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Business Practices and Tactics
Business Practices and Tactics
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Business Practices and Tactics
Introduction
The primary aim of every business today is to ensure attainment of maximum profits for the stakeholders and owners while keeping up with expectations on corporate social responsibility. In order for a business to get and stay profitable, Osterwalder and Pigneur (2011) found that several practices are required including heavy investments on the people and resources in order to improve productivity, marketing strategies, excellent customer service, and attracting and retaining top talent. In all activities and approaches, a business is required to have growth, efficiency, profitability, survival and stability. However, recent business strategies and tactics have revealed a slight variation from traditional business concepts. Today, the issue of sustainability and eco-friendliness have become a global concern, turning businesses into advocates of greener strategies, as a way to conserve the environment while keeping the traditional aims of every business. In the agricultural sector, companies such as Monsato and their main product, Roundup, have continued to dominate the herbicide market using tactics and practices that are unconventional. In this report, an article by Four Corners presented by ABC News In-depth (2018) will be reviewed from a dynamics of systems and positioning your studies approach. The business activities and practices employed by the organization reveal that the global business sector is constantly testing boundaries and ideas in an attempt to identify new ways of retaining growth, efficiency, profitability, survival and stability.
Analysis of the News Video
In a detailed informative piece on modern agricultural practices, ABC News In-depth (2018) provided an expose titled “the secret tactics Monsanto used to protect Roundup, its star product.” In this article, several emerging issues were presented including; the benefits of using herbicides for both crop and livestock farmers, the costs of not using such products in farming, the impact of the product on the environment, and the effect it has on users especially in relation to safety concerns and the idea that the product causes various forms of cancer. In the depth of the video, the main issue is not founded on the above-mentioned issues but rather on the way Monsato focuses its strength and power to protect its key product. The article reveals how the company, in a syle similar to other multinational institutions, denies, frustrates, and attempts to conceal all allegations relating to its star product being unsafe for human and environmental use. Despite overwhelming evidence from severe health issues amongst users to scientific proof of its dangers, the company remains adamant that the product is safe and tested scientifically to ensure that it has zero negative consequences to people and the environment.
For farmers in Australia, Roundup has offered so many benefits over the years, including reducing the cost of farming and the losses associated with alternative measures to weed control. However, these benefits have been clouded by a recent revelation of negative health consequences for users. The news article is very objective as it begins by presenting praises of the product from the farmers. It then introduces several controversial issues including the fact that the product, Roundup, could be responsible for several cases of cancer. In America, a grounds maintenance worker exposed to high levels of Roundup per day is shown to have developed a rare form of skin cancer, leading to a lawsuit where he is awarded millions in damages. All through, Monsato maintains that the allegations are false and even proceeds to fight the court decision. What follows is a series of practices with an intention of burying the main issue and presenting the cases where farmers have had health issues as isolated incidents. In a dynamics of systems and positioning your studies perspective, the next section will provide a thorough analysis of the matter.
Dynamics of Systems Theory
The systems thinking theory recognizes the need to test ideas on social systems similar to how the same is done in engineering and other scientific concepts. Systems thinking begins by defining a system as a collection of different parts that together form a group (Baporikar, 2020). As these parts interact, the sum of its individual parts act in a system or structure. System thinking examples in the business world include the stakeholders, the business structures and frameworks, the processes, and the culture. Combined, Oliveira et al. (2020) note that the practices that are used in a system thinking create either healthy or unhealthy cultures. Therefore, in a process of looking at how things are influenced or influence each other in a whole, the systems thinking approach can be used to explain the business practices that Monsato applied in protecting its product and how farmers in Australia and America also interpreted the same.
Monsato’s attempts to conceal the issue of Roundup as a harmful product and its business practices including indirect influence on political parties through funding reveal a number of processes in efforts that influence outcomes. Monsato reveals a set of practices and habits in the corporate world within a structure that is based on the belief of control and profit maximization regardless of the consequences to users. The systems thinking approach is described by Jaaron and Backhouse (2018) as a system that observes the whole, focuses on relationships, looks at structures, explores interdependence, dynamics, and reveals complexities. By applying this point of view, Monsato’s strategy can be analyzed as one that involves expanding the company view to consider larger numbers in many interactions in order to attain growth, efficiency, profitability, survival, and stability.
