What changes have taken place in organizations recently?

Recent years have seen massive restructuring. Companies downsized and delayered, getting rid of levels of middle-management in order to become leaner, flatter, supposedly more efficient organisations. Often the reasoning was that computer networks allow top managers instant access to information that was previously gathered and transmitted upwards by middle managers, whose other main function was to communicate executives' key messages downwards to the workforce and in this they were accused of diluting or confusing the messages, or worse. With fewer organisational layers, top managers say they can communicate more directly with front-line employees, the people who actually produce the goods or

services, and deal with customers. With less direct supervision, employees have often been encouraged to make more decisions for themselves in a process of empowerment.

Another trend was re-engineering, the idea that an organisation should not change incrementally, but should start again from scratch with no preconceptions about how things-should be done, not just in manufacturing but in all the processes that contribute to what an organization does, hence business process re-engineering, or BPR.

The human side of this, again, was that there would probably be redundancies. The people remaining would probably feel demoralized, wondering when the next wave of change was going to

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come and whether it would be their turn to be thrown out.

Explain the meaning of BPR.

Business process reengineering (BPR) is a management approach aiming at improvements by means of

elevating efficiency and effectiveness of the processes that exist within and across organizations. BPR is a restructuring an organization by means of a radical reconsideration of its core processes. The key benefits of BPR are:

· optimization of business processes:

· integration of IT systems;

· structuring and guiding of reorganization;

· business continuity planning;

· management knowledge.

How do you understand the term 'company culture'? What issues should be included into it?

A culture is the values and practices shared by the members of the group. Company Culture, therefore, is the shared values and practices of the company's employees.

Company culture is important because it can make or break your company. Companies with an adaptive culture that is aligned to their business goals routinely outperform their competitors. Company cultures

evolve and they change over time. As employee leave the company and replacements are hired the company culture will change. If it is a strong culture, it may not change much.

Here are some characteristics of company cultures that others have used successfully.

· Mission clarity

· Employee commitment

· Fully empowered employees

· High integrity workplace

· Strong trust relationships

· Highly effective leadership

· Effective systems and processes

· Performance-based compensation and reward programs

· Customer-focused

· Effective 360-degree communications

· Emphasis on recruiting and retaining outstanding employees

· High degree of adaptability

· High accountability standards

· Demonstrated support for innovation and development

Speak about the changes the US and UK department stores have gone through.

The US and UK department stores faced with decline in popularity. It can be explained by consumers

demanding better value and a more interesting and stimulating experience while shopping. Department stores faced strong competition from speciality retailers and discounters. Their steady loss of market share may be partly because the concept was born in a different era, a time when, for families, a trip to the stores combined shopping with entertainment. And now, what is needed is a new approach. A typical example of this approach working is seen at Selfridges. This UK group has recast itself from a sleepy

70s-style department store into a retailing good-structured modern department store.

One of the main changes is that more floor space is rented to vendors, in what is sometimes referred to as the showcase business model: vendors design their own booths and are encouraged to be creative. The problem is that all department stores look the same.

U n it 5. Money.

1.  How does money work?

2.  What money institutions can you mention?

3.  Describe different kinds of securities and different kinds of markets.

4.  What can you say about the attitude to money in our culture? Has it changed in recent years?

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5.  How have Wal-Mart and Target stores performed lately?

How does money work.

Money makes the world go round, they say. Perhaps it is even truer that the world makes money go

round, especially in an era of globalization when capital can flow freely to and from almost everywhere. Money is always  looking for places where it will be most profitable and earn the greatest return on investment.

As an individual, you can put your money on deposit in a bank, and as long as the bank doesn't fail and

the economy keeps functioning, you will get interest. Your money is lent out to people, businesses and governments who need it to finance their own projects, and the bank will make its money on the difference between what it pays out in interest on deposits and what it gets in interest from its loans.

If you want to live more dangerously you could buy some bonds, and as long as the organization or

country you've invested in by lending it money doesn't default, you will get your interest payments, and later your bonds will eventually be repaid. To live even more dangerously, buy some shares and share in the profitability of your chosen company. In good times, the dividends will be more than what you would get from bonds, and the shares themselves will increase in value, giving you a capital gain if you sell them. But if the company runs into trouble and goes bankrupt, you will be among the last to be paid back, and you may get only part of what you put in, or you may lose all your money.