Keohane and Nye’s theories of Complex Interdependence and...

Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye discussed interdependence and transnationalism in their first publication, ‘Power and Interdependence’ released in 1977. The release coincided with the United Nations (UN) decade of Development where states pushed towards economic growth and social advancement. The 70’s was also a particularly quiet time during the Cold War and was when the European Community (EC) really came to fruition. The world was moving forward at a substantial rate and the old schools of thought seemed less and less relevant in understanding world politics. Keohane and Nye pointed to organisations such as the EC and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stating that these along with the rise of multinational†¦show more content†¦States are so interlinked now via economics and culture that being a ‘lone’ state for many is just not possible. Although states are seen as mutually dependant they are not necessarily equally de pendant, one state is often more dependent on another. Taking the British/US example the cutting of these ties would hurt both states but one more than the other. Maybe the British would lose more as the US is a key ally or maybe the US would lose the most as they would lose their UK military bases this asymmetry is where Keohane and Nye believe power lies. They saw two dimensions which could determine power within an interdependent system, sensitivity and vulnerability. Sensitivity examines at how fast changes in one state influenced another and how fast this could be reversed with policy changes, Keohane and Nye looked at the OPEC oil crisis and saw the US was less sensitive than Japan because less of its oil was imported however it still affected the US. Sensitivity is seen as a temporary problem as it can be ‘fixed’, in this case by negotiating prices, seeking new supplies or using one’s own oil. Vulnerability on the other hand is permanent, policy change can not help. An overly simplistic example would be if only one state supplied oil and they upped their prices other states would have no option but to pay (Keohane Nye, 2011: 10-11). Interdependence in today’s world can be seen all around us. The EU has become ever closer and larger

