Research Korner: Anti-Trust Laws Examples

MANAGEMENT OF THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: An Analysis of the Implications of the External Environment on Organisations

MANAGEMENT OF THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: An Analysis of the Implications of the External Environment on Organisations TABLE OF CONTENTS   I.      Introduction.. 3 II.     Organization and its Environment.. 4 A.    Internal Environment. 4 B.    External Environment. 5 1.     Competitors. 5 2.     Economics. 7 3.     Society (Social System) 8 4.     Business Exchange. 9 5.     Political Situation. 10 III.        The Computer Industry.. 11 A.    The Case of IBM.. 11 B.    Circumstances in Microsoft. 12 IV.       Conclusion.. 13 V.    References.. 14   I.             Introduction Modern day decision-makers tend to deal with rather complicated problems that highly influence the operations of their respective organisations. This requires them to make decisions promptly and at the same time make sure that it directly deals with the issues that they are facing. They have to make sure that they make things right the first-time. One definite way of dealing with this is by consulting the general environment of the organisation. This paper intends to analyse the how the information that organisations acquire from the environment help them in keeping their operations on track. Specifically, the study will look into the use of the external environment. Close consideration will look on the situation regarding the company’s competitors, economic system, general society, business environment, and the legal situation that may or may not have an effect on their industry. Moreover, specific companies will also be taken into consideration to show how theories are implemented in real world settings. The companies that will be observed will be those involved in the IT and computer industry. The arguments and observations that will be provided in this paper are going to be based on academic and scholarly journals directly related to management and operational administration of organisations.   II.           Organization and its Environment Understanding the environment of the organisation offers the key to possibly uncovering the needed developmental changes that the organisation requires. The following discussions will provide a brief description on the internal and external environment and their importance for the modern organisation.    A.  Internal Environment The internal environment encompasses the company’s “physical and cultural aspects” that have major implications to the processes and executive development of the organisation., 2001, 801) With this in mind, the internal environment tends to tread the trails but not limited to human resource management concepts. In the study of  (2003, 491), she indicated that the internal environment is rather important in the context of strategic planning for the organisation. She noted that in using the information relating to the internal environment, allows the decision makers of the organisation to become conscious of the qualities of work on how it is structured and carried out. In this respect, the said study has manifested the very elements that make up the internal environment of the organisation. These include the skill-level of the employees as well as the tacit and explicit knowledge displayed within the organisation.  Another element included is the attributes of “the objects to which the work is performed,” as well as the implications of the relationships held within the organisation. Based on this definition, one could surmise that the general elements held in the internal environment of the organisation include the knowledge management practiced which also complements the general culture held by the personnel. In following this line of logic, this does have some significant implications on the decision making of the company.      B.  External Environment Among with the internal environment of the firm, the external environment has similarly been marked as one of the major elements that influence the firm’s operations. As seen in the article of  (2001, 38) the external environment is seen to be marred with uncertainty. This highlights the need for understanding this environment not only for the reason of having the needed data as a security blanket but to minimise the risk offered by uncertainty posed by the external environment. The following study will provide a set of observations based on existing literature relating to the external environment of the organisation.        1.    Competitors The modern setting where businesses conduct their operations tends to be marked with a level of viciousness where competing organisations tends to drive each other to the brink of leaving the market or even filing a claim of bankruptcy. As indicated in the seminal organisational theory of Porter, merely identifying the competitors of a particular company is not enough. ( 2000, 103) To a certain extent, knowing the other players in the industry is merely a part of the process. A more important factor in this endeavour is to distinguish the level of rivalry present in the marker. (p 104)   The intensity of the rivalries among the players in the industry tends to provide certain indications on the kind of organisations a particular firm is against. For instance, if an organisation finds out that the level of rivalry is considerably intense, then the firm may be battling against competitors with resource capabilities equal or greater from their own. This is especially true in instances where the number of player similarly increases.r, 2000, 104) The number of competitors tends to diminish the felt demand on the product or services offered by the