...over time, continually confronting the firm with new issues that require modifications in strategies and management practices. Managing in the context of turbulence has become an ongoing reality. Readers will learn how to modify their strategies and management practices and adapt to this new reality. SOCIAL FORCES The subject of ethical codes and CSR crystallizes many social challenges. At the one extreme are those who, like Milton Friedman (1970/2001), advocate the guiding principle of shareholder value maximization as the sole determinant of managerial decisions. At the other extreme are those who expound an altruistic philanthropy based on philosophical beliefs concerning universal ethics, such as those related to human rights. Within this range of perspectives, many authors offer distinct typologies for analyzing social forces and for developing appropriate firm responses to each set of social forces. Meanwhile, the rise of activist groups who threaten public criticism and boycotts means that even Friedman’s dictum of maximizing shareholder value now requires a wide range of CSR strategies. Some analysts, such as Porter and Kramer (2006), believe that each firm should create a competitive advantage through appropriate CSR strategies. From this perspective, CSR morphs into political strategies through which a firm’s reactions can be designed in order to achieve desirable government decisions. For multinational enterprises (MNEs), it is clear that CSR has become a subject...
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...GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF ANY STRATEGY IS AN ILLUSION. DISCUSS 1.0 INTRODUCTION Every business organisation exists for the purpose of fulfilling certain goals and objectives as outlined by them. The fulfillment of these goals and objectives may bring benefits to the organisation and to various stakeholders such as shareholders, customers, the general public, the government, etc. In order to implement these goals and objectives in a systematic and orderly manner, management must evolve a game plan to do this. This game plan is known as strategy. According to the Oxford Pocket Dictionary, strategy is defined as “the art of war especially, the planning of movements of troops and ships into favourable positions, plan of action or policy in business” Scholes & Johnson (2001) also define strategy as “the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term; which achieves the advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a changing environment, to meet the needs of the markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations” Thompson & Strickland (1998) also generally define strategy as competitive moves of business approaches to produce successful performance. It is management’s game plan for: * running the business * strengthening the firm’s competitive position * Satisfying customers * Achieving good business performance * Position a company in its chosen market In effect, without strategy the shaping of an organisations...
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...Assignment 3: Long-Term Investment Decisions-Low Calorie Microwavable Food Company Name: Professor: Course title: Institution: Date: Outline of plan for pricing strategies to reduce products price elasticity Low calorie Microwavable Food Company should consider the following pricing strategies to reduce price elasticity to achieve maximum profits. 1. Branding: This strategy involves creating a unique product identity, which customers can easily relate with and attach high quality. Branding is the process of creating an image or idea of a product or service in the market arena, which increases the demand for such product. It may include changing the packaging, creating brand names and improving the quality of a product. Once a brand is build, a firm succeeds in creating a major difference in the minds of customers between their product and those of competitors. Once a product attains a positive outlook in the mindset of consumers, the organization attains brand equity, which brings competitive advantage for the firm as customers view the products as unique or superior, which effectively reduces the pricing elasticity as substitute products become less close to their product. 2. Product differentiation: In this pricing strategy, the firm should seek to identify and highlight the differences between its products and those of competitors. This allows the firm to make their product unique and more attractive to customers, contrasting...
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...Competitiveness: Firms, Clusters, and Economic Development Submission of Assignment Student : Mas Wigrantoro Roes Setiyadi NPM : 8605210299 Program : S3 – Ilmu Manajemen – Pasca FEUI Date of Submission : September 13, 2005 Case: Finland and Nokia Assignment: 1. How was Finland able to move from a sleepy economy to one of the most competitive nations in the world by the end of the 1990s? 2. How was Finland able to become a world-leading nation in mobile communications? Why did this cluster emerge rather than others? 3. Why did Nokia become the world leader in mobile handsets? 4. What are the critical challenges for the Finnish government in 2001? For participants in the Finnish mobile communications cluster? For Nokia? 5. Given telecom downturn, what should the government do next? What should the private sector do? Answers: 1. Competitiveness of the nation does not lie on the government but rather depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade (Porter, 1998). It is believed with innovation and upgrade industry as aggregate of companies would lead to increasing level of productivity. Porter emphasizes the importance of productivity as the prime determinant of a nation’s long-term standard of living. In most situations, industry will need government involvement to play its roles as facilitator (Musgrave, 1989) or through making public policy (Grindle & Thomas, 1991). However, the less the government gets involved in the economy, the better...
