Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal Factors Affecting Wesfarmers

Discuss about the Cross Cultural Management for Communication and HRM.
 

Communication and HRM issues help in maintaining the different levels of changes in the structure and the performance of the business in the market. The coordinated actions of the workforce help in maintaining the progression of the business in the international markets. According to Greenblat, E. (2018), Wesfarmers, the Australian company, has taken steps to invest in their new business development in Hong Kong. It will be helping the organization to expand the scopes of marketing its products worldwide. On the other hand, it will be contributing to the sustenance of the organization in the market. Mr. Goyder, the CEO of the business stated that the proper functioning of the workforce and the different innovations that are undertaken by the business has significantly contributed to the sustenance and improvements of the same while operating in the international markets (Group 2018). Identification of the issues that are faced by the organization will be helping the same to avoid the situations of the risks.

The report aims at evaluating the different aspects of the change that the organization is required to undertake while expanding their business in Hong Kong. The diversity management and the cross cultural framework that is undertaken by the organization helps in perfecting the communication strategies of the business, which helps in maintaining the involvements of the employees. The report examines the different issues that are faced by the organization and the manner in which they can be avoided.

Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, which was established in the year 1914 as a cooperative company. The company is headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. The Company employs approximately 220,000 employees. The different changes in the company structure and its functioning have helped the business to grow in the international markets. On the other hand, the identification of the innovative approaches of the organization and the management policies that are undertaken by the business has helped in sustenance of the business in the Australian markets. The progress of the organization is reflected through the revenue of the business, which is A$65.98 billion as on 2016. The revenue has grown by the end of the fiscal year 2017, which reflected an amount of A$ 68.45 billion. On the other hand, the operating income and the net income of the organization have increased from A$3.61 billion (2016) and A$2.35 billion (2016) to A$4 billion (2017) and A$2.87 billion (2017) respectively. The activities and the strategies that are formed by the business are aimed at bringing in innovation in the situation of the business in the international markets. The key element of the change in the structure and the functioning of the organization is dependent on the smooth functioning of the employees as per the objectives of the business.

Political Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper	The stable political structure of the organization helps in maintaining the different levels of change in the systems of the businesses (Kawar  2012). The bilingual policy of the nation “One country, two system” has helped in the identifying the liberal mindset of the politics apart from all the political unrests. It will be helping the organization to bring in changes in the systems of the business while operating in the international markets.
Economic	The economic factors that might be faced by the organization while expanding their business in Hong Kong is the stiff rise of the base rate by 25 basis points to 1.50% by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). It will be affecting the export functions and the investments that are planned by the business while operating in Hong Kong. The economic advancements in the nation has helped in enhancing the lifestyle of the people and thereby has enabled the growth of the business in the markets.
Social	Hong Kong is a bilingual society where people from different nations have affected the functioning of the multinational organization in the market. The language that is frequently used by some 95% of the population in the nation is Cantonese. The supply of skilled workforce will be helping the business to undertake it smooth functioning. The key elements of the change in the proper functioning of the organization are dependent on the supply of the skilled workforce.
Technological	Hong Kong is a technologically improved nation where the major aim of the organizations to prosper in the markets is marked on the basis of continuous innovation (Kawar  2012). Continuous innovation in the systems of the business operations are based on the proper functioning of the strategies that are formed by the organizations to bring in changes in the systems of the same in the market. The changes in the technologies have helped in bringing forth progression in the structure and the functioning of the business in the market.
Environmental	The health and safety standards that are imposed by the government of the Hong Kong have helped in maintaining the different safety standards in the nation. Therefore, as the company is striving to grow in the Hong Kong’s market, it must formulate policies to adhere to the regulations that are formed by the government of the nation for ensuring the smooth performance of the same in the market.
Legal	The legal environment of the nation is specifically based on the liberalism in the tax structures that are imposed by the governments on the organizations (Moriano et al.  2012). The key elements of the change in the functioning of the business are dependent on the transparency of the legal factors on which the company will be framing the strategies to meet the objectives of the business (Emmerling  and Boyatzis  2012).   The country offers free trade facilities, which will be helping the organization to bring in sustenance of the same in the Hong Kong’s market structure.

Cross-Cultural Activities and Issues Faced by Wesfarmers in Hong Kong

The differences in the cross cultural activities of the organization is dependent on the identification of the three factors- corporate company culture, professional industry culture and national ethnic culture. Understanding the different cultures helps in the identifying of the different possible unavoidable circumstances that might be faced by Wesfarmers while operating in the Hong Kong’s markets. This section of the report aims at understanding the key issues that might be faced by the concerned organization while expanding their business in the Hong Kong market. 

