Culture in Ethical Leadership and HR Policy Order Instructions: Culture, ethical leadership, and HR policy. The HR leader can be seen as the ‘conscience’ of an organization, providing important moral and ethical leadership when the organization is confronted with difficult situations. In a diverse organization, such difficult situations can arise when individuals from different backgrounds and cultures come in close contact.
Culture in Ethical Leadership and HR Policy
Different groups can have differing notions of what constitutes ethical behavior, what is ‘fair’ and how to define the rights and responsibilities of employees. As you consider the role of HR policy in minimizing potential conflict within a diverse workforce, focus on the ethical dimension of HRM as an influence in policy development, and in anticipating and addressing differing ethical standards.
To prepare for this essay:
•Read the required files which sent by email.
•Critically evaluate and analysis of HR policy in managing a diverse workforce from the perspective of attention to ethical standards and norms
o Sharing a similar experience with or point of view on differing ethical standards as a potential source of conflict in a diverse work environment
o Recommending interventions that address ethical issues arising from the conflict in diverse organizations, including HR policy interventions (such as redesigning policy or changing the way it is implemented).
Culture in Ethical Leadership and HR Policy Sample Answer
Analysis of HR Policy in Managing a Diverse Workforce
The management of a diverse workforce in consideration of the ethical standards and norms of an organization focuses on a company’s initiative in maximizing the capacity of the employees in contributing to the ethical goals of the organization (Cooren, Kuhn, Cornelissen & Clark, 2011, pp.1146). Through an affirmative action in the implementation of HR policies directed towards managing diversity, an organization is in a position to incorporate the ethical necessities that address some of the unethical practices such as discrimination. HR policies, an organization can plan on initiating measurable ways that diversity can support the objectives, goals, strategic direction and the culture of an organization. This, therefore, builds an organizations diversity plan on the core values of respect for the dignity of other employees, credibility, trust, and integrity.
Contradictory Ethical Standards as a Source of Conflict in a Diverse Work Environment
Conflicts are inevitable in any human relationship, especially when individuals are committed to achieving a mission for a long period of time. It is, therefore, significant to ascertain that conflicts are likely to rise from the management of different perspectives that seem to be incompatible (McClure, 2012, pp.128). In consideration of this, conflicts are subject to arise from contradictory ethical standards since this would involve incompatible preferences, practices, and principles that employees believe such as ethics, political views, and religion.
This exchange may be considered as unhealthy especially in the event that no ideas are exchanged, a factor that may result in employee turnovers, increased work stresses, several litigations that are directed towards claims of hostility within the work environment (Armstrong, 2014, pp.8). An instance of this can be depicted in a case where an employee is raised in a community that believes when an individual folds the sleeves of his shirt it would mean disrespect or readiness to fight. Within a work environment, a worker may choose to fold the sleeves of his shirt with a different objective, a factor that would result in a conflict between the workers.
Recommending Interventions on Addressing Ethical Issues
In handling and addressing some of the ethical issues that arise from conflicts in a diverse workforce, organizations and management teams need to develop and implement workplace policies based on their company’s philosophies, code of conduct and mission statement (Bamberger, Biron, & Meshoulam, 2014, pp.65). These policies consequently need to be incorporated into the performance management programs with the aim of holding the workforce accountable for their actions. This, therefore, ensures that they are aware of the responsibilities that follow them in upholding professional standards within their job areas and the manner in which they interact with their subordinates and peers.
On the other hand, it is significant that organizations ensure workplace ethics training is conducted on the employees through the use of varied instructional approaches that ensure the employees’ are engaged in the learning process in resolving ethical dilemmas (Marchington, & Suter, 2012, pp.287). On the other hand, an organization may designate on Ombudsperson who is equipped in handling the conflicts that arise within an organization. In addition to this, an organization also needs to have an ethics hotline that allows employees to access confidential services in events where they may not share their workplace dilemmas with the managers.
Lastly, an organization may also consider applying its own workplace policy in a consistent manner while addressing some of the conflicts that arise within the work environment in relation to work ethics (Wright, 2014, pp.145). Communicating these expectations among the employees is additionally essential since this builds a collective commitment between the workers in managing some of the conflicts they encounter.
Culture in Ethical Leadership and HR Policy References
Armstrong, M. 2014 “Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice”, 13th ed. London: Kogan Page pp.12
Bamberger, P., Biron, M. & Meshoulam, I. 2014.” Human resource strategy: formulation, implementation, and impact”, 2nd ed. London: Routledge
Cooren, F., Kuhn, T., Cornelissen, J. & Clark, T. 2011. “Communication, organizing, and organization”. An introduction to the special issue. Organization Studies, 32(9), 1149-1170. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/017084061141083
Marchington, M. & Suter, J. 2012 “Where informality really matters: Patterns of employee involvement and participation in a non-union firm” Industrial Relations 52 (1) pp. 284-313
McClure, L. 2012. Anger and conflict in the workplace: spot the signs, avoid the trauma. Manassas Park, VA: Impact Publications pp.123-165. doi:10.1177/1350508414533165
Wright, A., 2014. “Organizational routines as embodied performatives”: A communication as constitutive of organization perspective, Organization, 7.pp.140-154 doi:10.1177/1350508414533165
An Impact of Cultural Diversity on Managing Projects Order Instructions: Respond with your own thoughts to this article in an edited, 3-paragraph, formal academic peer review.
An Impact of Cultural Diversity on Managing Projects
At a minimum, be sure to include the following elements:
• Assess the conceptualization, analysis, and synthesis of key research concepts presented.
• Evaluate the extent to which the writer has addressed the elements from the Learning Objectives from this two-week pair.
• Does the presentation provide a cohesive summary of the assigned concepts with an effective evaluation of their implications for project management?
• Did the writer provide a meaningful academic argument or interpretation that demonstrated fluency with the material?
• Incorporate relevant scholarly resources in your posting.
An Impact of Cultural Diversity on Managing Projects Sample Answer
Response to the article: The Impact of Cultural Diversity on Managing Projects
In this article, the writer provides an exhaustive evaluation of how the corporate culture of an organization impacts social change, project management, business as well as diversity management within the organization. The author has also given quite a few suggestions for changing a company’s corporate culture. On the whole, the presentation of the writer provides a cohesive summary of the assigned concepts with an effective evaluation of their implications for project management. For instance, the writer has rightly pointed out that the ability of a business organization to perform well depends on its culture. This is accurate as researchers have stated that successful organizations tend to have a culture that places high priority to learning and encourages inclusive decision-making (Carleton, Cockayne & Sawatan, 2015).
The writer of this article has provided a meaningful academic argument/interpretation which demonstrates fluency with the material. For instance, he clearly asserted that project managers who lead multi-cultural project teams need to apply flexible leadership styles and promote creativity as well as cultural sensitivity. This is important considering that having project team members who are from diverse cultures, for instance from Western and non-Western cultures, could actually bring challenges in training, motivating and even managing the team members. As such, it is important for the project manager to acknowledge the values, beliefs, and norms of members from diverse cultures as this will ensure effective management of the project and successful project completion (Bouten-Pinto, 2016).
The writer has also discussed why cultural diversity in an organization should be managed effectively. For instance, the writer has stated that when cultural diversity is managed well, an organization can be able to enjoy a number of benefits such as improved monetary gains, improved competitive advantage in the marketplace, and employee satisfaction and commitment will improve. To add on this, Martinez et al. (2015) noted that proper cultural diversity management would result in a strong relationship with multicultural communities, and the company will be able to hire and retain top, competent people.
