Question 1: Bhopal Disaster
Uncertainty is part of any corporate organization and it may range from typical crises to existential crises. The crises can be national and affect all types of organizations or they can be industry specific. Whatever the type or case, how a corporate leader manages a crisis will have a long-term effect on the company or organization. Hearit (2006) defines a crisis as any activity or occurrence that is not planned for and has a negative effect on an organization if not managed effectively. Crises in companies are a test to managers. As a corporate leader, managing a crisis that is industry specific or that the company is responsible for is very critical. A crisis affects all stakeholders of the company whether the impact is immediate or sustained over a period of time. Even though most corporate usually plan for the unexpected, they still find themselves in a crisis from time to time. When a crisis breaks, sometimes before the company knows about it, the media is usually on the scene reporting lading to events escalating about the incident. Panic sets in and the absence of adequate response by corporate leaders usually results in anger and fear from stakeholders and the public at large.
As a corporate leader, the first step to dealing with a crisis that the company bore responsibility for is to assess the crisis and accept it. According to Harvard Business School Press (2013) it is important to assess if the situation is a crisis or simply a business problem, whether it is local or national, whether it has legal implications and the level of resources required to manage it. As a corporate leader it is important to have a personal strategy to handle a crisis of this manner. The first step in the strategy is respecting the role of the media. Most corporate leaders fear talking to the media because of the thought that they usually exaggerate the situation. The media is however not the enemy and they have access to audiences that as a corporate leader I need to reach. Talking to the media and giving them a statement to put out in public will ensure the public and stakeholders that the company is concerned and handling the crisis. The next step is to communicate. It is critical to communicate with stakeholders of the company and all those who have been affected as well as the public and therefore a balanced communication strategy is required. According to Swartz and Herbane (2002) such a balanced strategy ensures that the corporate liability is protected and the demands of public and media dynamic are satisfied.
The next step in my personal strategy is to take responsibility. It is important to empathize and even publicly apologize for the events that have transpired if you want to get public forgiveness or sympathy. This should not be confused with talking blame. The next step is to centralize information. As a corporate leader, I will move quickly to control information and the resolution of the crisis before other parties come in and possibly worsen the situation. Hearit (2006) explains that during a crisis, it is important to update all levels of management with information about the crisis form different t sources. The next step is to establish a crisis team and ensure that the team has access to all the resources that they need. The next step is to communicate with employees. It is important to keep employees on then loop of what is going on because they are the front line ambassadors in a crisis and they can help make the situation better. Next step is to use third parties to speak on behalf of the company because they are more credible that the company in the middle of a crisis. The next step is to consider and monitor responses from the public and stakeholders.
Question 2: Challenges Facing the Middle East
The Middle East refers to the regions west of the larger Asia. The region has been the centre of many affairs that has attracted the attention of the world. Of major concern are the conflicts between various players in the region and the world at large. The Middle East is also a region with many economic challenges mostly due to conflicting countries and groups. Compared to the neighboring countries like China, Pakistan, Russia and other countries with stable political environment, the Middle East lags behind in terms of economic development stable political environment.
In the recent past, the Middle East region has been on the headlines for many reasons. The main theme that underlines many information or news about the region is war and widespread conflicts between many different groups of actors. Was has defined the region for many years. With countries like Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey, among many other countries, the region does not fall short of war related conflicts.
In recent past, there has been constant fighting between Israel and Palestine. Isarel, a country established in 1947 has been fighting for space and regaining of its ancient lands, which is also claimed by Palestine. The conflict has normally escalated to full blown war with Palestinian people mostly suffering the most. There has also been a major changes sweeping across Middle East arising from the Arab Spring which started in northern Africa and spread further to Egypt, and now in Syria. Although the Syrian revolution started earlier, the uprising has morphed into civil war that has now involved Islamic militants calling itself ISIS. ISIS, meaning Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has taken over large areas of Iraq and Syria. This has presented the biggest challenge to the region. The ISIS for instance, has been accussed of committing crimes against humanity and disregard for human rights. It has also crippled major economic activities in Syria and Iraq, and also made other countries vulnerable.
