Introduction to Business: A Report on Verdant Leisure

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments. This report analyzes Verdant Leisure's business model.

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS

Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
1. Describe the functional areas of one chosen business and its hierarchy of
management. The company you present should be UK-based and employ between 50-
250 staff (medium size company)..................................................................................4
2. Why is communication central to leadership and management? Within your
answer, provide examples of effective interdepartmental communication within an
organisation....................................................................................................................6
3. What are the current drivers of globalization? In your answer, include an
explanation of how the drivers of globalization impact businesses...............................7
4. Compare and contrast two chosen styles of leadership or management. In your
opinion, which one style is most suitable for the modern global organisation and why?
........................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion....................................................................................................................11
References....................................................................................................................12

Introduction
This report is based on the Verdant Leisure Company which provides holiday home
and travel services for their customers. The communication in the company
management helps in making better decisions for the business. Communication plays
an important part in leading and managing the business organisation. The leadership
styles followed by the company affect employee performance and productivity. The
leadership and management styles also affect the business organisation according to
their size and market. Globalization has also affected the business organisation and its
operations.

1. Describe the functional areas of one chosen business and its hierarchy of
management. The company you present should be UK-based and employ
between 50-250 staff (medium size company).
Verdant leisure is a company offering holiday’s homes and travel services to the
people of the United Kingdom. It owns and operates its holiday home business in
Scotland and Northumberland. The company provides self-catering holidays and
solutions for home ownership. The company also offers many facilities and amenities
like accommodations (with saunas, indoor pools, gyms) travelling and food
management for its customers. The company also sells used and new lodges and
caravans. The main functional areas of the business are explained below:
 Human resources: The human resources of the company are the most important
functional areas of the company as they maintain business performance and
activities. The company has to recruit people to achieve the business goals of
Verdant Leisure. The human resources also maintain that the right people are
hired into the company which has competent skills, experience and qualifications.
The HR is also responsible for maintaining the employee compensation, benefits,
training programs and employee relations (Harrison and Lock, 2017).
 Accounting and financing: The accounting and financing function of the
Verdant Leisure company focuses on the money and fund matters. The company
cannot survive without finance as it is the bloodline for the business and its
activities. It also considers the funds for hiring and recruiting the employees, their
salary, raw material purchases and other business activities which involve cash.
The department is also responsible for producing the financial statements,
deciding the budget or forecasting business needs.
 Marketing and advertising: The Company also develop marketing and
advertising strategies to attract and retain customers. This also helps the company
to know the customer demands and needs in the market. They also develop the
pricing, product, packaging and promoting their products and services.

 Information technology: The IT function includes the decisions for the
technology and information systems of the company. They also maintain the data
security of the company and its storage and security from the misuse and hackers.
 Customer service: The customer service function of the Verdant Leisure
Company includes receiving the feedback and suggestions from the customer
about the company services and products. This also helps in providing support
during the holidays and assists their problems.
Management hierarchy
The management hierarchy of the Verdant Leisure is the system which divides the
workforce of the company into different sections which will help the company to
manage its business activities to attain the business goals effectively. The
management of the Verdant Leisure is divided into three sub-layers which are top-
level management, middle management and front-line management. The top-level
management consists of the Vice president, a board of directors and chief executive
officer. The middle level consists of general managers and regional managers. The
front line management consists of a supervisor, office manager and team leader. The
top-level management is also known as the executive level in the company which
guides the overall business and its functions (Clarke, 2012). The chairman in the top
level management is the representative of the company to the outside world. The top-
level management act as the decision-makers of the organization. They usually
organize meetings and presentations to review the activities of the business at regular
intervals. The middle management team helps to carry out the functions of sales,
marketing, financial management and client relation. They also develop plans and
strategies for business products and services. The first line management team
coordinates the employees to perform the operations of the company. They also
supervise all the projects and their essential aspects.
2.

2. Why is communication central to leadership and management? Within your
answer, provide examples of effective interdepartmental communication within
an organisation.
The leadership and management functions are necessary for the effective performance
of the employees of the business organization so that the business operations and
functions are carried out easily. The leaders and managers also guide the employees
towards the right path which will help them to achieve success and growth. They also
help in motivating and encouraging the employees to support in the attainment of the
business goals and objectives. The leaders and managers have to communicate with
the employees to assign them work and task which are necessary for the day to day
operations of the business (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). The communication also helps
the different departments of Verdant Leisure to have a proper allocation of resources
and effective planning. The leaders and managers also help in resolving the conflicts
between the employees and establishing a healthy relationship among the employees.
The communication is important in the leadership and management in Verdant
Leisure company because:
 Managing diversity: Verdant leisure has different cultural diversity in their
organisation which affects the leaders and managers of the organisation. The
communication helps the leaders and managers to manage different languages,
people and races in the workforce to work collectively and effectively. Cross-
Cultural communication is important to both the employees and management to
achieve the tasks and goals of the company(Men, 2014).
 Resolving conflicts: The employees may offend each other in the business
organisation which affects the performance of the employees. The leaders of the
Verdant Leisure use communication as the tool to resolve and deal with the
conflicts of the employees at the workplace.
 Building a team: The leaders also try to keep all the employees, management and
organisation together so that they can achieve their targets and goals. The leaders
and managers always communicate the advantages of collaborations and team
working in the organisation so that the employees build better relationships with

each other and work as a team. This help the Verdant Leisure company to achieve
collective decision making and increase participation from the workforce
(Nanjundeswaraswamy and Swamy, 2014).

