HI5014 International Business Across Borders | Individual Assessment Solution
You are a Supply Chain Procurement Manager working for a large manufacturing company located in North America. Recently, you have found out that one of your suppliers is in contravention of your company’s standards of engagement because they are employing persons aged 14 to 16 years of age. Whilst you would prefer to end the business relationship with this supplier immediately, you have to weigh up the ethical issues with the commercial considerations including; the low cost of the supplies and the history of reliability of delivery from this supplier. (Word limit: 400 words)
Required:
Based on your knowledge of corporate social responsibility, as well as supply chain logistics, what is the best course of action in this situation? Discuss.
ANSWER: ** Answer box will enlarge as you type
Corporate social responsibility is one of the effective approaches that an organisation should implement to address the concerns of its stakeholders. In this case, the key stakeholders for the organisation include customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, governments, non-governmental organisations and the general public. With the inclusion of these stakeholders in corporate social responsibility, the company can address issues affecting the society. The availability of supplier engagement standards shows that the company is committed in actively engaging in CSR.
In this case, I would summon the supplier for violating the company’s engagement standards. This course of action will be aimed at enabling the supplier to accept its misconduct and to promise to change its employment laws in order to continue supplying the products to the company. I will inform the supplier that the company values corporate social responsibility and whoever involves in its value chain mist actively support CSR activities. Also, I will notify the supplier that child labour has no position in the company’s value chain and that we would charge for the violations. Due to the benefits attributable to the supplier’s involvement in the company, I would not rush in cutting the relationship with the supplier.
Instead, I will apply an effective conflict resolution strategy to ensure that the supplier does not engage in activities that violate the provisions of the supplier engagement standard. Such approaches will enable the company to ensure that the supplier involves in the active condemnation of child labour and to focus on CSR activities in its value chain. According to Lund-thomsen and Lindgreen (2014, p15(2)), involvement of corporate social responsibility in global value chain can influence compliance with a buyer code of conduct that would improve the relationship between the supplier and the company. Similarly, I would take an action to ensure that the supplier complies with the company’s code of conduct, and this will improve the relationship between the supplier and the company.
Question 2 (7 marks)
You are the new CEO of a major well-established automotive manufacturer in South Korea, but you are concerned that the longstanding price war in the industry is undermining profits for all firms in this sector. However, you have been warned by your company’s in-house corporate lawyers not to openly discuss pricing with rival firms. In several cases, you know the other CEOs personally because you graduated from the same business school as they did. (Word limit: 400 words)
Required:
Given this dilemma, how would you develop an effective strategy to ensure you act in the best interests of your company, but without engaging in collusion, which is illegal? Discuss.
ANSWER:
As the CEO of a well-established automobile manufacturer, I would create a culture of ethics and trust. I will ensure that there is no conflict of interest in the top management as well as departmental management. Creating a culture of ethics and trust in the organisation will be useful in sharing information and making decisive decisions for the interest of the company. In achieving an ethical culture, I will focus on establishing clear policies for decision-making. The policies will aim at involving all stakeholders including employees, customers, shareholders and suppliers in decision making. I will not make individual decisions on the matters affecting the company, instead, I will involve employees and other stakeholders in creating a good pricing approach for the company’s products. According to Breeze and Pamala (2020, p456(2)), taking into account employees perspective and opinions is useful for decision-making. Similarly, I will focus on employee involvement to make appropriate decisions for strategic management of the company.
Before focusing on the best pricing model for the company’s products, I will assess the customers’ needs and preferences. Customers’ needs and preferences will be useful in incorporating buyers into the decision making process. In addition to this, I will ask all employees, especially those working in the sales and distribution department to present their opinions and views. Since these employees have direct contact with the customers, they will provide useful information for decision-making. I will establish an effective decision making policy that involves employees and other stakeholders in making organisational decisions. This policy will enable employees to feel part of the organisation and to enable them to focus on organisational goals. In the long run, getting information from the organisation’s stakeholders for decision-making will be more effective than getting more information from other CEOs. However, I will ensure that there is no conflict of interest within the organisation to allow participants to focus on the organisational goals and effectiveness.
