Category: Management

Key recommendations and development plans

Developing plans in HR is a sure way of achieving HRM objectives hence ensuring higher productivity among employees. Bratton and Gold (2007) assert that the development of HRM plans to attract, recruit utilize, develop and retain employees of the desired quality, and quantity for the present and future cannot be overstated (p. 166). Marchington and Wilkinson (2008) list four reasons why doing development plans in HR is important (p.159).

First, planning is recommended because it helps employers to recognize the explicit link between HRM plans and business strategies for easier integration. According to Sims (2007), planning also helps employers in tracking costs and stemming from any excesses that may be associated with the implementation of HR policies (p.84). It also helps employers get a clear picture of employee attitudes, skills for easier integration of strategies. Finally, planning helps in the profiling of employees on the basis of demography for easier implementation of equal opportunities policies.

Development plans for employees largely depend on individuals rather than the organization (Sims 2007, p. 391). The plans that HRM will put in place will depend on the career goals of the employees and if they are willing or planning to stay in the company in the long-term. Brewster and Harris (2001) say that in multinational organizations and in fact other medium-sized firms it is standard practice for employees to develop their own development plans (p. 154). An individual-focused plan, therefore, is adequate for HRM development as employees take up their own responsibility in drafting their plans in sync with organizational objectives.

Enhancing service delivery

Erusmus et al (2005) say that its important to develop individual talents as they contribute immensely to organizational growth (p.90). Retention of the pool of talent is most critical for an organization. Some level of flexibility is needed in HRM management so that bureaucracy is reduced. Flexibility also allows HR managers to do away with outdated practices such as tight control of employees and employees having no say in their affairs.

Lawler (2004) identifies four components that have to be observed so that service delivery in HR will be enhanced (p.156). That essentially means HR focusing on HR. It includes; the alignment of HR strategies with those of the business, enhancing the capabilities of the HR and its employees, execution of the service delivery model of the HR while at the time evaluating the performance of the HR. Lawler (2004) further says that improved service delivery is achieved through the development of leaders, HR customers and also improving change management capabilities.

As an individual, it will be important to ensure that HRM planning is carried out and more importantly, ensuring that the plans that are laid down are followed and implemented to the letter (Wagen 2007). Another important aspect of HRM that comes out in section one above is the importance of individuals. It is only beneficial to ensure that the employees of an organization are dedicated and have long-term plans to stay with the organization (Hendry 1995). This is the long-term will ensure low turnover and high levels of retention of the workforce. Employers should also ensure employees have a say in the development plans that are formulated. Their participation is important since the plans affect them directly.

Setting and delivering strategic objectives within the organization

Marchington and Wilkinson (2008) quoting Grant (1998, p. 3) say that strategy is in whatever sense and perspective is about winning (p.8). This not only applies to management but also in HRM. Winning, in this case, means the HR is able to maintain a low turn over rate, maintain high morale among employees for the achievement of corporate goals, and high productivity.

Though its highly unlikely that an organization can adopt an individuals idea in its entirety, personal ideas can go along way in shaping the setting and delivery of strategic objectives of an organization.

Ensuring that objectives are set and a plan of action is laid down is critical to the success of HRM strategy. According to Armstrong (2009), strategic objectives go hand in hand with a roadmap on how they will be achieved (p.123). Putting in place a plan of action is not enough (Storey 2007, p.263). Its important to ensure that the plan that is proposed is workable and can in fact deliver the specific objective within the provided time frame.

Clear differentiation of HR objectives and HRM will be crucial to the success of strategic objectives. Armstrong (2009) adds that HR policies guide HRM in formulating and implementing policies about employees. The strategies offer the basis of strategic plans and while enabling an organization to measure to determine the progress of the strategic objectives. As an HR practitioner, it is important to ensure that the above adhered to (124).

Besides the above, its important for one to ensure that proper talent acquisition and management and continuous improvement of employee qualities are done. Retaining the pool of experience is critical to corporate survival.

References

Armstrong, M. (2009) Armstrongs handbook of human resource management in Practice. 11th ed. London: Kogan Page.

Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2007) Human resource management: theory Practice. 4th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Erasmus et al. (2005) South African Human Resource Management for the Public Sector. Cape Town: Juta & Co Ltd.

Harris, H and Brewster,C. (2001) International HRM: contemporary issues in Europe. New York: Routledge.

Hendry, C. (1995) Human resource management: a strategic approach to employment. Oxford: Butterworth- Henneiman.

Lawler,E. E. (2004) Human resources business process outsourcing: transforming how HR gets its Work Done.San Francisco: Jossey Pass.

Marchington, M & Wilkinson, A. (2008) Human resource management at work. 4th ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Sims,R.R. (2007) Human resource management: contemporary issues, challenges, and opportunities. New York Information Age Publishing Inc.

Wagen, L. (2007) Human resource management for events: managing the event workforce. Burlington: Elsevier Ltd.

Storey,J. (2007) Human resource management: a critical text. London: Thomson Learning.

The Issues an Organization Faces if It Takes an Exclusive Approach to Its Talent Development Strategy

One of the approaches to succession planning and talent development is the exclusive approach, which is aimed at identifying several talented employees and focusing the organizations efforts on developing them and preparing them for further promotion (Campbell & Hirsh, 2013). Even though this allows for gaining certain significant advantages, such as a supply of well-trained successors for the existing key roles and positions, the certainty of the future of the company, and so on,  this approach also results in some considerable disadvantages.

For instance, there always exists a major risk of not noticing individuals who have a greater potential than those who have been selected for succession but did not have the chance to properly demonstrate it due to various reasons. Also, those employees who have not been selected as the leaders successors may develop frustration and resentment, for they will know that their chances for growth and promotion in this organization are incredibly low. This may lead to various adverse consequences such as decreased work output, absenteeism, and increased workforce turnover (Succession Planning Roadmap, 2013).

However, certain steps may be taken to mitigate the negative results of the exclusive approach. For example, it might be advised not to focus only on the development of successors after they have been identified, but also to pay attention to the employees who have not been selected; it ought to be made known that should they start showing outstanding performance, they may also become candidates for promotion. If certain employees have been selected for succession, the demands of these employees should also be significantly greater, and the rest of the employees need to be able to see that (Rothwell, 2010b).

Succession Planning as a Part of a Talent Strategy in an Organization

An organization must make succession planning a part of the talent strategy. It is likely that at a certain point in time, a company will face the problem of choosing a successor for a leader who retired or changed their job (Rothwell, 2010a). And, of course, if a company is to be successful, its leaders need to be highly competent and skillful. It is clear that to achieve such characteristics, it is necessary to devote time and effort to advance them.

Also, the individuals who demonstrate the best outcomes are often (although not always) ones who are capable of developing their potential with maximum efficiency as well. For example, if a person working for a company can show an outstanding performance while being a new employee, it is critical to provide them with the opportunities for growth and development; furthermore, steps need to be taken to prepare them for a leadership position, so that this position is occupied by a well-trained and competent person once it becomes vacant (Campbell & Hirsh, 2013). On the other hand, if succession planning and talent strategy are unrelated in an organization, those who will become leaders in the future may lack the competence and skills necessary for the company to be successful (Rothwell, 2010b).

Succession planning is vital for virtually any organization that aims at long-term existence and growth (Rothwell, 2010b). However, it might not be of primal importance for a small business that consists of a few people working together to achieve their goals and hiring a small number of employees to assist them in their tasks. For instance, a small family business does not necessarily require succession planning, for, in this case, there are very few managers and leaders, and succession may not be an issue. On the other hand, once a company starts developing, growing, and hiring a larger number of employees, as well as more managers to oversee the job, and there is a possibility that some of the leaders will need to be replaced, succession planning becomes a crucial issue for an organization (Rothwell, 2010b).

References

Campbell, V., & Hirsh, W. (2013). Talent management: A four-step approach.

Rothwell, J. (2010a). The future of succession planning. TD.

Rothwell, W. (2010b). Effective succession planning: Ensuring leadership continuity and building talent from within (4th ed.). New York, NY: AMACOM.

Succession planning roadmap. (2013). Workforce.

