Global Environmental and International Business

 Session-13-18

These sessions were about international business. It started with how the international business of Germany and Japan has developed over time after the world war. The discussions revolved around management and the role of MNC's, the competitive advantage of nations and quality management. We understood the opportunities and challenges that arise as we indulge in international business. Some of the opportunities include increased profits and customer base and have better access to resources in various countries. Challenges may include coping with the appearance of new competitors and dealing with increased uncertainty and fear. Moving forward we discussed the nature of international business. There are usually 3 main global perspectives with which international business is being conducted, namely; Ethnocentric Attitude, Polycentric Attitude, Geocentric Attitude. We understood these withheld of various examples- McDonald's follow a polycentric approach as evident from variations in its menu's for America and India, Microsoft follows a geocentric approach as evident from the fact that Ms Office tools are used by consumers all over the world etc. We also learnt various merits and demerits associated with each of these approaches.

Moving forward we discussed various forms of international business. Exporting basically means the transfer of goods and services from the parent company ( manufacturing) to the host country (consuming). Some of the major exports in India are petroleum products, automobiles, precious stones and metals etc. Continuing further we understood licensing agreement and how it’s different from exports. In such a case the parent company shares the technical know-how with the host company. Such an agreement would allow the host company to earn revenue from the property of the parent company. Apart from these other forms of international business are :

• Management Contracts
• Subsidiaries
• Joint Ventures and Strategic Planning.

Outsourcing was another main concept. Outsourcing is the business practice of hiring a party outside a company to perform services or create goods that were traditionally performed in-house by the company's own employees and staff. It helps in cutting costs as materials or labour is purchased from the cheapest places. Some examples of the same might be IT work performed by low-cost programmers in India and Eastern Europe or labour-intensive manufacturing industries using cheap labour from China. We discussed a small article related to effective communication in different international locations and the importance of identifying various cultural differences in the smooth functioning of the organization. We talked about how companies can recognise these differences and improve the process of communication between employees in different countries. Through presentations made by students on NAFTA, SAFTA, SAARC, European Union; we got deep insights into these trade agreements. These presentations mainly held answers to when was the agreement signed, the purpose of the agreement, objectives for negotiating the agreement, countries involved, pros and cons of each and changes brought into various economies after their implementation. We also discussed an article by Michael Porter, one of the foremost authorities in strategic management and competitive management. The article talks about how companies can succeed in the international market with the help of innovative ideas or products and then it talks about different types of innovations like the company can develop a new idea or they can innovate in the advertisement of the product. An example given in the article, of innovation leading to competitive advantage was that some companies in Japan had emphasized compact models of home appliances to bring something new to the table. The second part of the article was  Porter's diamond model. Porter's diamond model has four determinants of competitive advantage: demand conditions, factor conditions, presence of related and supporting industries and company strategies.  Factor conditions refer to a country's resources, such as labour and natural resources, while demand conditions refer to local demand for a company's products and services. Porter's forces determine a company's competitive environment, which affects profitability.

Session -10-12

Session-10,11,12

10 Nov,2021 & 12 Nov,2021 & 16 Nov,2021

The session was about the ethics guiding the business. Business ethics means that the organization should indulge in a moral business and the policies and practices of the organization should be fair for all the stakeholders. We understood why ethical business is important From a very small example of how shop owners have to check the expiry date of the products they keep in their shop and if their product is expired they should not indulge in unfair trade activities for their own benefit but instead should discard the products and behave ethically.

There are 3 ethical theories-

• UTILITARIAN THEORY- Plans and actions should be evaluated by their consequences.
• THEORY BASED ON RIGHTS- In a lot of companies Human Resource management is active as they know there are some laws and rights provided by govt which should be followed.
• THEORY OF JUSTICE- there should be no discrimination and partiality

Through a case of a fire incident in a garment factory, we discussed how it is the responsibility of the manufacturers to ensure proper working conditions for the workers in their factory. Afterwards, we had a really interactive session to further our understanding of business ethics by discussing some cases and how should we as employers should act in them. We watched an insightful video related to a recent case of Facebook and whistleblowing. Whistleblowing means making known to outside agencies unethical company practices. It was primarily based on how Facebook is indulging in immoral practices and how it is affecting society. We also studied the scandal done by Volkswagen in which it exposes monkeys to engine fumes to test the effects of diesel exhaust and the ethical dilemma resulting from the same as well as its consequences to the company.

