Introduction to Management - Essay Example

Topic: Introduction to Management Organizational management focus on the establishing normative guiding principles that will ascertain wider degree of autonomy in business operations and appreciation on how democracy works in decision-making while enforcing quality control in services and products introduced in the market (Dransfield, 2000). This is because the strength and opportunities of an organization is dependent on its organizational development capacity, in nurturing its culture, in managing resources and in rigorously promoting a customer-driven framework in its operation (Hofstede, 2001). This essay will explain business management theory and its application to Medibank Private, a leading prominent insurance and healthcare provider in Australia. As a new manager who found weak organizational culture and poor customer-driven approach, some recommendations are explicated herewith to enhance the institutional capacity toward excellence of service. The MediBank Private Medibank (2011) is a government-owned health insurance company organized in 1976 in Australia with the facilitation of the Health Insurance Commission, also known as Medicare Australia. It is the largest and dominant health insurance with an estimated subscriber of 3.6 million insurance holders. As a dominant insurance company, Medibank (2011) possessed Australian Health Management (AHM) and merged with HSA Group in 2009. With these developments, the company expanded by opening the Health Solutions Division which takes care on health insurances covering basic medication such as clinical services, preventative, and health support program—the latter is inclusive of coaching services through the Medibank Health Solutions and Travel Doctor. In mid- 2010 Medibank (2011) purchased McKesson Asia-Pacific, which transformed company into a health solution and insurance provider organization. Medibank (2011) decided in 2010 to amend its basic First Choice Savers hospital policy. The benefits associated to heart operations and reproductive services became accessible only by customers who opted to increase its health policy at a higher cost of 50% more for the restricted services (Medibank, 2011). The company evolved into a corporate company in 2009 under the regulation of Private Health Insurance Administration Council (PHIAC). In exercising their corporate social responsibility, Medibank (2011) supported health-related and community-based charity. Weak, Directionless, Lacking Core Strategies However, much as the institution endeavors to attain corporate excellence and to achieve operational efficiency, the organization has apparent weak organizational culture as depicted by the absence of organizational vision and mission (Bratanu & Balanescu, 2008) Vision and mission are fundamental values which provide sense of direction and the motivation to attain goals. Like a constitution, vision provides the soul and serves as an impetus to define plans, company relations and, target outcomes (Bratanu et.al., 2008). It’s also the standard of measure to determine if programs and operations contribute to the realization of company’s dream. The company’s absence of corporation express evident vagueness of purpose, hence, from its original nature as a health insurance company, it has also opened to provide diverse insurance policies for overseas’ students , travelers, pets, life and visitors cover (Medibank, 2011). It’s unclear if the company intends to diversify its insurance services to accommodate all potential clients or it’s simply massively pulling them all within its system in the absence of clear direction and focus in it services. There is a serious implication of this internal weakness which must be addressed through organizational capacity assessment to determine if some business operations are still within the ambit of the institution’s vision (Bratanu et.al., 2008). A company’s vision is an idealistic projection of the company’s undefined future from a successful perspective. Bratanu et. al. ( 2008) pointed that vision compel and powerfully drive a company to adapt with changes without compromising its systems and ideals. Through clear vision, the company becomes purposeful, self-determined, multi-faceted and integrated (Bratanu et.al. , 2008). Moreover, while the company profess adherence to transparency but none of its performance evaluations and reports were published in its website for consumers to read. If the company intends to create social values and to develop competitive advantage, it must publish its performance reports, promote its best practices, communicate its challenges, and devise strategies by increasing its operational management with an innate perspective, cost –efficient practices and such determined target to be effective in achieving target (Mihalache & Liana 2010). It must elaborate, implement, and evaluate strategies to attain dynamic equilibrium betwixt internal and external forces to fulfil its existential requirement as a company of values and wisdom (Bratanu et.al., 2008; Madsen, 2001). Strengthen Organizational Culture Moreover, while company showed exemplary leadership in rationalizing and strategizing its business management through planning and resource management, the company needs to strengthen its organizational culture to appreciate the contribution of its historic endeavors, approaches used, sense of competitiveness, relations with suppliers and its human resource management (Hofstede, 2001; Bratabu et.al., 2008). Organizational culture relates to systems, traditions, values, and best practices which made the company successful by developing better performance standards (Hofstede, 2001; Bratabu et.al., 2008). Aside from gathering distinction by adhering physical symbols, Medibank’s (2011) human resources must be able to acculturate corporate values, habits and the fundamental organizational behaviors in dealing with its clienteles. Physical culture is about adapting to distinctions by showing some architectural design, company logo or signage, wearing