Nokia

The current business environment is characterized by a considerable level of competitive rivalry and as a result businesses have to constantly reengineer their internal operations in order to build and maintain a competitive advantage. This is particularly so for Nokia Corporation which operates in the telecommunications industry. This industry is characterized by a fast process of change and therefore Nokia has to constantly engage in business process reengineering in order to maintain a competitive advantage. In this respect, the two most important stakeholder groups for the company are comprised by the customers and the employees. The company has to build the right organizational structure so that employee satisfaction is guaranteed. When employees are satisfied, their productivity goes up and as a result the company is in a more competitive position to satisfy customer requirements. However in order to formulate the right strategy in this regard, the management of the company has to conduct an environmental analysis.

As mentioned before, businesses have to engage in a continuous process of business process reengineering in order to maintain their competitive advantage. This is a project of change management that has to be guided by environmental analysis. This is related to the strategic alignment process which ensures that business strategy, IT strategy, organizational issues and information systems issues are aligned. When this alignment has been facilitated, the process of managing change can be said to be aligned to the strategic focus of the company. However the strategic focus of the company is in turn connected to environmental analysis. This is because external environmental factors determine what should be the core competencies of the company and the strategic focus is structured accordingly. However the intensely competitive nature of the current business environment demands that businesses engage in a continuous improvement process and this creates the risk of misalignment with the strategic focus of the company. In this situation loss of competitive advantage is very real threat.

In order to maintain alignment with its strategic focus, Nokia Corporation frequently conducts market research programs (cited in Evans, 2004). These programs enable the company to track the changing nature of customer tastes and preferences. This attention to customer details enables the company to set a new standard in the industry by pioneering products and services. This gives the company a first mover advantage and enables the company to maintain a competitive advantage. This is the strategy of product differentiation as formulated under Porters framework for strategy formulation. However the strategy of product differentiation cannot be made effective without rigorous environmental analysis because this analysis enables the company to understand the industry structure and the political, economic, sociological and technological implications of operating in the industry. These factors will determine whether the companys core competencies will have any strategic relevance. As a these factors change, the company will have to cope accordingly.

For global multinational companies like Nokia, the importance of environmental analysis cannot be overemphasized. This is because international markets are characterized by wide cultural variations. Therefore the global marketer has to customize its products and services to these variations. Environmental analysis is also important in terms of assessing the political structure of the new market. For example, the Chinese market is still characterized by a high level of government intervention. Therefore the management at Nokia has to monitor the political environment in order to assess the potential repercussions of government intervention. The same importance is attached to economic analysis as the purchase of its products will be affected to a considerable extent by the economic growth rate of the country. Sociological factors will determine the right positioning strategy while technological factors will determine to what extent the company will be able to meet its customers expectations. Environmental analysis enables the market planners to make an assessment of these issues and structure strategic focus accordingly.   

Nokias competitive advantage is built on being a consumer led company (cited in Fred, 2006). Therefore, it is important for market planners to find out how consumer tastes and preferences are changing. This objective can only be met through a rigorous environmental analysis. For this reason, the company frequently engages in market research programs worldwide. This enables the company to differentiate its products in order to generate new demand for its products. Generating new demand for its products is the reason for the companys global diversification. This necessitates that market planners develop a detailed understanding of global market conditions.

When making the decision to enter a new market, the management has to assess the industry structure of that market in terms of the five forces analysis. Therefore environmental analysis is of particular importance when it comes to international diversification. This diversification strategy is critical for maintaining demand for products as the domestic market is saturated and in implementing this strategy, environmental analysis is essential. Only this analysis will tell market planners which products and services will suit the local market conditions.

Nokia Corporation is globally diversified. This is one of the strengths of the company. This international diversification creates for the company the resource base from which to launch strategies against competitors. The large financial base that this entails enables the company to set prices at a competitive level and therefore make the industry structure unattractive for new entrants. The large global presence also means that the company can conduct the process of internal benchmarking in terms of transferring the best practices from one subsidiary to another. This strategy is particularly feasible for firms in the telecommunications industry because in this industry global market segmentation is feasible. This makes it feasible for the company to implement the same set of strategies in different markets. This reduces the cost of operations.                    

The main weaknesses for the company are weak presence in the US and declining expenditures in research and development (cited in Besterfield, 2002). Both weaknesses are resulting in loss of competitive advantage for the company. For example the companys current strategy of offering a widely diversified product portfolio consisting of mobile phones, multimedia, enterprise solutions and networks cannot reach its full potential because of its weak presence in the US market which is characterized by high usage of information sharing network connectivity. Declining expenditures in RD are also impairing the companys competitiveness because product diversification has become one of the important strategies for maintaining competitiveness and effective implementation requires a considerable level of research and development in this regard. However the company has been reducing its expenditures in this regard in order to maintain more cash for marketing expenditures. This has enabled the company to enhance brand awareness for its existing products but the existing products are fast losing market share because of rising competitiveness.

Forming strategic alliances is one of the most important opportunities for the company (cited in Aaker, 2004). Strategic alliances are enabling the company to enter new segments of the market without having to enhance expenditures in research and development. Therefore this strategy has enabled the company to overcome the weakness of limited research and development to some extent. Another opportunity is the high growth rate of the replacement market. This is happening because of the high rate of technological sophistication. The technological sophistication is taking place in the form of more user-friendly products and services and as a result consumers are also enhancing the complexity of their uses. Nokia is in a strong position to take advantage of the growing replacement market because this growth is taking place at a high rate in the emerging markets such as China and India in which the company has a strong presence. These are the opportunities which are enabling the company to capitalize on its strengths and overcome its weaknesses.

The company is facing a rising level of competition. As mentioned before, the telecommunications industry is characterized by a high level of competitive rivalry. As a result the companies in this industry are constantly upgrading their internal processes in order to build and maintain a competitive advantage. This reengineering takes place mostly in the form of techno-structural interventions in which the strategic alignment process is a critical success factor. This is putting pressure on Nokias operating performance because the company is investing a considerable level of its resources in order to keep pace with changes in the rest of the industry. In order to counter this threat, the company is focusing on an organizational culture based on innovation. This cultural orientation institutionalizes the process of change and thus facilitates the process of managing change. Another threat the company is facing is litigation issues arising from potential health hazards related to the use of mobile phones. This threat can have a strong negative effect on the strong brand reputation that is also one of the main strengths of the company.

The company is currently launching a touch-screen phone and unlimited music services (cited in ORegan, 2008). In this respect, the company had been facing a considerable level of competition from Apple and Google. Therefore the new product launch will ease competitive pressures to some extent. This is an extension of Nokias strategy to enter the content market. Previously the company had been focusing on the hardware manufacturing industry. However falling margins had forced the company to diversify its operations in order to enter the content market. In this respect, the problem with launching the Comes With Music service, the unlimited music service that is going to be launched in association with the touch-screen phone, is that Apples iTunes has already built up a strong position in this market. As a result, the company will have to invest a considerable level of its resources in order to ensure adequate brand exposure. It is through aggressive promotional campaigns that Nokia will have to face up to the competitive pressures from Apple and Google in this industry.

Nokia has built a core competency in the form of maintaining a tightly integrated global logistics management system (cited in Hitt, 2007). The core feature of this logistics system is information sharing. Nokia pursues a relationship based strategy with its suppliers and therefore maintains long term relations with them. In this respect, the company shares the cost burden of building and maintaining technologically sophisticated information systems so that information sharing can be facilitated. In this respect, the strategic alignment process is a particularly relevant issue as suppliers must be able to operate their own information system. This is a critical consideration for Nokia in view of the fact that timely delivery of required components is a must for the company considering its strategy of quick response. In the intensely competitive environment of the telecommunications industry, the company has to follow the quick response strategy in order to maintain a competitive advantage. This strategy can be made feasible only through tight coordination with suppliers so that incidences of supply disruptions are minimized.
   
In order to counter the threat of rising competitive rivalry, the company should continue to launch new products and services. This means that the company will have to enhance the level of expenditures in research and development. Although this will impair the companys operating performance to some extent in the short term, in the long term this strategy will lead profit optimization through diversification of the product portfolio. As a result, the launching of the touch-screen phone and the Comes With Music service is a very good strategy. However, as mentioned before, in implementing this strategy, the company has entered an industry which is already controlled by Google and Apple. Therefore the company should enhance its advertising expenditures in order to enhance global brand awareness of the new products and services. The company already has a strong brand reputation in the market. Therefore the company should capitalize on this strength to maintain the momentum in new launches which are technologically more advanced.
   
One of the main problems for the company is its weak presence in the US market. Therefore this weakness has to be eliminated. This is a particularly critical concern if the company is going to succeed with its touch-screen phones. The company maintains a diversified portfolio in terms of targeting four market segments mobile phones, multimedia, enterprise solutions and networks. In order to reach the full potential of the diversification strategy, the company has to increase its presence in the US market which is characterized by a high level of business automation. The success of the business automation process depends on the potential for information sharing. In other words, the critical success factor in this case is to build an information-sharing infrastructure. Nokia is in a unique position to offer the products and services in this regard because of its strategic alliance with Siemens (cited in Grover  Kettinger, 2008). This enables Nokia to offer systems integration services to businesses in the US which are globally expanding and thus expanding their information sharing networks.
   