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...Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 12, 535-548 (1991) PORTER'S 'COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF NATIONS': AN ASSESSMENT ROBERT M. GRANT Management Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.A. Porter's Competitive Advantage of Nations is an important book which bridges the gap between strategic management and international economics while contributing substantially to both. Porter's analysis ofthe impact of national environment on international competitive performance demonstrates the potential for the theory of competitive strategy to rescue international economics from its slide into refined irrelevance, while simultaneously broadening the scope ofthe theory of competitive strategy to encompass both the international dimension and the dynamic context of competition. Nevertheless, the breadth and relevance of Porter's analysis have been achieved at the expense of precision and determinancy. Concepts are often ill defined, theoretical relationships poorly specified, and empirical data chosen selectively and interpreted subjectively. The Competitive Advantage of Nations is an important book. Among Porter's books to date, it is the broadest in scope and the most ambitious in intent. The book addresses a question which lies at the heart of economic and managerial science: 'Why do some social groups, economic institutions, and nations advance and prosper?' (Porter, 1990: xi).This is no new issue: the same question stimulated Adam Smith's...
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...international cities World is changing fast. Different trends are affecting cities and fostering a new age of urbanizations and metropolitanization To succeed cities must adjust (and need to be): open, integrated, diverse, connected, skilful, innovative, investable, attractive, sustainable, stable and safe This requires investments, strong coordination of programs and policies, effective tools for intervention: cities need partnerships with global corporations and small businesses to achieve this in order to create opportunities for business growth Greta Nasi Bocconi University p. 4 What are international cities? A close look An international city is a city deemed to be an important node point in the global economic system. They are also known as global cities, world cities or alpha cities It is routed in the principle of globalization according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade The most complex of these entities is the "global city", whereby the linkages binding a city have a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socio-economic means Greta Nasi Bocconi University p. 5 Characteristics of...
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...Responsibility Subsidies and Preferential Treatment of the Corporation Lack of Accountability Misaligned Incentives Short-term Profits Money versus Spirituality Borderless Economy Liberalization Conflicting Goals Misaligned Incentives Short-term Solutions versus Long-Term Growth Protection of Natural Resources Lies, Damn Lies, & Statistics Standardization versus Adaptation Regional Focus New Paradigm IV. GLOBALIZATION AND STRATEGY Global versus Multidomestic Strategies Service Industry Common Global Misunderstandings Developing and Implementing a Global Strategy Organizational Culture V. GLOBALIZATION AND PUBLIC POLICY Approaches to Economic Organization Historical Review Determinants of Economic Organization Corporate Political Strategy International Environmental Policy Performance Requirements Global Political Economy International Financial Markets International Relations VI. Globalization as a Discourse Capitalist Globalization Democracy and Free Markets Corporate...
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...BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT UNIT:1 Introduction Business may be understood as the organized efforts of enterprises to supply consumers with goods and services for a profit. The following essay contains some details about the business environment such as types of organisations, EU rules and regulations policies of the market control. 1.1 Identify the purposes of different types of organisation. 1. Sole traders The sole trader is a common form of business ownership and is found in a wide range of activities such as painter, plumber, cleaner. Business has only one owner who responsible for all the expenses and legal requirements. Difficult to raise finance, also owner has unlimited liability. 2. Partnership Partnership is a business with at least two or more owners up to twenty. Partnerships are particularly common in professional services such as solicitors accountant. Owners enjoy limited liability, share their skills, and work allowing them to raise capital more quickly than individuals. 3.Private Limited Company (LTD) The Company is an artificial person made by law, offers limited liability. The major private limited company’s restrictions are about the shares and shareholders. Shares cannot be sold or transferred to the public. Shareholders enjoy priority against others in buying shares within the company. Example J. Whitaker & Sons Ltd 4 Co-operative The co-operative is a group of people working together, making decisions together to reach common...