organisation. However, if the firm finds out that the intensity of rivalry is rather unstable and unpredictable, then it could be an indicator of diversity in the competitors present in the industry. Specifically, difference in the strategies held by each organisation and the drive for far greater modes of differentiation tends to be present in the players in the industry. In looking at the discussions above, the importance of knowing the competitors and the level of rivalry is manifested in the market and the consequent industry of the firm. The bottom-line is that modern day competition among modern-day organisations tends to seek better value for their resources. Companies will find ways to establish strong differentiation for the main service or product that they offer along with other means of getting a fair (or otherwise) advantage over the other players in the industry.       2.    Economics The context of economics in an organisation tends to emulate the classical economic concept defined as the          production, distribution, and consumption of resourcesic, 2006, 575) There has been a considerable number studies that has indicated the effects of the changes in the economic systems in the business sector. For instance, there is the study of (2002, 953) indicates that the economic systems of certain locales tend to provide the business sector one of the most indispensable elements of trade: coordination. Specifically, this phenomenon issues the necessary requirement of coordination among the different social institutions that directly and indirectly affect the organisation. The said author also indicated that a rather stable economic system provides the business sector the protection they need from the adverse implications of a considerably variable one. (p. 580) Other studies also indicated that the economic system may inadvertently influence the internal environment of the organisation. An earlier study provided by (1994, 1) indicated that the market econmy of China has provided certain implications to the state-based companies’ human resource management Practices. Specific changes include those from the centralised planning to a more strategic one as the shift towards global trade ensues. Moreover, the reforms made in the said country have created a “dramatic growth” on the processes of the state-owned and private companies in the country. Seeing the points of these discussions, it appears that a thriving economic system provides more opportunities for businesses to flourish and eventually prosper.     3.    Society (Social System) In considering the issue of social systems, the context of culture prevails over the existing organisational studies. Specifically, the influential theory of Hofstede highlights the need to know of the culture of a particular location to create situation that will complement it with the goals of the organisation. The study of (1996, 753) indicated that the businesses in a particular country tends to manifest a high level of economic efficiency if the management processes implemented in each organisations emulate and goes together with the national culture. In looking at the discussions above, it appears that companies have another important factor to consider especially if they intend to expand their operations in an international level. To this extent, the company could opt to seek markets where they could operate effectively without incurring major changes in the core business processes or they could display flexibility and adapt their system to the culture of the market. At any rate, if improvements in the operations of the organisation are fervently sought by a particular firm, they must ensure that their principles, policies and goals complement the national culture.         4.    Business Exchange The issue of business exchange covers the financial element of the external environment. Specifically, the monetary system is taken into consideration. Some organisational studies have connected the monetary system of a particular state to have a major effect on the accumulation of capital of the organisations. To illustrate, the study of Beuving (2006, 324) indicated that the presence of opportunities in accumulating capital in the Lebanese setting has triggered an increase in the effectiveness in the second-hand car trade. In the same manner, the rather rich set of opportunities has created a business pattern unique on this market niche. Moreover, an earlier study made bon (1982, 48) noted that the issue of capital accumulation does not only affect a particular organisation. The social structure, in the same way, has also been influenced in the context of Indonesia. As the said study claimed, it has contributed greatly for the transformation of Indonesia in the later part of the 1980s and the earlier part of the 1990s. The creation of opportunities at this juncture eventually made the state dominantly capitalist in nature. Looking at the cited studies in this section, the presence of opportunities for capital accumulation allows the organisation to improve eventually. Nevertheless, this assumption also requires organisations to actually take advantage of the opportunity provided for by business exchange that complement their operations.          5.    