Selling ethics

Another moral responsibility of the business is not to put an additional tax on the customers by way of inferior and poor services. A sale involves not selling only, it is explicit in marketing but the implicit is that the business is to serve the needs of the customers, in gross and subtle ways together. Unarguably, there are both physical and psychological costs attached to every buying. In addition to the money one spends and the physical effort he/she exerts, added along with these there involves a meaningful investment in their expectations of the products and services and how the business is going to fulfil them also. Breach of them is very criminal in nature as it stands equal to looting and exploiting their money and conscience. 

Corporate governance in modern parlance means setting out everything in favour of the customers and the rest of the participants by fine-tuning and being flexible to the situations and eventualities the business faces and thereby becoming a socially responsible corporate entity. A view and perspective that are contained only within the four corners of its business cannot help the management to score over the testing times. The style of a business is pathetically archaic, poor and worn-out when it speaks a language that is always inimical and detrimental for the customers and poles apart from their expectations, though it sells off a product that is remarkable in the present market conditions. When the whole or any sub-system behaves contrary to the wants and needs of the customers, an altogether inevitable “rupture” occurs between what the business has promised and delivered. 

Marketing never happens without committing some promises to the prospective customers. Conscious of this imminent rift and rupture, the customers easily feel the need to come out of this “pin-down” situation by opting out of this product or service. The kind of plague that haunts the customers is when the market is depleting with competitive elements where the roost is ruled by this solo player. The customers are deprived of choices in the market and exploitation which is a natural outcome of that condition is further reinforced by the present player in the market. This lone survivor (read monopolist) is critically enjoying the plight of the customers by merely branding them as “time-wasters”. As a rule rather than the exception, a tendency is being thrown into the ring which facilitates more and more bureaucratic lifestyles within the organization which altogether speaks a different and harmful language to the customers and gradually but steadily amassing every prowess to pull every progress back. 

Even the best of the human-asset becomes a run–of–the–mill character in the not-so-long-run. Inside environment becomes a fertile land for average affairs and a rampant tendency to make them an undeletable agenda becomes a commonplace subject instead of paving the way for skipping out of the routine to find solutions to the escalating problems encountered by the two classes of customers.   Running a small restaurant is not dissimilar to managing a mighty MNC, there all humans are involved as customers, employees and other stakeholders. “If you want to tax the customers, run the business bad”, because every bad business decision or it is “business as usual” affects the two classes equally well either directly or otherwise. 

Figures speak but they never speak specifically about the value of services or the loyalty with which the buyer is attached to the product/service until and unless the customer becomes a frontline runner in propagating the real worth of its utility and sustainability of that loyalty. The business that leaves the customers in the lurch after everything is being milked out from them stands a sure case to be really questionable in ethics and integrity and must surely be a subject matter of legal scrutiny in all aspects irrespective of the economic system it represents.

Systems and processes In Businesses

Two Pillars of Every Organization.

It is a fact well-established in the corporate world that not even a business is run on tangible resources only, though the balance sheet supports that only. The internal customers called the “Human Resources” and external customers called “the Customers” are not complementary to each other, but inevitably vital cogs in the wheels of the organizational machinery. Forgetting and neglecting the importance of either of them means the sure doom of the business, if not in the short-term. A well-crafted policy emanates from the top management to harness these resources is an absolute pre-condition for success in a corporate world that is beset with hydra-headed competition and unprecedented change at the turn of every moment. An organization is ill-balanced in its approach and unhealthy in its attitude if it is unheeding the real voice of its two classes of customers, one does act from within and the other from without. 

A common tendency among the “Low-Performing Establishments” is that the owners/management fixes their eyes on the bottom–line only, usually enthusiastic about reaching out to a beefy figure at the cost of the above two. A common disease contracted by such organizations is that they do not invest anything to improve the internal conditions and systems that the employees can make use of for providing real-time solutions to the problems faced by the customers. The pick of organizations around the globe reached the unique status and position called “superior performers” only after sweating a lot by investing their resources like money, time, knowledge and effort in inventing more varied and innovative ways of serving the differing needs of the customers in challenging environments in association with and a genuine and humane framework within which the people can work till the optimization of their untapped potential. The organizations that give a raw deal to their employees cannot grow up to a level, vertically or horizontally, where they can deliver the finest products or render absolutely infallible services.

