Corporate Strategy and Policy

1. Statement of Purpose: Corporate Strategy & Policy Any meaningful organization has certain mission, objective(s) and goal(s) and a strategy to achieve them. Business environment consists of all those factors that have a bearing on the business, such as the strengths, weaknesses, internal power relationships and orientations of the organization, government policies and regulations, nature of economy and economic conditions, socio-cultural factors, demographic trends, natural factors, global needs and cross-border developments. Business is an integral part of the social system. Social system influences business, which in turn is affected by the business. Corporate governance is concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and commercial goals. The governance framework (that creates policies) is there to encourage the efficient use of resources and equally to require accountability for the stewardship of those resources. The aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society. The incentive to corporations and to those who own and manage them to adopt internationally accepted governance standards is that these standards will help them to achieve their corporate aims and to attract investment. The initiative for this adoption by states is that these standards will strengthen the economy and discourage fraud and mismanagement. The foundation of any structure of corporate governance is disclosure. Openness is the basis of public confidence in the corporate system, and funds will flow to the centers of economic activity that inspires trust. My exposure to two corporate cultures, seven years with Andhra Steel Corporation Limited, a public limited company and 20 years with Manipal Hospital, corporate hospital managed by Manipal Health Enterprise Private Limited, had given me glimpse in corporations functioning. For five years I worked as officer taking care of secretarial functions, in Andhra Steel Corporation Limited. Jobs involved share transfers, Fixed Deposit settlements, arranging shareholders’ meetings, AGMs, Board of Directors Meeting, maintaining minutes of the meeting, Interacting with internal and external auditors, printing and presentation of financial statements, safe holding of 20000 files of Calcutta Registered office as per ruling of Honorable Calcutta High Court in response to a winding up petition. Mittal group controlled India’s largest mini steel industry, I had interacted with many private limited companies of the group, and strategies developed were applied across: one unit procured raw material, another made semi finished (billets) and another produced finished product (Tor Steel). I worked for 8 years as executive at Manipal Hospital, implementing the corporate policies, the vision and mission of the Group. I had implemented corporate social responsibility for 5 years by operating social work department. All through I had witnessed a transformation of Medical Relief Society of South Canara into a private limited company, Manipal Health Systems Pvt. Ltd. Now poised with foreign operations, the group now strategically runs Manipal Health Enterprises Private Limited along with Manipal University. 20 hospitals of national/international status, including well known Kasturba Medical College & Hospital at Manipal, and 10 educational institutions under Manipal University are part of this group. This transition had given me an opportunity to study the new perspectives – how the trust’s social responsibility later became CSR. The company strategically acquired, merged and made alliances with other companies and effectively dealt staff migration and retrenchment with HRM strategies. My studies on Human Rights Law and management gave me a theoretical perspective on corporate governance in Globalization. Knowledge is an ocean. This realization has given me the courage to apply for fellowship program in IIM-B. My Primary interest is on Corporate Social Responsibility strategies and policies. My ultimate aim is to found a Management Journal of international repute that would publish research findings in Management and Healthcare that can strategically facilitate affordable healthcare to the community. Let our strategies and policies protect all of us.