inwards, within the organization, in order to know what is happening in the organization. An internal focus is valid as well as an important source in any environment where the competition or the customer focus is not the main thing and it is also not the most important thing, but on the other hand in the competitive climates or where the external stakeholders hold sway, then this kind of challenge must met directly and effectively. Vertical: Stability or Flexibility The vertical axis basically determines that who actually makes decisions. At the lower end, control is also with the management whilst at the upper most end; it is also devolved to those employees who have been directly empowered in order to decide for themselves and for their organization or for their company. Stability is a valid form and source whenever the business is stable and the degree of reliability and efficiency is at the peak level, but when the environmental forces or the factors develop a need in order to have a change, then at that particular time flexibility becomes much more important. (Boddy, 2001, pp. 200-226) The Competing Values Map The four hierarchies as mentioned in the above diagram are to some extent historical in their respective development and are also presented in this order which is mentioned below. Hierarchy The hierarchy has basically a traditional approach towards the structure and control that generally flows from a strict chain of various command as mentioned in the Max Weber's view of the bureaucracy. For numerous years, this was also considered as the only effective and an efficient way in order to organize and is still considered as a basic element for many organizations. Hierarchies have full respect for the power as well as for the position. They also have well-defined processes, policies and well maintained procedures. Market The Market oriented organization also seeks to control but they do so by looking outward, and by taking notes of the transaction cost. Market organization is not the one which always focus just on the marketing level, they also keep this in mind that what are the main and the basic transactions, where are all these transactions, whether internal and the external issues are viewed in market terms or not. Clan The Clan organization has less focus on the control and also on structure and along with this they have a greater concern for the flexibility. Rather than having strict rules and the procedures, people are mainly driven through shared goals, visions, outputs and various outcomes. In contrast to the Hierarchial based organization, clans often have the flat organizations and their people and their teams act more autonomously and effectively. Adhocracy The Adhocracy has a greater independence and also the greater level of flexibility as compare to the Clan, which is much necessary in a rapidly changing kind of business climate. Where the market success goes to those with the greatest speed and also with the great adaptability, the adhocracy will there rapidly form teams in order to face new and different challenges. (Boddy, 2001, pp. 200-226) BARCLAYS BANK & GLOBALIZATION Barclays Inc is one of the major global financial service providers which is operating in North America, Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Asia, Australia and also in Africa. It is a holding company that is also listed on the New York, London and also on Tokyo stock exchanges. It is also known as a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It also operates through its main subsidiary Barclays Bank plc. The headquarters of this bank are at One Churchill Place in Canary Wharf, in London's Docklands. This bank provides various services to people, in order to serve them and also to fulfill their needs and demands. Barclays is mainly headed by the Marcus Agius, who is the Group Chairman, who also joined the Board on 1 September 2006 and was succeeded as a Chairman from 1 January 2007. He is also the senior executive Director of the BBC and was also known as the formerly Chairman of BAA PLC. The main and the important operating units of Barclays are basically grouped under the two umbrellas; the Investment Banking and the Investment Management (IB&IM) and the Global Retail and the Commercial Banking (GRCB) (Verdue, 1993, pp. 100-128). SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis of Barclays is as under: Strengths: The bank first started in 1690 and also enjoys the strong market penetration. It was the first bank which also launched the credit cards in UK and therefore the brand has also become an ingrained in the psyche of all the consumers. Increasing online security is the main reason which is used in order to combat the fraud. This software will also provide the bank with greater protection against any kinds of the frauds. The operations of this bank are also geographically diversified. Weaknesses: The bank has a very small presence and existence in the emerging markets of Asia. This can also prove to be one of the strategic errors of the colossal nature. Along with this, this situation can also be turned into a great opportunity for the bank. Opportunities: Great expansion into new and into an emerging markets like India. In fact the credit cards unit of the Barclays bank was launched in India a few months ago. Barclays also tried unsuccessfully in order to acquire ABN AMRO of the Netherlands. Now it is looking at some of the main and the financial firms in the US e.g. Lehman and the UBS. Threats: There are some chances for the bank to face a huge post merger integration challenges which can be harmful for the bank too. This would generally be sharp given its failed attempt in order to break a deal with the ABN AMRO. There would also be a negative perception and the resistance among the employees of the main target. Globalization: Globalization is basically a process of integration and interaction among the companies, people and the governments of the different nations, it is also termed as a process which is driven by the international trade and the investment and which is also aided by the information technology. This process has a great effect on the environment, also on culture, on the political systems, on the economic development and also on the prosperity. Globalization is now affecting the banks large and small. It is about trying to understand that what customers actually want, so that the banks can then reach customers in the ways that meet their unique needs and demands. Various market advantages will also lie along with Barclays that basically rethink