Two Business on Our Doorsteps and Similar Business in Different Worlds

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Two Business on Our Doorsteps and Similar Business in Different Worlds
Introduction to the Businesses under Consideration:
The study focuses on the analysis of two American-based companies. One an NGO whiles the other a profit making organization. The company AT&T is Telecommunications Company providing mobile services to its people while the other USAID is an NGO. These two companies differ in size with AT&T having an international coverage but more focused on developing its local market while USAID is focused on solving problems related to poverty around the world. These indicate USAID to have a higher mandate compared to that of AT&T. The study article reveals aspects relating to the two companies and their activities towards attaining their objectives.
Description of the Types of Businesses:
AT&T:
The company formally known as SBD Communications Inc changed the name to AT&T in 2005 to improve its brand image and capabilities to tap into the market and from which it built a base for expansion into new markets in 2013 (Moloshok, 2011). The company AT&T Inc is a telecommunications company focused on service provision on an international level and local level within the United States. For years since its inception, AT&T has operated two major segments in its business. These include the wireline business and the wireless. The wireless sector of the business is developed to offer data and voice call services to the customers. It also offers local and international communication services with network access services as well as roaming services (Reuters, 2015). These are offered to the entire market covering the young, the old, youths, family government, small businesses and professionals among many other classes of people. The wireless segment is also responsible for the sale of handsets, computers with wireless facilities, data cards through its agents, stores, and other third party retailers. The company sells other accessories related devices that use the wireless products through its agents and other stores around the world in countries where its services are embraced. The company has registered over120 million wireless users for the past years as of December 31, 2014. On the other hand, the Wireline segment offers different switched and dedicated transport works, internet access at the DSL level, a network integration role, and enterprise-networking services combined with its web hosting services that the company manages and ensures they are of the necessary quality to the customers. The company also offers intrastate, international, interstate wholesale of networking capacity to the different service providers that in turn sell to their customers. The same segment offers voice services to both the local and international markets. It offers switched access services on wholesale to the customers intending to resale or offer services to its people. The segment is registered to have sold 9 million access lines to consumers and 9 million to businesses. It has also sold 2 million of the same to wholesale access lines.
AT&T is a profit making organization with $6224000000 in profits made for the previous year ending December 2014. The company has developed its business on its technology abilities and hence successfully reaching the market needs. The progress and development of the company indicate to a successful company that has been highlighted to the world as one of the most successful. With a market capitalization that is far above 207 billion dollars, a PE of 35.40 and 0.49 Beta, the company is rocking in good revenues for its shareholders (Yahoo Finance).
USAID:
On the other hand, USAID is an NGO that offers services to people with no profit intentions. The organization formed after the fall of the famous Berlin Wall (USAID, 2014). At the same time, the Soviet Union was disintegrated hence leaving countries across the globe to start a new phase in which change was dramatic. The change cut across different continents affecting the entire world with controversies related to religion and rivalry that led to bitter wars and tremendous effects to the democracy that the different countries enjoyed. These involved changes in tact with rivals moving towards negotiations to end the battles that they fought against each other. The need for organizations that would step in to aid in mitigating conflicts proved imminent and the transitions that were occurring in the governments required guidance and hence the need for the same organizations in the reconstruction of the war-torn areas around the world. For these reasons, the formation of the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) was formed within the USAID’s bureau for humanitarian approach in the year 1994 (USAID, 2014). The OTI provided the flexibility, fast and yet short-term help that proved vital in utilizing the opportunities that provided room for democracy to prevail and peace to sustain. The organization promoted reconciliations of the different countries involved in the war and hence healing the countries. The reconciliation provided room for development of economies and promotion of stable economies.
The success of the OTI was based on the mode of operation that it instituted. These involved promoting risk taking abilities and creating political orientations that would improve the status of the countries to attract more economic activity to support growth. They encouraged a strategic approach to the solutions provided. The strategic approach provided support for the development of best practices in the different industries. The OTI operates on funds provided to it by transition initiatives. These in their budget account provide for spending in all necessary situations for special authorities. These aim at easing approach to promote the growth of the organization. The innovative contracting mechanism has developed and evolved to create the preservation of competition to encourage cheap and quick start up and provision of funds that would ease companies to start up and for the smooth running of organizations. Learning from the above, one learns of the roles that USAID performs in promoting world democratic approaches to leadership.