An Impact of Cultural Diversity on Managing Projects References
Bouten-Pinto, C. (2016). “Reflexivity in managing diversity: a pre-academic perspective”, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An International Journal, 35, 136 – 153
Carleton, T., Cockayne, W., & Sawatan, Y. (2015). Changing the culture of R&D. Research Technology Management, 58(3), 9-10
Martinez, E. A., Beaulieu, N., Gibbons, R., Pronovost, P., & Wang, T. (2015). Organizational Culture and Performance. American Economic Review, 105(5), 331-335. doi: 10.1257/aer.105.5.331
Microeconomics Coursework Portfolio Questions Order Instructions: This is my microeconomics coursework portfolio questions.
Microeconomics Coursework Portfolio Questions
Where we have to answer the questions correctly. This is a total of 40% of my final grade so please make sure the answers are direct and get right to the point. It doesn’t have to be in an essay format, simply place the answer below the question.
The equilibrium price is stable because the quantity demanded is relatively equal to the quantity supplied, which significantly minimizes price fluctuations.
Assuming the potato is an inferior good; analyze the effect of a rise in national income on the equilibrium price and quantity of potatoes. Now analyze the effect on the potato market of a plague of carbohydrate-loving potato locusts.
Since potato is an inferior good, a rise in national income will shift the equilibrium price and quantity of potatoes to the left because the increased purchasing power will make consumers to move to other superior alternatives thereby decreasing the demand for potatoes as well as the prices. On the other hand, a plague of carbohydrate-loving potato locusts will shift the equilibrium price and quantity of potatoes to the right because it will result to a decline in the supply of potatoes to the market, which will, in turn, increase the demand for the potatoes and consequently an increase in the prices.
Use the supply and demand model to discuss the economic effects of :
Setting minimum wages for low paid workers;
Setting minimum wages for low paid workers results in increased labor costs, this subsequently leads to increased good prices and consequently a decrease in demand.
Setting maximum rents for private accommodation, and This ensures that the prices for private accommodation are regulated and always at or below maximum margin, which increases demand for the accommodation.
Levying an indirect tax on the sale of a product.
Levying an indirect tax increases the price of a product subsequently leading to decreased demand.
Giving a production subsidy
Production subsidy increases quantity supplied in turn leading to a reduction in the prices of products, but often without losses to producers because of reduced cost of production attributable to the subsidy.
3.**portfolio question** Explain carefully what is meant by consumer surplus. What happens to consumer surplus when price increases?
Consumer surplus is referred to as the economic measure used in determining consumer satisfaction, and its calculation is done through analysis of the difference between the price a consumer is willing to pay for a service or good relative to the market price of that service or good. This means that consumer surplus is only felt when there is a willingness of the consumer to pay more for a certain service or product that its prevailing market price. An increase in the market price of a product or service either reduces consumer surplus or when the increase in price is significant the consumer is lost altogether.
4**portfolio question** Carefully explain the meaning, derivation, and properties of indifference curves and budget lines. Use indifference analysis to show how a rational consumer maximizes his/her utility from a given income.
Indifference curves are a method used to illustrate the tastes and preferences of consumers, while a budget line is used to indicate the extent of income allocated by a consumer to goods and services. Derivation of indifference curves is based on preference and tastes of consumers, wherein the figure is shown below in which point a is preferable to point c, and point b is preferable to point a. However, when a is preferable to d but is preferable to a, then there is movement from point d toe, and it is advisable to align to more preferred combinations rather than less preferred ones. Thus, by doing so we connect all the points to obtain the indifference curves illustrated in the figure below:
The indifference curves for pens and books are derived by taking any combinations that fall along curve I1 for pens and books yielding similar level of utility as any other combination on that curve. This means that the consumer is indifferent among them, and through extension, any curve I2 combinations will be preferable to any curve I1 combinations as shown below:
The three main properties of indifference curves include: 1) higher indifference curves are a representation of higher satisfaction levels; 2) there is a negative sloping of indifference curves and they tend to bow towards the origin; and 3) it is impossible for indifference curves to cross.
A rational consumer can use indifference curves to maximize utility by consuming at the point where her budget line is tangent to an indifference curve. At this point, the consumer chooses to point a, where her budget line just touches indifference curve I1.
5**portfolio question** Derive the price consumption curve. Why does a change in the price of good affect the consumption of another good?
From the budget line and indifference curves shown below, it is possible to derive the price consumption curve.
For instance, changes in the price of pens shift the budget line of consumers from B1P1 to B1P2 in the above figure, leading changes in the consumer equilibrium point from a to c. As a result, a plot of the demand curve for pens gives the equilibrium quantity of pens at various prices. This is the price consumption curve and is illustrated in the figure below:
A change in the price of good affects the consumption of another good if they are substitutes, whereby an increase in the price of one substitute increases consumption of its replacement while a decrease in the price of a substitute product decreases the consumption of its replacement.
Seminar 5
The output of good X
Fill the gaps
Number of workers
Total Product
Average Productivity of Labour
Marginal Productivity of Labour
1
200
200
200
2
600
300
400
3
960
320
360
4
1120
280
160
5
1200
240
80
6
1200
200
0
A plot of the TP, AP & MP
Firm’s cost of production
Fill the gaps
Quantity Produced
Total Cost
Average Total Cost
Average Variable Cost
Average Fixed Cost
Marginal Cost
1
10
10
2
8
6
2
16
8
4
4
2
3
18
6
3.33
2.67
10
4
28
7
5
2
17
5
45
15
13.4
1.6
21
6
66
11
9.67
1.33
11
A plot of the data
All the costs except the total cost tend to increase within productivity, but at higher productivity levels they begin to decrease. All average costs tend to behave the same across different productivity levels.
What do we mean by Scale Economies? Why is a firm’s long-run average cost curve sometimes taken to be U-shaped?
Scale Economies are referred to as the cost benefits that ensue from increased production output in a firm and often result in a reduction in variable costs per unit due to operational synergies and efficiencies. The reason why a firm’s long-run average cost curve is sometimes taken to be U-shaped is because initially, the costs are high then they start to gradually to gradually up to a point where they no longer reduce and then begin to rise up to to a point they are equal to the beginning costs to form a U-shape.
Seminar 6
Define perfect competition. How realistic do you consider the assumptions behind the perfect competition model to be?
Perfect competition is a market structure where no particular participant(s) are large enough to assume the power of setting the price for a product that is homogeneous. The assumptions behind the perfect competition model are not realistic because it is usually very hard to find perfect knowledge among consumers as well as perfect entry and exit from industry freedom.
Demonstrate, with the use of appropriate diagrams, the profit-maximizing equilibrium of a perfectly competitive firm.
In this scenario, the firm has to concentrate on market supply and demand curves to establish its appropriate mix because it has little influence on the market. This is achievable through the diagrams shown below:
Perfectly competitive firms can never make supernormal profits. Is this true?
This is not true because in short-run perfectly competitive firms can make supernormal profits before many other firms are attracted into the industry and profits begin declining.
Seminar 7
What do you understand by ‘monopoly’? Show how a monopolist sets a profit-maximizing output, and explain why this equilibrium may be a stable one in more than the short-run.
This is a market structure where a single company or group controls nearly all or all the market for a certain type of service or product. Monopolist sets a profit-maximizing output through the equilibrium shown below:
Explain, giving examples, the circumstance under which price discrimination is likely to occur.
