Friday, January 31, 2020

Operations Management assignment Essay Example for Free

Operations Management assignment Essay Supply chain management is the coordination of the processes and functions within a business, adopted by most companies in the UK in the late 1990’s. It deals with the internal and external factors that, when dealt with correctly and systematically, can determine a businesses success or failure. A supply chain is the network of activities that delivers a finished product service to the customer. By definition, supply chain management (SCM) is â€Å"the management of the flows of materials from suppliers to customers in order to reduce overall cost and increase responsiveness to the customers† (Reid Sanders). SCM entails the co-ordination of the movement of good through the supply chain from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors to the final customer. The main aim of SCM is to maximise the efficiency of any given process being carried out by a company; by doing this it is allowing them to try to cut their costs and hopefully keep satisfying their customers’ needs, while at the same time maintaining their competitive position within their market. Supply chain management is seen as more of an â€Å"open system† in contrast to the traditional system used by the majority of companies just 20 years ago. The new â€Å"open system† allows room for change which is greatly needed with the current financial instability of the economy. SCM has evolved over the years and has moulded to suit the ever changing economy. First adopted by the Japanese, in the form of Geba Kai (A meeting of the minds), the now commonly found process is used by a vast amount of companies in the UK. Nowadays, SCM within a business is responsible for a product from when it’s in its raw state to when it’s a finished product, ready for consumption by customers. The chain management that Comfort Company PLC currently uses is a very traditional system, otherwise known as a â€Å"closed system†. This type of management system isolates itself from the other components in the supply chain and therefore only has communication flowing through the companies own system, this is a negative attribute as it prevents the company from getting important and influential information about the state of the other links in their supply chain. When the dynamics of change happened, it forced the breakthrough of a new approach, the â€Å"open system†. The â€Å"open system† made companies a lot more open to operational change and as a result of this it made several managers, whose companies used the closed, more traditional system, view the new approach as a loss of power; this consequently made a lot of companies resist against the change. The new and more flexible â€Å"open system† was adopted firstly by the Japanese in the form of â€Å"Geba Kai†, they were closely flowed by the British who quickly followed them in adopting it. There are still some nations that, even now, rigidly stick to their old ways and use the â€Å"closed system†, two examples of these nations are the Americans and the Germans. Along with the list of positives the company will gain by changing from a traditional chain system to a more formal supply chain management (SCM) system, there are also a few strategic reasons why a company should change to the newer system, reasons that will help them to stay on par with the other business’ within their industry and within the whole business sector. One of these reasons is globalisation. As stated in â€Å"Operations management: Along the supply chain†, Two thirds of today’s businesses operate globally through global markets, global operations, global financing, and global supply chains†. Globalisation means that British companies, such as Comfort Company PLC are going to have to be prepared to compete in markets that are foreign to them and also have foreign competition within their own domestic markets. Companies that adopt, or have already adopted, a formal supply chain management system will have an advantage upon those who havenâ€⠄¢t and will be able to benefit from globalisation. There are many benefits a company would gain from introducing a formal supply chain management system, all fulfilling the wish to supply the customer with good quality products that â€Å"Comfort Company plc† posses, while at the same time giving them an opportunity to maximise their customer satisfaction, manage their supply chain effectively and allow flexibility to their supply chain. By maximising customer satisfaction, â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could asses how well they are meeting their customers needs, while at the same receiving an indication of how well the business is doing in comparison with their competition; both in their market and foreign markets. Having a flexible supply chain would mean that the company would be able to react to change in demand quickly to ensure that they level the demand to their output, this would save them a lot of time, waste and resources if a freak change in demand was to happen. If â€Å"Comfort company plc† did not adopt the formal supply chain management system they would be at risk of loosing a lot of money if an unforeseeable change was to happen, this would give them a disadvantage upon the competition and would lower their competitive advantage. Effective management of a supply chain could open up opportunities for â€Å"Comfort Company plc† to improve many aspects of their production, and potentially save themselves a lot of money. By identifying the unnecessary waste along the supply chain, â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could make the process an