Summary

Strategic management is an ongoing strategy that organizational leaders need to undertake if they want to support performance and deliver sustainable results. The initiative revolves around setting attainable objectives, monitoring and analyzing the recorded level of competition, improving internal structures, and ensuring that business processes are aligned with the outlined mission and vision. This form of management differs significantly from the common day-to-day management in a number of ways (Wan et al., 2022). First, the idea of day-to-day management focuses on normal operations and leadership processes intended to increase organizational profit, while strategic management seeks to improve and sustain competitiveness. A good example of strategic management would entail the introduction of a new change or project in an effort to improve overall performance and competitiveness (Wan et al., 2022). For day-to-day management, the best example would be that of a leader promoting desirable activities and culture to deliver profits.

Second, strategic management calls for increased responsibilities to achieve outlined goals within a specified period, while day-to-day management entails routine activities in a given firm. The best example of strategic management is the introduction of a new project whereby key participants need to focus on their specific roles. Third, successful strategic management requires proper planning, controlling, and monitoring, while day-to-day management calls for continuous supervision to promote a wide range of normal operations (Wan et al., 2022). A departmental leader guiding his or her employees to complete their tasks diligently and achieving much-needed positive results would fall under the day-to-day management category. Despite the nature of the identified differences, these two leadership approaches and tactics will work synergistically to ensure that the targeted firm achieves most of its business aims.

Internal Environment and Corporate Strategy

Corporate strategy is a business initiative intended to define an organizations values, goals, and the best initiative for remaining competitive and sustainable in its sector. This continuous process requires that leaders inspire and guide their employees to respond effectively to the changes experienced in the market. The internal environment is critical since it dictates the process of developing and implementing a workable strategy. In their study, Santoso et al. (2020) identified financial resources, equipment, and facilities as key strengths that could make it possible for managers to develop practical business processes. The absence of such factors could be categorized as a weakness capable of hindering strategy formulation. Adequate human resources are critical attributes capable of supporting the formulated corporate strategy. The involved personnel would possess the relevant competencies and apply them to promote business performance.

Managers tend to create the best organizational structure in accordance with the skills of different leaders. Many companies develop appropriate departments and units in accordance with the available resources and the anticipated goals. The hierarchical arrangement will ensure that specific individuals are required to complete certain tasks, such as decision-making, reporting, and problem resolution. These efforts will work synergistically to ensure that all leaders and followers understand their responsibilities and support the established corporate strategy (Santoso et al., 2020). Product lifecycle is another area for developers of corporate strategies to take seriously. The distinct phases follow each other in this order: development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline stages (Prasad et al., 2019). Depending on the existing product stage, the leaders should develop a corporate strategy that is capable of maximizing sales or consider the idea of diversification. If these aspects of the internal environment are inadequate, missing, or poorly coordinated, chances are high that the developed corporate strategy will fail.

References

Prasad, R. K., Jha, M. K., & Verma, S. (2019). A comparative study of product life cycle and its marketing applications. Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research, 63, 62-69. Web.

Santoso, R., Purwoko, B., Umar, H., & Renwarin, J. M. J. (2020). The effect of business environment on the corporate performance through business strategies in the construction service industry in DKI Jakarta, Indonesia. International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research, 8(4), 1-12. Web.

Wan, J., Wang, L., Saade, R., Guan, H., & Lun, H. (2022). Empirical analysis of strategic management in inter-governmental organization. Administrative Sciences, 12(3), 83-108. Web.

Introduction

The business environment has become increasingly multifaceted and unpredictable because of the unremitting changes that affect every aspect of life. This situation has led to counterarguments concerning the relevance of school curriculums in terms of shaping business practices. Various management theories have been developed in an attempt to improve the practicability of businesses in an environment that demands advancement in every facet of functionality.

However, the developed theories have assumed a rigid framework that leaves business entrants with the option of adopting a somewhat globally recognised business archetype. Seemingly, business schools have served as channels for transmission of this conventional business knowledge from one generation to another. This essay explores the links that exist between Ghoshals article of 2005 and the personal level of academic aspiration availed through education with reference to management and organisation disciplines.

Review of Literature

The Link between Ghoshals Article and Personal Level Academic Aspiration

Ghoshals article emphasises how rogue education has served as a tool to do away with good management practices. In his article, Ghoshal (2005) puts it clear that economics has had a great influence on the formation of other academic disciplines such as management. Ghoshal (2005) is very critical about the nature of knowledge that modern business schools instil in students. Undoubtedly, many assumptions have built the constructs of numerous management theories. These assumptions have compelled Ghoshal to view the development of management theories as inappropriate for business practices since they do not reflect reality.

Management education presents the learner with knowledge about the functions of the business whilst omitting important pragmatic concepts that entail hands-on experience. Furthermore, the discipline of economics has encroached management training. The situation has convinced learners that the purposes of businesses include profitability and competition. Inappropriate conceptual approaches have led to the development of rogue management theories that have failed to match the required managerial practice. As a result, management education has developed a culture of unethical managers who have accepted the conventionality of business management.

Ghoshal (2005) emphasises the adoption of management approaches that add other concepts, such as business ethics and morality. In his article, Ghoshal (2005) clearly states that academic research and development of management theories have resulted in undesirable practices in the management of businesses. There is a tendency of students and even authors of these theories to believe in intellectual knowledge as advanced by earlier management theorists.

He explains that many management scandals in the world occur due to the generation of half-baked management graduates who lack business ethics and morality. It is true that the current conventionally accepted management theories have ruined managerial practice. Conventionality triggers the disuse of cognitive abilities. This situation leads to the adoption of management theories that are based on assumptions.

In modern society, researchers, scholars, and practitioners have run into recognition of general business ideologies. They believe in universally accepted business practices rather than the practical ones (Browne & Keeley 2012). According to Browne and Keeley (2012), a critical mismatch is evident between societal demands and the nature of theoretical and organisational knowledge that is imparted to learners through schooling to satisfy the same demands. In his article, Bad Management Theories are Destroying Good Management, Ghoshal (2005) has vividly put it clear that intellectual knowledge has ruined realistic business expectations.

Typically, doctoral programmes that are pursued in colleges and universities have played a major role in terms of spreading conventional business knowledge worldwide. Therefore, it is definite that academic research has profoundly affected business management. Management knowledge that is taught in learning institutions assumes a narrow scope that has insufficient significance in todays diversified and highly competitive business environment. This fact has had far-reaching effects in business conduct and general ineffectuality of management practices in modern organisations.

Browne and Keeley (2012) posit that business and management schools emphasise management practices that lead to an intensification of profits. This idea is definitely great for businesses. All entrepreneurs champion to make the greatest profits out of their business ventures. However, the management of any business goes beyond profitability. Many factors, such as business ethics and morality, among others, require prior consideration and prioritisation. Actually, these factors play a significant role in determining the profitability of a business.

Led by the need for money, intellectuals and international business researchers and scholars have developed various impractical business models. Ghoshals (2005) disapproval of modern management practices finds justification in modern business schools. These schools have forced students and business entrants to believe that managers are devious beings, owing to their efforts to satisfy the requirements of shareholders. In addition, business education in schools has made students believe that the propagation of an organisation demands proper supervisory roles at all levels of management. Moreover, the subject of the competition is highly prioritised to make sure that students believe that business cannot prosper without gaining a competitive advantage over other businesses in all facets of operation (Fournier & Grey 2000).

Personal level of academic aspirations form a prerequisite for independent and rational thinking. This strategy enables the development of mental faculties to prompt students to think outside the theoretical knowledge about business management. Personal level academic programmes allow instructors to explore the students attitudes, ambitions, and hindrances to the accomplishment of academic goals. Personal level management education ensures that students gain access to sufficient academic guidance from their instructors.

Development of cognitive skills corresponds to Ghoshals (2005) encouragement of independent thinking. Strong cognitive abilities enable students to relate conceptual knowledge that is acquired in class with the real-life situations in the management industry. Instructors are able to nurture personal ambitions of students towards accomplishment of academic goals, thus avoiding threats to managerial fields (Feldman & Orlikowski 2011). This practice gets rid of doubts about their personal performance in management practice after their schooling.

Methodological Issues

Issues such as the nature of education and quality of instructions in business schools have led to a generation of managers and employees who believe in certain conventional ways of conducting business activities. For noticeable whys and wherefores, this belief follows some sort of pragmatism that generalises business practices in spite of embracing more specialised approaches. There is a usual tendency to believe in the empiricism of natural sciences due to persuasive education that business schools offer to students. According to Browne and Keeley (2012), human beings are somewhat susceptible to new knowledge.