The first circumstance is when consumer profit is transferred to producers by charging varied prices from different groups for other purposes other than transportation costs. For example, higher telephone charges during hours of business since the need to use the phone by businessmen is high during business hours and the cost is not a priority, while the same phone charges are low at evening so that ordinary people are also encouraged to make calls.
‘Monopoly is always against the public interest and should be curbed by the state.’ Do you agree?
I do not agree with this since due to the market situation’s complexity, it is not possible for monopolies to always be against the public interest despite its few negative sides.
Discuss the principal features of the ‘kinked demand curve’ model of oligopoly.
The kinked demand curve model is based on the assumption that there is a potential for business products facing a dual demand curve on basis of the possible reactions of other firms to variations in the business prices or any other variable. The principal features are that: significant price increases without other companies following suit leads to significant substitution and reduction in prices alongside reduction by other companies may not produce considerable effects.
2.**portfolio question** Discuss the meaning importance of a) income elasticity of demand, and b) cross elasticity of demand
Income elasticity of demand describes the quantity demanded where luxury goods are considered, which are highly sensitive to income changes. Negative income elasticity of demand is observed for inferior goods where the quantity demanded falls with rising income.
Cross elasticity of demand is used in measuring the quantity demanded responsiveness with regards to a particular good if changes in price occur in another good. This is important in determining the effects of substitutes on the market.
3.**portfolio question** Examine the effect of taxing smoking on the equilibrium price and quantity of cigarettes? Why is the price elasticity of demand a useful concept in this case? Is it true that government tax smoking solely in order to improve our health?
Taxing smoking does not have a significant shift or movement on the equilibrium price and quantity of cigarettes because its demand is not as elastic as those of other products. However, some extent of a reduction in demanded quantity is experienced since high prices discourage new smokers, relapse of those had quit smoking, and also some smokers quit. The usefulness of elasticity of demand is to determine the quantities of cigarettes to be produced per stipulated period of time and also set prices for the cigarettes. It is not really true that government tax smoking solely in order to improve our health, but also to raise revenues to fund its activities.
2.**portfolio question** What might be the main determinants of the market demand of the following products?
larger beer; b. holidays abroad; c. sports cars; and d. spaghetti
The main market demand determinants for the above products include the price of the commodity per unit, tastes and preferences of a household or individual, as well as the prices and substitutes nature.
3**portfolio question** What is the key difference between a change in price and a change in any other factor affecting demand on the demand curve?
The key difference is that a change in price results to a movement or shift along the demand curve.
Write a 12- to 20-page paper that addresses relevant theories and empirical research, leading to a significant research topic, problem, and research question . Approach your topic by providing an academic argument that would support a deeper understanding of the relationship between transaction cost and principal-agent theory and optimal managerial accounting systems design in a multinational enterprise setting. You do not have to actually design a study to the point of specifying research measures of effective multinational managerial accounting practices or specify samples, but try to evolve your thinking to the point of framing a relevant research topic, problem, and question on which your proposed research would be focused.
This question should be complete enough to suggest the development of an important theory, address a gap in a current model, or demonstrate an immediate application for solving common organizational problems. Rather than attempting to include as many references as possible, try to emphasize the logical coherence of your evidence of conceptual foundations. Build an academic argument for why your research problem and question are important. An obvious extension of your paper would be to use it as a springboard for a doctoral proposal. Your paper could also be useful for potential use in the development of Chapter 2 of your Proposal and Doctoral Study Completion.
Your Final Paper should adhere to APA format (6th edition), which requires a title page, a reference list, and appropriate sections and their headings; and include the following elements:
•A thorough review of the literature (minimum of 20 resources) that shows evidence of a potential research opportunity/gap that has not been discussed in the academic literature.
•A draft problem statement.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Introduction
Culture can be defined in relation to accounting procedures as the communal encoding of mind which differentiates a group of people from another. Culture puts into consideration factors such as the groups beliefs, morals, their background knowledge, the groups laws and customs, and any other abilities and habits that individuals from that particular society posses. Some of these cultural elements have been known to have a great influence on the labor circumstances of many organizations and business institutions. Accounting procedures are structured set of handbook and programmed accounting techniques, systems and control methods that are introduced to collect, record, analyze, and present financial information to guide in decision making processes. Several theories have been used to illustrate the relationship and interconnections between cultural values and accounting procedures. The theories can be categorized into two large groups which are economical and sociological approaches. Economical theories includes; principle agent theory, transaction cost theory and managerial accounting system design approach. Accounting systems may include; internal and external tax accounting and expense accounting procedures. Cultural behaviors have influenced the operations of businesses globally.
Problem Statement
Cultural values have not been completely embraced by many organizations in their financial and accounting systems. Business organizations need to incorporate important cultural values that will influence accounting procedures positively. Professionalism of individuals needs to be given priority when it comes to making decisions. Organizations have to create room for independent expert judgments by individuals with enough knowledge on the subject matter. Their decision must be respected as long as they adhere to the set legislations that govern accounting procedures and at the same time the judgments they make should promote fairness to all workers ( Gregg, 2005). Cultural knowledge need to be used more in businesses since it provides valuable cultural information that can influence the making and implementation of more informed decisions.
Businesses will need to employ accounting secrecy and transparency to limit the disclosure of valuable financial information to competitors. Professional individuals must therefore create assurance for the security of any important financial information that may be used by competitors to their advantage. At the same time, transparency and accountability need to be practiced in the accounting and financing systems to avoid cases of a business losing money for individual gains. Certain cultural beliefs and some set code of ethics promote transparency since they prohibit individuals from certain societal backgrounds from activities that may discredit them in providing financial results that lack accountability (Rand, 2006). Therefore, organizations need to employ workers with cultural values that promote accountability and transparency in the financial systems. There is need for all businesses to ensure transparency and accountability in all its departments which can be achieved more efficiently by embracing set societal beliefs and morals. Both the managers and stakeholder should be in the forefront to in making sure that transparency and accountability is observed among all workers. They should be the role models to all other employees.
Organizations also need to employ conservatism which is one of the most ancient ways of valuing accounting procedures. The concept can be associated with uncertainty- avoidance aspect which tries to avoid the uncertain outcomes in the future. Conservative measures need to be taken that will help in the adapting of careful measures that will deal with uncertain results happening in the future. A company that values its cultural conservatism highly is in most cases able to predict future outcomes thus avoiding occurrence of uncertain events in the future. An organization may opt for a lesser conservative theory to achieve consistency with short- term goals since the expected results are attained within their estimated time. Furthermore, this approach is more optimistic when adopted where the organization is trying to conserve its resources and investing these resources to achieve their long- term goals (Newing, 1995). This is clearly shown when determining the total value of the business. In addition, the approach has tried to outline how various cultural values such as good behavior and customs can be used within an organization to facilitate good accounting and financial systems.
Effect of cultural values and societal rule on accounting procedures
Written laws which can include societal rules need to be incorporated in the structural working of organizations to achieve uniformity in accounting and financial systems. Individualism is an aspect where culture has influenced both accounting and financial systems greatly, since it motivates individual performance towards realization of goals of an organization. Further, this aspect has increased individual contribution towards the teams that runs various departments (Khan, 2002). Furthermore, an organization that chooses a more uniform financial and accounting theory, it is associated greatly with avoiding incidences of uncertainty. This has resulted to a lot of concern in matters pertaining laws and regulations which have forced these bodies to come up with strict code of ethics that monitors accounting and financial systems in any business organization. These codes of ethics should go hand in hand with cultural morals that must be adhered to by all individuals. The organization also has role of ensuring that all set regulations of the firm must be followed to the letter without favors. For any business to be successful in the future consideration of individualism must be given more weight and priority since personnel’s with high cultural values will be more committed towards working with the sets regulations (Becker, 1991).
