BUSINESS RELATIONS IN 21ST CENTURY

(A BRIEF REVIEW)

DETAILSOF THE AUTHOR :

KAMIREDDY-CHANDRA SEKHAR REDDY

ASST.PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF M.B.A
ESWAR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
EMAIL: kcsrv@yahoo.co.in, MOB: 9502539112.

BUSINESS RELATIONS IN 21ST CENTURY

INTRODUCTION

Maintaining the good Relations in any kind of business is essential for speed and better
growth of the organization. There might be different methods to maintain the relations, and these
relations might be in between the different group of persons. Especially in this 21st century the
awareness is well developed in between the organizations in using the technology to maintain the
relations easily. Using the emails, SMS, mobiles and online facilities are playing wide role in
business transactions and leads to time save for the both the parties.
Getting the telephone facility in 20th century was really a big task. But coming to 21st
century telephone companies are standing in que to offer their telephone facilities with healthy
competitive market. Accordingly the public make the cell phone as part of their life, like Shirt,
trouser, pen and cell phone. Comparably with 20th century most of the business transactions are
getting completed through telephone it self in 21st century, the organizations are making it
adopted in order to reduce wasting of time for journeys, apart from the oral communications the
documents which have to put in written communications, the organizations are using the email
facilities in order to send the documents immediately, how ever the original copy may reach its
destination by post/courier by next couple of days.
At the same time some challenges are also there which the organizations are facing in
maintaining and upgrading the relations. Some times the organizations are getting ready to loose
the relations for gaining the business. Here the organizations always expect the positive relations
which can improve the business. At the same time improving the business is possible with the
good relations only.
The organizations which are running from 20th century have a good experience in
adopting the changes and upgrading with the technologies. The cost of living, education levels,
literatures, global standards, life style, awareness, government policies e.t.c are completely
different in between these two centuries. With the revolution of globalization the international
business expansion, the business practices, understanding global economic conditions and
engaging an array of cultural norms of an international society are high priorities for today’s
organizations.
In 21st century with the revolution of globalizations many organizations are willing to
extend its operations across the globe. Conducting the survey in that particular country about the
kind of product or service they are expecting and developing the same and starting the operations
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accordingly is the formula for many organizations to start their business in other countries. With
this only people who are working in abroad from India are also more when comparably with 20th
century.

CONCEPT AND REVIEW

Business relations in 21st century, Research shows that even with the best products and
business practices, business still need strong relationships to succeed in this marketplace.
The following is a roadmap to turn personality differences into positive business results.

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 Organization should be perfect in communicating the things in right way to the
right people in right time. In this 21st century, it is observed that organizations are
effectively using the technological facilities like emails, online, sms, website
information’s to communicate quickly and strongly. The technological changes in the
communication process are highly appreciated in the 21st century which were leading to
quick response with in a short time. Following the latest communication trends will
always improve the business relations in a smart way.

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Collaborating with the right organization for the benefit of mutual growth is another
tactics of the business, now day’s different organizations are coming front to collaborate
with the right organization in order to achieve the goal. With this policy only many
international companies are started its operations in India and successfully running its
business. By adapting the same policy many Indian companies are collaborated with
abroad companies and succeeded in offering their products and services across the world.
Problems are there in any kind business and organizations, accordingly in this 21st century the
organizations are get ready with their thinking power and strengths to face the different
problems. Recently the world financial crisis raised but the companies have been analyzed the
problem with their nature of business and taken the precautions. Not only the financial crisis
there might be different kinds of problems like natural problems, cultural problems,
technological problems, manpower problems, skills problems what ever it may be the
organizations have to develop a strategy to deal with the problem in order to succeed in this
competitive world. The relations with others business units may give good support in the difficult
times.

Creativity always leads to get new place in the market, the skills should be sharpen day
to day to gain new market shares and to increase the business relations. Experience is the good
Master for any body to learn and improve the skills. In 21st century this observation and learning
policy supported a lot for all kinds of business.

