Barclays Bank Performance - Case Study Example

? Case study on Barclays Bank Barclays bank is not only one of the banks that is internationally recognized but also one of the oldest banks in history. It traces its roots back to a goldsmith business in the year 1690.This business was started by John Freame and Thomas Gould in Lombard Street located in the city of London. In the year 1736 James Barclay became a partner in the business and this where the organization derived its name and was known as Barclays since then. In 1895 there was a merger between a number of banks which were all ran by different families. The main reason for the merger was that they feared the competition that was coming and saw a possibility of a take over from the larger banks especially the joint stock banks. The banks wanted to combine all their existing networks and take full advantage of their loose competitors in order for them to be able to compete effectively with the joint stock banks. This merger brought together seventy one partners and since then has been known as Barclays Bank. Over the years Barclays has expanded and has over fifty countries in Europe, Africa, North and South America. (Michael Collins 117) Barclays bank is an international service provider that deals with personal banking, credit cards, wealth and investment management and corporate and investment banking. The main activities in the bank are to lend, move, invest and protect money. Its operations are generally divided into two that is the retail and business banking which has four units; Africa retail and business banking, Barclaycard, U.K retail and business banking and the final one is Europe retail and business banking. These operations dictate the core business structure in the organization and determine the services they offer. They cannot offer services that are beyond its business scope. The highest structure in the Barclays group is the group chairman and the chief executive. The group also has an executive committee and a board of directors. Each branch at the nation level has its’ managers and other officials who ensure the smooth running of the bank. All the group’s operations including its overseas offices, subsidiaries and associates are all subject to a set of rules and regulations which have to be adhered to at all levels. All the cooperates practices have been provided for in one document and the aim of this principles is to provide the highest standards of products and services to its stakeholders..The board is charged with the responsibility of creating as well as building a shareholder value through the management of the business. It has to ensure that is the body that ensures a balance between the promotion of the goals whether long or short term. It is the work of the chairman to ensure that all the board members receive information in a proper and clear way so as to ensure that the directors are able to give sound judgments or opinions that will ensure the growth of the organization. It is also important to note that the directors are not allowed to put themselves in a position where he or she may have conflicts of interests. The directors have the obligation to act in good faith so as to promote the success of the company. While acting on behalf of the company the shareholder is expected to look at the likely consequences of any decision to the company in the long run, they are also expected to consider the interests of all the stakeholders and the need to maintain the reputation that the bank has. The organization does engage with a wide range of stakeholders who are spread all across their divisions and their main of these transactions is to ensure that they discover the key concerns and respond to each of their stakeholders need. The stakeholders of the organization include its employees, shareholders, suppliers, government and its regulations, charities and the non-governmental organizations. The organization has come up with a citizenship strategy which focuses on three areas that will improve their services and products to all those who have a particular interest or concern in the organization. The citizenship strategy means the organization taking into consideration the needs of all the stakeholders and decisions which in the end will have a positive impact on all the key stakeholders. The strategy ensures that the organization puts the clients’ interests first. They also have to contribute to the growth by supporting economic growth and creation of jobs in the countries where each of them is located. Barclays bank has had a few challenges over the years, one of them being their system crash. There are times when the bankers’ automated clearing system has crashed and this has hindered all the activities of the bank. The biggest disadvantage of this has been the fact that the customers, who are the greatest stakeholders, of the bank have been affected by this. In the last crash most people could not access their funds worldwide inconveniencing most people who are clients of Barclays. The solution to this so that it would not happen again would be if the bank invested more in making sure that the systems are running always. Another way would be to ensure that there is a backup that is ready in case this happened again. The bank has to realize that a shutdown of the systems would not only cost the bank a few clients but would cause them to lose a lot more financially. The bank could also look at the outsourcing options that there are. If managing their own systems is a problem they could consider outsourcing or even off shoring. It would be cheaper and more so help the organization to focus on the core reason for the business. Barclays bank has always been criticized of discrimination due to the underrepresentation of women and the ethnic minorities. This particular problem dates back to the time when there was apartheid in South Africa. During that time the bank even came to be known as Boersclays bank as they actively participated in the apartheid regime. Today there is an attempt by Barclays to increase the numbers of the misrepresentations in their structures. The bank in an attempt to kill this problem completely should introduce a system that has stated the percentage policy of the number of each group must exist in the rules and regulations that govern them. Barclays bank has always been traditional in their systems. Since its foundation most of the regulations and systems that were running the bank are still the same ones running in it till now. This problem in its structures will be cleared once the bank fully implements the Salz review. The Sals review is a report that was written reviewing all the values, principles and standards of operation of the bank and in the end recommends the changes that are to be made. The bank examined the report and the banks will be implementing most of what was recommended in the report. Barclays bank has also been involved in a quite a number of scandals. This has at some point ruined its reputation. The biggest scandal that this bank faced was the Libor scandal in which the bank was fined a total of $450 million. The Libor which is an interest that is calculated by banks in London was being manipulated by the banks and they could inflate or deflate their rates so that they could control the interest rates in the market. The bank should create policies that provide for transparency. The Salz review being a report that tries to enhance transparency could be the one of things or laws that will ensure such a scandal does not happen again. Money laundering has also been a problem that the bank has been accused of. This was when the bank held an account for one of the presidents even after it had been discovered that the money was believed had gotten most of his money from oil revenues in the government. Even after the accusations the bank still held his account and money To avoid such scenarios the bank should ensure that they run a history background of an individual before they open an account. The bank should also ensure that they adhere to all laws be it the law where one of its branches exist or at the international level. With the review of its current system and application of the recommendations in the Slaz report it is more likely that the bank operating strictures will become better and more effective. The banking system need to evolve especially with the changing marketing trends and the introduction of digitalization in the world. Works Cited Michael Collins, Mae Baker. Commercial Banks and Industrial Finanace in Endland and Wales. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. Piers Myer, Sally Hulkks. Organizational Change;Perspectives on Theory and practises. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Read More

 

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