Economic theories of organizations control, makes the assumption that the firm is a lawful body that is composed of the manufacturing procedures whose information is accessible by other organizations. Executives are responsible for choosing a certain manufacturing process and provide a suitable environment for maximization of the present and the future revenues. In addition, it is also the responsibility of the managers and stakeholders to offer all required material and financial resources and also equip employees with required skills by offering training courses (Anthony, 2001). Economic theories that have been discussed to help managers in business operations include; the principle agent theory, the transaction cost theory and the management accounting system design. The three theories all focuses on profit maximization where executives, workers, stakeholders and accounting controllers works together to achieve the organizations common goal of increasing the firms total output. Economic theories should always try to adapt to mechanisms that describes the organization. On the other hand, non- economic approaches need to work towards filling the existing gap and expound on the firms’ knowledge behavior (Mullins, 2002).
There has been concern on whether principal agent theory helps in understanding the concept of profit maximization by the management. The approach refers to a point where the owners of the business are interested in capitalizing on profit or are concerned in functions that add value to their enterprise. The theory is also referred to as principle agent problem, since senior staffs may exploit subordinate staffs by for instance, installing financial programs that these junior staffs do not have skills to operate. On the other hand, managers, concentrates on exploiting the available resources that include their salary and money to maximize on profit which is the main functions of their business (Warren, 2005). As managers tries to maximize on profits, it results to an argument of concern on how managers should be controlled in the way they should run their commerce and at the same time do their best to capitalize on the state of ownership. For example, managers must consult investors on a certain decision before implementing so as to get the approval of the stakeholders. This facilitates effective decision making and implementation, since there thorough research on matters of concern and enough consultation is conducted before making a conclusive and final decision ( Harrison, 2004).
Despite managerial power system in relation to organizational activities not encouraging executives to express their open behavior, stakeholder do not have much information on managers day to day activities and the available information on profits. Ownership can therefore not force the management to work towards achieving the companies’ objectives by just highlighting the objective purpose. The solution to this is to design an efficient scheme that aligns the objectives of the stakeholder and those of the management (Whiting, 1986). The scheme will tend to carry more weight on the objectives of the managers in comparison to those of the stakeholders. On the contrary, despite the approach trying to close on the gap within organizations, it faces a problem in that executive tend to utilize their power to enforce rules that may oppress the subordinates. For instance, the manager may authorize the purchase of an expensive machine for production to favor the seller while on the other hand; the manager is oppressing the subordinates who do not understand how to operate the machines. It can be seen that the theory helps managers to maximize on profits as the management is given freedom to exploit resources at their disposal without stakeholders’ interruption. Further, the manager is given the mandate to set the rules and goals of an organization in order to maximize on profits (Bryan, 1999).
Effect of social cultural factors on profit maximization
Social cultural factors also influence the extent to which are managers able to maximize on profits from signing the right contracts which are cheaper compared to their market price. According to the transaction cost theory, a firms’ existence is validated by the ability of the entrepreneur to agree on contracts at lower price than the market price which can be negotiated. The number of contracts that can be negotiated within the firm is always less than the number outside. The contract should only state the power limits of the entrepreneurs and the details of the contract should only be defined after the two parties have agreed on all matters. Due to this, there is a possibility of the firm emerging in cases where short term agreements are not satisfactory. Further, the approach would be seen as the expense incurred while trying to cater for goods by purchasing from the market instead of the organization providing from within. In addition, many organization tend to provide for their needs from within which allows the organization to save more on production cost, thus maximizing on the total income generated (Laffont, 2002).
According to this theory, the control of an organization is related to the control that the firm has over the marketing expenses. In addition, the theory claims that issues relating to organizations details play a vital role in defining the firms’ nature which is determined by the optimal production of available workers which is most likely promoted by the already existing inputs within the firm (Gebert, 2014). In fact, resources with lesser value are priced at a lower cost since they can only generate products with lesser value, whereas, resources of high value are priced at a higher cost due to the high profit incomes that they generate. The approach faces a problem where, before managers undertake any transaction in the market, they have to know who are the willing seller/ buyer in order to initiate a bargain to get into contract and to conduct an inspection required to ascertain the validity o the contract. The long processes involved in acquiring of industrial goods and services delays production by an organization since a lot of time is consumed/ lost between the time of identifying the needed resource and the time of acquiring the good. In addition, time may be also lost as the managers tries to fulfill legal procedures that are required for acquisition and installation of equipment (Flamholtz, 1996).
According to the theory, it can be seen that market prices determines the interactions between organizations. Furthermore, managers are responsible for making and implementing business set rules. For example, when a manager wants to purchase a machine that will be used in production department, he first of all consults an expert, then finds a willing seller, bargains, signs contract and finally makes the purchase (Chandler, 1992). The approach involves three types of costs which are, “search and information cost “,”bargain and decision costs” and “policing and enforcement cost”. Without taking into consideration the transaction cost, managers will not understand well how the economic system work therefore making it hard to implement economic policies. The theory proves that managers are able to strike the right deals when they agree contracts before going to the market to strike at a market price.
Effect of team work and organization culture on profit maximization
In the current business world, most organizations are using accounting and financial data in making critical decisions which in most cases is provided by management agents and controllers. The only question in this is whether the agents and the controllers have different perceptions with the managers on variable designs and the output quality (Chenhall, 2003). Therefore, there is a need for the integration of the accounting controllers and the management involved in the decision making which would result in a consistent accounting language which benefits both the manager and the controllers.
The controllers do not seem to understand how vital their work relies on business success since they provide intangible and harmonizing information to the management. Therefore there exists a gap between the accounting controllers and the executives concerning on how to put into use the financial information. By providing information that promotes the growth of the organization, they improve their position as business consultants thus gaining highly influential positions within the enterprise. On the other hand, managers must be transparent on the type of details they require and use while the controllers should not see themselves as specialists but instead be just like any other employee with the aim of realizing the organizations set targets (Sautet, 2000). Further, when both mangers and controllers agree to examine the policy that runs the business together, they tend to understand the matters concerning the social- economic factors m, thus leading to faster goal achievement of the organization within a short time. In addition, managerial designs have assisted managers in maximizing on profits as decisions made by the two parties, when they work as a team, are implemented as agreed. When both the managers and the accounting controllers work together, it can be seen from the approach that there is quick goal achievement and higher profit maximization.
The above three discussed approaches do interrelate as all are aimed at realizing the long term profit maximization of the firm. First, Principal Agent theory illustrate on a scheme that is aimed at having the management and the stakeholders aligning their objectives so as make and implement efficient decisions that will enhance overall productivity. Though the senior staffs have a higher hand of determining the best course since they understand better the business environment, they still need to consult the investors. The transaction cost theory explains on how managers need to give priority to contracts that can be implemented at lower costs than the market price. The management there focuses on resources that can be acquired at a cheaper cost but at the end yield more products which can generate more incomes. Lastly, the managerial accounting system design like the other two approaches focuses on making decisions that are aimed at maximizing the firms’ profits (Radebaugh, 2005). The theory tries to integrate the company’s management with the accounting controllers so as to enhance the making of more informed decisions that would increase the firms’ total revenue. The three theories therefore summarize the role of different firm organs and departments in the realization of the goals of an organization which are to increase the total income revenue.