Having the awareness globally, in 21st century is minimum criteria for any kind of
international business. To assess the business situations and to take the right steps in right times,
it is necessary to keep on improve the global awareness. Organizations are showing more
interests in recruiting the local persons as their employees in that particular country in order to
get updated information’s and research survey reports periodically.

Implementing the software technology in the organizations especially in this 21st century
is increased, according to the nature of business and its operations organizations are choosing the
software technologies and implementing to simplify the record work. Information technology has
well boomed in 21st century, it is proud to say that, India is able to offer many software
engineers to different countries across the world especially in this 21st century. The
organizations should have self direction about how to deal and how to go in coming days in order
to increase the business and relations with different group of peoples.

CHALLENGES OF 21ST CENTURY BUSINESS RELATIONS

In Management Challenges for the 21st Century (Classic Drucker Collection)

By Peter F. Drucker
Drucker sees the period we're living in as one of "PROFOUND TRANSITION--and the changes
are more radical perhaps than even those that ushered in the 'Second Industrial Revolution' in the
middle of the 19th century, or the structural changes triggered by the Great Depression and the
Second World War". In the midst of all this change, he contends, there are five social and
political certainties that will shape business strategy in the not-too-distant future: the collapsing
birthrate in the developed world; shifts in distribution of disposable income; a redefinition of
corporate performance; global competitiveness; and the growing incongruence between
economic and political reality. Drucker then looks at requirements for leadership ("One cannot

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manage change. One can only be ahead of it"), the characteristics of the "new information
revolution" (one should focus on the meaning of information, not the technology that collects it),
productivity of the knowledge worker (unlike manual workers, knowledge workers must be seen
as capital assets, not costs), and finally the responsibilities that knowledge workers must assume
in managing themselves and their careers.

Impact of Globalization (Economy)

Globalization implies that business transactions, customers, suppliers, and alliances

occur across distance, time zone, and countries, which introduces new cultures and languages
into the mix. Globalization is supported by a new world infrastructure of telecommunications and
data communications. A major impact of globalization will be on Branding & Marketing.
Companies increasingly compete with each other on a global scale and find themselves having to
communicate their products to a global audience. Finding the right marketing mix requires
finding the common ground between the geographical differences, which requires a detailed
understanding of individual marketplace. A study of companies at the start of the third
millennium would be incomplete without a look at e-commerce.
The globalization of finance and technology, the spread of privatization and deregulated markets
have produced a range of unanticipated consequences. For example, today’s global Information
Age has already become The Age of Truth – where careless corporate actions can destroy a
global brand in real time. Business leaders worldwide have responded by embracing the idea of
good corporate citizenship, both at home and globally. Two thousand companies (including
some 600 in Brasil) have signed on to the ten principles of Global Corporate Citizenship of the
Global Compact, launched by the United Nations in 2000, covering human rights, workplace
safety, justice and ILO standards, as well as the environment and anti-corruption. Civic groups
worldwide now monitor all the companies who have engaged with the Global Compact, to see if
they are walking their talk. Backsliders are publicly shown on hundreds of websites. The World
Social Forum has successfully linked hundreds of thousands of civic activists and organizations
and made the beautiful city of Porto Alegre a mecca of innovative thought. My TV series
“Ethical Markets” on US public broadcasting stations benchmarks higher standards, corporate
ethical performance and socially-responsible investing worldwide.

Managing Across Borders

Recent changes in the international operating environment have forced companies to optimize
efficiency, responsiveness, and learning simultaneously in their worldwide operations.
This focuses on effective communication with companies, customers, suppliers, partners and
employees in different countries and regions. These skills are essential for international
marketing, business development, operations, finance, and human resource management
functions.

Enterprise-wide Production Environments

With diverse applications and platforms, increasing volumes of ad hoc activities and
ever-changing business needs, managing enterprise-wide production environments
efficiently is a challenge. The lack of proper management for such a complex environment may
lead to production delays or even downtime, causing immediate damage to the organization's
reputation, ability to provide quality service, and profitability.

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Revolution of Information Technology – supported by a new world infrastructure of data
communications and telecommunications i.e. use of internet, wireless, e-commerce as part of
management tools and easing of technology transfer.

