Project Report: Analysing Globalisation and BT's Business Strategy

This report examines British Telecom's (BT) globalisation project, analyzing its economic, cultural, and ethical impacts. It begins with an introduction to globalisation and its effects on business functions like operations, marketing, HR, and accounting. The project's aims and objectives are outline...Read More

Managing a Successful
Business Project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
P1: Background of the project along with its aim and objectives...............................................4
P2: Project management plan covering different aspects including cost, scope, time etc..........6
P3: Work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide time frames and stages................8
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................11
P4: Small-scale research by application of qualitative and quantitative research methods......11
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................14
P5: Research and data using an appropriate data tools and techniques....................................14
P6: Covered in PPT...................................................................................................................19
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................19
P7: Performance review and role of research in achieving stated objectives...........................19
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................23
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................24

INTRODUCTION
Globalisation refers to the process by which businesses or other organisation develop
international influence or start operation at international level with having some objectives and
goals. For this, it requires equal support from every business function such as marketing,
accounting, HR etc. to perform its roles and responsibilities in desired way. It increases the
competition at global market which indirectly support the targeted customers in buying quality
products and services at an affordable prices. The present assignment report is based on British
Telecom which deals in providing telecommunication services throughout the United Kingdom.
It was established in the year 1969 and from then to now, it has been operated in more than 180
nations and becomes the largest provider of fixed line, broadband and mobile services. It has
generated approx. 24,082 million GBP pound as net revenue in the year 2017. The company
always tried to expand its global image through an expansion of its operations to different
nations. The project includes background of the project along with its aims and objectives,
project management plan, small scale research, data collection along with its interpretation, an
appropriate recommendation and performance review of project.
P1: Background of the project along with its aim and objectives
The present project is overall about globalisation along with its positive economic,
cultural and ethical impact on different business functions of an organisation. In the present
report, British Telecom is undertaken as an organisation who is looking forward to expand its
business operations at global level so as to increase its global brand image and achieve huge
profitability. For this, the management must determine first to understand the positive impact of
globalisation in the context with businesses in UK which are further discussed as under:
Economic impact: Expansion of business creates lots of employment opportunities
which increases standard of living of people that makes positive impact on growth of an
economy. Due to this, the particular nation invites foreign companies to invest in their home
country so that maximum contribution can be gained towards development of economy (Boyle,
2017).
Cultural impact: Business can be successfully expanded in particular nation if their
culture can be easily analysed and understand. There are large number of people which are
having different culture which makes huge impact on their buying behaviour at the time of
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purchasing products and services. Thus, understanding their culture will help BT to identify their
actual preferences and needs and attained position to fulfil them in more satisfactory manner. It
increases their existing customer base..
Ethical impact: The government of different nations frames certain rules and regulations
to direct organisations operated in their nation to perform business functions more ethically so
that the interest and living of people should not harmed. This will maximise the brand loyalty
and reputation of an organisation (Brady and Davies, 2014). There are certain positive impact of
globalisation on ethical aspect such as it drives other business organisations to follow ethical
principles and guidelines so as to run business in more ethical way.
To expand business at global level, British Telecom should motivate its various business
functions to provide them an adequate support through performing its roles and responsibilities
in desired way. Here are the discussion about the impact of globalisation on different business
functions which are briefly explained as under:
Operations: British Telecom is increasing its global scale which requires to deal with
different clients to achieve huge sustainability. For this, operation unit is responsible to enhance
the efficiency and effectiveness of network operations so as to serve millions of people with best
effective telecommunication services. It makes coordination among various departments which
reduces the chances of duplication of work (Crane and Matten, 2016).
Marketing: Expansion of business can be successful if the company can influence the
buying behaviour of targeted customers in favourable manner. It all depends on marketing
division who is responsible to prepare an effective market budget consisting of all marketing
activities that to be executed properly to attract new customers and meet their needs in an
effective and efficient manner.
HR: Globalising business requires support from workforce to assist them through giving
their maximum efforts and contribution. It can be done through performing HR function in order
to recruit and select candidates of different cultures and backgrounds so that people of new
nation can be served more effectively.
Accounting: It is the function who is liable to record every transaction made during
globalising of business at one place so that it can be properly analysed and enable management
to identify whether expansion bring profitable outcome to company or not. For example, record
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of every expenses enable management to focus on recovering invested amount in near future and
if failed then further expansion should be stopped.
Aims of the Project
“To analyse the positive economic, cultural and ethical impacts of globalisation on
various business departments operating within organisation”- A case study on British Telecoms.
Objectives:
 To understand concept of dealing business at globalise level.
 To determine positive economic, cultural and ethical impact of operating business at
globalise level. To access role of different departments such as HR, Marketing of British Telecom in
dealing at international level.
Questions
 Do you have education about dealing at globalise level?
