Contemporary Business Issues

Contemporary Business
Issues

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
CONTEMPORARY BUSNESS ISSUES.......................................................................................1
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
Books and Journals.....................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Challenges and problems faced by the enterprise during the course of on,going or long
term are defined as business issues. Business issues restricts the company from implementing
and executing strategies that lead the company towards new innovative ideas that enable the
company to grow in the global market. Business issues like Corporate Social Responsibility also
affects the functioning of the company as company will have to make expenses for complying
with the CSR standards. Though it is the responsibility of the business to benefit the society back
as it is using the resources of the society for its personal benefit(Hugo-Burrows, 2015). The main
business issues will be analysed and the possible remedial measures will be covered in the below
essay with the help of examples.
CONTEMPORARY BUSNESS ISSUES
In today's world starting a business is considered to be the easy method that any
individual can start but the realities are something different from the theoretical notions. A
business has to undergo various phases and to face various challenges to gain a standing and
position in the market. Business issues that an enterprise face cannot be defined briefly it is a
very broad field but there are some issues which every enterprise has to face after entering into
the business. Today there are many business that have number of innovative ideas that can
change the whole main frame of the company than, what are the reasons that restricts them for
implementing and executing those ideas(Contemporary Business Issues, 2019).
Company structure of the business is a matter of consideration for very business which is
operating or is planning to expand over the international market. The company have to prepare
teams that are ready to take up the challenges in the global market. It is not an easy task as the
company will be required to hire market experts of the regions who can help the company in
achieving its goals and objectives. Laws and regulations have always been an issue for the global
and national businesses(Haynes, 2017). Businesses have to gain effective understanding of the
rules and regulations of the countries and have to comply with the norms both at the national and
international level, it costs businesses sometime very high to comply these legal regulations.
Another issues that businesses face is maintaining accounting records which is a both national
and international necessity and the companies having global businesses have to maintain
accounts as per country norms in which they are operating and also as per their home-town. As it
provides the base for the business to take managerial and other expansion decisions. Pricing is an
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another issue which is faced by the companies both at national and international levels. Pricing
defines the sustainability of the business in its initial stage and there are scenarios where the
company is not able to survive at the prices as the established businesses have developed ways
for cutting their cost. In a national market company may be able to sell products at rates cheaper
than its competitors but when expanding over international markets it may not be possible for the
company to beat the competitors as the costing of the product changes overseas(Tuleja, 2017).
Another international issues that the companies face over international markets is the
currency issues. Companies have to monitor the exchange rates as they have significant
implications over the business. Suppose as company is importing goods from another country
raise in exchange rates will force the company to raise its prices and if it does not raise the
prices, it costing may reduce the profit margins to a considerable extent. Ineffective
communication is a global issues for the businesses. Communication gap can mislead workforce
and the company might not be able to attain its desired goals and objectives. And at a global
scale communication gains further importance as the company will have to operate in totally
different culture and country. Companies have to establish ways to win the hearts of the people
through their communication as product will require promotions through marketing and effective
marketing requires excellent communication skills.
Ethics are concerned with the view point of an individual towards wrong and the right
things. Though decisions in an organisation are given the person but they depends on the culture
of the company in which they are operating(De Bettignies, 2018). Ethics of the company projects
the values of the business. Ethics lays down the path to follow for achieving it desired goals and
objectives and ensure that it does not take any illegal or wrongful paths attracting short term
benefits. Ethical values not only encourage employees to follow right path but also brings
benefits to the business because of its core values. On the other hand unethical behaviour may
highly damage the reputation and status of the company and decline the sales of the company
and sometimes the companies even face boycotts because of the unethical practices accepted by
them in their business operations. Some of the companies which are famous for their ethical
considerations are Cadbury, TATA group, google etc.
Role and Impact of Ethics on Businesses
Ethics have significant impact over its business operations. The companies in almost all
countries today have to abide by the procedures and legal norms laid by the governments of the
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different countries about the ways to operate their business(Iqbal and et.al., 2017). Big
companies have to follow more ethical norms and a breach of that leads heavy fines and
penalties for the company. Frequent breach of the rules may lead the company ta face heavy
allegations which might even wipe out their revenues to a considerable extent. Impact of ethics
on the employees of the business cannot be neglected. Performance of the employees will no
doubt be impacted if the ethical values of the company are not strong and active. Most of the
times employees in competition of achieving its targets forget about the ethics, they just have the
thought of winning which bring downs the morale of the individuals(O'Doherty, 2016). The
employees sometimes for making profits for the enterprise even compromise the the rules and
protocols they must follow. Ethics in a company ensures that the employees do not take the
wrongful tracks for achieving the profits or to make money. Ethics do have an impact on the
relations the companies are having with their employees. Management for gaining respect of the
employees have to behave ethically. Respect is to be given first for receiving it back. It is hard
for the businesses to drive the company over its desired goals without the ideal leaders who have
respect in the eyes of the employees. The leaders have an influence over the whole business team
therefore it is important for the leaders to have strong ethical values. Ethical values not only
create a different personality but also set example for the people to follow. Along with the
behavioural issues it also have an influence over the other company matters. Business tends to
lose its credibility and reputation if it comes in the knowledge of the society that company lacks
ethical values. Ethics has an considerable impact on the business operations and its performance.