The current ISIL activities are further complicating the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts which involves Hezbollah and Hamas. Despite the French Parliament voting to recognize Palestine as a state, existing environment does not make it better for Israel to accept the statehood of Palestine. It therefore pits European nations against Israel diplomatically, at a time when major world leaders are concerned with ISIL atrocities.
Nevertheless, the region has great potential for economic growth. If the current challenges facing the Middle East are handled to conclusion, industrial players and investors will find more business than before. The opportunity to be part of reconstructing countries and economies like Syria, Iraq and Palestine is evident. Since the conflicts in the region, especially those related to ISIL and those affecting Iran, Syria and Egypt. With the current international efforts to restore normalcy in the region, industries and companies in the transport, security, energy, construction and technology sectors will find more opportunities in the Middle East.
The region is also rich in energy resources whose infrastructures are severely damaged by ongoing war. Iraq and Syria have lost a lot of infrastructure to war and reconstruction will present huge opportunities for business. Security being the main challenge in the region, security and related service providers may find that Iraq needs huge security investment and Palestine will need a professionalized army and police force for the its nation. Consequently, in other regions of the world, specifically Africa, South America and Asia lies opportunities for industrial players. In Africa, there are opportunities in energy, IT, agriculture, mining, and transport sectors.
Question 3: Climate Change and Emerging Opportunities
The advent of industrial revolution brought about drastic and faster economic and social change that started in Europe and spread across the world. This however, did not render industrial sectors free from blame and its negative effects on the world. Industrialized countries like the US, UK, Japan, China and newly emerging ones have been blamed for changing global climate. The climate change is now becoming a real threat to humanity.
Climate change and resulting global warming are almost cliché terms used frequently to describe how the environment has changed negatively due to industrial pollution. In countries like the US and Japan, heavy industries contribute greatly to carbon released into the atmosphere which consequently cause global warming. This results to extreme climatic and weather conditions which causes disasters and affects living things on planet earth.
The US for instance, power plants using electricity produces carbon totaling to 40% of its total emissions. The threat of unsustainable water supply in the mid centuries is very high in a third of the counties in the lower 48. The effects of global warming is also evident in the wake of extreme weather conditions which is now a common thing in the US and Asian countries. High temperatures have fueled wild fires, reduced ice caped surface area and increased desert like features in areas with no such features. El Nino is a good example of erratic weather patterns associated with global warming and climate change and is expected in many areas across the globe.
Nevertheless, every global calamity presents a business opportunity for those who are presenting the troubled world with solutions. Climate change creates a problem that will need a solution from someone.
Looking at the financial industry, it is a huge industry that powers all other sectors of global economy. The providers of money to run projects like construction of bridges, research and development, mining and health investments will definitely be the biggest gainer. In order for the world to survive the effects of global warming, there need to be greater investments in the information sectors. Information means research and improved technology. Banks and other sectors like insurance play a vital role in providing funds for research activities. Banks for instance, will provide capital for investing in the hybrid, eco-friendly vehicles. In order to reduce climate change effects, reduction of carbon emissions should be reduced by having new machines like solar powered machines, renewable energy and so on. Banks and other financial institutions will provide funds for investing in such projects.
The insurance sector also forms the financial industry. Through insurance, many people, companies and nations will invest in insuring buildings, crops, health and other businesses from adverse effects of climate change. Insurance, and consequently the financial industry globally, will gain big from the increased demand for related financial services.
Global investments into clean energy and sustainable business processes will grow immensely. Investment banks and capital owners will invest more in projects that represents the future need now. Such flow of capital will further make investment banks richer and commercial banks active in financing such projects. Capital is what drives major projects and the financial industry will therefore be the critical player and beneficiary. It is however evident that before the global climate changes are well predicted, risk of loss in some investments related to agriculture faces lots of risks. Insurance sectors may also suffer huge loses which are not predictable due to ever changing erratic weathers and natural disasters.
