Title: Final Report AS2

Module code: UNL1002

Module Leader: Nama Rashid

Technological Environment, Corporate Social

Responsibility and Business Ethics.

Student ID: 7000128

Date: 17/12/2021
Word count: 2007
 Executive summary

The fallowing report will provide the needed analysis on how is affecting the impact of the
new technological changes the business environment today. Also, will provide information
on competitive advantage in how to obtain leverage and become competitive in front of your
competitors. As an example, using Hikma Pharmaceutical business model will analyze the
technological advance is used in becoming competitive and gaining more market share with
every adjustment or new investment. The report will highlight the importance of Business
Etichs and the impact of corporate social responsibility on a business organization, alongside
the key influences that can affect the decision-making mechanism in a company.
 Contents Page

Introduction ……………………………………………………………… 1
“The effects of technological change on the company and its overall
technology strategy as a source of competitive advantage” ……..……..... 2
“The impact of business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
on modern business organization” ……..………………………..….…… 3
“What influences the businesses when making decisions and the impact
this has on the company” …..……………………………………...……... 4
Conclusion ……………………………………………....………………. 6
References ………...……………………………………………………… 7
Introduction

In order to assess Hikma Pharmaceutical on the impact of technological changes, business

ethics and corporate social responsibilities that will help them gain a better understanding of
the environment in which they operate we have firstly, to understand what the purpose of a
business report is and interpret the findings. This will highlight the key points that is going to
help them in the decision making for the future benefit of the company. A business report is
the most effective form of communication in a company, (Purposes or Objective of Business
Reports - The Business Communication, 2021). The main purpose of a report is to evaluate a
particular issue, set of circumstances, or financial operations that relate to the performance of
the business and communicate relevant information succinctly and efficiently. It is often
written and is presented like a response to an executive request that highlights the problems
and recommends solutions.

The improvement in the technology environment had a great impact on the businesses that
rely on it and took advantage in adapt their business model to the new trend. Technological
environment is the part of the company external environment that relates to the changes and
new developments in technology (Technological Environment, 2021). Companies that were
able to adapt faster with the new technological developments have taken the opportunity to
grow not only in production and services but also in market share. The downside of this rapid
change in the technological environment is that makes the products obsolete faster. However,
technology gives the companies the opportunity to stay competitive in this market and
achieve their goals in providing the product or services their customers.

The next section will assess Hikma Pharmaceutical from the Technological Environment
perspective by using technology for their business model.

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“The effects of technological change on the company and its overall technology strategy
as a source of competitive advantage”

For more than 40 years Hikma has been guided by the belief that medicine should be at the
reach of every person how needs it and to achieve this goal had to rely on innovation in both
technological and medical sectors. The Sustainability Report (2020) shows that Hikma took
advantage of the technological advancements and used them accordingly to increase
productivity and research for new products and faster production process. In production,
technology can increase productivity through costs reduction and with the same impute
obtain more output per unit. The increase in production ultimately contributes to the
economic growth of the companies revenue and the possibility of gaining more market share.
As 2020 Hikma has 31 manufacturing plants and 7 research and development centres across
11 countries and continues to find new way to improve and be competitive.

Early adopters of new technology such as the use of internet in their business allowed
companies to expand and have economical grow, take better control of the product sales
technique, ways of making production faster, management and operation of the company,
faster communication with stakeholders, ways and needs for new expertise and the most
important aspect is changing the need and desires of costumers. The internet changed
business strategies for more retailers by turning obsolete the physical stores in favor of online
stores breaking the geographical barrier. Furthermore, internet helps companies to better
understand markets patterns such as through social media, websites and giving access to data
bases for more accurately information. As a pharmaceutical company Hikma has the
obligation to ensure that their products are safe to use, and internet helps the process of
communication between company and costumer for better understanding and better control.
With the implementation on internet and based Artificial Intelligence programs the company
gained the ability to understand the traffic data of the visitors website giving the possibility to
adapt faster to the new trends and avoid possible treats that could damage their position in the
market.

Therefore, with the help of modern technology and the rapid response in adapting to the
changing market, Hikma Pharmaceutical invested in research of new and innovative product
but also in building manufactures and expand to gain throw their product and model of
business an important competitive advantage putting them in front of their competitors. As
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define Twin (2021), competitive advantage is referring at the factors that helps a company to
produce goods or services better or cheaply that its competitors. Corporate reputation attracts
customers to products, and this is the key to offer securities to investors and employees to
jobs, and therefore creates a competitive advantage. Also, the competitive advantage can be
attributed to a variety of factors including the quality of product, marketing of the brand,
retail and distribution network, cost control and customer service. All the factors combine
allow the company to generate more sales and have superior margins comparing to its market
rivals.