easier, cheaper and quicker one for themselves and other links in their supply chain; this would make the chain more productive, co nsequently making the finished product â€Å"better value†. One of the main advantages of a formal supply chain management system, and an excellent attribute a company can have, is an advantage upon your competitors. Defined, competitive advantage is â€Å"an advantage over competition gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices†(Tutor2u.net, 2011). The type of competitive advantages a company such as â€Å"Comfort Company plc† would achieve from a formal SCM system are advantages such as lower costs and operational flexibility. As there are numerous ways of gaining a competitive advantage, the company in question needs to do some research into their market to see how it could be done, they could research the ways in which their successful competition operate and try to adopt some of their approaches. A good example of a company using its formal SCM system to achieve a good competitive advantage is Dell Computer Corporation. â€Å"Quick delivery of customised computers at prices 10-15 percent lower than the industry standard is Dell’s competitive advantage. A customised Dell computer can be en route to the customer within thirty-six hours. This quick response allows Dell to reduce its inventory level to approximately thirteen days of supply. Dell achieves this in part through its warehousing plan. Most of the components Dell uses are warehoused within fifteen minute travel time to an assembly point. Dell does not order components at its Austin, Texas, facility; instead, suppliers restock warehouses as needed, and Dell is only billed for items only after they are shipped. The result is better value for the customer† (Reid Sanders). There are a few ways â€Å"Comfort Company plc† can gain competitive advantage within their market, such as using tools like business to business (B2B) e-commerce, or adopting one of Dells results gaining approaches and making sure that there components and raw materials for making the products are located a short travel time away from the place of assembly. Being situated on the Crewe Gates industrial park, where many other businesses, some similar to â€Å"Comfort Company plc† no doubt, are situated, there’s sure to be some way that they could find a supplier closer. If this was to succeed they could create a good, strong relationship with the suppliers and build a barrier of trust and communication, this would be a perfect scenario to ensure the links in the supply chain are strong, as the supply chain is â€Å"only as weak and its weakest link† and vice versa. A business to business (B2B) e-commerce is when companies sell to other business, it is the largest segment of e-commerce. If â€Å"Comfort Company plc† were to use business to business (B2B) e-commerce, they could gain potential benefits such as: †¢Lower procurement administrative costs, †¢Better quality because if increased cooperation of between buyers and sellers, especially during the product design and development, †¢Low-cost access to global suppliers, †¢Lower inventory investment due to price transparency and reduced response times (R. Dan Reid, Nada R. Sanders) The reasons/advantages stated above for changing from a traditional chain system to a formal supply chain management system are in fact more than just small advantages â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could gain, but necessary changed that need to be made if they want to survive the current economical crisis and still have customers/revenue at the end of it. With globalisation growing and the need to satisfy the customers becoming more apparent and diverse, the formal supply chain management system is a necessary system that every business, no matter how small or large, should put into place. The formal SCM system will allow â€Å"Comfort Company plc† to integrate their information systems with their suppliers and customers in an effort to meet their goals and objective while still at the same time doing this in a cost-saving way. With every new system brought into a company, there is the risk of it creating a few problems within the company; this makes the need of a contingency plan much higher. There are a few risks that come along with implementing such a big change to a business so set in its ways like â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, a main one being the possible lack of cooperation from the workforce or managers. When change happens in a workplace the employees can feel threatened and scared and will sometimes rebel against the new change, this could be avoided if the company took a few simple procedures to ensure the workforce are happy with the new system. They should tell the workforce about the new operational plan and get their feedback on it, this will make them feel involved in the change and will hopefully make them feel less alienated. Also, they should sit them down and explain the needs of introducing a formal supply chain management system into the company, and the benefits it would gain by doing so, if they feel it would be benefiting the company, they should feel happier about the change going on. Furthermore, if both of the steps are carried out correctly, it could make them more motivated towards their job as they will feel involved in the company and will hopefully want it to succeed. Another risk of the formal supply chain management system is the potential loss of jobs within the company; this will be because some members of staff will not be needed as a go between for information between suppliers and so on. The redundancies in the company could possibly cause