Question 3 (7 marks)
You are currently employed as a mid-tier manager at a large multi-national entity. Last week, you heard that your company is being acquired by a competitor from another country. Whilst this has been communicated as a positive and mutually beneficial development by the General Manager of your company, you have some reservations based on your experience at other organisations. (Word limit: 400 words)
Required:
Based on your knowledge of post-acquisition integration, what are your immediate and long-term concerns? What actions might you take? Discuss.
ANSWER:
Maintaining the company culture is one of the immediate post-acquisition integration issues that are likely to affect employee operations. Since most of the employees are used to the company culture of their organisation, the acquisition can impact the adoption of the new culture into the workplace. Employees may take time to adopt to the new organisational culture, thus influencing their performance. In this scenario, the company is acquiring its competitor and the possibility of the existence of different company culture is likely to be high. As a result, the company’s employees will need to understand the new organisational rules and culture. Therefore, it is essential to organize a training program to allow the employees to learn and adopt to the new organisational culture. I would advocate for an effective training to create awareness of the new organisational culture. The main objective of the training program will be to ensure that the employees understand the organisation and its cultural aspects.
Another immediate concerns that employees should consider is the mismatch or competing values. Since the two companies are competitors, the likelihood of the existence of competing values is high, thus it would be challenging for employees to adopt to the new working environment. With the possible changes dur to mismatched company values, the employees would need to learn more about the values that the new entity will implement. In this regard, I would recommend an extensive training on the company values, especially those that the company will adopt going forward.
Expected changes is one of the long-term concerns for the post-acquisition integration. After the acquisition, employees are likely to expect a change for the operations or the overall performance of the business. It would be appropriate to involve employees in decision making and ensure that they play a leading role in achieving organisational change. I would advocate for increased involvement of employees in decision making as the main action to address the long-term concern in the post-acquisition integration.
Question 4 (7 marks)
The global matrix organisational structure is often considered an effective compromise as an organisational structure because it addresses the disadvantages of both the “geographic area” and “global product division” structures. However, this assessment has also been disputed.
(Word limit: 400 words)
Required:
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the global matrix organisational structure. Provide appropriate examples in your response.
ANSWER:
Advantages
One of the advantages of the global matrix organisational structure is that it enhances collaboration between different departments. An organisation that operates different departments can benefit from implementation of a global matrix organisational structure. Notably, this organisational structure can bring together skilled and talented team members and this can enable the organisation to capitalise on its resources. With the improvement in collaboration between the key departments in an organisation, the company can improve its performance in the long run. This advantage of the global matrix organisational structure shows that it is useful for companies that operate different departments and divisions.
Another advantage of the global matrix organisational structure is that it combines project and functional management structures. Combining the project management structure with the functional management structure can increase efficiency due to the interaction between the managers. Also, the combination between the project management and the functional management aspects can improve the operations of the company in the long run. These advantages can promote the achievement of organisational success.
Disadvantages
Application of the matrix organisational structure can be disadvantageous for a company (Davis and Lawrence, 1978, p(4(2)). One of the disadvantage of the global matrix organisational structure is that the managerial roles may not be clearly defined. This can be caused by the possibility of unclear responsibilities and authority within the organisational structure. The availability of various executive managers at the same level in the organisational structure can cause challenges in defining the roles and responsibilities of each manager. In such a case, the global matrix organisational structure may be disadvantageous to the operations of a business and this can have a negative impact. Unclear or undefined managerial roles influence the operations and performance of the organisation’s management.
Another disadvantage of the global organisational matrix is team roles may not be clearly defined. The inclusion of many teams in the organisational structure is possible in the global matrix organisational structure. As a result, the possibility of undefined team roles can be evident. Such problems can lead to negative implications of the group or team roles in achieving the objectives of the organisation. It is vital to define the roles of each group and manager for effective performance of the organisational structure.