Enforcement of the corporate company culture of the organization, Wesfarmers, has brought about changes in the functioning of the business as per the needs of the business to maintain its sustenance in the markets. The key elements of the change in the company are facilitated through the involvement of the skilled workforce of the business and the manner in which it will be helping the business to grow in the international markets. The availability of the skilled workforce in the Hong Kong market has helped the business in bringing forth changes in the systems. The application of the ethics and the social responsibility of the organization on the functions is an important point where the company has failed to match up with the culture that is prevalent in the Hong Kong markets (Gesteland  2012). The changes in the organizational structure are dependent on the identification of the varied aspects of the trade cultures in Hong Kong. The clash in the cultures between the host market and the company has affected the smooth functioning of the business.  

On the other hand, the identification of the needs of the workforce based on motivation and empowerment affects the smooth functioning of the business in the market.  The main issues that might be faced by the organization while operating in the Hong Kong markets are based on the government norms of including the workforce from the local regions of the nation. The inclusion of the people from the nation might affect the proper functioning of the workforce in the absence of proper diversity management (Kaynak, Fulmer  and Keys  2013). However, the diversity in the workforce will be helping the organization to bring in improvements in the systems and the performance of the business in the market.

The identification of the different factors that influences the change in the systems and the functioning of the business are dependent on the understanding of the culture of the industry and the professional needs of the same.  The identification of the functional orientation while marketing the products and the proper distribution of the workforce has affected the functioning of the organizations in the market (Ferraro  and Briody  2013). The delineation of the professional industry culture helps in the identification of the steps that helps in the proper functioning of the business in the market. Coping up with the differences in the cultures in the Hong Kong is challenging for a company, which is based in Australia (Emmerling  and Boyatzis  2012). The identification of the marketing and the other attributes depending on the supply of the workforce has created a wall between the different aspects of the change that is undertaken by the organization while operating in the market. The identification of the professional cultures of the nation and the manner in which they can be implemented on the structure of the business helps in bringing forth changes in the structure and the performance of the business in the market. 

The identification of the national ethnic culture that is prevalent in the nation will be helping the organization to cope up with the different discrepancies that are faced by the same while operating in the Hong Kong market (Bochner  2013).  The identification of the national ethnic culture of the host country will be helping Wesfarmers to bring in changes in the model of their business. The flexibility of the business model helps in maintaining the different levels of change in the structure and the functioning of the business in the market. On the other hand, the key identification of the resources that are required by the organization to bring in changes in the systems is supported through the identification of the needs of the business to prosper in the business.

The recommended actions that might be undertaken by the business are discussed in this section of the report.

• Identification of the culture prevalent in Hong Kong and thereby formulating models that are flexible to cope up with different market conditions
• Involving the local communities in the business to adhere to the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) needs of the organization as it will also help the organization to bring in diversity in the workforce and thereby innovate on the basis of the identification of the needs of the customers in the market.
• Licensing stores in the different parts of the Hong Kong market to make the people aware of the product and service offerings of the organization. It can also be taken a marketing strategy of the organization, which will be helping the business to grow in the respective markets. 

References

Bochner, S. ed., 2013. Cultures in contact: Studies in cross-cultural interaction (Vol. 1). Elsevier.

Emmerling, R.J. and Boyatzis, R.E., 2012. Emotional and social intelligence competencies: cross cultural implications. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 19(1), pp.4-18.

Emmerling, R.J. and Boyatzis, R.E., 2012. Emotional and social intelligence competencies: cross cultural implications. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 19(1), pp.4-18.

Ferraro, G.P. and Briody, E.K., 2013. The cultural dimension of global business. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

Gesteland, R.R., 2012. Cross-cultural business behavior: a guide for global management. Copenhagen Business School Press DK.

Greenblat, E. 2018. Wesfarmers eyes international expansion. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/wesfarmers-eyes-international-expansion-20140528-3930c.html [Accessed 18 May 2018].

Group, D. 2018. Industrials. [online] Wesfarmers.com.au. Available at: https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/our-businesses/industrials [Accessed 19 May 2018].

Kawar, T.I., 2012. Cross-cultural differences in management. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(6).

Kaynak, E., Fulmer, R.M. and Keys, J.B., 2013. Do cultural differences make a business difference? Contextual factors affecting cross-cultural relationship success. In Executive Development and Organizational Learning for Global Business(pp. 41-66). Routledge.

Moriano, J.A., Gorgievski, M., Laguna, M., Stephan, U. and Zarafshani, K., 2012. A cross-cultural approach to understanding entrepreneurial intention. Journal of career development, 39(2), pp.162-185.