Introduction
Managers have a crucial role of controlling the generation, selection, and implementation of ideas in any business. Whenever a business fails in one way or another, the managers are answerable of the failures and inefficiencies of the business. The managers have an obligation of making sure that things are done in the most efficient manner. An idea management system helps in implementing the innovation process and adding commercial value to a business (Ortiz 2004).
However, some organisations may face difficulties when entering into the global market due to the adherence to the customary management practises in their original homelands. This paper will analyze the ideas in management of AZN banking group limited, and critically examine the implications of the current management practises in the global market. A critical analysis of the cultures, customs, policies, practises, and the legal and political environment will act as the basis to explore the issues and concerns that ANZ will encounter in its multinational business.
Cultures and customs
The gender inequality issue
The Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) banking group in Australia is bound to cultures and customs that are outdated in the global banking industry. Gender discrimination in the workplace is a customary occurrence in Australia, whereas, the contemporary world has embraced gender equality. Many Australians feel that their employers discriminate them because of their gender, age, religion, or ethnic background (Bunn, Guthrie & Smit 2013).
The discrimination issue majorly affects the indigenous Australian women and non-Asian immigrants. The gender inequality issue is almost impossible to resolve because the residents have made it their custom. The residential areas in Australia are categorized according to the education and income levels of the residents. In some regions, women earn about 17.5% less payment than the men do (International Monetary Fund 2006). The women are underrepresented in leadership positions, and worse of it all is the fact that domestic violence against women is a customary thing in Australia.
Indeed, the cultures and customs of gender inequality have negative impacts on the efficiency and effectiveness of female workers in the finance industry. Women cannot have a chance to secure lucrative management positions in the banking industry. The few women who manage to secure junior positions live and work in fear as their job security is not guaranteed. Moreover, under such inhumane treatments, the number of financially empowered women decreases significantly. The ANZ banking group may have very few female customers in Australia, and the entire scenario would affect the strategy of targeting female customers.
It is recommendable that ANZ has tried its level best to address the gender issue. It has embraced diversity, gender balance, and inclusive work force. The banking group has gone against all odds of the Australian culture to recruit both genders in the senior management ranks, board of directors, and senior executive personnel. It has embraced an inclusive and culturally diverse workforce to overcome discrimination of any kind. The banking group celebrates its workforce, and indeed, the transnational corporation may face difficulties in employing their culture in Australia, but it will find it easy to enter the global banking industry because of its furnished cultural and customary practises.
Cultural ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Many organisations in Australia have deficits in addressing their ethical practises and the corporate social responsibility. This is because most organisations will aim at making profits with little ethical considerations. The finance industry is more prone to crashing with the required ethical standards and the CSR requirement. The dangers of disregarding particular ethical standards and not addressing the corporate social responsibilities are adverse.
Firstly, the public develops a negative attitude towards the business. This would be a very big blow to any institution operating in the banking industry. The internal operations of the business would fail, as the workers will perform their duties carelessly. In case the workers fell unappreciated, they will treat the customers carelessly, and the number of return customers will fall significantly. The local and international stakeholders will shy away from investing in the company, which may lead to a financial crisis. Indeed, no major gap exists between the reality and the practises of financial institutions in Australia (Goddard 2006). The media and scholarly reports indicate that many financial institutions in Australia care less about the well-being of their employees. Their cultural standards are below average, and they seem to care less about the effect that their actions may have to the community.
The global economy
Since the 1990s, companies started gaining the interest of expanding their businesses internationally. However, the companies encountered various challenges when it came to the daily advancements of the technological world in the global economy.
The global market economy requires international managers to review their international businesses and address the needs of the evolving world. Innovation is the key factor that businesses operating in the global economy ought to adopt. The international business managers have to find ways of knowing the right products and services, the right price to charge for the products and services, and the right time to present the product or service in the market. Therefore, the current management practises of Australian companies when stepping into the global market are somewhat inefficient. The managers have to drop their traditional practises of gender discrimination, and adopt the industrial relations practises in managing human resources. The company managers ought to refurbish their strategies, structures, and business processes to fit into the global economy.