A management whose whole lookout is to beef up the bottom line is a real danger to the community of customers. It is a wrong science and practice if it trains its working force to adopt a culture that utilizes the resources amassed by the customers to take them for granted. Blatant lies and inflated promises that never can be delivered taking into account the prevailing infrastructure of its business must never be the ethics or tactics that ought not to be encouraged nor instilled into the minds of the cadres. A poorly trained staff has the knowledge and efficacy only to make mistakes and pitfalls in the way he/she performs, let it be any functional responsibility they handle and moreover the never-ending weeps and wails. And it is meaningless and shameful also that  the management is washing its hands and passing the buck to the executives when a dispute occurs where the customer is the defendant on one side asking not the value of money he/she has paid but the service he/she is eligible to be provided. 

It is a certain principle that every unfulfilled promise to the customer is an add-on cost to the company and such an organizational culture cannot support the much-wanted innovative atmosphere inside which speaks itself how the company tackles issues relating to the customers and for what the company stands for. Damage control exercise is a better diplomacy but along with this certain measures of confidence building must also be taken. A tainted reputation is hard to repair in the same market, instead take active control and management of things, events and people to deliver the best of the products and services by designing a workable but flexible system with a focus on continuously improving it also

Business sustainability

Sustainability during the economic down-turn

Business organizations conduct their core business to continue it in the long-term. Sustainability of the business during the economic slump and financial crisis is a major task faced by many organizations irrespective of the size they carry and the geography they share. The onslaught of the changes in the external environment is quite often acts as havoc on the general operations of a business and takes a heavy dent on the sales and revenue which can force the management to opt for some drastic measures within the organization to balance the whole situations. When an economic depression is a wide-spread scenario across the globe, it is a reality that even the business units at the other end of the spectrum are also turn red. Besides the collective efforts among the nations to combat this dangerous malady called slow-growth and lack of proactive economic activities, individual business units must assume supreme responsibility to behave and act in a mature and ethical manner so that a collapse (internal) can be avoided in total. This should be initiated with a renewed vigor in formalizing a vision that fits into the present economic realities and the inevitable struggles ahead. The resource crunch faced by many units force them to have a re-look at the processes by which they carry out their basic operations. However effective they were during the yesterdays’ richness, the same measures can prove futile and worthless in the midst of turbulent changes outside. The simple logic used by responsible managements during times of such crash is to primarily focus on improving the business processes by identifying the nature and supply-chains within and the element of cost involved in delivering the outputs/services. It is common business wisdom to understand that each transaction within or without involves an element of cost and if unheeded, will lead to an unmanageable proportion. Similarly, the structure and purpose of the supply-chain also decide the necessity and quantum of the monetary resources stocked in each link. To remain competitive and superior in performance, transactions are to be effected much faster than the customers’ and competitors’ imaginations as well as all decision-making processes are to be fine-tuned to create much more value along each stage of the supply-chain. And during tough economic times, progress-oriented organizations turn their attention inward such as strengthening and empowering vital departments like Finance, HR etc so that they can support management in areas of strategic decision-making. Such departments can play crucial roles in devising an adequate and viable decision-support system which must have the potential to transact business with less cost and maximum efficiency.

Finance Department

The need of the hour for the Finance/Accounts department is to re-invent itself and must feel the need to wake up to the situation proactively rather than distancing away from transforming the finance and accounting functions. This is done with better reports and analysis instead of choosing to stick with the routine post-mortem statements. Here comes the utility of data and Business Intelligence (BI). The efficiency of the accounting processes can give the firms a cost advantage vis-à-vis their competitors. This department must have an even greater leverage in visualizing a process that is embedded in the total system which can magnify the management’s chances to come up with decisions and solutions to the organizational problems. Being the pillar among the multi-disciplinary functions, it should be able to devise a package of valuable policy tools to arrive at real operational effectiveness. In no uncertain terms, it is the responsibility of this vital department to take a closer look at the core business processes, the cost and current risks involved as well as the controlling system put in place. Looking at how the key programs are being managed and how effective they contribute to the overall goals of the organization is a journey in the right direction. It is high-time such a department shed its habit of becoming an area simply for processing some payments based on half-baked projections and budgets with full of deviations. The following agendas should be made a daily scheme of life by this department during the prevailing economic downturn:

