Effectiveness of a bank in the business world-Barclays bank (Essay Sample)

EFFECTIVENESS IN THE BUSINESS WORLD - BARCLAY BANK Student's Name University Affiliation Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc458572351 \h 3PART ONE: PAGEREF _Toc458572352 \h 4Legal Factors PAGEREF _Toc458572353 \h 4Technological factors PAGEREF _Toc458572354 \h 4Economic factors PAGEREF _Toc458572355 \h 5PART TWO: PAGEREF _Toc458572356 \h 6Quality PAGEREF _Toc458572357 \h 6Price PAGEREF _Toc458572358 \h 7PART THREE: PAGEREF _Toc458572359 \h 8Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc458572360 \h 10References PAGEREF _Toc458572361 \h 12 Introduction Barclays Bank is an international financial services provider and majorly deals with commercial and retail banking, investment management, investment banking, wealth management services and credit cards globally CITATION Bar04 \l 2057 (Barclays PLC, 2004). The bank is a major provider of personal banking services all over the world to its customers and offers a variety of products like insurance, loans, debit card, online and saving the account etc. CITATION Bar04 \l 2057 (Barclays PLC, 2004). Barclays Bank was founded in the year 1690 and its headquarters are in London, in the UK CITATION Bar04 \l 2057 (Barclays PLC, 2004). This paper contains an in-depth description and analysis of the Barclay Bank and how its business operations are affected by the bigger society. Factors that influence the bank's operations everyday will also be put into perspective. This bank initiated its business 300 years ago from London, and the Bank has developed very much with enterprises across, Europe, Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific region. Barclays has employed around 145,000 people all over the world. On the other hand, the bank has roughly 49 million clients and customers worldwide CITATION Bar04 \l 2057 (Barclays PLC, 2004). The first part of this essay would analyse and examine the external factors that influence the competitiveness of Barclays Bank, while the part two would give a description of Barclays Bank's business operation and how the bank is offering better services compared to its close competitors. The last part will explain the influence globalization has on the bank and globalization drivers that really affect the operations of Barclays bank. TASK ONE: In determining how Barclay's bank has been influenced by external factors I will use the PEST analysis strategy. This strategy is the best since it critically analyses the external business environment. The approach also takes the result of the marketing audit and places them in logical format considering all the factors that may affect the business. Legal Factors All companies must operate legally. These firms, therefore, have to follow the set rules and regulations of the country they are working in. The government at both local and national levels can affect the companies not only on a daily basis through the policies, laws and authorities but also through a strategic level through the creation of threats and opportunities CITATION Alv91 \l 2057 (Alvarez , Garrett, & Lange, 1991). Notably, these may arise during competition because the government may determine the structure of the industry through restrictive and monopoly practices of the trade. The legislation, on the other hand, can motivate competition by creating more options for customers CITATION Alv91 \l 2057 (Alvarez , Garrett, & Lange, 1991). Banks are really fighting for survival, this is because in the situation today, the UK government is giving the banks support by intervening. A financial lifeline was announced by the UK Treasury worth approximately 500bn for stabilizing the banking sector in the country (bbc.co.uk). However, Barclays Bank did not request help from the government, instead this bank raised money from investors from the Middle Eastern (). Technological factors One of the most important factor to consider in the growth of a company is the technology. There has been a great impact on the way businesses operate through the development of the information technology. A good example is the use of the e-mails and faxes and also the opportunity brought in by the internet CITATION Joh16 \l 2057 (John & Jehad , 2016). Internet marketing can become an excellent marketing tool. Though many businesses including the smaller one have not understood and probably do not appreciate the internet. It creates a world-wide opportunity for all businesses. Modern technology in banks is making the life of customers easier, but on the other hand this factor is creates a big problem on issue of privacy and security of their bank account details. For customers to login and do online banking it becomes a big challenge. Customers in rural areas do not have much knowledge about bill payments, online banking and transfer of funds online. For Barclays bank to stay competitive with other banks, it needs to consider using the most modern available technology. There are very few organizations that would not consider getting a corporate website, though in the last 10 years these websites were rarely there. New technology creates new opportunities and new markets. Economic factors The economic factors that affects a business are closely linked with its political environment. Economic factors consist of the current and the future top economic variables that are used to describe the purchasing power, wealth, consumption and savings together with the state's economic policies put in place to effect the variables. These encompass the effect of interest rates, inflation and exchange rates and will have effect on the prices, cost, profitability and competitiveness of the business. Regarding strategic marketing tasks, the major significance as part of the process of strategic planning is identification, forecasting and also monitoring of the above mentioned variables, to which the firm's market effort is more sensitive. So, understanding of the top economic indicators help provide the necessary information for anticipating advancements in the market place. Economic uncertainties affect business and the customer confidence negatively. The key marketing task it to attempt to achieve the relationships between changes in the market place and movements in the economy. TASK TWO: Barclays Bank is the leading financial services provider in the world, and it's majorly engaged in commercial banking, retail banking, investment banking, investment management, wealth management and credit cards services. Barclay's operations are spread across fifty countries in Europe, Africa, and the US. The Headquarters are in London, United Kingdom. In the fiscal year that ended in December 2007, Barclays bank recorded revenues worth £23,492 million which was an increase of 6% from the revenue collected in the year 2006. The increase in percentage was as a result of Barclays Global Investors, Barclays Capital, and Barclay's wealth CITATION Bar04 \l 2057 (Barclays PLC, 2004). The bank has a strategy to achieve positive growth as time goes by increasing its availability and business base in segments and markets that are rapidly growing. On the other the bank has a marketing strategy to focus sharply on customers. To attract them in big numbers thereby making the company continue to grow and expand. Quality In the world today, many banks are offering similar services to those provided by Barclays Bank. The bank has to provide quality products and services to maintain its customers. Quality goes hand-in-hand with cost, flexibility and dependability. First, an effective quality management is crucial. This consists of services quality and products quality. The services must provide information the Bank's customers and show them the quality that Barclays bank provide. For quality products and services to be provided, the bank has employed a highly skilled workforce which makes the management very strong. Many customers, all over the world, require not only quality services and products but also dependable and consistent services. Since the bank guarantee for products of high quality, the reliable services will be highly expected by the customers. For a business to be successful, it must satisfy customer's expectation. For Barclays Bank to do so, they need to build a strong relationship with its clients. From then on, Barclays bank can develop new services and products on the basis of their customer's demand and available resources. In the current market, firms with very fast responses the needs of the customers give them a competitive advantage. Since the bank operates worldwide, it must embark on real research. Good research enables the company to understand their customer better. On the other it helps the company improve with immerging technological innovations. The bank must look for the new technology to reach its customers effectively and efficiently. Price Price can be termed as the cost of the services or a product. The price plays a critical role in the client's and customer's decision of purchasing the service or product. For this reason, when deciding the prices of particular products and services careful attention should be paid. Many customers worldwide would choose for services or a product which has features that are related but is price is relatively lower than that one which is offered by Barclays bank if the firm's prices are very high. However, if the prices of the Barclays' product and services are lowest compared to those of the other competitors; customers may perceive this as a sign poor and low quality. Therefore, Barclays bank must price the services and products in a way that provides and appropriate position of the product in the market place. For a business to be successful the prices must...