Interorganizational Governance and Global Strategy

Discuss about the Interorganizational Governance and Global Strategy.

Introduction

Business organizations all across the globe are looking to expand their business functions and operations. With the expansion of the business, the organizations can earn increased revenues and profits. It has become essential for the business units and companies to establish their name on the global front. Globalization is the process through which the business organizations develop interaction with each other in order to establish international influence. It is primarily an economic process that includes social and cultural aspects as well for maximization of the business operations at the global level (Nachum, 2012).

Technology has made it easy for the business units to make their mark globally. The organizations can make use of web and mobile applications along with social media platforms and networks for inter-connection with other business units and customers.

There are a number of business organizations in different industries all across the globe. With the presence of so many business units, there is a lot of competition among these organizations. It has become necessary for these units to expand their business functions and develop a name globally which can be done by expansion of the business.

With the expansion of the business units, locations and functions, there are a number of problems that have come up in front of the business units. Some of these problems include the difference in culture, knowledge gap present among the employees, difference in legal policies, procedures and timings (Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2017).

Information Technology and Systems have made it possible to overcome these issues and problems by providing a number of different tools and mechanisms.

Steps to Reduce the Gaps

There are a number of methods that can be followed by the organizations to reduce the various gaps that may be present between the different team members and associated stakeholders at different global locations.

• Cultural awareness shall be provided to the workforce in the organization at the offices present in all the locations. The employees shall be made aware about the cultural norms and policies through training sessions. The employees will be able to understand the viewpoints of employees located in different locations (Devinney, Mcgahan and Zollo, 2013).
• Every organization has a set of organizational goals and objectives that have been defined at the global level. The human resource policies that are followed in the organization shall be analyzed to make sure that the employee goals are mapped with the organizational goals at the global level.
• Communication is an effective mechanism that is necessary to be maintained across the organization. The business organizations must make use of enhanced methods of communication so that the employees are always aware about all the organizational decision, projects and methods being used. These communication procedures shall be standardized for all the offices in all the locations and the same shall be informed to all the employees (Zembylas, 2005).
• The team members must be able to have trust in the organizational policies and practices. There shall be local and global human resource management strategies that must be defined and there shall also be enhanced forms of discussions that shall take place between the employee and the manager.
• It would be essential to minimize the knowledge gap among the various employees. This gap will be reduced with the aid of professional and ethical trainings along with project specific trainings (Govindarajan and Ramamurti, 2011).

One of the most significant area that is associated in the projects is the legal norms and policies that are followed. There are several country specific legal norms and policies that are followed. Such local legal norms shall be mapped with a global legal procedure that shall be implemented all across the organization in all of its locations.

IT strategy for Globalization

There are a number technological tools and processes that are required to be used in the process of implementing and adapting globalization at the business units.

IT strategy is the set of processes that shall be followed for making use of IT for the development of the organization at the global front. It includes various elements of technology in the form of management of costs, human resources, vendors, software and hardware, employees and clients of the organization (Aguilera, 2011).

There are a number of tools that have been developed for the management of all of these units so that the organization can smoothly mark its name at the global front. It is also necessary to ensure that a strong IT leadership is set up in place with the execution of the IT strategy.

• The first choice includes making a direct entry to the global market which can be done by making use of the resources at the organization to build the products or services that will be offered to the clients.
• The second choice includes the establishment of the strategic alliance and relationships with the other firms.

Strategic alliance is defined as the business relationship that is developed between the two or more business organizations that work with each other to gain a collective advantage along with shared risk management, resource handling and information sharing (Lorenzi, 2008).

The preferred choice for most of the organizations is to make use of the second choice as it will block and eliminate the competitive threats. In this manner, it will become easier for the business units to establish its name in other global locations.

IT Tools for Globalization

Communication is an effective mechanism that is necessary to be maintained across the organization. The business units must make use of enhanced methods of communication so that the employees are always aware about all the organizational decision, projects and methods being used. These communication procedures shall be standardized for all the offices in all the locations and the same shall be informed to all the employees. There are tools that have been developed for enhanced communication that can be used by the business units.

Tele conferencing tools and applications can be used for enhancement of the interaction between the employees so that they may remain inter-connected at all times.

Email servers and gateways can be used for sharing of files and information among the internal and external stakeholders.

• Social media platforms and networks can be used for the sharing of information and for understanding the customer choices and preferences (Valls, 2016). The business units will be required to eliminate the competition by making sure that it offers the services that are in demand. This can be done with the aid of the information present in the social media platforms. These platforms will also allow the business executives to enhance the customer engagement and customer relationship.
• There are data analytics tools that have been created for the automated analysis of huge clusters of data and information. These data sets will be easily analyzed in terms of the market trends, customer details, employee needs etc. in association with the organization.
• Automated collaboration and translation tools can be used by the employees to bridge the language gaps. These tools will enhance the level of understanding associated with the employees.

Customer-Oriented Approach

Technology may also be used to make sure that the customers are always provided with the set of services and products that are desired and expected by them.

Customer-oriented approach will be required to be built up by the business organizations so that the customers are always satisfied. The following strategies and technological tools shall be followed by the organization (Al-Refaie, Li and Ko, 2012).

• Customer’s economics shall remain the prime focus of the organization and for all of its employees instead of the product’s economics.
• There shall be IT support and assistance teams that must be set up at a non-stop basis. These teams shall always remain available for the resolution of incidents and for providing assistance to the customers.
• Social media and data analytics tools shall be used for gaining information and details on the customer choices and preferences. The strategies and choices shall be developed accordingly.
• There are customer relationship management (CRM) tools that have been developed for automated implementation of the methods and strategies for enhancing customer engagement (La and Yi, 2015).