bad feeling between the workforce and the new system and could de-motivate them, possibly leading to a decrease in the effort put in by the workforce; this could potentially lead to a product being of a lower quality. Also, the possible redundancies made will be a negative factor for the economy as there will be a few more unemployed people in the country; this is one of the only major downfalls of the introduction of the formal SCM system. However, there may be members of staff who are close to retirement and could benefit from voluntary redundancy and the benefits that go with it. A negative of that would be that â€Å"Comfort Company plc† may loose some of their staff with the most experience and expertise, potentially making them train up current members of staff to the same quality as the members of staff who left. However, the operations management team at â€Å"Comfort Company plc† will have to put contingency plans in place that cover all of the possible risks, and ways to reduce the risks from happening. There are many needs of introducing a formal supply chain management system into â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, and many advantages it would gain by doing so. While there are also some risks involved, the advantages and needs outweigh them massively as they could potentially provide â€Å"Comfort Company plc† with a competitive advantage, while at the same time reducing their costs and use of resources. Like the traditional chain system currently adopted by â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, the new, more up to date formal supply chain management system will fulfil their wish to supply the customer with good quality products while at the same time saving them resources and money, making them more profitable. The introduction of a formal supply chain management (SCM) system is necessary and â€Å"Comfort Company plc† should definitely strongly consider it. References: †¢Operations Management: An integrated approach (2007) (3rd edition) R. Dan Reid, Nada R. Sanders. Pages 16, 98-105 †¢Operations Management: Along the supply chain (6h edition) Russell Taylor. Page 9. †¢Tutur2u.net (2011) Competitive advantage (WWW) Available from: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/competitive_advantage.htm

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Tropical Africa: Food Production And The Inquiry Model :: essays research papers

Tropical Africa: Food Production and the Inquiry Model Hunger is the result of disasters such as drought, floods, the changing of the jet stream patterns and other natural disasters. They are beyond our control. It has been estimated that one third of the land in Tropical Africa is potentially cultivable, though only about 6% of it is currently cultivated. However, to change farming from a low-input low-yield pattern to a high-input, high-yield pattern necessitates the use of more fertilizer and the planting of high-yielding varieties of crops There are a number of environmental factors, related mostly to climate, soils and health, resisting easy developmental solutions. Rainfall reliability is closely connected to rainfall quantity The rainfall in the equatorial heart is very plentiful and reliable. However, there is much less rainfall towards the outer edges of the rain belt. Periodic and unpredictable droughts are a characteristic feature of these border zones. There are three climatic zones in Tropical Africa: 1.a region of persistent rain at and near the Equator 2.a region on each side of this of summer rain and winter drought, and 3.a region at the northern and southern edges afflicted by drought. All the climates listed in the previous paragraph are modified in the eastern parts of Tropical Africa by the mountains and monsoons. The soils of Tropical Africa pose another problem. They are unlike the soils of temperate areas. Soils are largely products of their climates, and tropical soils are different from temperate soils because the climate is different. Because of the great heat of the tropics tends to bake the soils, while on the other hand, the rainfall leaches them. The combined heat and moisture tend to produce very deep soils because the surface rock is rapidly broken down by chemical weathering. All this causes the food's rate of growth to slow down or maybe even stop and as a result food production won't even come close in catching up to the rate of population increase; therefore starvation and hunger is present. In the process of a flood and drought, the roots of trees are shallow and virtually no nutrients are obtained from the soil. The vegetation survives on its own humus waste, which is plentiful.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Susan Glaspell’s 1916 play ‘Trifles’ – Review

Susan Glaspell's 1916 play ‘Trifles' demonstrates how gender can affect a reader's response. Gender describes the physical and social condition of being male or female. When viewing the Wrights kitchen as a text and the characters as the reader, it becomes clear how gender is an integral feature of the theory of reading. The reader response theory consists of multiple elements; it looks at how a reader interprets a text and what contributes to that interpretation. Raman Seldon et al states ‘we differ about interpretations only because our ways of reading differ'. The way we read a text will also depend on personal experience. Wolfgang Iser argues that a piece of literature contains ‘blanks',2 these are spaces in the text that only the reader can fill. If these blanks exist within an unfamiliar area, the reader is unlikely to fill them. This affects the readers' construal of the text in this case the Wrights kitchen. In the early 20th century the kitchen was a place rarely occupied by men and the County Attorney is quick to observe ‘nothing important here, nothing that would point to any motive'. The men in this scene are typical of the ‘implied reader' described by Raman Seldon et al as ‘the reader whom the text creates for itself and amounts to a network of response-inviting structures'. The theory looks at how a text projects itself to the reader, Umberto Eco's ‘the role of the reader' argues that some texts are open while others are closed, the former invites reader collaboration in the development of meaning, the latter has its meaning already determined and has anticipated the readers response. 