Once the company loses its credibility due to ethical issues it takes enough time and expenses for
the company to build it trust again in the minds of the people(Chandra and et.al., 2019).
Unethical issues can be prevented by setting realistic goals that can be achieved by the
employees. Unattainable goals and objectives would force employees to indulge unethical
practices to reach those goals and objectives.
Role and Impact of Sustainability on Business
Sustainability is becoming a key consideration for the companies nowadays. To face the
today's competitive world it is important for the company to implement focusing sustainability. It
could be considered as a business approach for formulating long term business values
considering the operating effectiveness of the enterprise in a social, ecological as well as
economic environment. The idea behind developing sustainability is to foster longevity of the
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company. With the increasing emphasis on CSR companies are becoming more transparent
realizing the need for the sustainability. Some of the initiatives taken by the company for
sustainability like Nike has taken steps for waste reduction and reducing its footprints, steps
taken by the Unilever to minimise its waste and the resource footprints. Firms are making strong
commitments for sustainability, partially by making the operations transparent and partially by
responding the material issues. As the society is paying continuous attention towards conserving
and safeguarding the resources and laying down various environmental projects for protecting
the planet. Businesses are also coming forward for playing their part in the resource
protection(Ljungblom, 2016). Focus of the business of going green is enforcing
sustainability on organisations by reducing environmental wastes, energy usage and other several
factors. Principles and the strategies for sustainability are having positive impact on the business
as they are helping the societies by taking responsive steps for the protection of the environment.
The businesses have to consider sustainability as the stakeholders and consumers are demanding
sustainability initiatives from the companies. This is causing the companies to consider
environmental issues in their tactical and strategical business plans. Sustainability is enabling the
organisations to attract new customers, shareholders and the efficient employees. There are
studies showing that consumers of developed markets having abundant choices and where social
inequality, environmental threats and opportunities for safe and decent work are changing the
number of people who agreed to higher prices were less. The are on the verge of grasping
potential profitability and values that could be offered the companies. Sustainability helps the
companies in responding to the demands of maintaining a positive balance between the
prosperity and the growth considering the consumers, employees and investors and conserving
the planet earth as raw materials. Sustainability is a very significant factor that have to be
considered by every company to have an sustainable growth(Mutawwab, Djasuli and Kusufi,
2018).
Evaluating the Ease of developing enterprising and innovative ideas.
If considering the ages of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Einstein it would be
acceptable that everything that could be innovated has already been invented but if people would
have stopped there inventions of computers, internet and variety of products and processes would
not have been developed. Though considering the changed scenarios there is still possibilities for
innovation. Laden-minivans, electric and hybrid cars are the new innovations in the vehicle
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industries. Innovation cannot be put aside if the companies want to grow and sustain in the
market. Innovation means creating a new experience for the customers completely different from
the existing markets(Hafsah, 2016).
Easing the responsibilities of the employees so that they can spare some time to innovate
something new. Overburdening often make the employees inefficient they do not try out for
something different. Upgrading the product or services by the company an example of that is the
invention of electric toothbrush. With the help of government support and subsidies offered for
researching and developing new products and procedures that foster the economic growth as well
as the growth of the company. The financial support helps the company to invest their time and
resource for the new inventions through research serving the society with something new as the
companies are not able to carry out the research on their innovative ideas due to lack of
funds(Ghansah and et.al., 2019).
In the the new era of inventions and developments every enterprise are putting efforts to
create environment where new ideas and minds are welcomed. The ease of environment will
help the enterprise to invent new processes or products. The best example of work environment
giving the maximum of the inventions is Google where employees are given freedom to work as
per their preferences in a given time and the employees are coming out with new ideas for doing
their work by inventing new easy processes to complete their work. So the ease of work culture a
help employees to do their work more efficiently.
The technological advancement has made it much easier for the companies to carry out
research work over the ideas which they are having in their mind. Availability of computers and
internet has eased the invention process so much that the individuals are available with all kinds
of data which is essential for the inventions and research of the experts. The companies are
inventing new products just by doing slight changes in the existing processes like the inventions
of electric cars(Songer, 2017).
