Managing a Successful Business Project

This report analyzes the impact of globalization on British Telecom, a UK-based multinational telecommunications company. It explores the positive economic, cultural, and ethical impacts of globalization on different business functions within the organization, including operations, marketing, human resources, and accounting. The report also includes a detailed research methodology, data analysis, and recommendations for British Telecom to effectively manage its global expansion.

Managing a Successful
Business Project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Positive impact of Globalisation in general to the business in the UK..................................1
Background of the Research...................................................................................................2
Work Breakdown Structure for the Project............................................................................6
Research Methodology and Data collection...........................................................................8
Recommendation on findings...............................................................................................18
Conclusion to the research....................................................................................................19
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................20
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................21

INTRODUCTION
Globalisation means trading a business across worldwide which makes better relations
among others nations. Every organisation irrespective of the sector whether engaged in banking,
automotive or retail are always tried to expand its business operations at global level which can
make hugely impact on their business functions. It may quite difficult in expansion of business
due to having huge competition which drives an organisation to bring something innovative to
compete with them in more effective way. It requires supports from different business functions
such as operations, marketing, HR and accounting. The present assignment report is based on
British Telecom which is engaged in providing communication services whose headquartered is
located in London, UK. The project includes aims and objectives on the basis of which research
has been conducted. In addition with this, suitable project management plan, qualitative and
quantitative methods of research, data analysis and an appropriate recommendation are briefly
discussed under this report.
Positive impact of Globalisation in general to the business in the UK
Economic impact: Globalisation increases competition in market which brings huge
impact on the economy of the operated nation in terms of generation of employment
opportunities, payment of taxes to the government etc. It directs makes positive impact on the
standard of living of people which support growth in an economy of a nation (Boserup, Tan and
Toulmin, 2013).
Cultural impact: Different nations have different cultures which need to understand by
an organisation who decides to expand its business. It can be possible through taking support of
employees who have sufficient knowledge about particular culture so that the needs and
requirements of people of new market can easily fulfilled. It supports in expansion of business in
more successful manner.
Ethical impact: There are specific norms, beliefs and rules which are made for
organisations with the purpose of directing them to perform in an ethical manner. It is easiest
way of achieving good reputation at global level. Therefore, different business functions need to
be directed to perform in right and ethical way (Crane and Matten, 2016).
1

Background of the Research
British Telecom is UK-based multinational organisation which is engaged in providing
telecommunication services in more than 180 nations. It serves approx. 18 million customers in
Great Britain due to which the company has recorded around 12.5 billion pound as net revenue
in the year 2016. The company now looking forward to expand its business operations at global
level in order to increase their existing customer base and revenues. Such decision makes huge
impact on their business functions due to requiring huge support from them in further expansion
of business. Therefore, it is important to understand first the impact of globalisation on different
business functions which are determined as under:
Operations: This is the department which is responsible to create synchronisation in
different departments working for British Telecom. It minimises the chances of duplication of
activities which drives an organisation to execute its decision of expansion within a specified
budget. For this, proper communication is required to transmit information to all departments in
an effective way (Doherty, Ashurst and Peppard, 2012).
Marketing: It is another important business function which promote the brand identity of
company at global level. For this, marketing manager need to make suitable marketing plans in
order to capture the attention of customers in new market and drive company to achieve huge
sustainability within shorter period of time.
Human resource: HR is a department who is a liable to recruit and retain employees in
an organisation for longer duration. Every nation has its own culture and geographical
backgrounds therefore, it is important for such department to recruit candidates from operated
nations who have knowledge about specific culture. It makes easy for company to identify and
meet customers’ requirements of new nation in more effective way.
Accounting: Expansion of business requires lots of transactions which need to be
recorded by an organisation to analyse the total cost incurred in expansion of business at global
level. It directs an organisation to set their pricing strategies. Apart from this, an organisation
must required to understand the accounting policies of different nations so as to record data
accordingly. This will help stakeholders of company to get accurate knowledge about the actual
financial position of company (Florén and Frishammar, 2012).
Aims of the Project: “To determine the positive economic, cultural and ethical impact of
globalisation on various functions of an organisation”- A case study on British Telecom.
2

