7157afe Global Strategy And Leadershipâ€Free Samples for Students

Question: Discuss About The 7157afe Global Strategy And Leadership? Answer: Introducation: The Medibank Private Company Limited has its headquarters in 720 Bourke Street Docklands, VIC 2008 in Australia. It was founded in 1976 in Australia before expanding into New Zealand. The Company provides private health solutions and insurance in Australia and New Zealand. The health insurance segment offers all sorts of personalized insurance products to different categories of consumers (Medibank Company, 2017). From the Companys annual report, as at 29th March 2017, it had a positive financial performance based on the financial analysis represented. For instance, the company declared a 5.25% dividend per share. This paper examines Medibanks organizational structure, business strategies applied and its environmental analysis. Generic Strategy The Medibank Company uses cost leadership strategy to serve the health industry. According to Porters generic strategy, cost leadership strategy refers to providing product and services at the lowest price compared to other competitors in the market. The strategy works well for the Company because it operates in the health industry where products and services are less differentiable (Porter, 1998, p. 117). The success of the strategy at the Company has been through the provision of a huge pool of products and services. These products and services include; insurance products which are grouped into hospital covers covering treatment provided by the hospitals. Extra cover offers medical cover for services such as optical, physiotherapy and dental. The company also provide telephone service for policyholders 24/7. Likewise, the Company an online hub as well as smartphone health apps where it can provide services and advice to its customers. The aim is to provide quality and quantity services to the customers at a low cost (Magretta, 2011, p. 53). The objective of using the strategy is increasing the market share and enjoy the economies of scale. According to the Companys chairmans statement in the 2016 annual report, Elizabeth Alexander stated that the Companys cost leadership strategy would remain unchanged even with the increasing cost of providing health care services in Australia. According to her, the success of the strategy was as a result of providing value and quality to the customers. The strategy has positively impacted the customers commitment to the company. The market share keeps on expanding (Eckerson, 2009, p. 86). The Company acknowledges the importance of affordability, value, and transparency to its customers. These factors are critical in maintaining sustainability in the Australias health service industry. To achieve its goal, Medibank has implemented several industry-based approaches. First, the company has formed partnerships with other facilities. Second, delivering better healthcare to the customers. Third, sharing trustworthy information between the company and customers. And, fourth, fair pricing (Kenny, 2009, p. 113). Her sentiments were supported by Craig Drummond, the Companys CEO who stated that the management was a commitment to meeting specific customer needs. For example, Medibank provided benefits worth $5.1 billion to its customers. Likewise, it had supported over 1.3 hospital admissions besides covering at least 26 million dental, physiotherapy and optical services. Cost leadership strategy was working well for the organization (Miles, 2003, p. 63). Medibank SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis shows the Companys Strength, Weaknesses, and Threats.Strengt Medibank enjoy experienced business units, Due to its economies of scales, the company enjoy reduced labour cost, Have skilled employees, The company has a high rate of growth, Well established sales and distribution networks, High barrier of entry. Weaknesses The current brand portfolio is at its maturity stage. There is need for inventing new ones There is no clear plan for future productivity. The market is becoming saturated.Threats High operational cost Increasing cost of health services Decreasing trend of the financial performance (Cash Flow). Opportunities First, the Australian health service industry has shown a high recovery rate. The rate was 22% in 2015 and 59% in 2016. Likewise, the market has changed positively by 16% in 2015 and 40% in 2016. Lastly, the industry is showing a positive trend of 10% in 2015 and 12% in 2016. This is a good opportunity to enhance its growth rate and expand its market share. Second, the company should diversify its market and brand portfolio. For example, the company should venture in life, pet and travel insurance as well as use telehealth. This is a strategy to grow stronger and remain a market leader (Medibank Company, 2017). Lastly, the Company should invent better and simpler ways of interacting with its customers, employees, and providers. To improve its services delivery, Medibank is re-invest in technology and service improvement for continuous improvement of customers service and experience. The Companys CEO The Medibanks current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Craig Drummond was appointed on July 4th, 2016 according to the 2016 annual report. Craig is also the current Managing Director and a member of the Investment and Capital Committee of the Company. Craig enjoys vast leadership experience which attributed to his appointment as a Director at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health as well as the Geelong Football Club. Before his appointment, Craig was the CEO of the National Australia Bank (Jaber, Rena, 2016, p. 66). He focussed more on repositioning and realignment of the bank operations more precisely on the banks financial performance. In early years, Craig worked As the CEO of Bank of America in Australia and lastly the CEO of Goldman JBWere Company of Australia. Based on this information, Craig has the qualities to lead Medibank towards achieving its goals and objectives. Craigs appointment was based on his track record focusing on customer focus, profitable growth, employee empowerment, and integrity. Craig has always believed that these factors were the backbone of any successful organization. He also possessed a reputation for strategic