Running the meeting
In order to prepare for the second meeting, the team carried out a comprehensive analysis of the Bearing & Boodles Company’s external and internal environment within the Chinese business market. Among the elements that were included in the external and internal environment analysis are the SWOT and the PESTEL. Under the SWOT analysis, the team identified the strengths of the company as large customer base, efficiency in production, and ability to recruit a pool of technical skills. The weaknesses identified by the group include the weak labour management system besides the inability to modify the production activities to fit within the Chinese culture (Heathfield, 2011).
The team note that the company has unlimited opportunities for growth and physical expansion since its products are used by nearly all companies in the engine and automobile industry. Among the threats identified by the group include the weak government business regulatory agencies that tend to favour companies of Chinese origin. However, this threat is very low in terms of risk percentile. Under the PESTLE, the team discovered that the Bearing & Boodles Company is positively skewed to benefit since the variables within the PESTLE are relatively stable (Rouse, 2014).
The team achieved the intended results since they unanimously agreed to present to the Bearing & Boodles Company a polycentric approach in the consultancy process. The team agreed to concentrate on training and development, appraisals, and the 360 degree feedback since these are the urgent matters that the company needs to incorporate within its labour force. Through series of discussions on the best approach to use as a consultancy firm, the team voted in favour of the Wahaha Company as a consulting partner among other companies proposed such as the Jing-Wi, Hum-Min, and Frisco. The decision to partner with Wahaha was informed by the fact that it is one of the biggest in human resource consultancy in China. Besides, the consultancy partner company has a better understanding the cultural and labour dynamics in the Chinese market (Rouse, 2014).
The team proceeded to draw the objective of the intended partnership with Wahaha Company as a corporation with mutual benefit for both parties. Wahaha will be given the role of merging the Chinese labour culture and different labour provisions. On the other hand, the team will offer technical aspects of the consultancy such as implementation of the polycentric approach besides the training and development, appraisals, and the 360 degree feedback benchmarking (MacKay and McKiernan, 2004).
The issues that will be addressed in the third meeting as noted by the team include documentation of the merger process with Wahaha, creating of a dynamic team to address any challenges as a result of the partnership, and the best strategy for presenting and implementing the polycentric approach in offering consultancy services to the Bearing & Boodles Company. The training and development director was assigned the duty of researching on the legal and ethical requirements for consultancy partnership within China (MacKay and McKiernan, 2004).
Individual impact
During the process of mapping the consultancy schedule for the Bearing & Boodles Company, I was in a position to effectively prepare a detailed marketing plan strategy for going to China based on market research and the economic situation of the market. The marketing plan was meant to increase the team’s bargaining power and trust with the client. Besides, the plan was intended to give the team an idea of what to expect in China during the process of offering consultancy services to the Bearing & Boodles Company.
During the presentation of the marketing plan, I was very confident since I had mastered the scope of the marketing plan. Besides, I was articulate on the essentials of the marketing plan since the China market has a unique culture and stratified market segments. I successfully employed the aspects of problem solving, interpersonal skills, research, and communication skills during the presentation (MacKay and McKiernan, 2004).
However, I need to improve on my analysis skills since the manager and the secretary were not fully convinced by my conclusion. The disagreement was whether I carried out a micro or macro analysis of the Chinese market when creating the marketing plan. I am certain that the level of research, intrinsic communication skills, and career interests in consultancy will make the team successful during the partnership with the Wahaha Company and the actual process of providing consultancy service to the Bearing & Boodles Company (MacKay and McKiernan, 2004).
Team impact
The members of the team were united by the desire to provide a comprehensive and market oriented consultancy services to the Bearing & Boodles Company. Besides, the team had an interest of developing sustainable labour management system for the Bearing & Boodles Company to benefit from the expansive skill labour pool within the China market. The members agreed to stick to the scope of consultancy and allocate some of the initial roles to the Wahaha Company. For instance, the training and development manager will have to delegate some of his duties in order to operate with a manageable portfolio (MacKay and McKiernan, 2004).
Despite sharing same vision and consultancy plans, the team could not reach a consensus on who was to approach the representatives of the Wahaha Company and present the proposal for partnership. In the end, the manager offered to assist the team with this. Unlike the prevision meeting, there was improvement on time management and seriousness among the team members. However, the team could not finish the second meeting within the planned two hours.
As a remedy for addressing the challenge of time management during the third meeting, it is important to develop a disciplinary module that will act as a guide during presentation by each member of the team. The module should incorporate the variables such as personal discipline, teamwork, and systematic contribution. Any rising matter will then pushed to the next meeting. Besides, the team should propose a more convenient venue for the meeting to avoid instances of lateness (Rouse, 2014).
Reference List
Heathfield, S 2011, Effective meetings produce results: Before the meeting. Web.
MacKay, B., & McKiernan, P 2004, “The role of hindsight in foresight: refining strategic reasoning,” Futures, vol. 36 no. 2, pp. 161-179. Web.
Rouse, M 2014, What is Key performance indicator (KPI)? Web.