Significance of Business Integration in Competitive Scenario

In today's competitive scenario, business integration is a crucial concept that has gained importance. To effectively compete in the market, organizations need assistance from all departments. British Petroleum (BP) has taken sustainability measures, which have proved effective in improving its brand image and presenting the company in different forms. The tactical direction adopted by BP has also led to improvements in existing operations, relationship with stakeholders, and maintaining a positive image of the enterprise. Furthermore, various studies and journals have highlighted the importance of business integration, including books such as 'Transnational Business Integration' and online resources like 'Business Integration'. Overall, business integration is essential for organizations to achieve their tactical goals effectively.

INTEGRATION OF
BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
Tracing the changes which have mould tactical direction of British Petroleum....................4
Applying concept and theories...............................................................................................5
Role of business functions in the success of British Petroleum...........................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
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ILLUSTRATION INDEX
Illustration 1: STEEP model............................................................................................................6
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INTRODUCTION
Business integration is the process of connecting different functions of a company and
together they effectively contribute towards achieving its goals and objectives (Business
integration, 2016). Success of any organization totally depends on business integration that
whether its departments are appropriately working together or not. In case if departments which
are operating in a firm do not work together then in this situation, tactical goal which
management has framed will not be met in an effectual way. For the present report, British
Petroleum is taken into consideration. It is a famous oil and gas company which has headquarter
in London, UK. Here, the study will give description regarding changes which have incurred
within the company. It will also provide explanation regarding the role which different business
functions play in the success of enterprise.
Tracing the changes which have mould tactical direction of British Petroleum
A drastic incident which had taken place in company has totally changed its tactical
direction. The year 2010 was proved as very bad for the company. It was the case of April 20,
2010 when an incident of oil spill happened. Here, while exploring and sinking oil from deep
water horizon, oil of firm spilled over the floor of sea. Due to this incident, eleven people went
missing and they are never found at present also. In the history of British Petroleum, it is
regarded as one of the biggest accidents. This occurrence has caused huge damage on brand
name of the company (Where to for the BP Brand?, 2016). Furthermore, because of this
accident, company had faced many criticisms from the side of its stakeholders. In addition to
this, stakeholders of the firm are boycotting the brand name of the company. Due to this, British
Petroleum has incurred huge loss. Hence, it is correct to say that the incident has generated huge
impact on business of the organization.
By considering the above occurrence, manager of the firm has decided to change its
tactical direction. Herein, they had made decision to reposition the brand name of company in
the mind of its stakeholders (Rothaermel, 2015). In this regard, organization has changed its
logo, image and name etc. However, business has transformed its image from oil fashioned oil
group to environmentally aware energy company. Thus, through repositioning, manager of the
firm is focusing to transform itself as a business which takes all sorts of measures towards
protection of natural environment of the country.
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However, in order to bring changes within the organization, leader plays an effectual role.
Here, with the help of leader only, firm can make practical implementation of all the plans which
are formulated by it. Hence, the given thing will lead to the corporation in form of increased
profit and sales in an effectual way (Huei-Huang and et.al., 2014). Overall, from the above case,
it is examined that incident that happened in British Petroleum has changed the strategic
direction of enterprise. Thus, the steps which firm has taken have caused necessary influence on
its existing culture also.
Applying concept and theories
Impact on leadership
The tactical changes which are related with transforming brand name of the company
have caused impact on the type of leadership style which is used by CEO of the business. For
example, prior to the given incident, manager of British Petroleum did not take much opinions
from its workers regarding the decision which they taken. In addition to this, it has also been
examined that CEO of the company, named as Tony Hayward sometimes made use of autocratic
style of leadership approach in which he did not take advice from the employees. In addition to
this, he also overlooked warnings that were related with safety issues. Hence, he completely
ignored all the things which are needed to be carried out by a good leader. But, leadership style
used by the company has changed after respective incident. Now, Tony Hayward has adopted
democratic leadership style (Shang, 2012). In the given style, leaders give importance to the
opinions which are provided
by employees to them. Furthermore, while making any kind of decision, leader of the
organization involves its workers in the respective process. Tony Hayward has made
consultation with employees regarding the brand repositioning step which it has taken. However,
in the brand repositioning step, employees have played an important role. With the help of
significant support from the side of workers, managers of British Petroleum are able to direct its
efforts in terms of inculcating sustainability related culture within the workplace in an effectual
way. Furthermore, by complying with given type of activity only, brand image of corporation
has improved. This is helping the cited enterprise in terms of increasing profit and sales in an
effectual way (Nurmilaakso and Kauremaa, 2012).