Security Issues
Successful businesses use technology to create competitive advantages. Today's powerful data
processing and networking technologies create unlimited opportunities for innovative new
customer services, increased employee productivity, and higher profitability. Meanwhile,
information is being transformed into an even more valuable business resource.
Organizations are increasingly using public information infrastructures, such as the Internet, to
improve communications and even increase profitability. Although companies can benefit from
having an Internet business presence, the increased use of Internet technology also increases the
risk of a security breach. All the benefits of advanced technology can disappear in an instant if
the system is not secure. Security measures must be implemented to safeguard data, software,
and hardware against accidental or deliberate loss, disclosure, or corruption.

Knowledge-workers

Knowledge-worker is defined by Peter Drucker in 1959 as “one who works primarily with
information or one who develops and uses knowledge in the workplace.

A Knowledge Worker's benefit to a company could be in the form of developing business

intelligence, increasing the value of intellectual capital, gaining insight into customer
preferences, or a variety of other important gains in knowledge that aid the business.

Management of Knowledge-worker
Knowledge workers are believed to produce more when empowered to make the most of their
deepest skills; they can often work on many projects at the same time; they know how to allocate
their time; and they can multiply the results of their efforts through soft factors such as emotional
intelligence and trust. Organizations designed around the knowledge worker (instead of just
machine capital) are thought to integrate the best of hierarchy, self-organization and networking
rather than the worst. Each dictates a different communications and rewards system, and requires
activation of knowledge-sharing and action learning. A basic pattern rule of human systems is
that when you mix them you will get the worst of each unless you contextually and carefully
attend to connecting the best.

The knowledge-worker has a different job description from the manual-worker on a production
line. Drucker identifies these six major factors for knowledge-worker productivity in the future.

1. The knowledge-worker's question is "What is the task?"

2. Knowledge-workers have to manage themselves and have autonomy.
3. Continuing innovation has to be part of the work, the task and the responsibility of knowledge
workers.
4. Knowledge work requires continuous learning, and continuous teaching by the knowledge
worker.
5. Productivity of the knowledge worker is not primarily a matter of quantity of output. Quality is
at least as important.
6. Knowledge workers must be treated as "assets" rather than a "costs". They must prefer to work
for the organization, over all other opportunities.

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Global marketplace in the 21st century has developed because of factors such as explosive
growth in world GDP, rapid expansion in merchandise trade, cost cutting and increasing product
quality by firms seeking competitive advantage, and revolution in communication technology.

The key to surviving and prospering in the 21st century are:

Corporate strategy; adapting a structure that help to unleash the power of their professionals
and to capture the opportunities of today's economy.

Ethics: New ethical issues emerge from changes in the social and political landscape and from
the development of new technologies. The various roles of emerging technologies and other
products of scientific progress in today's society, as well as their implications for the pursuit of
bioethics. i.e. nanotechnology in medical treatment, novel vaccines against addictive behaviors,
Internet-enabled social networking and engineering, designer genetic engineering, novel
transplantable tissue and organ generation, neuroscience and its application to medical advances,
as well as reproductive science and women’s rights. Ethical limits of science, human-cloning
issues, stem cell research, human rights..etc..

Social responsibility: issues of privacy and confidentially (personal information on internet),

accessibility to technology issues (low income family not accessible to internet/ technology),
property right and ownership issues (piracy, illegal downloading), freedom of speech
(blogging)…etc

Global challenges: due to globalization that lead to the pursuit of classical liberal (or “free
market”) policies in the world economy (“economic liberalization”), the growing dominance of
western (or even American) forms of political, economic, and cultural life (“westernization” or
“Americanization”), the proliferation of new information technologies (the “Internet
Revolution”), as well as the notion that humanity stands at the threshold of realizing one single
unified community in which major sources of social conflict have vanished (“global
integration”).

Ecological issues: Oil exploitation and land rights, food security, mining in Africa, climate
vulnerability and ecotourism.

Since the majority of families in developing countries are based in agriculture, food production is
a key area of concern since this sector is highly dependent on predictable climate cycles.
Therefore, established concerns on food security, hunger and the balance of the international
trading system must also factor into the assessment of climate change risks. Textiles, for
example, are also vulnerable since they are often directly or secondarily plant-based.

