Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Discuss about the Material Flows and Material Productivity.
The process of “globalization has transformed the entire world into a global village where the business organizations from the various different nations of the world can transact their business” (Taras, Steel and Kirkman 2012). The “concept of globalization in the specific context of the business world gained prominence in the later part of the 19th century” with the introduction of the steamboats and the telegraphic system(Taras, Steel and Kirkman 2012). Therefore, the business organizations of the “contemporary business world are increasingly taking the help of this particular concept to further enhance the prospects of their business” (Schlagwein, Thorogood and Willcocks 2014). The most “important factor which the various business organizations need to take into consideration for the process” of their international business is the factor of culture (Schlagwein, Thorogood and Willcocks 2014). It is often seen that the culture as well as the social background of the nation in which a particular business organization expands is drastically different from the culture and the social background of the country to which the organization originally belongs (Schlagwein, Thorogood and Willcocks 2014). Thus, it is often seen that these business organizations need to make several adaptations as well as modifications in their style of business in the various other nations of the world (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). Therefore, the various managers of these organizations need to take the factors of culture as well as social factors “into consideration for the purpose of their business” (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). It is generally seen that the various business organizations fail to take these factors into consideration and as a failure they fail to sustain themselves for very long in the competitive business world of these nations (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). An example of this instance is the business operation of the company Disney in the nation of Paris (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). This report will discuss about the concept of social as well as the cultural factors “which the various managers need to take into consideration for the process of their business” in the other nations of the world. The report will specifically focus on the business operations of the Australian organization Commonwealth Bank in the nation of China in order to study the way socio-cultural factors affect the business world in the present times.
The “Commonwealth Bank of Australia” founded in 1911 is “one of the largest banking organizations not only of the nation of Australia but of the entire world itself” (Commbank.com.au. 2018). The organization is an “Australian multinational bank” and provides a wide range of banking as well as financial facilities to the people of the nation of Australia (Commbank.com.au. 2018). The organization under discussion here not only provides banking as well as financial services to the people of the nation of Australia but also to the diverse business organizations of the nation (Commbank.com.au. 2018). The organization at the time of its foundation intended to provided services only to the people of the nation of Australia however in the recent times it is seen that “following the path of globalization” the organization offers banking as well as financial services to the people and the business organizations from the other nations of the world like New Zealand, China and other Asian countries (Commbank.com.au. 2018). The services provided by the organization include “financial services like retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment and broking services” (Commbank.com.au. 2018). The organization became a completely owned private bank in 1996 and is generally considered to be one of the economic pillars of the nation of Australia along with the other top banks of the nation like “National Australia Bank (NAB), ANZ and Westpac” (Commbank.com.au. 2018). The organization under discussion here “is the 58th largest organization of the world in terms of the net revenue generated by it on yearly basis” (Forbes.com. 2018). The mission of the organization was adequately summed up by Julien Vincent in the “Sydney Morning Herald” in the words “Australia’s big four banks are leading lenders to the massive expansion in coal and gas shipments…..The CBA, meanwhile, highlighted its achievement to cut carbon emissions from operations by 35,000 tonnes in 2012. A single bulk carrier shipment of coal exported from Australia would result in final emissions of four times those savings” (Commbank.com.au. 2018). It is a reflection of these undertakings that within a very short time the organization has emerged as the largest private banking organization of the Southern Hemisphere (Commbank.com.au. 2018). The below given figures provides the important financial details of the organization-
Impact of Society and Culture on Business in Australia
The society of the nation of Australia is a multicultural one and this particular state of the society of the nation has a considerable impact on the business world of this particular nation (Mazanec et al. 2015). Furthermore, the liberal society of the nation also wields a considerable impact on the business world of the nation (Mazanec et al. 2015). An analysis of the nation on the Hofstede cultural model would reveal the following facts