Monsato’s strategy as presented in the news article is a display of a systems thinking. The main features of a systems thinking are noted by Mambrey et al. (2020) to include a consideration of both the short and long term implications of strategy, an understanding of the big picture, observes the changes in a system over time including trends and patterns, recognizes behavior as a result of a system structure, and identifies the circular nature and implication of relationships. There is a strong relationship between Monsato, its product, and the customers (users of Roundup). In the relationship, there are clear trends and patterns relating to use, expectations, and a realization of the effects. The video highlights the different stages of the relationship beginning with the acknowledgement of the benefits of using Roundup, followed by a phase of uninterrupted consequences, and later a realization of the costs of using the product. From Monsato’s perspective, assumptions are constantly tested, including a consideration of every possible outcome before acting, identification of leverage points, and a focus on structure. Monsato understands the interdependencies as well as the causes and effects of the relationship it has with various stakeholders including other companies in the industry, the government, political parties, and users. The decision to fight the court verdict and the constant denial of the health effects of the product also point to how Monstao understands the need to retain structure in order to maintain its perspective and leverage points.
Positioning your Studies
In business, like every other sector, perspectives have a huge role to play in determining outcomes. Competing paradigms and points of view have been present since time immemorial. What is considered a mainstream model may not exist in a different part of the world. The same is true for perceived benefits of a product versus its costs and effects. The concept of mental models is defined by Magzan (2012) as a key determinant in what people see. What is present in a business setup may not be aligned to what people/stakeholders see. Based on the Senge model, what is seen is not usually factual but an individual interpretation based on expectations and demands (Nejad et al., 2012). For example, the perspectives of Monsato and the various farmers in America and Australia regarding the benefits of Roundup do not match. For the farmers, there are hidden costs associated with continued use of the product. For the company, their product is of high quality, tested, and beneficial to all users. Ultimately, mental models create sense making and perception in a manner that influences how one approaches an issue as evidenced in the ABC News In-depth (2018) article.
In a mental model approach, Kara and Ertürk (2015) acknowledge the need to create a sense-making structure in an attempt to give meaning to experience. The process involves questioning the situation regarding the occurrences, the differences, and the reasons why these issues are present. There is also a need to explore means to respond to situations in a sense-making and perception creating approach. Ultimately, the entire process is noted by Grüter et al. (2018) to influence how people perceive things differently. Monsato’s perception of its star product, Roundup, and the consequences of continued use differs significantly from the point of view of farmers who use the product on a daily basis. It is worth noting that none of the executives who defend the product as safe have ever used it. They rely on scientific tests and other avenues that inform their decision on the product. Gaffkin (2008) looks at theory as an ideation that helps to resolve and understand complex issues including business practices and unethical practices. In the news article, every different perspective makes a claim that is aimed at creating influence and presenting their claims as reliable knowledge.
Understanding of the Topic Based on the Theories
The two theories explored above relate to how entities interpret information and events. The topic of harmful business practices and strategies as explored in the Monsato case study indicates why perceptions, sense-making, and competing mental models are important in showing a need to include methods to support claims. In the systems thinking approach, the article reveals that each of the issues mentioned are interrelated, interdependent, and leads to different outcomes for each stakeholder group. In the mental models, perception, and sense-making approach, the theories highlight that one’s point of view on an issue may not be reflective of facts. In a deeper review of the news article, Monsato’s strategies are somewhat controversial. Nonetheless, the evidenced piled upon the company by the various interest groups does not provide conclusive evidence no whether Roundup is harmful. Despite the moving and emotional narrations from various users of the product, the points of view for the opposing entities do not converge even after court rulings and scientific evidence. Therefore, the topic can be said to be controversial and dependent on one’s understanding of the systems and their mental models.
Conclusion
The discussion intended to analyse an article by Four Corners presented by ABC News In-depth (2018) from a dynamics of systems and positioning your studies approach. The systems thinking approach and the mental models theories have been employed to get a glimpse of the issues addressed in he video. Having reviewed how systems operate and the role of mental models, perceptions, and expectations, the report finds that business activities and practices employed by Monsato reveal that the global business sector is constantly testing boundaries and ideas in an attempt to identify new ways of retaining growth, efficiency, profitability, survival and stability.
