AboutLeo Lingham Expertise In Managing a business, I can cover all aspects of running
a business--business planning, business development, business auditing, business communication, operation management, human
resources management , training, etc.
Experience 18 years of working management experience covering such areas
as business planning, business development, strategic planning,
marketing, management services, personnel administration.
PLUS
24 years of management consulting which includes business planning, strategic planning, marketing, product management, training, business coaching etc.
Question if a company´s (bank) mission is, to be a first class financial service provider,possessing an urge to be the best at all times whilst adding value to all stakeholders.
Bankś Objectives: 1. to be the number one financial service provider, by providing efficient service and interacting with its customers to create customer satisfaction.
2. to be a role model for the society.
3. to contribute in the reduction of unemployment and
4. to add value to all stakeholders.
Questions
1). what strategies can the bank employ in other to achieve its mission and objectives.
2. in what ways can the stakeholders of the bank influence the achievement of the objectives
3. considering the environment, what are the factors that may curtail the ability of the organization to achieve its desired success, and what are the strong points that the organization has to succeed.
Answer HADDY,
HERE IS SOME USEFUL MATERIAL.
REGARDS
LEO LINGHAM
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1). what strategies can the bank employ in other to achieve its mission and objectives.
The following critical strategies could be pursued:
1.Accelerate product launches by strengthening PRODUCT MANAGEMENT team
-increase the sales / employ more people.
-increase the profit / adds value to the stakeholder.
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2.Extend links with key technology centres.
-customer oriented technologies, for better customer service /more repeat sales.
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3.Raise additional venture capital
-more micro-financing of small businesses/ employ more people.
-adds value to the stakeholders.
-role model of a good corporate citizens.
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3.Expand senior management team in customer service /marketing.
-for offering better products/customers and increase the sales
and employ more people.
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4.Strengthen human resources function and introduce share options for staff
-helps to strengthen the staff morale/ better customer service, which means
more sales.
-share options means making the staff a partner in the venture,
which is a role model of a good corporate citizen.
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5.Seek new market segments/applications for banking products
-review the current market segments and identify new segments/ uses
and drive the product market strategy/ increase sales.
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6.Locate new branches adjacent shopping centres.
-promote the branch/ product sales/ increase sales
and employ more local people.
which is a role model of a good corporate citizen.
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7.Commission market research agencies
-to assess the key markets, trends and hence the potential.
-to drive more sales.
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8.Start participating in trade shows.
-promote the bank as a community organization
providing service and employment opportunities.
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9.Pursue strategic alliances with complementary players
-networking with small business associations.
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10.Strengthen web presence
- promote the site.
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11.Supply Strategies
Develop a new checking account called a “Golden Years” account that will attract a higher rate of interest than the regular savings account and will allow the customer the benefit of other services at reduced price.
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12.Demand Strategies
Target wealthy Nationals over 50 years of age returning home or resident locally, including doctors, lawyers, managers, entrepreneurs and retired persons. Achieve product differentiation and a competitive advantage in the market.
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13.Positioning Strategies
The Bank’s aim is to also move to the top position for service offering and service quality through its innovative product development and improved service quality .
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14. Competition Strategies
Improve service quality by training staff. Promote ATMs and telephone banking services that will provide greater convenience. Offer innovative wealth-management products that will attract the target group.
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15.Strengthen the Credit Department and provide the necessary training for all lending officers to ensure the achievement of the requisite improvement in the quality of loans and advances booked at various branches.
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16.Expedite credit approval at Board level, committee level, and at individual level to ensure there is no loss of opportunity to book good credits, as the Bank seeks to restructure the credit portfolio and to replace the non-performing credits with productive ones.
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17.Maximize returns on investments through growth in investments and through improved funds management.
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18.Improve cost recovery by maximizing collection of fees and charges for services.
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19.Expand and improve broker dealer operation to maximize returns from increased activity on the securities market.
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20.Pursue improvement in debt recovery by restructuring and strengthening of the Recoveries Unit.
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21.Train staff to prepare them for promotion and to enable them to provide quality customer service.
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22.Motivate staff to go out into our communities and attract more customers to the Bank.
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23.Embark on a system of process reengineering to streamline operations with a view to improving efficiency and to cut waste of time and material.
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24.Promote our outstanding service delivery, our branches, agencies, ATM’s, telephone banking, debit cards and our real-time on-line computer system, to increase our customer base and to cut operational cost.
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25.Maintain our strong correspondent banking relationships by providing our correspondents with up-to-date financial information and annual visits, to ensure we continue to provide our customers with a top quality international payments system
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2. in what ways can the stakeholders of the bank influence the achievement of the objectives.
