The Environment And Corporate Culture Essay Example

The Environment And Corporate Culture Paper The Oakland, California-based nonprofit is influencing the international dimension of todays business environment by helping increase the sales of fair trade products around the world. Rice says adhering to Transfix standards is just good business as the global environment grows increasingly important. Indirectly. It includes social, economic, legal/political, international, natural, and technological factors that influence all organizations about equally. Increases in the inflation rate or the percentage of dual-career couples in the Rockford are part of the organizations general environment. These events do not directly change day-to-day operations, but they do affect all organizations eventually. The task environment is closer to the organization and includes the sectors that conduct day-to-day transactions with the organization and directly influence its basic operations and performance. It is generally considered to include competitors, suppliers, customers, and the labor market. The organization also has an internal environment, which includes the elements within the organizations boundaries. The internal environment is composed of current employees, management, and especially corporate culture, which defines employee behavior in the internal environment and how well the organization will adapt to the external environment. Exhibit 3. 1 illustrates the relationship among the general, task, and internal environments. As an open system, the organization draws resources from the external environment and releases goods and services back to it. We will now discuss the two layers of the external environment in more detail. Then we will discuss corporate culture, the key element in the internal environment. We will write a custom essay sample on The Environment And Corporate Culture specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Environment And Corporate Culture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Environment And Corporate Culture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Other aspects of the internal environment, such as structure and technology, will be covered in later chapters of this book. 66 global economy of the twenty-first century. If things continue on the current track, some analysts predict that India will overtake Germany as the worlds third-largest economy within three decades, and China will overtake the United States as number one by indenture. In China, per capita income has tripled in a generation, and leaders are building the infrastructure for decades of expansion, as reflected in the countrys hunger for raw materials. In 2005, China represented roughly 47 percent of the global cement consumption, 30 percent of coal, and 26 percent of crude steel. No one can predict the future, but it is clear that however things in India and China shake out, U. S. and other western firms have no choice but to pay attention. The global environment represents a complex, ever-changing and uneven playing field compared with the domestic environment. Managers who are used to thinking only about the domestic environment must learn new rules to remain competitive. The Environment And Corporate Culture Essay Example The Environment And Corporate Culture Paper Describe the general and task environments and the dimensions of each. 2. Explain the strategies managers use to help organizations adapt to an uncertain or turbulent environment. 3. Define corporate culture and give organizational examples. 4. Explain organizational symbols, stories, heroes, slogans, and ceremonies and their relationships to corporate culture. 5. Describe how corporate culture relates to the environment. 6. Define a cultural leader and explain the tools a cultural leader uses to create a high- performance culture. If you scored less than 5 you might want to start your career as a manager in a stable rather than unstable environment. A score of 5 or above suggests a higher level of mindfulness and a better fit for a new manager in an organization with an uncertain environment. In an organization in a highly uncertain environment everything seems to be changing. In that case, an important quality for a new manager is mindfulness, which includes the qualities of being open-minded and an independent thinker. In a stable environment, a manager with a closed mind may perform okay because much work can be done in the same old way. In an uncertain environment, even a new manager needs to facilitate new thinking, new ideas, and new ways of irking. A high score on the preceding items suggests higher mindfulness and a better fit with an uncertain environment. Environment Do you approach uncertainty with an open mind? Think back to how you thought or behaved during a time of uncertainty when you were in a formal or informal leadership position. Lease answer whether each Of the following items was Mostly True or Mostly False in that circumstance. 5. Asked dumb questions. 6. Always offered comments on the meaning of data or issues. 7. Expressed a controversial opinion to bosses and peers. 4 Organizing 8. Suggested ways of improving my ND others ways of doing things. The environments in which businesses operate are increasingly dynamic, requiring managers to be ready to react and respond to even su btle environmental shifts. Mantel was shaken when it learned that a Chinese subcontractor used lead paint while manufacturing its toys. We will write a custom essay sample on The Environment And Corporate Culture specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Environment And Corporate Culture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Environment And Corporate Culture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Because of the potential health hazard, Mantel recalled nearly 850,000 of its most popular toys;months before its holiday selling season. Not only did the recall frighten consumers, but it sparked a global debate about the safety of Chinese-made products. Mantel managers moved swiftly to reassure nervous arenas of its high safety standards in its Chinese factories. In addition, CEO Robert Cocker explained the recall to consumers on the companys Web site and announced steps Mantel was taking to prevent further recalls. Mantels prompt response, teamed with its long-standing history of successful manufacturing in China, led many independent analysts and watchdog groups to say that it may be the best role model for how to operate prudently in China. Mantel realized very early that they were always going to be in the corsairs of sensitivities about child labor and product safety, and they knew hey had to play it straight. Mantel was in China before China was cool, and they learned to do b usiness there in a good way, says M. Eric Johnson, a Dartmouth management professor. Environmental surprises, like the one Mantel faced in China, leave some managers unable to adapt their companies to new competition, shifting consumer interests, or new 5 Leading 6 Controlling 63 64 P AR T 2 T HE E ENVIRONMENT M MANAGEMENT technologies. The study of management traditionally focused on factors within the organization;a closed-systems view;such as leading, motivating, and controlling employees. The classical, behavioral, and management science schools described in Chapter 2 looked at internal aspects of organizations over which managers have direct control. These views are accurate