Reference List
ABC News In-depth. 2018. The secret tactics Monsanto used to protect Roundup, its star
product | Four Corners. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JszHrMZ7dx4
Adam V 2004, ‘Systems thinking as a major skill of business students–A new teaching
concept at the University of Zurich, Switzerland,’ The Journal on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 43-47.
Baporikar, N. 2020, ‘Logistics Effectiveness Through Systems Thinking,’ International
Journal of System Dynamics Applications (IJSDA), vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 64-79.
Gaffikin, M.J 2008, Accounting theory: Research, regulation and accounting practice.
Grüter, T., Takeda, A., Rohde, H. and Schafer, A.J., 2018. Intersentential coreference
expectations reflect mental models of events. Cognition, 177, pp.172-176.
Jaaron, A.A. and Backhouse, C.J., 2018, ‘Operationalisation of service innovation: a
systems thinking approach,’ The Service Industries Journal, vol. 38, no. 9-10, pp. 561-583.
Kara, S.B.K. and Ertürk, A., 2015, ‘Mental models of the school principals on
“leadership”,’ Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, no. 174, pp. 2145-2152.
Mambrey, S., Timm, J., Landskron, J.J. and Schmiemann, P., 2020. The impact of system
specifics on systems thinking. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 57(10), pp.1632-1651.
Magzan, M., 2012, ‘Mental models for leadership effectiveness: Building future different
than the past,’ Journal of engineering management and competitiveness (JEMC), vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 57-63.
Oliveira, B.G., Liboni, L.B., Cezarino, L.O., Stefanelli, N.O. and Miura, I.K., 2020, ‘Industry
4.0 in systems thinking: From a narrow to a broad spectrum,’ Systems Research and Behavioral Science, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 593-606.
Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. 2011, ‘Aligning profit and purpose through business
model innovation,’ Responsible management practices for the 21st century, pp. 61-76.
Men happier than Women in Work-Life balance
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Men happier than Women in Work-Life balance
This article examines one of the most controversial topics regarding employee productivity in the replace. As researchers would argue, a number of factors ranging from motivation to gender affect productivity in the workplace. More specifically, the article draws attention to how an employee’s gender may affect productivity in the workplace. As the article explains, men are more likely to maintain a proper work-life balance than their female counterparts. A survey carried out by the Captivate Network on more than 670 employees illustrated that whereas men are 25% happier at their respective workplaces, women are 75% more happy when in their homes. This, in turn, implies that women are happier when away from their jobs as compared to their male counterparts. A closer examination of the issue reveals that, because women are happier at home, the likelihood of productivity being affected by their personal lives is very high. This further illustrates the inability of some employees to balance their personal and professional lives.
In relation to human resources, this article reflects one of the most imperative human resource practices regarding the provision of a work-life balance for their employees. Human resource personnel need to provide their employees with the opportunity to balance their personal lives and their works, without straining these employees. The effects of having a poor work-life balance is serious especially for women and human resource professionals need to design programs that will allow the provision of these. Employees who lack the necessary balance in their private and professional lives are affected both psychologically and physically. This will in turn affect their productivity in the workplace, as it reduces an employee’s concentration to his or her duties in the workplace. Human Resource professionals are, therefore, urged to develop an organization culture and environment that supports work-life balance for employees. This can be attained through the provision of a number of benefits for the employees, which are solely aimed at promoting a good work-life balance.
This article is relevant for HR professionals because it draws on a topic that demands a considerable amount of input from the human resource department in any organization. This is because it is the human resource department that is charged with the duty of ensuring that the output of each employee in the workplace, regardless of gender, is at its maximum. It also assists in creating awareness in human resource professionals on the different employee demands based on gender. By recognizing these differences, HR professionals can create programs that promote work-life balance, so that a particular gender of employees do not feel that their duties and responsibilities in the workplace strain their personal lives. Sequentially, HR personnel, together with the other managers in the organization need to develop policies regarding the maintenance of a proper work-life balance for employees. This should, however, be done in a way that considers both genders, without having an inclination towards one particular gender of their employees. After all, the human resource department is also charged with the responsibility of promoting workplace equality and fairness. Some of the ways in which HR professionals can guarantee a work-life balance for their employees include creating weekly schedules, taking breaks during the day, proper time management, as well as, taking vacations.
