- September 20, 2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
Traditionally, business faces a number of challenges which can potentially impose unsurpassable barriers on a company that attempts to maintain its share of the market and gain the leading position. Moreover, practically any company can face a problem of the poor organizational performance caused by internal conflicts or problems as well as by a number of negative external factors. In this respect, it is necessary to understand that modern companies are important social institutions, which are responsible for employees working at them and they also need to take into consideration the current economic, political and socio-cultural environment, which produce a significant impact on the organizational performance.
On analyzing the major challenges the corporate culture can face in the present epoch, it is possible to single out several factors, such as internal conflicts, social responsibility of companies, poor organizational performance, and environmental responsibility of the organization. In actuality, all these factors are of the utmost importance for the normal performance of any company, while ignorance of either factor can undermine the normal functioning of the organization and, what is more, it can lead to the ruin of the entire organization.
Speaking about possible internal conflicts, it should be said that they are basically provoked by various factors, but the root cause of internal conflicts is a poor organizational culture and the lack of social responsibility of the organization. In fact, many companies are unable to form a positive organizational culture within the organization because they fail to integrate people working at them. The problem is that people working at modern companies often have a different educational level, qualification and different cultural background. In such a situation, it is extremely difficult to develop a strategy which could unite an extremely diverse group of people who have to work within one and the same organization. Moreover, they need to work effectively.
In such a situation, the possible solution of this problem is the formation of some common values and standards which all employees working within the organization should share and accept. In this respect, it is important to underline that employees should accept the standardized set of values consciously and they should agree with those strategic goals and principles of functioning of the organization and its ultimate goals. If employees understand organizational goals and their own functions, they are able to perform effectively and productively.
At the same time, they need to have a set of rules and regulations, which could not only control the work of each employee but also guide them and create normal conditions of work. The latter means that employees can work effectively when they understand that their contribution to the organizational performance does matter. Moreover, they need to understand the ultimate goal of their work not only in personal terms but also in terms of the entire organization. In other words, they should understand the vision of the organization and its strategic goals. On the other hand, they need to benefit from their work and receive not only material but also psychological reward for their work.
In this respect, the motivation of employees is a crucial factor that can increase the effectiveness and productivity of their work substantially. On the other hand, motivation should be constantly implemented by managers in regard to their employees because, as soon as employees have no motivation, the effectiveness of their work decreases dramatically. In contrast, motivated employees, conscious of their importance for the organization can maximize their performance that will be highly beneficial for the entire organization.
However, modern companies often ignore needs and interests of their employees. They attempt to maximize their profits through the improvement of the effectiveness and productivity of work of their employees, while employees’ needs are ignored. Obviously, such a policy of companies is socially irresponsible and it is absolutely unacceptable in the contemporary business environment, because it can raise a serious challenge which a company can fail to overcome. What is mean here is the fact that the personnel can protest against the ignorance of their interests. This protest can have an active form, such as strikes, or passive, such as the opposition to changes introduced within the company. Consequently, modern organizations need to develop socially responsible policies to minimize the risk of internal conflicts and preserve human resources, which constitute an important asset of modern organizations.
Finally, it is necessary to remember about environmental concerns, which modern organizations cannot ignore at all, because the ignorance of environmental problems or the pollution of the environment can result in the legal action as well as in the opposition from the part of customers. In fact, customers can simply ignore products or products of a company polluting the environment.
In conclusion, it is important to underline that modern business should focus on the organizational culture, socially and environmentally responsible policies. In such a way, modern companies can count for a stable development.