THROUGH EFFECTIVE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions affecting the way a corporation is directed, administered or controlled. Corporate governance also includes the relationships among the many stakeholders involved and the goals for which the corporation is governed. The principal stakeholders are the shareholders, management, and the board of directors. Other stakeholders include labor(employees), customers, creditors (e.g., banks, bond holders), suppliers, regulators, and the community at large.
Corporate governance is a multi-faceted subject.An important theme of corporate governance is to ensure the accountability of certain individuals in an organization through mechanisms that try to reduce or eliminate the principal-agent problem. A related but separate thread of discussions focuses on the impact of a corporate governance system in economic efficiency, with a strong emphasis shareholders' welfare. There are yet other aspects to the corporate governance subject, such as the stakeholder view and the corporate governance models around the world .
In A Board Culture of Corporate Governance could be defined as corporate governance as 'an internal system encompassing policies, processes and people, which serves the needs of shareholders and other stakeholders, by directing and controlling management activities with good business savvy, objectivity, accountability and integrity. Sound corporate governance is reliant on external marketplace commitment and legislation, plus a healthy board culture which safeguards policies and processes'.
The perceived quality of a company's corporate governance can influence its share price as well as the cost of raising capital. Quality is determined by the financial markets, legislation and other external market forces plus how policies and processes are implemented and how people are led. External forces are, to a large extent, outside the circle of control of any board. The internal environment is quite a different matter, and offers companies the opportunity to differentiate from competitors through their board culture. To date, too much of corporate governance debate has centred on legislative policy, to deter fraudulent activities and transparency policy which misleads executives to treat the symptoms and not the cause.'
It is a system of structuring, operating and controlling a company with a view to achieve long term strategic goals to satisfy shareholders, creditors, employees, customers and suppliers, and complying with the legal and regulatory requirements, apart from meeting environmental and local community needs.
It is about commitment to values, about ethical business conduct and about making a distinction between personal & corporate funds in the management of a company.
Impact of Corporate Governance
The positive effect of corporate governance on different stakeholders ultimately is a strengthened economy, and hence good corporate governance is a tool for socio-economic development.
Parties to corporate governance
Parties involved in corporate governance include the regulatory body (e.g. the Chief Executive Officer, the board of directors, management and shareholders). Other stakeholders who take part include suppliers, employees, creditors, customers and the community at large.
In corporations, the shareholder delegates decision rights to the manager to act in the principal's best interests. This separation of ownership from control implies a loss of effective control by shareholders over managerial decisions. Partly as a result of this separation between the two parties, a system of corporate governance controls is implemented to assist in aligning the incentives of managers with those of shareholders. With the significant increase in equity holdings of investors, there has been an opportunity for a reversal of the separation of ownership and control problems because ownership is not so diffuse.
A board of directors often plays a key role in corporate governance. It is their responsibility to endorse the organisation's strategy, develop directional policy, appoint, supervise and remunerate senior executives and to ensure accountability of the organisation to its owners and authorities.
The Company Secretary, known as a Corporate Secretary in the US and often referred to as a Chartered Secretary if qualified by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), is a high ranking professional who is trained to uphold the highest standards of corporate governance, effective operations, compliance and administration.
All parties to corporate governance have an interest, whether direct or indirect, in the effective performance of the organisation. Directors, workers and management receive salaries, benefits and reputation, while shareholders receive capital return. Customers receive goods and services; suppliers receive compensation for their goods or services. In return these individuals provide value in the form of natural, human, social and other forms of capital.
A key factor is an individual's decision to participate in an organisation e.g. through providing financial capital and trust that they will receive a fair share of the organisational returns. If some parties are receiving more than their fair return then participants may choose to not continue participating leading to organizational collapse.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Principles
Key elements of good corporate governance principles include honesty, trust and integrity, openness, performance orientation, responsibility and accountability, mutual respect, and commitment to the organization.
Of importance is how directors and management develop a model of governance that aligns the values of the corporate participants and then evaluate this model periodically for its effectiveness. In particular, senior executives should conduct themselves honestly and ethically, especially concerning actual or apparent conflicts of interest, and disclosure in financial reports.
Commonly accepted principles of corporate governance include:
Rights and equitable treatment of shareholders: Organizations should respect the rights of shareholders and help shareholders to exercise those rights. They can help shareholders exercise their rights by effectively communicating information that is understandable and accessible and encouraging shareholders to participate in general meetings.
Interests of other stakeholders: Organizations should recognize that they have legal and other obligations to all legitimate stakeholders.
Role and responsibilities of the board: The board needs a range of skills and understanding to be able to deal with various business issues and have the ability to review and challenge management performance. It needs to be of sufficient size and have an appropriate level of commitment to fulfill its responsibilities and duties. There are issues about the appropriate mix of executive and non-executive directors. The key roles of chairperson and CEO should not be held by the same person.