The above “figures clearly indicates that the people of the nation of Australia score very on the index of individualism” which means that the citizens of this nation are likely to indulge in individual works rather than collective kinds of works(Hofstede Insights 2018). It is a reflection of this fact that the “various business organizations of the nation” have a workplace environment where the general focus is on individual work rather on the concept of collective work (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). The high score on the index of masculinity is an indication of the fact that the people of the nation of Australia are more likely to “get motivated by the concepts of success, achievement and competition” (Hofstede Insights 2018). Therefore, the various business organizations of the nation of Australia in order “to enhance the performance level of the employees” tend to create a competitive environment (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). The low score on the index of power distance is an “indicative of the fact that the people in the nation of Australia” do not have a strict hierarchy within the workplace (Hofstede Insights 2018). It is significant to note that the various hierarchical positions within the business organizations of the nation of Australia are created solely for the convenience purposes and the seniors are always accessible (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). The “low score on the uncertainty avoidance section is an indicative of the fact that the people of the nation generally like to take the help of the recent technologies as well as innovations” for the purposes of their business (Hofstede Insights 2018). It is a “reflection of this particular fact that the various business organizations of the nation of Australia generally like to take the help of the recent developments in the fields of technology as well as innovations for the purposes” of their business (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). The low score of the “long term orientation” section is an “indicative of the fact that the people of the nation of Australia” generally do not like the access the success attained by a particular business organization based on their recent performance within the business world rather than on their overall performance (Hofstede Insights 2018). The high score on the indulgence index is an indicative of the fact that the people of the nation of Australia generally like to control their wishes as well as desires and prefer to keep their personal and professional lives separate (Hofstede Insights 2018).
Hofstede’s Cultural Model for Australia
The nation of China is a very conservative one in terms of culture and the major activities of the nation are controlled by the “Communist Party of China” (Taras, Steel and Kirkman 2012). It is “a reflection of this particular aspect that the major business organizations of the nation” are controlled by the “Communist Party of China” (Taras, Steel and Kirkman 2012). An analysis of the nation on Hofstede’s cultural model would reveal the following facts-
The above “figure clearly indicates that the people of the nation of China score very less on the individualism section” which is indicative of the fact that the people of the nation of China are more likely to indulge in collective kinds of work rather on the individual kinds of work(Hofstede Insights 2018). It is “a reflection of this particular fact that the various business organizations of the nation of China” tend to create a collective kind of work environment within their workplaces rather than an atmosphere which is based on the concept of individualism (Taras, Steel and Kirkman 2012). The high “score on the masculinity index is an indicative of the fact that the people of the nation of China” within the framework of the business world are more likely to get “motivated by the concepts of success, achievement and competition” (Hofstede Insights 2018). It is significant to note that the various business organizations of the present times in the nation of China utilized this particular fact “not only to enhance the individual performance of the various employees related to the organization but also to bring about the overall growth as well as the development of their concerned business organization” (Taras, Steel and Kirkman 2012). The high score on the power distance index is “an indicative of the fact that the people of the nation of China” are more likely to get influenced by the power division within the society of the nation (Hofstede Insights 2018). It is significant to note that the various workplaces in the nation of China stringently follow the power division in the workplace and the senior members are not always accessible (Taras, Steel and Kirkman 2012). The “low score on the uncertainty avoidance section is an indicative of the fact that the people of the nation of China” like to avoid uncertainty and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the business organizations of the nation of China do not like to take the help of the “various recent development in the fields in the fields of technology as well as innovations for the purpose of their business” (Hofstede Insights 2018). The “high score on the long term orientation section is an indicative of the fact that the people of the nation of China” judge the performance level of a particular business organization on their past history and not on their recent performance within the particular framework of the business world (Hofstede Insights 2018). The “low score on the indulgence section is an indicative of the fact that the people of the nation of China” do not like to control their desires as well as personal wishes and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the cynicism as well as pessimism forms a common part of the various workplaces of the nation of China (Hofstede Insights 2018).
