Why Should Organizations Strive for a Gender-Balanced Workforce?

Gender balance in organizations refers to the equal representation and participation of individuals of different genders in various positions and roles within the organization. Striving for gender balance is not only a moral imperative but also a sound business strategy. It has been proven that organizations with a diverse and inclusive workforce perform better than those with a homogeneous workforce. In this essay, we will discuss the importance of gender balance in organizations and the ways in which organizations can strive to achieve gender balance. The Importance of Gender Balance in Organizations Gender balance in organizations is critical for several reasons. First, it promotes equal opportunities for all individuals regardless of their gender. It ensures that all individuals have equal access to education, training, and job opportunities, which enables them to develop their skills and contribute to the organization’s success. Gender balance also ensures that the organization benefits from a Continue reading

Political Environment of International Business

Political factors constitute an important environment factor in International Business. Actually politics and economics are inter-related as one influences the other. That was the reason for early writers of Economics preferred to caption their work as Political Economy. Political system, political parties in power, political parties in the opposition, political maturity of the parties, number of political parties, political awareness of people, political stability and the like have great impact on the business environment in a country. The economic policies pursued by a Government are to a great extent the by-product of political environment that impacts businesses very often. Basic Political Ideologies Political ideology refers to, ‘the body of ideas, theories, aims and means to execute the ideas, adapt the theories and fulfill the aims that constitute a sociopolitical programme for action’. Depending on the mix of different ‘ideas, theories, aims and means’, there exists Pluralism, Democracy and Totalitarianism as Continue reading

The Concept of Co-Sourcing

New methods of outsourcing are today redefining the way of working. Co-sourcing  is a situation of partial  outsourcing, in which a business function or process is performed by both internal staff and by an external party or external resources, such as consultants or outsourcing vendors, with specialized knowledge of the business function.  Compared to full outsourcing, for the traditional owner of the processes, co-sourcing has advantages of staying in control, a non-transactional partnership and the ability to grow the own knowledge level of the co-sourced process. One such way is co-sourcing which is an investment relationship marked by shared objectives, shared risks and shared rewards between two companies, one of which is a service provider. Specifically, the service provider would have to help restructure the company and be willing to make new investments, while driving out costs from the co-sourcing company’s existing ways working. Although it may seem similar to Continue reading

Syndicated Loan – Syndicated Lending Process

Syndicated form of raising finance came into existence when the size of individual loans got bigger and banks thought fit to share the risks with other lenders. The concept of sole bankers was no longer feasible when a large amount of funding was involved. Moreover the syndicated mode of financing has two important features, namely, amount (risks) and administrative saving (documentation to be one principal lender). There will be one principal lender who will finance and the other participant lenders in the syndicate will share the risks in a predetermined share. Governments of countries as well as the corporate sector are tapped the syndicated loan route. As the size of the individual loans increased, individual banks found it difficult to take the risk single handed-regulatory authorities in most countries limit the size of the individual exposures. Hence the practice of inviting other banks to participate in the loan, to form Continue reading

Multinational Corporations Adaptability to Host Environments

All Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are not equally likely to cause friction and tension in their host  economies. Some adapt with relative ease and become closely integrated with  their host environment, both economically and socio-culturally; others remain  isolated and insulated, often forming alien enclaves in the host society. There  appears to be a causal relationship between the MNC’s organizational structure  that is, its organizational design as well as its underlying objectives and  strategies and its capacity for social adaptation to host country conditions.  In terms of inducement to social conflict, MNCs fall into three categories: home  dominated, host dominated, and internationally integrated. Home or Parent Dominated MNCs These enterprises are organized and managed in such a way that the foreign  based subsidiaries and other affiliates, whatever their specific legal form, serve  primarily in a complementary support role. Their function is to help the parent  company achieve its business objectives in the Continue reading

Marketing Strategies Adopted by Global Companies

Marketing strategies adopted by Global Companies can be broadly classified as follows: 1. A Global Strategy It treats the world as a single market. This strategy is warranted when the forces for global integration are strong and the forces for national responsiveness are weak. This is true of the consumer electronics market, for example, where most buyers will accept a fairly standardized pocket radio, CD player, or TV. Matsushita has performed better than GE and Philips in the consumer electronics market because Matsushita operates in a more glob ­ally coordinated and standardized way. 2. A Multinational Strategy It treats the world as a portfolio of national opportunities. This strategy is warranted when the forces favoring national responsiveness are strong and the forces favoring global integration are weak. This is the situation in the branded packaged-goods business (food products, clean ­ing products). Unilever can be cited as a better performer than Continue reading