Link:
http://www.hrreporter.com/articleview?articleid=11155&headline=men-happier-than-women-with-work-life-balance-survey
MMM306 Final Exam
MMM306 Final Exam
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Question 1
Introduction
Top management teams and scholars in various fields acknowledge the challenge that globalization presents to organizations today. Businesses are keenly aware of how tough it has become to identify suitable internationalization strategies and choosing the right country to invest and do business with. Still, a majority of companies, especially multinationals corporations, have stuck to approaches that have been conventionally deployed, emphasizing the standardized strategies to new markets and the occasional experimenting with minimal local twists. Consequently, many MNCs are struggling to come up with successful approaches to enter and conquer emerging markets. Starbucks desire to venture in to the Republic of Baldokistan presents a similar scenario. The management of Starbucks must address some important considerations as it ventures into a new, international, emerging market given its unique institutional environment. By entering this market, Starbucks will see to fruition a long term plan to gain more control and bargaining power over the supply chain of raw materials essential to its global business operations. Baldokistan provides a good avenue for such a bold business venture and will support the company’s internationalization strategy.
Analysis
The international business landscape has changed significantly over the last decade following the 2008/2009 financial crisis that crippled firms and industries alike. The last three two years have also changed how international business is conducted with the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, a fundamental reality is maintained that despite the volatility of emerging markets and their differing economic abilities, they are essential to the development and growth of international companies. Established MNCs have learned that winning in the emerging markets is not easy. In countries such as Baldokistan, the business environment can turn out very difficult, hard to navigate bureaucracies, and poor infrastructure may hamper an organization’s efforts to succeed. Yet, a majority of organizations such as Coca Cola have continued to dominate and succeed in these markets. For Starbucks, capturing important growth opportunities will be key to making a name for itself in a nation that remains largely untouched by the outside world. Before intense competition for raw materials and other resources emerge, Starbucks must employ its strength to control the savvy domestic players.
Starbucks will enter the Baldokistan economy via foreign direct investment (FDI) under a greenfield investment. At present, the external environment in the host country is FDI-conducive as the nation is labelled a a fast-growing emerging economy, the next golden hub of agricultural and food production business opportunities in modern Asia, and a highly adaptable country that is committed to undertaking radical social, political, and economic reforms to align itself with the leading economies in the world and actively engage with and participate in world socio-economic affairs. Further, the country is predicted to become one of the top countries in Asia in terms of ease of doing business in the next five years. These elements are important to Starbucks as they reveal stable nation, one that has the political, legal, environmental, social, cultural, and technological ability to drive the company’s internationalization agenda in Asia.
FDI in the form of business acquisitions has grown in efficiency and strategic alignment. This is an indication that the emerging economies are continuously building advanced local sectors and industries that are attractive to investment targets including MNCs. In the Greenfield approach that Starbucks intends to use in Baldokistan, creating a subsidiary to build operations from the ground up will be a welcome idea in a nation that is actively looking for investment opportunities and growth. A greenfield FDI will provide the highest form of control for Starbucks as it realizes its vision to increase its bargaining power through owning a significant portion of the raw materials supply chain. Overall, FDI will play an important role in transferring technology from the home country into thev host country.
FDI continues to be among the most important contributors of economic growth. FDI is not only a key driver of growth for an MNC but also a tool applied to enter and successfully perform in a new economy. For Starbucks in Baldokistan, FDI will generate an impact of technology as well as knowledge transfer, make significant improvements to its competitiveness, improve the productivity and long-run growth of the firm and overall boost the local economy. Yet, the effects of greenfield FDI are not universal but unique to different nations and locations depending on the situation. One benefit in the case of Baldokistan is that a positive spillover effect would grow the productivity of the domestic firms, augment domestic investments and provide a firm entry into the economy for Starbucks.