Nokia is a global multinational company. It has built up a strong position in the emerging markets of China and India. However its global competitors such as Sony Ericsson, LG, Motorola and Samsung are also globally diversifying their operations (cited in Hill  Jones, 2007). Therefore Nokia should maintain a continuous improvement program with an aim to strengthening its position in the emerging markets. In this respect, decentralization of the decision making process is a critical success factor. The company should decentralize its structure further in thus regard so that local management teams can formulate strategies that are applicable to the market conditions in their regions. This is a critical consideration in view of the fact that market conditions vary widely in terms of their political, economic and sociological environments. Therefore strategy formulation has to take place keeping these environmental characteristics in sight. That objective can only be met through empowering local management teams to formulate and implement strategies as they see fit. This will enable its global subsidiaries to counter the threat of competition effectively.
   
In order to create an effective decentralization process, the company should focus on building an organizational structure based on ownership, responsibility and accountability (cited in George  Weimerskirch, 1998). This will motivate the employees in its subsidiaries to conduct the strategy formulation process effectively. This is a very important issue considering the fact that employee productivity will be maximized when they take the initiative to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their processes. As a result of enhanced productivity, employee interests and organizational interests will be aligned.
Lastly, the Nokia Siemens Networks should be capitalized upon in order to make the launch of the touch-screen phone effective. This strategic alliance will enable the company to build further strategic alliances with mobile phone operators in order to maximize market penetration of new products and services. In this respect, the Nokia Siemens Networks provides an opportunity to attract mobile phone operators because this strategic alliance gives them the opportunity to expand market bases for their own products and services.

As a result a synergistic combination can be achieved. Such strategic alliances will also minimize the need for advertising expenses as association with the reputable brand names will ensure high market penetration during the introduction stage.                                  

Motivation is the ability to alter ones behavior. It is a move that obliges one to act due to the reason that the behavior of human is inclined towards some objective. Motivation can be internal (intrinsic) or external (extrinsic). These two shall be discussed much in details later.

Those individuals whose commitments are to attain organizational levels generally perform better than those who have little commitment. Those who are rewarded intrinsically at their places of work get satisfaction from their jobs and usually have high esteems. Due to this, a crucial part in administration is to put in efforts to make a job more satisfying, reward the workers and maintain consistency in employees motivation to meet objectives of the organization (Weightman 2008, 85).

Intrinsic motivation
This kind of motivation derives from ones self. Studies conducted on this kind of motivation reveal that the motivation is much observed in individuals who have high educational achievements as well as students. Many students can be intrinsically motivated if they

Attribute the outcomes of their education to aspects that are internal and that they can control easily. For example, the magnitude of endeavor they put in believe they can be efficient representatives in attaining desired objectives and goals. This is because it is not lack that determines the results show interest in conceptualizing a unit rather than just aiming at good grades through unfair means.

Extrinsic motivation
This type of motivation does not come within ones self but outside the performer. The most common example is money, but cruelty and punishment threat are also obvious extrinsic motivations. For example in sports, fans may motivate the performer to do well through cheering himher. Trophies also provide extrinsic motivation. Generally, competition is extrinsic because it motivates the one performing to beat others and not to get pleasure from intrinsic rewards.

Social psychological studies have revealed that rewards that are extrinsic can bring about over justification and a consequential decrement in intrinsic motivation. In one research that was carried out to illustrate this effect, children who got ribbon and gold stars rewards for the pictures they drew spent limited time playing with materials for drawing as compared to those children whose reward conditions were unexpected and to those who never got extrinsic rewards.

Managers role in motivation
From a perspective of the manager, it is vital to be familiar with what people get prompted with, what manipulates them and why they like doing specific actions. There are four major aspects that are supposed to be considered by managers if they want to achieve motivation.
There are reasons behind whatever people do people chose something they believe is perfect for them as their goal the goal chose by people must be viewed as attainable and the climate of the workplace can affect the employees morale of attaining hisher goals and objectives.

Need theories
These theories were come up with basing on many of the researches that were conducted earlier in the human relations field. The argument associated with these theories is that managers can understand the factors that give motivation to employees them systems of reward can be put in place accomplish these needs and come up with the behavior that is appropriate among employees.

Motivation hygiene theory
A study on workers attitudes towards their jobs was conducted by Professor Frederick Herzberg, a psychology expert at Case Western Reserve University. In his study, Herzberg observed that a person will be more willing to do some work if there is not going to be deprivation. Nonetheless, a positive satisfaction is not is not provided by this motivation due to lack of sense of growth.

The research conducted by Herzberg reveals that that positive attitudes towards work and directly linked to a sense of growth, psychologically. According to his thoughts, people mainly worked because of two reasons. These reasons being financial matters to do away with deprivation physically, and to achieve because this brings about meaning and happiness. These theory proposed by Herzberg also realized the aspect of work enrichment whereby works responsibilities are altered to avail bigger challenge as well as growth.

According to Bandura (1997, 29), the hygiene motivation theory consists of two aspects
First, motivation derives from positive satisfaction that is provided by psychological growth. The availability of aspects such as achievement, responsibility, recognition and probability of advancement or growth will make people satisfied and motivated. Lack of these aspects might not necessarily kill peoples morale or bring about dissatisfaction.

Secondly, the desire for an individual to avoid being deprived as well as the resulting psychological and physical distress is the one that determine ones hygiene. Aspects of hygiene include eagerness to supervise, working conditions that are positive, peers interpersonal relations with subordinates and executives, security of the job, status and salary. Lack of these aspects will lead to dissatisfaction (Weightman 2008, 85).
Even though salary can also be considered as an aspect of hygiene, it does not involve in directly motivating individuals because a degree of growth and prosperity and also it symbolizes achievements recognition.
Theory X and Y

Maslows work greatly impressed Professor Douglas McGregor who is a social psychologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McGregor realized that individuals have needs and that it is work which satisfies these needs. He made two sets assumptions about individuals that he referred to as theory X and theory Y.

Theory X assumes that most individuals will not want to work because they hate it and have to be pleaded or threatened to put in more efforts. According to the theory, people are less ambitious and avoid responsibility. They only like being directed and job security is their greatest interest.

Theory Y assumes that people perceive work as a natural thing and that many individuals direct themselves to attain the objectives they are committed to. Individuals have much ambition and are very creative. Responsibility is the peoples desire and they get a sense of satisfaction from the jobs they do.
At one instance, the above described assumptions were applied to styles of management with those managers who are autocratic being associated with theory X and those managers who were transformational and democratic being associated with theory Y. unfortunate enough, this promoted a trend of viewing people as group members and not as individuals.

The most vital contribution of speculation of McGregor was to identify these two aspects and to realize that individuals can attain personal objectives via assisting organizations attain their objectives. The people can work as motivators.

What is a reward
A reward is something that is presented after an action has occurred with the intention of encouraging such an action or behavior to occur again. It can be tangible or intangible. The reward process is carried out by attaching a meaning that is positive to the behavioraction. According to studies, if the person is immediately rewarded, there would be a greater effect which will reduce with time.
Rewarding an actionbehavior frequently causes the behavior to be a habit. Motivation is derived from two sources namely oneself and other individuals. Application of proper techniques of motivation cannot be as easy as it seem. Greenberg (1992, 114), observes that when a reward system is created it cannot be hard to reward one but another one can be hoped and in the event bring about detrimental effects that can put at risk managers goals.

What is a reinforcer
A reinforcer differs from a reward because a reinforcer has the intention of creating a measured increase in the rate of behavior which is desirable through addition of new aspects within the environment.

Application of motivation theories in business
At heights of hierarchy needs of Maslow that are low, for example physiological needs, motivation can be brought about by money. On the other hand, money seems to have effect on short-termed staff  according to Herzbergs motivation theory. At heights of hierarchy that are high, respect, praise, a sense of belonging and empowerment surpasses money by far when it comes to motivation. This idea is also backed up by theory X and theory Y of Douglas McGregor as well as motivational theory proposed by Abraham Maslow.

According to Maslow, there is money at the lowest height of hierarchy, but other needs can also motivate the staff in a good way. Money is placed by McGregor in his X theory class and he observes that it is a minor motivator. He places praise and recognition in his theory Y class and observed that these are stronger motivators as compared to money. According to these theories

Employees who are motivated will at all time search for better ways to work employees who are motivated are also quality oriented workers who are motivated produce more as compared to those who are not.

A place of work that is average lies between high threat extremes and high opportunity. A strategy of motivation by use of threat is a fake one and naturally employees get more attracted to the side of opportunity than the side of threat. Motivation is a tool that is very powerful in a place of work and usually gives morale to many employees to do the job at their level best (Robbins 2007, 82).

