Challenges Facing Organizations Today Essay Example

Challenges Facing Organizations Today Essay Ads by Google Performance Management Measure what Matters and find out What you could do to be better. www. abenetis. com Board Evaluations Board development services from the FS and regulation experts www. ctpglobal. com/ Enterprise Performance Enterprise Performance Software Simple, Practical, Affordable! www. ElegantJBI. com Keesing ID DocumentScan Acquire a Statutory Excuse with the help of Keesing ID DocumentScan www. id-documentscan. nl Real-time appraisals Help your staff focus on what matters; their top priorities teamly. com [pic] | |Ads by Google Performance Management Create Organizational Alignment Manage Employee Excellence ww. DSPanel. com Real Team Building Events A Unique Experience for Any Budget Groups Up to 500 People www. SunBuggy. com IT Personal Development Develop your non technical Skills Grow people within your teams www. voyedge. net Leadership Get Leadership news manufacturing info at IndustryWeek www. IndustryWeek. com Change Management courses Certified training for leaders, employees and practitioners www. picourseware. co. za Free 360 assessment The easiest 360 around. 100% free! Self-managed. Get started in 2 min. atlas360. net Rolex Mentors Proteges Rolex Art Support: Talented Artists their Mentors, Watch the Videos! Rolexmentorprotege. com 360 Degree Feedback Trusted in 50+ languages. Great support. Quantity discounts. www. panoramicfeedback. com Free Time-Tracking Soft Web-based Time Tracking Software Download Free Version. Try Online. www. actiTIME. com Performance Improvement Sustainable results engaged people Experts in business transformation www. agents2change. com [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]Many companies long to learn the secret to success. While business has many critical aspects from vision to strategic planning to customer service the one that is often given the least attention, yet can be the most costly, is people. Your people have the ability to drive customers to you or away from you. To make work fun and simple, or miserable and riffled with issues. They can cause problems or save time and money with their creative solutions. Whats a company to do? Here are 5 keys to make your Organization Successful: 1. Hire the right people when it comes to hiring, many organizations miss the mark by: †¢ Failing to identify and agree upon the position requirements †¢ Neglecting to plan †¢ Asking illegal questions †¢ Asking few follow-up or clarifying questions Succumbing to the pressure to fill the position †¢ Letting individual biases and stereotypes get in the way 2. Give them the tools to do a good job Put yourself in your employees shoes. Would you be able to do a better job if: †¢ You had a faster computer? †¢ There was a file cabinet for pertinent documents? †¢ The printer/copier was closer to your desk? †¢ You had a database program to track customers? †¢ There were bins to organize inventory parts? †¢ You had some help developing a report to track tasks? †¢ The supplies werent locked up and you didnt have to requisition every paperclip? . Provide them with positive, constructive feedback many companies have a formal performance review process, but rarely use it. Constructive feedback is one of the best ways to grow a company! People want to know: †¢ Know they are doing a good job. †¢ Understand what and how they should improve. †¢ Understand how they affect company success. †¢ Know how they can affect their status and pay. †¢ Know how they can get ahead in the company. †¢ Be heard and appreciated for their efforts. †¢ Have open dialogue with their managers. †¢ Have input into their goals. 4. We will write a custom essay sample on Challenges Facing Organizations Today specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Challenges Facing Organizations Today specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Challenges Facing Organizations Today specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Develop them Keep in mind, companies do not grow; companies are not entities that can grow by themselves. A company can improve productivity, gain new customers, capture new markets, acquire new technology, increase efficiencies, develop creative approaches, increase profitability, etc. , but only through one prime ingredient its people. Invent in their continued learning and they will help the company grow. 5. Reward them How do you reward your people for doing a good job? Most would say money, right? Yes, people want to make a good living and be well paid for the job they do. Thats a given. But money is only part of the equation! Different things motivate different people, learn what is important to your people and reward them appropriately. Keep in mind the number one reason employees leave their jobs is due to a poor boss. They stay because of good leadership that recognizes the needs of the people, and provides praise and recognition. Remember, companies dont change and grow. . . people do! So be sure to reward and recognize the behaviors you want to see. Catch people in the act of doing things right and reward them on the spot with a heartfelt thank you! |Sue E. Thomas, president of Managing Asset Potential (M-A-P, LLC), has over 25 years of business experience, 17 years of equine | |experience and 15 years of Human Resource Management. She possesses an in-depth knowledge of human interaction and team | |dynamics. She has extensive skills in organizational development, leadership development, facilitation and executive coaching. | [pic][pic][pic][pic] †¢ Reports and publications | †¢ Contact us | †¢ BP worldwide †¢ | Home Search Top of Form [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]Search: [pic][pic][pic][pic] Bottom of Form About BP †¢ Products and services †¢ Environment and society †¢ Investors †¢ Press †¢ Careers †¢ Gulf of Mexico response You are here: †¢ BP Global †¢ [pic]Press †¢ [pic]Speeches †¢ [pic]Press releases †¢ Speeches †¢ Features †¢ Images and graphics †¢ Press contacts [pic ] [pic] What is RSS? Which are the Key Challenges Facing the Global Company of the Future? Speaker: John Manzoni Speech date: 12 September 2005 Venue: Wiston House, Steyning, West Sussex, UK Title: Chief Executive, Refining and Marketing Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good evening It’s a pleasure to be here, and to have the chance to take part in this discussion. A few months ago I had the privilege of chairing the annual lecture organised