Discussion:
Managing Across Cultures and Borders
Review "HSBC's Global Reorganization and Corporate Performance in 2012" and response the case questions.
1.How do you evaluate HSBC's global reorganization and expansion in the post-financial crisis period?
2.Compare and contrast HSBC's global operations with its main competitors.
3.What did you learn from the HSBC's case when applying concepts and theories from Chapter 8?
Managing Teams in Organizations
Activity 1
You are the team lead of an undergraduate engineering design class. The yearlong class uses student teams to complete a complex design project. Your goal is to simulate a real-world professional experience in the class, but you also need to ensure that it is a safe and productive learning experience for the students. Like many engineering classes, there are a variety of cultures in the class but they are usually in the minority. In the past, you have not been concerned about cultural issues when assigning students to project teams. However, last year you received several complaints from the students who are in the minority (the culturally diverse students) about feeling bullied and unsupported in their teams.
1.How should you (the team lead) distribute the minority engineering students (the culturally diverse students) among the project teams?
2. Are there actions you could take to provide support for the minority engineering students in the class?
3. How do you handle complaints from minority engineering students about team relations?
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of culturally diverse teams?
5. How do you overcome difficulties when working on culturally diverse teams
Activity 2
Virtual teams need to develop different set of norms to regulate their team interactions. Norms for virtual teams are sometimes called netiquette.
Develop a set of norms for a virtual team. These norms should cover communication, participation, and decision making. What other types of norms are needed to help a virtual team operate effectively? You should try developing norms for the use of e-mail, instant messaging, and/or video conferencing, rules, etc.
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of virtual teams?
2. Can the development of new norms improve how virtual teams operate?
3. What other actions should be taken to support the use of virtual teams?
Strategic Management
Activity 1
Discussion
Although business ethics, social responsibility, and corporate governance are distinct topics, they are interrelated and impact all areas of the comprehensive strategic management model, as illustrated in Chapter 10. Social responsibility refers to actions an organization takes beyond what is legally required to protect or enhance the well-being of living things. Corporate governance refers predominately to the firm's Board of Directors and their various roles, ranging from approving financial objectives, advising on strategic matters, making the firm aware of relevant laws, and ultimately representing stakeholders and those who have a long-term interest in the firm's performance. And finally, business ethics refers to principles of conduct within organizations that guide decision making and behavior.
1.If you owned a small business, would you develop a code of ethics and business conduct? If yes, what variables would you include? If no, how would you ensure that your employees were following ethical business standards?
2. What do you feel is the relationship between personal ethics and business ethics? Are they, or should they be the same?
Activity 2
1. How could a strategist's attitude toward social responsibility affect a firm's strategy? On a 1 to 10 scale ranging from Nader's view (Seehttps://learningtogive.org/papers/paper174.html) to Friedman's view (See https://www.worldchanging.com/archives/005373.html), what is your attitude toward social responsibility?
2. Find a listing of members of a Board of Directors for a Fortune 500 firm. Does the Board seem to be composed of individuals who are likely to fulfill the Board's roles effectively? Why or why not?
Small Business
Activity 1
Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of Financial Statements in a dialogue with your fellow students by discussing the three key statements which track and identify the financial activities of a business and the purpose and use of Financial Ratios.
Activity 2
A significant aspect of a firm's financial management involves its ability to access bank financing. Things that may impact access to capital include the type of entity, suitability of the financing request to the loan program, the existing firm-bank relationship and the firm's capital structure, to mention a few. In light of these facts, engage in a dialog with fellow students pointing out some of the ways a firm can help improve its ability to secure financing. (Include in your discussion a comment on why bank financing may be a preferred type of financing).