Assessing and Changing Organizational Culture

This report aims at critically analyzing the purpose of NAB, its mission for 2016 and the corporate social responsibilities it carries out. The report further examines the organization culture enshrined in this bank and a further evaluation of the suitability of the organization culture adopted. NAB’s main purpose is to provide banking services to the Australian businesses. It provides banking services in the whole of Australia in different sectors including health, government, agribusiness and community banking. This purpose is aimed at making NAB the best banking institution in Australia and New Zealand. The institution maintains its reputation in the banking sector through the formation of the NAB group of companies. The NAB group of companies are found in Australia New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the USA. Their main functions are geared towards ensuring efficiency in the provision of banking and other financial services. Some of their functions are as follows. First, the NAB group of companies work to connect daily with millions of customers across Asia Australia New Zealand and the USA. They offer credit facilities and financial services to both retailers and whole sellers in these countries. Secondly, NAB group of companies, offer private banking to individuals. Individuals can open personal accounts in its branches and enjoy the financial services, (NAB, 2016). In addition to this, Nab group of companies also provide institutional financials services to both public and private institutions. Third, provide wholesale banking services. This is majorly practiced by NAB situated in the US. They also provide treasury activities and institutional banking services. The NAB group of companies provides consistent financial advice to its customers. They offer financial consultancy services to the customers whenever they visit their offices. NAB’s mission for 2016 is to become the best financial services provider in Australia-US, New Zealand, and Asia. A mission statement should be clear and understandable, (Salem, 2008, p. 25). This mission make a difference by its core values of honesty, teamwork and integrity in providing financial services, (NAB, 2016). It plans to achieve this mission by maintaining a strong balance sheet, improving the customer satisfaction and experience and maintaining good performance in its New Zealand and Australian businesses. NAB has developed profit-oriented goals that have enabled it to win the trust of many customers. These goals have also made NAB to be preferred by many organizations both private and public. Many organizations now create accounts with NAB. Some of the ways used by NAB to achieve these goals are as follows. First, Creation of NAB Flik. NAB Flik is a mobile application that has been developed by this bank to enable its customers to request and send money easily. It makes the whole process of requesting for money and sending money simple, (NAB, 2016). This application can be used to send money to any inhabitant of Australia.   Secondly, sending money to a Facebook friend. People can now send money to Facebook friends. This is social media banking, (Senadheera, 2011).By using the NAB Flik, a customer can send money to another’s Facebook account. Someone does not need to know an account number to send money. This makes it more convenient. Third, Internet banking. In the global ma rket, internet banking is a major trend. NAB has widely ventured in internet banking making it easier to send and receive funds. It is also easier, quicker and cost-effective to operate. NAB consists of NAB group of companies which are located in Australia, Asia, Europe and the USA and New Zealand. The Nab group in austral connects several customers across the wholesale and retail business, (NAB, 2016). They also conduct both private banking and institutional banking services. The Group of companies is geographically spread to tap more customers. They also make it easy to access the branches for any financial assistance needed by customers. According to (Tallon, 2007, p. 225), the general environment refers to a range of external factors that influence the performance of an organization. The organization does not always have direct control over these external factors. Some of these factors include technology, economic conditions, demography political forces and legal factors. The main general environment element attributable to National Australia Bank is technology. Technology is the application of science in the business sector. It mainly involves using scientific equipment’s in executing transactions and customer service, in the financial sector, (Tallon, 2007, p. 227). There has been a rapid advancement in technology in the field of business and banks should make attempts to keep up with this advancement. Some of the issues associated with technology include internet marketing, internet banking, increased cybercrimes, mobile banking and increased awareness. Technological advancements have resulted in increased competition both in the banking sector and the business world as a whole.   NAB has tried to embrace technology through the development of technologically sensitive financial services, (NAB, 2016). Some of these services have been enabled by NAB Flik and internet marketing. NAB Flik has encouraged mobile banking improving the efficiency of customer delivery. Internet banking has also simplified the banking process by making it easy to create accounts and conduct transactions through the internet, (AbuShanab, 2007, p. 95). However, some major technological trends have currently emerged. These trends must be taken into consideration by this bank for it to remain competitive. Some of these trends are as follows. Competition is a major factor associated with technology. A company must, therefore, embrace technology to remain competitive. Going by the improvement in technology the technological giants like Google, Facebook Amazon and Apple could invest into the banking sector and outdo most of the banks since they have a good customer base. Most of the consumers use Google apple and amazon, (Au, 2008, p. 160). This improvement has been executed by Apple which has launched the Apple pay. According to Kracheel, 2014, p. 18)), Apple pay is a mobile payment developed by Apple Company, in its attempt to get into the financial sector. Other companies such as Samsung have also promised to follow suit. Soon Facebook Twitter and Amazon will also get into the financial