Contemporary Management Issues

This report discusses the major contemporary management issues faced by businesses, including globalisation, e-commerce, human resource management, legislation, and technology. It explores the impact of these issues on the internal and external environment of businesses and provides insights on how to respond to them.

Contemporary Management
Issues

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Contemporary management is described as the tool which is used by managers within
managerial process in order to monitor and control business activities which are running in an
organisation. In current scenario the major contemporary issues faced by a business includes e-
commerce, total quality management, globalisation and many forth. Contemporary management
issues provide fundamentals to the internal business group and working employees who are
working in the organisation by dealing with different market situations within different stages. It
can be said that contemporary management is the sum of various theories which are implemented
by business in order to achieve business objective in significant manner. These theories are
supposed to be implemented within business in effective manner. This report is based on shutting
down stores of Mothercare which is a prominent retail company for merchandise of mother and
babies and headquartered in UK (Cherry and Jacob, 2016). So this report is made to understand
these concepts of contemporary management and their impact on internal and external
environment of business. Secondly the report explains those forces which are having their role in
strategic decision making and the methods in which firm try to respond to those effects within
contemporary business environment.
MAIN BODY
In current era of business environment the major challenge faced by the business if to
way of response of those factors and forces which are having prominent impact over the business
so as to deal with those changing factors on continual basis. In order to tackle these factors
effectively businesses are required to formulate effective strategy which is robust and inhales all
the strengths and weaknesses of the business. For the business managers it is required to have
fine understanding about those factors by which business get high impacts. So there are so many
dimensions by which business society gets their implications from. In order to respond and
achieve desired goals it is essential for the business to recognise all the factors and count them in
process of strategy making.
 Globalisation: This factor is considered as the most prominent factor for the business as
this is the dimension by which high opportunities of market expansions are adopted by
the business. On the contrary this is factor by which high amount of threat are exhibited
in the business. This includes business development, elimination of all boundary barriers,

and enhancement of interdependencies within various countries, adaption of democracy
and expansion of business by having free market entry and elimination of excessive entry
barriers. Procedure of globalisation is quite complex as due to globalisation it may have
impact on big multinational companies and small businesses and buying behaviour of
customer within global markets (Schwartz, Palmer and Adappa, 2016). As globalisation
is something which is having high implications on society, economy, environment and
internal business environment so this is considered to be the leading dimension is
contemporary business. Changes are taking place by globalisation as it is a process by
which businesses may face high competition in the market as due to high tech technology
adaptation. With the sole purpose to deal with the entire problems this is essential for
Mothercare to recognise all these factors and aspects by which globalization can have
impact over their business. By globalisation competition can be enhanced in the
marketplace which results in generation of new rivalry by which product get new
modification in order to fit in needs of potential customers. These factors are associated
with price of the product, usage of technology, product quality which is high and satisfy
needs of customers by paying reasonable prices to the extent. When a business is engaged
in making quality products and delivers the same to the customers in reasonable prices
this helps the business to enhance their market share and image in positive manner. In
order to give high response to a company consumers are willing to pay less prices for
high quality if they do not find prescribed prices appropriate this will lead the company to
lose their market share. So within this response it is very essential for Mothercare to
make their product price sensitive so that it can be fitted to needs of each and every
customer segment within global periphery.
 E-commerce: This involves the procedure of buying and selling of various products via
internet. The person who is connected to internet and do not face any trouble in accessing
internet so they can be get involved in e commerce activities. There are two types of
activities which are taking place on internet which is business to business and business to
customers. This aspect is having negative and positive implications on society. One of the
most prominent positive impacts of ecommerce is that it helps the customer to stay in
their convenience and shop which give them opportunity to order at home and enjoy their
leisure time as well. E commerce helps the customers to save their valuable time and by