uniforms and sharing corporate myths, history, vision and mission (Bratanu, 2008). Another part is inculcating amongst its workforces corporate habits, values and practices. The latter is possible when management is able to enforce policies and rules in accordance to adhered vision, mission, objectives and performance standards. These are bases as guiding policies of the organization (Hofstede, 2001). Its enforcement and practice can be completed through strict compliance and monitoring via evaluation and performance appraisals. Such policies are designed with the intention of positively transform the organization by incessant application of organizational rules and desired behaviors (Hofstede, 2001). On improving and acculturating positive behaviors, the human capital must develop and adhere to its company’s philosophy, conviction, quality imperatives and ethical standards in the dispensation of their duties to further strengthen its legitimacy in its operation as a member of insurance and health industry (Hofstede, 2001; MacDonald & Simpson, 2001). Such meant that the workers must likewise adhere to national polices regulating its performance and behaviors of practitioners for health solution and insurance industry in the name of corporate excellence. It is therefore primordial that achievement of goals and purpose are illustrated through practice and correlation of performance, organizational culture and managerial work. These attainments of corporate goals are significant because it can shape public opinion and confidence of customers, and provide them such leverage by gaining more legitimacy as a company (Hofstede, 2001; Carroll, 1999). A reputable company will gain permanent customers, great relationships, institutional stability, and better values if it’s able to maintain productivity at efficient cost. Hofstede (2001) explicated that value system in management are representation of interdependent ideals as illustrated by coherency of theory and praxis in the interest of corporate growth. Such values should be shared by all employees and managers and should be translated into exemplary attitudes and personality-orientation. To make these practicable, the management must make salaries as significant reason of conduct; motivate innovative and inventiveness in the performance of tasks; illustrating a reputation of stability; systematized organizational management; organized planning and sustaining an organizational culture (Hofstede, 2001; MacDonald & Simpson, 2001; Ulhøi & Madsen, 2001). Indeed, this calls for a process where all workers’ psyches and inculcating values strategically and adaptation of systems. Enhance Customer-Driven Approach Customer-driven management approach is about thriving in extremely competitive business management by innovating its strategies, models and studies that will consider the significance of reinventing its market to meet and satisfy untapped needs, wants and wishes of consumers (Bratanu et.al., 2008). It’s not enough that a corporate management illustrated a taste of success as it expanded as an organization with subsidiaries nowadays. It must utilize all channels and targets to exploit the market with such rigor. It must pursue research and interactive mechanisms to gather and pool the sentiments of its subscribers and analyze all these from the business vantage (Luigi, Oana, Mihai, Simona, 2011). At such pretext, it’s noteworthy that while Medibank transformed from a non-profit to a corporate profit-driven insurance and health-service-provider, it must likewise consider all hypercompetition, opportunities and threats (Medibank, 2011; Luigi et.al., 2011). Business leaders have always performed with some level of risk and uncertainty, thus business these days demand leaders who can respond to rationalized momentum. Those who are able to survive through time are those organizations that are administered by people who know the sentiments and emotions of customers as well as understand the significance of delivering the appropriate mechanisms to uphold product, price, promotion, placement, people, physical evidence or process with right values (Luigi, Oana, Mihai & Simona, 2011). Luigi et.al., (2011) pointed that these are depicted by Sam Walton of Wallmart who perceived that there are better strategic ways to bring large-scale retailing to rural America just like how Steve Jobs of Apple understands that customers wishes to engage in emotional relationships with their gadgets. Such is also true to Richard Branson of Virgin company who advocates that air travelling need not be boring for consumers. Medibank must therefore improve its customer management to make the institution truly customer-driven. It must innovate and show corporate rigor in developing deep understanding about customer relationship management; about strategizing customer relationship; drawing reflection from customer-relation dilemma through varied perspectives, and improve its communication for building relations (Luigi et.al., 2011; Nastase, Tapurica & Tache, 2010). Customer relation is crucial in business management. Business experts’ theorized that that customer-focused company should educate and enhance workers’ knowledge on customer relations by making them more responsive and sensitive to customer needs and behaviors (Chen & Popvich, 2003) to encourage acquiescence of clients and decrease unnecessary disagreements. Medibank’s workers should therefore also hone their skills to become psychologists, anthropologist, sociologist, business experts, and historian to better understating customers’ needs and behaviors at a deeper vantage (Ilies, et.al, 2010). Since the company has websites, and therefore, visible online, it can make use of information technology to promote services, reach home-based customers and to develop database of customers’ needs (Chen & Popvich, 2003). The latter could help understand customers’ necessities (Chen & Popvich, 2003) in order for the management to re-engineer and strategize itself toward a customer-driven institution. As such, it must appreciate diversity