Impact of market forces
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There are number of forces examined which have its effect on business operations of the
company. Here, these forces have also played an important role in terms of bringing tactical
changes within the organization which is of moving the direction of firm towards sustainability
approach (Bussler, 2013). Here, in order to give explanation about different forces, assistance is
taken from STEEP model. Detailed description about the same is depicted in below:
Illustration 1: STEEP model
(Source: ZHANG and MENG, 2013) Social: It involves views and opinions of individuals who are directly affected by the
operations carried out by the company. Firm has faced criticism from all its stakeholders
that include buyers and local residents also. In this context, on the basis of analysis, it is
identified that even after many years of gulf incident, there are many problems faced by
citizens of the country (Ogbokor and Moses, 2014). One of the major issues is that the
sea has less availability of water animals and fishing net that is coming empty is one of
the major examples of this. The given thing is hampering brand image of the cited
enterprise significantly. Thus, because of the given force also, manager of cited firm has
taken decision to move on towards sustainability approach. Technological: This force is not directly related with respective incident but it has also
changed the firm’s way of doing oil splitting work. Herein, after the given incident,
business has identified different high tech means with the help of which it can split oil
from sea. Thus, it is correct to say that due to the given occurrence, manager of the cited
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organization has performed various changes in its way of doing business operations. For
this, it has made use of modern and innovative technologies (Petermann and et.al., 2014). Economic: Due to oil spill, huge economic loss is incurred by the cited company.
However, this loss is recovered by the organization by taking measures in form of
sustainable approach. Environmental: Due to the given occurrence, the major impact is seen on natural
environment of the company. Here, the marine life of Gulf of Mexico has completely
destroyed. Furthermore, due to this, many fishes in sea had died. Due to the presence of
given aspect also, vital impact is caused to brand image of the cited firm (Gichuhi, 2013).
Thus, it is also considered as a major reason due to which changes are carried out in the
corporation's tactical direction. Political: The firm has faced so many pressures from prevailing government of the
nation. After this incident, government of the country has formed strict policies with
respect to the companies which spill oil. Thus, from this, it can be said that the respective
accident has caused changes in the policies of government (Seguel, Eshuis and Grefen,
2014).
Effect on stakeholder
Stakeholders involves individuals who are directly and indirectly affected by the
operations carried out by the company. British Petroleum group of stakeholders consists of
government, customers, general public and regulators. The oil spill incident has hampered cited
firm relationship with its stakeholders. This is because, due to given crises, manager of British
Petroleum has faced huge criticism from them. In order to improve image of enterprise in the
eyes of its stakeholders, manager of the organization has made decision to follow environmental
friendly approach. For this, manager of the cited corporation has taken first step in form of
changing the logo of the company. For any enterprise, logo plays an important role. It
communicates many things about enterprise (Shu-jun, 2013). Hence, in this regard, British
Petroleum has transformed its logo with green and yellow colours which are the symbol of
greenery. In addition to this, the organization has also performed variation in its existing tag line
or the mission. The current vision of the company is more related with eco-friendly approach.
This thing plays an imperative role. It is due to the fact that because of this, manager of the cited
firm will be able to carry out its efforts in terms of building its unique and distinct image in the
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eyes of its stakeholders. Moreover, business has also given compensation to those employees
whose life had gone due to the incident. Through such type of efforts, the organization has
repositioned its brand image. The tactical decision of changing the brand image of the company
is proved as effective. Here, by complying with such type of practice, only manager of the cited
firm has built positive image of the business in the eyes of its respective stakeholders. Thus, it
has again won their trust and confidence (Gupta, Lee and Rudd, 2014).
Effect on organisational culture
The change has also been seen in the organisational culture of British Petroleum.
Organisational culture is the system which entails about values and belief of the company
(Meaning of organizational culture, 2016). Before this incident, manager of the cited corporation
followed task culture at the workplace. In this culture, main concern of employer is to get the
things done. Here, manager of the enterprise did not give importance to the opinions which are
provided by the employees. But, this incident had taught big lesson to the firm. Due to this only,
it has taken decision to follow person culture at the workplace. In the given culture, needs of the
workers are given much importance. In addition to this, with regard to person culture, manager
of British Petroleum has also made efforts in terms of making improvement in its existing
organisational policies (He and Da Xu, 2014). Herein, efforts are also made by corporation with
regard to involve more effective health and safety policy. This is done to ensure safety and
security of its workers. In addition to this, manager of the cited corporation has also directed its
practices in terms of introducing sustainable policy within the company. The main aim of given
policy is to make sustainable transformation at the workplace. Through this way, firm is
directing its practices more towards greenery approach. Overall, it can be said that tactical
direction which British Petroleum has taken has transformed different aspects of the company.
But, given practice is playing an important role in terms of improving sales and profits of
enterprise in an effectual way.
SWOT analysis of British Petroleum
SWOT analysis of company is carried out with an aim to see impact which British
Petroleum has incurred after implementing environment friendly policy. Detailed explanation
about the same is depicted in below:
STRENGTH
 Improvement in brand image of the
WEAKNESS
 Decline in production of company due
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company.
 It has been successful in again
developing trustworthy relationship
with the buyers.
 It is regarded as one of the biggest
firms in energy sector. It has gained first position in the
market.
to oil spill incident in Mexico (Banken,
2012).
OPPORTUNITY
 It has an opportunity to raise the market
of natural gases.