spending time on internet they can get that information which is helpful for them in
buying decisions. So by this they can compare prices of so many commodities at once so
as to decide upon which commodity is to be bought. Another positive impact of
ecommerce on the society that it is helpful for the new businesses. New businesses
require so many huge investment set up but at the same time when business is started at
online this needs a very low capital investment when compared to physical set ups (Van
Niekerk, 2017). The online businesses are available 24*7 so it can be accessed by
customer at any point of time. E-commerce is having so many positive implications to the
society but at the contrary this is having high negative impact on society. The foremost
negative impact on society is that they are required to contribute to the development of
society. E-commerce is having negative implications on employment rates. As in current
scenario large number of organisation is offering products and services so this is
decreasing the needs of employees and other candidates in managing business operations.
On the other hand online business is having threat of security and customer trust. So it is
required for Mothercare to examine all the factors which are having negative implications
on their business and those factors which are giving positive sight to the business.
 Human resource management: This is another dimension of business activities within
society and the business. In current scenario business are having major focus on
enhancing their performance and managing their human resources as employees are
having vital role in success of a business. When performance is high of employees then
this will enhance the chances of goal achievement of the business. In order to motivate
their employees it is required by Mothercare to provide ample amount of compensation
so as to obtain healthy environment. This helps the company to get their contribution in
success of business and in rendering competitive advantage to the business. Employees
are the major asset of the business as they support the business in its operational and
commercial activities so as to have high market success (Wilkinson, Redman and
Dundon, 2017). Every business enterprise is required to provide training and
development sessions so that their skills can be enhanced. This ensures that by
developing skills of employees this helps the business to provide development to the
whole society.

 Legislation: This force acts as the major force which is having high implications on
operation and decisions of the business. In order to guide the business various policies are
framed by the government which are enforced by the businesses. For this government has
made rule on minimum wages policies so as to safeguards interest of HR personnel so as
to provide implications on business activities. In order to respond to these factors in
appropriate manner businesses are required to adopt change management so as to have
flexible working. Rules made by government are having high impact of social behaviour
of the business environment. Further there are some regulatory laws by which business
gets their clear indications to operate in effective manner. There are large numbers of
categories within legislation that are applied on specific business. These laws include
environmental laws and federal laws. Furthermore there are so many laws which are
associated with foreign trade and labour laws in which specific behaviour of treatment is
involved. This also involves minimum wages and labour protection rule etc. On the other
hand there are several other laws such as health and safety and occupational safety laws
which are having impact on decision making of the business. Tax laws are the laws which
recognise and direct the business that how their financial statement is reported to the
government (Ritala, Kraus and Bouncken, 2016). When any of the tax policy has been
changed by the government then this will have high impact on business and prices of
their products. Reporting laws are those rules which directs the business that how the
report should be made by the business in order to represent them in front of investors and
government. In order to bring transparency these laws are having specific prescribed
standard which is needed to be met by business. These laws are made so as to prevent
business form any material misconduct and fraud. All the laws and legislative policies are
highly dependent on prescribed political culture. With this concern Mothercare is
required to recognise and inculcate political systems before closing their operation in UK.
 Technology: This factor plays efficient role in retail sector, as in order to achieve
business success it is required by Mothercare to update their technology on timely
manner. In current business time the technology used by business in their manufacturing
process are up to date so as to meet customer need in more effective way. Technology is
having negative and positive impact over the society and business as well. With the help
of high technology the major benefit given to the society is that communication has

become far easier which is helping the society in communicating and other way. This
helps the society to establish effective communication with the businesses and vice versa.
Business and the society uses mode of communication in order to interact and transform
their knowledge to an output (Hamilton, Mitchell and Mangan, 2019). With the help of
televisions, internet, radios and other technology it is easier for the business to exchange
their information in effective manner. Another major benefit of technology is that this is
helpful in enhancing learning and knowledge by which high positive implications can be
seen for the business and society. Latest technology such as mobile phones, computers or
internet is used in order to boost learning and skills of personnel. On the contrary due to
high demand of technology this is depleting resources which are having negative impact
on the society. Due to increasing demand of technological gadgets it has been seen that it
is exploiting natural resources such as aluminium and many more materials. If the
progress of technology remains the same then it can be seen that there is no natural
resources remaining in the future which could be dangerous for future generations.
Technology is having positive implications on the health as medical facilities are getting
better by using latest technology which is resulting better health to people. So by
Mothercare all these factors are required to be considered as they are having positive and
negative implications from each aspect. For this they are required to formulate robust
strategy which can inculcate all the factors and negative impact can be eliminated.
All these factors and dimensions are having positive and negative implications for the
society and business as well. As some of the factors are having positive impact while some of
them are having negative impacts. In order to get maximum benefits all these factors are to be
examined by Mothercare in effective manner. The major reason to analyse these factors are that
these are helpful for the manager in taking right business decisions, as decision making process
is interrelated with these dimensions. So this is essential for Mothercare to understand these
interrelations so as to eliminate negative implications and run their business with high efficiency.
 Globalisation and legislation: These both dimensions are interconnected to each other;
within globalisation businesses are taken for expansion in order to expand market and
profits. On the other hand every nation is having their legal framework for which all the
business enterprises working in there are required to obey those rules (Kaufman, 2018).