3. What are the current drivers of globalization? In your answer, include an
explanation of how the drivers of globalization impact businesses.
Globalization can be defined as the business reaching to the international market and
performing their business activities there. There are many reasons for the
globalization which has helped the businessmen to attain growth and success in even
foreign countries. Globalization has made the business to earn better profits and
revenues from foreign market and expand their market and customer base. The
businesses are enjoying the globalization effect by increasing their market size and
increasing their sales. The globalization has also decreased the cost of production and
procurement of many products and services in the world (Martin, 2013). This has also
reduced the dependency of the customers on the local brands only, now people enjoy
a wide range of choices to choose from. The main drivers of the globalization are:
 Global market: The increased trade between different countries has made the
globalization easy. The international exchange of good and services have led to
increased sales of the local products and services from the local market to the
foreign markets. Now the business of one country is not limited to a fixed market
area but it can reach far countries to earn more profits. The businessmen are
interested in selling their products and services in other countries so that they earn
better profits, increase their customer base, and better resources like technology.
 Outsourcing: The globalization is also increasing as people are now able to
produce the goods and services at better and low prices with the help of
economies of scale. The business organizations enjoy low-cost production
because of cheap labor, availability of resources and technology. This helps to
increase sales at a lower cost (Adekola and Sergi, 2016).
 Transportation: Now the transportation of goods and services is easy to be
supplied to any place of the world. The exporting and importing of the goods and
services have increased over time which has drive the globalization all over the
world. Standardized products and similar consumer needs have also contributed
to globalization.

 Improved technology: improved and developed technology has helped the
companies to supply their products to different places in the world. The online
trades of the products through websites and applications have helped the
companies to make their products available for consumers far away.
The drivers of globalization have affected the business in the following ways:
 Increased competition: The globalization has led to increased competition in the
markets. The business organization are expanding their market size by entering
into foreign markets. This has helped them to earn more profits through increased
sales and new customers. The foreign market can also offer the business better
resources and opportunity for growth.
 Fluctuation of prices: The markets are now flooded with different business
organisations which offer similar products at better prices. The increased number
of companies selling similar products can affect the pricing strategy of the
products and services in the market. The companies can dominate the pricing of
the products in the global market (Cavusgil, et, al., 2014).
 A wide range of choices: The customers have a wide range of choices for similar
products and services in the market. The customers enjoy better customer
services from the companies due to increased competition. Companies also offer
different offers and strategies to attract customers.
 Better technology and resources: The globalization have also improved the
technology and resources used by business organisations. The business
organisations are not restricted to local resources only but now they can acquire
new and better resources from other countries. This has helped the companies to
enjoy low-cost productions and increased market size.
 Foreign investments: The globalization has also helped the customers to earn
foreign currencies and better profits for their stakeholders. Increased foreign
investments also improve the economy and financial position of the company.
The foreign investment also helps the business to improve their growth and
financial status.


4. Compare and contrast two chosen styles of leadership or management. In your
opinion, which one style is most suitable for the modern global organisation and
why?
The style of leadership and management affect the global organisation, employees and
their performance. The leadership styles define the way which is used by the leaders
to manage the employees in the Verdant Leisure. The company have to build a strong
leadership style and management in the business organisation as it will help the
business to improve their overall performance of the business. The two types of
leadership styles are:
 Autocratic leadership style: In this style of leadership, the leader commands his
followers to accomplish the tasks. The leader has total control over the followers
as they are communicated what the leader wants and needs. The leader has total
control over the followers. The autocratic leader also makes the followers
participative in the decision making or any discussion for the business. The leader
usually believes that he has all the knowledge and can take the right decision on
his own. This is helpful when the business needs to take instant decisions and
have no time for discussion(Fairhurst and Connaughton, 2014).
 Participative or democratic leadership style: In this leadership style, the leader is
democratic and do not just order or command their followers to achieve the
target. The participative leader always discusses and involves the followers in
decision making and also asks for their suggestions. This also helps the followers
to develop the feeling of involvement and attachment in the business. This style
of leadership also has innovative and creative decisions as there are more minds
for the business.
Autocratic style of leadership Participative style of leadership
 The leader does not ask for the
suggestions and feedback from their
followers.
 The leader asks for the suggestions and
feedback from their followers.

 The followers do not participate in the
decision making of the business.
 The followers participate in the
decision making of the business.
 The decision is taken solely by the
leader so it lacks creativity.
 The decisions are more creative and
innovative in democratic leadership.
 The followers are less productive and
do not show any commitment or
involvement.
 The followers are more productive as
they are involved in business planning
and decision making by the leader.
 The decisions making will be effective
and comparatively better as the leader
will have proper knowledge and
experience for decision
making(McCleskey, 2014).
 It may involve poor decision making
as the followers may not be
experienced or skilled for the process.
 It doesn't involve any communication
failures as communication is just one
way where the leader guides the
followers.
 It may have communication failure as
the team have discussions for decision
making.
In the global organisation, the democratic style of leadership will be effective as it
will help in making better relations between the leader and followers. The leaders and
followers of the business organisation have better team working skills and
understanding to carry out business activities. As a global organisation may have
diversity and different cultures in the workforce which can be effectively dealt with
the democratic leadership style.

Conclusion
This report shows that the leadership and management styles help the business
organisation to perform effectively and achieve the goals and targets easily. The
leadership styles and management styles help in developing and increasing the
productivity of the employees in the business organisation. It also includes the
importance of communication in the business organisation. Verdant Leisure also
performs the management styles which help them to pursue their goals and objectives.
The management hierarchy of the company shows that the leaders and managers have
most of the responsibilities to manage the business.