Business Report: Leadership and Management in a Global Context

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Introduction to Business
Report Title: “Business report on approaches to leadership and management in a global
context”
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
1.Birmingham Furniture Company- Functional Areas and Hierarchy of Management (in response
to Q1)...............................................................................................................................................4
2. Communication in Leadership and Management (in response to Q2)........................................5
3. Drivers of Globalisation and their impact on businesses (in response to Q3..............................6
4. Comparison of styles of Leadership/Management (in response to Q4)......................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
The report intends to provide a comprehensive understanding on the important approaches to
leadership and management, imperative for a company. Leadership and management are two
primary constituents of better growth and performance, for the better growth of the businesses.
The case study of Birmingham Furniture Company (BFC) will be taken into account for
understanding the business ideas and functioning of the SME in UK. BFC was established in
1982, was profitable under the care of Mr and Mrs Vine. The company was administered by two
skilled artisans and for designing the furniture, vital for the company. Therefore, these were
some of the factors, which would be taken into the functioning of the business.
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Task
1. Birmingham Furniture Company- Functional Areas and Hierarchy of Management (in
response to Q1)
Overview of the company
The company Birmingham Furniture Company (BFC) was established in the year 1982, and was
highly profitable, in terms of small medium sized industry in the year 2017. The early days of the
company was set up in Harborne High Street and traded by Mr and Mrs Vine. The company
specialises in the designing of furniture. The company supplied handmade supplied garden
furniture to the shop and employed around six skilled artisans to growth functioning of the
business. Therefore, there are functional areas that are associated with hierarchical management
of the organisation. The company also employs around 50-250 staff, which are imperative to the
company. Therefore, this also presents the use of the functional departments, which are
associated with the development of the company in a better manner.
Functional areas and Hierarchy of Management
The main functional areas regulate the functioning of the business, in a better and organised
manner. The hierarchy of management regulates the functioning of the business, in a superior
way. The main functional departments that are in operation in Birmingham Furniture Company
are subjected to interconnectedness required for the role of the business. The departments are
human resource department, finance department, and operations department (O'Dwyer and
Gilmore, 2018). The company makes the utilisation of the employees, that possess similar artisan
skills and expertise, which is relevant for the growth and functioning of the department in a
better finite manner. However, there are factors and other business should follow to suit for the
proper and effective management of the areas of the business.
The HR department is imperative, as it leads to the proper management of the skilled workforce
and artisans, which manage the garden and the business. The finance department is embedded
with the responsibility of managing the accounts and the expenditure, related to the business. The
operations department are responsible for the supply of the designed furniture to the main
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market. These departments work in an interconnected manner and communicate accordingly for
carrying out their operations.
The hierarchy of management of the company is suited to flat organisational structure and
comprises of low level of area of business management. Therefore, it is imperative to make the
use of the small-scale measures to manage their company (Collings et al., 2018). This is an
indispensable part of the business, which is concerned with the management of the employees in
a peremptory manner. The division of labour is done based on the employment factors, which are
vital to the functioning of the company. The functional areas and the employees working for the
company are expected to make the use of communication and effective skills to manage the
growth of the business. Although, the business has not been able to make the choice of the
departmental structure adopted by the business, the employees are skilled to deliver the work on
time. Hence, the hierarchical management of the business is done through the adoption of
imperative measures, suited for the business. However, it is expected of the business to maintain
the understanding of the company in a suitable manner. These functional departments work in a
unified manner and are resorted to different duty, and influence the profit and boost the market
share of the company. Hence, these are the unified steps, which are required to be followed as
per the guidelines and the organisational requirements of the company (De Bruijn, 2018).
2. Communication in Leadership and Management (in response to Q2)
Communication and leadership plays a vital role in the management of business organisations.
With the introduction of proper communication, the employees are able to bring in effective
communication measures, which are classified for the management of the team. The leaders
should also be able to manage their employees in a better manner (Ruben and Gigliotti 2016).