Objectives:
 To acquire knowledge about the concept of globalisation.
 To determine the impact of globalisation on various business functions in British
Telecom.
 To identify the challenges faced by British Telecom while expansion of business.
Research Plan
Project Title “What are the positive economic, cultural, and ethical
impacts of globalisation on distinct business functions
within an organisation”. A case study on British
Telecom .
Project Plan
Company Name: British Telecom
Cost Cost is the concept which need to be determine first by
British as all the activities executed in business
expansion requires particular amount of funds. It
includes installation charges, machinery maintenance
cost, labour cost etc. Apart from this, conducting
marketing research also required cost to be incur.
According to the researcher, the cost of conducting
research is around 50000 pound whereas the
management of British Telecom has estimated cost of
executing desired activities is approx. 560,000 pound.
Scope Scope of globalisation is always wider due to bringing
maximum possible result to company in near future. For
this, British Telecom need to follow trade policies of
operated nation in order to achieve strong brand image at
global level. Due to engaging in telecommunication
sector, British Telecom faces huge competition due to
3

which expansion of business increases their revenue and
scale of operate after which it is quite difficult for other
companies to affect their business operations in adverse
manner. Apart from this, the scope of conducting
research is high as it facilitate an organisation to acquire
knowledge about the techniques and methods which can
drive them to achieve huge sustainability in new market
within shorter period of time.
Time Time enables an organisation to achieve competitive
advantage as setting time frame for each activities binds
the employees to perform with full dedication and
enthusiasm to complete allotted task within given time
period. According to the researcher, the research is
estimated to complete within 4 weeks. Whereas
according to the management of British Telecom , the
expansion of business takes approx. 4 months.
Quality Quality is major aspect which can drive British Telecom
to achieve huge customer base and revenue within
shorter period of time. Presence of lots of rivals in
telecommunication sector directs management to focus
on providing quality services in order to give them tough
competition. Apart from this, receiving valid outcome at
the end of research can be possible through using
qualitative method of research such as collection of
primary data, sampling method etc.
Communication British Telecom has different functions such as
marketing, HR, Operation etc. which are required to
perform with mutual support and contribution to reach
its business at global level. For this, proper
communication channel should be established which
makes easy for each division for better interaction with
4

each other. On the other hand, researcher can achieve
valid and reliable data from selected respondents through
communicating with them in better way. Ways of
communication includes calls, mails, personal
interaction etc.
Risk Contingencies of business environment and huge
number of rivals at global market generates huge risk
which can affect British Telecom to execute its business
activities in desired way. For this, the management need
to handle such risk through conducting PESTLE, Porter
five force analysis etc. On the other hand, during the
research the risk may be generated in form of missing of
collected data, hacking of information, poor
communication etc.
Resources Resources build confidence among an organisation as
well as researcher to perform activities in desired way. It
includes employees, technical skills, funds etc. To
conduct research, researcher requires specific resources
which includes computer system, internet connection
etc.
Type of Research
Primary and Secondary
Two types of research methods are available for
researcher to conduct an appropriate research which
includes primary and secondary.
Primary research method is used if the researcher has
sufficient time and funds to incur as under such method,
researcher collects fresh information through using
various methods such as questionnaire, survey,
interviews etc.
Secondary research is adopted when the researcher has
limited time and funds as under this research. the
5

Quality and Quantity
researcher collects second-hand information which may
be less reliable and accurate. It can be gathered from
internet sources, books, articles etc.
Qualitative method directs researcher to collect
information which are qualitative in nature. It is
observed and recorded in graphical representation.
Quantitative method is another way of collecting data in
which information is represented in statistical form
which requires specific knowledge to interpret in an
understandable manner.
Work Breakdown Structure for the Project
Work Breakdown structure: This is the management tool which is presented in diagram
format. Through this format, the research activities are divided into small parts in order to make
easy for researcher to focus on completion of each activity in more effective and efficient
manner. Work Breakdown structure is not limited up to the specified operations. Through such
structure, there of proper chunk of activities which directs researcher to perform research
activities in desired way (Furlong, 2013).
6

Gantt chart: It is defined as graphical representation specifying the progress of different
activities executed under project. As there are several activities which are pre-determined by the
researcher, thus to analyse their progress and remaining work, it help them in estimating the time
and outcome received after the completion of entire research. Therefore, it is more useful for
researcher to manage different activities of events so as to draw a valid outcomes at the end of
the research.
7