by Tomorrow’s Company which was delivered by a tremendous business leader Jeff Swartz of Timberland. Many companies try to do the right thing, try to be constructive for the societies of which they are part, and try to help the individuals who work for them to achieve their potential. But in terms of engagement in society of both management and staff very few can match what Jeff Swartz has done in developing his family business. He has used social engagement as a means of motivating his entire workforce and positioning his company not just as a supplier of great products and a financial success but also as an active, creative citizen. That event introduced me to Tomorrow’s Company, and encouraged me to start thinking about the role of companies and how it’s changing in response to all the developments which are taking place in the world around us. And so we’re delighted to be supporters of the work being done on Tomorrow’s Global Company. It is clearly work in progress, and this event is one part of the programme of activity. What I thought I’d try to do today is describe some of the issues which we believe global companies are going to face in the years ahead and to pose some of the questions which I hope Mark Goyder and his team will address. They are questions – not answers. In many areas we have experience and have taken initiatives but we are conscious that we have a lot to learn which is why this event and the whole enquiry are so valuable. Every company is unique, and I’ll talk about the issues as we see them in a large business operating across 110 countries worldwide with over 100,000 employees. Of course our experience is different to that of most other businesses, but as I thought about each of the issues I came to the conclusion that almost all of them are likely to be relevant in one way or another to all sorts of different companies. I start from the assumption that business is at the heart of society and can’t ignore what is happening around it. I think that is true now, and I think it’s always been true. We exist for a purpose – which is to provide goods and services that people want to buy at a price they can afford to pay. And we exist thanks to the investment made by our shareholders who put their money, their savings, in trust with us in the expectation of a reasonable, competitive return. That is the precise definition of what business is about. But business won’t succeed if it isn’t engaged with the society around it. For business, the most dramatic change of the last two decades has been the globalisation of economic activity. Of course there has been international trade for centuries, in some activities (including the oil business) it is a global marketplace. But the scale of the change over the last twenty five years has been remarkable. World trade has grown by 300 per cent since 1980 – almost two and half times the growth in GDP. Foreign Direct Investment has grown ten fold by over $ 500 bn from just $ 55 bn in 1980 to $ 560 bn now. In response, companies have grown in scale and scope. The market capitalisation of the companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange has gone up by over five times in real terms. The largest companies are still predominantly based in the industrialised world but there has been a strong recent surge in the development of international investment by firms from China and Russia and India. In almost every sector and area of business life you can find the evidence of globalisation. Communications, culture, and of course employment all now operate at least in part at an international level. International air passenger numbers continue to grow at 6% annually. Millions of students leave their home countries to study abroad – half a million travelling to the U. S. alone. Globalisation is changing the shape of the international economy. Twenty five years ago only 1 barrel of oil in every 7 was consumed in Asia. Now the figure is 1 in 3. The share of the developing countries in world manufactured exports rose from just 5. 5 percent in 1970 to 27. 5 percent in 2001. Of course, globalisation is not yet universal. Many activities are still strictly local in nature and many people – perhaps 2 bn – still live and work outside the international economic structure. But the direction of change is clear. The world is more globalised than it was – and it will become even more global over the coming decades. Globalisation is a dynamic process and in many sectors has only just begun. Mobility for instance which is something we take for granted here is just becoming an economic possibility for hundreds of millions of people across Asia. So is access to communication. The forecasts of the industries involved are instructive. Just to quote one example. The car industry predicts that there will be 194 million more vehicles worldwide over the next decade – with 54 million of those new cars in China. In that context, what are the challenges for tomorrow’s global company? The first point to make is that Tomorrow’s Global company will face many of the challenges faced by today’s more local company. Fierce competition for markets and talent. Scrutiny and in some cases public doubt. The expectations of investors and market pressures for sustained competitive performance. All those issues will remain challenges though some of the pressures involved could be intensified by globalisation. But in addition to those familiar themes there are new challenges driven by the changes in the global economy which are taking place. I will focus on four. The first is the absence of a framework of global rules. Business is used to legal and regulatory clarity. But there is no global framework to match the global nature of business. The international institutions are rudimentary and built for a different age. Trade issues are partially subject to agreement (although of course not all countries are yet part of the WTO process) but environmental issues, investment protection, and questions of intellectual property are not fully agreed. As we are seeing in relation to the question of climate change new international agreements are very hard to establish, particularly when there is no agreement on what the facts of the situation actually are. So companies are operating at a level of integration unmatched by law. That means that a company based in one country must obey the rules of that jurisdiction but it must also and simultaneously obey the law in each and every place in which it is working. That doesn’t always