5 Trifles' is an open text, it invites the readers, in this case the men and women to find the meaning/evidence. The men's inability to fill the blanks signifies gender issue and contributes to their ultimate failure. Another aspect of reader-orientated criticism is the ‘reception theory', Hans R Jauss, a German supporter of this theory uses the term ‘Horizon of expectation'6 to describe the criteria readers use to judge literary texts in any given period. The men of law enter the scene with a predetermined ‘horizon of expectation'. Their historical experience of similar crimes means they look for a particular set of codes in this case signs of evidence, because this case does not fit into that experience they fail to discover the evidence. They are restricted by their gender role and unable to read the text as anything other than masculine. Alongside the men, the ‘implied reader' is Mrs. Hale. According to Raman Seldon et al we can categorise her as the ‘actual reader' she ‘receives certain mental images in the process of reading',7 but the images also depend on her ‘existing stock of experience', in this case her understanding of what it is to be a woman in her time. Referring to Judith Fetterley's notion of the resisting reader, Sara Mills argues that ‘although texts may address us as males, we as females can construct a space of reading which resists the dominant reading'. 8 Mrs. Hale resists the dominant reading and participates in a feminine reading of the text; this enables her to read the scene from a female perspective. Mrs. Peters reads the text both as a man and as a woman, although she only appears to do this at a subconscious level. She is the sheriffs' wife; therefore, she has a stricter gender role to adhere to, her role of wife has almost obscured her natural femininity. Sara Mills describes the gendered reading of a text as ‘one whereby the reader comes to the process of reading with a framework of expectations which are determined by her gender, and she interacts with elements in a text in a gendered way'. 9 Mrs. Hale defines her gender role in comparison with Mrs. Wright when talking about Minnie she says ‘she didn't even belong to ladies aid'10 she accepts that they are both farmers' wives and that Minnie never fully embraced that gender role. Minnie did not get involved with other women or with organisations that would have given her freedom. The quote implies that it was the least she could have done, Mrs. Hale does however empathise with Minnie influencing Mrs. Peters to do the same. Raman Seldon et al state ‘the act of interpretation is possible because the text allows the reader access to the author's consciousness,'11 this allows the reader to think and feel what the author does. This is a significant point, the men in the play try to interpret Mrs. Wright's manner but are unable to come to any conclusions, when the women discover the untidy sewing they are able make assumptions about her mood and state of mind, they can identify with her as a woman and as a wife. Sara Mills states that ‘the reader is subject to many discursive pressures which lead her to read in particular ways. ‘. 12 Mrs. Peters avoids answering direct questions with her own opinion when asked by Mrs. Hale ‘do you think she did it? ‘ She replies with the opinions of her husband and his colleagues. She does sympathise, but what follows is an abrupt recall of her masculine implied reader response, e. . ‘I know what stillness is, but the law has got to punish crime, Mrs. Hale'. 14 A reader always takes to a text a framework into which they fit the text, this explains why the men read the scene the way they do. The men interpret the text from a masculine point of view, they only know the facts, Mr. Wright is dead and Mrs. Wright was the only other person present. It would be natural for them, taking into consideration there historical viewpoint, implied reader response and gender role, to look for obvious signs of an argument or struggle. The notion of a gendered difference is critical when analysing reader positioning. The kitchen plays an integral part in signifying the gender roles. Gainor states in her essay, ‘if the kitchen is coded as the woman's sphere, then surely the bedroom must be thought of as the male arena,'15 this is where the men spend most of their time and of course where John Wright died. Mrs. Hale and the men in the play have a contradictory view of John Wright's character. When Mrs. Peters states, ‘they say he was a good man,' she is again referring to the men's opinion. While Mrs. Hale admits that he ‘didn't drink', ‘kept his word' and ‘paid his bills', she also refers to her own impression of him as a ‘hard man'. Mrs. Hales sees beyond the masculine observations and trusts her own instincts; she describes talking to him as ‘like a raw wind that gets to the bone'. 16 The men in the play do not discuss John Wright's life or personality. The women do discuss Minnie Wright, Mrs. Hale describes her before her marriage, ‘she used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster'. 