They tend to stick to new-fangled ideologies without prior reflection of the consequences. In this context, students develop a strong belief in the knowledge that their trainers impart in them. As a result, they adopt any management practices that are taught in class, regardless of whether they are congruent or inconsistent with the prevailing societal demands. Since this form of knowledge finds its use in the society, it has also influenced rational abilities of unschooled persons. Management theories have generally fashioned both intellectual and normative dimensions of decision-making in the society.

Consequently, the human society has assumed profit maximisation approaches to business whilst overlooking important aspects such as ethical business philosophies. Education through personal level academic aspiration programmes provides students with opportunities to develop strong cognitive, motivational, affective, and selective processes that enable them make independent decisions based on common sense rather than conventionality (Klaas & Donaldson n.d.).

Pretence of Knowledge

Since the beginning of management practices, business schools have strived to classify business studies as a social science discipline. However, the exploration of corporate culture in organisations depicts some crucial issues with reference to monitoring and harmonising individual decisions and preferences (Ghoshal 2005). Instead, proponents of management theories have had no other alternative than to classify business studies as a scientific discipline.

Definitely, the indulgency in science provides a clear insight into social, economic, and psychological aspects of management. A great variation of thinking abilities exists amongst different individuals. Therefore, the predilections of different individuals depend on their choices and level of morality. The attempts to classify business management as a scientific discipline have led to the development of rogue management theories since the discipline also compromises between social science and natural science.

This approach to management is known as pretence of knowledge. Scholars have tried to explain management through discovery of scientific facts behind management. According to Ghoshal (2005), this trend has done away with the sense of morality and self-discipline. For instance, business leaders have the propensity to use earlier events to explain present occurrences in management.

Economics Perspective

Economics has significantly influenced the practicability of sound management practices. In an economics perspective, people are seen as rational beings who undertake certain activities to satisfy their conscience (DiMaggio & Powell 1983). In other words, people view management as an activity that entails profit maximisation. The notion of fulfilling self-vested interests and/or profit maximisation makes modern management practices too sceptical to propagate ethical businesses.

Contextually, personal level academic aspirations that are attained from business schools only teach students how they should conduct organisational management to maximise returns on investments. Essentially, this form of knowledge begins by developing reservations in students rather than self-confidence. Cottrel (2011) reiterates the development of reservations in students by saying that the practice engineers the development of weak organisations, owing to incorrectly nurtured management practices.

Students, researchers, and even practitioners should possess not only competitive knowledge about certain business phenomena, but also knowledge about how to do such activities. Therefore, instructors should instil these virtues through personal level academic aspirations. The what and how knowledge triggers a persons ability to marry theory with practice in performance of managerial duties.

Implications of Literature

The Gap between Theory and Practice

There exists a questionable gap between management theories and managerial practices (Cottrel 2011). The validation of the present management theories in contemporary organisations fails to substantiate sound managerial practices. Many scholars and researchers have made significant attempts to bridge the gap between management theories and practices by venturing into illusive education and acquisition of empirical knowledge through practice.

The fact remains that these people use old knowledge that is documented in books and other references that may be irrelevant in terms of fulfilment of modern organisational requirements and societal needs. The rest of ideologies are a misconception of management reality and confrontation of empiricism and intellectualism. For instance, most scholars believe in the existence of business challenges that can find probable resolutions in management theories.

Indeed, this statement is true since management theories represent a number of methodologies for solving managerial issues. However, many of these scholars and researchers have never stepped in the doors of the practical world to encounter the actuality of the business environment. Perhaps, practical knowledge can trigger empirical reasoning towards the formulation of workable solutions to management problems.

On a different dimension, college educators of business management and related disciplines have miniature knowledge about the practical business world (Feldman & Orlikowski 2011). Tutors are not conversant with real-life challenges to which management practices are subjected. For some reason, this statement is true. Most of the world professors and business specialists are developed in a classroom environment. This situation presents the learner with limited opportunities of practice.

Thus, college education instils more conceptual problems that can easily find solutions through the application of the existing management theories (Ghoshal 2005). Consequently, business schools have resulted in the generation of pessimistic scholars who have fears of reality. However, personal level academic aspirations can improve the performance of graduates since they create a strong sense of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy develops the capabilities of students to acquire practical skills about various business phenomena. This virtue further results in determination that prompts people to face challenging situations with inherent courage.

Management Specialisation Issues

Contemporary business systems have become increasingly complex and vastly diversified. Unfortunately, most educational programmes offer a wide scope of management knowledge to students. In his article, Ghoshal (2005) clearly explains that narrow specialisation in business schools has hindered sound management practices. Ideally, management disciplines are vast in the sense that the subject can be subdivided into various closely related sub-disciplines.

However, the conceptual frameworks for the sub-disciplines classify them as dissimilar subjects. Amazingly, curriculum developers and instructors require students to undertake several of these subjects. This situation has narrowed specialisation in certain management studies. As a result, students acquire too much information from different fields of management.

According to Feldman and Orlikowski (2011), such knowledge is unnecessary for conducting successful management in business. Instead, students should be encouraged to specialise in certain management disciplines in which they have grown profound interest. Management specialisation is a special provision in business learning that allows students to choose management disciplines of interest such as project management, consultancy, and business development among others. This practice enables students to acquire in-depth knowledge about specific management fields that are crucial for managing organisations.

Pretence of knowledge has led to ignorance of crucial information about business ethics and morality. Management, as a discipline in business schools, is affected by social and economic factors. The exclusion of ethical and moral business subjects will definitely influence the process of acquiring sound management knowledge (Friedman 1970; Dacin, Munir, & Tracey 2010).

The process of making management decisions requires a high sense of self-discipline and respect for all stakeholder groups. The pretence of knowledge leads to unethical choices since formulated decisions favour some groups at the expense of other stakeholders. In this context, instructors and academicians should take business management as a holistic subject that demands careful incorporation of ethical concepts during the instructional process.

The Ideology-Based Gloomy Vision

Foreign disciplines such as economics have profoundly changed the inclination of business management in theory and practice (Katkalo, Pitelis, & Teecey 2010). In addition to economics, assimilation of other disciplines such as psychology and sociology in business management accounts for the generation of cynical entrants into management practices. In most cases, the form of schooling takes place in a theoretical rather than practical world. As a result, learners acquire conceptual approaches to management through managerial theories.

This state of affairs deprives them of the opportunity to seek empirical knowledge from managerial practices. The result is the generation of graduates who have developed fear of the real business world, owing to naivety and inadequacy of responsibility (Feldman & Orlikowski 2011). Ghoshal (2005) is right when he reiterates Feldman and Orlikowskis (2011) views that modern business schools instil cowardice in students, rather than strengthening their skills to face real problems in the business world.

As the complexity of the business environment elevates, the accomplishment of performance goals requires knowledge about the challenges and probable methodologies that can solve such challenges promptly through appropriate organisational change (Dudley 2011). Nevertheless, determinism has become the core formation of todays strategic management practices. Ignorance of knowledge about opportunism in business schools has also lessened the understanding of management. This situation has delayed the creation of value for organisations. The situation has in turn strengthened the ideology-based gloomy vision.

Practice Relevance

Business Schools and Accountability of Management Practice

In my judgment, there is a need for change of academic organisation in business schools. Ghoshal (2005) strongly believes that there is an impending necessity for change to restructure business schools and/or reform their traditional approaches to management practices. Business schools encounter many challenges in the process of administering managerial instructions.

However, regardless of financial, time, and human resource constraints, business schools should champion for the generation of dependable graduates by reshaping the structure of the prevailing instructional curriculum and environments. According to Fournier and Grey (2000), management studies demand not only empirical knowledge but also the development of skills through hands-on experience.

Furthermore, the administration of instructional processes requires professional teachers who have passed through real situations in one or more management fields. Specialisation requires instructors to provide students with options that are more rational and flexible to enable them select management courses of their own interest. This form of learning will enable them acquire sufficient knowledge on focused management courses, and hence increase their competency in such disciplines.

Secondly, researchers, instructors, and academics should emphasise the need for assimilating morality and ethics in managerial instructions. It is a fact that many business schools have begun offering social responsibility programmes alongside business management courses. Essentially, social responsibility is crucial for the development of management skills.