make for simplicity. And in some areas, of which environmental policy is just one, companies often find themselves establishing their own rules well ahead of any formal regulations or laws. That can be a creative process, and one of the ways in which progress is made, but it forces global companies to develop the capability to interact with the policy and regulatory process in many countries, including developing countries. That is a new skill, and one which we have to learn particularly because it requires an understanding of how to develop mutual advantage and not just to pursue our own interests. The second challenge concerns the way in which companies are organised and managed. The sort of global scale and reach which is necessary to be competitive on an international scale requires a widely distributed set of operations, which in many cases (and certainly for BP) are spread over 24 time zones and 110 national jurisdictions. Command and control which has been the organisational model for many companies in the past can’t work effectively at this scale. Companies have to apply real delegation of authority, to establish exactly who is responsible for what and to ensure that everyone, at every level understands the framework of standards within which they are expected to do their job. I think it is a reasonable generalisation to say that if you have a set of business activities spread across 100 or more countries there will always be unexpected events in one place or another. There will be circumstances beyond prediction which require an immediate reaction and that place a heavy premium on the quality of judgement of the local managers and the team leaders. In many cases there won’t be time to call up the line for advice and equally there’s no reason to think that a head office far away will be able to reach a better decision than people on the ground. In place of command and control we have to rely on a new combination of corporate culture, values, and standards – all of which establish an aligned intent within which people can make the day to day decisions and judgements which are required. Understanding how to manage in this way is, I believe is an essential precondition for growth and expansion of global scale. The third challenge is about cultural diversity – and again this is related to culture and values. Business is historically monocultural. Even in our industry which has been working internationally for decades, the nationality of the company has been reflected in the make up of the workforce in general and senior management in particular. Many argued that that carried advantages. It meant that there was close understanding between people doing different jobs and a very clear common sense of values. But in a globalised world that model is no longer sustainable. The colonial approach to business is now a relic of history. It is impossible to do business in China, or India, or Russia or indeed anywhere without employing local staff in senior roles. We also believe that those senior roles shouldn’t be limited to one’s country of origin. Good people have to have the chance to make progress in an international company on a global basis, whatever their background or nationality. Meritocracy is very important in sustaining motivation. That means that we are now operating across cultural boundaries. We can’t just apply a western, Anglo-Saxon set of values and expect everyone to conform to them. We have to understand and adapt to the many strong cultures in which we are working and to try to understand the dynamics and the tensions within the many societies of which we’re part. I find this a fascinating topic. It’s about how to operate in Islamic countries at a time when there is obvious tension between some Islamic communities and the West. It’s about how to operate in areas which are in transition away from rigidly centralised systems – as in Russia. And about how to operate in countries undergoing dramatic changes in living standards and expectations such as China and parts of India. We need people who can go into different cultures and bridge the divides. Those people are few and far between – this isn’t a set of skills which many people have been taught and it doesn’t appear on the curriculum of many business schools. Even better we need to identify strong and senior local people who can bridge the cultural divide in the other direction and who can learn how a global organisation works. That is an ever rarer set of skills. And the fourth issue which isn’t completely new but which is certainly intensified by globalisation, is the question of corporate responsibility for the externalities associated with business activity. Global companies have to have a point of view as to the limits of their own legitimacy and to be clear when they are approaching the boundary line. We have to understand our role and impact in society. The resource sector faces particular issues. As we invest we create wealth but we can also disrupt local economies. International corporate activity can affect local labour markets and currency values. It alters beyond recognition regional economies. And as we sell products we provide heat, light and mobility but we can also alter the environment – from the air quality of cities to the earth’s temperature. Those aren’t always comfortable issues to raise but I think a company which wants to be sustainable has to recognise the reality of its impact and to work hard to apply its skills and technology to make the impact positive. We’re working to do that and so are many other companies. I believe globalisation makes that effort more important because the increased scale of global companies gives them the power to do something which smaller more local enterprises perhaps couldn’t attempt. And part of the bargain, the social contract which allows companies to be as large as they are, is that they become engaged in the challenges the world faces, rather than dismissing them as someone else’s problem. Natural resources are one part of the challenge, but the question of the relationship of Tomorrow’s Global company to the world around it isn’t limited to the question of dealing with pollution or the impact on existing economic structures of large new inflows of funds. As international companies move into more countries, often countries which are at early stage of economic and social development, I believe there is a legitimate role in helping to develop the capacity of those countries – through education, training and the