17 Mrs. Hale builds up an image of Mrs. Wright that Mrs. Peters can relate to and identify with, she later describes her as ‘like a bird herself',18 this coupled with the cold character of Mr. Wright and the discovery of the birdcage create an image of Minnie being caged herself. The discovery of the bird with its broken neck is an important moment of realisation for the two women. The extent of the sadness in Minnie Wright's life has become abundantly clear and the recognition of what this grim discovery signifies seems to set Mrs. Hales mind racing. Again, referring back to her own personal experience of Mr. Wright, Mrs. Hale states ‘No, Wright wouldn't like the bird-a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too'. 19 This statement is sufficient to make Mrs. Peters obviously uncomfortable with how the situation is unfolding. Mrs. Hale reproaches herself for not calling on Mrs. Wright occasionally; she declares ‘that was a crime, who's going to punish that? '20 This questioning adds to the inference that the murder was not the only crime that took place in the farmhouse. Ultimately, both women read the text from a gendered perspective enabling them to justify why they hide the evidence. The two women show compassion for Minnie Wright, they understand the hardships of being a woman in their time, and Mrs. Hale says ‘we all go through the same things – it's all just a different kind of the same thing'. 21 It is here the women seem united, in defense of one they feel has done wrong and been wronged, in a final act of female solidarity they hide the evidence they have found and protect Mrs. Wright. Susan Glaspell's ‘Trifles' is a play in one act that demonstrates the significance of gendered theories of reading. It achieves this by showing how the woman make their observations and unknowingly build up the circumstances surrounding the crime. They notice small details that are significant to them as women; these details enable them to identify with the text. The men in this play overlook these details because they only view the scene from a masculine perspective. They read the text within a rigid framework of ideals that do not apply in this case, to be able to interpret a variety of texts is to be able to read from a gendered point of view.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Influence of Global Business - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3123 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/09/24 Category Advertising Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? |  Cross cultural influence of global business | |   | |Contents | |1. Introduction | |2. Reed Elsevier | |3. The emergence of a company culture | |4. Products of a company culture | |5. Transference of a company culture | |6. Leadership and Structure | |7. Types of corporate culture | |8. Analysis of values | |9. Future projection | |10. Conclusion | |11. Bibliography | | | |1. 0 Introduction | |Culture is a term that encompasses areas of human activity and interest. It is  Ã¢â‚¬ËœThe integration pattern of human behaviour that includes thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values and | |institutions of a race, ethnic, religious or social group. ’1 | |If cultural settings are misunderstood or ignored in different regions, then the risk of failure to a business is enormous. In this age of the global marketplace, aided by the use of the Internet, the need to | |understand and adapt to cross-cultural issues is at its greatest. |In business t erms, specifically a global business with offices throughout the world, culture becomes critical to a firm’s success. It is  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦where balance between consistency and adaptation is essential’2  and must| |be addressed in a cohesive and intelligent sense. | |This case study will outline the importance of culture and its influence on Reed Elsevier (RE), in terms of its organization, its values and its success. | |It will analyse RE’s organizational structure, its global reach and the cultures it is influenced by. It will identify the emergence of defining its own specific corporate culture and the unique elements that | |have emerged from the formulation of its values. | |I will also cover the role of the company’s CEO and his influence in producing a cultural change within the business. An analysis of the products of this change will be presented and an analysis of the values | |and characteristics of RE and where the company will have to maintain its focus in the future. | |2. 0 Reed Elsevier | |Reed Elsevier (RE) is an amalgamation of two publishing companies. They originally date back to a Dutch business being formed in Rotterdam in 1880 (Elsevier) and Reed being formed in 1894 in Kent, England. Both | |companies enjoyed success for the best part of the next 100 years and in 1993 Elsevier NV and Reed International PLC merged. 3 | |‘Reed Elsevier’s corporate goal is to be the indispensable information provider for our target customers in selected professional markets. 4 | |Those markets include Science, Education, Legal and Business. Since the merger it has employed an aggressive expansion strategy resulting in being a global publishing presence, employing over 38,000 people | |across all continents. | |The merger of the two companies may have been a troubled time were it not for the fact that the two companies shared many cultural similarities. The management structure of the board of directors rep resents both| |the Netherlands and the UK. The reserved British attitude was well matched to the cautious and considered approach of the Dutch. | |Today the company is composed of the US, Singapore, Japan and the rest of Europe. Expansion into China and India means cross-cultural factors must be noted and acted upon if success is to occur. | |3. 