Businesses in the 21st century face new challenges- How should they react to this?

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        Name:                        Nicky Loreto

                

        Student Number:                14727447

        Year:                                MBA 2005

                

        Course:                        Communication for Business

        

Essay Topic:        Businesses in the 21st century face new   challenges– How should they react to this?

        Lecturer:                        Dr Therese Fish

        Date:                                10 January 2005

Table of Contents

                                                                        Page

  1. Introduction ………………………………………………….  2
  2. The changing world ………………………………………….  3
  3. Managing business  change ………………………………….  4

3.1 Strategies business should consider when facing

new challenges in the 21st  century…………………………...  4

4.   Conclusion……………………………………………………. 8

5.   Bibliography………………………………………………….. 9

Businesses in the 21st century face new challenges -

How should they react to this?

  1. Introduction

Demographic and technological trends are significantly changing the way companies relate to their competitors, suppliers, customers, shareholders and employees in the 21st century.  As the 21st century approaches, powerful forces are transforming markets and dramatically changing ways of doing business. Increased movement of people, goods, and organizations across borders has resulted in the emergence of global market segments and the growth of globally integrated markets. As a result, firms need to adapt and rethink strategies to respond to these globalizing forces, charting direction for future growth.

The following article is designed to identify critical issues and provoke thought as to how businesses can best prepare to compete in the 21st century.

2.  The Changing world

In the 21st century, everything will be a matter of time. Velocity will dominate - any delay in making decisions could prove fatal in the fast-moving world of commerce. This puts a premium on a company’s ability to understand industries and technologies, and to analyze trends. In fact, the biggest challenge for the 21st century businesses will be in assessing risk. This won't be easy, particularly since fast decisions make for sloppy decisions. It's not easy to change the thinking of traditionally minded people.

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Businesses that are too cautious will get left behind. In the new millennium, software rollouts and financial reengineering will be done in weeks, not years. Similarly, budgets and forecasts will take hours to complete rather than months. Investment decisions will be made on the fly, and traditional business models will get thrown out the window. That will sorely test the ability of company’s CEO to think on their feet and to assess risk. Moreover, finance functions like accounts payable and auditing will be outsourced, as will the bulk of a company's software hosting. The best businesses will be those that ...

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