Session 8-9

 Session 8-9

5 Nov,2021 & 9 Nov,2021

The main focus of these sessions was to learn about the business environment of an organisation. The 2 types of environment any business operates in are external and internal environment.  An external environment is a group of factors or conditions that are outside the organization but affect it to some extent. It is further divided into task environment and general environment. the general environment relates to PESTEL whereas the task environment relates to suppliers, customers, competitors etc.

  

The internal environment is a set of elements that define the atmosphere within the company's structure. A few of the factors influencing the internal environment are mentioned below.

Afterwards,s we discussed the strategy of PepsiCo to keep up its market share in a time when consumers are actively becoming health conscious. We learnt through a video, how big companies like PepsiCo eliminate their competition by purchasing small companies which can prove to be a threat in future.

Furthermore, we discussed a very small case showing how the knowledge, understanding and analysis of the business environment can prove beneficial for an organization. To have a better understanding of the external environment we understood the whole concept by using McDonald's general and task environment. We analysed all the political, social, technological, economic and legal factors that have an impact on the operations of McDonald's as well as gained knowledge about its suppliers, competitors, strategic partners, regulators and customers.

In the end, we also had a brief discussion on how the companies put their needs above those of their customers. We read a case of Dr David Dao and United Airlines flight who was forced to give up his seat, and when he refused he was subjected to violence. This sparked a PR nightmare and the company had to face consequences subsequently.

Session-7

Session-7;

3 Nov, 2021

 Companies work in a pluralistic society which means No organization works in a monopoly, hence power is not concentrated. There is government, whistle blowers, social activists who keep a check on the workings of these organisations so that they act ethically and power does not corrupt them. We understood this through the example of facebook and whistle blower. Even OPEC, which supplies 40% of oil, doesn't have a complete autonomy on the supply and production of oil. A discourse between innovation and invention helped me realize how both the terms are way different from each other. Afterwards the discussion took its course towards product, service and process innovation. We understood all this through various examples. Product and service innovation includes incremental and disruptive or breakthrough innovation. A recent example of disruptive innovation was the jio phone launched by reliance a few days back because it wasn't of that high technology but it was only developed to provide phones to the masses. In comparison to this, when concept of airbnb was launched, it was a breakthrough innovation. It revolutionalised the entire hospitality industry, which resulted inti them being the leading company without even owning a single room. Meanwhile the process innovation these days include opening bank accounts online and getting government documents delivered at your home only rather than going to the place and doing everything physically.

Session 5-6

Session 5 & 6

29 Oct, 2021 & 2 Nov, 2021

These two sessions were purely based on the presentations given by the students to further our understanding of concepts such as Hawthorne's Experiment, Henri Fayol's 14 Principles Of Management, Frederick Winslow Taylor's Scientific Principles Of Management and McGregor's X and Y Theory.

Through pictorial representations, I'd like to give you an insight into these sessions

The first is Frederick Winslow Taylor's Scientific Principles Of Management. According to Taylor, “Scientific Management is an art of knowing exactly what you want your men to do and seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way”.

 

Next would be  Henri Fayol's 14 Principles Of Management. While Taylor succeeded in revolutionising the working of factory shop-floor in terms of devising the best method, fair day’s work, differential piece-rate system and functional foremanship; Henri Fayol explained what amounts to a manager work and what principles should be followed in doing this work. If workers’ efficiency mattered in the factory system, so does the managerial efficiency.

Hawthorne's Experiment was originally conducted to examine how various aspects in the work environment can have an effect on the worker's productivity. The phenomenon is named after the place where the experiments were conducted. The major phases of the Hawthorn's Experiments were-

• illumination Experiments (1924-27); to determine the effects of changes in illumination on productivity
•  Relay Assembly Test Room Experiments (1927-28); to determine the effects of changes  in working conditions on productivity
• Mass Interviewing Programme (1928-30); to determine worker attitudes and sentiments
• Bank Wiring Observation Room Experiment (1931-32); to determine and analyse the social organisation at work

 Last would be McGregor's X and Y Theory, It talks about two styles of management – authoritarian (Theory X) and participative (Theory Y). Both styles can motivate people to perform better and increase productivity, however, the success of both depends on the objectives of the organisation and people working in it.