Effective communication is central to leadership and management as it leaves no room for
miscommunication or any other factors related to the business. Interdepartmental
communication is managed effectively in the businesses, as functional departments are able to
resolve all the issues, which arise during the activities of the company in a better manner. The
managers are responsible for stirring communication skills, which bring in achievement of the
organisational goals of the company. Accuracy and coherency in language exhibited by the
managers reap good results, which are required of the employees, who devote their time to the
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company. However, effective leadership is all about efficiency in communication. A leader
should be able to convey their thoughts and ideas, for the better functioning of the business. In
the case study of the Birmingham Furniture company, the business is involved in processing and
sending messages for better establishment of the facts that are catered by the company.
The various departments that are in function should be able to communicate for carrying their
operations. The company maintains the records, which gave an understanding on types of
services that are carried in the SME’s, which require consistent backing on the making its sales
to interested customers. The examples of effective communication department are taking
decisions after consulting the HR department while making the use of finance department, to
assess the financial accounts and statements that are vital for the business. The operations
departments should also be able to audit growth, which is imperative for the company. The
employees from the operations departments should be able to communicate with the HR and
finance department, while making the supplies, which are vital for the business. These are some
of the elements, examples of effective interdepartmental communication prevalent in confines of
the organisation of Birmingham (Binder, 2016).
3. Drivers of Globalisation and their impact on businesses (in response to Q3)
Globalisation is the process that helps the organisations or businesses to improve the influence in
the international market. This process involves the operation of business in foreign countries.
There are some drivers of globalisation, such as international investment, multinational
companies, transportation facilities, the use of telecommunications, Information Technology, and
others. The use of technology has facilitated the expansion of business in foreign countries. It has
reduced the cost of transferring information, thus, helping the company to operate without much
problem in different parts of world. The members of the company would not find difficulty in
operating the business from far off regions using IT. In many countries, no capital control has
helped the business to grow and increase its sales rate in foreign market (Rodrik, 2018).
Nowadays, transportation is not an issue that needs to be worried. The company can easily trade
products through airlines. The products will be transferred in less time from one region to
another that would not affect the functions of the business in negative way (Bowler, 2017).
“Birmingham Furniture Company” can easily trade in foreign markets and operate the business
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with the use of IT system. In some countries, the corporate tax rate is less than the United
Kingdom; this would provide an opportunity for the business to make expansion in foreign land.
The cost of shipping products has been reduced; this is one of the drivers of globalisation, as
companies would not need to make much investment in shipping products.
These drivers have helped the organisations to enhance the brand image globally. The economic
rate of the countries would be enhanced where the business would be enhanced. The companies
would employ the native people of the host countries, thus there would be an increment in
employment rate of those countries. The standard of living of the people would be enhanced
through globalisation, as the companies would employ the citizen of foreign countries. The
enhancement in the productivity of the organisation will be helpful for the native people as well
as they would be able to get diverse kinds of products and services. The communication among
the employees of different countries would be improved; there would be sharing of experience
and culture among them that would affect the business positively (Reinert, 2017).
However, there are some negative impacts of globalisation, such as; the competition among the
companies would be increased due to globalisation. This can harm the business that has not
much popularity or has an inadequate range of products (Krugman, 2017). The organisation to
cater to this problem should produce quality goods and provides better services than the rival
companies provide for sustenance of business in host countries. The globalisation would take
away the job of the people of the United Kingdom. The expansion of the company in foreign
countries would employ foreign people. This can reduce the number of employment rate of the
native country, as the native people would find it difficult to get a job. Through this, the image of
the organisation in the native country would be affected.
4. Comparison of styles of Leadership/Management (in response to Q4)
The leadership management and styles are incorporated for the maintenance of the areas, which
are imperative in the organisation. The companies that integrate in the utilisation of managerial
styles those are important for the leadership growth of business. The leaders are given
opportunity for effective management of their employees. Modern globalisation has witnessed
many changes in the organisation, which affects the functioning of the company. Managers adopt
the use of explicit leadership styles, to bring in better results for the functioning of the business.