Research Methodology and Data collection
Questionnaire: It is reliable method of collecting data from the selected respondents
related with the topic of research. It is prepared by the researcher which contains the list of
suitable questions which further to be asked from the respondents in order to determine their
actual views and opinions related with the decisions of British Telecom regarding its expansion
at global market (Research Methodology, 2018). It assist researcher to draw a valid conclusion at
the end of research so that the management of British Telecom can take decision accordingly for
the betterment of an organisation.
For conducting an appropriate research, 50 employees are taken as a sample of
population whose views and suggestion can decide whether British Telecom can continue to its
decision of expansion or can wait for the right time. These respondents are the stakeholders of an
8

organisation which includes employees, customers, suppliers and other interested parties
(Primary source and secondary source, 2018).
Questionnaire:
Q1) Do you have knowledge about the concept of globalisation?
a) Yes
b) No
Q2) Are the services and products offered by British Telecom maximises the satisfaction level
of customers ?
a) Agree
b) Disagree
Q3) What are the factors of globalisation that makes impact on various business functions
within British Telecom?
a) Cultural
b) Economical
c) Ethical
Q4) What are the types of entry mode useful for British Telecom to globalise their business
functions?
a) Joint venture
b) Strategic alliances
c) Exporting
Q5) What are the benefits of globalisation on business functions of British Telecom ?
a) Increase international productivity
b) Provide lower prices to consumers
c) Increased awareness among consumers
Q6) What are the positive impacts of globalisation on British Telecom ?
a) New opportunities for locals
b) Decrease high inflation rates
c) Raised household income
Q7) What are the challenges faced by British Telecom while expansion of business.
a) New regulations
b) Risk of proprietary information theft
9

c) Different cultures
Q8) What are the different ways to overcome challenges?
a) Analysing market trends
b) Employment engagement
c) Knowledge about local ethical policies
Q9) Does globalisation help the British Telecom to enhance their reputation and goodwill
among customer's.
a) Agree
b) Highly agree
c) Disagree
d) Highly Disagree
Q10) Recommend different ways to British Telecom for achievement of competitive
advantages.
Secondary research: It is another method of research in which the data has been gathered
from various sources such as books, journals, online websites etc. It is mostly adopt when the
researcher have insufficient resources and time. But on the other hand, the reliability and
accuracy of such data are less due to second-hand information. In the present research, both
primary and secondary data has been opted to determine the valid outcomes at the end of the
research.
Analysis and interpretation
Theme 1: Knowledge about the term globalisation
Q1) Do you have knowledge about the concept of globalisation. Frequency
a) Yes 35
b) No 15
10

a) Yes b) No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
35
15 Frequency
Interpretation- From the 50 respondents, 35 are having sufficient knowledge about the
concept of globalisation whereas remaining 15 respondents doesn't know about such concept.
Theme 2: Satisfaction level of loyal customers of British Telecom
Q2) Are the services and products offered by British Telecom
maximises the satisfaction level of customers ?
Frequency
a) Agree 38
b) Disagree 12
11

a) Agree b) Disagree
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
38
12
Frequency
Interpretation- Out of the 50 respondents, 38 respondents are much satisfied with the
goods and services provided by British Telecom whereas remaining 12 people doesn't agree with
them.
Theme 3: impact of globalisation on various business functions
Q3) What are the factors of globalisation that makes impact on
various business functions within British Telecom?
Frequency
a) Cultural 15
b) Economical 20
c) Ethical 15
12

a) Cultural b) Economical c) Ethical
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
15
20
15
Frequency
Interpretation- Among 50 respondents, 15 respondents thinks globalisation brings huge
impact of cultural factors on different business functions whereas 20 respondents thinks
economical globalisation makes huge impact on functions of business. The remaining 15
respondents thinks different as according to them ethical brings huge impact on the business
functions while globalising their business.
Theme 4: Types of entry mode to globalise the business
Q4) What are the types of entry mode useful for British Telecom
to globalise their business functions?
Frequency
a) Joint venture 12
b) Strategic alliances 20
c) Exporting 18
13

a) Joint venture b) Strategic alliances c) Exporting
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
12
20
18
Frequency
Interpretation- Out of the 50 respondents, 12 respondents have views that British
Telecom should adopt joint venture methods while entering new market whereas other 20
respondents thinks strategic alliances is the better option to enter. The remaining 18 respondents
thinks that British Telecom should enter into new market through exporting.
Theme 5: Benefits of globalisation on business functions of British Telecom
Q5) What are the benefits of globalisation on business functions
of British Telecom ?
Frequency
a) Increase international productivity 16
b) Provide lower prices to consumers 20
c) Increased awareness among consumers 14
14