a) A holistic view of each and every transaction/activity. Each functional area can struggle, fight or compete for resources, directly or otherwise. But it is very imperative that cash should be preserved and saved from being funneled into unproductive and personally-biased areas;

b) Care should be taken to implement an effective system of processes within and without the departments so that efforts of the working force are better streamlined to the goals of the company. Such a measure will ward off waste and inefficiency;

c) Propagate the tenet that stricter auditing of activities and functions are to be conducted not only in the field of Accounts and Finance, but other areas will also be brought under the scope of inner audit by respective departments with a view to enhance productivity by identifying waste and makes employees accountable for their actions;

d) A task-team should be formed with an object of studying the nature, scope and value of each and every element of expense and cost so that the value these are contributing to the overall functions can be gauged with a view to coax out the less utilitarian ones.

HR Department        

Though not similar to the Accounts/Finance, a Human Resource Department can play a prominent role when the business is going through rough patches.  Dealing and wheeling in mere paperwork is not only shameful but, frankly speaking, is like giving space to a white-elephant. It is satisfactory news that almost all companies do have a proactive HR, but some of the managements have to look into whether the existence of such departments possess some questionable value or involve considerable financial burden! It is surprising how and why some management sustains an HR Dept whose main pre-occupation seems like giving an entry for the aspiring candidates into the organization and thereafter it is a dysfunctional unit. Along with Accounts/Finance department, this functional area can pioneer the object of sustaining the business operations in a period like contracted growth and pressurized revenues. At this phase, it is imperative that every HR departments must turn their attention on:

a)  If it is stuck with its traditional role, it is high-time that such a department should come out of the shell to see the world outside and feel how the latter behaves during times of stringent economic conditions and looming threats;

b)More than carrying the burden of staffing the organization, it shall take pain in training and managing people so that they along with the organization can perform at maximum capability in a highly fulfilling manner;

c) Talent management, as a priority, should be added to its operational policies. These are nothing but activities to attract, develop and retain best of the employees in each department. Unproductive areas/elements will flourish in the absence of proper scrutiny, audit of performance etc. and may cause for the erosion of vital resources. HR should be very proactive and cautious in arresting such tendencies and may declare policies and programs to make activities more transparent and contributing to a common goal;

d) Employees should be taught the lessons of becoming responsible corporate citizens with discipline enough to contribute more with less. A tough endeavor indeed, but the results will be very productive and long-lasting. This shall be done along with establishing an adequate reward-system and compensation package. Fragile is employee morale and keep it intact at any cost or the cost may be high in delivering goods/services;

e) Regular interactions with other departments are welcome to improve their operations and efficiency and can act as a catalyst of change and innovation in improved processes. An open and transparent communication channel should be made possible as it enables and facilitates the sharing of information and intelligence to carry out business operations with ease and efficiency.

f) Last but not the least, be an ally of Accounts/Finance department and facilitate better business decisions with helpful and refined reports and analysis.

All these said and done, organizational effectiveness and performance are happening in the light of synergy among various functional areas and common understanding. Best efforts are always channelized into better outputs and overall goodness. In a critical period like this, let us all strive for attaining a personal leadership level which shall help us to be competent and inspirational for others. Altogether we can help to reduce wastage and inefficiency around us, provided we contribute our best with less within our assigned working hours.

Auditing

An organization’s internal dynamism, competency and vibrancy depend on an effective mechanism of auditing and monitoring of the system and outputs generated out of that. The management of an organization that seeks effectiveness in every sphere of its activity needs to understand the significance of putting in place an active mechanism of auditing but needs to ensure also at the same time that it is not a “reactive bully of interventionism” in the regular scheme of its work.