PayDay Loans FAQ

When a relationship is in the Form stage, the members of the group are generally polite to one another. Most are reserved and allow a group leader or dominant individual to control activities. Others may not reveal much about themselves or disclose their reasons for being involved in the group. They sit back and take a wait-and-see attitude.

But the Form stage is optimal for members’ investing time and energy toward clarifying issues, objectives, and dynamics of the relationship and expressing their needs. During this stage of development, they need to address questions about roles, rules, procedures, and the partnership agenda. “What are we doing?” is a question frequently heard in the Form stage, and during this period people need to ask themselves how much they want to invest in the relationship.

They need to decide whether they are in or out—and, if they are in, what the price of admission is. Consequently, the Form stage needs a strong leader to give direction and set the tone of the partnership until trust is established and situational leadership can emerge in a natural way.

These matters, if not addressed up front, will resurface later and can sabotage the development of trust. Some partners are so eager to “do the deal” that they forget they’re interacting with other people who have their own needs and wants. Impatience at the Form stage is a signal of a potential “one-night stand” relationship.

Multinational companies will want to reduce costs and maximise resources within a single, integrated structure. Things to consider when determining the best structure include:

Political, economic and other factors affecting stability. If the operating environment is unstable, then the best solution may be to provide direct support.

Resources: human, financial and so on.

The purpose, size and complexity of the operation. Generally, the more sophisticated and complex the organisation, the more autonomy is required. But good communications between local operations and overseas headquarters are always important.

Communicating. When building an international business, all those with a stake in the company, especially shareholders, providers of finance and employees, should be informed of what is happening, what the advantages are and what it means for them. Without an explanation, people often fear the worst. Without a convincing explanation, they worry that the management has not thought things through and may be making a strategic error.

There are many areas where an overseas expansion can run into difficulty. Are employees prepared, motivated, trained and equipped to do business internationally? What practical difficulties and barriers to expansion are there in the short and medium term? Another area requiring consideration is the communication of the decision. How will existing customers, employees and shareholders react to the decision to expand overseas? Are there opportunities to raise the profile of the organisation and facilitate its entry into the new market? To better understand such organisational issues, it makes sense to use external advisers with experience of the market. Government agencies and trade associations can also provide help and so, too, can other, non-competing businesses. Local personnel with expertise in the market can be recruited to advise on the best way of succeeding in a new market.

Many firms think that they understand a foreign market when they do not. There are a number of examples of British firms (Marks & Spencer and emap are two) going into the United States and getting it badly wrong. You need to understand how progress is made, how things are done and what the principal issues, including cultural ones, are. How will the organisation be perceived? Is everyone involved prepared for doing business in an environment that may be different? As discussed in previous posts cultural issues are particularly significant in cross-border mergers or acquisitions. One lesson from successful mergers is that it is often best to recognise cultural differences, show flexibility and compromise, and work hard at developing a unitary set of values. Common systems and integrated objectives can help achieve this.

The first priority is to be clear about what your international strategy can and cannot achieve. There should also be clearly defined success criteria: many firms stage the implementation of their international expansion, only committing additional resources when initial objectives have been achieved. A helpful question to ask might be: “What level of achievement would be acceptable to the business, regardless of how the market is perceived?” Other questions include the following:

• How does the international strategy help to achieve the overall aims of the organisation?
• What are the priorities (cross-selling or improving service for existing customers, attracting new clients, attacking current or potential competitors, reducing costs, gaining information and experience, or something else)?
• What are the options? For example, should the firm set up an overseas office or subsidiary, or would acquisition, a joint venture, franchising or licensing be better approaches?
• Where are the potential pitfalls and how will the risk be managed?
• Does the organisational structure need to be altered to take full advantage of the international operations? If so, how?