The changes in management in the global environment
From the discussions, it is noteworthy that the main concern that may affect companies that step into the global environment is the outdated methods of handling the workforce. In Australia, emotional labor is an ignored concept as the employers care less about the emotions that employees display towards their bosses, fellow employees, and the customers. Employers will always demand employees to smile while serving customers despite of their job stresses.
This presents a great difference between the espoused theory and the reality in practise. Forcing the staff to pretend as if everything is all right, yet they have inner pains would destroy the relationship between the managers and the staff. In the banking industry, the employees’ emotions portray verbal and nonverbal feelings to the customers that they serve. Women are distressed employees in Australia, and they will always display ill emotions that will portray their stresses and burnouts to the customers. The customers may be dissatisfied with the services and they may start questioning about the integrity of the bank executives.
The customers will always expect bank employees to be satisfied with their jobs given the massive profits that Australian banks generate. Work place stresses are unexpected for bank employees, and any bank that mistreats its employees is susceptible to losing its customers. The changes in management in the global environment will obligate managers to review their prejudice towards their employees, and more especially towards the female staff.
Policies and practises on and off shore
Every organisation is required to have sustainable business practises and policies for effective management of the business. The institutions operating in the banking industry ought to employ sustainable measures that facilitate their accountability to the social and environmental needs (Paul & Kourouche 2008). The sustainability business practises are also important in enabling the institution to address the possible economic risks that may arise in the course of operating the business. The practises are indispensable as they enable the customers, shareholders, and the entire community to value the organisation, and have the desire to be associated with it.
The ANZ sustainability policy employs three principles in its operation. This are:
- sustainable development,
- diversity and inclusion,
- financial inclusion and capability.
The sustainable development principle takes care of the social and environmental concerns while the diversity and inclusion principle addresses the needs of the work force. On the other hand, the financial inclusion and capability principle plays a great role in promoting financial inclusion and the development of the people and communities associated with the banking group. From a critical analysis, the ANZ banking group employs an efficient sustainable program that addresses the needs of the company, the needs of the employees, and the needs of the surrounding community (Brown 2006). The mentioned policies and practises are congruent with the radical sustainability thinking and theory. The thinking and practises are somewhat similar across borders; however, the guiding principles always differ from one organisation to another. ANZ banking group promotes practises that are align with the requirements of sustainable practises.
It is noteworthy that ANZ fosters the growth of new businesses ventures across all geographical regions. It promotes many regions regardless of whether they are of Australia or offshore. Occasionally, the banking group encounters poverty-stricken areas where people live in adverse conditions. The approaches that the institution employs in promoting entrepreneurial activities and developing small businesses are recommendable. The banking group motivates small groups to come up with decisive proposals for projects that would qualify for funding. ANZ in turn finances the small groups and it monitors their progress until the projects mature.
The banking group supports the growth and prosperity of the people who were once pitiable. The main aim of promoting such projects is to empower the poor people financially, and to facilitate the growth of the financial systems in such areas. ANZ facilitates the entire exercise by lending money to the reputable groups of people to support entrepreneurial activities. Once the people are empowered financially, they will always turn out to be great customers to the ANZ banking group.
Changes in the workforce
In the global market, the employers are obligated to improve their relationships with the employees to being mutually beneficial. All employees are entitled to attend workshops that enhance their skills and compensation levels. The employers are obligated to change their attitudes and behaviors towards their employees in the global market. Female and male employees are treated equally, and a flexible and cross-cultural management system guides the entire workforce. Australian organisations that intend to globalize their businesses have to implement the industrial relations (IR) strategy to accommodate, recognize, and regulate employment relationships between the employers, workers, and the customers that they serve. The global market advocates for the ability of the workers to collectively bargain for their rights, their ability to address their grievances, and the ability of the workers to be involved in the decision making process.