Nonetheless, this aspect alone is insufficient for the nurturing of all-inclusive management practices. Business schools should bring other complimentary disciplines such as business ethics and morality on board to strengthen management education. An organisation represents a system of knowledge (Browne & Keeley 2012). However, the workability of organisational systems entirely depends on the mental faculties of workers who are deployed to perform differentiated performance functions.

Lastly, appropriate managerial practices should encompass any developed concepts to fit certain business conditions instead of accepting conventionally crafted management theories. People gain better abilities to perform certain actions through practice. Ghoshal (2005) emphasises that the nature of abilities is developed and not conventionally adopted in modern business schools. Therefore, business schools should desist from persuading students to believe that business management is a conventional process that every organisational system should follow to accomplish performance goals. Developed concepts are sociable and legitimate for management practice, owing to their nature of pluralism as opposed to homogeneity that is associated with conventionality.

Conclusion

The business environment will continue to be complex in terms of management requirements. Apparently, increasing complexity will demand management theories that are more robust in practice rather than in theory. Therefore, management researchers and scholars should develop conceptual approaches that can find applications in the changing business environments and/or the increasing societal needs.

For instance, despite the assimilation of social corporate responsibility practices in the field of management, management researchers should also find ways of assimilating business ethics and morality in an attempt to design all-inclusive management theories. Furthermore, the encroachment of economics in the discipline has created false impression that people invest in businesses to gain profit and/or enjoy competition. This approach is not entirely right in proper management. In fact, profitability is crucial for businesses.

However, there is a need to pay respect to consumers and other stakeholders of the business by ensuring that they acquire services through well-thought means to build other virtues such as reputation and customer loyalty. The purpose of practicable management theories is to create superior morals and ethical responsibility in students so that business schools can generate respectable entrants into managerial practices. Therefore, business schools need to ensure that their curriculum decisions, choices, and students meet the practical demands as expected in managerial practices and organisations.

References

Browne, N & Keeley, M 2012, What Are The Value And Descriptive Assumptions? Pearson, Boston.

Cottrel, S 2011, Critical Thinking Skills: Developing Effective Analysis and Argument, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Hampshire, UK.

Dacin, T, Munir, K & Tracey, P 2010, Formal Dining At Cambridge Colleges: Linking Ritual Performance And Institutional Maintenance, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 53 no. 6, pp. 1393-1418.

DiMaggio, J & Powell, W 1983, The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organisational Fields, American Sociological Review, vol. 48 no. 2, pp.147-60.

Dudley, B 2011, Executives Letter, Sage, London.

Feldman, S & Orlikowski, J 2011, Theorising Practice and Practicing Theory, Organisation Science, vol. 22 no.1, pp. 1240-53.

Fournier, V & Grey, C 2000, At the Critical Moment: Conditions and Prospects for Critical Management Studies, Sage Publications, The Travistock Institute.

Friedman, M 1970, The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits, The New York Times Magazine, pp. 211-212.

Ghoshal, S 2005, Bad Management Theories Are Destroying Good Management Practices, Academy of Management Learning and Education, vol. 4 no. 1, pp.75-91.

Katkalo, S, Pitelis, N & Teecey, J 2010, Introduction: On the Nature and Scope of Dynamic Capabilities, Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 19 no. 4, pp. 1175-86.

Klaas, P & Donaldson, L n.d, Underfits Versus Overfits in the Contingency Theory of Organisational Design: Asymmetric Effects of Misfits on Performance, Sage, London.

The role of business in the social sustainability can be described from multiple perspectives. To grow, develop new products, and ensure profitability, companies should establish a long-term and beneficial relationship with various groups of stakeholders. Some of those stakeholders, i.e., clients, employees, suppliers, etc., are of great influence on companies conduct and have a fundamental significance for the organisational survival. Other interested parties, such as mass media, local communities, and so on, also have a multilateral impact on the business. Thus, the enterprise should be considerate of external influences and adjust to stakeholders interests in order to succeed.

One of the definitions used to describe the organisational practices aimed to establish positive relations with diverse stakeholders and add values to business operations is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It is the strategy that ensures the sustainable growth of the company based on the combination of efforts in the stimulation of economic growth, development of social infrastructure, improvement of the quality of life, and ecological state.

In this paper, the focus will be made on CSR issues and practices linked to supply chain management. Supply chain management supports both informational and physical flows within the firm. It includes sourcing, product development, delivery of the finished products, and so on. There are many reasons that encourage companies to integrate socially responsible, ethical, and environmental activities within the supply chain. It is possible to say that the main one is the achievement of maximum customer satisfaction which is directly related to positive financial outcomes.

Other important reasons may include mitigation of risks, opportunities to manage reputation issues, enforce laws and regulations while respecting and supporting international principles for sustainable business conduct. When seeking the improvement of environmental, social and economic efficiency, companies aim to meet their own interests, the interests of their stakeholders and the society as a whole.

This complexity associated with the implementation CSR in supply chain management points at the need to design an integrated and comprehensive managerial approach. Based on this, in the given paper, we will review the literature devoted to various aspects of CSR management related to supply chain operations, analyse distinct views, and make conclusions about potential benefits of CSR-related supply chain activities, as well as barriers to the integration of socially responsible behaviour.

Literature Review

Definition of CSR

Researchers define CSR as the responsibility of enterprises for their influence on the society (LapiFa et al. 580). Socially responsible behaviour are usually manifested as respect for law and collective conventions which can be regarded as a premise for the compliance with the ethical model of conduct. To follow the CSR principles, companies should design and enable the mechanism for the systematic consideration of consumer, social, ecological, ethical, and legal issues at distinct operational levels.

The major purposes of this task are to create the maximum shared value for all involved stakeholders, to identify and mitigate potential negative consequences associated with the companys conduct. The greatest number of benefits related to socially responsible behaviour can be generated when a comprehensive CSR strategy is implemented. The application of such a strategy means that the enterprise strives to become a good and responsible citizen that actively seeks opportunities to make a contribution to the improvement of the social condition by favourably impacting the quality of life.

Many instruments used in the CSR framework are closely linked to the corporate culture and the overall profile of the companys activities, including those related to supply chain management. The most common of them are the social campaigns and development of meaningful partnerships (Walters and Anagnostopoulos 418), cause-related and sustainable marketing (Fodness 10), development of ethical programs aimed to integrate shared values among employees (LapiFa et al. 583), corporate governance including a set of practices used to control and coordination of shareholders behaviour and foster responsible investment, eco and social labeling of products (placement of additional ethically CSR-related information on packages), and some others.

CSR for Supply Chain Management

It can be seen from the definition of CSR that some of its elements are automatically included in the area of supply chain management, e.g., the appropriate labelling of products and conveyance of relevant information to consumers through packaging. For a long time, product development and marketing were two of the most important tasks of the organisational supply chain management as they ensure effective identification of goods and brands among diverse groups of consumers.

Thus, the adding of extra information offered within the CSR context is not that a big problem especially when many manufacturers use labels and packages to communicate with customers. However, the compliance with collective social agreements may be considered the major difficulty in the performance of socially responsible supply chain practices as it may require substantial changes in the organisational system and structure (Feng et al. 297).

Supply chain activities fulfil a regulatory and integrational function among different elements of the economic infrastructure in the organisation. The purpose of this area of management is to practice sustainable organisational growth (Feng et al. 297). Researchers also note that supply chain processes and logistics, in particular, were one of the fist spheres of organisational performance where ecological or green solutions that constitute and intrinsic part of CSR were incorporated  the concern regarding the deterioration of the ecological state motivated companies to realise logistics practices considering their influence on environment and society. (Feng et al. 297).

The present-day CSR in supply chain management is spread across all types of activities and is included in customer relationships, development of sound work environment, ecological management, and so on. For this reason, it is hard to discern CSR from the organisational conduct as a whole. However, to better understand the significance of CSR practices, we will review how they function in distinct parts of the companys supply chain.

Transportation, Supply, and Distribution

Since the end of the 20th century, the emissions caused by the cross-national transportation have significantly increased, and it may be expected that the further expansion of international trade and industrial growth will provoke even greater deterioration of the ecological state. According to Marchet et al., the reduction of pollutant emissions and greenhouse gas is one of the principle goals for the efficient and environment-oriented supply chain management (797).