its strategy, the structure and also the culture in order to reflect a changed reality. By CVF model, market-oriented as well as the hierarchically-oriented approach can be used in order to make this bank the powerful one, where work can be easily done by full cooperation, mutual co-ordination, in order to gain better results (Sims, 2002, pg 200-298). BMW AND THE CREDIT CRUNCH BMW is the world's largest maker of the luxury cars. It has also become one of the first major European industrial victims of the main area of credit crunch as it also took a 236 million euro charge because of the falling prices and also because of the rising bad debt in the United States. The Competing Values Framework (CVF) has been named as one of the most important models in the history of the business. It has been originally emerged from the empirical research on this main and one of an important question of what actually makes any organizations effective and also an efficient one Through this framework BMW one of the well known companies is making progress day by day. The results from the CVF model also indicates that (1) BMW has a high level of well awareness, both in the recall as well as in the recognition level. (2) The image of BMW is much favorable, strong and also relevant. (3) BMW is generally associated with the performance and also with the style by all the existing customers and by the status of the potential customers. On the other hand some weaknesses are also identified, that contain great opportunities for the BMW. The regression analysis also indicates that there is a strong and a positive correlation between the customer satisfaction and between the perceived customer service and the perceived innovation for all the existing customers and there is also a strong positive correlation between the customer satisfaction and the perceived customer service. From the CVF model, hierarchically oriented approach can be used because with the help of this, the main focus will be on the structure, how to co-ordinate, how to work together in order to gain better results (Drucker, 2007, pp. 800-839). CLUB MED Club Mditerrane also known as Club Med, is a French based corporation for the vacation resorts which is also found in many parts of the world, usually in the exotic locations. The Club was basically started in 1950 by the former Belgian water polo champion, Grard Blitz. The first village ever opened on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The original or the existing villages were simple along with the members staying in the unlit straw huts on a beachfront, with sharing communal washing facilities. Such villages have also been replaced with the modern blocks or with the huts along with ensuite and attractive facilities. As many climatic problems do occur because of these resorts, same is the situation with the Club Med. Club Med is now working in order to reduce their carbon emissions to become more Green Globe certified. In order to offset the remaining emissions, Club Med is now partnering with the Carbon fund organization. (Rosen, 2000, pp. 400-409) Club Med and Climate Change Club Med is now working with the Central Vermont Community Action Council (CVCAC) in order to implement a Button-Up Vermont which is an intensive six-month program in order to help thousands of the Vermonters to reduce their energy bills by 20% and also to improve the energy efficiency. Climatic problems are one of the major problems which also cause great problems for the people. These kinds of organizations should keep this in mind that they should not produce such kind of problems. Many different programs have been implemented in order to reduce this problem so that people can live happily and in the same way these companies can gain maximum amount of share too. Various climatic changes can also affect Club Med. Pollution, weather all are the factors which can have a great impact on it and can influence the results. From the CVF model Clan oriented approach can be used in order to make profits. Because in this approach it basically focus on the internal factors which will be beneficial for the place. (Mendenhall, 2001, pp. 300-320) GREENE KING Greene King Inns basically comprises of some of the most beautiful and the most luxurious inns as well as the hotels in the UK. Greene King has also been brewing beer and is also operating pubs for over 200 years. It was founded in 1799 by Benjamin Greene; it has thus grown steadily from its base in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in order to become a leading pub retailer as well as the ale brewer in the south of England. Greene King and Business Ethics Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that basically examines the ethical principles and the moral or the ethical problems that generally arise in any kind of the business environment. It also applies to all the aspects of business conduct and it is also relevant to the conduct of all the individuals and the business organizations as a whole. Nowadays business ethics are very much important because it is only with the help of these ethics that a company can work properly and can generate better results. Business ethics can be of two main kinds normative and it can also be descriptive discipline. Work should be done ethically like in Club Med so that every one can work with full zeal and zest without having any kind of problem. As mentioned earlier that if Greene King is an asset striping, means that it is selling their products or services at a profit, then the Market oriented approach should be used in order to do all the work, to have better and better results. (Punnett, 1995, pp. 700-710) REFERENCES David Boddy. 2001. Managing projects: building and leading the team. Page 200-226. Financial Times prentice Hall. Swasti Mitter, Maria Ines Bastos. 1999. Europe and developing countries in the globalised information economy. Page 200-245. routledge. Michel Verdure. 1993. Diving Club Med. Page 100-128. Aqua Quest publications. Ronald R Sims. 2002. Teaching business ethics for effective learning. Page 200-298. Greenwood Publishing group. Peter Ferdinand Drucker. 2007. Management: Tasks, responsibilities, practices. Page 800-839. Transaction Publishers. Robert H Rosen. 2000. Global Literacies: lessons on business leadership and national cultures. Page 400-409. Simon & Schuster. Mark E Mendenhall. 2001. Developing global business leaders: policies, processes and innovations. Page 300-320. Greenwood Publishing group. Betty Jane Punnett. 1995. Global management. Page 700-710. Wiley Blackwell. Read More