as an opportunity. Medibank needs to likewise adapt to IT trends by utilizing business intelligence applications (Chen, 2001) which permit interactive communication thru heterogeneous sources. Nowadays, information technology changed traditional marketing of services using interactive research processes via customer surveys and utilization of social network for group-based communication (Chen, 2001). Experts have already proved IT’s accuracy in sifting information for profit analysis (Chen, 2001). IT can expand commercial opportunities since companies are permeated to communicate its corporate condition and its services worldwide (Ulhoi et.al, 2001; Chen, 2001). This can increase access for customers and potential investors and be an instrument for business relation strategies. It can also lessen and optimize the operational costs while increasing its communicative level and corporate visibility (Chen, 2001). It can also accelerate administration and supervision by automating communications and coordination in all departments. Indeed, information technologies have already improved business transaction by automating its accounting and data exchange management (Chen, 2001). Medibank (2011) can maximize this too to bolster its access for research and data management in relation to project management. Appreciating its Current Gains As the company seeks to improve its system, it must likewise appreciate its gains as part of nurturing corporate culture. As the company underwent some merger and acquisition of other companies, such is quite illustrative of its profit-based drive to integrate and optimize organizational plans and business skills (Medibank, 2011). Managers can further enhance effectiveness if it can increase its proficiency and prefer to become stronger in their commitments (Bratanu et.al. 2008; Johnston & Brennan, 1996). As to its human resource management (HRM), Medibank can sustain the provision of allowances and benefits to depict organizational managers’ serious supervision and to guarantee workable systems of motivated employees (Ilies, Crisan & Muresan, 2010). This practice affirmed that business management is essential in sustaining business operation and in ascertaining competitive leverage in the market. Economists asserted that sustainability is best secured through systematic corporate plans, policies and mechanism (Ilies, et. al., 2010). Such can likewise be achieved if managers are refined leaders; if social and business analyses are proficiently safeguarded; and, security on financial and human resources are strategically managed. All these systematically correlate with business management and sustainability (Madsen, 2001; Rojot, 2002). Generally, it can be inferred that the company practice good corporate governance through good planning. This is basically a rational calculation of realistic time-bound work-plans with targeted goals within a period and through allocation of resources. Toft (2001) opined that empirical-based planning are those that are contextualized on needs, problems, conditions and availability of resources that can be initially be maximized to take-off in business operations. Planning should be coupled with innovation, human resource participation, and courage to perform tasks that can precipitate job and customer satisfaction (Toft, 2001). Medibank plans should engender communication and processes that are measurable, attainable, reasonable and time-bound. It must also consider context, trends and forecasts to ensure that business is geared to better direction. Executives must seize opportunities, brace on challenges and sail with an optimistic ambition (Nastase & Tapurica & Tache, 2010). Conclusion Indeed, Medibank should adhere to improved corporate policy that engenders distinctiveness as a reputable and as a customer-driven institution. It must maintain competitive management especially in the administration, in human resource supervision, and in upholding policies that advocate for customer satisfaction by ensuring that it can offer unparalleled or unrivalled quality service. Such corporate governance should be able to develop and articulate competitive products pricing, corporate ethics, and formidable teamwork of workers in partnership with management. In so doing, first and foremost, the company should develop its vision and mission to guide its programs, projects, human resource management, operational policies and its consumer relations. It must illustrate disciplined decision-makings to advance its performance. It could be safe to assume that the success in this part, as indicated by the key result areas, is driven by motivation, policies and by the company’s corporate vision or goals. This is because it’s crucial for Medibank managers to lead purposively by managing through the vantage of its vision and mission. Executives should likewise continually enhance their knowledge on quality control to ascertain delivery services that are integrated with right time management, cost efficiency, open communications, systematized procurement and scheme for risk mitigation. It should also standardize its working environment and operational procedures. This is significant because managing business with excellence will contribute for better social conditions and company’s integrity. It must illustrate indispensable skills for comprehensive planning, directing and controlling financial, technical and resources. Its management must imperatively harmonize relations with clients and ought to be sensitive with their needs and problems to ascertain sustainability. Anent to this, there should be regular conduct performance appraisal to assess their strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and to delve into political, economic, social, technical, environmental and legal (PESTEL) analysis to better situate the company with developments. It must maximize its strengths and opportunities as well as strategize mechanism to combat with possible threats and weaknesses .The conduct of PESTEL analyses will facilitate strategic decisions amid challenges