0 The emergence of company culture | |Culture within an organisation can often be sensed within a few minutes of talking to the company’s employees. It is  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦the emergent result of the continuing negotiations about values, meanings and properties’5. |The company power structure, the rituals, symbols, organisation, and control systems give an identity to the business to the environment outside as well as internally. | |This paradigm, or  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦constellation of concepts, values, perceptions and practices shared by a community’6, can be a company’s secret to success or its undoing. | |In 19 99, RE employed Sir Crispin Davis as CEO, restructured the management hierarchy and announced a new strategy. At the core of this were the company’s five values that would be at the core of every division | |across the world. |The RE values are; | |Passion for winning | |Innovation | |Boundarylessness | |Customer Focus | |Valuing our people | |It is important to note that this change or tipping point in a company’s culture nearly always involves a new face and new ideas. Change, in this case, occurred over a period of years. Establishing a new look | |for the brands of the different divisions (Science, Legal, Education and Business) encouraged a change in culture. Innovation working groups and project teams collated ideas from around the world and backed | |those ideas financially. |Although it took some time to implement, the initial effects were felt within months. The business took on a global air that enabled people from different countries and cultures, to become part of a group that | |spoke the same language, held the same values7  and achieved goals that were shared by different business units. The emergence of these shared values that were agreeable to every employee facilitated a workforce | |with a strong unilateral voice. People in Europe understood that those in the US and Asia would be aiming at an RE way of doing business. | |It can be said that the re-structuring removed barriers and enabled channels to be opened, thus allowing change to become possible. By creating a vision of the future that employees subscribe to and act upon, an| |imprint of RE’s philosophy is placed upon all those who work there. They may not believe in it but the power of corporate values; crystallize the messages that the heads of a business wish to convey onto all | |their staff. | |‘Quantitative analyses have shown that firms with strong cultures out perform firms with weak cultures. ’8 | |4. 0 Products of a company culture | |The generation of global values brings together different cultures under a common set of beliefs. A physical product of this includes the Personal Development Plan that every employee, in every country, | |undergoes each year. It monitors performance aligned to the core values of the company. | |Internal awards recognise achievements within the business allowing reward for those who exemplify RE’s corporate manifesto. The Reed Employee Opinion Survey allows staff to comment critically on their working | |environment and their superiors in an anonymous online survey. | |Corporate Social Responsibility has become a very significant embodiment of what RE tries to communicate by helping charities and operating in an environmentally aware capacity. Scholarships have been set up to | |allow children of employees to benefit from education. | |5. 0 Transference of a company culture | |These products of company culture are powerful in transferring the values onto the employees, som etimes without their knowledge. The values are echoed down the hierarchy and taken on to each business unit. It | |could be argued that a company culture is so strong that it begins to replace more localized cultures because of its strength. | |RE is an Anglo-Dutch business with its main areas of commerce in the US and Northern Europe. It could be said that these cultures interact with each other on a basis of understanding. The management style of RE | |is objective orientated; indeed the whole organisation is geared up from the PDP to attain goals agreed between managers and sub-ordinates. | |6. 0 Leadership and structure | |‘Leadership: Good managers start with a personal agenda and use their leadership skills to spread it throughout the organisation’9. | |When Crispin Davis arrived at RE in 1999 his impact was felt immediately. After ridding the company of expensive and inefficient business units he embarked on a process of changing the organisational culture. He | |personified the organizations values by personally presenting them to the board members of the four individual divisions. By having a long term vison and great organisational capacity he was able to project | |areas in the company future where he would like specific objectives to be met. | |In 2000 the strategy was communicated throughout the business. A five year plan was orchestrated that provided cohesion, a brand identity and a clarity of purpose to a global group. | |Davis became the company’s tone of voice; he has embodied how the company talks to its employees. From the position of CEO he has communicated across the board to each of the four business divisions. They in | |turn have spoken to each of their global boards that have then cascaded the message through each country’s business unit. | |7. Types of corporate culture | |Trompenaars identified four types of corporate culture: Family, Eiffel Tower, Guided Missile or Incubator culture. The structure of RE is very hierarchical so has elements of the Eiffel Tower, the highest levels| |can be seen below, and below each division more layers of management reside. Even in a small department of 25 people, four layers of management may exist. | |However, the company also has a strong family culture, based on authority through experience. A firm in Japan and Italy employs this way of doing business, where business leader exerts their power through | |sub-ordinates of like minds. This can also be seen in RE although it stops short of the sort of adoration that is notable in staff for highly charismatic leaders. General Electric’s highly acclaimed Jack Welch | |whose  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦word ran like Holy Writ throughout the GE organisation’10  felt a huge impact when he left the firm. Such was his influence in all areas of the business a vacuum was left when he retired. | |A notable point here is that in an ideal firm the top echelons find the best people and delegate the r esponsibilities down to them. They must still lead in one respect,  Ã¢â‚¬ËœThe objectives, ethos and principles of | |the organisation are, †¦determined by the words, examples and actions of those at the very top. 11 | |Reed Elsevier PLC | |[pic] | |Reed Business Global | |[pic] | |Reed Business UK | |[pic] | |In a company of the size of RE, the words and actions of the CEO are always under scrutiny, from the press, the shareholders or the employees. It is hugely important to lead by example in these environments. |The company is largely goal orientated and project led and so the guided missile culture of objective orientated tasks features highly. However, the typical set up of this type of culture normally has a flat | |structure with a strong emphasis on being cross-disciplinary with a reliance on specialists. 12 | |Although this occurs in RE, particularly in the environments of Marketing, Creative and IT where all departments must work together to deliver projects, indivi duals are still noticed and changes are made due to | |seniority and rank. In these scenarios it is often like having two leaders, your departmental boss and the project head. You must try to please both, and risk pleasing neither for the sake of achieving the | |project goals. | |This forms a matrix organisation, where RE has the culture of the Family in terms of authority through experience, the Eiffel Tower in terms of role orientated hierarchy and the Guided missile culture of object | |orientated goals. | |RE shows least similarities with the Incubator culture where self-expression and self-fulfilment are the most important elements to the structure and where existence precedes organisation. The process of | |innovation and creation is its main focus and although RE has this at its core value, a company of its size finds it hard to embrace this culture. RE is very aware of the power of these types of business and has| |invested and bought Incubator companies that are usef ul, from around the world13. | |RE exhibits all types of organisational culture as it has so many different types of division across the world. The HQ, in London, and the board of directors are responsible for ensuring that different units are| |co-ordinated, learn from one another and stay true to the values and identity that gives them a common business language. | |RE is a truly international company and not a transnational organisation. The offices around the world are very much in tune and act accordingly, not so much instructed but using the HQ as consultants. |Transnational operations lose their centre in favour of influences from their specific regions, IKEA being a good example of this. 14   | |8. 0 Analysis of values | |A challenge to RE is its own culture, simply by being strong and successful. It is easy for it to become complacent and proud of its achievements whilst ignoring potential ways to cross the cultural divide and | |become more successful. A strong culture m ay find it difficult to recognise the need for change. | |It has a Universalist view of the world where a right way applies to all. This is opposite to the particularist view of studying relationships and putting these first where necessary. Cultures in the Middle East| |and Asia are more likely to be particularist and this must be noted if business is to grow in such areas. | |A large part of RE is US, a culture that has always proclaimed the way of the individualist, or as Eisenhower put it,  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœindividual self-realisation is the central goal of American civilisation’15. However RE is | |more aligned to communitarianism. ‘As the information society develops, those with a communitarian ethos disseminate information faster’16. | |The company deals with the supply and creation of information and its success relies on the collective and not on the individual. The speed at which knowledge is shared ensures the profitability of an | |organisation, quick r esponse times with ‘boundarylessness’ being at the core of the business values. | |Employees within RE operate on an outwardly neutral level, in that business discussions are conducted in the North European way of the brain controlling the emotions. An emotive element does become evident with | |caring for colleagues in an almost family atmosphere of trust and concern for each other’s well being. This feature of RE culture is captured in ‘valuing our people’. This is a mark of perhaps a global company | |taking the best elements from all cultures: the business