a) Increase international productivity
c) Increased awareness among consumers
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
16
20
14
Frequency
Interpretation- Among 50 respondents, 16 respondents thinks globalisation brings
beneficial outcomes to British Telecom in form of increasing international productivity whereas
20 respondents thinks lowering prices to consumers brings beneficial result to business functions
of company. The remaining 14 respondents thinks increasing awareness among consumers is the
major benefits of globalisation.
Theme 6: Positive impact of globalisation on British Telecom
Q6) What are the positive impact of globalisation on British
Telecom ?
Frequency
a) New opportunities for locals 22
b) Decrease high inflation rates 18
c) Raised household income 10
15

a) New opportunities for locals
b) Decrease high inflation rates
c) Raised household income
0
5
10
15
20
25 22
18
10 Frequency
Interpretation- Out of the 50 respondents, 22 respondents thinks globalisation provides
new opportunities for locals whereas 18 respondents have views that it decreases the high
inflation rate. The remaining 10 respondents thinks that globalisation increases household
income of people.
Theme7: Challenges faced by British Telecom at the time of globalisation
Q7) What are the challenges faced by British Telecom while
expansion of business.
Frequency
a) New regulations 14
b) Risk of proprietary information theft 16
c) Different cultures 20
16

a) New regulations
b) Risk of proprietary information theft
c) Different cultures
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
14
16
20
Frequency
Interpretation- From the 50 respondents, 14 respondents determines new regulations as
the biggest challenges towards British Telecom while globalising their business whereas other 16
respondents determine risk of proprietary information theft as the major challenge. The
remaining 20 respondents thinks different culture brings difficulties to an organisation.
Theme8: Ways to overcome future challenges
Q8) What are the different ways to overcome challenges? Frequency
a) Analysing market trends 25
b) Employment engagement 15
c) Knowledge about local ethical policies 10
17

a) Analysing market trends
c) Knowledge about local ethical policies
0
5
10
15
20
25
25
15
10 Frequency
Interpretation- Among 50 respondents, 25 respondents have views that British Telecom
should analyse market trends to overcome future challenges whereas other 15 respondents prefer
an organisation to adopt employment engagement programs. The remaining 10 respondents
thinks that knowledge about local ethical policies is an effective way to deal with the future
challenges in an effective way.
Theme 9: Impact of globalisation of reputation and goodwill of British Telecom
Q9) Does globalisation help the British Telecom to enhance
their reputation and goodwill among customer's.
Frequency
a) Agree 28
b) Highly agree 12
c) Disagree 6
d) Highly Disagree 4
18

a) Agree b) Highly agree c) Disagree d) Highly Disagree
0
5
10
15
20
25
30 28
12
6
4
Frequency
Interpretation- Out of the 50 respondents, 28 respondents are agree with the statement
that globalisation enhance the brand image and reputation of British Telecom whereas other 12
respondents are highly agree with such statement. The other 10 respondents are doesn't agree
with the same statement.
Recommendation on findings
From the above data analysis, there are few things which need to be consider by British
Telecom before continue to its decision of expansion to other nations. Such things are discusses
as under:
 British Telecom should make their employees more capable to handle grievance and
issues arises due to complexities of business environment. For this, the management
should conduct training and development programs for its staff at both inside and outside
of the workplace.
 It must also require for British Telecom to direct their different departments to perform in
an ethical way and respect cultures of different regions so as to maintain loyalty of
customers.
19

 British Telecom needs to conduct employee engagement programs so as to help them in
understanding their roles and responsibilities while expansion of business. It brings
motivation among workers to work hard and give their best efforts.
 Marketing department should make relevant changes in their existing marketing policies
due to having different culture and social values of various geographical region. For this,
it must required to more use of social media, portal application etc. which can be
accessed anytime and anywhere.
 Human resource managers should recruit new candidates who are having sufficient
knowledge about different culture and rituals so that the company can easily maintain
healthy relationship with the customers of operated nations for longer period of time.
Conclusion to the research
It has been summarised from the above project report hat globalisation makes an
organisation more capable to compete with their rivals as it increases their brand image and
operations at global level. There are some influencing factors arises in business environment
which can affect the business functions of an organisation due tp which it is important for
management to hire a researcher who brings sufficient information about the market fluctuations.
At the end of the research, the valid outcome can be drawn which assist an organisation to think
whether to continue to its decision of expansion of business or can wait for the right time.
20