A classic study conducted at a manufacturing plant of Vauxhall Motors in the UK tried to challenge Herzberg and Maslows assumptions. The study came up with the aspect of work orientation and differentiated three major orientations which are instrumental orientation - where job is a means to an end, orientation which is solidaristic (gives priority to loyalty of group), and bureaucratic orientation  where job is a statuss source, instantaneous reward and security.

Application of motivation in education
Educational psychologists find motivation very interesting due to the important role it plays in learning of students. Nevertheless, the particular type of motivation that taught in specialized education climate differs qualitatively from the types of motivation that are general which are learned by psychologists. Educational motivation can have a number of effects on the learning and behavior of students towards the matter of subject. Motivation can

Lead behavior to specific goals bring about increased energy as well as effort improve introduction and persistence of activities encourage processing that is cognitive and self motivating realize reinforcing consequences and brings about overall improvement in students performance (Reiss 2000, 212).

From the facts acquired this study paper, it can be concluded without doubt that motivation is the backbone to businesses, organizations and also institutions of learning. Even though some may view money as a strong motivation, many motivational theories such as McGregors theory X and theory Y concept together with Herzbergs motivation hygiene theory suggest that and recognition are the best techniques that can be used to motivate people.

British Telecommunication Group

The company was started by the name of The Electric Telegraph Company in the year 1846.  It took 10 years for the company to become internationally recognized. Later on it was changed into BT (British Telecommunication) Group. Today it is one of the major players in providing communication solutions to different customer segments. It operates in about 172 countries in European, Asian and American regions with its product-brand matrix comprising of internet services, telecommunication services and IT services. The companys headquarter is located in London. Today it employees about 111, 858 people throughout worldwide. It has a subsidiary by the name of BT (British Telecommunication) plc. The company generated the revenue of about 22, 704 million. At the end of the fiscal year for 2008 the company made the profit of 1,738 million as compare to 2,356 million in 2007 resulting in the decrease of the net profit by 39.1 (BT plc 2009).

Analyzing British Telecommunication Group Mission Statement         
The BT Group focuses of building long-term relationship with its potential customers. The customer oriented firm believes that the prospective of the business can be enhanced by delivering quality to the customers at the economic prices. The business endeavors to prioritize its marketing function for the emergent pricing strategy and accomplishing the notion of quality service. The deem for continuous improvement has enabled the firm to turn up innovative technological advancements in its products and services like ICT (information communication technology), high-speed internet services, value added services etc (Maps of World 2006). According to BT plc (2009), the prime concern of the business is to integrate all its products and services in the form of a junction comprising of networking, mobile services, visual services, IT services and internet services which could meet the value requirements of the potential customers.
Objective of British Telecommunication Group BT plc (2009) instigates that

It exists because of its customers. It consistently works to deliver easiness, simplicity and low cost services to its customers while managing its heritage of quality.
The company has diversified its portfolio around its core competencies while maximizing the benefits of globalization.

It aims to provide communication solutions to different customers comprising of both B2B as well as B2C markets. In B2B operations the company works on activities so that its business customers could gain competitive edge over their competitors.
PEST analysis of British Telecommunication Group
         
It was acknowledged by Synergyst (2007) that 3G licensing had shown an impact on the telecom industry world wide. BT plc group along with its major European competitors namely Deutsche and France telecom had faced difficult situations. The PEST analysis has been explained as follows
Political factors Developed countries have seen changes as far as deregulation is concerned as compare to developing nations which are still striving for these factors. However OFTEL (office of telecommunication) specifically in UK prevail its strict control since large number of players in telecom sector has attempted to provide diversified services in order to capture the major share. At the same time intimidation of copyright issues have increased because of the raise in the number carriers as well as ISPs. Communication act 2003 has also shown positive impact.

Economic factors Factors like deregulation, liberalization and privatization have spread in telecommunication industry, which has resulted into increase in the level of competition along with ease for new entrants and negative slope towards the profit margin for companies. Moreover research shows that developed countries will face more market penetration in the telecom sector however future growth opportunities lies in the developing economies. It is also found that telecom industry has seen decrease in growth and profits because of the prevailing recession worldwide. The economy of UK has faced lots of fluctuations.

Social factors It seems that developing economies will come across major increase in population specifically in Asia and Africa and research also shows that there will be positive impact on their per capita disposable income therefore majority will be demanding advance technological mechanisms for data and voice transfer. Due to changing demographics the traditional society has transformed into an information society which prefers mobility. Impact of commercialization and communication tools have provided positive for route for the telecom industry.

Technological factors  Advancements like Ethernet technology and IT integration will further decrease the operating cost and provides an opportunity for new entrants. In additional open door as well as strapped developing countries will be given priority and it will further decrease cost. Today the role of wireless as well mobile technology, the concept of convergence, the role of residential VoIP and real-time along with on-demand communication have been given preference.
Michael Porters five forces model for BT plc Group
         
Boards (2001) explained the implication of 5 forces for BT plc Group as follows
Rivalry It seems that the level of competition will increase specifically in developed countries as there would be high market penetration. Moreover due to decrease in profit margins few global telecom players will be able to survive.

New entrants It requires establishing entire infrastructure for players to enter into the market. Further more it comprises of strong major players in the existing market therefore it will be low.
Buyer power Both residential as well as corporate buyers seem to have power because of proliferation of service providers hence the switching cost is also low.

Supplier power Usually buyers like BT Group give huge order for raw material therefore buyer has the power to ask for discounts and due to more number of suppliers available buyer can switch to other supplier as well. Therefore there exists an intensive competition among suppliers.   
Substitutes Substitutes seem low because of the expensive technology for capturing major market share however as per current data BT plc Group has its substitute available. 
SWOT Analysis of British Telecommunication Group
         
Business teacher (2009) demonstrated the SWOT analysis of BT Group as follows
Strengths
It is the leader in two major product lines namely broadband internet service and fixed line service. The business operates in about 172 countries and is listed in London as well as New York stock exchange.
It captures the major market share of 28 million fixed line customers while offering local loop, telephone exchanges, public call boxes and trunk network services.
The firm entered into different countries through acquisitions and rebranding like Infonet, Plus Net, Radianz etc.
It spent in an advance technology of internet protocol as 21CN.
As one of the national firm of the country, the business establishes its monopoly.

Weaknesses
The business remains unsuccessful in providing low cost voice call service.
The business extended into mobile services however up till now it could not develop sustainability in either convergence of fixed mobile services as well as development of mobile business.
Corporation is still facing occasional payphone issues. Further more the business is lots of complains from its potential customers.

Opportunities
Deregulation has allowed the company to extend into more profitable businesses in the future.
Complete transformation into 21CN model while enhance the business to fulfill customers requirements in more efficient manner. One of the competent projects of blue phone is also of the opportunity.
The business is focusing to avail major opportunities in their existing businesses.
Enhancement in BT trade space for its SMEs (small and medium enterprise) customers will result into profitability.

Further improvement in BT vision for its broadband television services and smart phone service will be going to be the priority for its potential customers.
There exist a lot opportunities for the business from the global perspective and the company is undergoing several contracts worldwide.

Threats
Some of the major competitors like Vodafone, O2, Orange, Carphone Warehouse etc might decrease the market share of British Telecommunication.

The prevailing recession has one of the major influences on the company.
Moreover crisis related to bond market, fund management and redemptions have caused negative impact on the business.
One of the recent scandals related to behavior targeting is one of the major issues. Further more there are several liquidity issues as well. 

Managing information system in British Telecommunication Group     
Linex legal (2009) instigates that the strategic management level of BT plc Group usually questions about increasing the productivity in order to maximize the profits with similar available resources. Considering the role of empowerment or decentralization has shown dramatic changes which resulted into development and productivity in most recent years. The formulation of legal function has brought efficiency along with proactive nature.  In order to allocate time appropriately employees are being assigned home based assignments where online webinars are conducted. The advance approach towards adopting flexible knowledge management system has provided the firm to gather information from diverse pattern of sources.

According to beep (2005) the company has developed information portal by the name of Intellact and all the employees and major suppliers of the company can access the portal throughout worldwide.  BT plc IRC (information resource center) went through transitional periods to achieve the key objective on specializing in five core competencies. Today the five major functions of the business focus on IT, marketing, strategy, sales and customer service. Although the business believes in the concept of shared identity but they prefer upper management to participate in group decision making methods comprising of focus group and individual participation. 
         
MIT Sloan (n.d.) stated BT Group understood the importance of internet in its earlier stages and decided to opt for partnership with MIT Sloan who was the generator Worldwide Web. MIT Sloan facilitated the business with productivity and change management tools to cope with changes. The change Matrix was one of the reasons for the success story for providing future direction to the business. Recently they went for partnership with MIT Sloan center related to research institute for information systems. Currently the business has installed NetApp in order to build its storage infrastructure stronger and integrate its resource centers in order to support BT VDC. Further more the company has enhanced in developing its broadband footprint which is recognized as the fastest broadband. Moreover they came up with mis-spelling campaign in order to analyze, measure and overcome scams occurring in telecom industry.
         