Legal and political environment
ANZ experiences a stable political and legal environment in Australia as the government plays a great role in influencing international marketing. The Australian government has played a great role in managing its economy and maintaining a great international relationship (Lee & Heshmati 2008). The business-government relationship between Australia and the international business environment is great, thus AZN banking group may not have difficulties in obtaining operational licenses in an outside Australia. However, any international business is prone to having its businesses being affected with cases of geopolitical instability.
The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East have always threatened ANZ banking group’s business. The conflicts have adverse effects on the global financial markets, and the banking group may be unable to operate in various countries that are affected by the conflicts in the Middle East. This would adversely affect the operations and financial conditions of the ANZ banking group. Moreover, legal and regulatory changes in Australia and in other nations in which the banking group operates may have adverse effects on its operations. In case the legal costs rise, ANZ banking group may incur losses and loss the shareholder value. Essentially, the legal and political environments of the nations in which the banking group operates are potential risks that may affect the operations of the financial institution in a positive or negative manner.
Relations to the ANZ bank
The ANZ banking group has gone against all odds of the Australian culture to address the various concerns and issues in the management practises in Australia. The group is one of the financial institutions that have played a critical role in ensuring it is exceptional in the banking industry in Australia. The group has enriched values that guide their ethical conducts. The five unique values guiding the group are:
- integrity,
- collaboration,
- accountability,
- respect,
- excellence.
Essentially, every employee is obligated to work together with other employees and do the right thing to produce the best results. Employees are obligated to be responsible of their own actions, and they ought to be their best (ANZ Banking Group Limited 2004). The managers value the energy and passion that the workers employ in their practise. Most importantly, the customers are the most essential asset for the banking group; the entire employee fraternity cares for their customers, and they treat them with utmost respect.
The approaches that the banking group employs to portray its responsibility are unique. The main strategy employed is managing risks, growing the business responsibly, and addressing the society’s needs from a heightened sense of duty. The group ensures that it has addressed a social need that supports the surrounding community. ANZ’s corporate social responsibility projects serve the community and their customers in an efficient and equitable manner.
Conclusion
From the discussions, it is evident that most businesses operating in Australia have deficits in their current management practises. They still adhere to traditional management practises that are outdated in the contemporary global business environment. The ANZ bank is one of the institutions that are facing out the outdated management practises to adopt the requirements of the workforce in the global market. The banking group’s sustainability principles are the most outstanding aspects that enable it to outshine the other financial institutions in Australia. All organisations in Australia ought to follow the examples of the sustainability principles of ANZ banking group to succeed in the global market.
Reference list
ANZ Banking Group Limited 2004, Community development finance in Australia: ANZ response to consultation. Web.
Brown, G 2006, ‘Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ): aligning community strategy with business strategy’, The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, vol. 22, no. 1, p. 18. Web.
Bunn, A, Guthrie, R, & Smit, N 2013, ‘Work stress in the banking industries of Australia and South Africa: drivers of stress and legislative responses to the issue’, International Journal of Employment Studies, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 6-43. Web.
Goddard, T 2006, ‘Humanizing Australian business: corporate citizenship and trust’, Journal of New Business Ideas & Trends, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-13. Web.
International Monetary Fund 2006, Australia: financial system stability assessment, including reports on the observance of standards and codes on the following topics: banking supervision, insurance regulation, securities regulation, and payment system, International Monetary Fund: Washington DC. Web.
Lee J, & Heshmati A 2008, Productivity, efficiency, and economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region, Springer, New York. Web.
Ortiz, J 2004, ‘International business education in a global environment: a conceptual approach’, International Education Journal, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 255-265. Web.
Paul, S, & Kourouche, K 2008, ‘Regulatory policy and the efficiency of the banking sector in Australia’, Australian Economic Review, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 260-271. Web.