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Boserup, E., Tan, S. F. and Toulmin, C., 2013. Woman's role in economic development.
Routledge.
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Doherty, N. F., Ashurst, C. and Peppard, J., 2012. Factors affecting the successful realisation of
benefits from systems development projects: findings from three case studies. Journal of
Information Technology. 27(1). pp.1-16.
Florén, H. and Frishammar, J., 2012. From preliminary ideas to corroborated product definitions:
Managing the front end of new product development. California Management Review.
54(4). pp.20-43.
Furlong, J., 2013, January. Globalisation, neoliberalism, and the reform of teacher education in
England. In The educational forum (Vol. 77, No. 1, pp. 28-50). Taylor & Francis
Group.
Lin, A. and Chen, N. C., 2012. Cloud computing as an innovation: Percepetion, attitude, and
adoption. International Journal of Information Management. 32(6). pp.533-540.
Nicholas, J. M. and Steyn, H., 2017. Project management for engineering, business and
technology. Routledge.
Pulina, P. and Timpanaro, G., 2012. Ethics, sustainability and logistics in agricultural and agri-
food economics research. Italian Journal of Agronomy. 7(3). p.33.
Zajda, J., 2015. Globalisation and its impact on education and policy. In Second International
Handbook on Globalisation, Education and Policy Research (pp. 105-125). Springer,
Dordrecht.
Zikmund, W. G. and et. al., 2013. Business research methods. Cengage Learning
Online
Primary source and secondary source. 2018. [online].Available through;
<https://businesscasestudies.co.uk/food-standards-agency/market-research-and-
consumer-protection/primary-and-secondary-research.html>.
Research Methodology. 2018. [Online]. Available through:<https://explorable.com/research-
methodology>.
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APPENDIX
Performance Review and Self-Assessment
Learner Name
Project Title “What are the positive impacts of economic,
cultural, and ethical under globalisation on various
business functions within an organisation.
Important stages  Identification of topic
 Aims
 Objectives
 Sampling of population
 Data collection
 Data analysis
 Recommendation
Key factors you learned from the
project
Understanding the culture of different regions
through communicating with different people.
What skills did you develop Interaction skills, time management skills,
research skills
Discuss the project management skill
you developed
Risk management skills
Project
Positive Impact of globalisation on distinct division of business such as marketing, HR,
22

Operations and Accounting.
Did the project achieve its aim:
Yes
Was the Team efficient:
Yes
Did the project succeed:
Yes
23

Project Logbook
Name:
Project title: “What are the positive economic, cultural, and ethical impacts of
globalisation on different business functions within an organisation.
Date:
Update on weekly research/tasks achieved
Points to consider:
What have you completed?
I make research on the topic “To identify positive economic, cultural, and ethical impacts of
globalisation on different business functions”.
Did you fulfil task requirements?
Yes
Are you on track and within deadlines set?
Yes
Did you need to make any changes to your project management plan?
No
Any risks and/or issues identified?
Related to time and cost
Points to consider:
Did you identify risks/issues with a lack of skills required for undertaking research/tasks?
I feel lack of communication to different people having different culture and backgrounds.
Did you identify any additional risks/issues that have an impact on the project management
plan?
I have found issue related with shortage of time as adoption of marketing tools requires more time.
24

Problems encountered
Related to time
Points to consider:
What barriers did you face?
To deal with different cultural people due to lack of knowledge about multiple languages.
How did you overcome them?
Through engaging in language learning programs.
New ideas and change of project direction
Acceptance of the new technologies and ways of working
What have I learnt about myself this week?
Points to consider:
How did I feel when I had to deal with tasks/problems? Did I find it useful to complete the
tasks?
I believe in myself and my skills while cope up with the issues. It helps me to collect the data more
accurate and reliable.
How well have I performed? What did I contribute? What can I improve on next week?
I have followed all guidelines and instructions given by company while performing. Through this,
I contribute desired efforts towards achieving aims and objectives. I can improve my
communication ability to deal with different cultural people.
How might this learning apply in the future?
To make research for other clients, enhancing skills assist me a lot.
25

Tasks planned for next week
Points to consider:
Which tasks are priority?
Drawing a valid conclusion by analysis of data.
Have you set aside sufficient time for completion?
Yes
Project plan status to date (on, ahead, behind)
Supervisor comments to address
26