 What are the positive economic, cultural and ethical impact of operating business at
globalise level?
 What is the role of different departments such as HR, Marketing of British Telecom in
dealing at international level?
P2: Project management plan covering different aspects including cost, scope, time etc.
Project management is an application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a wide
ranger of activities with an objective of meeting the requirements of the particular project. For
this, the management of British Telecoms should prepare project plan in which different aspects
such as cost, scope, time, quality, communication etc. are considered properly as the success of
project is very much depend on these aspects. These aspects are further briefly discussed as
under:
Cost: Expansion of business requires to perform several functions such as recruitment
and selection, marketing activities, using of accounting systems etc. so as to achieve success in
new nations within shorter time period. It all requires cost to incur due to which the management
should ensure their different departments about having sufficient availability of funds. It can be
possible through raising funds after estimating the total cost of project. The management of
British Telecoms is estimated 8,00,000 pound to execute the decision of expansion of business.
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On the other side, researcher has estimated approx. 60000 pound as total expenses incurred to
carry out an effective research activity (Fageha and Aibinu, 2013).
Scope: Scope is not appropriate in both case. This will be required to be explain in
context of what are the new benefits that are achieved by organisation with the help of
globalisation of their business and how this will have positive impact upon their business
operations It is related with the possibilities regarding achieving benefits by BT after further
expansion of business at global level. BT is currently achieving huge brand image at global level
with having support of large customer strengths thus the company can easily get skilled and
knowledgeable candidates during recruitment process which help them in understanding culture
of operated nation. It maximises the efficiency level in business operations which in results
increasing profits of company. On the other hand, researcher has also wider scope to carry out an
effective research activities as there are lots of people who are having sufficient knowledge about
the services of BT due to which they can easily shows their willingness to provide their views
and suggestions to the researcher.
Time: It is an important aspect which either drives business organisation to achieve
competitive advantage or bring them backward among their rivals at global market. Therefore,
the management should set time frames for each activities so that the employees feels motivated
and give their best efforts in execution of decision regarding expansion of business. To increase
their global scale, the management of British Telecoms has set time period of 6 months. On the
other side, researcher has expected to complete research work within 2 months of allotted
research work (Furlong, 2013).
Quality: Customers easily attracts towards quality due to which the company need not to
make extra efforts in influencing their buying behaviour towards their products and services if
they serve quality services in the market. It requires employees to be more skilled to serve
customers in more effective manner so that their loyalty towards company can be retained for
longer period of time. On the other side, researcher need to use qualitative method while
collecting data through using questionnaire, personal interviews etc. which gives reliable and
accurate data about the research topic. It makes easy for researcher to draw a valid conclusion at
the end of research.
Communication: Maintaining a better relations with the loyal customers can be possible
if the company put their efforts in communicating with them on regular basis so as to identify
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their actual perceptions and views towards their products and services. British telecoms serves
millions of customers which becomes difficult for them to analyse views and perceptions of each
customers. Thus, to retain loyal and attract new customers, the management of BT need to
communicate them using social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook etc. about their
expansion so that their customers can easily know about the services they can received at their
location. On the other side, researcher also have number of options to communicate with their
respondents to collect relevant data about their research topic (Heger and Rohrbeck, 2012). Such
options incudes e-mail, direct call, online invitation, personally visit etc. Through a better
communication, researcher can ensure their selected respondents about maintaining their privacy.
Risk: It arises due to contingencies present under business environment which can affect
the decision of management of British Telecoms regarding expansion of business. This requires
management to forecast the risk which can be arises due to poor support from employees,
shortage of resources, ineffectiveness of pre-determined plans and policies etc. Thus, it must
required for management to prepare in advance with an effective plans and strategies so as to
deal with future risk such as fluctuations in political situations with more effective and efficient
manner. On the other hand, researcher have also faces some sort of risk that may arises due to
lack of funds, lack of support from team members, poor communication etc. These must be cope
up by researcher through overseeing each activity before execution of research activities (Jeston,
2014).
Resources: It is an aspect which encourages an organisation to increase their operations
at global scale. Resources includes staff members, technologies, land and building etc. which are
necessary to utilise while expansion of business. The researcher is focusing on collecting reliable
and accurate information about the research topic which can be possible through using various
resources such as books, journals, magazines, internet networking etc.
P3: Work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide time frames and stages
Work Break down structure: It is essentially a first step of the project planning.
Additionally, it is a chart which represent the critical work elements referred to as task or of a
project and are illustrated to portray the relationship that each task with each other. In addition to
this it is used by British Telecom industry so as to divide the complex projects into a simpler and
manageable tasks in order to increase the efficiency and the productivity of the project.
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Gantt Chart: It is a type of bar chart which represent and illustrate about the project
schedule. In addition to this it is used by British Telecom industry so as to provide guidance to
the workforce to perform their specific task of a project in a specific and accurate manner.
Moreover this chart list the task to be performed on a vertical axis and specify the time interval
on a horizontal axis. Moreover it is also used to plan projects of all sizes which is useful to show
what work is to be scheduled and to be done on a specific manner.