and better responses on possible quandaries problems. Its leadership should have the capacity to integrate combined skills of transformational, transactional, charismatic, and service-and-principle-centered leadership. The convergences of this leadership provide an impetus where constructive and continuous development and practice in management is done toward sustainable organizational administration and customer-driven operation. These are essential in the face of globalization and technological advancement where institution is further challenged to redefine its relations between managers and employees in order for them to leverage and to attune operations toward targeted goals. It must likewise ascertain that its human capital are oriented with sense of responsibility, achievement, participation, motivation, intelligence, emotional quotient, pragmatic ability, results-oriented, knowledgeable and effective in communication. Company likewise needs to incessantly adopt appropriate business management framework by professionally subscribing to necessary policies, strategies, quality control, monitoring and employees’ evaluation or appraisal that are fundamental in managing corporate systems. Nurturing excellence as a company with better corporate culture and customer-driven services will increase Medibak’s reliability and loyalty from clients. REFERENCES Abbott,W. F., & Monsen, R. J. (1979). On the measurement of corporate social responsibility: Self-reported disclosures as a method of measuring corporate social involvement. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 22 pp. 501-515. Otley, D.T. (1999), Performance Management: a Framework for Management Control Systems Research, Management Accounting Research, Vol. 10, No. 4, Dec, pp. 363-382. Catalin Drob, (2009). The evolution of the project management. Studies and Scientific Researches - Economic Edition, University Vasile Alecsandri of Bacau, Faculty of Economic Sciences. Issue 14. Carroll, Archie B (1999). Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution of a Definitional Construct. International Association for Business and Society. Sage Publication. Vol. 38 No. 3: 268-29. http://www.cs.unitn.it/~andreaus/bs1011/BS_L3_carroll.pdf Accessed: August 4, 2011. Ernø-kjølhede, Erik, 2000. "Project Management Theory and the Management of Research Projects," Working Papers 3/2000, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Management, Politics & Philosophy. Johnston, R. B. & Brennan, M., 1996. "Planning or organizing: The implications of theories of activity for management of operations," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 367-384, August. Jacques Rojot, 2002. "Economics and Management Theory: New Developments in France," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 283-294. Liviu Ilies, Emil Crisan & Ioana Natalia Muresan, (2010). Best Practices In Project Management, Revista De Management Comparat International/Review Of International Comparative Management, Faculty Of Management, Academy Of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, Vol. 11(1), pp. 43-51. Madsen, Mona Toft, 2001. "Leadership and Management Theories Revisited," Working Papers 2001-5, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Management. University of Aarhus. Madsen, Mona Toft, 2001. "Leadership and Management Theories Revisited," Working Papers 2001-5, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Management. Marian Nastase & Oana - Catalina Tapurica & Florin Tache, (2010). Involving Project Leaders Within Project Management Teams: Â Key Factor Towards Competitiveness, Revista De Management Comparat International/Review Of International Comparative Management, Faculty Of Management, Academy Of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, Vol. 11(4), pp. 582-590. Medibank, 2011, Corproate Overview. Medibank Private Limited, Australia. http://www.medibank.com.au/About-Us/Corporate-Information/An-Overview.aspx. Accessed: November 30, 2011 Medibank, 2011, Our history. Medibank Private Limited, Australia. http://www.medibank.com.au/About-Us/Corporate-Information/History.aspx Accessed: November 30, 2011 Medibank, 2011, Medibank Private from good to great. Medibank Private Limited, Australia. http://www.medibank.com.au/About-Us/Corporate-Information/Strategic-Direction.aspx Accessed: November 30, 2011 Mihalache Anita & Salagean Liana, (2010). Project Management Techniques, Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, Ovidius University of Constantza, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Vol. 0(1), pp. 1151-1155, May. Ulhøi, John P. & Madsen, Henning, 2001. "Trends and patterns in contemporary management in smaller companies: The Danish Perspective," Working Papers 2001-1, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Management. Rob Dransfield (2000). Studies in Economics and Business: Human Resource Management. Heinemann Educational Publishers. Jordan Hill, Oxford. http://www.google.com/books?hl=tl&lr=&id=Eq3Tcd9gYn8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA69&dq=performance+management&ots=NUCCU0B1Mx&sig=pD59SppStFSAGjLm23BlgguxmlE#v=onepage&q&f=true. Accessed: August 3, 2011. Stuart MacDonald & Mike Simpson, 2001. "Learning from Management Consultants: The Lesson for Management Researchers," Prometheus, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 117-133. Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences. 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Chen, I. (2001). Planning for ERP systems: analysis and future trend. Business Process Management. Vol. 7 No. 5, pp. 374-86. Constantin Bratanu. & Georgiana Victoria Balanescu, ( 2008). Vision, mission and corporate values. A comparative analysis of the top 50 U.S. companies," Management & Marketing, Economic Publishing House, vol. 3(3). Dumitrescu Luigi & Stanciu Oana & Tichindelean Mihai & Vinerean Simona, (2011). "Pursuing A Customer-Driven Approach For Innovation And Marketing Excellence," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 6(2), pages 19-26, August. Read More