Political Situation The political situation of an external environment tends to similarly have some implications in the business subjected to it. One such implication is highlighted in the studyeiga (2006, 1379) which stated that political instability makes it more likely for the external environment to incur a rather high rate of inflation. This means that prices of the products and services of the businesses tends to be higher than they can actually spend. Thus, this means that whenever businesses acquire the raw materials that they need, they automatically incur loss. Though they could pass this loss to the end-users of their product or service, the increased price of the major commodities that they are selling tends to diminish the demands and possibly limit the actual consumption of the public given the issue of high price as deterrence. In specific studies,l (2000, 43) noted that that the political instability in Turkey was the main factor that triggered a crisis in the business sector of the country. This also took place in the sn (2000, 93) indicating that Indonesia’s SME sector have acquired considerable damage as the volatility of the political situation in the country has emerged in the later part of 1997. Seeing the discussions above, it appears that the state have similarly been deemed as an important part of the external environment of any organization. The policies made and ratified by the government that the business sector may find either unfavourable or otherwise share this effect on specific organisations. Moreover, assuming that the policies ratified by the government are highly favourable to organisations, then the issue of stability tends to cancel it out. The changeability of the leadership or type of government tends to manifest some level of doubt on the part of the investor or owner may have doubts as to whether the operations of the business are safe in the said environment.         III.         The Computer Industry The computer industry has become one of the most flourishing industries in the world. The study has chosen this industry for the reason that the companies have the propensity to change market as they want and not to mention play at the international level. This reflects that any changes from the external environment will essentially have a effect on their operations.   A.  The Case of IBM IBM is one of the pioneers in the IT industry, particularly in terms of manufacturing hardware. In the early part of the 1990s, they have experienced considerable losses in business opportunities from their German counterparts 2006, 389) As it turned out, the German government have made attempts to create a policy that will collect information in their own markets. (p 393) IBM has not foreseen the possibility that these ratified policies have allowed German agencies to inadvertently eavesdrop on the communication lines of the company. Thus, this set of sensitive information is leaked to their competitors in the German market. As a result, significant loses has been incurred in terms of the business opportunities of the company.       B.  Circumstances in Microsoft The issue relating to Microsoft is that its operations in the United States have gone against the Anti-trust law of the country.  (2002, 65) provided a detailed discussion on the case. The said article noted that Microsoft was pursued by the American government because of their supposed monopolistic hold on the operating system industry. Specifically, the Windows operating system was held in question. The company contended that the said actions it took were a product of competition not of any other intentions held in bad faith. The problem, according too (2002, 66) is that the actions manifested by the government is slightly tantamount to harassment. It was closely held that the company was merely holding on and controlling a large market and not actually holding a monopoly over the industry. In this sense, it is seen that Microsoft has considerably been affected by the laws protecting thew land. The context on this issue is that companies tend to vie for supremacy of the market. However, with the governments seemingly proctoring the principles of fair competition and fair trade will inevitably find fault whenever a firm succeeds over its competitors. The case of Microsoft highlights the issue on how the government should draw the line on these types of situations. To a certain extent, the Microsoft case may have become a deterrent for successful companies in holding on and controlling large markets.      IV.        Conclusion In order for real development to take place, change must also ensue. The discussions above have highlighted the need of organizations to monitor changes in the external environment given that these elements provide the greatest implications. Changes in the economy, society, legal, and political environments essentially falls under the changes of the external environment. The practitioner-based research cited above has manifested the need to recognise the changes required of the external environment such that they are able to adapt flexibly and meet its demands. A perceptive limitation of this study is the use of rather large corporations like Microsoft and IBM, which indicate that they have the capability to rebound on the possible adverse implications provided by the fluctuations in the external environment. This also means that the discussions presented above may less likely to be applicable for smaller companies in the industry. At any rate, the bottom-line of the discussions above is to espouse vigilance on the part of the organisation regarding their general environment. On the whole, one must recognise that the operations of the organisation require a balance of consideration on the overall environment, both internal and external. A clear understanding of the external environment will allow the organisation to manipulate the internal environment to deal with the changes brought upon them. At this point, established theories could help but one must realise that at some point, they don’t complement the respective situations where companies find themselves. Theories only provide some sort of guidelines as opposed to offering a panacea to the issues relating to the external environment.