TASK 2
P4: Small-scale research by application of qualitative and quantitative research methods
Research methodology: It is an essential activity which assist researcher to identify,
select and evaluate the gathered data related with the research topic so as to determine their
validity and reliability so that relevant conclusion can be drawn at the end of research which
facilitate British Telecoms to make decision regarding its expansion of business. It includes
methods such as theoretical and systematic which are considered while conducting research work
(Research Methodology, 2018)

Data collection: Gathering of data is compulsory in order to provide an idea to British
Telecom about the growth and success after expansion of their business. For this, researcher can
either select primary or secondary data or both. While gathering of primary data, researcher
have lots of sources to opt such as questionnaire, surveys, panel interviews etc. which allows
them to ask their research topic related questions directly to the selected respondents (Primary
source and secondary source, 2018). It is most adopted data due to having high accuracy and
reliability but consumes more time, money and efforts. On the other hand, while collection of
secondary data researcher have also many sources to opt such as internet searches, libraries,
progress reports etc. It is second-hand information which is already used by someone others due
to which it provides less accuracy and reliability. It has some benefits as well as it takes less
time, funds and efforts due to which the researcher adopt such data only when they have limited
resources to carry out their research work. In the present research, both primary and secondary
data has been adopted by the researcher to bring out maximum information about research topic
which makes easy for its client i.e. British Telecoms to decide whether to continue to follow their
decision or should wait for the right time. To collect primary data, questionnaire has been framed
by the researcher while collecting secondary data, views and opinions of different authors
published on internet should taken into consideration (Oakes, 2016).
Questionnaire: It is mostly used method for research purposes which can be of both
quantitative and qualitative in nature. It consists of series of questions related with the research
topic which further asked to the selected respondents who represents the overall views and
opinions of whole population. There are some benefits behind opting method of questionnaire
such as large amount of information can be gathered within shorter period of time, results of
questionnaires can easily and quickly quantified by researcher or the using of a software. On the
other hand, it has some disadvantages as well such as it lacks of validity, no evidence to prove
the received information is accurate, maximum chances of mis-understood the questions due to
having respondents of different culture and backgrounds (Kowalkowski, Kindström and
Brehmer, 2011).
Sampling Size: The researcher has selected 60 respondents as a sample size of population
whose views and opinions are taken into consideration while drawing a conclusion at the end of
research. These respondents are employees of British Telecoms, customers and members of
community as a whole.
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Questionnaire
Name:
Age:
Gender:
1). Do you have any knowledge about the concept of Globalisation?
 Yes
 No
 Can't say
2). Do British Telecom make changes in their existing services for operating at
international level?
 Yes
 No
3). Which departments of British Telecom plays essential role to operate business at global
level?
 HR
 Marketing
 IT
 Others
4). What are the positive economic and cultural impact on foreign country?
 Reduction in poverty
 more employment
 able to represent at international level
5). What are the sources or tools which helps to succeed at international level?
 Employees
 Expertise knowledge
 Government
 Customers
6). What benefits can British Telecom can get with expanding business at international
level?
 Increment in sales and profits
 Building customer loyalty

 Competing with international brand
7). What are the issues which may arise while operating at globalise level?
 Change in taste of consumer
 Cut throat competition
 Trade barrier
 Lack of market knowledge
 Lack of engagement of employees
8). What are the remedial steps taken to overcome issues faced by British Telecom while
dealing at international level?
 Training of employees
 Proper planning for market research
 Hiring of expertise and legal advisor
9). Do you favour British Telecom to operate at international level?
 Yes
 No
 Can't say
10). Recommendation to British Telecoms to successfully expand its operations at global
level?
TASK 3
P5: Research and data using an appropriate data tools and techniques
THEME 1:
1). Do you have any knowledge about the concept
of Globalisation?
Frequency
 Yes 40
 No 15
 Can't say 5
13

