Report on School and Internationalisation Problems

Introduction of School and Internationalisation Problems

Schooland is a social enterprise based in Dublin, operating in the sector of education. After several years of consistent growth and expansion, its influence is noticeable in several cities such as Galway, Cork, and even abroad. At the moment, the enterprise is considering the replication of its model and expansion into other emerging nations on the basis of its key manager’s internationalisation proposal. Such a proposal would actually imply changes in the board of Schooland among other things. However, as the enterprise has considered this proposal, there are some problems which have emerged and they need to be resolved before the enterprise can actually work on internationalisation. In this essay, these problems will be identified and an action plan would be developed.

Problem Identification of School and Internationalisation Problems

For every case, the part of problem identification is considered vital. For instance, if problems are not identified, then it is not possible to determine which issues need to be resolved. In simple words, a direction is obtained if the existing problems are not accurately determined. If an enterprise works on a wrong set of problems, it can cause it to lose its efficiency and even experience a significant financial loss. Therefore, the importance of identifying the correct problems cannot be denied. In this section, different problems which are being faced by Schooland will be identified (Doherty, et al., 2009).

Problem # 1: The very first problem is concerned with the bribery case on the manager. As the chairman, I receive a call from a friend of mine. Actually, she is a journalist and she has been working on a piece for the special weekend edition. She has informed me that an investigation is being performed by the Department of Foreign Affairs on several people with charges of corruption and bribery. This investigation is seemingly linking one of my managers to potential misconduct in money collection. The case also involves money laundry and utilisation of subsidies in fiscal havens around the globe. Tomorrow, the story is going to be published at the newspaper website and social media will be boosting it.

Actually, it is presenting a significant risk to the enterprise because any scandal at the moment would not only have an adverse influence on its reputation but would also hinder the process of internationalisation. Therefore, for the enterprise to stay effective without experiencing losses, it has to address this issue.

Problem # 2: Another problem which is being faced by the Schooland enterprise is that there is a delay in the reporting of the most important impact indicators and financial results. These delays mean that the enterprise cannot identify which factors need to be focused upon as soon as possible so that immediate steps can be taken.

Problem # 3: During issues and internationalisation, it is important for the code of conduct to be elaborated. It is important to ensure that every important stakeholder in the process understands his/her responsibilities so that the process can be managed in an effective manner without facing any issue.

Problem # 4: The last problem is associated with internationalisation. For expanding into different developing countries, there is a change in board members required. It is quite an important step because expansion into new nations require those people who have the knowledge of these countries and are familiar with the regulations and other important policies of those nations. This problem also needs to be addressed because if expansion is performed without the knowledge of emerging nations beforehand, it will cause the enterprise to experience unpredicted issues. For instance, it is possible that a nation might not allow foreign enterprises to function within its premises. In such a case, Schooland will experience a significant loss in terms of its finances.

Solution for Problem # 1: For every enterprise and organisation, governance is considered quite important. For instance, government refers to processes and systems which ensure the overall supervision, effectiveness, accountability, and direction of a firm. Its mechanism involves the governance of boards, signalling mechanisms such as code up and reporting, and monitoring different systems. Social enterprises tend to address some of the most pressing issues which are faced by societies through the employment of self-sustainable and scalable business models. For social enterprises, a key is government for both safeguarding the mission of organisation while meeting the expectations of different stakeholders and managing compliance with regulations and policies.

Actually, if a social enterprise does not focus on the management of its issues, its reputation can be adversely influenced. In this case, Schooland has been notified that one of its managers is suspected of bribery and even money laundry. As the chairman, it is quite a serious concern for me. According to the code of conduct, I have the authority of consulting the manager first by myself and that is what I will do to ensure whether the manager has even been involved in such a thing or are these just false claims. Therefore, in order to resolve this issue, I will consult the manager as soon as possible and will hold a private meeting with him in which I will not invite others to ensure confidentiality (Ridley-Duff & Bull, 2011).

The manager was involved in the illegal actions which can influence the overall reputation of our organization. Moreover, his previous contribution and work for the organization encouraged me to keep this matter a secret issues unless it is tackled properly or confirmation is made. Therefore I need to be careful about the inquiry process at the workplace. Allegedly, I also need to identify those who were supporting me in such unwanted actions. I will make sure to focus on the collection of evidence and solid proof before making a decision regarding his future career at my organization. Excluding, I will prefer to make legal decisions based on the available evidence and testimony rather than overlooking reality to protect the reputation of the organization by negative means.