MANAGEMENT OF THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: An Analysis of the Implications of the External Environment on Organisations

MANAGEMENT OF THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: An Analysis of the Implications of the External Environment on Organisations TABLE...

Research Proposal on Online Shopping – An Economic Analysis of Amazon.com, Inc.

Online Shopping – An Economic Analysis of Amazon.com, Inc.     1.0  Introduction Most online individuals perceived online shopping as a way to save time and a convenient way to bur products. Online shopping refers to the process that consumers undergo to purchase goods or services over the Internet. This type of electronic commerce which is used for business-to-business or business-to-consumers transactions, by and large, alters the lifestyles of the people as well as the retailing industry. Despite the rampant and ongoing technological crimes, people increasingly place their confidence on online shop, eshop, e-store, internet shop, webshop, online store or virtual store. Therefore, increasing the market share and the profitability of cyber auctions and retail companies.             Amazon.com is one of the most prominent virtual retailing stores today. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com, Inc was a pioneer in selling goods by Internet. An electronic commerce company which started as an online bookstore, Amazon.com now sells diversified products that include VHS, DVD, music CDs, MP3 format, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, foods and toys among others. Efficiency, calculability, predictability and control are central to the operation. Albeit the fact that Amazon surpassed profitability challenges, there remains controversies, objections and criticisms.            2.0  Statement of the Problem Since the dotcom bubble, online industries are closely scrutinized. Being a leading player in the online retailing industry, Amazon.com, Inc is not an exemption. Trademark infringement, patent use, the credibility of reviewers, customer service and labor relations are just some of the challenges faced by the company. The problem to be investigated in this study is the strategies to which Amazon.com implement in order to counter the growing number of legal issues and unsatisfied customers. Conformity to legalities and web design functionality are just two of the problem causes. Since the business primarily involves books, the operation is inherently subjected to ethical practices of complying with anti-trust law, patents law and even intellectual property law. On the other hand, the failure to meet the customers expectation and requirements has profound effects on Amazon’s profitability; not to mention, the growing number of small competitors, the gap in the actual purchasing pattern with the time of visit and the application of ‘shopping as a multi-step process.       3.0  Research Methodology This study will adapt an interpretivist approach in research. Interpretivism is the necessary research philosophy for this study because it allows the search, of the ‘details of the situation, to understand the reality or perhaps a reality working behind them. From the interpretivist perception, it is necessary to explore the subjective meanings motivating people’s actions in order to understand their actions. The research strategy to be used is the descriptive approach as it intends to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study. It is also concerned with the relationships and practices that exist, beliefs and processes that are ongoing, effects that are being felt, or trends that are developing. In addition, such approach tries to describe present conditions, events or systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research. The dissertation will be presented in written form with the addition of data charts which will present the project’s results. Pie charts and network charts will be needed to illustrate some of the analyzed data. This cannot be confirmed, however, until the research data have been analyzed.   4.0  Research Aims and Objectives This research will specifically focus on online shopping with Amazon.com, Inc. as the key player. The online retailing industry is significantly becoming an important industry to developing countries. The study primarily aims to explore the economics of Amazon.com and how the company overcomes the problems and challenges and what strategies are utilised. This study will be a significant endeavor in leveraging online retailing practices though the investigation of Amazon.com. Moreover, this study will be an important contribution to a body of research concerning online shopping, online retailing and Amazon.com research. The following specific objectives will be addressed: 1)    To conduct a descriptive study of online shopping and online retailing 2)    To determine how Amazon.com apply strategies in overcoming problems and challenges 3)    To identify the business model Amazon.com uses 4)    To conduct a literature review on online shopping and online retailing 5)    To recommend a sound conclusion based on the findings and literature review gathered    5.0  Resources – None as of now.   6.0  Evaluation of Project Outcome and Research Practice The research will consider a Single Point of Responsibility approach wherein I will be responsible for the entire research. I will design a critical path method (CPM) to facilitate effective measure of schedules (i.e. schedule barchart). As the researcher, I will keep track of trends of time, cost and performance. For the evaluation of project outcome, I will be using data capture method based on reports from IT and Marketing departments. Outcome Evaluation Plan will be prepared presenting outcomes, how each outcome will be measured and timeline for evaluation. During the project’s duration, I will determine the strengths and weaknesses of the project so as to provide a basis for ‘midterm’ corrections of activities. The overall project effectiveness will be examined and information on improving planning for future researches will be provided through the identification of unexpected consequences at the termination of the project.

Research Proposal on Online Shopping – An Economic Analysis of Amazon.com, Inc.

Online Shopping – An Economic Analysis of Amazon.com, Inc. 1.0 Introduction Most online individuals perceived online shoppi...

Mergers

INRODUCTION:             When reviewing the implementation of different business practices popular among firms in the United States, one would see that mergers and acquisitions take a fair share of attention from the US law making body. One would assume that companies might steer clear of such processes mired in legal complexities, but ironically, most companies think that the advantage outweighs the difficulties and other negative implications. In fact, the recent years showed that the “merger wave” in America keeps growing. The increase in merger and acquisition transactions was both in number and financial size. As New York Times has pointed out, the corporate environment of America is being reshaped by merger activities in a way never seen since the wave of industrial takeovers in auto and steel firms occurred at the start of the century. Indeed, this strategy played a major part in the structural changes that US businesses had undergone in the 80s and 90s. The “merger craze” is not only shown by the statistics of recent transactions, it is also evident from the increasing effort of the US government in the enforcement of merger related laws. Throughout the years, the Anti-trust law went through several revisions. How does America really view the merger wave? This is a controversial concept, and as such, there is no uniform opinion, but instead, a diversity of perspectives. In this paper, we will discuss the impact of mergers and acquisition to the workforce, the management, the society, and the government. In addition to that, the way that the mentioned sectors react to the implication would give us an idea, a picture of the stand that the US culture takes with respect to the issue of mergers, acquisition, and takeovers. These three terms are all related to each other.  An introduction to these terms would be a good preparation for the main discussions. Overview of Concepts: MERGERS:             A merger can be defined as a business strategy by which two companies forms an agreement to co-equally integrate their operations. With co-equally, it is implied that after the integration, the individual firms would both be disassociated with the previous identity and become identified with the resulting