Interpretation: From 60 respondents, 40 respondents know about the term globalisation
whereas 15 respondents doesn't have any knowledge about such concept. The remaining 5
respondents didn't say anything.
THEME 2:
2). Do British Telecom make changes in their
existing services for operating at international
level?
Frequency
 Yes 38
 No 22
Interpretation: Out of 60 respondents, 38 respondents thinks British Telecoms should
make changes in their existing services while expansion of business at global level whereas
remaining 22 respondents doesn't agree with them.
THEME 3:
3). Which departments of British Telecom
plays essential role to operate business at
global level?
Frequency
 HR 15
 Marketing 20
 IT 15
 Others 10

Interpretation: Among 60 respondents, 15 respondents thinks HR plays an important
role in operating business at global level whereas remaining 20, 15 and 10 respondents thinks
marketing, IT and operations provide maximum contribution towards expansion of business
respectively.
THEME 4:
4). What are the positive economic and
cultural impact on foreign country?
Frequency
 Reduction in poverty 15
 More employment 15
 Able to represent at international
level
30
Interpretation: Out of 60 respondents, 30 respondents thinks globalisation reduces the
poverty of nation whereas other 30 respondents thinks that it help in creating employment and
strong presence at global level.
THEME 5:
5). What are the sources or tools which
helps to succeed at international level?
Frequency
 Employees 18
 Expertise knowledge 12
 Government 13
 Customers 17
15

Interpretation: Among 60 respondents, 18 people consider employees as major tool or
source which drives British Telecom to achieve success at global level whereas the remaining
12, 13 and 17 consider expertise knowledge, government and customers respectively are the
major sources.
THEME 6:
6). What benefits can British Telecom can
get with expanding business at
international level?
Frequency
 Increment in sales and profits 25
 Building customer loyalty 15
 Competing with international brand 20
Interpretation: Out of 60 respondents, 25 respondents thinks globalisation help British
Telecoms to increase sales and profits whereas other 15 respondents thinks it support company in
achieving customer loyalty. The remaining 20 people thinks that it enable company to compete
with international brand more effectively.
THEME 7:
7). What are the issues which may arise
while operating at globalise level?
Frequency
 Change in taste of consumer 10
 Cut throat competition 15
 Trade barrier 12
 Lack of market knowledge 13

 Lack of engagement of employees 10
Interpretation: Globalisation can bring various issues towards British Telecoms. From
60 respondents, 10 respondents thinks changes in consumer preferences is major issue whereas
15, 12, 13 and 10 respondents determine different issues such as high competition, trade barrier,
lack of market knowledge and lack of engagement of employees respectively.
THEME 8:
8). What are the remedial steps taken to
overcome issues faced by British Telecom
while dealing at international level?
Frequency
 Training of employees 18
 Proper planning for market research 22
 Hiring of expertise and legal advisor 20
Interpretation: Out of 60 respondents, 10 people thinks that British Telecoms should
provide training programs to their staff whereas remaining 22 and 20 respondents thinks that the
company should do proper planning for market research and hiring legal advisor respectively.
THEME 9:
9). Do you favour British Telecom to
operate at international level?
Frequency
 Yes 38
 No 12
17

 Can't say 10
Interpretation: Among 60 respondents, 38 respondents thinks globalisation brings
favourable outcome to British Telecoms whereas 12 respondents doesn't agree with the same.
The other 10 respondents didn't say anything about such statement.
P6: Covered in PPT
TASK 4
P7: Performance review and role of research in achieving stated objectives
After completion of research work, certain things has been identified which should be
consider by me as well as my client in order to expand its business operations at global level.
After analysing the overall information collected through conducting research, it can be easily
said that British Telecoms can successfully increase its operations at global scale if they make
relevant changes in their existing strategies and plans mentioned in P6. While carrying out an
effective research, I have utilised available resources in an optimum manner but there are few
things on which I need to consider such as I have observed lack of analytical, communication,
report writing skills etc. For this, I found difficulties in managing time, dealing with people of
different culture and backgrounds etc. Thus, I need to enhance by weaknesses through following
manner:
Competency How I have developed in this
area
Why I need to do to develop
further in the area
Analytical skills It also known as problem
solving skills as I took more
time to reach to any decision
due to having fear of facing
failure. Due to having limited
time, I faced more difficulties
Such skill help me to resolve
issues which came in the path
of executing research
activities. It make me more
capable to make decisions
more quickly without wasting