· Integrity and ethical behaviour: Ethical and responsible decision making is not only important for public relations, but it is also a necessary element in risk management and avoiding lawsuits. Organizations should develop a code of conduct for their directors and executives that promotes ethical and responsible decision making. It is important to understand, though, that reliance by a company on the integrity and ethics of individuals is bound to eventual failure. Because of this, many organizations establish Compliance and Ethics Programs to minimize the risk that the firm steps outside of ethical and legal boundaries.
· Disclosure and transparency: Organizations should clarify and make publicly known the roles and responsibilities of board and management to provide shareholders with a level of accountability. They should also implement procedures to independently verify and safeguard the integrity of the company's financial reporting. Disclosure of material matters concerning the organization should be timely and balanced to ensure that all investors have access to clear, factual information.
Issues involving corporate governance principles include:
internal controls and the independence of the entity's auditors
oversight and management of risk
oversight of the preparation of the entity's financial statements
review of the compensation arrangements for the chief executive officer and other senior executives
the resources made available to directors in carrying out their duties
the way in which individuals are nominated for positions on the board
dividend policy
Mechanisms and controls
Corporate governance mechanisms and controls are designed to reduce the inefficiencies that arise from moral hazard and adverse selection. For example, to monitor managers' behaviour, an independent third party (the auditor) attests the accuracy of information provided by management to investors. An ideal control system should regulate both motivation and ability.
Internal corporate governance controls
Internal corporate governance controls monitor activities and then take corrective action to accomplish organisational goals. Examples include:
Monitoring by the board of directors: The board of directors, with its legal authority to hire, fire and compensate top management, safeguards invested capital. Regular board meetings allow potential problems to be identified, discussed and avoided. Whilst non-executive directors are thought to be more independent, they may not always result in more effective corporate governance and may not increase performance.[5] Different board structures are optimal for different firms. Moreover, the ability of the board to monitor the firm's executives is a function of its access to information. Executive directors possess superior knowledge of the decision-making process and therefore evaluate top management on the basis of the quality of its decisions that lead to financial performance outcomes, ex ante. It could be argued, therefore, that executive directors look beyond the financial criteria.
· Balance of power: The simplest balance of power is very common; require that the President be a different person from the Treasurer. This application of separation of power is further developed in companies where separate divisions check and balance each other's actions. One group may propose company-wide administrative changes, another group review and can veto the changes, and a third group check that the interests of people (customers, shareholders, employees) outside the three groups are being met.
· Remuneration: Performance-based remuneration is designed to relate some proportion of salary to individual performance. It may be in the form of cash or non-cash payments such as shares and share options, superannuation or other benefits. Such incentive schemes, however, are reactive in the sense that they provide no mechanism for preventing mistakes or opportunistic behaviour, and can elicit myopic behaviour.
External corporate governance controls
External corporate governance controls encompass the controls external stakeholders exercise over the organisation. Examples include:
competition
debt covenants
demand for and assessment of performance information (especially FINANCIAL STATEMENTS)
government regulations
managerial labour market
media pressure
takeovers
Rules versus principles
Rules are typically thought to be simpler to follow than principles, demarcating a clear line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Rules also reduce discretion on the part of individual managers or auditors.
In practice rules can be more complex than principles. They may be ill-equipped to deal with new types of transactions not covered by the code. Moreover, even if clear rules are followed, one can still find a way to circumvent their underlying purpose - this is harder to achieve if one is bound by a broader principle.
Principles on the other hand is a form of self regulation. It allows the sector to determine what standards are acceptable or unacceptable. It also pre-empts over zealous legislations that might not be practical.
Enforcement
Enforcement can affect the overall credibility of a regulatory system. They both deter bad actors and level the competitive playing field. Nevertheless, greater enforcement is not always better, for taken too far it can dampen valuable risk-taking. In practice, however, this is largely a theoretical, as opposed to a real, risk.
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3. considering the environment, what are the factors that may curtail the ability of the organization to achieve its desired success, and what are the strong points that the organization has to succeed.
THE FACTORS THAT COULD AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE ARE
1.INTERNAL.
-lack of commitment by the management/staff.
-lack of teamwork in the organization.
-lack of motivation, due lack of objectives.
-poor customer service.
-lack of infrastructure / delivery.
-lack of skills/ knowledge among staff/ managers.
2.EXTERNAL.
-LACK OF POLITICAL STABILITY.
-LACK OF POLITICAL REFORMS.
-LACK OF ECONOMIC REFORMS
-POOR ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE
-COMPETITION
-LACK OF INTRODUCTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY.
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