The major example for changing Prejudice at workplace is Teamwork and Feedback.
Teamwork creates people to come together and achieve a common goal differences will be put aside in other to achieve this goal and it creates the avenue for interaction, which will make individual know each other better and exchange values and ideas.
As a manager, Feedback from minority group is highly important in other reduce prejudice in a workplace. They should be encouraged to express how they feel and how they’ve been treated by majority group, a meeting should be held immediately after such feedback in other to review gray areas and both parties should create solutions on how to mitigate such behaviour or discrimination in the future.
Using the Assessment tools we have discussed in Unit 4 (McKinsey 7s framework, Balanced Scorecard, SWOT Analysis, etc) provide a complete assessment of the company you are currently working for.
Skye Bank is an indigenous company publicly quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The Bank came into existence in 2005 based on merger of five old banks. Skye Bank is one of Nigeria’s top five financial institutions that provide a one-stop bouquet of bespoke financial services powered by world class and cutting edge technology.
Currently, the Bank has over 250 branches across the country, with international subsidiaries in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Ghana. The Bank is making entry into the Central African regional market.
Assessing the Bank using the Mckinsey 7s framework. The element in this framework includes;
- Strategy
- Structure
- Systems
- Superordinate Goals/Shared Values
- Style
- Staff
- Skills
i. STRATEGY: In 2006, early in the merger, management announced that the strategy of the Bank is to be among the ‘top 10’ banks in 2010 and ‘top 5’ banks in 2013 in Nigeria using all positive measurement parameters. It also said the Bank will focus its business towards the retail segment of the market. It also committed to using banking technology to provide seamless services to its customer. The Bank mission is to provide innovative and convenient banking services by a dedicated team to the benefit of its stakeholders. Thus in plain terms, the Bank strategy is People, Technology and Service.
ii. STRUCTURE: The Bank is well structured. The Bank is divided mainly into Head Office and Branches for administrative functions; Marketing and Operations for systemic functions. There’s formal chain of authority and delegation and a well charted organogram. The Branches have a Business Development Manager who heads the marketing and business growth, while the business service managers are responsible for the operations of the branch. In the Head Office, we have the Regional Managers, who oversees their assigned branches in terms of business development and we have the Regional Branch Coordinators who oversees the operations of their assigned branches.
There are also Strategic Business Units (SBUs) Business Service Units [BSUs]. Heads of these units reports to a directorate head, who in turn report to the Board of Directors. The Managing Director/ CEO oversee the general operations of the Bank, and he report to the Board also. The Board is headed by a chairman.
Decision making is highly centralized. The management is responsible for the approval of all credit facilities disbursed to customers, branding, promotion and remunerations, sponsorships and donations, Strategies and competition leverages, etc. Communication is basically explicit, most issues and processes is written using the memos and email messaging. But the Bank culture is largely unwritten.
iii. SYSTEM: The Bank has continuously invested in technology in other to actualize it’s goal as a formidable bank to the retail segment of the market. It is believed that effective technology will ensure adequate and satisfactory to its customers. Thus, technological innovation is paramount. About 10% of the total staff strength is responsible for IT services for the Bank and its customer. In a bid to provide alternative banking, an ‘e-banking’ department was created saddled with the responsibility of provide card services, Automated Teller Machines [ATM] and POS terminals services, wire transfers and electronic banking. The Bank has become the best Bank in electronic banking in the country.
Customer Experience Management became a culture, every employee is meant to sizzle and exceed the expectation of the customer. The ‘Hakuna Matata’ campaign was introduced, which is a Swahili language for “No worries’, employees are meant to provide solutions to any customer’s needs irrespective of the challenges being posed. A ‘YES’ Centre which is Customer Call Centre was created to receive calls from customers on complaints, suggestions, etc and ensure that they are treated within 24 hours.
Enterprise Risk Management is crucial and integral to the sustainability of the business. The bank has classified its risk into three; Operational, Credit and Systemic. The credit processing has been automated and regulated. Three independent departments review all credit facility requests from the Bank. On operational, there’s a resident compliance officer in all branches to ensure that transaction processing conforms to the laid down rules and regulations of the bank.
iv. SuperOrdinate Goals: Skye Bank core values are Accessibility, Mutual Respect, Integrity and Continuous Learning. The Bank was built on these values and it’s a reference point for all our operations and businesses. The vision of the Bank is to continuously challenge itself to provide limitless possibilities to its customers. The Bank Board ensures it establishes a tight risk management and internal control systems and integrity of the Bank’s information and accounting systems. Learning and development is never been compromised. It’s is mandatory that every employee go on training every year in other to improve themselves. The open door policy has created immense mutual respect amongst employee and the Bank primary mission is to provide solutions to make banking accessibility to everyone, with over 260 branches in Nigeria and over 1,000 ATMS locations.
v. Style: A distinctive leverage the bank has over its competitors is the ‘open door’ policy it has engaged on employee- superior relationship. A ‘bottom –top’ communication has been enforced; employees are encouraged to discuss issues with superiors. Feedback is very important for managerial decision. The Leadership of the Bank participatory, decisions are communicated to staff before implementation. Skye Bank, like most Nigerian Banks is highly regulated, this has resulted in a bureaucratic leadership style. Everything is done according to procedure and policy, discretion is rarely taken.