Meanwhile, if he has done them within the enterprise, I will tell him that he is suspended permanently form the enterprise. In addition to it, I will also tell the media how the manager performed the crimes without letting anyone else know about it. This will help the enterprise in ensuring that its credibility and reputation is not damaged. Additionally, if there are some victims, they will be paid accordingly from the share of that manager. In this manner, Schooland will not have to experience a financial loss as well. Conclusively, strict action will be taken against him if he proves guilty for the claims. However, any illegal action done outside the organization will be handled in a different way as it does not directly relate to the performance but reputation of the organization.

Solution for Problem # 2: Considering the fact that there has been a delay in the identification of key indicators, it is important to ensure that these indicators are identified as soon as possible. However, it is highly unlikely that the report will be produced in only a single day. Even if multiple people work on the report, it will not be produced in a short amount of time. In such a case, it is important to purchase a relevant software which automates the process is capable of identifying the indicators upon inserting the data. Actually, this is the most feasible solution as it enables the identification of key indicators. Although this is quite a costly option, it can help in the determination of indicators which are important to be focused upon. It can also facilitate the process of determination without any issue or fault. It is possible that if a report is made manually, there might be some mistakes in it. However, in the case of software, there is no possibility that a fault or mistake might occur (Leung, 2016).

Solution for Problem # 3: For internationalisation, it is important for the code of conduct to be expanded. It is important for board members to create the CIB policy according to Acts through their participation in committee meetings and board meetings. The adoption and preparation of the strategic plan is the basic responsibility of the board. In this case, the strategic plan will be revised again. In addition to it, it will be ensured that it is aligned to some specific objectives of Department of Social Protection and Employment Affairs. It will also be ensured that it is consistent with the policies of the government. An important step that will be carried out in this solution is to provide each board member with a Code of Practice manual which has every relevant concept elaborated. It will be the responsibility of every member to ensure that he goes through the manual.

An important point which will be noted in this code of practice will be a collective responsibility. The collective authority and responsibility of the Board are to be protected. Each and every member will be given the opportunity of contributing to the deliberations of Board where it is considered necessary to give a constructive challenge. Meanwhile, excessive influence on an individual board member on the decision making will not be encouraged (Leipziger, 2017).

There is yet another important point which will be added in the code of conduct. It is concerned with performing treachery and anything that goes against the policies of Schooland. For instance, such acts include bribery and money laundry. If there is any member within the organisation which is found to be involved in such acts, the board members will have the authority of narrowing down that individual and suspend him without salary. The board members will have the authority to not provide such a person with any type of retirement plan and all the money will be provided to the person who is the victim of this bribery. In such case, the board members will also have the authority to present the person to media so that he can claim the crime and how the organisation did not have any role to play in bribery.

The last additional point which will be added in the code of conduct is to ensure that each and every board member along with all stakeholders in the organisation abide by the regulations of countries in which the enterprise is to be expanded. Each and every emerging nation has different and unique regulations. It is important for the board to abide by these policies and regulations as it will help in the sustainable operations of Schooland.

Solution for Problem # 4: The last problem can be addressed by the addition of two board members into the existing team of members. As it has been explained above, the regulations and policies of every emerging economy are different from each other. It means that without the knowledge of these policies, it would not be possible for the enterprise to function in those economies. These two members include one person with relevant experience and with a background in Law while the other person also with relevant experience and background in the field of Education. These people can be both from India and other nations (Nicholls & Murdock, 2011).

Action Plan of School and Internationalisation Problems

Conclusion of School and Internationalisation Problems

Overall, in this essay, four problems experienced by Schooland are addressed. In order to resolve the issues faced by the social enterprise, solutions have also been provided in this essay along with an action plan. It has been determined in this essay that for ensuring the effectiveness of enterprise, it is important to protect the reputation of enterprise because the case of bribery can have an adverse influence on perceptions of audience.

References of School and Internationalisation Problems

1.      Doherty, B., Foster, G., Meehan, J. & Mason, C., 2009. Management for social enterprise. s.l.:Sage Publications.

2.      Leipziger, D., 2017. The corporate responsibility code book. s.l.:Routledge.

3.      Leung, D., 2016. Inside accounting: the sociology of financial reporting and auditing. s.l.:Routledge.

4.      Nicholls, A. & Murdock, A., 2011. Social innovation: Blurring boundaries to reconfigure markets. s.l.:Springer.

5.      Ridley-Duff, R. & Bull, M., 2011. Understanding social enterprise: Theory and practice. s.l.: London: Sage.