The researchers suggest that the changes in the organisational transportation system, i.e., the use of cleaner vehicles or alternative fuels, redesign of transport and distribution strategies, etc., is considered the most effective method for the achievement of desirable goals in CSR and supply chain management (Marchet et al. 799). The improvements in the vehicle utilisation are regarded as the optimal way to integrate ethical and ecological principles into the firms economic management because it is observed that the consideration of transportation modes leads to the effective utilisation of resources and consequent cost efficiency.

The incorporation of CSR into the supply chain activities also implies the fostering of acceptable factors required for the product development processes while minimising the load on the environment. While in traditional supply chain management models, managers primarily select partners and suppliers based on costs, time, and quality considerations, Homburg et al. recommend organisations to select suppliers and operational activities taking into account the environmental criteria and their overall stance on CSR.

It means that companies which desire to enforce more socially responsible behaviour will build partnerships only with those business actors who themselves conduct according to ethical and green principles, and will prefer to purchase ecological and more expensive materials rather than cheap and hazardous ones. Additionally, green logistics practices may include the management of reverse material streams and the purchase of ecologically acceptable packaging materials which can be reused and recycled multiple times (Gechevski et al. 63). It is worth mentioning that the distributional logistics is closely interrelated with marketing management.

Thus, to organise the distribution channels in a rational way, the management should carry out a multipurpose analysis of market conditions considering the ecologic preferences of customers (Gechevski et al. 63).

Despite the fact that the logistics operations can be regarded as the principal cause of environmental pollution, many companies continue to disregard CSR practices and often underestimate the positive impacts of the environmental initiatives. Marchet et al. distinguish several barriers to the implementation of the CSR strategy in supply chain management. They may be of both internal and external character. The primary internal inhibiting factor is the financial one. The management often considers that integration of socially responsible criteria in business operations is associated with the lack of economic benefits (Marchet et al. 801).

Moreover, the CSR endeavours require staff training and evaluation of internal organisational systems, and it is associated with additional expenses. At the same time, the major external inhibiting factors include the reluctance towards innovation, as well as insufficient supplier commitment, the lack of knowledge and necessary technology (Marchet et al. 801). To deal with these problems, the investment in the corporate knowledge management system is be required.

Corporate Knowledge Management

The identified barriers to the CSR practice reveal that the effectiveness of systematic, structural, and cultural changes in organisations, as well as a successful adoption of new environment and ethical management strategies, highly depends on the quality of human resources and availability of relevant knowledge. Researchers define knowledge as the ability to sustain the coordinated deployment of assets and capabilities in a way that helps the firm achieve its goals (LapiFa et al. 578).

In the organisational context, knowledge refers to everything that is known about customers, operations, goods, risks, and success. Thus, knowledge management is meant to collect information and centralise different kinds of data which are disproportionally scattered across the company and, at the same time, increase the capability of knowledge generation and exploitation (LapiFa et al. 579).

At the same time, the integration of knowledge management and CSR implies the advancement of employees competence and professional capabilities needed to facilitate organisational implementation of CSR endeavours; continual investigation of internal and external environments and stakeholders interests; and the maintenance of appropriate corporate culture.

The efficiency of both knowledge management and CSR largely depend on such factors as staff qualification, motivation, and commitment (LapiFa et al. 583). For this reason, HR management practices play an essential role in the integration of CSR principles into the corporate culture and supply chain management. Moreover, as stated by LapiFa et al., HR and knowledge management are deeply interrelated phenomena as they both allow realising subordinates potential and support the increase in their productivity. A well-planned coordination of knowledge may also facilitate employees involvement and commitment to CSR practices. A high level of qualification, in-depth knowledge, and competence of personnel may thus be regarded as one of the crucial factors for the integration of CSR within the firm.

Socially Responsible Product Development and Marketing

The essence of the CSR marketing is in finding the balance between two primary goals of the organisation  increase in profitability and improvement of customer satisfaction. If in the past, companies strived to establish positive relations mainly with consumers, today, the situation requires them to consider the society as a whole. Nowadays, firms no longer can offer false and untrustworthy advertising campaigns and violate the rights of their legitimate stakeholders because such unethical practices are detrimental to their reputation and revenues. Conversely, it is suggested that by supporting the interested parties, the company may gain such benefits as customer loyalty and increased brand value.

The major practices involved in socially responsible and cause-related marketing are fair advertising, development of ethical and green products and services, good deeds marketing, and so on. Marketing of socially responsible products implies the demonstration of the corporate values to the public (Davis 136). It is the commercial activity based on the common interests. It is possible to say that the given approach is substantiated by the efficient consumer response (ECR) strategy based on the orientation towards the needs of final consumers. The ECR model implies that all parties involved in the process at different levels of supply chain management undertake measures to fulfil the current demand while focusing on the maximisation of the price for the demanded products (Hoffman and Mehra 366).

Transparency, marketing research and customer focus become intrinsic parts of the marketing of socially responsible products. In this framework, organisations and consumers are expected to collaborate without rejecting their own interests. Thus, the supply chain functioning in accordance with the ECR and CSR rules is integrated in terms of the multilateral information flow and orientation towards current consumer preferences. ECR strategy requires traders and suppliers to act in a way that the increase in the consumer costs is supported by the decrease in the production costs and the fair allocation of benefits among the business partners (Hoffman and Mehra 366).

Moreover, the gaps in the information flow should be reduced to a minimum in order to ensure the highest possible value of the final products. As stated by Davis, consumers with strong environmental and social motivations are not particularly sensitive to price when buying green products, and it is the brands CSR activities increase their willingness to buy products at higher prices (136). Therefore, the implementation of such an integrated production and marketing system is highly beneficial for enterprises. However, CSR marketing may not always be so efficient as it is expected. Although some research evidence suggests that CSR advertising may foster the positive attitude of consumers to brands, other researchers consider that CSR marketing may elicit scepticism and perception of insincerity that weakens the effect of an advertised message (Chu and Jhih-Syuan 46).

Moreover, Chu and Jhih-Syuan observe that consumers perception of CSR largely depends on the overall dominant culture in which individuals live. In this way, the efficiency of advertising of socially responsible products may be lower in individualistic cultures than in the collectivistic-oriented ones that are outer-directed and more concerned with their social roles (Chu and Jhih-Syuan 58).

Despite the concerns regarding the effectiveness of CSR advertising, it is possible to say that the establishment of partnerships with non-profit or charity organisations can be regarded one of the most effective ways for the firm to engage in CSR marketing and, at the same time, mitigate risks associated with consumers skepticism because the given strategy is characterized by a proactive approach and tangible results. Walters and Anagnostopoulos state that through partnerships, organisations can gain access to additional resources, foster flexibility, generate knowledge about issues that would otherwise be beyond their reach, e.g., social quality, and so on (418). Such partnerships support both the promotion of products and help to address most topical social problems.

Conclusion

The findings of the literature review revealed that despite potential difficulties associated with the integration of CSR in supply chain management, socially responsible behaviour can help organisations to generate various tangible and intangible benefits. The tangible effects of CSR endeavours are mainly related to the economic and financial indicators. From this viewpoint, the enforcement of responsible supply chain activities leads to the reduction of material costs and increased efficiency of resource consumption. The optimisation of organisational infrastructures may also be associated with long-term costs decrease that can compensate the short-term costs due to the investment in the integration of CSR within the company. Besides the financial benefits, compliance with CSR contributes to ecological improvement through the reduction of emissions, toxic materials consumption, industrial waste discharge, water and energy waste.

Potential intangible positive impacts of CSR in supply chain management include the enhancement of the organisational image, improvement of stakeholders quality of life, and raised public awareness of topical social and environmental problems. The corporate socially responsible behaviour may increase the organisations attractiveness to customers and suppliers, and develop their loyalty. Moreover, the integration of fair HR practices and ethical values into the organisational culture can make the company more attractive to talented and skilful employees and facilitate retention of human resources.

However, the research data related to the relationships between sustainable supply chain strategies and financial performance is under-represented, and the gaps in evidence pertaining to consumers perceptions of CSR may be regarded as one of the barriers to the universal implementation of socially responsible supply chain activities in enterprises.

The balance between the CSR endeavours and effectiveness of supply chain management is of significant importance. While the improvement of social and environmental quality in an attempt to meet the external pressures, demands and requirements increases costs, the companies need to find ways to sustain their financial capabilities and avoid economic declines. Although to achieve a right degree of balance may be difficult, the management still may create win-to-win situations, and it seems that formal strategic planning and proactive social behaviour are the major ways to integrate CSR without significant losses.