Question 5 (11 marks)
You have been appointed by Interpol – The International Criminal Police Organisation – to manage an international team to produce a high-level report on global efforts to address cyber-security and data security breaches. Experts joining the team are based in New Delhi, New York, Singapore, Sao Paolo and Dubai. (Word limit: 600 words)
Required:
- Given that each expert is from a different cultural background, and using your knowledge of cultural dimensions, how are you going to make this team work effectively when communication is exclusively online? (5 marks)
- How would you ensure that each team member contributes effectively so as to avoid the possibility of “group think” emerging in the decision-making process? (6 marks)
ANSWER:
a)
Since communication is exclusively online, I would apply effective strategies to ensure that the communication is effective. One of the approaches that I will use is learning how the source culture accepts information. Notably, different culture accept communication in different forms. For instance, people from different ethnical backgrounds are likely to accept greetings in different ways. In this case, I will learn how different cultures accept communication. Since the experts joining the communication are from New Delhi, New York, Singapore, Sao Paola and Dubai, they are more likely to accept some information differently. In addition to this, I will learn more about the aspects of communication that are considered unethical or unacceptable in different cultures. Some cultures are more comfortable with email communication as compared to conference calls. According to Spike (2019, p4(2)), many Americans feel comfortable with email communication. Such information will enable me to understand the most appropriate for of communication for sending notifications of meeting to participants in New York.
I will also request for regular feedback to ensure that the team communicate effectively towards achievement of the intended objective. Regular feedback from the team members from different backgrounds will be useful in improving cross cultural skills. By getting regular feedback from the team, I will learn more about the aspects of communication that can lead to problems or those that can affect achievement of the team’s goal. In addition to this, regular feedback will enable me to address any form of conflict that may arise due to misunderstanding during communication. As a result, the feedback will form a basis for improvement and this will ensure that every participant’s concern is addressed.
b)
Inclusive decision making will enable me to ensure that there are no group thinks. It will be useful to focus on approaches that will enable all team members to feel part of the team and to enable them to contribute to the subject matter. Since each team member may have a different opinion or experience in cybersecurity, it will be important to ensure that they contribute during the online meetings.
Before the discussion, I will send the meeting agenda to each participant and to ensure that they have adequate time for research and analysis. Each team member will have to research and present about how to address cybersecurity and data security breaches. This will enable each team member to contribute effectively during the group meetings. During the meeting, I will ensure that each team member has enough time to present their findings and suggestions. I will ensure that each member feel part of the team by allocating time for them.
Another important approach to avoiding group thinks during decision-making is the practice of effective listening. I will encourage each team member to practice effective listening as an appropriate approach to ensuring that all participants contribute to the final decision. Before making the final decision, each member will have time to present their suggestions on the way forward. After that, I will ensure that the final decision incorporates each member’s contribution. I will avoid making-decisions individually of providing conclusive suggestions. Instead, I will promote fairness by allowing members to make decisions amicable. The primary objective of this approach will be to allow team members to feel part of the team and to make decisive decisions. Before making final decisions, I will ensure that all team members have agreed with the findings and that they are ready to present it to Interpol.
Question 6 (11 marks)
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected international travel and also had an impact on globalisation. There are also increasingly serious global political issues emerging including; great power rivalry, renewed border disputes and other political tensions flaring up in different parts of the world. (Word limit: 600 words)
Required:
- From an institution-based perspective, how are national and international politics likely to influence future paths of globalization? (5 marks)
- How should multi-national entities respond strategically if a “new cold war” emerges due to great power rivalry? (6 marks)
ANSWER:
a)
National and international politics can influence the operations of organisations in different countries. The policies and laws formulated by the governments can have a significant impact on the operations of multinationals in both home and host countries. In an institution-based perspective, organisations can be affected by the laws and regulations formulated by informal organisations. According to Milner (2018, p2(2)), economic globalisation is likely to have adverse consequences for labour, especially less-skilled labour in the rich democracies. In this regard, the decisions made by the political class is more likely to impact the labour market in rich democracies. An impact on the labour market is more likely to affect the operations of companies in the host and home countries. For instance, if the government sets a higher minimum wage, companies will have to increase the salaries of their employees and this can have an impact on their expenditure. On the other hand, if the government increases corporate tax for foreign companies, multinationals operating in that country are more likely to experience an increase in operational costs.
