The Corporate Governance Scenario in the UK With Focus on Banks Essay

The Corporate Governance Scenario in the UK With Focus on Banks - Essay Example As mentioned earlier the area of corporate governance is of great importance and focus in the world of business today. â€Å"Most academics, business professionals, and lay observers would agree that CG is defined as the general set of customs, regulations, habits, and laws that determine to what end a firm should be run. Much more fraught, however, is the question: â€Å"what defines good corporate governance?† (A Closer Look at Business Edition: Corporate Governance. 2006). Corporations unlike its smaller counterparts like sole proprietorships, partnerships, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are much larger and hence more complex to govern. Even though no owner or partner can avoid the concept of good governance, the consequences of a smaller firm going under due to poor practices are much lower when compared to large corporations. One of the main reasons is that the number of stakeholders who are affected is comparatively huge in the case of corporations. In this cas e, the stakeholders will comprise the employees, the shareholders, the local governing bodies, the creditors, other contractual partners, any subsidiaries and branches, the national government, management or board of directors, and the principal owners (if any). Poor governance can affect each one of these sectors in a big way. In some localities, the economy of that place may be dependent on the performance of its principal employer, a corporation. The economy will be badly affected if such a huge employer finds itself in the red and lays off all its employees.

Business Model of Cooper & Stollbrand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Model of Cooper & Stollbrand - Essay Example Business Model of Cooper & Stollbrand This essay is based on the video as seen on Channel 4 depicting how the factory is run and how this small company is sending across a big message that manufacturing in England is not dead as yet. Business Model The existing trend in the market is manufacture in huge quantities, utilize economies of scale and sell cheaper. Turn over is the key for most of the companies to make money. For costlier brands, its not turnover so much, as much as its about manufacturing cost. They prefer to get it produced outside England as labor is pretty cheap in third world countries. But as heard from the Managing Director, Eden, its not about mass production. If the quality is right and the approach is right, one can manufacture products locally and still have a good margin on it. Company is able to manufacture for top brands like Quba & Co., Topshop and Selfridges credit of which to an extent goes to the current business model as follows Sourcing Raw Materials Everything from machines to mats, needle s to nozzles and fabric to fittings are sourced locally from the UK. This saves time in its delivery, saves on transport cost and is local which supports local industry. Labor All of the staff of Cooper & Stollbrand is local ladies who have been working in the industry for decades. They are dedicated and passionate about the manufacturing of products in UK. They are highly skilled and are very reliable when it comes to delivering results. There are young polish, Pakistani and afghanistani ladies who have joined the team and are happy working here. Processes The processes of production are well managed by supervisors and management team. There is a clear demarcation in job roles of machinists, supervisors and quality control and management which makes the hierarchy small and manageable. Supervisors ensure that stuff is cut much ahead of stitching so the machinists know what coming and how much is left. Positioning of the company and its products If you note, throughout the video mach inists are working on high profile coats which will be sold in posh central London stores with a pricey tag. Topshop coats retail at around ?175, and order is significantly small at 325 coats in 3 days. 50 Quba & Co. coats are to be prepared in a short period which will retail at ?500. The positioning of the company is that it is able to produce highest quality of garments, which are produced locally. There is a new awakening among British consumers to buy stuff ‘made in England’ to support local industry. Since most of the corporate customers are high end retail stores, the no. of pieces they would order would be small and hence manageable by Cooper & Stollbrand. Such quick delivery, high quality and cost effectiveness cannot be provided by manufacturing units in India or China. It will not be cost effective for the buyers either to order as the quantities are far too less for it to be ordered from other countries. Staff management / HR Staff is extremely happy and sat isfied with what they are doing. A happy team of staff members would be less demanding, will work at reasonable pay and work hard to meet set delivery targets. This gives Cooper & Stollbrand a unique edge which other manufacturers might not have. Secondly the staff members are paid on number of pieces they delivery subject to stringent quality checks. This ensure that the staff members are quick in producing the garment so that they earn more money, and the co. is able to deliver on time.