The successful implementation of CSR in any area of performance can be facilitated only through trial and error which allow gaining sufficient experience needed to maintain the socially responsible behaviour in the environment associated with uncertainty and continuously emerging wicked problems. Formal strategic planning and systematic monitoring of the environmental conditions may allow managers to mitigate problems which inevitably occur at the initial stage of CSR system integration and, at the same time, maximise benefits that can be generated with the aid of sustainable supply chain management.

Works Cited

Chu, Shu-Chuan and Jhih-Syuan Lin. Consumers Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility in the United States and China: A Study of Female Cosmetics Consumers. International Journal of Strategic Communication, vol. 7, no. 1, 2013, pp. 43-64.

Davis, Ingrid. How (Not) to Market Socially Responsible Products: A Critical Research Evaluation. Journal of Marketing Communications, vol. 19, no. 2, 2013, pp. 136-150.

Feng, Yunting, et al. Corporate Social Responsibility for Supply Chain Management: A Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 158, 2017, pp. 296307.

Fodness, Dale. Managing the wickedness of socially responsible marketing. Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 36, no. 5, 2014, pp.10-17.

Gechevski, Dario, et al. Reverse Logistics and Green Logistics Way to Improving the Environmental Sustainability. Acta Technica Corvininesis  Bulletin of Engineering, vol. 9, no. 1, 2016.

Hoffman, Joyce and Satish Mehra. Efficient Consumer Response as a Supply Chain Strategy for Grocery Businesses. International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 11, no. 4, 2000, pp.365-373.

Homburg, Christian, et al. Corporate Social Responsibility in Business-To-Business Markets: How Organizational Customers Account for Supplier Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement. Journal of Marketing, vol. 77, no. 6, 2013, pp. 5454.

LapiFa, Inga, et al. Human Resource Management Models: Aspects of Knowledge Management and Corporate Social Responsibility. Procedia  Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 110, 2014, pp. 577586.

Marchet, Gino, et al. Environmental Sustainability in Logistics and Freight Transportation. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 25, no. 6, 2014, pp. 775811.

Walters, Geoff and Christos Anagnostopoulos. Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility through Social Partnerships. Business Ethics: A European Review, vol. 21, no. 4, 2012, pp. 417-433.

The concept of organization behaviour is a very important tool for any organization. It usually determines whether the business will succeed in its undertakings or not. Good managers must be able to effectively how to use the tool to gauge the employees response to different organizational policies. However, to effectively understand the concept, we first begin with the explaining the basic definition of the term organization behaviour and then move on to explain its significance to management in relation to the underlying problem which now faces Mr. Backer the manager of the regency grand hotel.

Organizational behavior refers to how the organization structure and practices influence the behavior of persons and how the persons influence the organization (McShane, Olekalns and Travaglione, 2009). Primarily, the authors claim that managers must be able to understand the organizational structure and organizational behavior to effectively manage the affairs of the business and improve the quality of products that the organization produces. In this case, they take an organization to mean a group of people with structured patterns of interaction, coordinated tasks and working towards some purpose (McShane, Olekalns and Travaglione, 2009).

As companies grow, they usually extend to other markets, which are in foreign countries in order to enlarge their businesses. This extension of the business activities to markets, which are beyond their borders by acquisition, takeovers, or mergers, is known as globalization (McShane, Olekalns and Travaglione, 2009). However, globalization usually comes along with many challenges, which managers must effectively cope with one of them being intensive competition from other global firms. These are the main challenges that the Regency Grand hotel faces.

Summary of the underlying problems

The change in management of a financially stable company brought with it many challenges that, though the manager was capable of handling due to his effectiveness in integrating other newly acquired hotels in the hotel chain, threaten the survival of the company. These challenges have affected the organization behaviour and seem to threaten the financial profitability of the company.

One of the challenges that the manager faces is managing diversity in the organization. According to McShane, Olekalns and Travaglione (2009), the contemporary business environment has presented organizations with primary and secondary diversity issues to deal with, more so as more women join the workforce and professional world, and due to the emerging diversity of needs among the generation X, generation Y, and baby-boomers. However, diversity may have advantages, and therefore organizations must be ready to be strategic in embracing cultural awareness, family-friendly policies and employee empowerment.

Mr. Becker, the new manager of the hotel, introduced empowerment to the employees. These measures have been faced by so much resistance from the senior staff since they undermine their status quo. They have resulted in creating barriers to the employees ability to make independent decisions by using the loophole posed due to lack of definition of the major and minor issues. This has caused so much social tension in the organization with many situations arising which call for the attention of Mr. Becker since he is the one who came up with the changes.

There is also a general lack of communication between the management and the staff of the hotel. This has partly been initiated by the employees pestering Mr. Becker on issues, which Mr. Becker regards as petty. According to McShane, Olekalns and Travaglione (2009), changes in business always bring about different forms of communication, which the managers must be ready to address. Lack of effective communication channels has resulted in the loss of harmony and unity of the workers of the hotel. They are quick to point fingers at each other due to mistakes, which their fellow workers make. This ultimately affects the workers confidence and their service delivery. Reduced employee confidence and the lack of unity have led to the poor service delivery of the employees. This is clearly highlighted by the poor ranking of the hotel by a travel magazine.

The above problems have led to the ultimate deteriorating of the image of the company. This would deprive the hotel potential customers who would not like to be associated with the hotel due to its bad image. In addition, the above problems have financial implications on the company due to reduced customers. The management of the hotel must therefore come up with swift measures to solve the underlying problems and help clear the image of the company to the public.

Management and organization behaviour

In this section, I will attempt to come up with solutions to the problems facing the regency grand hotel. However, in order to do that, it is important to begin with explaining the concept of organization behavior vis-à-vis the regency grand hotel.

Among the most important assets of a company is its human capital. Organization behavior is well understood in terms of

• Individual behaviors and values
• Team aspects
• Organizational processes

The individual behaviors are a very important aspect of organization behavior. The attitudes of the workers determine their behaviours and very many other aspects of the workers output. They dictate how an employee will perform his duties and his perception of the management (Navarro, 2005, p 234).

Managers should be particularly concerned with attitudes of the employees with regard to job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment (Fox, 2007, p 55). Job satisfaction refers to how an employee views his job. Positive attitudes towards the job will make the worker to be more committed to the job hence increasing his general output. However, negative attitudes make the worker do the job poorly and he usually lacks commitment in the job. Job involvement refers to how the worker identifies with the job and his general participation in the work. Organization commitment refers to the amount of loyalty that the worker has towards the organization (Fox, 2005, p 56). The attitude of the workers also determines the rate of turnover of the workers and the absenteeism of the workers.

Team processes refer the employees interaction and influence on each other in the process of achieving organizational goals and objectives. These employees see themselves as a social entity within the organization. The team is usually entitled with the performance of a certain task within the organization. Organizations must ensure that teams are efficient and there is a high level of cohesiveness within the teams (Navarro, 2005, p 242).

The organization processes relate mainly to the organization culture and the organization change. Organization culture refers to the workings of an organization and its general attributes which are shared by the employees. This attributes are different for different organizations (Fox, 2007, p 32). The organization culture is a strong bond that helps the employees identify with the organization.

An organization is not a static entity; it is always subject to change to enable it to cope with the competition and the dynamics of the market. Therefore, the organization change is a very important aspect for any organizations existence and success. The organization change is mainly of two types internal or external. The external forces of change are mainly due to changes in technology, social change, changes in the marketing conditions and globalization (Singh, 2009 p 343).

The internal forces of change are mainly the changes in the management, changes in the socio-cultural values of the employees, and changes initiated by the management to create a dynamic environment (Singh, 2009 p 345). In addition, the trends in globalization have influenced values and ethics in the organization, thus the organization must realize importance of different values, which may be personal, cultural, organizational, or professional, as well as put emphasis on ethical business conduct (McShane, Olekalns and Travaglione, 2009).

The above changes elicit different reactions to the changes on the workers depending on the type of change. Their reaction may either be beneficial to the company or have detrimental effects on the company.

Applications on the Regency Grand hotel

Since I have now explained the theoretical part, let me get to the practical part, which relates to the problems of the regency grand hotel and explain what ails the hotel. The main problem of the regency grand hotel is the inability of the workers to cope with the changes, which have been brought about by the changes in ownership and management of the hotel.