According to Google Doc (n.d.) the company came up with the concept of project sovereign where they gave top notch priority to customers.  Later on they established development and procurement division. All the financial and strategic functions are performed at Group HQ.  Soon after that they introduced CSS (customer service system) and NUG (national user group). Oracle (2009) stated that the business has installed Oracle Web center interaction module which provides flexibility to staff, reduces training cost, improves process flow and instills virtual interaction. 
Recommendations regarding information systems
SAP implications should be the primary concern regarding integration and collaboration of suppliers and business buyers.

CISCO leading management softwares should be selected for enhancing productivity throughout the multimarket.

Applications like CRM (customer relationship management) on the front end and ERP (enterprise resource planning) on the back end should be designed in order to develop systematic approach.
Intranet and Extranet should be developed with security measures while prioritizing potential customers.
Customization related to media products and IT related product should be done to offer flexibility in value offering.

Implications of E-Commerce on the website should be further enhanced with SSL encryption. The best option is to opt for VeriSign services.
CISCO can deliver services related to Hybrid AI systems and robotic engines.

It can be concluded that BT plc Group have lots of opportunities. The major reason why company could easily lead in the future is because of its main characteristic of adaptability and expertise in marketing and IT function. The management understands the importance of technology and strongly believes that in order to develop competitive edge the business needs to deliver value that could match the benefits with the value requirements. Management information system is the primary concern in this era and the major issue which disturbs most of the companies is related security measures. Therefore business needs to take security measures along with focusing towards the entire multimarket.

Subject Doing business in China

Doing business in China is like war. It is essential for any candidate to first and foremost know that working in China means producing truly game changing business strategies to ensure that one stands out in such a huge market. The frontline in China is dangerous, and the Chinese have some great arsenal at their disposal. Smart and cheap labour as well massive production levels to cater to an ever increasing demand have lead to Chinese brands who have cashed on the opportunity early are already leading the market.

The advantage that our company has is knowledge, production standards and processes that have built over years of testing and experience. If our company is able to adapt whenever and as quickly as possible we can lead in this market. If we can see how to effectively transform the Chinese specialities to our advantage we can use this to our benefit and increase our performance multi-fold. However in order for this to happen, our team will need a person that knows and understands the way business in China is conducted and how to steer a company that is relatively new to international operations. I believe that I am the ideal candidate for this job because I understand the needs of the market, and after the recent course of International Operations, I have only grown in terms of experience and insights that will drive our operation forward in an effective and profitable manner.

The secret to winning in China is effective execution. It means a rethink of our current management style and one that is highly adaptable to the Chinese environment. Whereas some colleagues see China as turning a corner,  our company needs to see it as a highly mature market that is unsure of where to go, and I am sure that our company can provide that direction in the proposed segment.

Just by the sheer number of customers in the country, current global standards that are said to apply to China will, in the near future, be developed within China and I believe that our company needs to be there to lead this changing paradigm of business. As stories of corruption, red tape and fraud take a backseat, and the Chinese economy opens up with full government support, it is imperative that our organization understand all that is inherent in the Chinese business culture, implement Asian concepts like Poka-yoke, Kaizen etc need to be taken into consideration so that we better understand the Chinese style of business. After all, China will soon become the biggest trading partner of the United States, one that is bigger in size than that of America and is very receptive to products with the brand loyalty that our segment currently has.

Since China is such a huge market, and a massive opportunity to increase revenue from international quarters, it is time that we start adopting procedures, management styles, business etiquette and production processes, tuning them to the local market context and then linking them globally. Only then can our company not only, but in fact, succeed in a market like China, and I, with my extensive learning, would want to be there to witness and lead this change.

Justice League America Partnership Agreement

A contract is a legally binding agreement that can be enforced by a court whilst an enforceable contract is one for which a legal remedy is offered in the event that the contract is not fulfilled. All parties of a contract must have the legal right to do whatsoever the contract promises. The contract that exist between Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, Clarke Kent, John Jonzz, Barthlomew Henry Allen  Harold Jordan, known as the Justice League America Partnership is a valid enforceable contract. The fact that an offer was made to all parties and acceptance alongside consideration was present, it can be said to have Mutual Assent as all parties are in agreement. This contract is one that takes the nature of an expressed contract that was signed by all parties, thus causing validity. It does not matter the nature of the signature that appears on the document as the intent of the signer was to be bounded by the contract. The contract stands to be a Bi-lateral contract due to the fact that each party makes a promise to the other parties involved. The Justice League American Agreement is a live one in which all parties can be held liable if he or she is delinquent in carrying out the requirements stipulated in the agreement. Any partner that breaches the contract will have to compensate the other members in the way established in the contract. The USA has two main courts to which cases are resolved based on the nature of the case. If a dispute should arise among the Justice League America Partners, such disagreements would be handled by the State Court that deals with agreements between two or more parties creating obligations that are either enforceable or otherwise recognized as law, and depending on the extent of the problem, it might have to be resolved by the Federal Court but only if the partners are in different States.

Business to Act Ethically

This paper will argue that a true understanding of the market is necessary to enforce ethical behavior. The present European and American system is not a market system, but an oligarchy controlled by big finance and big media. Few could argue with that. However, the initial formation of the market mechanism by Smith envisaged relatively small producers services a more or less local market. Outside of this, the market fails, since firms are no longer transparent to those who they are trying to serve. Put differently, markets are non-bureaucratic, while oligarchy depends and functions according to bureaucratic models.

The Nature of the Market as an Ethical Institution   
For better or worse, there is no agreed upon sense of the word  ethics  in western societies. The question this essay seeks to answer is therefore misleading. It assumes that we all know what  ethically  means. We do not. But there is something to be said for the idea of the unregulated market in the way that Adam Smith and even John Locke envisaged it. In both cases, though using very different foundations, the market itself was a regulatory institution that enforced ethical behavior. But in this case,  ethical  was defined by the market, the most democratic institution of all. Since it is democratic at root, it solves the ethical problem by letting people decide on what products and services to buy.
   
In saying this, we are not saying that the present system in America or western Europe is in any way a market. The present system in the post-industrialized world is a financial oligarchy (Burnham, 1972). To confuse the present system with the free market in the classical sense is mental sloppiness at the highest level. Markets work, so long as they exist on the basis of diffused private property focused on the local level (Locke, 2003).
   
The traditional concept of the free market functions primarily as an ethical institution. While it can also be seen as a means of allocating resources and controlling investment, it serves primarily to regulate behavior. But this regulation is done under the aegis of the market, or the community itself that can decide which firms to support, and which to reject.
   
In the classical market model of Smith, the idea of perfect competition is itself a form of the  state of nature  theory. In this case, Smiths state of nature is equal competitors in a free market. While this particular arrangement cannot last (some will always be more successful than others), it serves to underpin the human race as naturally competitive. But this is not a bad thing.
   
The model that Smith lays out is primarily an ethical institution for the simple reason that its primary purpose is to force firms to behave ethically, or face the sanctions of the market. A locality has many small businesses and industries. The locality represents the market. In this case, dishonest or otherwise unethical businesses will not be supported by the population. The market is sufficient in these cases to support ethical behavior. Smiths concept is well known the competition of firms ensures the best possible behavior relative to the market. The simple reason for this is because the market forces people, otherwise greedy for gain, to behave in a way that would attract the most customers and, importantly, repeat business. This means that these firms must behave ethically (Buchanan, 1985).
   
The present problem is that mass advertising, foreign investment and oligarchy have eliminated the classical market and created capitalism the rule of capital. This is a non-ethical institution because they create the market rather than respond to it. Actors in oligopoly are not  businesses  in the traditional sense of the word, but are mostly state connected functionaries. What occurs then is the pretense of ethical behavior rather than the real conformity to the community in the classic market scheme.

The State as Special Interest  
Speaking in general terms, when someone talks about  business ethics  they often are speaking of the state regulating the behaviors of businesses and firms. The most obvious point here is that the state must do several things in order to make this a reality

The state must be functioning from the point of view of an ethical theory. This ethical theory does not derive from the people, but from special interests that dominate the state, including the bureaucracy itself. In this case, the state is imposing one concept of the ethical upon a society (Svorny, 2009)
The state must use its coercive powers to force business to act according to its version of ethical standards.
The special interests who back the states regulatory powers (such as the American medical Association in the current health care debate) have no obligation to act in an ethical manner, since they are invisible tot he market and certainly not amenable to democratic control.

The state itself is a special interest. If the state uses its coercive capabilities to force its version of ethical life upon business, the state grows in power and influence. More specifically, the bureaucracy grows in power. This means that the least responsive part of the state the bureaucracy has more and more power over the life of business. The bureaucracy itself becomes a self-interested party (Norberg, 2009).

Lastly, the court system, equally non-democratic, then has the added power of interpreting these laws and statues, hence adding another layer of coercion over the society. Thus, even if the state were to be under democratic control relative to its regulatory apparatus, the courts then would be empowered to distort this even further.

