Entrepreneurial Thinking in Multinational Organizations Essay

Entrepreneurial Thinking in Multinational Organizations - Essay Example Many multinationals are resorted to entrepreneurial thinking to formulate tactics for consolidating their positions in the market, making a dent into unexplored markets as well as maintained a steady growth rate. The term 'entrepreneur' comes from the French word 'entreprendre' which means 'to undertake.' It signifies a person who undertakes or operates a new enterprise or venture, while also taking responsibility for the risks involved in setting-up a new operation. Entrepreneurs are not limited to any one field, nor are they limited to the for-profit world. (Arti Pandey, 2006) External environment: While entrepreneurial organizations seek to identify opportunities in the external environment, traditional organizations look at the external environment for threats to their core business, rather than for new opportunities. (Hornsby, 1993) Strategy - Proactive strategic positioning is adopted by entrepreneurial organizations whereas traditional organizations take a more defensive position focusing to protect their core business. (Hornsby, 2002) Control Systems: Control Systems at traditional organizat... s at traditional organizations underlined by expense-based budgets whereas entrepreneurial organizations look at longer-term business planning and forecasting to guide their business. (Guth, 1990) Structure and Communication: Traditional organizations are hierarchical, centralized and formal, while entrepreneurial organizations are more decentralized and have informal communication flow.(Dess, 1999) Observations: Changes in entrepreneurial culture of Audit Big 4 firms Market trends in the financial markets such as Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other variations in the regulatory environment have necessitiatd corporates to modify their strategies to face these changes as well as remain competitive in the market environment. Some of the observations made in the changes in the entrepreneurial culture of the Audit Big 4 Firms are as detailed below: 3.1 Deloitte In the early ninties Deloitte was growing at a sedentary 11%/year, when it set itself the goal of doubling this rate. It realized that achieving this goal from a business-as-usual strategy was impossible, it therefore established a team known as the Strategic Business Development (SBD) team to look for new revenue-generating opportunities. With little bureaucracy to slow them down, the Strategic Business Development (SBD) team produced a clutch of initiatives: a customer relationship management business; an ethics and fraud hotline, Tip-Offs Anonymous; a joint venture with Citadel to establish Deloitte Private Client Advisors; and Deloitte Human Capital Corp. By creating these businesses to serve emerging and established markets, the unit contributed more than R300m to Deloitte's top line within three years. (Deloitte, 2006) In 2002 the Deloitte Innovation Programme was launched. The Innovation Zone was