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...economy flooded with foreign capital, and with a more open economic climate than in previous years, but also a much more competitive economy, where many of their previous practices are no longer relevant. This piece aims to examine the effect of these changes on the strategies of Chinese SMEs by first examining the role of the SME in the economy, then analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the Chinese SMEs, and the opportunities and threats that have arisen from China's WTO membership. The piece will then examine Chinese SMEs from a strategic perspective, and the impact the the WTO membership has had on said strategies. Finally, the piece will give strategic recommendations for Chinese SMEs that wish to take advantage of the opportunities that WTO membership offers, and also for those SMEs that wish to avoid the challenges it poses. The Role of SMEs in both the International Perspective and the Chinese Perspective Academics have long realised that small and medium enterprises grow to become the major corporations and businesses of the future (Davis et al., 1985). As a result of this view, greater attention has been given to the role of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in contributing to the economic growth of countries over the past twenty years in countries all over the world. Due to the importance of the role that SMEs play, for the last 15 years governments have urged by academics, economists and policy experts to take strong and deliberate actions to accelerate...
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...and natural resources. In business environment internal factors include five M’s such as, man, material, money, machine and management. These internal factors change the function of business. External factor are those factors which are beyond the control of business enterprise. These external factors are government factors, legal factors, physical factors and demographical factors. External environment or factors are also two types, micro environment and macro environment. Micro environment consist of suppliers, customers, market intermediaries, competitors and public. Micro environment is also known as operating environment. Another external environment or factors macro environment consists of non-economic environment, political environment, technological environment and socio-cultural environment etc. Business environment has some typical characteristics. It is a constantly changing system. Both short term and long term impact works on business environment. One of the most important characteristics of business environment is uncertainty. Task1 1(a) Identify the purposes of different types of organization There are many different types of organization in our socio-economic life. One organization is different from another organization. They are mission, goal, objective all are different. Some organization purpose is to earn profit, some are non-profit, some are built for mankind etc. let us discuss this different types organization and their purpose. Private organization: The...
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...BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Submitted By: Submitted To: Table of Contents Introduction 3 2. LO1 Understand the organisational purposes of businesses 4 2.1 purposes of different types of organisation (P1.1) 4 2.2 Extent to which Tesco Plc meets the objectives of different stakeholders (P 1.2) 5 2.3 Various responsibilities of Tesco Plc as an organisation and the strategies it employs to meet the objectives of the stakeholders (P1.3) 6 3. Nature of the national environment in which business operates (LO2) 9 3.1 How different economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively (P 2.1) 9 3.2 Impact of Fiscal and monetary policy on the activities of Tesco PLC (P 2.2). 10 3.3 Impact of competition policy and other regulatory mechanisms on the activities of Tesco Plc (P 2.3). 11 3.3.1 Impact of competition policy ON THE ACTIVITIES OF TESCO PLC 11 3.3.2 Impact of regulatory mechanisms on the activities of Tesco Plc 12 4. Understand the behaviour of the organizations in their market environment (LO3). 13 4.1 explain how market structures determine the pricing and output decisions of TEsco plc (P 3.1). 13 4.2 How market forces shape Tesco PLC UK responses using a range of examples (P 3.2). 14 4.3 Explain how the business and cultural environments shape the behaviour of Tesco PLC UK (P 3.3). 15 5. Significance of the global factors that shape national business activities (LO4) 16 5.1 SIGNIFICANCE of international trade to Tescos PLC UK ( P 4...