The Purpose of the Businesses, Aims and Objectives:
The two businesses aim at serving different purposes in their field and hence they each have different aims and objectives. The company AT&T provides telecommunications service and is a profit-oriented organization. Its mission is to exploit different technical innovations to improve its position, and provide better services to its customers. The company does this through the implementation of next-generation technologies and advancements in networks that improves the services of the company and its operations (In, 2012). The company operates on a vision of becoming the fastest and most applicable and reliable network on the global arena. The company aims at remaining the one to set standards in the telecommunications industry as the lead innovator and product developer (AT&T, 2015). The company has focused on building future products through an aggressive pursuit of innovations. It visions to develop designs that maximize automation in different systems applicable in the network approaches, processes development and service platforms that lead to the improvement of the services hence improving the level of satisfaction that the customers obtain (Manning & Reece, 1995). As a profit oriented organization, AT&T provides its services developing them to ensure they meet the necessary standards to attract the demand and increase sales making it successful through growing profits. AT&T therefore serves the purpose of developing telecommunications products to fill gaps in the market in exchange for profits.
On the other hand, the USAID organization is a not for profit organization that aims at providing services to the community. The mission of this organization is to “Partner to end extreme poverty and to promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity.” The organization provides functions of improving societies through the emphasis of the democratic space that supports the elimination of civil strife between states and eradication of poverty (Jeong, 2009). The organization provides approaches through which security and the prosperity of the societies proves possible. It is therefore assumed that the two major objectives include the termination of extreme poverty and the promotion of development through resilience in the democracies. The eradication of poverty will provide opportunity for the governments and their people to influence successfully its people towards living better lives. These developed through restoration of peace in all countries to provide room for development.
Description of ownership:
The company AT&T is made up of different people that contribute to the shareholders of the company are many with others in the secondary markets in which shares are traded. These shareholders provide the funds for the operations of the company. Their provision of capital is baked by their believe in the company and profit affiliation that is paid back to them as dividends. These holders include institutions and individuals that seek to promote the growth of the company’s capital abilities (Nasdaq, 2015). Some of the shareholders in the secondary markets may make profits through the buying and selling of shares in the company AT&T. The liability of the members is distributed based on the type of shares that they own in the company. Those with ordinary shares provide the major shareholders of the company followed by small holders that buy from the secondary market. The distribution of the liability is based on the nature of shares that one holds and the amount in value (Collings, 2012). These are especially for ordinary shareholders that face major risks in liability for the business.
Ownership of USAID:
On the other hand, USAID does not have a shareholders structure as related to that of the company discussed above considering its financial objectives that do not surpass the desire for development. As an organization operating with the sole aim of providing the services to the people attracts donors that provide funds to the company to allow them to build something more related. The donors and other small businesses provide the finances to the organization and hence easing its application. It relies heavily on project partners that provide support to its development agenda. The liability of the company is bore by the organization and its officials. The donors provide funds and seek to have a report on the progress on a regular basis through which they evaluate the objectives of the company and the needs of the company. The liability of debts is handled through the distribution of the capacity to the different partners based on their contribution to the organization.
Stakeholders Influencing the Purpose of the Businesses:
The purpose of any organization is dependent on the people that it serves. These come across as the stakeholders. They range from the intended target groups that the company or organization aims for to the shareholders that held the vision of the company, the employees, the government institutions and the general public. Based on the mission of the organization and its objectives, satisfaction of the needs of these different people results from a drive to ensure each of their expectations from the organization are met.
USAIDs Approach to its Purpose:
The ability to reach out and fulfill the needs of these people indicates to achievement of the purpose of an organization. For NGOs, their purpose is normally driven towards successfully satisfying its objective to the people it serves. The objective is people service oriented and the satisfaction of this will provide the necessary satisfaction that will indicate to the achievement of the company’s strategic objective. These people indicated as the customer in a profit making organization depend on USAID for guidance on setting up their democratic space and aid in the vision of eradicating poverty among other of its responsibilities. To the shareholders, the organization is bestowed with a purpose to handle the funds provided diligently to ensure they successfully suffice the organization needs. The level of satisfaction attained is measured through the different objectives set by the organization and the measurable achievements that result. The organization is responsible for its purpose to the people of the countries that it serves. The government oversees the operations of USAID in its territory and hence the organization has responsibilities to abide by the set regulations within the jurisdiction that it serves its purpose. The general community lays its attention to such organizations as USAID to ensure its conditions are improved. The progress of these societies in aspects related to the purpose of USAID provides a motivating factor to the community and the organization on its progress. The community expects the organization to focus on its purpose and deliver on its promises. Stakeholders have kept USAID actively involved in its agenda of collaborating with different stakeholders to end poverty in the different communities it sets place.