but incomplete. To be effective, managers must monitor and respond to the environment;an open-systems view. The events that have the greatest impact on an organization typically originate in the external environment. In addition, globalization and worldwide societal turbulence affect companies in new ways, making the international environment of growing concern to managers ever »veer. This chapter explores in detail components of the external environment and how they affect the organization. The chapter also examines a major part of the organizations internal environment;corporate culture. Corporate culture is shaped by the external environment and is an important part Of the context within which managers do their jobs. THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT organizational environment n TTT All elements existing outside the organizations boundaries that have the potential to affect the or organ GA Anza Tioga Zion. General environment The layer off the la h external environment NT that that oaf affect effects TTS the or Aziza-CIO on India indirect erectly TTYL. 3. Location of the Organizations General, Task, and Internal Environments tat al Technological Task Suppliers aura l/ GA Management It Internal Employees Competitors Labor Market Customers So EXHIBIT The tremendous and far-reaching changes occurring in todays world can be understood by defining and examining components of the external environment. The external organizational environment includes all elements existing outside the boundary of the organization that have the potential to affect the organization. The environment includes competitors, resources, technology, and economic conditions that influence the organization. It does not include those events so far removed from the organization that their impact is not perceived. The organizations external environment can be further conceptualized as having two layers: general and task environments, as illustrated in Exhibit 3. 1. 5 The general environment is the outer layer that is widely dispersed and affects organizations Economics C HEAPER 3 T HE E ENVIRONMENT AND 65 C REPORTAGE C ULTRA task a environment The layer of the external environment hat directly influences the organ angina action Ions pope operate ration ions and and performance. Internal environment The environment that includes the elements within the organizations boundaries. International dimension Portion of the external environ-meet that represents events originating in foreign countries as well as opportunities for U. S s. Co Oman p ices in other countries. The general environment represents the outer layer of the environment. These dimensions influence the organization over time but often are not involved in day-to-day transactions with it. The dimensions Of he general environment include international, technological, coloratura, economic, legal-political, and natural. External nevi reorient represents events originating in foreign countries as well as opportunities for U. S. Companies in other countries. Note in Exhibit 3. 1 that the international dimension represents a context that influences all other aspects of the external environment. The international environment provides new competitors, customers, and suppliers and shapes social, technological, and economic trends as well. Today, every company has to compete on a global basis. High-quality, low-priced automobiles from Japan and Korea have permanently changed the American automobile industry. In cell phones and handheld, U. S. -based companies face stiff competition from Koreans Samsung, Fenlands Monika, and Twains High Tech Computer Corporation (ETC). For many IS S. Companies, such as Google, domestic markets have become saturated, and the only potential for growth lies overseas. Googles mission is to reach even the most far-flung corners of the globe by providing search results in more than 35 languages and a translation feature to users regardless of their native tongue. The most dramatic change in the international environment in recent years is the shift of economic power to China and India. Together, these countries have the population, brainpower, and dynamism to transform the O BEN MARMOT/ASSOCIATED PRESS International The international dimension of the The big idea behind fair trade is that you can actually make globalization work for the poor, says Paul Rice, founder and CEO of Transfix USA- Transfix is the only U. S. Organization authorized to grant the Fair Trade logo to products made from a growing list of crops, such as coffee, cocoa, and sugar, for which farmers in developing entries have been paid a fair price. The Oakland, California-based nonprofit is influencing the international dimension of todays business environment by helping increase the sales of fair trade products around the world. Rice says adhering to Transfix standards is just good business as the global environment grows increasingly important. Indirectly. It includes social, economic, legal/political, international, natural, and technological factors that influence all organizations about equally. Increases in the inflation rate or the percentage of dual-career couples in the Rockford are part of the organizations general environment. These events do not directly change day-to-day operations, but they do affect all organizations eventually. The task environment is closer to the organization and includes the sectors that conduct day-to-day transactions with the organization and directly influence its basic operations and performance. It is generally considered to include competitors, suppliers, customers, and the labor market. The organization also has an internal environment, which includes the elements within the organizations boundaries. The internal environment is composed of current employees, management, and especially corporate culture, which defines employee behavior in the internal environment and how well the organization will adapt to the external environment. Exhibit 3. 1 illustrates the relationship among the general, task, and internal environments. As an open system, the organization draws resources from the external environment and releases goods and services back to it. We will now discuss the two layers of the external environment in more detail. Then we will discuss corporate culture, the key element in the internal environment. Other aspects of the internal environment, such as structure and technology, will be covered in later chapters of this book. 66 global economy of the twenty-first century. If things continue on the current track, some analysts predict that India will overtake Germany as the worlds third-largest economy within three decades, and China will overtake the United States as number one by indictment. In China, per capita income has tripled in a generation, and leaders are building the infrastructure for decades of expansion, as reflected in the countrys hunger for raw materials. In 2005, China represented roughly 47 percent of the global cement consumption, 30 percent of coal, and 26 percent of crude steel. No one can predict the future, but it is clear that however things in India and China shake out, U. S. and other western firms have no choice but to pay attention. The global environment represents a complex, ever-changing and uneven playing field compared with the domestic environment. Managers who are used to thinking only about the domestic environment must learn new rules to remain competitive.