My research focuses on a case story about British Gas and the effects of successful strategizing. British Gas was facing serious financial challenges when subjected to deregulation, (Paroutis, Heracleous, & Angwin, 2013). At one time, British Gas had monopolized the market with exclusive control over natural gas, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). British Gas was not subjected to strict regulations or competition; they were holding 100% of the market, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). During this time, British Gas made some poor decisions regarding contracts, they signed contracts with their providers that required payment for all natural gas produced, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). Therefore, if excess gas was produced British Gas was still responsible for …show more content…
British gas held 100% of the market, which would be reduced through deregulation by over 50%; this reduction was the beginning of collapse for British gas, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). By May of 1998, domestic gas was an open market, the customers who were at one time dependent on one company could now choose between several providers, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). This sudden turn of events created great hardship for British Gas as they soon began losing financial profits. They were still obligated to honor their binding contracts with their producers, while holding only 40% percent of the market, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). They were also degraded as a primary supplier after the deregulation was completed. In 1990, the company was taking on great loss and needed to take immediate action in order to survive, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). It was during this period that the demerger occurred, British Gas would demerge into two companies, BGplc and Centrica, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). This demerger was forced by deregulation; each company would focus on specific components of the organization, (Paroutis, et al., …show more content…
This diversity created a need for improving the intellectual skills of their employees, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). In order to be competitive, it is essential to enhance employee skills at all levels within the organization. With increased skill building Centrica maintained their focus on customer satisfaction realizing this is their key to continued success and expansion, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). According to the author, Centrica’s diverse portfolio was noted as a concern, due to questionable focus on specific markets, (Paroutis, et al., 2013). Centrica felt their diversification was driven by customer relationships that reinforced the need for expansion through extended services for the consumer, (Paroutis, et al.,
With soaring medication prices, many drug manufactures have the aspiration to increase profits, which have the effect of rising drugs cost and concerning for Americans. Fortunately, both Democrats and Republican have illustrated interest in passing Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015. Captivatingly, the act will allow Medicare to consult manufacturers and set affordable prices. Many have also requested to allow of purchasing medication from Canada which currently has lower drug cost. Reports often appear in the popular press about American consumers who go to Canada or Mexico to buy their prescription drugs at a fraction of what they would pay in U.S. pharmacies, even though doing so is illegal (1). By contrast, the United States leads
Cox and Blake (1991), maintained that cultural diversity would impact six areas of organizational effectiveness, including the capability to attract human resources, cost, innovation, creativity, and problem solving, marketing, and flexibility. The revealing fields studied were innovation and creativity, problem solving, and structural flexibility, this was accomplished through information and decision making processes. Creativity and innovation can be supported by "diversity of perspectives and less emphasis on conformity to the norms of the past" (Cox and Blake, 1991, p. 47), which will increase the ability of the organization to create and innovate. The problem-solving contention maintains that better decisions would be produced through additional perspectives developed in various problem solving groups (Cox and Blake, 1991). Finally, the flexibility argument designates that multicultural management practices would result in changes that meant "that the system will become less determinant, less standardized, and therefore more fluid" (Cox and Blake, 1991, p. 47). These fluctuations are likely to increase the
For the criteria of measuring the effectiveness of the diversity within MasterCard, I will research different aspects that reflect their commitment to having a strong diversity image. I will assess their various diversity programs and analyze how they are benefiting the organization, in terms of capturing market share and retaining and attracting diverse employees. I will also look at their hiring practices, and search for statistics on how many diverse employees hold executive positions. I will also research their supplier diversity commitment and see how their
Organizations must stop visualizing diversity as an issue and start seeing it as a benefit for the organization. There are several reasons why a diverse workforce will add value to a company. Most businesses, either large or small, work on a global scale; the information age has brought the entire world a lot closer. Having associates that can deal with different cultures around the world is crucial to an expanding business. A diverse workforce will help to build more rounded individuals with experience they will gain from a mixed environment. Customers will benefit from the diverse workforce because a company that makes a choice to be open and flexible with its associates will more than likely be easy to work with in a business relationship. Probably the most important aspect of having a diverse workforce is the vast knowledge gained by pooling the different life lessons, cultures and experience together thereby allowing everyone the chance to learn new and different business practices (Sappal, Pepi, 2002).