Benefits of Globalization for the Business Units

There are a number of benefits and advantages that will be offered by global ICT model for the business units. These set of benefits have been listed below.

• The organization will be able to enter in the new markets and will be able to enhance the customer base by establishing its business at the global level. This will lead to the enhancement of the revenues and profits (Roman and Manolica, 2017).
• The use of global ICT model and strategy will allow the business units to develop and implement better customer oriented solutions and strategies. These would allow the customers to have enhanced level of trust and engagement in the company which will lead to better customer relationships and increased customer base.
• Most of the industries are transforming at a rapid scale. There are newer business opportunities that are being created with each passing day. The organizations will be able to explore these opportunities with the aid of global ICT model (Thompson, 2007).
• There are a number of operational issues that are witnessed at the current set of business operations and functions. With the aid of global operational strategy, such issues will be prevented and avoided.
• Talent development will also be witnessed in the company with the implementation of global ICT strategy.
• The growth goals will be easy to be balanced along with the cost reduction.
• The brand value and brand name of the organization will be set up at the global level.
• There are a number of business firms and units that are present in the different industries and sectors. Globalization will allow the business unit to gain a competitive edge at the local as well as at the global level.

There are different methodologies that may be adapted for the implementation of global ICT strategies and decisions.

The methodology that shall be used and applied in the case of the expanding business shall be agile methodology for business development. Agile business model will make sure that an ad-hoc process is followed for the expansion of business at the global level and it will also be value based in nature.

The model will also be adaptable in nature. There may be scenarios wherein the organizational, employees and client requirements may change. The agile model will be able to handle all of these changes and will make sure that the implementation is quick and smooth (Loss and Crave, 2011).

There are no defined stages or phases that are present under this model. However, there shall be use of extensive planning before the decision of execution and implementation. The senior management must effectively monitor, control and evaluate the entire process.

Analysis of the market and competitors is also a significant step that shall be carried out. Customer and stakeholder feedback shall be collected at every stage so that the risks are minimized and the set of goals are achieved successfully (Accenture, 2017).

Business Practices to Support Expansion

There are certain business practices that must be followed and carried out at the business units to support the expansion process.

• Planning is an essential business activity and practice that must be carried out. This activity shall include the cash flow planning and management, risk assessment and management, communication planning and estimations of the expansion.
• The employees must be provided with the trainings and there must be a training cell that must be set up so that the employees stay up to date on the processes and methods to be applied.
• It is always necessary to look into enhanced business opportunities and functions. These opportunities shall be researched by the business and data analysts so that the customer base and the set of business operations is always expanded.
• Marketing and advertising is an essential activity that must be carried out at the business organizations. These marketing activities must include the use of different marketing mediums, such as social media marketing, tele media, print media etc.

Risks Associated with Globalization

• There may be legal obligations that may come up if a correct and suitable legal policy and set of norms are not followed. The management must make sure that a complete analysis in terms of legal norms to be applied is made in advance.
• There will be a number of changes that will be introduced with the implementation of global ICT strategy and model. Insufficient and ineffective handling of such changes may lead to drop in the efficiency and productivity levels of the employees. It would be necessary for the management to make sure that the change management plan is developed in advance and is implemented at the adequate intervals (OccupyTheory, 2017).
• Technological and security risks may also emerge as the expansion of the business operations may lead to the emergence of security loopholes and vulnerabilities. This may lead to the exposure of sensitive information to the unauthorized entities.
• Job security of the employees may be put at risk as there will be many changes at the operational and managerial levels. There may be revision of the roles and responsibilities that may be required to be done which may work in favor of certain employees and may go against a few.
• Ethical risks may also emerge as the employees may not comply with the ethical and professional codes of conduct. Also, the ethical practices that are followed in one country may be different from the ones applicable in the other. It would be necessary to define ethical standards and norms.
• There may be quality issues that may come up with non-adherence to the quality standards and practices.

Conclusions

Globalization is a process that has provided numerous benefits to the organizations and business firms all across the globe. However, in case of ineffective or inadequate implementation, there may be a number of disadvantages that may result out from the same.

There are a number of business organizations in different industries all across the globe. With the presence of so many business units, there is a lot of competition among these organizations. It has become necessary for these units to expand their business functions and develop a name globally which can be done by expansion of the business.

There are certain points that the business units shall follow to avoid the set of issues and to make sure that the global ICT model is successfully implemented. The first step shall include the use of excessive planning, strategy definition and decision making. These activities shall be based upon the information and data sets in terms of the market information, employee and customer details, stakeholder information and details from the legacy systems. There shall also be risk assessment and risk management policy that must be defined in advance so that the risks can be managed easily. Change management plan, communication plan along with training plan must also be defined so that the expansion process is successful and there are minimal risks involved.

References

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Roman, T. and Manolica, A. (2017). Globalization - Advantages and Disadvantages from the Perspective of the Manufacturer. [online] Ceeol.com. Available at: https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=249110 [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].

Thompson, R. (2007). Globalization and the benefits of trade. [online] Farmdoc.illinois.edu. Available at: http://farmdoc.illinois.edu/policy/research_reports/cflmarch2007_236.pdf [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].

Valls, J. (2016). Analysis of Social Media Platforms and their Potential Value for the Tourism Industry. [online] Citeseerx.ist.psu.edu. Available at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.454.9053&rep=rep1&type=pdf [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].

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