The decisions made by various governments to prevent the spread of the covid-19 is likely to have a lasting impact for globalisation. A recent report by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission shows that the disruptions in trade have affected some goods entering China from Australia (ATIC, 2021). The political issues experienced between China and Australia over the covid-19 significantly impacted the bilateral trade relationship between the two countries. The results of the political issues between Australia and China portrays that national and international politics can impact globalisation, especially by affecting the trade between countries. Australian companies that depend on Chinese products such as the tourism industry are likely to experience challenges in such situations.
National and international politics van influence organisational performance because informal and formal organisation coexist in an institution-based view. Organisations depend on the rules and regulations formulated by the informal organisations in the countries of their operation. For instance, the rules and regulations adopted by the Australian government aiming at promoting exports and discouraging imports of given products may influence the operations of formal institutions that depend on importation. With the impact on importation, the trade between Australia and other countries can be affected, thus having an impact on globalisation.
b)
In the past two years, countries such as China and the US has experienced prolonged cold wars that can have impact on the multinationals. The introduction of sanctions on Chinese products by the US government and vice versa can have a devastating impact on the operations of multinationals. For instance, multinationals can be forced to increase the prices of their products due to the increase in taxation for their products. In the long run, such multinationals are likely to record changes in their operations in different countries. However, multinationals can implement effective and appropriate approaches to address these cold wars.
Doubling up value chains including alternatives outside the countries that are highly affected by the cold wars is one of the approaches that multinationals can implement. Multinationals can implement this strategy to mitigate the risk of political and regulatory disruption. For instance, American multinationals such as Apple and Google can double their value chains in different Asian countries other than China. Instead of focusing on China as one of the leading markets in Asia, such multinationals can double their supply chain to other Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. In the long run, multinational corporations will mitigate the impact of political actions in their home or host countries.
Another strategy that multinationals should implement is establishing regional value chains. According to Maidment (2018, p2(3)), regional value chains can be advantageous to the multinational companies since they are shorter than global ones. Regional value chains can enable multinationals to focus on specific geographical areas of operation. For instance, western multinationals can create regionals multinationals focus on North America, South America, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe. This can attribute to a diversified value chain which will allow multinationals to mitigate the impact of the cold wars.
References
Australian Trade and Investment Commission. 2021. Covid-19: China update for Australian exporters. https://www.austrade.gov.au/news/covid-19/updates/china
Breeze, B., & Pamala, W. (2020). Different drivers: Exploring employee involvement in corporate philanthropy: JBE. Journal of Business Ethics, 165(3), 453-467. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-4093-x https://www.proquest.com/docview/2159025635/753B4169A0134C55PQ/2?accountid=30552
Davis, S., & Lawrence, P. 1978. Problems of Matrix Organisations. https://hbr.org/1978/05/problems-of-matrix-organizations
Lund-thomsen, P. & Lindgreen, A. 2014, “Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Value Chains: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going?: JBE”, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 123, no. 1, pp. 11-22. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1552334984/DD98FC010ED54E33PQ/2?accountid=30552
Maidment, P. 2018. How western multinationals are responding to the escalating US-China trade war. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/12/how-western-multinationals-are-responding-to-the-escalating-u-s-china-trade-war
Milner., H. 2018. Globalisation and its political consequences: The effects on party politics in the west. https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/hvmilner/files/milner_globalization_political_consequences.pdf
Spike. T. 2019. New study explores how Americans feel about email in 2019. https://www.spikenow.com/blog/productivity/how-americans-feel-about-email/