Sociological theories of organizational control are approaches that try to describe managerial behavior by stressing on main affinity of teams. Sociologists do not concentrate more on understanding individuals’ psychology and how they interact with others but emphasize more on group interactions. According to the theory, managerial control is executed by set laws, policies and the chain of command (Klewes, 2008). Further, the sociological approach has been described using several other theories that include; functionalism, general system theory approach, contingency theory and theory of bureaucracy.
The theory of functionalism is based on the hypothesis that the social world has a strong, genuine continuation, and an orderly trait oriented to come up with a structured and maintained state affairs. The theory has been applied in social sciences and how they relate to the business world. According to the approach, the organization can be approached in two dimensions; from an internal view and an external perspective. The internal view distinguishes the managerial, the technical and the institutional level. The managerial section takes part in the administration section of the organization (Chenhall, 1990). The technical level focuses on the activities involving practical work. The institutional part has to make sure that the objectives of the company are at par with the social goals.
The second approach is the General system theory approach studies an organization as a program of parts interconnected to each other but each specialized to perform a specific task towards achieving the goals of the organization. Further, the theory explains the common principles and regulations that an organization operates under. The principles must be in agreement with the cultural norms of the involved communal groups. In addition to this, environmental laws must also be adhered to regardless of the firms’ laws and regulations. The cultural values of the society will therefore play a bigger role on the organization during its making of financial and accounting decisions (Bryan, 1999).
Another approach that is used by sociologists is the contingency theory which argues that, individuals cannot be expected to just follow set gestures unless they can respond to own worth and interest. The theory therefore recognizes enabling factors that facilitates capacity building within the firm. Capacity building in an organization can be limited by business environmental factors which always need to be addressed so as to enhance business productivity. Organizations variables have to match with environmental traits so as to ensure an excellent working condition (Klewes, 2008). In addition, the approach also shows that the most successful firms are connected with administrative practices which best matches environmental circumstances with the techniques used for production.
The last approach is the theory of bureaucracy which is based on the official area of jurisdiction, the hierarchy of command, written agreement, training of the office management, the capacity of the employees and lastly the general rules by the management. In addition, the theory emphasizes on the rule of law which focuses on all formal structures of the firm. All employees have equal rights as does the consumers. All customers have to be provided with equal services regardless of their cultural beliefs, morals and the principles that monitor and maintain their behaviors (Radebaugh, 2005).
In conclusion, the impact of cultural values on accounting procedures can be seen clearly in the context. Various theories that include; principle agent theory, transaction cost theory and managerial accounting system design approach have all tried to explain the success of organizations based on how managers makes and implements decisions. Further, sociological theories, such as, functionalism, general system theory approach, contingency theory and theory of bureaucracy have also been used by scholars to explain how cultural values influences financial systems in a business. Cultural values that influences these accounting procedures includes; cultural beliefs, morals, individual habits and the customs of the groups. The above approaches have successfully been able to solve the gap that exists in many business organizations. Further, the study explains more on cultural behaviors which includes; professionalism, secrecy and transparency, conservatism and individualism. These concepts illustrates how cultural values affects the accounting systems and designs
References
Gregg, G. S (2005). The Middle East. A cultural psychology. Oxford; Oxford University Press
Radebaugh, L. H., & Gray, S. J. (1997). International accounting and multinational
enterprises. New York; John Wiley & sons.
Khan, A., & Hildreth, W. B. (2002). Burdget theory in the public sector. Westport,
Conn: Quuorum Books.
Becker, R., & burmeister, E. (1991). Growth theory. Aldershot, Hants, England; E. Elgar.
McChail, K (2013). Accounting ethics
Rand, S, Kouris, H, & Apex Art ( Galley) (2006). On cultural influence Collection papers
fro Apexart international conferences 1999-2006. New York Apexart
Laffont, J-J, & Martimort, D. (2002). The theory of incentives: The principal- agent
model. Princenton, N. J: Princenton University Press
Chandler AD Jr (1992). Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of the
American industrial enterprise. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Anthony, R. N., & Govindarajan, V. (2001). Management control systems. Boston
Marchant, K. A., (2012). Management control systems; Performance measurement,
evaluationand incentives. Harlow, England
Chenhall R. (1990). Financial and accounting systems .Boston, MA; Auerbach
Gebert, K. (2014). Performance control in buyer- supplier- relationship; the design and use
of formal management control systems. Wiesbaden; Springer Gabler.
Newing, R, & Ring, T. (1995). Financial and accounting systems. Chorleywood;
Prime marketing.
Harrison, W. T, & Horngen, C. T. (2004). Financial accounting. Upper Saddle River,
N J; Prentice Hall.
Chenhall, R.H,. (2003). Management control system design within its organizational context:
Warren, C. S, & Fess, P. E. (2005). Financial accounting. Mason, Ohio; Thomson/
South- Western.
Whiting, E. (1986). A guide to business performance measurement. London ; Macmillan.
Flamholtz, E. G. (1996). Effective organizational control. A framework, applications, and
implications.
Sautet, Fa. E. (2000). An entrepreneurial theory of the firm. London; Routledge
Mullins, L. J. (2002). Management and organizational behavior. Harlow; Financial
Times Prentice Hall.
Bryan, L. L. (1999). Race for the world. Strategies to build a greater global firm. Boston,
Article on Innovation and Organization Culture Order Instructions: The writer will have to read each of this articles and react to them by commenting, analyzing and supporting with relevant articles.
Article on Innovation and Organization Culture
The writer will have to read carefully before giving constructive comments on the article. The writer should write a one paragraph of at least 150 words criticizing and offering constructive feedbacks and not just rephrasing the writers work but offering alternatives or acknowledging the writers work. APA and in text citation must be use as each respond to the two articles must have in text citations. The writer will have to use pear review articles to supports his comments in each of the article. Address the content of each article below in a one paragraph each, analysis and evaluation of the topic, as well as the integration of relevant resources.
Article on Innovation and Organization Culture Sample Answer
This article clearly explains the meaning of innovation and organization culture. The author also went ahead to account for the importance of innovation in an organization setting such as to improve competition and to enhance the acceptability in the market. Be as it may, organization culture refers to organization beliefs, practices, and values which are combined to differentiate an organization from others (Büschgens et al., 2013). The writer has done an excellent job in clearly defining and citing the meaning of organization culture. Similarly, the author can clearly identify the relationship between organization culture and innovation.
The author is also able to show clearly the importance of organization leaders in encouraging innovations. The importance of putting systems, technology, and the requisite conditions that provide transparency and promote innovation (Uzkurt et al., 2013). The writer is also able to clearly articulate and explain the importance of effective management of an innovative project. The paper also gives ways in which project manager should manage innovative projects. In conclusion, innovation is important to organization success. The organization culture is important as it sets an environment for the success of innovation.
Article on Innovation and Organization Culture References
Büschgens, T., Bausch, A., & Balkin, D. B. (2013). Organizational Culture and Innovation: A Meta‐Analytic Review. Journal of product innovation management, 30(4), 763-781.
Uzkurt, C., Kumar, R., Semih Kimzan, H., & Eminoglu, G. (2013). Role of innovation in the relationship between organizational culture and firm performance: A study of the banking sector in Turkey. European Journal of innovation management, 16(1), 92-117.