The Regency Grand hotel used to be a highly successful organization before acquisition by the American hotel chain. The hotel staff used to work well and had adapted to the working conditions of the organization. The management of the organization had managed to attain the desired attitudes of the employees by giving them a huge bonus. The acquisition by the American hotel chains and the subsequent change in management was not well anticipated by the workers of the hotel.

The new management came with its ideas, which seemed foreign to the staff of the hotel. The change in management resulted in a change in the organizational culture of the hotel. The members of staff of the Regency Grand hotel were not used to making liberal decisions concerning their works.

In addition, the people who were in the leadership positions felt aggrieved by the ability of their juniors being able to make independent decisions without having to consult. These people felt that their powers had been reduced and hence they came up with mechanisms to show that they are still superior by having to differentiate between the major and minor issues. This led to a reduction in the teamwork among the employees. Team spirit of the employees was also diminished by their empowerment as they started pointing fingers at the other employees for their mistakes (McShane, Olekalns and Travaglione, 2009). In summary the major problems that the Regency Grand Hotel faces are

• Employee dissatisfaction
• Lack of democratic administration
• Resistance to change
• Inability of the employees to cope with changes in the organization culture

Solutions to the problems

Mr. Becker was has previously been able to effectively integrate new hotels into the hotel chain in his home country. However since he has been transferred to a new hotel in a foreign country he should have first taken time to familiarize himself with the organization culture of the new hotel before implementing his ideal measures in quick succession. Understanding the organization culture would have helped him to customize his applications to suit the Regency Grand hotel. Mr. Becker should also consider the cultural views of the societies from which these employees come from.

Lack of democratic management has made the workers to distance themselves with the new organization cultures being imposed by the new management and so reverse to the old practices, which they used to do. The best way to do this is by facilitating dialogue between the management and the employees in order to incorporate the employees views in the working of the company. This would maintain the financial profitability of the company by adapting its previous practices, which were good.

To solve the underlying problem of employee dissatisfaction the management should come up with strategies, which will boost the morale of the employees (McShane, Olekalns and Travaglione, 2009). The management should also award innovative ideas based on their effectiveness.

Mr. Becker introduced several changes within the organization, which are met with resistance as they change the status quo of the supervisors (Singh 2009 p 190). These supervisors impose barriers to counter the changes, which have been proposed by Mr. Becker. To help solve this problem Mr. Becker should involve the supervisors and other senior staff in not only the implementation of the strategies but also in their generation. This would make the senior employees seem that they collectively own the ideas and hence conform to the proposed measures and ensure the implementation of the ideas. The senior employees will effectively do this since the changes brought about by the management do not affect their status quo.

To improve the teamwork of the employees the organization should create team-building strategies targeting the employees. The organization can facilitate this either through the creation of group activities of the employees or by the hotel management creating various functions, which enhance the employee participation in the activities.

The management of the hotel must also come up with measures to help improve the image of the hotel to the public. They can do this either through undertaking vigorous advertising campaigns or designing of new products for their customers.

Conclusion

By implementing the measures proposed above, the Regency Grand hotel will be able to improve employees satisfaction, reduce the tensions among the employees and help improve the interaction between the top management and the employees. by so doing the organization would be able to counter the problems which had occurred and hence be on its way back to sound organization practices which would lead to improvement in the customer satisfaction. This would in the long run lead to financial benefits to the Regency Grand hotel as a hotel in the American hotel chain.

References

Fox, W. (2007). Organizational Behaviour. Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd. 

McShane, S., Olekalns, M. and Travaglione, T. (2009). Organizational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim. 3rd edition. Sydney: McGraw-Hill Australia.

Navarro, P. (2005). What the best MBAs know: how to apply the greatest ideas taught in the best business schools. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.

Singh, H. (2009). Organizational Behavior. New Delhi: FK Publications. Web.

Introduction

The book Organizational Behavior by, MeShane, Olekalns, and Travaglione, offered a detailed training on different issues facing organizations; the main focus was teams and their management. Posting of chapters 4, 5&6 and 7 were the most interesting postings as far as I am concerned. The chapters discuss different issue of personnel management but give the topic different approaches. This paper gives a recoup the three online posting.

Personnel management

Human resources management is one role of managers; it is concerned with people at work and their relationship with their employer. Well-managed human resources result into an orchestrate team. A companys human resources department is responsible for looking at its staffs welfare. The department is responsible for planning, deploying, employing, training, retaining, and dismissal of employees.

When employees get into an organization, there is a team spirit that they will adopt; this is dictated by the people and the organizational culture of their company. Managers and team leaders have the role of ensuring that there is a good culture that supports growth and staff motivation. In a recruitment process, successful candidates need to be oriented to their new environment; they need to learn the organizational culture and code of conduct of their new company. Organizations code of ethics defines how an organization responds to internal or external stimulus. In most organizations, they are in blueprints and an internal policy. They form part of organizational training needs. Organizations that uphold high respects for their code of ethics maintain good internal and external relations with their stakeholders

The three chapters are of the opinion that to enable employees perform their duties effectively, continuous training system and employees appraisal is important. It helps management establish areas that needs improvement. Some organizations have employees training as a continuous process to ensure that employees are up-to-date with the changes in the industry. Motivational measures should be put in place to ensure that employees are loyal to the organization and they work efficiently. This ranges from attractive salaries or/and benefits, to developing a good working environment. This ensures that employees are retained as assets in the organization.

The three posting are of the general opinion that leaders have the capability and driving power of their organization; they should understand what their teams want and endeavor to offer the best to them. Team spirit is attained when management retain good communication, mentoring, and training of his or her team members. Leaders should start by understanding the philosophy of their organization; by philosophy we mean that understanding what the organization has promised the stakeholders, what policies are there and the idea that the founders of the business hand.

With the ideas, which may be in the form of a historical analysis or corporate structure, the manager should bend back and see the attainment and misfortunes that the business has had in the past. Past failures should be on focus to facilitate managers know the areas that they need not to venture into as it had injured the organization in the past (MeShane, Olekalns and Travaglione 20-145).

Conclusion

An organization requires physical and human resources for its operations; personnel must be managed effectively to get high results from their intellectualism. The human resources department assisted by line managers has the mandate of ensuring that adequate employees are available at all times. It has the mandate of planning, deploying, employing, training, retaining, and dismissal of employees. When the department is undertaking this duty, it looks into quantitative and qualitative aspects. Qualitative means the right number of employees and qualitative means employees with right skills.

Works Cited

MeShane, Steve. Olekalns, Mara. and Travaglione, Alan. Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim Focus. Sydney: McGraw Hill Irwin, 2020.Print.

Managing change is one of the difficult activities that many organizations come across. The change that occur because of diversity and technology advancements poses numerous challenges as the majority of them may not have implemented sufficient strategies for dealing with it. However, the US Army has implemented several approaches for managing it. Therefore, this script will evaluate the effectiveness of such approaches, by discussing their weaknesses and strengths, together with their impact on workplace effectiveness. It also provides advices on ways improving them (Jackson, 2000).

In an endeavor to actualize its full potential, the US Army applies the Functionalist Systems Approach (FSA), as one of the change management approaches (Jackson, 2000). This approach states that organizations have assumed the form of a living being, and the author argues that a suitable environment is essential for their goals attainment. This approach has been effective, as the leadership has endeavored to create an environment that has assisted in counteracting the effects of such changes. Additionally, the FSA dictates that the management team need to develop a backup plan in case change occurs. For instance, such organizations need to implement various information stores. Therefore, in an event, change occurs; appropriate individuals should take the role of advising the management accordingly.

It is crucial for organizations to implement strategies for managing stress, conflict, and power. According to sources, the US Army has implemented all these thus enhancing its change management strategies. As a component of the FSA, the Army has employed the Living Systems Theory (LST) (Jackson, 2000). This is a scientific theory, which incorporates several scientific principles in providing solutions to problems arising due to change. Scientific experiments are pivotal in establishing the existence of such problems.

This theory states that the ease with which to manage change depends enormously on the individuals response to the change. In case, an individual reacts positively and agrees to adhere to the procedure adapted to managing it, then it is feasible to attain the success. In respect to this, the US Army has enhanced such alignments, which have aided the entire process. According to LST, three things can trigger change in an organization. This could occur when maintaining, actualizing, and propagating its processes. Some of these forces are external, while others are from within. The US Army has applied the LST to manage changes for these reasons. In depicting the effectiveness of such approaches, it is necessary to assess their strengths, as well as their weaknesses (Parlier, 2011).