Starbucks will attain several advantages by employing a greenfield FDI approach to shape the local institutions in Baldokistan. First, the company will gain high level and high-quality control over the sale and manufacturing of products. This will set an industry pace that will allow it to leverage the technologies and knowledge and skills gained through years of operation. It will then be able to attain economies of scope and scale through the marketing, production, and research and development, a fete that other local competitors might not achieve. Years of operations and a host of partnerships around the world will enable the organization to bypass trade restrictions. By creating jobs for the local Baldokistan economy, Starbucks will control local institutions through CSR and other good will initiatives.
The industry-based view ignores the informal and formal institutions that provide competition among industries. The model sees institutions as a background. In contrast, the institution-based view of strategy focuses on the active interaction between organizations and institutions, considering strategic choices as the main outcome of the choices. In the case of Starbucks in Baldokistan, strategic choice is not only driven by the capabilities of the firm and industry conditions, but also informal and forma institutional frameworks that the firm must confront. Institutions dictate the strategy an MNC takes as it attempts to formulate or implement approaches to generate competitive advantage. The differences in institutional systems between Baldokistan, an emerging economy, and the United States, a developed world where Starbucks originates from, will force the company to pay more attention to the differences created in terms of doing business.
Recommendations
Starbucks should grow in the emerging markets by winning locally, a strategy that may be attained through the creation of competitive advantages o the basis of its size, financial capability, market dominance, marketing prowess, and research and development capabilities. Starbucks should transfer its core competencies and capabilities into Baldokistan and then gradually build profit drivers in there as it continues to increase its bargaining power. By tapping into the rural Baldokistan economy, the country will get additional penetration to offset the saturated American market.
Conclusion and Call to Action
Overall, Starbucks will see to fruition a long-term plan to gain more control and bargaining power over the supply chain of raw materials essential to its global business operations. As an emerging market, Baldokistan provides a good avenue for such a bold business venture and will support the company’s internationalization strategy. Starbucks must leverage its core competencies and advantages in terms of its size and financial muscle to create stronger competitive advantage.
Question 2
In an extension strategy, firms are open to various approaches that are all intended at creating the best environment to conduct business. One of the most important avenues is a joint venture. A joint venture provides several benefits including new insights and expertise, better resources, sharing of costs and risks, and are incredibly flexible. Cafe2Go proposed joint venture with a Malaysian firm will provide an opportunity to gain new insights and expertise. It will open up the company to business operations in a new country while hiding behind the buffer of an already experienced business partner. The firm will also reap the benefit of having an access to better resources, including specialized staff and technology, already familiar with the local culture and business operations. The proposal will only take 5 years meaning that the arrangement is by definition, temporary. Overall, the chances of success are higher as the firm is already riding with a renowned brand.
Nonetheless, an issue raised during the meeting is the protection of the firm’s intellectual or strategic assets, particularly the innovation capability of the firm through its unique technology, process and skills of running a specialty coffee shop. This innovation capability has been the foundation of the firm’s competitive advantage because it is not only valuable (V), rare (R), and organised (O) within the firm but also extremely inimitable (I). To address this issue, Cafe2Go will contribute only the amount of information and other resources that are important for the partnership. Intellectual and strategic assets will not be compromised in any way especially the innovation capability of the firm. The use of technical expertise will be protected under the agreement and will only be used to help make the venture stronger. The innovation capability of the organization will allow market penetration in Malaysia, allowing the firm to expand after the terms of the venture come to an end. Overall, the joint venture will provide access to new markets and distribution networks. increased capacity, enable sharing of risks and costs with the local partner, offer access to greater resources, and it is flexible to enable the firm to protect its strategic assets.
It is recommended that the proposed joint venture is an effective strategy that will enhance the firm’s value chain because of synergy and will likely lead to the firm’s competitive advantage in a highly competitive industry in Malaysia. The technological and innovative capability of Cafe2Go will be an important element to push the company forward in a highly competitive industry characterised by buyers’ strong bargaining power. The Malaysian market is not only very competitive but also has pressure from consumers on businesses to get higher quality products, better customer service, and at significant lower prices. Additionally, the markets substantial number of substitutes means that there are other products in other industries that provide similar benefits to consumers. Substitutes limit the potential returns in the industry by placing a ceiling on prices charged to generate profit. Cafe2Go must additionally employ its innovation capability to create competitive advantage. This will allow the joint venture to put pressure on the competition, gain more advantage, and fight the power of consumers and substitute goods in the Malaysian market.