Innovation and Organizational Culture Order Instructions: Innovation and Organizational Culture
Innovation and Organizational Culture
The importance of innovative thinking is stressed in much of your Required Resources this week. So, one would naturally assume that innovative thinking is highly prized, compensated accordingly, and even demanded of successful people in many fields. Indeed, a traditional business approach is to incentivize innovative thinking. It is odd, though, that many organizations that seek innovators and innovation seem to conversely have an organizational culture that stifles creativity. You are strongly encouraged here, though, to think creatively as you write this paper.
Respond to the following
questions: • How can innovative thinkers overcome the organization’s innovation-stifling culture?
• How can innovative projects in portfolio management be important to organizations?
• How can innovative thinking skills positively or negatively influence project management?
• What leadership skills are necessary for project managers to manage innovative projects?
o What steps can you take to improve your skills in managing innovative projects?
Innovation and Organizational Culture Readings
• Thiry, M. (2007). Value management. InP. W. G. Morris & J. K. Pinto (Eds.), The Wiley guide to project, program & portfolio management (2nd ed., pp. 199–225). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
In Chapter 9, the author offers historical background on value management and how value management (VM) evolved from the concept of value analysis at General Electric in the 1940s. The chapter underscores the validity of VM as the method of choice to deal with the ambiguity of stakeholders’ needs and expectations amidst a changing business environment.
• Winch, G. (2007). Managing project stakeholders. In P. W. G. Morris & J. K. Pinto (Eds.), The Wiley guide to project, program & portfolio management (2nd ed., pp. 271–289). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
In Chapter 12, the author addresses the complexity of project stakeholder management. A framework is proposed for mapping stakeholders as a prerequisite for influencing the project mission or disrupting its execution.
• Johns, G. (2006). The essential impact of context on organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review, 31(2), 386–408.
The author argues that context is important when thinking about organizational behavior. He defines the context and proposes two levels of analysis for thinking about context.
Innovation and Organizational Culture Sample Answer
The organizational and innovative culture has a direct and a strong link according to recent researches. Innovation is the development of a new idea and, therefore, it’s processing. It is the application of new ideas to get new solutions to problems. In organizations, innovation can be defined as the changes in production to effective, quality, and more efficient products. A proper organizational culture is the one that enables organizations to translate innovation to cultures that ensure quality performances and improvements. The corporate culture should also be able to provide resources to the staff and room for the innovation process and hence improving the company’s performance. Every employee should have a duty to innovate besides the assigned job tasks in an organization. It is because innovation is the primary function in entrepreneurship (Mckeown, 2014).
Change by the employees in an individual organization helps to make the organization remain relevant in the ever competitive market. Workers in an organization can assist the organization to retain its competitive advantage. The making of new ideas by the employees in an organization can help put the organization in a good frame that prevents the organization from stifling innovation (Barry, 2013). The employees who think critically over the internal organizational environment are always in the look to identify new ideas that help the organization remains relevant in the market. These ideas can help in improving the efficiency of and production measures and hence delivering quality products (Newton, 2011).
Organizations which have their strategies and plans that are after innovation always find themselves in the map of competitiveness. Innovative projects through trial and error make organizations devise ways in which they can improve their production and hence quality products. Managers who promote innovation within their organizations are always in the urge to change their ways of production to realize quality products and hence remaining relevant in the market (Mckeown, 2014).
Innovation in project management can be both negative and positive and thus can bring up positive or negative influences in project evaluation. Innovation is mostly positive and leads to positive results in project evaluation according to the many researchers recently. It leads to the changing of ways of production and project evaluation and thus realizing a quality and efficient way of production. However, sometimes the new methods of production resulting from innovation may not be encouraging to the project evaluation process. These new methods may sometimes lead to the altering of organizational culture and thus not easy to change the culture of an organization. Change within an organization may not be easy to change and if necessary, it will take a lot of time and resources to change a way of project evaluation (Barry, 2013).
Project managers need to be effective leaders to ensure that innovation in an organization is done effectively and that it leads to encouraging results. Managers that are a motivation to the organization’s employees always find their organization adapting to the innovative ways easily. Leaders who are also strong decision makers are always successful in innovation implementation. It is because the innovation process involves a lot of changes within an organization and without proper decision making the innovation process may spoil (Newton, 2011).
Upon completion, there are several steps that can be taken to ensure that the leadership and the managing skills in the innovation process is positive. Evaluation of projects that involves innovation requires leaders that are wise in their actions and hence proper decision makers. Efficient training in leadership is the key step that ensures proper innovation is successfully adapted.
Innovation and Organizational Culture References
Mckeown, M. (2014). The innovation book: How to manage ideas and execution for outstanding results.
Daft, R. L., Murphy, J., & Willmott, H. (2010). Organization theory and design. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Newton, R. (2011). The management book. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Anthony, S. D. (2012). The little black book of innovation: How it works, how to do it.
Barry, B. (2013). Culture and Equality: An Egalitarian Critique of Multiculturalism. Oxford: Wiley.
Topic: What influence does culture of an organization have on the accounting procedures it uses ?
By Day 7 of Week 1, submit a high-level summary of potential research topics to your Instructor, who will reply with feedback and suggestions for you to integrate into your work.
A draft problem statement. Include the four parts of the draft problem statement of the Doctoral Study rubric located in the Walden University Research Center. (Refer to http://researchcenter.waldenu.edu/DBA-Doctoral-Study-Process-and-Documents.htm)
The four parts of the problem statement are:
Hook (with a peer-reviewed citation that is five or fewer years old).
Anchor (includes a number supported with a peer-reviewed citation that is five or fewer years old)
The general business problem
The specific business problem to be researched
At least one broad the research question that is demonstrably linked to your problem statement.
Culture of Organization on Accounting Procedures Requirement
Please submit the assignment to the above mention selected top (What influence does the culture of an organization have on the accounting procedures it uses ?) !!!
Culture of Organization on Accounting Procedures Sample Answer
Essentially, the organizational culture of any company is viewed as the manner in which activities are done. These can be the structure of procedures, the nature of leadership and the rules which every member has to follow or abide. The accounting procedure is far much more than the methodologies and the accounting numbers plus the financial statements. It follows basic rules and standards so as to ensure that the purpose of the profession is preserved. The accounting practice will signify and symbolize the culture where it was performed. Correlation of some values helps determine the effects of culture on the accounting processes (Bryman et al.,2015).
An organization applying professionalism has a high tendency to perform well compared to a company using statutory control. Professionals take self-judgment and regulate themselves given that they understand their duties and target at producing the best in the accounting process. They make their independent legal and ethical decisions. Statutory is useful when it is necessary to follow accounting law accurately. In uniformity versus flexibility, the presence of uniform and consistent accounting practices among companies bring in efficiency (Senge., 2014). Uniformity is excellent in any high power distance societies as rules are readily accepted across borders.
Conservatism versus optimism is another set of values applied by companies in their accounting process and impacts the procedure. It suggests that caution is taken for dealing with uncertain futures rather than being risky and optimistic when reasoning. Accountant minds tend to be conservative compared to entrepreneurs who make risky accounting decisions. Another cultural value is secrecy versus transparency in the accounting procedure. The tendency for restricting information and confidentiality is a comparison to being open and accountable to the public in closely related firms. In accounting, firms wish to maintain secrets from competitors, but there is a need to be open to the public. This will, therefore, affect the accounting practices of a company and transparency levels are evident in the accompanying statements (Northouse, 2015).
Culture of Organization on Accounting Procedures References
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods. Oxford university press.
Senge, P. M. (2014). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. Crown Business.
Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Cultural Diversity of the United States of America Order Instructions: Cultural Diversity
How did the culture of the United States evolve? How has the history of immigration to the United States shaped American values?
Cultural Diversity of the United States of America
In order to answer these questions we must consider this country’s unique history of collecting perspectives, skills, and cultures from around the world. Chapter 8, “Cultural Diversity,” looks at the history of immigration to the United States and the cultural contributions from various groups, then explores some of the affects of America’s cultural diversity on education. Read the chapter, respond to the following questions and upload your answers to your facilitator.
1. Explain the historically based distinctions between the metaphors “American Melting Pot” and “Salad Bowl.”
2. Describe some of the notable contributions of diverse cultural and ethnic groups that affected the historical landscape of the United States.
3. Explain some of the reasons for immigration to the United States.
4. Explain the impact that the “changing face of America” will have on classrooms across the country
2. Reflect upon your school’s ESOL Program based on the following areas of the META Consent Decree. The Consent Decree is available in its entirety at http://www.fldoe.org/academics/eng-language-learners/consent-decree.stml Identify the strengths and/or areas of concern of the program by completing the Strengths and Concerns form. This document is a writable PDF that you will be able to complete by typing directly into the form. Look at the attachment for the form and fill it out. I teach at Florida Public school.
Look at the attachment for the form and fill it out. I teach at Florida Public school.
3. Now that you have taken some time to understand some of the important legislation and educational shifts impacting instruction of ELLs, let’s take some time to understand some of the key players that have impacted the instructional approaches for ELLs.
Select one of the recognized researchers/authors who has profoundly impacted education for ELLs. You may use the links below and the textbook, but please feel free to broaden your research to other sources as well. Read about this expert’s influence on the education of ELLs and in a word processed document, write a summary of how this pedagogy or policy is reflected within the ESOL program at your school and in your classroom. Provide specific examples. Save
Jim Cummins
http://esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/cummin.htm
http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/bics_calp.php
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/106048/chapters/How-Students-Acquire-Social-and-Academic-Language.aspx
Please write a summary on Jim Cummins.
Cultural Diversity of the United States of America Sample Answer
ESOL
Cultural diversity of the United States
The phrase American Melting Pot is basically a figure of speech for a heterogeneous and varied society becoming increasingly uniform and homogeneous; the many components melting together into a harmonized whole that has a single and common culture. The melting pot describes how immigrants to America assimilate or become assimilated (Jacoby, 2011). On the other hand, the term Salad Bowl is used in suggesting that the integration of the many dissimilar and diverse cultures of the people of America come together and merges just like a salad, which is essentially a combination of many different components.
There are a number of noteworthy contributions of diverse ethnic and cultural groups which affected America’s historical landscape. The different ethnic and cultural groups have resulted in multiculturalism is a fact of life in America which has to be acknowledged as such, especially by the institutions that prepare educators to satisfy the needs of English Language Learners (ELL) in schools across America (Terry, 2010). The main reasons that make people from other nations to immigrate to the United States include family reunification, religious tolerance, and religious freedom, slavery/forced immigration, political freedom, seek economic opportunity, escape persecution and political refugees who come to America because of fear for their lives.
The impact which the changing face of America would have on classrooms throughout the United States is that as the nation continues to become a more ethnically and culturally diverse country, schools and classrooms would also become increasingly diverse. Learners would have to learn how to interact with other students in an environment that is diverse. Students in a diverse classroom would be able to develop an understanding of the viewpoints and outlooks of students from various backgrounds and learn to effectively function within a multiethnic, multicultural environment (Terry, 2010).
Reflection on the school’s ESOL Program
The Strengths and Concerns form is filled out and attached.
Recognized researcher/author
One of the recognized researchers who have impacted education for English Language Learners very much is Jim Cummins who developed the concepts of BICS and CALP. He differentiated between academic and social language acquisition. Social language is by and large the playground’s language (Haynes, 2016). Cummins, who is a researcher, refers to this language as Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, commonly shortened to BICS. This pedagogy/policy is reflected in the ESOL program at my school and in my classroom in that BICS is used by newcomers to function socially not just in playgrounds, but also in school buses, classrooms, and even hallways. The works of Cummins illustrate that it takes 1-3 years for ELL learners to attain their peer’s social language level (Haynes, 2016). Conversely, Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) is the foundation for the capacity of a child to cope with the academic demands that have been put on him/her in the different subjects in my school/classroom. According to Cummins, whilst a typical child develops native speaker fluency – that is Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills – in just 2 years of immersion in the target language, as far as academic language is concerned in my school, it will take about five to seven years for children to be working on a level with native speakers (Haynes, 2016).
Cultural Diversity of the United States of America References
Helping aboriginal communities and sustainability reporting
Helping aboriginal communities and sustainability reporting;Overview/background information of the industry/sector/context
Order Instructions:
topic of the assignment is “helping aboriginal communities and sustainability reporting”
Coverage:
(i) Overview/background information of the industry/sector/context
(ii) Reporting frameworks/standards/legislations relevant to the context given
(iii) Current practice of sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
(iv) Issues and Challenges of sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
(v) Future prospects for sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
(vi) Conclusion
SAMPLE ANSWER
Overview/background information of the industry/sector/context
Aboriginal Australians is a collective name coined by the British in reference to the native inhabitants of Australia who they found living there when they began colonising the continent in the late 16th century (Spencer, 2006). The aboriginal communities constitute a small percentage of the population composition in Australia comprising of about 3 per cent of the total population and living in either Australian mainland or the Tasmanian Island (Edwards, 2004). The Aboriginal communities have being inflicted by many catastrophes ranging from unfavourable weather conditions to outbreaks of diseases (Read, 2011; Warren, 2013). In addition, neglect and historical injustices bedevilled among them by their colonizers have also been attributed to their current woes (Madley, 2012). This implies that there is an urgent need to make sure that the Aboriginal communities are helped to successfully tackle the day to day challenges that have continued to hinder their progress both socially and economically (Schaltegger, Bennett & Burritt, 2006). As a result, through sustainability accounting it is highly possible to help the Aboriginal communities to overcome their challenges with regards to the prevailing accounting principles practiced across the globe (Blandy & Sibley, 2010; Global Reporting, 2015).
Reporting frameworks/standards/legislations relevant to the context given
Sustainability accounting as well as reporting are both essential because they enable organisations and/or corporations to consider and evaluate their impacts on a variety of sustainability issues, subsequently enabling them towards achieving more transparency concerning the opportunities and risks they face (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005). As a result, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has developed Standards or frameworks that ought to help governments, businesses as well as other organisations to succinctly understand and disseminate the impact of their respective businesses on critical issues about sustainability. Some of the GRI standards that are distinctive include:
Multi-stakeholder input: This implies that various stakeholders have to be engaged in the entire process of accounting and reporting. This helps in ensuring that all the needs of report users and makers are adequately addressed to enable that there is production of a universally-applicable reporting guidance that has the potential to effectively meet the needs of all stakeholders (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015). As a result, creation of all elements of the Reporting Framework and its subsequent improvements are done using an approach that is consensus-seeking taking into consideration the interests of all stakeholders including sustainability reporting practitioners, business, accounting, investors, civil society, labour, academics, and governments (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005).
A record of use and endorsement: There are many global corporations currently using GRI’s Standards to prepare their sustainability performance reports and the list is continuing to grow. This is attributable to the fact that sustainability information has continued to attract more new audiences that before such as investors and regulators. As a result, a number of reporters in their annual growth are expected to continue to touch of strategy areas for better reporting (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005).