Diversity is a wonderful asset to an organization and brings with it many benefits. Employees bring in their own personal experiences and knowledge to the team (Burns & Kerby, 2012). Having diverse teams allows for the possibility to fix a problem or perfect a process by using different employee’s experiences and past knowledge to find solutions. A diverse workforce can drive economic growth and capture a greater share of the consumer market (Burns & Kerby, 2012). With diversity as a core value, the recruitment pool is widened to find the most qualified candidate and reduces employee turnover as a result. An organization can be highly competitive with a diversity initiative by adapting to a changing environment (Burns & Kerby, 2012).
A 2013 survey of Fortune 1000 companies found that 78 of the best performing companies that had taken significant efforts to diversify their management and board of directors had consistently outperformed their peers (Expert pg1). Diversity has a thorough impact on everyone’s life and it has been a part of humanity since the beginning (Div Mgmt pg 3). With the population becoming more diverse than ever, so too has the workforce and the need for organizations to provide opportunities, incentives, privileges, and facilities to attract and retain diverse employees (Div Mgmt pg3). In a statement released by Catalyst Census in 2013, Ilene Lang, president, and CEO, said: “Diverse business leadership and governance is correlated with stronger business performance,
“Dimitri, get off your Xbox and come do your chores before I ground you!” she yelled basically every day.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a classic novel that portrays the punishment of sin and delivers a number of timeless themes and unique characters. Due to this novel being so widely known, numerous critics attempt to decipher Hawthorne’s original intentions for the primary traits of his main characters. A number of literary critics, such as Nina Baym and Judith Fryer, may claim that Hester Prynne is not rebellious and she is not portrayed as having individual strength; however, Hester can best be described as a contrast to typical Puritan society due to her lawlessness and individual strength.
Nurture a diverse workforce: Diversity must continue to be a point of emphasis for AA. As a global company, your workforce must reflect your customers base. If a company is not tapping into the global talent pool, they are doing themselves a disservice. “In the midst of ongoing global expansion and a worldwide shortage of critical talent, companies are stepping up efforts—at very different speeds and levels of investment—to recruit and retain a workforce diverse in both demographics and ideas.” Scandura, Terri A. (2015-07-02).
Having a diverse workforce is a serious matter to our business. We need a variety of opinions, ideas and perspectives to make sure we maintain our own performance and represent our marketplace globaly. When the customers reflect the communities that we serve, it improves the way we connect to our guests, consumers and audiences. We work together toward an inclusive environment that encourages creativity, innovation and camaraderie throughout all of our companies.
Organizations who make a commitment to diversity can see a significant impact on business in many ways. Diversity “requires a significant commitment for change to occur” (Delong, 2007, p.9). It is extremely important that leaders understand the commitment and embrace it in order for a positive impact to occur. Employers with diverse cultures and leaders can build positive and successful relationships with customers, suppliers and vendors. They can better attract and retain top talent. All of these equal more financial gain for the company.
Organizations have been becoming increasingly diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality. This diversity brings substantial potential benefits such as better decision making, greater creativity and innovation, and more successful marketing to different types of customers. But, increasing cultural differences within a workforce also bring potential costs in higher turnovers, interpersonal conflicts, and communicational breakdowns. The utilities of diversity training and the essential managerial skills required for effectively managing diversity will also be discussed.
In a world that has grown increasingly smaller due to mass media, world travel, and readily available information, the workplace has grown increasingly diverse in both gender and cultural aspects. Individuals no longer live and work within the confines of their geographic locations. At almost any position with any company the individual employee is a part of a larger world economy that harvests assets from the ends of the earth. Because of this, companies seek to capitalize on diversity to become more creative and flexible in their business models.
Before we go any further, it's important to have a working understanding of the word "Diverse."
Diversity in workforce “include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience”(Thomas 1992). Diversity in the workforce is initially perceived as a response toward the increasing diversity of the consumers in the market (Agocs & Burr, 1996). From there, it has been observed that capitalizing on existing differences among the employees provide benefits to the organization. Diversity in workforce fosters and encourages