One of its strengths is the eight levels that it has integrated in managing change. Moreover, it has many subsections dedicated to accomplishing dissimilar tasks in the change management procedure. The fact that it is scientific in nature allows for extensive research in the establishment of the problem. Its capacity to provide information essential for management is among its strengths. However, several weaknesses are present in the approaches identified. The concept of regarding organizations as living systems receives opposition from many researchers since they comprise of inhumane entities. These strengths, as well as the weaknesses, have affected the workplace setting both positively, and negatively. Therefore, I would advise the US Army division to consider applying approaches such as Continuous Change Management (CCM) (Parlier, 2011).

Management of change in organizations has become a challenge that demands an immediate action. For instance, the US Army is an apt example of an organization that has adapted several approaches for purposes of managing change. The FSA and LST are the two main approaches that have adequately aided in managing change. However, it would be appropriate to deem utilizing the principles of CCM in the management of change.

References

Jackson, M. (2000). Systems approaches to management. New York, NY: Springer publishers

Parlier, G. (2011). Transforming US Army supply chains: strategies for management innovation. New York, NY: Expert Press.

The company presented in the case study is The Soup Spoon, which has 21 outlets in Singapore. Although its menu mostly consists of soups, the customers can also purchase salads, sandwiches, and wraps. The companys ambitions are strong, and the founders of the company aim to become the Starbucks of soup.

It seems reasonable to assume that the company needs to apply the four components of holistic marketing in its marketing activities and programmes. Holistic marketing consists of four components that characterize it: relationship marketing, integrated marketing, internal marketing, and performance marketing (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 43). Relationship marketing is focused on establishing long-term relationships with key stakeholders such as customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, investors, etc. If a marketing network is established, mutually satisfying relationships between the company and the key stakeholders become possible. The issue the company faces right now is the rebranding and slightly limited menus that are not satisfying for every customer.

Therefore, the company needs to expand the existing line of the goods, gather feedback from customers in different areas (centre of the city or suburbs) to evaluate whether the new meals are suitable. It is also advisable to provide loyalty programs or special offers for those customers who frequently purchase goods or provide feedback (Sheth & Sisodia, 2015). Furthermore, the company also should not neglect partner relationships, since they directly influence supply and distribution (Storey & Kocabasoglu-Hillmer, 2013). Since the company focuses on servicing quality food only, it should also deepen and make relationships with suppliers in other countries (e.g. New Zealand) stronger. For example, the company can provide customers with information about the suppliers and distributors, which will be seen by stakeholders as an additional advertisement (Hollensen, 2015).

Integrated marketing implies that marketing activities and programs are to create and deliver value to customers (Kotler & Keller, 2016). In this case, The Soup Spoon will need to use all the existing channels in order to understand how they influence product sales. Company communications need to be integrated too. For example, The Soup Spoon can use different channels of advertisement, such as social networks, television, radio, banners, and advertisement in stores and malls to deliver the brand message. As it was already mentioned, if the company wants to target families as well, it needs to expand its menu so that it satisfies the middle-class families (but not only). For example, creating a kids menu implies that the company will need to expand the menu of sweets and desserts. Of course, the expansion of the menu will need to be advertised via different channels.

Internal marketing targets the issues within the company; hiring and training employees who will successfully serve customers are its main aims. As can be seen from the case study, the company won a Human Resources Excellence Award. The company needs to maintain or improve existing HR strategies and training in order to ensure customers satisfaction. It is unclear whether the company has a reward system or regular salary raises for employees excellence. Therefore, the company needs to focus on developing and establishing a strong reward system that will motivate employees to provide quality services. What is more, if the company aims to become a new Starbucks (but sell soups), it also needs to take the internal marketing of Starbucks into consideration. In this company, employees are trained as teams, and there are several reward systems or opportunities to advance in the career for those who are at the beginning of the hierarchical staircase (Smith Maguire & Hu, 2013). Starbucks employee management also stresses the importance of ethics and inclusion of different employees with different cultures and social backgrounds (Morais et al., 2014).

At last, performance marketing assesses the financial and nonfinancial returns from marketing activities and programs (Kotler & Keller, 2016). Sales revenue is not the only factors that should be considered by marketers; ethical, social, and environmental effects of marketing activities have to be considered as well (Kotler & Keller, 2016). The Soup Spoon is a company that promotes a healthy lifestyle and quality foods, it also has to work on the environmental and ethical side of the production of their goods. For example, customers might be more satisfied if the purchased meat will come from farmers and not slaughterhouses. Ethical services might increase customer satisfaction and improve the companys image.

The company also provides another feature that might be interesting for customers: gluten-free goods and calorie counts on the menu (Kotler & Keller, 2016). Thus, the company takes social change (towards a healthier lifestyle) into account to increase sales and attract more customers. This marketing activity, as well as others, needs to be assessed to understand which ones are effective and influence profitability (Kotler & Keller, 2016). Customers feedback will indicate whether the company integrates the right marketing programmes. Furthermore, relationships with suppliers (e.g. ethical farmers and providers of quality food) need to be maintained as well to support brand identity (Tasi, Grubi, & Ratkovi, 2012). If the company aims to provide healthful meals, it also needs to provide proof (if needed) that the environmental effects of production and distribution are not harmful. For example, the company can use paper bags instead of plastic bags or cardboard packaging (Rudawska, uboHova, PomaraDska, Stan
eková, & Gola, 2016). To conclude, the company needs to pay attention to its ethical and environmental responsibilities.

References

Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A relationship approach. London, England: Pearson Education.

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2016). Marketing management, global edition. London, England: Pearson.

Morais, U. P., Pena, J., Shacket, K., Sintilus, L., Ruiz, R., Rivera, Y., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2014). Managing diverse employees at Starbucks: Focusing on ethics and inclusion. International Journal of Learning and Development, 4(3), 35-50.

Rudawska, A., uboHova, N., PomaraDska, K., Stan
eková, D., & Gola, A. (2016). Technical and organizational improvements of packaging production process. Advances in Science and Technology Research Journal, 10(30), 182-192.

Sheth, J. N., & Sisodia, R. S. (2015). Does marketing need reform? Fresh perspectives on the future. New York, NY: Routledge.

Smith Maguire, J., & Hu, D. (2013). Not a simple coffee shop: Local, global and glocal dimensions of the consumption of Starbucks in China. Social Identities, 19(5), 670-684.

Storey, C., & Kocabasoglu-Hillmer, C. (2013). Making partner relationship management systems work: The role of partnership governance mechanisms. Industrial Marketing Management, 42(6), 862-871.

Tasi, S., Grubi, G., & Ratkovi, M. (2012). Evolution of marketing: From product up to employment. International Journal of Economics & Law, 5(5), 72-78.

As compared to a firm that only operates domestically (in one country), an international company expands to multiple markets and, therefore, faces unique costs and difficulties (David, 2013). Internationalization is a high-risk high-reward strategy for which multiple global and international considerations need to be made. Financially, an international company will likely have to deal with foreign currencies (Rizea, 2015). Because of the market volatility and political events, the exchange rate might change a lot, hurting a companys overseas revenues. For this reason, it is critical to develop a risk management plan that would mitigate the negative effects of foreign exchange. On top of that, an international company has to deal with different legal structures, many of which are dissimilar to the one on the domestic market and burdensome due to a vast amount of red tape. For this reason, it makes sense to hire international lawyers to make sure that business operations are legal and will not end in repercussions down the road.

Apart from legal and financial aspects, an international company needs to have a thoughtful marketing plan in place. When entering new markets, a company encounters foreign cultures that have their own sets of values. Some of these values may not be quite compatible with the original product, which means that there will need to be at least some adjustment in the form of localization. For example, if Chipotle wishes to to tap into the Indian market, it needs to be ready for customers preference for gathering in large groups, be it friends or family. The American company will have to rearrange the interior to accommodate more customers and make their stay as comfortable as possible.

References

David, F.R. (2013). Strategic management concepts: A competitive advantage approach. Pearson.

Rizea, R.D. (2015). Growth strategies of multinational companies. Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti Bulletin, Technical Series, 67(1), 59-66.