AT&Ts Approach to its Purpose:
On the other hand, for profit organizations aim at satisfying different customer needs in return satisfying their profit needs. The company AT&T develops telecommunication products with the aim of satisfying the needs of its customers as their major stakeholders. The other stakeholders that the company has include its employees, its shareholders, the government and the general public that it serves. The customers are the major focus of the organization to whom they aim at improving the services more often to ensure customer satisfaction. The company actively engages in research and development activities as a means to ensuring that they identify and understand the changing needs of the customers as a means of staying focused towards attaining their objective as a company. Research and development activities have revealed to the company the changing needs of the customers and hence aiding support-developing products that meet the needs of the customers. The shareholders expect to obtain progress reports from the company with need to provide them with positive returns that will boost their position financially. The company has an obligation to these people as the providers of the capital that the company uses in its cash flows. The reward that the organization is supposed to provide to the shareholder is profits from the business. The government collects taxes from the company and AT&T is obligated to exercise this duty diligently. The government influence AT&T to maintain a record system through which it remits taxes. The government owes it to the citizens to provide regulations that will ensure the company operates on legal grounds and the company owes it to the government to work within these limits. The society as a whole expects quality products from the company based on their area of business.
The above explains the different stakeholders that each of the companies AT&T and USAID aims to serve in their quest to fulfill their objectives. These each have a role they play in the influence of the organization and hence their contribution to its success. The aims and objectives of the two companies operate on grounds aimed at meeting the needs of these people involved in the market and these influence the success of the company and its continued growth and expansion. AT&T has grown to further markets compared to those it served on setting up while USAID has become more accepted as an organization on the international platform providing it with the motivation to continuously reach out for its purpose.
The influence that each of these stakeholders exert to the organization provides the driving force that the organization needs to achieve its set objectives. The organizations strive to satisfy the needs of each of the stakeholders. Through his quest, they innovate their products and improve their approach employing all developments in technology that will boost their purpose to the stakeholders. The continued creativity that runs through the organization provides a motivating factor that each employee sees as a form of satisfaction to the service provision pledge. The employees as stakeholders seek to have the organization recognize their contribution to its successful development of products and their supply to customers or the provision of the intended service as for the NGOs (Ford, 2011). They serve the organization with their time, physical and mental resources expecting job security in return and other benefits associated with employment. The employees exert this influence on the organization and through this, the organization is in position to meet its objectives and serve the market with the requisite goods or service based on the nature of the organization.
A considerable look at the business models that each of the organizations AT&T and USAID apply reveals the different needs that the organization is set out to satisfy. These needs embedded in its strategic plans provides them with the requisite approach and sense of direction and the stakeholders play a major role in ensuring that the set goals are attained. These stakeholders provide support to the organization and influence the achievement of the set objectives through their contribution. The customers contribute by buying the goods for AT&T while the communities respond by embracing the means advocated for by USAID, the employees respond by providing quality service to the organization, the shareholders respond by providing the funds for the organizations to run smoothly while the government provides the necessary operational environment. The general society embraces the company and allows it to operate within its jurisdiction and hence providing support to the success and attainment of the objectives of USAID and AT&T.
Part Two:
Similar Businesses in Different Worlds:
Task 1.4:
A comparison between AT&T and British Telecom (BT) provides a comparison between the environments that the two businesses operate. The consideration of BT aims at providing a perspective from the European market comparing with that of the American market.
Economic data comparing the UK with the US: Economic parameter | UK | US | GDP | $2.44 trillion | $15.68 trillion | Exports | $473.00 billion | $1.56 trillion | Public debt | 88.7% of GDP | 70% of GDP | Unemployment | 8% | 8.1% | GDP per Capita | $38514.46 | $49965.27 | GDP purchasing power parity | $2.13 trillion | $16.24 trillion | Gross national income | $1.48 trillion | $9.87 trillion | Exports | $473 billion | $1.56 trillion | Budget revenues | $986.10 billion | $2.45 trillion | GDP Growth rate | 1.73% | 2.22% | Population | 64.1 million people | 316 million people |
GDP:
Considering the GDP of these two countries, one finds that the GDP of the United States is way higher compared to that of the UK. The GDP of the U.S Stands at over $15.68 trillion to date while that of the UK stands at $2.44 trillion. These two GDP figures provide an analysis on the market and hence the opportunities that the companies each benefit from. The growth in GDP of the U.S is at a 2.22% rate while that of the UK is at 1.73% (Nationmaster, n.d). The market in which AT&T operates is much more developed to that which BT operates in. These create differences that may affect the performance of the companies and their growth.
