Management Theory and Practice: A Case Study of National Australia Bank

RUNNING HEAD: Management Theory and Practice 0
National Australia bank
Management Theory and Practice

Management Theory and Practice 1
Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Mission and Governance.......................................................................................................................2
Strategic position...................................................................................................................................3
Organisation management function.......................................................................................................6
Conclusion and Recommendations........................................................................................................8
References...........................................................................................................................................10

Management Theory and Practice 2
Introduction
The management theory will look at the mission and offerings of National Australia Bank
(NAB) through the lens of management theory, models and principles. NAB is a leader in
providing banking services. The bank provides specialized services to agribusiness,
education, health, government and community banking. It is complemented by NAB group
business in New Zealand, UK, Asia and USA. The vision of NAB is to be the most respected
bank in Australia and New Zealand. The strategic position of the company will be discussed
in reference to the where the company stands within the market by identifying it’s mission,
strategies and Strength, Weakness, Opportunity Threats (SWOT) analysis. Further, the
management characteristics of NAB will be analyzed against traditional and contemporary
management theories. The theories specifically focus on the planning, leading, organizing
and controlling functions. These theories also involve culture, core values and ethical
decision making. Finally, the management characteristics of the organization are evaluated
against the strategic positioning within the operating environment.
Mission and Governance
NAB is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia. It is the mission of NAB is
to provide core banking and financial services professionally, efficient and competitively in
order to achieve pre-eminent position in the markets. The operations of the company are
driven by the mission of company and values. The values cover aspects of banking and
financial service practices. The values reflect that business should be conducted ethically and
with professionalism to achieve the highest standards of behaviour (Bernstein & Jain, 2014).
The value is protected by the company’s internal code of conduct which requires observance
of strict ethical guidelines. The code of conduct includes:
 Personal conduct
 Honesty
 Relationship with customers
 Prevention of fraud
 Financial advice to customers
 Conflict of interest

Management Theory and Practice 3
The board and management of NAB recognises it’s duties and obligations to represent
shareholders and serve the interests of the company by overseeing and evaluating strategies,
policies and performance of company. The board monitors the performance of company and
builds sustainable value for the shareholders (Omondiagbe, Towns, Wood & Bollard-Breen,
2017). They also review and monitor the values and risk culture of company. The board of
directors of the company comprises one chairman, one group executive officer and eight non-
executive directors. The board performs in a manner consistent with the stated purpose and
values of company. They are liable to perform in accordance with the duties and obligations
imposed by the constitution and laws of company. The board takes actions in a manner to
promote fair customer outcomes and financial market reliability.
The board observes the need for highest standards of corporate policies and business conduct
for the ethical decision making. The bank has adopted a formal code of conduct which is
required to be followed by all the managers and employees (Johnston, 2016). The bank
focuses to act with morality, integrity and fairness. The members should make efforts in the
interest of the bank and should accomplish expectations of the shareholders. The code of
conduct concentrates to act in accordance with all the applicable laws, rules, regulations and
procedures. The members should have responsibility and accountability to report and
investigate reports of unethical practices. The employees are instructed to use bank’s
resources and property by taking all the measures (Daly & Gebremedhin, 2015). The
management of bank includes functions such as planning, organizing, leading and
controlling. Planning involves setting objectives and determining the course of action to
achieve these objectives. It involves analyzing opportunities, threats as well as strengths and
weaknesses. The organizing is the process of developing organizational structure of company
(Huarng & Ribeiro-Soriano, 2014). This process allocates human resources to ensure
objectives are accomplished. Leading includes social and informal sources of influence that
are used by the bank to inspire action taken by others. Controlling at NAB ensures that
performance does not differ from standards.
Strategic position
The strategic position of NAB can be analyzed with the help of SWOT analysis. It enables
managers to do a situational analysis of the firm. It is an important technique to understand
strength, opportunities, weakness and threats faced by the bank in it’s current business
environment. NAB is one of the leading banks in Australia. It has been ranked as the 22nd