thinking, business acumen, and leadership capabilities (Jaber, Rena, 2016, p. 76). On the other hand, Medibank was looking a CEO who would deliver qualities and excellent services to the customers while improving the companys financial performance. Craig was chosen because he was the right person to continue with the existing strong performance between all stakeholders. Craig has done exactly what brought him at Medibank. His leadership style has always been customer-oriented. For example, in September 2016, Craig made some changes on the companys executive leadership committee. The move was aimed to improve the customers experience. The new team would enhance accountability and a clear focus on providing improved services (Wallinton, 2003, p. 99). The new team comprised of David Koczkar as the Chief Customer Officer while Andrew Wilson was appointed to take care of innovation and strategies. Mei Ramsay was appointed the head of Legal, Governance and Regulatory Affairs while Tom Exton was appointed as the Acting Financial Controller. Lastly, John Goodall was appointed to head the Operations and Technology department while Kylie Bishop stayed at the head to Human Resource and Culture (Barney, 1992, p. 193). Craigs leadership style bores some immediate results. For example, the relationship between the Company and the customers improved. The Company has invested in technology to improve its communication with the customers (Miles, 2003, p. 88). Likewise, the company has reinvested part of its revenue on innovation and customer-oriented services. Although the company is using low pricing strategy in providing products and services, its profitability has improved. In 2016, Medibank recorded a revenue of $417 million which was an improvement from $285 million in 2015. Share earning improved from 10.4% per share in 15.2% per share in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Medibank Leadership strategy Currently, the Company is using both participative and transformational leadership styles. The CEO values the contribution of other executive members and other stakeholders in making decisions. However, Craig has the responsibility to make the final decisions. The employees of Medibank feels valued because the management considers their opinion. Their morale is always high (Smith Fingar, 2006, p. 43). They always support of any changes proposed by the management which makes it easier to build a strong the relationship with different levels of leadership. However, Craig has suffered some setbacks when an urgent decision has to be made since it takes the time to collect the views of different players (Taylor, 2013, p. 76). When it come transformational leadership style, Medibanks executive team develops goals to be met. The goals are then communicated to the employees at all levels. It is the role of departmental managers and supervisors to motivate the employees and improve efficiency and productivity through high visibility and communication. The execute team comes up with organizational goals which are then broken down into smaller tasks for the each employee to accomplish. This leadership style allows employees to understand their tasks and responsibilities clearly (Spender, 2014, p. 43). It should be noted that the Company concentrates a lot on the internal and external factors affecting the organization. The Company is spending a lot of time of satisfying the needs of the customer. I believe that a strategic leadership approach would work effectively for the organization (Sarros, et al., 2014, p. 92). The company should have a leadership style focussing on the desire to develop profitable products and an outstanding brand identity. The company should turn criticism from competitors and customers into business strategies. Strategic leadership approach focusses on the companys team, network, and resources to develop strategic goals (Iqbal, et al., 2015, p. 54). A combination of the three leadership styles would work effectively for the company. Incorporation of both specific and general feedback into the report This report is based on existing facts about the Medibank Limited Company. The information has been obtained from the Companys 2016 annual report besides its official website. Likewise, relied on the official announcements made by the company through its chairman and the CEO; this information is available online. A quick search about the Company extracts vast information. However, I only considered information that originated from the company officials. I also had to rely on the information learned in the class. More specifically, to understand about different leadership styles and Porters generic strategy, I had to review the class notes. I must also acknowledge the support that I was accorded by the course instructor who tirelessly responded to my queries. I would not have completed this assignment without the support of my friends and course mates as well who we engaged in a discussion on the best approach to give the assignment. The final paper is based on a combination of information obtained from the Medibank Companys website and class lectures. I have done this report to the best of my knowledge. Conclusion The Medibank Private Company Limited is a major provider of health services in Australia. Having found its way into the Australian market in 1976, Medibank has expanded its operations into New Zealand. The success can be attributed to an effective leadership style that has been adopted by the executive team led by CEO Craig. Likewise, the Company chose to stick with its cost leadership strategy and concentrate on customers satisfaction as ways to increase its profitability and market share. Evident of the companys progress can be seen in the 2016 annual report when it reported a higher net comprised in 2016 compared to 2015 References List Asrar-ul-Haq, M. Kuchinkeb, P. K., 2016. Impact of leadership styles on employees attitude towards their leader and performance: Empirical evidence from Pakistani banks. Future Business Journal, 2(1), p. 5464. Barney, J. B., 1992. The management of organizations : strategy, structure, behavior. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Bernhut, S., 2002. PRIMAL LEADERSHIP, WITH DANIEL GOLEMAN. Business Journal. 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