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The different leadership styles, which are adopted by the company, are the use of autocratic
leadership styles, participative leadership style, transformational leadership, transnational
leadership, and so on. With the onset of globalisation, the companies are given the will to
practice their better trading operations, which are effective for company. Globalisation has
brought in many changes, which have affected and influenced the companies to upgrade their
leadership skills. Hence, it is vital for the businesses, to known their employees and judge as per
the situation. The growth of Laissez-Faire leadership style or autocratic leadership style
negatively affects the functioning of the business. However, there can be a contrast between the
autocratic leadership style and the democratic leadership style (Iqbal et al., 2015).
Hence, it is vital to incorporate the use of rudiments, which are associated with development of a
better style of leadership important for the company. Employees that are able to interact
effectively are predisposed with a fuller sense of their environment. This brings in better
understanding of the involvement of the managers with their company. This is imperative and
expected for the businesses, in the fulfilment of signifying the rights of the employee while
functioning in the workplace. Hence, in the case of autocratic leadership style, the leaders are
equipped to build in working as per their own opinions and overlooking the growth of the
employees and their concerns.
The democratic leadership style is characterised by the participation of the members and gives a
chance to the manager to exercise their control without being authoritative. These are the two
points of difference between autocratic and democratic leadership. Hence, the best leadership
style that could be considered by the organisation is the use of democratic leadership style. This
leadership style is devoted to the growth of employees and sets an example for the significance
of the business. Therefore, the democratic leadership styles are not arbitrary in nature and
restrict the growth of the employee. The autocratic leadership inhibits the growth of the
employees and does not give the employee a chance to air their opinions beneficial for the
business (Fiaz et al., 2017). Hence, democratic leadership style is one of the most wanted
elements that bring in better growth opportunities. The management is smooth and effective in
the case of democratic leadership style.
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Conclusion
The report has given an indicative outline on the rudiments of significance of SME’s that are
vital for the UK economy. As per the comprehension of the case study, it has been elucidated
that businesses are equipped with functional departments. These departments are helpful, as they
help in the interconnection of the communication, which is passed on to different departments.
Therefore, as per the requirements of the furniture business of Birmingham, there are areas,
which cater to the development. Hence, these are some of the places, which the business
considers for the onset of globalisation of the country. It also plays a big role in estimating the
growth of the country as per the role of the furniture business.
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Reference List
Binder, J., 2016. Global project management: communication, collaboration and management
across borders. Routledge.
Bowler, T. (2017). Will globalisation take away your job?. [online] BBC News. Available at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-38600270 [Accessed 25 May 2019].
Collings, D.G., Wood, G.T. and Szamosi, L.T., 2018. Human resource management: A critical
approach. In Human Resource Management (pp. 1-23). Routledge.
De Bruijn, H. and Ten Heuvelhof, E., 2018. Management in networks. Routledge.
Fiaz, M., Su, Q. and Saqib, A., 2017. Leadership styles and employees' motivation: perspective
from an emerging economy. The Journal of Developing Areas, 51(4), pp.143-156.
Iqbal, N., Anwar, S. and Haider, N., 2015. Effect of leadership style on employee
performance. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 5(5), pp.1-6.
Krugman, P., 2017. Crises: The price of globalisation?. In Economics of Globalisation (pp. 31-
50). Routledge.
O'Dwyer, M. and Gilmore, A., 2018. Value and alliance capability and the formation of strategic
alliances in SMEs: The impact of customer orientation and resource optimisation. Journal of
Business Research, 87, pp.58-68.
Reinert, K.A. ed., 2017. Handbook of globalisation and development. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Rodrik, D., 2018. Populism and the Economics of Globalization. Journal of International
Business Policy, pp.1-22.
Ruben, B.D. and Gigliotti, R.A., 2016. Leadership as social influence: An expanded view of
leadership communication theory and practice. Journal of Leadership & Organizational
Studies, 23(4), pp.467-479.
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