Populations:
The growing use of telephone services among other telecommunication services is based on the growth of the population. The growing consumption of the telecommunications products is pegged on the demand for telecommunications products that increases with an increase in the population. To this effect, the U.S provides a larger and well developed market for telecommunications products compared to the UK in which Bt dwells.
Exports:
The table above indicates to exports of over $1.56 trillion for the United States and $473.00 billion from the UK (Nationmaster, n.d). The growing brand effect that the products associated with the US have gained has boosted its exports and hence developing wider markets on an international level. AT&T has employed this advantage in its expansion plan that has proven successful with growing revenues from both the local and international markets.
Influence on the Two Contrasting Economic Environments:
The development of business in the U.S is far more ahead of business development in the UK. The economic features indicate to a more business oriented and successful market in the US compared to that in the UK. Telecommunications products in the U.S market perform far better than those in the UK majorly because of the demographic and the economic factors in the country.
Challenges of each Market:
Despite these success factors, challenges exist in both markets and affect the progress of both the telecommunications companies. One of the most pronounced challenges that affected the two companies include the financial crisis in which the shares market took a hit in prices. The financial crisis placed a strain on both companies in relation to performance and management of their cash flows. The second challenge is in the escalating inflation rates that have affected the general economic environment of the companies. The economic environment has resulted into the increase in labour costs that have made the operational cost of the businesses higher affecting their profits.
Task 1.5:
Description of Political, Legal and Social Factors:
The above factors play a major role in improving the two businesses AT&T and BT. They affect the external environment of the company in different ways as discussed below:
Political:
The two markets both operate in highly mature political environments. These environments embrace bureaucracies that affect decision-making on policies and the standards that govern the telecommunications industry. The trade control regulations have also played a role in controlling these environments and leading to positive developments. Freedom of the press has influenced developments in the business fields. These two markets each have these freedoms recognized and hence the onus of performance lies on the companies.
Legal:
The legal factors include those standards set within which all telecommunications companies operate. These affect the setting up of a telecommunications company and its management and product developments. They govern the management of employees within the country and the management of the competitive behavior among other aspects related to trade. These provide restrictions on products, hiring employees for the products, costs aspects among other related to production, distribution or management of the products.
Social Factors:
Social factors such as the communication abilities, chat abilities that the modern technology has influenced in the populations have remained central to the development of the telecommunications industry in both the UK and the US. These affect the ability to identify market needs through keeping a close connection to trends.
Business Activities:
Labour Management:
The labor market in the U.S has changed massively including that of the UK with the growing minimum wage aspects. These have affected the view of employees and the need to hire many with companies resorting to seeking machine solutions. The legal changes have grown to influence employers in the process of hiring.
Product Designs:
The development of product plans is much limited with regulations that aim at providing standards that the market will tolerate. These originate from the different legal standards set and the desires of the political environment in ensuring successful management of the product development phase.
Promotions:
The advancement in technology has shifted promotion approaches from the traditional newspaper and radio adverts to online adverts filling the social media scenes. The changes in social factors have influenced these changes leading to the improvement of the products.
Future Changes in Economic, Political, Legal and Social Factors:
Economic:
The level of inflation will affect the organization by affecting the cost of raw materials and labor. These will lead to failures in the attainment of the goals of the organization as a result of failed strategies.
Political:
The two countries have smooth political events in which governments are peacefully changed. These may not have tremendous effects on the organization.
Legal:
Development of new regulations that may serve to restrict the company’s growth or expansion activities will lead to failure of both companies. The laws that promote business for the companies proves more necessary. New laws that may limit competition in the market or entry into new markets will affect both companies.
Social:
The growing populations have a bearing on the management of the businesses considering technology has become a vital element of the population. A growth in the population indicates to growth in the companies.

References:
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Collings, S. (2012). IFRS For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons.
Ford, J. (2011). Foreign Assistance: USAID Needs to Improve its Strategic Planning to Address Current and Future Work Force Needs. DIANE Publishing.
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Jeong, H. (2009). Conflict Management and Resolution: An Introduction. Routledge.
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