   
The basic point here is that state regulation is no more an ethical actor that firms in oligopoly. There is no mechanism to transfer state greed into a public good. There is no market here by definition, since the state is that entity that has a monopoly on physical force. In this case, the state also has a monopoly over moral norms. Even worse, the state is often not an autonomous actor, but can move in a direction that is promoted by the special interests, who, in the halls of Congress or the bureaucracy itself, has no check on its power, no mechanism that makes its demands into a public good.


The Market as the Creator of Public Good  
Put simply, the state, or pressure groups within or without the state, has no right to impose a moral good upon the population. However, the market hast he potential, if unleashed, to create the very same goods that are demanded by the state and its allies.
   
The voucher system is an important innovation in terms of reintroducing the market in areas that are presently dominated by state interests. The voucher system, putting it simply, is that system that actually puts tax money in the hands of the people themselves to spend it as they wish in areas that are normally dominated by the state. This has been tried on a limited scale in the public school system, while writers such as Arnold King (2009) have advocated it in areas such as Medicare.
   
Speaking more generally, state regulation and the imposition of a moral rule upon business has a tendency to destroy precisely the moral good that is supposed to come out of the regulation. Speaking of business ethics outside of the market it should be noted is really a reliance on state or pressure-group coercion. In this case, the demands that the state impose a moral good has a tendency to backfire. In the case of environmental protection, state intervention has a tendency to cushion businesses rather than forcing them to clean up their act (Nader, 2003). Tariffs (presently proposed in relation to gas emissions) have a tendency to protect domestic industries, giving them a disincentive to clean up the environment (James, 2009). what has occurred in the past is that large businesses are already connected with the state, and can thus compromise with it (Nader, 2003). Further, they can afford the extra costs and the coercive measures applied to realize the moral good. Smaller businesses cannot. Hence, big business and oligarchy ultimately win. The state imposes costs, and these costs are better borne by large than small industries. What writers such as Sallie James have argued is that free trade and the market do a better job of forcing businesses to clean up their act than the state does. No one wants to support a polluter.
  
John Norbergs argument against regulation in the financial sectors is that the states rather cozy relationship with the major financial actors in America as been the primary ingredient that gave them incentives to lend recklessly. If they were basically guaranteed a state bailout because they were  too big to fail,  then the oligarchy rules this sector without competition. The banks then can lend in risky (but high profit) ventures that, over time, can collapse (as in the case of Latin America in the 1980s).
   
The more general point here is that under the conditions of oligarchy (not the market) state regulation to enforce ethical norms ends up giving more and more benefits to the oligarchs who already are state connected. Small business (the most responsive to local markets) cannot handle the strain in the manner that large businesses can. Small firms do not get state bailouts.
   
The conclusion can be stated in this manner the market, working with small businesses closely monitored by the population (i.e. the market), are forced to behave ethically in every case. Large businesses that control the market (i.e. oligarchs) can do what they please. This means, again, that the title of this essay is highly misleading if it refers to present conditions. The best way, therefore, to force businesses to behave ethically is to deregulate, enhance local control and do all in our power to encourage small businesses, since these are the most transparent to market control.

Smith and Kant  
In this section, the moral philosophy of Smith and Kant can serve as a foundation for the above more practical economic argument. Smith was a utilitarian while Kant is a deontologist, but that does not mean, despite their different foundations, that they say the same things in terms of a free market. Kants famed Categorical Imperative (CI) can be formulated this way first, that all actions be amenable to be formulated into universal rules. Second, that humanity is treated as an end in all things, and never as a means (Kant, 1989).
   
What does this have to do with a free market Kant has, whether he regarded it so or not, given a great justification to the argument for deregulation above. The market is a Kantian institution. The first formulation of the CI is basically a market transaction. In all cases, the market forces firms (firms transparent to the market) to behave in a way that can be seen as laying down a universal rule. The market represents this universality. Kants idea is that a violation of this leads to a contradiction. If pollution is permitted by the market, over time, the market would suffer immensely. Hence, pollution will be stopped by the  community, ie. The market. No community would permit a health care system favoring the rich, and therefore, low cost health care firms would come into existence to fill this void. In the present health care debate, the market system would bring about a series of firms that would specialize in preventative health, alternative health, healthy lifestyles, low cost medications, etc. only in conditions of oligarchy is a health care system for the rich tolerated.
   
The free market is a Kantian system because the ends that derive from market action forces business to function universally, that is, to function according to the will of the community. The second formulation is considered likewise. The labor market, if it is truly to be a market, must have the same incentives as a consumer market. Labor will not work in places where they are treated as means, rather than ends. It was not that long ago when larger firms had their own medical staffs, and insurance was considered a fringe benefit. In Asian states, firm hospitals and groceries are common, and lifetime employment is considered, for the most skilled, a right. In this case, the market is treating labor as ends, not means. These examples show that even large firms can treat employees ethically as a matter of ethic and communal culture, rather than as wards of the state and the interests who control it.
   
Putting this differently, a free market for labor can serve the CI in its second formulation, since the best and most productive workers will naturally gravitate to where they are treated well. Hence, forcing even the worst boss to obey the CI or risk lose good workers to the competition. Adam Smith, using utilitarian and consequentialist arguments, comes to the very same conclusion. In other words, the foundation does not matter. In both cases, the market serves as the universal standard that satisfied both deontology and utility. In other words, it is both useful and right that workers be treated as ends, while the market regulates the behavior of firms. The CI gets its force through utility, since they both come to the same conclusion. One can, in other words, accept the CI on strictly utilitarian grounds, since it serves the market. The market would not tolerate (in free competition) a firm that is know for abusing workers, and good workers would never work there. Only under oligarchy is both utility and deontology violated.

The argument presented here as attempted to combine both practical economics and moral theory. Ultimately, the purpose here is to define the market in its best formulation a basically local unit that exists to serve the local population. This was also Smiths view. The firm must be transparent in its behavior or the market fails. Firms become opaque only when they become oligarchic and, as a result, begin to have close relations with the state, nullifying all attempts to regulate them. This is the current American business environment. Returning to the market means the negation of oligarchy, Oligarchy is bureaucratic, while the market is entrepreneurial, oligarchy is coercive by definition, while the market is free, oligarchy has high entry costs, the market, low entry costs, oligarchy is for the few, the market is for the many, and hence, follows both formulations of the CI. 

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in 2006 Is a Turnaround Possible.

Krispy Kreme is one of the oldest names in donuts and has been operating for more than 65 years now. In recent years the company has been facing immense competition from other giant companies and thus, is under pressure to innovate and evolve. The companys recent statistics show modest revenue of 351Mn, an operating margin of 4.4 and a quarterly revenue growth of -11.4 which is indicative of its dire situation. (Yahoo) The company mostly relies on franchising for expansion however it has recently had bad experiences with franchising as a couple of its franchisees went into bankruptcy and affected the general reputation of the company. The company is trying to enter foreign markets but is facing difficulties owing to a lack of diversity of its product lines and other negative perception.

Problem Identification
Major problems that could be identified with Krispy Crme are diverse in nature yet, most of these are grounded within the managerial sphere and therefore can be addressed. Some of its problems are reputational such as its filling of chapter 11 bankruptcies, which severely affected its ties with its stakeholders and financiers and therefore, also affected its ability to secure finances in the future. Failure to maintain quality across its different franchises especially international franchises is also one issue leading to closure of a number of foreign outlets. High trans fat levels in its donuts despite the claim of zero-trans fat claim too has gone against the company in the past and especially became a controversy for its Hong Kong outlets that served donuts with high trans fat levels. (Parry) More so, an aggressive marketing strategy followed by unchecked and unrestrained expansion led to the eventual closure of a number of its outlets in recent years. A comprehensive expansion strategy bringing in consideration all important factors is of immense importance. However, most important issue Krispy Kreme faces is its ineffective management of its franchises that eventually led to decline in quality of products, defamation, law suits

Researching Internal and External Factors
As discussed earlier, most of the issues faced by Krispy Kreme stem from franchise mismanagement, a failure to innovate and the inevitable effects of the global economic crisis.