Workforce diversity; Implementing policies and practices that are mindful of gender, people
with disabilities, and the growing awareness of ethnic minorities. For example in Asia Pacific
countries, IBM is putting increased focus on issues related to gender, disability, and respecting
and valuing differences among countries and regions.

What's known as "the glass ceiling" for the advancement of women in business is a growing
concern in Japan and Sweden. An issue surfacing in Australia is the fair treatment of gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. In Canada, there's a focus on expanding education and
workplace opportunities for Aboriginal people. In France and Ireland, the acceptance of people
with different ethnic backgrounds is an issue that's coming to the fore.
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 · Relationships between employee and employer are moving steadily away from fixed
contracts to more negotiated relationships.

· There has been a large rise in part-time and temporary workers.

· Employees – especially those who bring knowledge into organisations – are demanding
greater flexibility and work/life balance.
Employees want greater work-like balance and increasingly this is across-the-board rather than
just limited to those needing to choose flexibility to accommodate caring responsibilities. Social
research suggests that this trend will intensify in the coming years and that employee demand for
work-life balance will expand rapidly
in recent years employers have been under increasing pressure to implement flexible working
patterns both to meet employee demand and in order to enhance competitiveness and
productivity and to deliver high quality services and products to their customers and clients.
· Office structures are moving towards ‘club’ environments, with provision of space for
meeting, thinking etc, rather than cubicles. They are more likely to include personal
services such as leisure facilities, shops, dry-cleaning and crèche facilities (like day care
centre).

Enterprise mobility is commonly defined as the process of extending business applications /

solutions through the use of wireless technology, which can be wireless LAN (WLAN), cellular /
mobile, or other technologies, such as wireless broadband. Enterprise mobility allows employees
to access business applications while on the go, including wireless emails and databases, using a
mobile device, such as a data-capable mobile phone, wireless PDA, or laptop computer.

Compani
es choose
wireless
applicati
o n s
either to
impr ove
productiv
ity, or to
o f f e r
greater flexibility to their employees. Continued advancements in mobile technologies - from
improved wireless networks and security, to an exploding range of mobile devices and mobile
solutions - enable companies to extend once office-bound corporate resources to their mobile
workforce.

The benefits of wireless mobility are:

· Improves productivity
· Ensures business continuity
· Provides end users with greater flexibility
· Promises tangible business benefits such as real time return on investment (ROI)
· Helps organizations gain and sustain a competitive edge
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However, as with most new technologies, enterprise mobility also brings with it several
stumbling blocks, such as issues involving security, service consolidation and interoperability.
Lack of sufficient applications and limited choices in handheld devices are some of the other
obstacles that Chief Information Officers (CIOs) encounter. While enterprise mobility vendors
and service providers are plotting strategies to capitalize on the maximum profits from the recent
mobility wave, CIOs continue to mull over the advantages this technology delivers to maximize
their mobile workforce.

Organization Survival and Adaptation in 21st Century

There are five social and political elements that will shape the business strategy in the 21st
century:-
· the collapsing birthrate in the developed world;
· shifts in distribution of disposable income;
· a redefinition of corporate performance;
· global competitiveness;
· And the growing incongruence between economic and political reality.

The most important global shift is the decline in most developed countries' birthrates, to around
two live births per woman of childbearing age. The resulting worker shortage will lead to a huge
tide of immigration, with its obvious disruptions, and to a leap in the retirement age, to about 79.
How to manage older employees, who are neither temps nor full-timers, who have lots of wisdom
about the company but aren't on the fast track? Current models don't address this development.

A successful organization must not only be well-organized, it must be able to adapt. Organisms
which both remember and learn as a creative activity increase their survival odds, especially in
rapidly changing environments. In order for a person to adapt creatively, it must have knowledge
or memory, the ability to "think" or coordinate its memories and knowledge, and the ability to try
and evaluate the results of a new behavior, and remember it. Finally, it must be able to in some
sense understand the rules of its environment.