Cost Control and Cost Reduction Essay Sample free essay sample

In the current economic clime. most administrations must confront up to a drawn-out period of utmost competition and support limitations. This is peculiarly the instance if the past few old ages have been focused on growing. service betterment or reorganization ( i. e. cost efficiency has non been a recent precedence ) . Such force per unit areas require an attack that reduces costs in a strategic. disciplined. and sustainable mode – delivered at gait. In our position serious cost decrease is far more than a loose collection of single. local activities. It is besides more than a finance undertaking. an operational undertaking or a localized procedure function undertaking. In our experience. successful cost decrease requires a programme attack. managed in full alliance with the corporate scheme. across all countries of the concern. It relies on an educated. intelligent argument that recognises the demand for alteration. the appetency for alteration and the ability to alter. Cost decrease is a challenging. high hazard activity. It must be recognised that cutting costs is a challenging. high hazard activity. that executed severely can at the really least neglect to present. and at worst significantly undermine an organisation’s concern ends and service unity. Once there is the acknowledgment that important cost decrease is necessary. there are a figure of booby traps administrations should avoid: Approach Draconian Top Down Reductions. Indiscriminate. arbitrary decreases. usually in staff or high profile undertakings. must be avoided. Such action is frequently driven by a desire to be seen to move. ( â€Å"We must make something – lets do this now† ) . without taking into history downstream impact. wider dependences or strategic impact. Inadequate Buy-in. Insufficient input. engagement and buy-in by employees who are best placed to place nest eggs and will subsequently hold to accomplish them. Design Over Analysis. Prolonged analysis of the chances. even on the obvious speedy wins. Analysis should be advanced to the point where the determination is clear. non to the point where no more analysis is possible. Enterprise Overload. Too many enterprises underway and planned. with assorted messages on why. when and how. taking to hapless bringing or important impact on business-as-usual activity. Big Bang. Too much trust on a little figure of big. complex undertakings. presenting benefits in the long term. This introduces a high hazard of failure or obsolescence. Result Strategy Delivery At-Risk. Cost decreases weaken the nucleus capablenesss required to accomplish specific strategic ends. For illustration. voluntary redundancy programmes can take to unintended harm to core service offerings. Musical Chairs. The amount of the promised head count decreases turns out to be far less than the net Group alteration in caput count. due to organizational alterations. ill-defined budget allotments. alterations from staff to impermanent resources etc. These are merely a choice of the assorted booby traps that can bechance major cost decrease programmes. These demand to be borne in head in set uping the attack. and come oning through the programme lifecycle. Eight Stages to presenting sustainable. strategic cost decrease. Our attack is built around the constitution of programmatic alteration. delivered through a high public presentation cardinal programme squad. working through a clear eight phase end-to-end procedure. There are many methodological analysiss a vailable in the market topographic point for cost decrease. but all excessively frequently these are focused on content creative activity and non the direction of the lifecycle. i. e all the manner through to delivered and audited cost nest eggs. The key. in our head. is to guarantee that the procedure starts early plenty by associating into the corporate scheme. and coatings tardily plenty – through to when benefits have been delivered. audited and sustained. The eight phases encompass: Review Corporate Strategy. Update and understand the relevant elements of corporate scheme for the cost decrease programme. Establish Cost Base. Construct a high degree apprehension of the organizational cost baseline. captured in a common definition and format. Set High Level Targets. Establish the operating and capital disbursement marks. that meet the senior stakeholder demands. yet remain executable in mention to the existent cost base. Map and Assess Cost Drivers. Make a elaborate cost dataset and associated cost drivers prosodies. to let insightful analysis of the organizational efficiency. Identify Current and Potential Initiatives. These can be identified from internal argument. cost driver informations crunching. external benchmarking. and external best pattern reappraisal. Prioritise A ; Optimise Initiatives. Filter. categorise. polish the enterprises. prioritise on value. timescale. hazard and so optimize overall portfolio. This recognises that the old measure will in all likeliness place many more enterprises than can realistically be managed. Manage. Deliver A ; Audit. Inaugural bringing. advancement coverage. programme confidence. cost decrease audit. Sustain A ; Adjust. Sustain cost decreases station bringing. Guarantee the administration learns and adjusts from the programme bringing. This attack has been built from the Moorhouse team’s experience in presenting complex programme alteration. including cost decrease programmes. across many sectors. Is the programme fit-for-purpose? As portion of this work. we have developed a simple diagnostic for any cost decrease programme planned or underway: Alliance. Is the cost decrease programme carefully targeted to guarantee that it aligns with. and complements. the organisation’s concern scheme. Data Driven. Is there a individual. checkered version of the fiscal and KPI informations. established as the baseline state of affairs and footing for ongoing measuring and comparing? Are cardinal determinations based on fact based analysis? Are at that place common coverage criterions? Programmatic. Is there an administration broad programme model established. supported. where the graduated table justifies. through a Cost Programme Management Office? Exhaustive. Has the programme reviewed every facet of the endeavor to place chances to intelligently cut down costs. instead than concentrate narrowly on staff decreases? Longevity. Has the sustainability of the possible cost decreases been assessed and cardinal enablers b uilt into the program. Balanced. Is the portfolio of cost decrease enterprises optimised so that it includes both speedy wins that provide short-run nest eggs and programme impulse. more acute alterations that improve the efficiency of the administration. and eventually more extremist longer term steps that go beyond efficiency nest eggs to rethinking both what is done and how value is created. Commitment. Is at that place full committedness and engagement of senior direction. through the full lifecycle? Assurance of the benefits bringing is critical One programme component with possibly greater relevancy than is usual is that of confidence – confidence of the programme attack and critically. of benefits bringing. That is to corroborate. through independent audit. that the programme end products have delivered existent nest eggs to the bottom line for the administration as a whole. and non merely moved cost from one section to another. Assurance will develop conformance across the programme every bit good as cross-sharing of the experiences of successful intercessions. Success depends on the right attack and lifecycle direction A ill thought through or incoherent aggregation of knee-jerk cost decrease undertakings will non merely cut down the possible benefits but can besides sabotage an organisation’s concern ends and service unity i. e. it has the possible to take you backwards. A programmatic attack to be decrease is. hence. critical. This ensures that a cost decrease programme generates lasting betterments in operating efficiency that are aligned with an organisation’s concern scheme ( as adjusted to reflect the economic conditions ) . When originating a cost decrease programme. administrations need to guarantee: The handiness of accurate. elaborate cost informations to underpin the programme. That there is a strong appetency for important challenge and alteration – backed by the committedness of senior direction through the life-time of the programme. That the programme is suitably resourced to pull off and present the cost decrease marks. With these pre-conditions and attachment to a disciplined attack. such as the one described in this article. administrations can place themselves non merely to run into the jussive mood of near-term cost decrease but besides to emerge as more efficient. nimble concepts ready for the unanticipated challenges of tomorrow.