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...Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….3 1.1 Explain how economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively………………3 1.2 Assess the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on “Lloyds Banking Group, UK”, and their activities………………………………………………………………………..5 1.3 Evaluate the impact of competition policy and other regulatory mechanisms on the activities of a “Lloyds Banking Group, UK”....................................................................................7 References…………………………………………………………………………………….9 TASK 2: Nature of the Operating Business Environment Introduction: The study discusses different types of economic systems and assesses how these economic system attempts to allocate resources efficaciously, explains the UK government policies (namely monetary, fiscal, social, and competitive policies) and assess the effect of all the above-mentioned policies on a “Lloyds Banking Group, UK”, UK based organization. The paper exposits market structure types (namely, perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and other market structures. Finally, the paper describes the ways market structures define the output and pricing strategies of the companies. 1.1 Explain how economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively Economic systems are a set of institutions for assigning resources and making possibility to satisfy human wants. Resource allocation is the assignment of resources to particular tasks to deduce the basic economic choices, which are what to produce...
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...Question Innovation is an important component of economic policy. Discuss Answer 1.0 Introduction “Today, more than ever, INNOVATION is central of survival” (Peter Drucker). Innovation has been an important component for economic growth, national economic competitiveness and economic policy for many country. It can occur in any sector of the economy, including government services such as health or education. Supporting nowadays with the rapid growth of technology industries, many policymakers in many nations have increasingly come to see technological innovations as a key driver of economic growth. This is why so many nations have made the promotion of innovation and new technologies a central part of their economic policy. Before discussing further about innovation and see why innovation play an important role for economic policies, it is important first to define innovations and its policies. Some people don’t really know what’s exactly an innovation. They are confused between invention, progress, innovation and updates. So it’s relevant to point out wrong ideas that peoples usually have over it and its creation to be able to erase it. Many people think of innovations as only technological in nature, resulting in shiny new products like Samsung’s Smartphones, Apple’s iPad, Sony’s PlayStation or in enhance machines or devices, such as lasers, autonomous robotics machines etc. Others might be thinking that innovation pertains only to research and development (R&D) activity...
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...responsible for governance or arranging factors of production in a manner that perform efficiently and effectively. Management is wider in its operation. It encompasses planning, implementation and control( Morden,2007). The three operations within an organization must have a common point of connection which ensures concurrence. Planning involves setting up of ideologies for instance economic policies aimed at propelling the firm towards realizing its desired profitability levels. In most cases, planning involves intensive analysis of the current state of the firm, in order to find the point of weakness and strength within the organization. Also, external factors such as market trend, political stability, availability of labor and others are considered. The policies or ideologies set during planning must be pertinent with the current needs of the company. The set policies ought to be implemented. Implementation involves crystallization of the ideologies into practicalactions.Implementation is followed by control whereby the operations within the organization are subjected to regulations. Proper management strategies, equips the management system with effective techniques of ensuring quality production which enhances profitability and achievement of economies of scales. Mission statement Mission refers to a statement, always set strategically to be viewed by all employees, witha purpose to remind them of the reason as to why the organization exists. Mission reveals the company’s founder...
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...HND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT LECTURER: MR TAIWO OLAJUMOKE BATCH: 11 LEVEL: 4 BUSINESS ENVIROMENT | Introduction | 3 | 1.1 | Identify the purpose of organisations | 3-4 | 1.2 | Describe to which extent Iceland Supermarket Ltd meets objectives of its different stakeholders. | 5-6 | 1.3 | Explain various responsibilities of Iceland | 7 | 2.1 | Different economic systems | 8-9 | 2.2 | Fiscal and monetary policy | 10-12 | 2.3 | Competition policy and other regulatory mechanism | 13-14 | 3.1 | Market structures determine the pricing and output decisions | 15-21 | 3.2 | Which market forces shape Iceland Supermarket responses | 21-22 | 3.3 | How the business and cultural environments shape the behaviour of Iceland | 22-23 | 4.1 | Significance of international trade to Iceland Supermarket | 23 | 4.2 | Impact of global factors on Iceland Supermarket | 24 | 4.3 | Impact of policies of the European Union on Iceland Supermarket | 25 | | Conclusion | 26 | | References “ | 27 | CONTENTS “ Introduction of Business Environment Controlling the environment in which businesses are being operated is called business environment. There are two types of business environments, internal and external environment which are necessary for survival and success of a business. Internal business environment...
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