Non following of these rules may have negative impact on the business and its expansion
as well. In order to shutting down their business Mothercare is required to understand the
entire legal framework so as to avoid any legal proceedings. In order to have business
expansion external policies are to be examined such as liberalised policies and
globalisation effect. The factors of liberalisation and globalisation are interrelated so as to
have business expansion and shutting down.
 Human resource management and technology: There are other factors which are
interrelated to each other. Technologies are used in the business in order to attain
business goals and objectives. New and emerged technology is used by management by
human resources so as to support the business. Technology is helpful in recruitment and
selection so as to have effective selection policies and procedure. This is helpful in
getting efficient skills in the business which helps the business to have effective decisions
in recruitment (Riley, Singh and Blankson, 2016) . Technology is helpful in training
employees in effective way o as to provide assistance to the business. Technology is
having significant impact on the business. When a business is having high impact of
technology in training of their employees which is assisting them in enhancing their
learning and skills that helps them to complete their job in effective way.
 E-commerce and globalisation: Globalisation is one of the major trends in current
business era. Every business is having immense opportunities to grow in external market
and enhance market share with globalisation. In current scenario businesses are inclined
towards globalisation as businesses don’t have high trade barriers by which having low
transportation cost. Transportation and telecommunication helped globalisation to
enhance its effectiveness which assists e-commerce to tap into new markets. In wider
sense it can be said that e-commerce is having various dimensions such as structure of
industry, employment patterns and many more. Ecommerce includes purchase and selling
of goods by which they are having high implications of globalisation. Other than this
globalisation helps the manager to communicate with their stakeholders which is helpful
for the business to get new business heights. Researches have conducted which has given
a conclusion that entity uses ecommerce for sale purpose rather than for purchase
concern. It is required by Mothercare to examine all those interrelationships which are

having implications on decision making and business objectives (Renwick and et. al.,
2016).
From the above discussion it is clear that there are so many dimension and forces in
contemporary management which are having their impact on business operations. In order to
earn high market share and profits Mothercare is required to respond to those factors in effective
manner which are having high implication on their business. In following ways Mothercare can
respond to several factors:
 Globalisation: Mothercare is one of the prominent retailer of merchandise of mother and
babies as they are having more than 150 stores in more than 30 countries around global
periphery. The company is known for their clothing chain in UK but in current scenario
as they are willing to shut down their 79 stores by which more than 2500 employees are
losing their jobs. As the company is having global existence they are having high
competitors within international level so in present case they are having intense rivalry
within industry (Christ and Burritt, 2017).
 E-commerce: Mothercare is selling their products online and for that they are having
portfolio of more than 10000 clothing and home products for their end customer around
the global periphery. The company has enhanced features of their website and now it
consists of quicker search results.
 Technology: The prominent feature of Mothercare is that they use latest technology
within their stores and manufacturing units by which they are able to attract more
customers for their offerings.
 Human resource management: It is required by the management of Mothercare to use
the entire human resources in proficient manner so that high business efficiency can be
attained.
 Legislation: Mothercare is highly proactive in adapting laws and legal procedure in their
business as this is helpful for them to mould their commercial activities in profitable
manner.
The company has taken various decisions in order to carry on their business with high
efficiency and use their procured resources in effective manner so that they can save their cost
and adapt business success in a very low period of time. In order to take right decisions this is