Governmental references and activities: Over recent past there has being more governments’ involvement in sustainability reporting through formulation of enabling policy which one of the key overall strategies of GRI (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005). Hence, more collaboration is adhered to between the governments, capital markets, and international organisations to further this agenda (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015).
Independence: There has been strengthening of reporting standards after the creation of the Global Sustainability Standards Board in 2014, as well as related changes in governance structure (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015). GRI works as a non profitable foundation in order to ensure that its funding approach ensures its independence.
Shared development costs: There is also sharing of the expenses incurred in developing GRI’s reporting guidance among many contributors and users. For organisations and companies, this negates the cost incurred to develop sector-based or in-house reporting frameworks (Norman & MacDonald, 2004).
Current practice of sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
The prevalence of natural catastrophes that emanate from climatic change and other man-made activities the current practice of sustainability reporting has focused on issues that are more environmental (Norman & MacDonald, 2004). For instance, Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting disclosures have become a law requirement in almost all parts of the world. This was informed by the previous environmental disasters that also made more companies and organisations to voluntarily disclose TRI’s in their annual reports (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015). As a result, in both Tasmanian Island and Australian Mainland inhabited by Aboriginal communities corporations and companies have embraced the practice of GRI reporting as a model of sustainability reporting in order to ensure that the is prevention as well as mitigation of the impacts of environmental disasters both to the company and the Aboriginal communities (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015).
Issues and Challenges of sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
According to Norman & MacDonald (2004) there are several challenges that relate to sustainability accounting with regards to the assigned area and they key one is making a decision on who is the audience. This is attributable to the fact that companies are required to describe their performance and approach on the issues of environmental, social and governance importance to their stakeholders including the surrounding communities (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005). For larger companies like Telstra in Australia employing thousands of people and with over a million stakeholders, this mean that almost everyone in the country is a stakeholder. The other challenge is that, irrespective of the merit in GRI frameworks as well as assurance standards, the compliance may result to reports that are very log and inaccessible. However, in to adhere to ‘best practice’ compilation of the reports requires immense organisational effort and commitment (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005). Furthermore, obtaining performance data that is valid and reliable from different parts of the organisation results to fragmented and immature data especially if it is for early reports the data collection systems (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015).
Future prospects for sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
The future prospects of sustainability accounting and reporting are mainly going to be characterised by increased use of technology due to adoption of integrated reporting in conjunction with increased technological advancements and creative use of online communication and reporting platforms (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015). As a result, specific future prospects include: 1) extended reporting through the value chain, 2) the G4 guidelines and development is integrated accounting and reporting, 3) improved impacts measurements, and 4) increased mainstream role of sustainability accounting and reporting (Schaltegger, Bennett & Burritt, 2006).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the adoption of sustainability accounting and reporting will lead increased provision of sustainability information over time by corporations and organisations. This will reflect increased demands form a wide range of stakeholders as well as market and regulatory conversion of externalities into internalities. This means that sustainability accounting is a daunting task that requires input from all stakeholders in order to ensure that it benefits all of them including surrounding communities as noted in the discussion of this paper in context to Aboriginal communities in Australian mainland and Tasmanian Island.
Blandy, S., & Sibley, D. (2010). Law, boundaries and the production of space. Social & Legal Studies, 19(3), 275–284.
Condon, J. R., Barnes, T., Cunningham. J., & Smith. L. (2004). Demographic characteristics and trends of the Northern Territory Indigenous population, 1966 to 2001. Brisbane: Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.
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Malbon, J. (2013). Extinguishment of Native Title-The Australian Aborigines as Slaves and Citizens, the Griffith L. Rev. 12 (2003): 310.
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Effects of International Culture on Multinational Enterprises
Small-Scale Qualitative Research Project—The Interview Guide
Qualitative research questions are open-ended, and typically restate the purpose of a study in specific terms. These questions should start with “what” or “how” instead of “why”. While you are developing your Central qualitative research question, you might begin by considering what type of questions to ask. Keep in mind that your research question for this assignment should be one that can be answered, at least in part, by this interview. Questions that provoke a yes/no response are not permitted in a doctoral study interview guide.
For this Assignment:
Effects of International Culture on Multinational Enterprises Sample Answer
PRIMARY RESEARCH PHENOMENON UNDER STUDY:
International culture and how it affects the effectiveness of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs)
PRIMARY RESEARCH GOALS
Scholars such as Baliga and Jaeger (2004) have identified that one of the biggest issues that MNEs face is cultural barriers in foreign markets. The purpose of this study is to learn three major issues that are related to human resource management international business. These include;
=>How culture in foreign markets affects the way firms manage their international human resource
=>strategies used by Multinational Corporations to manage the problem
=>challenges faced by expatriates when they work in foreign countries
INITIAL PROBE QUESTIONS:
Multinational corporations face massive challenges when operating in foreign markets (Dunning & Lundan, 2008). Among these challenges is the issue of managing intentional human resources. Specifically, expats for these firms are faced with numerous challenges that can limit their productivity (Negandhi, 2013). In this interview, I talk to Jared B. Craig, who is a management consultant for Oxford Business Group (OBG). OBG is an intentional consultancy firm that sends expats to over 89 countries around the world. Craig will shed some light as to the challenges that multinationals such as OBI face, and how they deal with them.
TARGETED CONCEPT QUESTIONS
As Ayub (2014) says, some of the problems that business managers feel the urge to solve are perceived problems, would you say that the cultural barrier problems for MNEs are perceived or real and why or why not?
What are the biggest challenges that MNCs face in the foreign markets relating to human resource management?
How serious are these challenges to business strategic alignment and in particular how do they affect the success of a business?
How do businesses deal with these challenges?
How do different firms differ with regard to how they deal with these challenges?
Who are affected by these challenges the most, that is, are foreign expats more likely to be affected by this more than the local employees for these MNCs, and if so how and why?
Do you think all types of firms are affected by these the same way? If not why and what are the factors that that may make one firm or one industry to be affected by the cultural barriers more than the others.
Would you say that the cultural barriers in foreign markets affect the market strategy more than they do the HR strategy, how?
What are the strategies that have been developed through empirical research on how these issues can be dealt with, and is there room for improvement?
TARGETED FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS
If different firms in different sectors face more formidable challenges from the cultural barriers in foreign markets than others, why is this and how could this be solved?
If the cultural barriers are more of a problem to market strategy than in HR strategy for MNEs, why is this and is it the same for all sector of the economy?
If the strategies there are gaps in the currently theoretical framework for dealing with these problems, what are these gaps and how can they be closed?
If the cultural barrier is a perceived problems as opposed to a real problem, why is this and how can firm deal with this?
Wrap up question:
What do you think is the future of international HR management?
How will this affect the way international business is going to be managed in the next 20-50 years?
Do you think MNEs will stop using expats from their home countries in the foreign markets and start using local expats? Why or why not?
Effects of International Culture on Multinational Enterprises References
Ayub, K. (2014). Diverse Contemporary Issues Facing Business Management Education. New York, NY: IGI Global.
Baliga, B., & Jaeger, A. (2004). Multinational Corporations: Control Systems and Delegation Issues. Journal of International Business Studies , pp. 25-40.
Dunning, J., & Lundan, M. (2008). Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy. London, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Negandhi, A. (2013). Functioning of the Multinational Corporation: A Global Comparative Study: Pergamon policy studies on business. New York, NY: Elsevier.
