International Business

Archive for January, 2012

Demand for Big 4 IT Consultants:

“A Big 4 Accounting firm is seeking IT Auditors,” “Big4 experience in IT Audit, SOX 404, Business Process controls, internal controls” “Big4 ERP consultant with Big 4 experience,” “Strong Big4 experience in the SAP market,” “Big 4 firm seeks senior level Oracle, JD Edwards or PeopleSoft Management/Business Consultants” … the requirements list for Big4 IT consultants is limitless!

Big4 IT Saga:

Apart from being extraordinary performers, the Big Four firms and their clients have the knack of achieving success during uncertain periods. According to Deloitte Technology Fast 500, IT and Software firms consistently lead the Fast 500 list. The latest Trendsetter Barometer survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers strengthens Deloitte’s reports. The survey avers that the fastest growing companies in the U.S. allocate more than 60% of the budget for Information Technology.

What drives the Big 4 IT Firms?

IT is an ethereal market that demands business and technology improvements at the drop of a hat. Managing risks and handling change are important tasks for IT professionals at the Big4 firms. Today, there are three significant requirements that drive the Big 4 IT firms. They are-

Innovative Management

Dynamic Staff and

Efficient Team Dynamics.

Organizational performance at Big 4 IT firms is driven by the fact that the Information Systems Audits, Controls, Business Planning and Development are handled exceptionally. Typically, Big4 IT firms choose professionals for Information Systems Audits, Disaster Recovery, Systems Development and Information Security. Big4 – a website catering to Big4 alumni- receives periodic updates on the latest news and trends at the Big Four IT firms. The training budget per IT employee at Ernst & Young was U.S.$2,100 for the year 2003.

Big4 and ERP:

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a major bet for Big 4 IT professionals. Big 4 IT software job market is dominated by ERP technologies from Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft, Siebel and Great Plains. Salesforce.com, the Hosted CRM services leader, competes with all the top “Install and Customize” ERP technologies providers. With a 300,000 subscribers list, Salesforce.com expects to reach a U.S.$ 300 million profit in 2006.

Post Oracle-Siebel Union, Enterprise Software Technology giant, SAP, is also planning to offer hosted CRM Services. Budging from its conventional Enterprise Software Technology market, SAP is competing against industry bigwigs like BEA, Oracle, PeopleSoft and Siebel to earn top honors in hosted CRM services.

Big4 Firms rely on E-business and Security:

E-business and Security are playing important roles in driving the success rate of Big Four firms. In June 2005, Sapient Corp. acquired BIS (Business Information Solutions,) a SAP-related services firm. With this acquisition, the demand for Business Intelligence and value Optimization Services increased tremendously.

Another Big4 stalwart, PricewaterhouseCoopers, helps clients by offering IT cost and performance optimization services. PwC enables organizations to focus on IT business risk, IT spending, IT governance, IT risk management and compliance.

In the Information Security arena, Compliance is a forerunner. Business Process Controls, Internal Controls, SOX 404 are potential players in improving the business performance of the Big Four IT firms. As per a Deloitte Research report, a security loophole in a shipping container can amount to U.S.$ 1 trillion loss. Companies worldwide lose U.S.$ 12.5 billion due to computer hacking and spamming. Additionally, the report also suggests that global companies consider business disruption, poor regulatory compliance, erratic surges in interest rates, terrorist activities as factors affecting Security.

Performance of Service Companies and Product-related companies:

As a matter of fact, service companies are performing better and reaping higher revenue than the product-related companies. The analysis made by the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Trendsetter survey compliments the performance of IT services industry. As per the survey, 62% of e-business budgeting caters to Information Technology. Service companies bestow 57% of the e-business budget towards IT personnel, while their counterparts, the product sector firms, allocate 44% for IT personnel.

Big4 Firms and IT Compliance – The Road Ahead:

Sarbanes Oxley and IT Compliance measures have had a positive effect on the overall health of the Big Four firms. With IT auditors and financial auditors standing guard and streamlining the Security measures at Big Four firms, does that mean Big Four IT professionals with desired attributes are a hotcake? You bet!

Business communication involves constant exchange of information. It is a continuous process. The more the business expands, the greater is the pressure on the business to find more effective means of communication – both with the employees and with the world outside. Thus, business and communication goes hand in hand. Without effective business communication, a manager cannot perform the basic functions of management efficiently. It is the life-blood of an organization.

For a good communication in business, we should ensure the following:
Every communication in business, whether written or oral, should be logically structured , i.e.,it should have a good beginning, a good body(content), and an effective ending. Be it a business letter or business speech, the communication should begin in such a manner that the audience have keen interest and pays attention to the message. The content of the communication should gives the core message of communication. The communication should end in such a manner that the audience knows what is expected of them and they get the jist of the message. Correct means of communication should be used- a means which take into reference time and cost constraints. Choice of appropriate channel also depends upon the amount of formality required and the speed of feedback required. Communication should be articulate and concise. Use of ambiguous words should be avoided. Choice of words should be such that it overcomes cultural differences. Business communication should be influencing and persuasive. Communication should be courteous. Polite and considerate behavior is essence of business communication. A positive body language should be used . For example, during meetings and interviews, maintain a frequent eye contact, give a pleasing smile , make all feel comfortable, etc. Feedback is an integral component of communication. Without feedback, it will be impossible to know whether the receiver has understood the message in same terms as intended. Try using more of ”You” rather than “I”. The audience or the receivers of the message should be given importance. Be an active listener . The quality of communication improves if one is a good listener. One should listen positively, should be open-minded and attentive. The facts should not be partial, i.e., they should be complete. The receiver of the message might get confused or might take a wrong action if facts are incomplete. The facts should be recent and not outdated.

Stakeholders are those groups of people or institutions that have a stake in your company (where you are not always aware of). There are many general theories about stakeholder management and methods to implement. When dealing with change, a simple stakeholder “view” could help you in controlling the change.

Such a view will look like a spider. It shows the contexts of your organization (the core) and the legs of the spider are pointing to the stakeholders. In the view below, the spider lost one leg:

Clients (Business Clients or Consumers) Competitors Employees (Management) Third parties (Suppliers and Business partners) Capital suppliers, Investors, Shareholders Government (local, national, International) Communities (environmental, professionals)

The Employee-category is different in the sense that this relation is internal, where the others communicate with the world outside.

For planning a change, it is important to know what you must do regarding these relations. You could see this as a complicated version of Client Relationship Management, where different clients groups have different roles. Each relation must be managed in a different way.

Managing this stakeholder context is managing the important network your company ‘got’ entangled in during its business cycle. This context provides valuable information that supports the change management process.

The stakeholder view can be used for both small businesses as for large caps. To manage each relation you must be well prepared, but you do not have to know everything in advance. In a way you need to manage expectations. You also need to listen very well to the stake that is in the game. You cannot negotiate with relations if you do not know how you value the relation.

To give one example:

A bank is changing its strategy. Many of the local branches will be closed due to the fact that internet is a growing channel. Yet there are a group (community) of elderly people than – although not belonging to the main focus group (80%) will resist in this new approach.

If you have not included them in the stakeholders view, you will have to do a lot of rework once you think you go live. They, representing maybe only less than 20%, will give you a lot of exceptions to handle.