Mergers

INRODUCTION: When reviewing the implementation of different business practices popular among firms in the Un...

THE POLITICAL AND LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Political and Legal Environment of International Markets   This paper takes a look on the political and legal environment of the global marketplace. It discusses the implications of a country’s legal and political framework in the establishment of foreign firms.   As a firm becomes involved in international activities, it becomes more engaged with foreign people and institutions. Like their domestic counterparts, international firms have to meet the external political challenges thrown at them except that these are more complex and varied due to the ‘world’ in which they operate. These challenges vary depending on the degree of internationalization of the companies concerned. The governments of countries from which they operate play a significant role in the principle of trade. Government policies such those that issues permits on imports and exports affect the decisions to grant and withhold such permits. Similarly, the government can place severe restrictions or ban on certain products. On the other hand, liberal minded countries encourage exports and imports enabling the free flow of goods and services to and from their country. Permissions are usually subjected to health, safety and other non political conditions with exceptions to those non friendly countries (, 2000, ) A potential obstacle to firms wanting to enter the foreign market is the inadequacy of the legal, political and regulatory framework. A high degree of centralized control such that of China causes the firms to evaluate the level of political and business risk prior to their market entry. The country’s political relations with the host country may become a major issue in the firm’s operations. Bans on trade can be implemented due to the countries’ misconduct on investors. A country’s colonial history may also be taken against the firm. Indeed, issues of the political environment are significant for international firms. Countries liken Russia have unstable governments whose policies may be changed if new leader are installed. Other countries also hold a little tradition of democracy which makes it difficult to operate. In addition to this, the legal systems differ from one country to another. In this case, contracts may be done to even out the differences and specify in advance which laws are applicable. Treaties are also used to settle jurisdictions in which case their laws are applied to actions such as anti-competitive behavior. The legal systems of other countries such as the United States are relatively transparent. However, some countries do not reinforced laws such as anti trust law. The limited access to legal systems is one of the serious problems among countries. Because of these there appears to be a means to redress the grievances of the parties involved. Different legal systems are implemented in countries all over the world. In the United States, the system which is in effect is the common law. Such legal system is based on the legal tradition of precedent. In this sense, a new issue that arises from each case is considered on their merits and therefore becomes precedent for future decisions on those same issues. Europe on the other hand is guided by the code law. In this system, judges who are tasked in matching laws to situations are given a shorter leeway (‘’, 2007). Islamic Laws which are based on the teachings of the Koran mandates prohibitions such as excessive interest rates. Because of this, Islamic countries ban interest rates while it may be tolerated by some for some reasons. This law is based primarily on the law of God rather than the requirements of the government.  The Socialist Law is guided by the notion that the government is always right and thus companies are compelled to do what the government dictates. Countries in Eastern Europe and Russia that are formerly under the communist regime are advancing their legal systems in order to accommodate the free trade and market (‘’, 2007).             International organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) also help to facilitate the rules of trade between nations at the global level. It consists of agreements that are negotiated and signed by the world’s trading nations. Such provide legal ground rules for the implementation of international commerce. Contracts are essentially included to bund governments and keep their trade within the agreed limits (‘’, 2007).             Generally, the legal and political environment in the international market must be understood well before the firm enters to the marketplace. Primarily because these factors have a great impact on the way they can operate. Additionally, the firms can engage in international organizations that facilitate the free trade among countries. This way legal rules will be provided that will serve as guide to the agreements of the trading countries.   References

THE POLITICAL AND LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Political and Legal Environment of International Markets This paper takes a look on the political and legal environment of the global ...

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