Krispy Kreme falls within the Restaurant Industry, which is facing hard times due to the recent economic turmoil. According to a report by the NPD group, guest traffic has plunged by approximately 2.6 for US restaurants. However, quick serving restaurants of the like of Krispy Kreme fair better with an approximate decrease of 2 as compared to a decrease of more than 6 for casual dining restaurants. (Yahoo) 

Nevertheless, job losses have been borne equally by all the market players. Major industry players include McDonalds, Yum Brands, Darden Restaurants, Starbucks and Autogrill but more pertinent to our analysis are the direct competitors, which include Starbucks, Tim Horton, and Dunkin Brands that serve somewhat similar products as Krispy Kreme. Of these, the largest Market Capitalization belongs to Dunkin Brands and Starbucks exceeding 35Bn whereas, market capitalization of Krispy Kreme stands at a modest 201.6Mn. (Yahoo) As the freshness of its product is one of the most critical selling factors for a restaurant, Krispy Kreme emphasizes on that by making transparent, its production process. Supply and demand, as discussed before are relatively elastic and therefore have been partially hit by the prevailing economic conditions in the US leading to closure of outlets and subsequent job loses. Krispy Kreme faces tough competition by direct competitors of the likes of Starbucks and Dunkin Donut however localized competition has also affected its performance on various instances. On the product end, Krispy Kreme struggles to provide a more diverse range of products to its customers relying more on its Glazed Donut. Recent addition of Coffee to its product portfolio has not proven to be a big success as coffee still makes up only 10 of its total revenue compared to 60 at Starbucks. Additionally, there is little threat from new entrants or the suppliers. (Thompson)

Globalization in recent decades, has been a driving force for most companies in the Industry however, Krispy Kreme has been unable to fully utilize that potential. Its international presence is much less pronounced than that of either Dunkin Donuts or even Starbucks. Another important factor driving the industrial change is product diversity. Most Direct competitors have diversified their menu by offering additional drinks, cakes and sandwiches whereas Krispy Kreme still relies on its Glazed Donuts for the larger part of its sales therefore increasing business uncertainty for itself and its franchisees.

Force Field Analysis
Various factors influence the ability of Krispy Kreme to revive its lost status. Factors that improve its odds of revival include a loyal customer base, operational efficiency, Krispy Kremes buying power vis--vis the suppliers and an expected surge in the demand for bakery items. Factors that resist resurgence include a still stagnant economy, stringent WHO regulations applicable on the food industry, a difficulty to enter foreign markets, influence of competitors and limitations pertaining to franchisees.

SWOT Analysis
According to the SWOT Analysis, key strengths of the company lie in its customer loyalty, operational efficiency, ubiquity, and its buying power vis--vis suppliers. Its weaknesses lie in a lack of publicity and the general perceptions of donuts being unhealthy. Opportunities lie in its ability to locate in small areas conveniently and exploit niche markets however, it is often threatened by large competitors, local bakers, and the diversification of services offered by local diners and restaurants, therefore, offering similar services as Krispy Kreme.

Possible Solutions
A well rounded franchising strategy complemented by an effective marketing scheme and a comprehensive long term expansion plan are the most crucial factors that need to be incorporated. Additionally, Krispy Kreme has to enhance its financial standing and boast its viability from an investment point of view so that its prevailing liquidity issues could be addressed. However, to improve its investment appeal, internal changes are needed most importantly, a revision of its core objectives, toning them down and making them more realistic. Diversity too, needs to be introduced in its product line thus, introducing different yet related products such as sandwiches, drinks, pastries, chocolates etc. To counter the macroeconomic impact upon donut sales, the demand elasticity factor should be countered effectively by introducing cheaper donut varieties, bringing down production costs through implementing more efficient production techniques or economies of scale, and optimizing workforce by retaining the minimum level of employees so that fixed overhead costs could be decreased drastically. Theses are some of the major strategies that could be introduced to improve performance of the company.

Best Solution Recommendation
The most important issue that Krispy Kreme faces is related to the management of its Franchisers, which are also its only hope, if it wants to increase its sales drastically. However, recent events display how the company has been unable to secure financially strong franchises. It is well known that to expand locally or internationally, franchising is of critical importance to Krispy Kreme however, does the company have an effective recruitment or franchise management strategy In my view, this is the area demanding most attention and therefore, Krispy Kreme needs to develop a strategy for recruiting franchises. To retain value of its product, the company should also make sure that uniformity of quality is maintained through implementing like production strategies and similar product mixes. Also, to make franchises more attractive product diversity is needed and the company should introduce different lines of product. Therefore, the future of the company relies upon effective franchising through individuals and groups with a sound understanding of the business and strong financial backing.

Understanding Dilemmas

The current business environment is posing more and more challenges for people at their workplace. Managers and employees are facing dilemmas regarding tasks and interpersonal relationships in varying magnitudes. This calls for clearheaded decision making processes that satisfy all the stakeholders.

Human Dilemmas
All people in an organization are charged with the responsibility of doing their work in the best way corresponding to their position. This comes with authority and responsibilities associated with it. However, it is the managers, who are faced with the greatest challenges, because they act as a link between the employees and the owners of an organization. Thus, they are in a tricky position. More often than not, they are faced with decision options, which put them in a dilemma of how to solve them best so as to satisfy all the stakeholders. Other employees are faced with tricky decision alternatives as well, but to a lesser extent in their tasks and in their relationship with colleagues. In all the decisions made, individuals at all levels in the management structure should eliminate any sentiments and be as rational as possible (Abraham, 1966).

Task versus Relationship
There arise conflicts when there are varying opinions among groups or individuals concerning a task to be performed. This, however, should be viewed positively, since it improves the quality of the final decisions made, so that they are made after taking into account all the divergent opinions. Relationship conflicts, on the other hand, have nothing positive at all, since members concentrate on personal differences rather than on work related issues. It therefore disintegrates the decision makers by increasing anxiety and stress. Decision making should at all times be centered on ideas and not on personal differences tolerance is therefore vital (Abrams and. Hogg, 1990).

Empowerment versus Control
Empowerment entails increasing the freedom and capacity of employees to make independent decisions and implement them fully. The move is aimed at increasing both individual and group fairness and effectiveness, and in turn overall organizational success. Control, on the other hand, involves limiting decision making and transformation of those decisions into desired results. It is the duty of the managers to make sure that there is a proper blend of empowerment and control this will bring success to the organization without loss of direction.

Getting Results versus Building Capacity
Most of the jobs in the current business environment are the result of the existing stiff competition between firms. The situation is made complex by the increased globalization. The employees are therefore required to meet the set targets within the required time frame. Capacity building, on the other hand, puts more emphasis on training and developing an employee in a bid to empower him or her with skills and expertise that will enable them work more effectively and efficiently. None of these two should be traded for the other instead one should be done to achieve the other. Capacity building should lead to improved results (Deborah, 2003).

Shared vision versus Diversity
The more organizations go global, the more they experience diversity at the workplace. Diversity comes with it the advantage of a variety of ideas that can propel an organization to success. However, it might lead to disintegration of the workforce along the diversifying elements, for example, nationality. This might hinder the shared organization-wide mission from materializing. It is therefore important to cultivate the culture of tolerance at the workplace and commitment to the overall goals of the organization in all stakeholders.

Self versus Team Interests
It happens most of the time that the interests of certain members of a team are not in agreement with those of the entire team. This is evident in the divergent views that various members contribute to the general strategy of the team. Finally, it is the majority, who take the day but members should learn to compromise for the good of the team and in turn organization-wide success (Armstrong, 2005).

Stakeholder Analysis in Risk Management

Excellence for a risk manager involves the element of quality. The element of quality involves quality not as important in itself but the various systems as well as tools that derive this quality in risk management. Excellence which ideally is quality in itself calls for a systematic approach in formulating an overall culture of quality which is ultimately integrated into the fabric of a risk management organization. The organization for my self as a risk manager should endear its effort towards transforming its employees attitudes towards desirable trends that enhance high productivity through an improved business operation and increased enrolment in its client portfolio. A risk manager should formulate integrated models of improvement which ideally provide for a never ending corporate wide effort. A risk manager should also control the quality of the derived services as well as activities that fall within his circle of operation. He should always gear up for strategic quality management (Ebel 1991).

In risk management various perspectives can be taken to increase performance and ultimately productivity. One concept that a risk manager can embrace to increase performance is by taking a perspective in his varied line of career. Primarily, it calls for delineating clearly the field in which he is concerned which eliminates crowding of his duty rota. Perspective taking also enables him to identify the best model to employ in approaching his business framework that can yield more returns. He also needs to identify his interests. By identifying his interests as businesses are varied ranging from financial, agricultural, information communication technology, industrial with all the named sectors either primarily engaging tangible products or intangible services, he is able to identify fields that he is gifted to engage his skills and yielding maximum results. As such he is posited well to be motivated and by his line of duty. To arrive at interests the risk manager needs to identify risks and assess them, ranking them accordingly with regard to the most likely as well as the cost. He should make the risks explicit. Moreover the risk manager needs to make informed decisions arrived at after asking questions with regard to the identified risk on how best he can provide for the adversity without costing the organization dearly. The risk manager should always endear his efforts to diminish the potential damage in the worst case scenario. He should be able to control and regulate the uncertain aspects of the business (Godfrey 1996). Despite the fact that all uncertainty can not be mitigated, organized risk management process can save an organization tremendous amounts of money.

Identification of a risk is an absolutely critical initial step in risk management but it is the most difficult endeavour in this process (Williams 1995). A risk manager needs to identify the discrete characteristics of the project that might result in tremendous failure. The reality of risk estimates is the most complex and intricate concept in risk analysis as they escalate with the project advancement. Despite this fact, the most critical decisions should be arrived at early in the projects life with contingency measures being taken to counter the occurrence of the risk. As such, it therefore follows that realistic cost estimates of the entire project need to be taken as early as they can.