very essential that manager examines all those factors which are having direct impact on
functionality of the business (Hyam, 2018). By wrong decisions business face delay and adverse
impact on their market image as well. It is highly essential for the manager of Mothercare that
business decisions are taken by high cautions so as to avoid any negative implications. The
external factors are also to be considered by Mothercare in framing strategies as these factors are
giving huge impact to the business. Manager is required to utilise appropriate tools for decision
making and some of the major tools are described as below:
Cost- benefits analysis: This is one of the most prominent and impactful decision
making tool as this is used by business entity in taking appropriate decisions. In order to use
strategy of globalisation businesses are required to analyse their cost effectiveness so as to
determine profit margins in pertained project. This is helpful in takeout project effectiveness and
its impact on business so if the project is beneficial for the business this can be continued
otherwise discontinued.
PEST Analysis: This is a tool which is widely used by business in order to examine
external environment factors which may have direct impact on business. This impact can be
positive so new opportunities can be enhanced by business but on the other hand if impact is
negative then it may come up like a business threat. This tool helps the business to examine outer
environment situation at global and local level so as to take decision about expansion or shut
down. This is utilised by business to check out effectiveness of formulated strategies within
external environment so as to calculate their market position. With this concern Mothercare is
having decision to close down their store and this decision is taken by analysing external market
situations. This analysis is helpful for the companies as this suggests methods of uplifting from
any barrier which exists in external environment and by those business objectives can be
achieved in more significant manner (Lambert and Enz, 2017).
In certain scenario business faces so many difficulties as they are operating in a dynamic
environment which is having high fluctuations. For business manager it is essential to determine
and examine forthcoming issues and barriers so that they can make appropriate strategies in
order to get succeed. These issues impact the business so their remedies can be chosen by the
manager in order to avoid any negative implications. Mothercare is the company who is having
their operations at wider level so they are having high business issues by which their outcomes

can be decreased or hampered in adverse manner. Thus they are required to admit some
theoretical aspects in their operations by which their business is having high impact. Some of the
major theoretical aspects are explained as under:
Cost: This is one of the most prominent aspects of business by which all other aspects are
major impact which is manufacturing cost. In operation division the major problem faced by
them is to value their production and calculate overall cost. This is to be examined in a better
way so that any negative aspect and issue can be eliminated and solved at early stage. In the
reference of Mothercare this aspect is required to be examined in most effective way as this is
having direct impact on their product and profitability (Kendzia and Björck, 2018).
Taste and preference: Another dimension of business environment is taste and
preference of customers. This aspect recognises the need of business offering modification at
global level. At this aspect they are required to determine taste and preference of their client so
that better offerings can be delivered to them. This is going to help the business in gaining high
sustainability.
Advanced technology: The business always has some specific goals and objectives for which
they are operating their business in effective way. A business uses so many advance technologies
in order to achieve their goals and objectives. These technologies are providing high edge of
efficiency and performance by which harmful implication on business can be eradicated. In
current market the trends of technology is highly dynamic so get changed in regular time basis.
This factor is having proportionate impact of cash flow of the company (Upadhyaya and et. al.,
2017).
All these factors are required to be understood by Mothercare so they can have
implementation of change management in effective manner. This may result the business to
make things better and calculated standard output. With the view to distribute these factors
relevant theory can be used by Mothercare. For this instance Lewis change management theory
can be implemented which is having high impact on change management and business. Elements
of this theory are required to be examined by business manager in order to tackle business
situation in a better way. These changes are going to give positive implication to Mothercare.

Unfreeze: This is known to be the first stage and called as arrangement process. Within this
process execution of the business activities are demonstrated to the entire labours and other
working force (Trifonova and et. al., 2016).
Change: Within this process business divided their employees on the basis of some aspects
which are predefined by them. This is helpful in meeting all the business issues in proficient
manner.
Freeze: Within this stage verity of the business is categorised in such a manner that it takes the
business ahead. This is helpful to solve obligation of the business and operational activities.
So it can be said that these steps are having high implications on business and they are
required to be taken by managers so as to eliminate any issues and achieve organisational growth
and development. These theoretical concepts are applicable for the business and their workings
by which effectual results can be taken out and have business optimum efficiency. So by using
these techniques in the business modification can be pursued in systematic manner.
CONCLUSION
From the above detailed report it can be concluded that there are different external and
internal forces which are having high implications on business. These implications can be
negative and positive to the society and business depending on their nature (Saarinen and et.
al.,2019). For Mothercare it is highly essential to identify and inculcate those measures so as to
take their business to new heights and deal with market changes in effectual manner. In business
they have to deal with high market changes which are seen by them on regular basis. In order to
take effective decisions various tools are used by the business which may assist them in take
correct decision that can be helpful for the growth and market sustainability. In addition to this
businesses are required to analyse external market so as to determine their best strategy for
market expansion. At last there are various models which can be used by organisation so as to
solve faced issued in contemporary management.

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Online
Decision-making tools and techniques. 2017. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6162-decision-making.html>.