 It also has an opportunity to expand
operations of the enterprise in a new
market which is not considered earlier
by the company (Grolinger, Capretz
Cunha and Tazi, 2014).
THREAT
 From the competitors which create
hurdles in smooth going operations of
the enterprise by adopting the policy
and strategy which firm is using.
 From the changing regulations of
government.
 From environmental regulations which
may stop operations of the company in
the specific place or market. This thing
will lead to have negative effect on
sales of the corporation.
From the SWOT analysis, it is assessed that there are many factors which will provide
competitive advantage to the corporation. Here, in order to gain competitive advantage, firm has
developed healthy relationship with its stakeholders by applying sustainability approach.
Through this way only, manager of cited firm can mark effective presence in the market which is
highly competitive in nature. Overall, it can be correct to say that brand image of company has
improved after making implementation of sustainability approach.
Role of business functions in the success of British Petroleum
The firm has made of different types of departments. Here, these sections play a crucial
role in the task of attaining goals and objectives of the enterprise. Furthermore, collective efforts
of varied departments will also help in improving sales and profitability of the company. The
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given thing will also aid in meeting strategic objectives of the enterprise in an effectual way
(Nofal and Yusof, 2013). In accordance with the given context, number of functions are assessed
which are operated in British Petroleum. It consists of marketing, human resource, production
and finance section. These all given departments have their own roles and responsibilities.
However, collective efforts of these divisions contribute towards the tactical goal of corporation
in an effectual manner.
For example, to reposition the brand image of British Petroleum, marketing department
has played an important role. The main work of given section is to establish firm's relationship
with its buyers or ultimate customers. In addition to this, with the help of marketing division
only, manager of corporation will be able to carry out its efforts in terms of communicating the
message of firm to its respective customers. Here, to reposition the brand image of British
Petroleum, marketing manager has made use of different means of promotion. It includes placing
ads on television, giving advertisement in newspaper and other means (Jeston and Nelis, 2014).
Through this way only, firm is able to communicate about its sustainable policy to its respective
buyers. It has again won the trust and confidence of its stakeholders. However, it has maintained
its effective image in the market in an effectual way. Thus, marketing department has an
important role in enhancing brand image of the company.
Besides this, human resource is another section of the company. This department ensures
that firm does not face any kind of difficulties related to unavailability of skilled and talented
employees. It will also make sure that organization maintains satisfaction level of workforce so
that they can retain effectively. In order to resolve the oil spill case, the given department played
an important role. In accordance with the given context, it is identified that it has made
transformation in the firm policy wherein it has introduced a different policy within the
corporation that is related to sustainability. In this regard, it has been examined that any kind of
change which firm has brought needs to be accepted by its employees. Hence, in order to reduce
resistance of workers, HR department plays a crucial role (Ross, 2016). In this context, it makes
use of different HR strategies with an aim to console its employees for acceptance of new policy.
The tactic which HR manager of British Petroleum has used consists of giving reward to workers
and promoting employees by assigning them new roles and responsibilities. These all things
would help in improving motivational level of employees. Furthermore, due to this, British
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Petroleum would be able to carry out its efforts in terms of effectively working with the problem
which has impacted brand image of the company.
Finance is another department of British Petroleum. It handles all the financial operations
of the corporation. The main role of given section is to fulfil finance related needs and demands
of all other departments. For example, HR department of British Petroleum needs money when it
wants to arrange recruitment and selection function. In the similar way, marketing division
requires finance when it makes use of different marketing means for the promotion purpose.
Thus, finance department plays a crucial role in making implementation of the strategy by
achieving financial requirements.
In the similar way, last is the operation department. This division of British Petroleum
has also changed its way of doing operations as per the sustainability policy. The efforts which
have been adopted by all the departments have played a significant role in terms of repositioning
the brand image of the company (Gerber, Theorin and Johnsson, 2014). The given thing has
again brought the corporation on the correct track. Due to this, benefit has also been gained by
cited organization in form of increased profits and sales. Overall, it can be said that business can
only succeed in the market if all of its departments work collectively. This is because, it has been
seen that collective efforts will lead to the organisation towards the right direction. Through this
way only, firm can also make judgement between right and wrong path and thus, it can make
selection of correct path.
CONCLUSION
Articulating all the facts and figures from the whole report, it can be stated that the
concept such as business integration has importance in today's competitive scenario. This is
because, in order to compete effectively in today’s marketplace, manager of the firm needs
assistance from its all departments. But, organization will not focus on the same then it will
become very difficult for it to meet its tactical goals in an effectual way. In addition to this,
sustainability measure which British Petroleum has taken has also proved as very effective. It has
not only improved brand image of the company but it has also presented company in different
forms. Furthermore, the tactical direction which has been adopted by the organization has
performed varied improvements in corporation's existing operations. It has also improved firm's
relationship with its stakeholders. Hence, the given thing has also helped in maintaining
appropriate image of enterprise in the eyes of its stakeholders.
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REFERENCES
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