sector. It is only Barclays bank which has invested into this internet banking service by developing its wallet called Pingit. According to, Bhatti (2015), digital banks are banks whose services are mainly offered through the internet. The emergence of digital banks may challenge most existing banks like NAB since they may have the ability to mobilize more customers to have an account with them.In the UK, the likes of Mondo, Atom Sterling, and Tandem, offer alternative financial services that may exert a lot of pressure on the existing banks. NAB is also not an exception as it has to compete effectively to maintain its profits and expand globally. In 2015, blockchains made tremendous profits through the offering of its bitcoin crypto currencies. This can continue to grow to make it make more profits in subsequent years. This makes it a major competitor of banks. Many banks have also launched investigations on how they can make use of these Block chain applications in their business, (Bornholdt, 2014, p. 1403). NAB is also not an exception to this it needs to venture into these applications to continue operating profitably. Wearable applications are applications installed on wearable items. Some wearable items include digital watches and bangles. Many banks have tested wearable applications on smart watches. Apple Company has also launched the Apple Watch which is a smart watch that can support most banking apps, (Kracheel, 2014, p. 19). These are new digital channels that would make banks evolve more in their operations and increase their profitability. If most banks install these apps, then NAB may have a difficult time keeping up with other banks. NAB should, therefore, take these technological improvements into account and adjust to them accordingly. Going digital is a major step in improving profitability in business. The world has technologically advanced in business, (Martins, 2014, p. 3). Therefore, this bank should stay informed about the current developments in the financial sector. It should also make use of the Bit chain applications such as unit coins to increase its profits. Globalization is a major trend associated with technology. Since most technology giants like Apple are investing in the financial sector, there is a great possibility that they may out-compete most of the banks. NAB should, therefore, expand its services to other continents apart from Australia and Asia. It should also develop operations in Africa and China. Staying informed is a major determinant of success. This can be done through consistent environmental evaluation. Environmental scanning is a systematic evaluation of the environment to obtain a better understanding of the major stakeholders in the environment. Nab should constantly practice environmental analysis to identify major technological changes and adapt to them timely. There are smart watches that support banking apps. One of these watches was developed by Apple Company. The bank should adopt these wearable apps to increase the efficiency of its services. Specific environment entails suppliers, customers, competitors and industry regulations that are specific and unique to an entity, and directly impacts on how the entity conducts its business. These factors always affect the organization directly. An organization should, therefore, formulate proper ways of dealing with these factors. Competition is the major critical factor affecting National Australia Bank. Competitors can be potential or current. Current competitors are individuals and organizations which offer the same products or services like those offered by a specific organization, (Drake, 2006, p. 1448). On the other hand, potential competitors are people or organizations that have the capability of offering the same products or services being offered by a certain organization. An organization should, therefore, be aware of its current and potential competitors to operate efficiently, Drake, 2006, p. 1448). In the banking sector, especially in Australia, competition is a major determinant of profitability. NAB should, therefore, be aware of its key competitors and make proper adjustments to be more competitive. Some impacts competition may have on this bank are discussed below; Banks are developing more complicated competition strategies. Some major on internet banking while others venture in developing more branches and increasing global operations as a major weapon for competition. Most banks are growing global, by expanding their branches worldwide. However, NAB has been slow in executing branch expansions. It has not expanded into some continents like Africa. Shortly, there may be more competition that may make this bank unable to enter into new markets and expand its operations. Expansion of services is a major tool used by most organizations to gain competition. Some organizations such as Apple are now expanding into the financial sector, (Rodriguez, 2015, p. 311). Samsung has also made attempts to enter the financial market to provide financial services. New entries into the market may deprive this bank of some potential customers. Some customers may also migrate from NAB to new financial service providers entering the market. Foreign Banks are entering into Foreign Deposit Markets. NAB has not properly expanded its operations globally. Globalization is a key factor in determining competition. Since many foreign banks are now investing in online deposit services, they may out compete for this bank as this bank has not developed a good background in foreign online deposits market. Competitive Forces may cause Decline in Net Interest Margin. Development of several banks operating in Australia Asia and Europe makes it difficult for this bank to obtain a competitive advantage. Some banks have also lowered their interests on loans and mortgages. This has made some customers migrate from NAB to other banks to enjoy the low-interest rates. In the near feature, NAB may also be forced to decrease its interest margins to maintain its customers. This may lead the bank into financial crisis. Entry of non-banking Companies into Financial Sector. Some non-banking companies such as Apple have now started offering financial services. Apple is a well-established company with a good customer based, (Kim, 2015, p. 527). NAB may, therefore, experience stiff competition from such companies that may lead to a decrease in its profitability. To develop customer preference, a company should use more customer friendly procedures. Customer friendly procedures