Society and Culture in China
The banking organization under consideration here has 15 branches as well as 8 sub-branches in the nation of China (Commbank.com.au. 2018). Furthermore, the banking organization under discussion here has more than 20% shares in the banking organizations of the China like “Qilu Bank and Bank of Hangzhou” (Commbank.com.au. 2018). In addition to these, the banking organization under consideration here provides Net Banking, loan and other kinds of facilities to its various to its customers in the different parts of the nation (Commbank.com.au. 2018). Furthermore, the banking organization also provides various kinds of commercial loans and other facilities to the various business organizations in the nation of China (Commbank.com.au. 2018). Therefore, it would be apt to say that the banking organization under discussion here has major investments as well as interests in the nation of China (Commbank.com.au. 2018). Therefore, it becomes all the more important for the various managers and the leaders related to the organization to effectively take into consideration the social as well as the cultural factors which influence the business environment of the nation of China.
The above given Hofstede’s analysis of the two nations of Australia and China clearly indicates that the culture as well as the society of these two nations are drastically different from each other (Schlagwein, Thorogood and Willcocks 2014). Therefore, the practices as well as the strategies which the Commonwealth Bank had followed in the nation of Australia would not be adequate in the nation of China since the style of conducting business as well as the culture of the nation of China is drastically different from the ones of Australia (Schlagwein, Thorogood and Willcocks 2014). Therefore, if a particular manager following the pattern of business which he or she had followed in the nation of Australia wishes to attain the same level of China then he or she is bound to fail (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). For example, the people of the nation of China like to indulge in collective kinds of work whereas the people of the nation of Australia like to indulge in individual kinds of work therefore a manager in the nation of China although he or she is from the nation of Australia would have to create a work environment where the collective kind of work atmosphere will be given priority (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). Furthermore, the business organizations of the nation of Australia like to take the help of help of technology for the process of their business however the people of the nation of China like to avoid uncertainty and therefore the manager of a particular business organization in the nation of China will have to take this particular fact into consideration for the process of their business (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). Furthermore, the various managers related to the organization Commonwealth Bank also need to take into consideration the fact that the two nations differ widely on the index of “long term orientation” (Mazanec et al. 2015). Therefore, the managers instead of focusing on the concept of short term goals as well as growth needs to focus on the long term goals or objectives which will more in synchronization with the work culture as well as the social background of the nation of China (Mazanec et al. 2015). Moreover, the managers will also have to take into consideration the factor of the difference between the two nations on the index of indulgence (Schlagwein, Thorogood and Willcocks 2014). It is a reflection of this particular factor that the people of the nation of Australia normative culture where as the people of the nation of China do not (Schlagwein, Thorogood and Willcocks 2014). These in short are some of the factors which the various international managers of the banking organization Commonwealth Bank need to taken into consideration for the process of their operation in the nation of China.
Hofstede’s Cultural Model for China
Conclusion
The factors of culture as well as social factors have “emerged as one of the most important ones which affect the business of the various business organizations” during the process of internationalization. It is “significant to note that the process of globalization” has become an important necessity of “the various business organizations for the process of their business”. However, it “is often seen that the various business organizations during the process of globalization or internationalization” often tend to ignore the role which the factors of culture as well as social background of the particular nation plays. Therefore, it would be apt to say that it has become very important for the “various business organizations as well as the diverse managers related to them” to take these factors into consideration for the process of their business. It is significant to note that different nations have different cultures and thus different style of conducting and therefore if a particular business organization ignores this particular factor then that particular business organization cannot sustain itself for very long in that particular nation. The banking organization Commonwealth Bank has been able to sustain itself in the business world of China on the basis of the fact that it has taken into effective consideration the culture of the nation of China, which is very different from the culture of the nation of Australia. Therefore, it would be apt to say that “one of the major reasons for the success attained by the organization in the nation of China” is taking into consideration the cultural as well as the social background of the nation.
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