Internal and external competition is rife. It’s a target driven environment, employees are appraised based on their assigned budget and are rewarded accordingly. Teamwork is encouraged but assessment is on individual basis. Depending on the need of the Bank, competition could be aggressive or otherwise.
vi. Staff: Recruitment into the Bank is thorough and in different stages. Junior Officers are required to obtain a minimum of bachelor’s degree, middle management staff must have obtained a masters degree. Positions in a team are well defined. Specialization is very high, especially in operational functions. Staff welfare is pertinent, with a contributory pension system, health insurance benefit, private home mortgage, etc. Aside, target accomplishment, competency is very key, employees are subjected to different competence exams on banking, leadership and management, etc.
vii. Skills: Aside from Individuals skills that’s basically good marketing and skills, the Bank is renowned for designing diversified consumer banking products, over the years it has initiated banking solutions for individuals and small business organizations and this has been emulated by its competitors. The Bank core competence is in IT systems to meet various demands of customers, which is robust and highly diversified. Presently, skill gap in financial derivatives and corporate portfolio management is been noticed, notwithstanding, the current employee strength has the right skills and qualification to drive the bank in all banking facets. The Innovation and Strategy department in collaboration with the Performance Management department are responsible to monitor and assess the skills of each employee and the Bank as a whole, their report which is on quarterly basis gives management the need to review its strategy on people in relation to providing service.
Assessing the Organization through a Balanced Scorecard.
The Balanced scorecard perspective of a company reviews an organization in the following;
- Financial Perspective
- Customer Perspective
- Internal Business Perspective
- Learning/Innovation Perspective
FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE: The Bank is an integration of small five banks with little capital base, upon merger, the Bank capital base stood at $190million, the bank grew this capital to $800million within 4years. Revenue grew by 250% from FY 2006 to FY 2010, Profit before tax witnesses a significant increase within this period from $16million to $280million. The Bank balance sheet size grew by 700% within the four year period. Thus, in all financial indices, the Bank moved the ranking from number 15 to number 5 bank within this period, this ranking was acknowledged by the Central Bank of Nigeria- the Banking regulatory body in the country.
CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE: The main business motive of the bank is to be customer centric. All business strategy was directed towards customer satisfaction, the bank realized that its competitors sell the same products and services like itself, but what distinguishes is the service rendered. Customer acquisition and retention was the agenda of management. Presently, the Bank market share in the Public Sector is about 30% as compared to 5% it experienced in 2006. The Bank retail market share increased to 45% of the whole banking industry, this was basically as a result of the technological solutions employed to the retail end of the market. The bank has one of the lowest transaction cost in the country and most of its products are hybrid, which reduces the cost of running a current account. A Customer Loyalty program was launched in 2007 tagged ‘Hakuna Matata’ – a ‘no worries’ campaign that rewards loyal customers and proffer solution to their individual and corporate needs.
Internal Business Process Perspective: The management of the bank is composed of seasoned bankers with average banking experience of over 25years. This team proffers the risk management framework of the bank and ensures that the Bank conforms to international best practices. Core competency especially on sensitive operational and risk facing departments is high necessary. The core value of the Bank is centered Integrity, Mutual Respect, Accessibility and Continuous Learning. The business of the Bank revolves around these values.
Learning and Innovation Perspectives: Performance Measurement of every employee of the Bank largely on Learning and growth. Been part of the core value of the Bank, learning is very critical for the bank success; the bank learns from the historical and current issues in the industry and make forecasting. Innovation of product and services is on area it has edge competition, highly known for pioneering uncharted areas. The bank has taken risky ventures which have been highly beneficial to its overall growth.
SWOT Analysis of Skye Bank
STRENGTH: Skye Bank has a workforce that is highly diversified. The brand is known nationwide. It’s highly responsive to changes in the market. Provides the best electronic banking solutions in the industry.
WEAKNESS: Most of the decision making comes from the top making processing highly bureaucratic. Criticism is rarely accepted by the Bank, and management approach towards the marketing is a bit docile, most of the marketing job is done by junior officers. Job rotation is barely evident, employees spent years on same job function and schedule, making the job monotonous/routine.
THREATS: The main threats to the bank are its competitors since all the Banks sells the same products. There is also political threat as the country democracy is young and government policies are not constant, cost of doing business is high. Also is expansion threat especially on the African continent, opening new frontiers
OPPORTUNITIES: Nigeria economy potential is very huge with high and diversified economic resources and an ever increasing revenue base and having the largest black population in the world. Studies have revealed that over 70% of the Nigerian population is unbanked which create a huge prospect for the retail banking to strive.
SKYE BANK ORGANOGRAM
SKYE BANK ORGANIZATIONAL CHART BEFORE RECOMMENDATION
If you were the CEO, what would you change and why – provide your recommendation with a before and after organizational chart.
An organizational chart depicts an organization in a graphic representation, showing the various activities and specific members assigned to carry them out.(Johns, 2011).
Skye Bank Organizational chart depicts basically two administrative divisions [Head Office and Branches] and two business division [Operations and Marketing]. The bank is focused on how to grow the business through its marketing and credit department. Most Head Offices Service Unit which consist of Performance Management, Human Capital Management, Innovation, Corporate Planning & Strategy, Financial Control have less supervision and have direct reporting line.
I recommend that an Organization Capability Division, to merge all the above department into the same reporting line and be headed by an Executive Director who is a member of the Board of Directors. It’s imperative this group is created has they serve as the ‘brain box’ of the bank ensuring that the overall corporate strategy is been achieved to the benefit of all stakeholders.
SKYE BANK ORGANIZATIONAL CHART BEFORE RECOMMENDATION
BIBILIOGRAPHY
Allport, Gordon: Pattern and Growth in Personality; Harcourt College Pub.,
Johns, M.L (2011). Health Information and management technology an applied approach. Chicago, Illinois; American Health Information Management Association.
William R. Murray, Article Source:
: the official site of Skye Bank Nigeria PLC