are processes which maximize customers’ interests, (Moroko, 2008, p. 170). NAB should incorporate procedures that would simplify transactions and make transacting with the bank cheaper as compared to other banks. This may enable it to develop customer loyalty. When customers feel satisfied with the services of a company, they will try to stick to the company. Customer satisfaction is achieved by the company through offering proper services to the customers, practicing integrity and being honest with the customers, (Rauben, 2008, p. 91). NAB can use this strategy to gain a competitive advantage over other banks. NAB should do a continuous environmental evaluation to identify its competitors and make proper adjustments. Environmental scanning enables an organization to understand better the environmental variables influencing its operations, Khan, 2009, p. 346). This activity is, therefore, more appropriate to the bank in its attempt to identify its competitors. The bank should carry out a SWOT analysis. This would enable it identify the threats to its proper operation and act on them. SWOT analysis enables organizations to identify the opportunities in the environment and act on them, (Mangel, 2007, p. 22221). The bank will, therefore, be able to determine its major opportunities and act on them through this analysis. Practice corporate social responsibility Caring for the community is a major determinant of success of an organization. A company that conducts this activity develops trust from the community in the long run, (Dhawliwal, 2011, p. 61). NAB should, therefore, practice corporate social responsibility to develop trust among the community members and obtain more customers. There are two major approaches to ethics and social responsibility. Some companies adopt egoism, whereby they only practice corporate social responsibility if it maximizes the profits of the entity, (Ryan, 2016, p. 25). However, NAB has always adopted utilitarianism approach to ethics and social responsibility. It has always ensured the welfare of its customers and the community as a whole is taken care of. This approach advocates for maximization of moral good of the community. It states that a decision or activity should result in maximum good to the society. (Ping, 2007, p. 14). NAB has always adopted this approach to ethics by carrying out the following corporate social responsibility activities; The company encourages its staff members to conduct volunteer activities. It promotes this by offering its employees with two days volunteer to leave, NAB, 2016). In their volunteer activities, the staff members extend assistance to the poor and elderly in Australia. The bank supports the ovarian research foundation in its work of detecting and control of ovarian cancer. It does this by giving cash donations and resources for conducting anti-cancer campaigns. NAB conducts several activities that aim at improving the lives of the community members in Australia. It provides cash donations to groups and offers financial literacy training to members of the community, (NAB, 2016). This has helped to promote a positive relationship between this bank and the members of the community. The NAB staff are key volunteers in environmental conservation and prevention of pollution. They volunteer to clean the environment and stop any signs of environmental pollution, (NAB, 2016). For example, the staff members are allowed to self-nominate as environment ambassadors and work to make difference in their working environment as a whole. It conducts Charity Partner Programs The most current example of this program is based in Ireland. The program brings together staff members investors and other financiers to contribute towards charity. Some of the charity contributions are aimed at supporting cancer treatment and prevention of child abuse and cruelty. Organization culture refers to the values and beliefs that drive the operations of an organization. These values determine the way the organization operates. (Gregory, 2009, p. 674). The best organization for me to work in should have the following principals. First, openness and honesty. A good organization culture for me to work in should embrace openness and honesty. Issues should be discussed openly to promote confidence in the organization. (Glisson, 2007, p. 740). Honesty is also a vital aspect of an organization culture since it promotes trust in the organization. Secondly, teamwork and collaboration. I would like to work in an organization that embraces teamwork and collaboration. The staff members should help each other in times of problems. This promotes efficiency in executing tasks in the organization. Third, Respect and fairness. I would like to work in an organization where I am respected. My rights and values should be taken into consideration. Human rights should be given priority when designing organization culture. (Ardchvili, 2009, p. 450). The organization should also be able to embrace my personality and treatment with respect. Fourth, Simplicity, speed and efficient fulfillment of promises. This is a major value I would consider before joining an organization. Promised rewards should be given in time, my salaries or wages should not be delayed without proper reasons. This is because compensation is a major determinant of motivation. NAB has a clearly outlined organization culture, based on honesty and openness, fairness, simplicity, speed teamwork and efficient execution of promises. These values are exactly what I would look for before joining any organization. Honesty and inclusive are major requirements of a good culture, (Christensen, 2007). Going by these values, I believe that I can fit in this organization. According to Atiku (2016, p. 26), a proper organization culture is one that encourages inclusive, honesty and teamwork. These characteristics are all embraced by NAB. Nab is, therefore, a good organization, which respects the rights of its employees in the workplace and ensures that each employee is treated unique according to personalities held. National Australia Bank is a bank with a clear purpose and mission. It also conducts socially responsible activities as embraced by its culture of support and respect to the community. NAB is, therefore, a good bank for me to work with since it is aligned with my career objectives and specifications of my organization culture of interest. However, the company is still faced with competition as the critical factor. 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