focus on making calculated decisions but the emotive side making sure people are valued and cared for. |This blurring of types of cultures reoccurs where RE’s approach is specific in its objective but also diffuse in its attitude to what is needed from its customers. ‘Customer focus’ in all countries means | |tailoring your product to fit the requirements of the market and R E does this well, adapting their approach dependant on what type of culture they are dealing with, from oil companies to pig farmers. | |Achievement is a value held in high regard at RE, ‘passion for winning’ bears testament to this. As a FTSE 100 company it has a responsibility to shareholders to keep achieving goals and succeeding. The culture | |of success then breeds a network of employees who work with others in similar companies and in similar positions in different countries. This is where the ascription factor of the RE culture may begin to occur, | |where deals are done on the basis of knowing business connections rather than finding better deals. RE categorically states that this practice is in contravention of contract. | |‘Innovation’ is a value that captures the company’s future focused approach to technology, new working practices and products. It also encapsulates the Dutch and American view of time being about present | |performanc e and future targets. 17  Planning, strategy and investment are hinged upon the company’s perception of time. Other cultures, including the UK, focus on tradition a lot more, where the past is held up as| |a benchmark or an ideal. Disregard for this approach towards these countries may be seen as arrogant and confrontational. | |Finally the environment is something that RE is aware of and alongside its CSR program is heavily involved in. Its response to the global demand for tighter controls on corporate waste is not surprising. Its | |policy follows the United Nations Global Pact, ‘†¦a voluntary corporate responsibility initiative intended to ensure the protection of human rights, fair and non-discriminatory labour practices and care of the | |environment. ’18 | |9. Future projection | |‘In the economy of the future, knowledge is king and influence flows from wherever that knowledge resides’19 | |With e-business becoming a focus for all un its, the RE structure may need to adapt quickly if certain opportunities are not to be missed. The Incubator culture is one that the business would do well to adapt to,| |if only in relevant areas such as online products. The current structure is too rigid and not flexible enough to follow the changes in technology that occur every few months. | |Another risk in approaching new cultures such as the Chinese is that we do not go with preconceptions about what we expect in terms of their business behaviour. We risk missing each other as they try to adapt to| |our culture and we adapt to theirs. The Chinese may be pro-western in their views already and so our stereotypes must not stand in the way of what we wish to communicate. | |10. 0 Conclusion | |RE displays all types of organisational structure, elements of all the seven key dimensions of business behaviour but does not fit within a stereotypical type of western company, perhaps because of its global | |nature. It combines the s trength of its size with the nationalities of its employees and tries to take the best influences from different cultures. |The business must be aware that agility will be key in the coming years. The ability to respond quickly to opportunities or threats in the global marketplace will be a crucial factor to RE’s continual success | Additional info: How Do Labor Forces Influence International Business? International Business is when corporations conduct business within in the global market. In order to be successful, international business requires a great deal of strategy. It is important to understand not only the political, cultural, monetary aspects but also the basics of labor forces and how they influence international business. Labor Quality Labor quality is an essential component to consider. Prior to finalizing business contracts and moving to expansion, the labor force should be analyzed in order to determine whether the right skill levels are available to profit able conduct business. There are several factors that influence the quality of labor such as education, experience and proficiency. There are also factors that affect the price of labor for example larger supplies of labor, lower demand for labor, lack of labor unions and lack of governmental rules regulation. Labor Quantity The same factors that affect thequality of labor also affect the quality of labor. Factors such as capability, creativity, managerial skills, knowledge, ability to learn new things and adaptability to changing environment must be considered while hiring candidates. Labor Mobility Labor mobility â€Å"consists of changes in the location of workers both across physical space (geographic mobility) and across a set of jobs (occupational mobility). † Labor mobility allows the workers to improve economic conditions if where they live is not a match for their skill. Minorities and or traditional societies are another important group to consider. This group i s defined as â€Å"a relatively smaller number of people identified by race, religion, or national origin who live among a larger majority. † An advantage for to hiring minorities in a foreign country would be the immediate availability of labor. A disadvantage would be discrimination as they may be viewed as inferior to the majority Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Influence of Global Business" essay for you Create order