Session-4

 Session-4 ;

27 Oct 2021

The discussion started with an intriguing question: " Is management science or art? " Most of us would get confused regarding this question because management displays the features of both science and art. Hence it was concluded that management as an art and management as science are mutually exclusive but competent to each other. The application/practice of management is an art, however, managers can work better if their practice is based on principles of management. These principles constitute the science of management. Furthermore, through the example of Godrej Chotukool, we understood the concept of Disruptive Innovation. Disruptive innovation refers to the innovation that transforms expensive or highly sophisticated products or services—previously accessible to a high-end or more-skilled segment of consumers—to those that are more affordable and accessible to a broader population. In other words, the innovation that occurs which disturbs the stable conditions in the market is called disruptive innovation. So the Godrej Chotukool was invented to cater to the lower-income families as it was battery operated and was able to carry out the features of the refrigerator in a cheaper way.

Following this, the students were given a small case related to Mc Donald's and it'd Drive-Thru. The managers tried every marketing strategy to increase the sale of Milkshakes but failed to do so. A consumer survey was conducted by Clayton Christensen and his team to find out the reason. The reason was found out, taken action upon and the sales started picking up again. Hence it is not always about management but also discussing the products with the customers, taking their opinions into account and moving forward together. In today's modern era, where everything is constantly changing, the manager's job is also changing from different perspectives. One of the most important changes is actively listening to their customers because without them the organisation would cease to exist. Next in the line would be technology. It can be in the form of getting customers familiar with the technology of the products or influencing the customers through social media campaigns. Focussing on the employees is of the organisation equally important for a manager. This is because the employees are more likely to invest in the work they do which leads to a higher quality of work produced. It is also a reflection of the work the manager has done.

Session-3

 Session-3 ;

26 Oct 2021

Managers are the people in the organisation who are responsible for developing and carrying out the management process. Hence they assume various roles in day to day activities. The manager has to constantly switch between roles by the demand of the situation.

Henry Mintzberg categorised these roles into some broad categories; interpersonal roles, informational roles and decisional roles. There was also a brief discussion about the public relations manager and the students realised how important is the job of a PR Manager in maintaining the good image of the organisation and its products in the eyes of the stakeholders.

   

A Manager who fosters good management skills can propel the company's mission and vision. Some of the major skills are technical skills, interpersonal skills, conceptual skills, diagnostic skills, decision-making skills, time management skills and communication skills. The session ended with a discussion of a few cases and insightful videos.

Session- 2

Session 2 ;

22 Oct 2021 

The session started with a discussion of types of organisational resources which are mainly human resources, financial resources, physical resources and information resources. All of these resources play an important role in determining the success of the organisation. The objective of HRM development is to provide a framework for employees which is necessary for achieving individual and organisational goals, maintaining efficiency and productivity in the organisation and for long term future prospects as well. Financial resources are indeed a vital part of any organization. Money and capital investments are needed to plan, organize, staff, lead and control. Physical resources such as machinery, office equipment etc in an organisation is an important function because procurement of machines and other equipment is necessary for the production process; without which an organisation can’t function. At last, we have information resources. Information is an important and key resource for every organisation and hence is widely used in decision making and provide useful details about the organisation to its users. Furthermore, we took examples of companies to understand these resources in a better way. Proceeding further we discussed some key terms like management, efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency and effectiveness go hand in hand, management needs to achieve their goals both effectively and efficiently to survive in the competitive environment. Afterwards, we learnt about levels of managers which are -

• Top Level Management
• Middle-Level Management
• Operational Level Management

Each level of management is responsible for the successful completion of a particular task. Apart from this, there are different kinds of managers by area as well. These are:-

• Marketing Managers
• Financial Managers
• Operations Managers
• Human Resources Managers
• Administrative Managers
• Specialist Managers

Session- 1

Session-1;

20 Oct 2021

We’ll be learning the core view of management functions and their role in organizations and companies. The course aims to provide Basic managerial knowledge and analytical, developmental and managerial skills for students to become better future managers. Principles of management are general guidelines, which can be used for conduct in workplaces under certain situations. The session was enlightening and we got to know about the expectations of different students from this course. There was a brief discussion about what an organization is. From this session, I learnt what an organisation means in literal terms and what are the characteristics of an organisation which are as follows:-

• GOALS ( profit goals, non-profit goals, personal goals etc)

• STRUCTURE ( line, functional, divisional, matrix, flat etc)

• PEOPLE ( human resources which result into formal and informal communication)