Organizations must have nurture of adaptivity not "adaptedness". Past success is a poor predictor
of future performance in a changing world. "knowledge and memory" is usually found in the
experience of individuals and teams in the organization. "Thinking" corresponds to coordinating
memories and experiences among different parts of the organization -- usually known as team
problem-solving and simultaneous engineering or concurrent design.

STRESSFUL ENVIRONMENT IN THE ORGANIZATIONS IN 21ST CENTURY

The work environment of the 21st century has changed - it has become more complex and more
dynamic. With increasing complexity, the pressure on individuals increases too. To bear the
pressure, appropriate tools and methods are needed, otherwise you run the risk of excessive
demand, stress, overextended deadlines, and unsatisfied customers.

The changes in the work environment have significant impacts on each individual. International
competition, globalization and modern technology have prompted organizations to consider
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downsizing, restructuring, and outsourcing as business strategies and hence, making the work
environment more competitive then ever before. In today’s society, and especially in business, it
is important to prevail among others and stand out in order to be successful.

Working on parallel projects, tight schedules and deadlines, high workload, demanding
customers and clients, increasing global competition, high degree of flexibility and availability -
those are important key factors that characterize and coin the dynamic work environment of the
21st century. Working under these “conditions” will lead to higher pressure that is burden on
professionals; no matter if the individual is employed or self-employed.
The 21st century leaders need to keep adapting and adopting a network approach if they
are to move their organizations forward - old management models will not carry them to the
future.

Leadership Challenges

· Generational leadership - managing an older workforce, as well as the digital

generation
· Sustainability - protecting today's environment and addressing consumers' needs
· Virtual leadership - leading an internet-based environment
· The developing world - responding to a changing economy
· Diversity - leading a workforce comprising ethnic minorities, mature workers, etc
· Globalisation - managing an extended workforce, and social responsibility.

Organizations face rapid change, unprecedented global competition, unpredictability and

the constant threat of acquisition. At the same time, there is growing awareness of the global
social responsibility of business and the challenges of sustainability in the broadest sense. The
21st century, therefore, is one in which we are going to need ‘servant leaders’ more than ever
before. It is challenging, exciting and full of opportunity. If organizations are to thrive and
survive, they must innovate. They need all the energy and creativity of their people. This requires
a revolution in workplace culture – from workplaces that limit, frustrate and disempowered
people to ones that release energy, enterprise and spirit. They also need to be led by global
citizens. The best people want to work for ethical organizations that meet the needs of society
and avoid doing harm.
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CONCLUSION

New and faster technology, redefined values, and shifting customer demands are
changing the way of business relations in the twenty-first century. Human resources and business
leaders are faced with the challenge of redefining their strategies on leadership, talent, and
diversity, while evaluating their operational effectiveness.

The delivery of goods, services, and spare parts will be done by e-commerce
organizations. Different yardsticks will be required to measure the performance of such
organizations. All over the world, particularly in developed countries, financial considerations
are determining the ownership interests. In the majority of developed countries, the population is
a g i n g .
Consequently more people are worried about their future financial resources. This makes
the investment of pension funds an important issue as the aging population increases. Factors
such as these will have an impact on business owners.

Human resources is being transformed from a specialized, stand-alone function to a

broad, corporate competency in which HR and line managers build partnerships to gain
competitive advantage and achieve overall business relations goal. To make this happen, HR
policies and program initiatives will have to be responsive to business market conditions and
global business structures; closely linked to strategic business plans; conceived and implemented
jointly by line and HR managers; and focused on quality, customer service, productivity,
employee involvement, teamwork and workforce flexibility.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Developing Relationships in Business Networks by Håkan Håkansson and Ivan Snehota. p.

2. Psychology in Business Relations By A. J. Snow
3. Managing Business Relationships by David Ford
4. Harvard Business Review On Managing High-tech Industries by Marco Iansiti, Jonathan,
5. Business Relationships by ED Wallace foreword by Ronald M.Shapiro
6. Robert Grosse International Business and Government Relations in the 21st Century
7. A Frame work for International Business Negotiations by Pervez N. Ghauri
8. Managing networks in International Business by Mats Forsgren, Jan Johanson

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