Optimal performance by a risk manager enables the process of making decisions to flow in a systematic process and as such it is also less subjective. Such a business environment enables calculated uncertainties to be analysed along the robustness of projects that the risk manager is involved in. The increased performance of a risk manager also posits him with the effort of the entire team to arrive at the relative importance of specific risks by making them apparent immediately. The informed perspective that characterises the risk manager as a result of increased performance also enables him to understand the object comprehensively by identifying the potential hazards thus being posited well to assess through the best models that heshe can hire in response. This has a powerful implication on the manager as it forces a realistic framework which puts in mind the fact that there exists an array of possible outcomes that a project can end up with.

Active listening primarily is individuals will as well as ability for hearing and understanding.  By acquainting with skills as well as behaviours that enhance an individual to listen actively, individuals can become highly efficient in the listening process which ultimately improves their ability in leadership.

Question Two
I went out to a colleague who was under my mandate and asked her that I needed to talk to her about a friction between us that I had detected which I thought had an undesirable effect on the organization. I initially greeted her and asked her to step into my office for a moment, stated my concern after asking her to close the door then asked her what she thought the problem might be. She started saying that the problem to her she thought arose from the inflexibility in the work when my phone rang. I turned of the phone and asked her to continue but after I apologised. I had foreseen such an argument arising and I had developed a bottom line for indeed the company had lately strained employees with longer working hours. As such, as the management we were posited badly in such a negotiation by employees. I had formulated a bottom line schedule which I proposed to the colleague and emphasised that that was the best the company could do for now basing on the current tight work schedules. She agreed and seemed to be pleased.

Individuals or managers engaged in active listening always strive to understand what the other participant in the listening and speaking process think before arriving at judgements about the other individual. Active listening also calls for encouraging direct reports which are ideally shared. For active listening to effectively take place it requires use of feedback that is referred to in arriving at necessary changes for the said individuals behaviour. Moreover for active listening to be said to have taken place it requires individuals to be open to other peoples input that are primarily participants in the listening and speaking process. This correspondence enables an environment of harmony. Active listening success is pegged on individuals putting themselves in the position of other people. As such they imagine the other participants perspective.

To actively listen the individuals need to be able to hear accurately. As such they are called upon to assume an environment that can facilitate accurate hearing. To actively listen it also calls for one to understand clearly what is meant by the correspondent in the listening process. Only after understanding is one able to make sound judgement and thus give desirable and correct feedback to his correspondent. Active listening also calls for drawing out ideas as well as information. This is absolutely critical as it enables participants to get the core subject matter from a listening process which has immense influence on expected outcomes. Information is the power behind actions. It is from information that ideas are built and products and services formulated.

Through getting the right content in the listening process one can derive the best end results. Chaos theory justifies this postulation with its concept of the butterfly effect. A small variation in the initial process can result into a completely different whole product in the end. Active listening also desires show of respect. If participants in a listening and speaking process have a mutual respect they are able to contribute freely and immensely to the whole process under discussion and thus yield more solutions. Active listening also calls for building self esteem. Through building of self esteem for all stakeholders in the listening and speaking process, they are likely to value their contribution and thus offer it to the group as opposed to stakeholders with a low self esteem who primarily devalue their contribution and thus free riding in a conversation. Active listening also calls for finding answers. This makes the whole listening and speaking process meaning full and not just speech for speechs sake. Where answers are not available, for instance in a negotiation stakeholders need to buy time. This calls for engagement of another meaningful idea in the process. As such the individual manager enables the company to rally up resources to arrive at the desired answer. Active listening also calls for connecting among stakeholders. This connection eliminates friction which enhances flow of information.

Active listening also calls for questioning assumptions. Through questioning assumptions, weaknesses in these assumptions as well as strengths are arrived at and as such it enables the best assumption with increased returns is opted for.

One impediment in active listening in a business environment is the focus on positions as opposed to interests. In active listening stakeholders are supposed to be approached with emphasis on interests as opposed to positions. As such, managers need not to listen to what they say but rather why they what they say and they need not to pay attention to what where they stand but how they got there in the first place. Moreover they need not emphasise how they feel but on the contrary why they care to feel how they feel. In the conversation with the employee it calls for close scrutiny of her case to assess how her needs can be best addressed. Her position can be identified as primarily inflexible working condition. In addressing her position emphasis need not to be put on it but rather on the interests. As such her interests could be getting more time for lunch, or the employee might be feeling that her input in the organization surpasses the remuneration she receives in exchange. It might also be as a result of her working conditions varying with that of other employees. As such, these third estate interests should be identified. Satisfying these interests for the employee is the essence of reflecting on what the other person is really saying.   

Question Three
Stakeholder analysis enables a manager to identify stakeholders with both high and low stakes in a business environment. As such stakeholders with a high stake or high stakes and are highly opposed can be derived and marked as opponents. It also allows the manager to derive stakeholders with a low stake but resist the proposed program and branded resistors, moreover those stakeholders with a low stake and support the program can also be identified. Finally stakeholder analysis enables the management to identify stakeholders who have a high stake and support the program. This are branded advocates. An organization in this position makes sound decisions with desirable business consequences.

Factors Making Tea Industry Attractive.

The consumption and production of tea worldwide has increased over the past years and the increasing demand for tea products is still expected to grow in the future. The number of consumers of tea products from different parts of the world consistently increases. With the modernity of lifestyles of people, most customers look for other products that would give them health benefits and tea has been considered as one of the beverages that could provide them not only exceptional drinking experience but also healthy lifestyles. Today, tea is considered as one of the beverages with a high market share in the global market. There are different types of tea and the marketers continuously find new ways to manufacture the product, offering new variants to the customers who have been fond of consuming tea products. This idea elevates the industry to a higher level and makes the entire industry penetrate wider customers from different market segments. Technology also helps the production easier for the manufactures, reducing not only the manpower but also the cost of production. The existence of modern materials for mass production of goods in the market makes the corporations producing tea more profitable than any beverage manufacturers in the industry.

Factors Making Tea Industry Unattractive
Apparently, good marketing concepts had helped the industry boost its market share in the past decades. Most customers prefer to buy tea products rather than the other beverages in the supermarket one proof that corporations have already gained the proper percentage of target customers for the tea products. However, as the market share of tea industry continues to grow, the threat of entry for this industry becomes relatively high. Numerous corporations try to penetrate the market by offering tea products and giving new unique selling propositions and features for the customers worldwide. Aside from the competition, the process of production is also a big factor that makes the other business firms invest on tea industry. Information on the amount of land used to grow tea in particular countries is available only for Asia-Pacific region, which has 84 percent of the worlds harvested tea area. It manifests that the corporations from other parts of the world need to invest and allot more budget for tea planting alone.

Problems in the Tea Industry
The booming industry of tea has brought the corporations to strong price competition in the local and international markets ( VOANews.com ). The climate is also another problem that the industry faces. Like other crops, the amount of tea being harvested is affected by the seasons and the corporations find it hard to produce the usual number of products to be distributed to the consumers. This problem also affects the prices of the products and the entire manufacturing firm, including labor and supply chain are being affected ( LBO ).

Tea Industrys Profit Outlook
World tea production is expected to reach a higher market share in following years because of the increasing demand of the consumers from different parts of the world. The corporations operating in the tea industry expects to have a robust growth in the future and the healthy growth is anticipated to drive the industrys economy to success. Every year, the demand for tea significantly increases the  market share for global tea consumption doubled in the past 10 years ( AMEinfo.com ). In general, the tea industry constantly grow despite the problems that the corporations face in the emerging market

Today Tata Consultancy Services is not only the leading IT solutions provider in India but also one of the leading companies worldwide in its field. However, we will analyze its performance back in 1998 when the company was faced with many operational problems which were becoming an impediment to its lofty ambitions. We start off our discussion with an investigation of the problems at TCS. The five problems identified were Lack of innovation and investment in research and development, lack of specialization among the workforce, lack of innovation among the employees, absence of a team based structure, ineffective reward systems and lack of attention towards promoting a better public image of the company. These problems were identified after a series of surveys and questionnaires. Surveys were designed for the employees, the graduating students of top notch institutions and the potential clients of an IT solutions company. The data collected from the interview will enable us to frame interview questions since we will then be well averse with problems. In the interviews we will ask the middle managers and policy makers of the organization of how they wish to address the issues at hand Since the problems are of an operational nature and directly concern the human resource department, we would also be interviewing the head of this department.

The OD intervention techniques which were used were modifying the reward system to encourage team based work, implementation of the new system and education of the employees for use of this system. Workshops related to improving communication among employees and activities to improve leadership potential and increase confidence among the employees. The effectiveness of the intervention techniques is measured with the use of surveys which are conducted both before the implementation of the OD interventions and after the intervention has been carried out. After the various interventions have been determined a timeline for carrying out each of the intervention is then determined. Effectiveness of the intervention techniques is also measured by measuring such variables as employee confidence, organizational structure, level of communication among employees and leadership potential. Fluency of employees to use the new system is also measured.