National and Global Examples
Issue faced by Tesco when entering into a global market
Tesco though having the third largest retail business in the international market after the
first Walmart and the second Carrefour grasps 80% of its sales from the UK. Tesco began
expanding its business last 10 years ago and today it is successfully established in more than
dozen of countries contributing half of its revenues outside UK. It faced the major issue when
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entered into the US market as the retail giants like Walmart had already captured the customer
base. Being a low margin business the company was not able to manage its operational expenses
like supply chains, inventory and like operations. For resolving the issues Tesco came out with
the TOM an operating model which combines the business standards and IT systems(Daramola
and Ayo, 2015). The model like TOM are enabling the company to reduce the roll out time
drastically, lowering the cost and also helped the company to maintain a uniform recording base
all over.
National Issue faced by Toyota in US
Toyota a well reputed car manufacturing company faced a massive decline in the market
shares. The issue was that the floor mats under the driver's seat were not properly placed causing
the drivers to lose their acceleration control. The first case happened in the California where the
sticking of the accelerator resulted in the driver's death. The company recalled its 3.8 million
vehicles sold in US. The company faced pressures from the highway authorities to recall its
vehicles as they were creating because of sticky gas pedals. Despite of having a long term
reliable brand image having the lowest defect suffered a heavy loss in the market. The
government charged the company with millions of dollars as penalty and the lawsuits. It broke
the trust of the people and the people created a notion that the company is declining its quality.
The company is known for its quality improvement programs then also a slight defect can break
the years of image of the company build through constant improvement and
innovations(Mardiyanti and Suharnomo, 2018).
CONCLUSION
Carrying out the above analysis it could be concluded that the business whether playing
in a national or international market has to consider over various issues that affect the business
and its operations. The companies face issues like structure of the business they have to be
designed considering various factors, cultural issues when entering into new markets as well as
within the same country and the other issue having importance is the ethical issue. Ethics in
today's is significant impact over the business operations, and the growth of the company is
highly influenced by the ethical factors. Sustainability is gaining importance as the people are
becoming aware about the environmental issues arising the businesses. Step towards the
conservation and protection of environment is helping the company to gain competitive
advantage in the market.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hugo-Burrows, R., 2015. Trends and Issues in Multicultural Business Communications in South
Africa-An Exploratory Perspective. In Proceedings of the 1998 Multicultural Marketing
Conference (pp. 467-468). Springer, Cham.
Tuleja, E. A., 2017. Constructing Image-Based Culture Definitions Using Metaphors: Impact of
a Cross-Cultural Immersive Experience. Journal of Teaching in International
Business. 28(1). pp.4-34.
De Bettignies, H. C., 2018. Business transformation in China (Vol. 5). Routledge.
O'Doherty, R., 2016. An Exploration of the Relationship between the Partisan-Business Cycle
and Economic Inequality within Developed Economies.
Ljungblom, M., 2016. Business Excellence with Customer Service in World Class: A Swedish
Case Study of Lean in Supermarket. In 19th QMOD conference 2016, September 21-23,
Rome, Italy.
Mutawwab, N. P., Djasuli, M. and Kusufi, M. S., 2018. Determinants The Quality of OPD
Financial Statements (Empirical Study on OPD in Madura). AFEBI Accounting
Review. 2(02).
Ghansah, B. and et.al., 2019. The Determinant of Student Satisfaction in Academic and
Administrative Services in Private Universities. International Journal of Applied
Management Sciences and Engineering (IJAMSE). 6(2). pp.58-73.
Songer, C. E., 2017. THE ADOPTION OF PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINES AT A LIBERAL
ARTS COLLEGE IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA: GENEVA
COLLEGE. Northeastern Association of Business, Economics and Technology. pp.302.
Daramola, O. and Ayo, C. K., 2015. Enabling socio-economic development of the masses
through e-government in developing countries. In European Conference on e-Government.
Academic Conferences International Limited..
Mardiyanti, I. and Suharnomo, S., 2018. The moderating role of organizational culture on the
effect of organizational justice on organizational citizenship behavior. Diponegoro
International Journal of Business. 1(1). pp.49-54.
Chandra, T. and et.al., 2019. The influence of service quality, university image on student
satisfaction and student loyalty. Benchmarking: An International Journal.
Haynes, N., 2017. Pop Culture in Latin America.
Iqbal, M. S. and et.al., 2017. Economic Impact of Energy Crisis on the Textile Sector: A Case
Study of Pakistan. J. Appl. Environ. Biol. Sci.. 7. pp.39-46.
Hafsah, H., 2016. Worship practice and willingness to saving money at syari; ah bank. IOSR
Journals: International Organization of Scientific Research. 21(4). pp.13-19.
ONLINE
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Contemporary Business Issues. 2019. [ONLINE]. Available. Through
<https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2018/07/13/5-critical-business-issues-in-2018-and-
beyond-to-consider/>
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