while carrying out an effective
research. For this, I need to
enhance confidence level of
mine through engaging in
particular case studies,
observing, reading books,
playing Lumosity games to
enhance analytical skills.
of time. For example, selection
of methods of data collection.
Research skills It can be improved through
analysing research reports
written by some other
researchers which help in
identifying the areas which I
need to improved.
Through developing such skill,
I can able to conduct further
research for my future clients
in more effective and efficient
way. This help me to achieve
growth and success in my
research career.
Communication Skill This can be improved through
interacting with others,
participating in
communication classes,
engaging in discussion with
audience etc.
This will help me in
understanding the cultures and
perceptions of others on
particular topic and maintain
healthy relations with clients
and team members.
Report writing In this field, I joined some
workshops, meetup and also
took writing class for further
development of myself.
To improve such skill, I need
to joined workshops, meetup
and also participating in
writing classes which help me
This will help me to
communicate information to
my clients in understandable
manner so that they can able to
make right decision for their
own betterment.
19

in achieving future growth and
success.
Performance Review
What was the project supposed to accomplish?
“To analyse the positive economic, cultural and ethical impacts of globalisation on various
business departments operating within organisation”- A case study on British Telecoms.
Did the project succeed in its aims? How do you know? Specifically, please outline any
evaluation and assessment undertaken.
Yes, by analysing actual perception and views of respondents towards the influence of
globalisation.
What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all aspects of the project (e.g. initial
inception, project activities and project outcomes) from a range of perspectives.
Team working and Team spirit are determined as best things which provides beneficial outputs
to company.
What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled? Was there timely
identification of issues and resolution during the project process?
Conflicts among team mates and Time mismanagement are the major issues during research
work.
What did you learn from undertaking the project?
I am capable to acquire proper knowledge and skill about the influence of globalisation on
different business functions of British Telecoms.
How would you rate your performance as project manager?
I rate my performance 9 out of 10.
What strengths and weaknesses of your performance did you identify?
My strength in this project is interpersonal and weakness is time management which impact on

my performance.
How will this inform and support your continuous professional development?
Continuous professional development is essential in accomplishing targets and objectives which
is essential in future activities also.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above project report that operating business operations at
global scale is having dream of every organisation as it help them in achieving huge brand image
and profitability. For this, it is important for an organisation to hire researcher who help them in
taking decisions of globalising their business. In the present report, British Telecoms is willing to
increases its operations at global scale due to which their researcher has conducted research for
them. After completion of research, it has been identified that the company can continue to
follow its decision of expansion after considering the recommendations provided by their
researcher under this report.
21

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Boyle, G., 2017. Design project management. Routledge.
Brady, T. and Davies, A., 2014. Managing structural and dynamic complexity: A tale of two
projects. Project Management Journal. 45(4). pp.21-38.
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Fageha, M. K. and Aibinu, A. A., 2013. Managing project scope definition to improve
stakeholders’ participation and enhance project outcome. Procedia-Social and
Behavioral Sciences. 74. pp.154-164.
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.
Heger, T. and Rohrbeck, R., 2012. Strategic foresight for collaborative exploration of new
business fields. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 79(5). pp.819-831.
Jeston, J., 2014. Business process management. Routledge.
Kowalkowski, C., Kindström, D. and Brehmer, P. O., 2011. Managing industrial service
offerings in global business markets. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. 26(3).
pp.181-192.
Oakes, G., 2016. Project reviews, assurance and governance. Gower.
Pryke, S. and Smyth, H., 2012. The management of complex projects: A relationship approach.
John Wiley & Sons.S
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.
Spender, J.C., 2014. Business strategy: Managing uncertainty, opportunity, and enterprise.
Oxford University Press.
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>.

APPENDIX
Project Logbook
Name:
Project title:
Update on weekly research/tasks achieved.
I have completed research on “To analyse the positive economic, cultural and ethical impacts of
globalisation on various business departments operating within organisation”- A case study on
British Telecoms.
Yes, I am right track to carry out research work within allotted time period.
No need to make changes in current project management plan.
Any risks and/or issues identified?
Unwillingness of respondents is major issue which hugely impacts the reliability and accuracy
of gathered data.
Problems encountered
Problem related with Conflicts among team mates has been encountered. For this, entertainment
activities has been conducted to maintain harmony among them.
New ideas and change of project direction
What have I learnt about myself this week?
I learnt about managing time while executing research work.
Tasks planned for next week
I am able to complete my operations in effective and signifiant manner.
Project plan status to date (on, ahead, behind)
my project was on time.
Supervisor comments to address
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