Organizational Development helps organization achieve change by making use of behavioral science knowledge. It involves changing the attitudes, beliefs and values of the employees.
To see how OD intervention affects the organization we will explore one such intervention that was carried out by Tata Consultancy Services. In doing so we will analyze the nature of the problem which prompted such an intervention, what processes it involved and how it affected the overall organization and its values.

Tata Consultancy Services is a leading business solutions provider in India which promises that when businesses outsource their services to Tata, it will help them achieve overall efficiency and effectiveness in their overall business. TCS is one of the worlds largest software and service consulting organizations. The year is 1998, almost thirty years since Tata Consulting Services was formed, the company has established its name as the leading Information Technology provider in India and now wants to make a place in the worlds top organizations in its field.

Areas which Require OD Intervention
Bent on achieving this target, the company investigates areas of improvement and discovers that it needs intervention in the following areas

Lack of Product Innovation and RD
The major focus remained on expediting customers orders which hampered its ability to see long term long arising from product innovation and development. This myopic vision was expected to generate problems for the company in the future.
Lack of specialization among the workforce
To expedite their solutions to employees, employees had to be rotated between departments. Thus major focused remained on satisfying the needs of the customer with less attention paid to employees needs.

Lack of Innovation among Employees
There was a need to instill the concept of experimentation among employees. The employees at Tata were used to following the instructions rather than innovating. Thus, there was a need to change the organizational culture and introduce related rewards which would encourage such behavior. 
Absence of Team Based Structure
A related problem which promoted the team based culture was the nature of reward structure. Due to absence of team based tasks at Tata Consultancy Services, the reward structures were based on individual performance which did not encourage sharing of information among employees.
Image Building

The company had not yet paid much attention to the areas of public relations and branding. This affected the organizations ability to attract quality graduates.
The above stated problems provide a framework for us to design questionnaire and surveys for the employees and managers. The questions will then help us determine the nature and gravity of the issues and the type of OD intervention required.
Survey Design

The following will be the design of the survey keeping the above mentioned issues in mind. The questions below are distributed among employees, students from the top institutions of the country who are about to graduate and seek employment, and other software companies in the industry which obtain services of such companies as TCS

For Employees
What institution did you go to How well ranked is the institution you graduated from
Describe your qualification and area of expertise
Describe the organizational structure of your organization
What kind of tasks does your work involve
From the scale of 1-5 describe the level of creativity your work involves One being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
From the scale of 1-5 describe the difficulty level of your work One being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
Does the nature of your work involve frequent interactions with other employees of the organizations
Are you satisfied with the reward systems of your organization
Top university students about to graduate
What is your field of interest
How much do you know about Tata Consultancy Services
Is TCS a preferred organization of the graduates from your university
Clients companies who acquire IT solutions
Can you list the major IT solutions provider companies in the country
Which organizations would you prefer for software and consulting services or decision pertaining to outsourcing of your business
Interview Design
The data collected from the survey questions will lead us towards the process of interviews. We are now well aware of the issues at hand and know how the employees feel towards them. We can now ask the middle managers and the policy makers in Tata Consultancy Services of how they wish to address such issues. What organizational intervention techniques do they think will help remove such problems
The interview is directed towards managers of the company, both the middle managers and senior executives. Since the issue pertains to human resource, we would also like to interview the head of this department.
What is the reason for the functional hierarchical structure of the organization Why have you decided to still stick to this approach is the changing times of today
Do you think moving towards a team based or matrix structure will help organization in addressing some of these issues
How much money of your total earnings is invested in RD Do you plan to increase this amount in the future
How are the current problems hampering your target to become one of the top 10 IT solution providers in the world How do you plan to address the problems at hand
What kind of organizational development interventions do you think are needed to address these concerns What kind of tools, workshops, meetings and strategies do you have in mind
What kind of team building activities do you plan to use to tackle the issue of lack of information sharing and coordination among employees

What system processes do you plan to use to facilitate the process of sharing and coordination of information
How will you help the employees adapt to these new systems What new learning processes will it involve
At present the employees at TCS do not feel empowered and part of the decision making process How do plan to empower them and change their perceptions about this organizational value

Organizational Performance and Measurement
Organizational performance means the measurement of achieved results of the organization as measured against its intended goals and objectives. The organization can measure its performance by using Key Performance Indicators (KPI) or Key Success Indicators (KSI). These indicators may vary depending on the purpose of the organization, for example these indicators will be different for profit and not for profit organizations. Key Performance Indicator for a company like Tata Consulting Services whose aim is to be one of the top ten leading companies in the world will constitute of such quantifiable measures as Earnings Per Share (EPS), Earnings Before Taxes (EBT) and shareholders equity. It is imperative that organizational performance be measured within the context of the environment in which the business operates. It is also measured relative to the resources the organization consumes in achieving these results. Thus measuring organizational performance involves the measurement of three things effectiveness, efficiency and ongoing relevance.

Tata Consultancy Services in 1998 was the largest IT solutions provider in India. Its revenues crossed Rs 1600 crore. TCS was the first company of its kind in India and were renowned for providing timely and expedient services for its clients, usage of quality tools and procedures in its processes and quality training programs for its employees. TCS has come a long way since then and today its before tax stand at 617873, 00,000. total public share holding and earnings per share are 23280221, 00, 000 shares and 54.96 respectively as of March 2009. Its percentage gross profit margin is 25.01. (Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. n.d). However, back in 1998, TCS was facing problems with a few issues pertaining to is operations. Under immense pressure to lead the market and retain its position, management at TCS was focused on gaining short-term revenues which led to the organization being more reactive rather than proactive in meeting clients needs. Apart from this the organizational structure and individual based reward systems hampered information sharing and coordination among the employees. The organization also lacked a specialized workforce, which added work pressure on the current workers who had to be switched back and forth between departments.

I will observe the corporate culture of the organization which will itself reveal if employees are satisfied with the work policies. Observing the nature of their job will reveal how much employees are allowed to experiment in their jobs. Corporate culture will also depict how much are employees are encouraged to take part in decision making. A study of their organizational structure chart will reveal the communication flow inside the organization such as a more functional structure reveals a vertical flow of communication and a more centralized decision making pattern. I will study organizational reward systems and see if they reward a more team based participation. I will also study the current information system in the organization, and how the deployment of a new system which encourages information sharing is likely to affect the learning needs of employees.

Organizational Development Interventions
Before beginning with the organizational development interventions an initial survey is conducted within the organization to determine the current state of the organization. This will then provide a reference point for managers to calculate the effectiveness of the intervention techniques.

Intervention Recommendations
First of all there is a need to change the organization structure and shift towards a more team based structure which will foster communication and coordination among employees of various departments. Managers at TCS can use the Spiral Dynamics Tool for this purpose which will help to instill team spirit among employees in a shorter time.

Other Workshops and Activities
Recognition Rewards Reward systems need to be developed which recognize good performers within the organization. This will also motivate employees to work harder.
Deployment of new information system to facilitate collaboration among employees. This sort of intervention will also require learning sessions to educate employees about the usage of the system.
Fostering Boss-Employee Communication Employees interaction with the senior members should be encouraged, where employees could freely interact and share their concerns. For this purpose an interactionmentorship initiative needs to be developed where a person is chosen as a lead and the employee can walk in to meet the lead at any time.

Fostering Fun In Relationships Stress buster activities need to be carried out which will create an atmosphere of fun among employees. Certain trained people can be hired to carry out activities which promote a spirit of friendship among employees at TCS.

Personality and communication workshops need to be started which will help employees to speak up and foster confidence among them. This change is required due to change in organization goals which now requires information sharing and coordination among employees. These sessions or workshops can be carried out by experienced trainers.

Conducting Open House Town Halls The purpose of such meetings is to discuss strategic goals of the organization with the employees.. This will also enable the corporation to determine better performers within the organization.

Workshops for Leadership Since TCS wants employees to stand up and actively participate in goal setting for the organization there is a need to instill leadership potential among the employees.
Mentoring programs with seniors New employees can be paired up with other senior employees for training, this will not only facilitate in relationship building but also save costs to the organization of training new employees.

Survey to monitor results of interventions After the above mentioned changes have been made and workshops have been carried out a survey can be carried out to check the results of these interventions. A survey should be conducted after sometime has been passed since the intervention. This will more accurately determine the effectiveness of the OD interventions. The questions can be related to nature of their job, if it has changed in any way from before and resulted in a more interactive environment How the nature of the reward systems has changed, has team based rewards been introduced and how has the general culture in the organization has changed

The information gathered from the survey is then used to analyze results of the intervention. The gaps are then identified between the desired state and the achieved state. This will determine the effectiveness of the intervention programs. The corporation can then decide whether the current state is consistent with organizational goals or if further intervention techniques are required.

Timeline for Implementation
As the current issues are significantly affecting organizational performance, therefore a timeline is necessary so that the management knows how long it will take to effectively carry out the recommendations. The following timeline must be followed by the organization