encouragement of institutions which can form a civil society. Companies shouldn’t get engaged in politics but they are citizens of every country in which they work and they have a direct long term interest in contributing creatively to the development of strong societies in support of national authorities but without challenging or pre-empting their legitimacy. This is a very complex issue not just because companies have to take great care not to overstep the boundary of legitimacy, but also because the activity goes beyond the traditional, narrow focus on profits. The answer, I believe, lies in the fact that business is a long term activity. We invest for the long term – in particular facilities and plant, but also in the development of our brand and our market position. The new global context means that companies have a direct long term interest in the development of the places in which they work, to a degree which is greater than our role in developed, industrialised countries where established social systems are in place. An investment in education therefore in a country in Africa or Asia, may not produce short term profits but it could help to protect and enhance a company’s long term position – and have a lasting positive impact on that society. So those are four of the principal issues which I believe tomorrow’s global company will have to deal with. †¢ How to work in the absence of a global framework of rules †¢ How to organise effectively across a wide geographic canvass †¢ How to create an organisation with a global culture, open to all on the basis of merit. †¢ And how to understand our role and legitimacy in the societies of which we are part. Of course, those are not the only issues. We’re very accustomed in the developed world to a clear distinction between the public and the private sector. That’s a distinction which is not well established in many countries where business is now operating. In many countries business is expected to work on behalf of the nation and to obey the wishes of Government. Some businesses in some countries work as agents of domestic or international policy – creating employment in particular regions, establishing a national strength in a particular sector, supporting a particular relationship with another country. Private sector global companies will have to learn how to operate in partnerships with state entities whose objectives don’t start with profits and the interests of shareholders. And I believe they have to understand how to develop the benefits of such relationships – because the combination of the efficiency and drive of the private sector, with the capability and focus of Governments and public sector companies can be enormously powerful. Together the two can achieve progress which either the public or the private sector on their own would find very difficult. I believe the development of such public private partnerships is going to be one of the most interesting issues for international companies over the next few decades. The other issue I want to mention is how business deals with the disparity of wealth and the absence of support and opportunity for many people in many of the countries which are now becoming active parts of the global economy. Welfare systems of the sort we’re accustomed to relying in this country just don’t exist. Business could, of course, simply ignore the problem. We could say that we will deal with those, often a minority, who can afford to buy whatever we are selling and that we hope wealth and opportunity will trickle down to the rest over time. My strong sense is that that isn’t going to be enough. I don’t think companies are going to be comfortable operating in the midst of deep poverty and doing nothing about it. The answer I suspect doesn’t lie in charity or philanthropy. Those are important and business has a role in supporting good causes. I don’t disparage charity. But it isn’t enough and I think the challenge for tomorrow’s global company is to look for new business models which can reach to the bottom of the economic pyramid. To look for technology which for instance can bring power to remote areas which are distant from any electricity grid. We’ve begun to do a little of that in India and Africa – applying the skills and technology we’ve established in our solar business. That technology now supplies small hospitals and schools and provides energy which can offer communities new opportunities. Other businesses are also looking at retail distribution systems, at the application of technology which can improve the efficiency and the safety of the ways in which people light and heat their homes and at the potential for developing local businesses based on agriculture and trade. Of course, there are no simple answers, and of course the return on such activity won’t be enormous. But I go back to my point about business as a long term activity. If you are in the business for the long term you have to think about market development. And to me the hundreds of millions of people who live at the edge of subsistence in India and Africa and elsewhere aren’t just people who need help and aid. They are the consumers of tomorrow and we need to find a way to build that market. So there are many challenges – and they can only be answered through experience and trial and error. There’s no blueprint for tomorrow’s global company. But I don’t want to conclude on a note of difficulty. The challenges are huge but there is also a great opportunity – the largest ever shift in scope and scale for a huge number of business enterprises. That means that there’s a world to win. That opportunity has been created by the spread of prosperity, and the entry into the market place, over the last two decades in particular of tens of millions of people who were previously excluded. That is happening in China, in India and to a lesser degree in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The shift will reshape the nature of business, and the shape of the global economy. I think it is a very exciting moment to be in business. We’re exploring in completely unmapped territory. I think it was Columbus in setting sail who said that he didn’t know what he’d find or how he’d deal with it, but he did believe that the world wouldn’t ever be the same again. I think that is the right note on which to start thinking about tomorrow’s global company. Thank you very much. [pic][pic][pic][pic]back to top †¢ Site Index | †¢ Legal Notice †¢ | Privacy Statement  © 1999-2010 BP p. l. c. [pic][pic]