“The impact of business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on modern
business organization”

By definition, Business Ethics represents the study of appropriate business practices and
moral principles that act as guidelines regarding controversial subjects such as corporate
governance, bribery, corporate social responsibility and discrimination
Corporatefinanceinstitute.com (2021). In other words, the same acceptable guidelines used at
individual level to conduct themselves apply to business as well in order to operate
responsibly and ethically.

The Code of Conduct used at Hikma Pharmaceutical guides and helps maintain high
standards of ethical conduct by setting up expected behaviors not only amount employees but
also in the way business is conducted and provides an overview of their legal, regulatory, and
ethical requirement. As a publicly listed company at London Stock Exchange, Kikma must be
transparent and promote a culture that encourages employees to come forward when they
have concerns about potential violations of law and regulations, or any other behaviors does
not comply with the code of conduct. The department of Responsibility and Ethics
Committee provides oversight over the compliance programs and manages the associated
risks including bribery and corruption.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to a self-regulating business model that

measures the activities of a company and the impact caused on society and the environment.
Ecovadis (2021) stated that in order to achieve this a company must be transparent and have a
ethical behavior that complies with applicable laws and the international norms, has a
contribution to the health and welfare of society and maintains a sustainable development.
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The scope of corporate social responsibility is to protect the environment, see that labor and
human rights regulation are respected, overview ethical behavior of the company and
sustainable procurement.
Hikma has a strong governance framework built on accountability, trust and their values are
fundamental to the long-term organizational success. The approach and commitments
regarding sustainability and corporate social responsibility is focus on the responsibility of
the company towards patients, communities, employees, and the environment. Within inside
the company, Hikma wants to ensure the good health and wellbeing of the employees by
offering high standards work environments, quality education, gender equality. Through
personal development programs, continuous learning and educational opportunities provided
they need to release their full potential and gain work stability. The company promote
diversity and prides itself on a culture of inclusion by hiring new employees based on merit
and engaging talent irrespective on their gender, religion, or sexual orientation.

The challenges in 2020 and with Covid 19 pandemic forced the presents of the company even
more in the communities’ surrounding compounds, manufacturing plants, research, and
development areas by offering support and relief to those most in need. Working to address
unmet healthcare, enabling students to realize their full potential, developing infrastructure,
and providing essential medicines to underserved people and those facing crisis situations.
Alongside dedicated partners and with the help of donations the CSR has developed various
projects supporting education in Egypt, Tunisia Jordan, raising awareness of Covid-19 in
schools focused specifically on children that were forced to drop out of school due to the
difficulties of the pandemic. The aim of the educational program is to improve learning
conditions and provide support to students and teachers offering possibilities of mentorship
and career advice Hikma (2021).

“What influences the businesses when making decisions and the impact this has on the
company”

A variety of factors can influence every decision that is made in the business and has several
effects positive or negative with impact in productivity or economical level. Mykhaylovych
(2017) presented the top five factors influencing decision making in business environment
market research, competition, economic environment, social responsibility, cost and benefits.
In the case of Hikma Pharmaceutical the influences were all five factors, having a good and
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affordable product that needed expansion in productivity, investment in new acquisitions,
environmental and social programs gaining the support of the communities around them,
understanding the costs and benefits by undertaking various decisions regarding profitability
in short-term, analyzing their competitors and the demands of the customers.

In terms of types, decision making could be categorized in strategic decision also known as
long term decisions usually made by senior managers and the aim is to be market leaders.
Tactical decisions, focused on medium and short term that are less complex decisions and
made by middle managers, for instance opening new branches, launching new products and
the decisions made day to day also called operational decisions made by junior managers who
are regular ordering supplies, managing staff. Effective managers can determine the success
in increased productivity, increased profits and general growth of the business or failure of an
organization such as production disruptions, loss of motivation in employees, losing clients
and increase in customer complaints.

Among the tools used to analyzed and assets risk in a business environment the most popular
is SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) this type of analysis allows
managers to identify areas where improvement is possible and highlight opportunities for
future developments. Other factors that cand affect the decision-making process is the
amount of time available to make the decision or the external pressures such as economic
stability and exchange rates.

The global leadership team at Hikma demonstrated that the decision-making structure used
was effective even in the years of pandemic crisis their stayed committed to upholding
principals such as human rights, labor, environment sustainability, social and governance
issues. Moreover, the company focus their priorities in helping those communities in need
without losing the engagement to the environment by minimizing the impact of the carbon
footprint. With every new change in technology the company is closer to achieve even more
progress with making the operations more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
Since 2017 the report shows that the GHG emissions of direct fuel usage and electricity
consumption have decrease and continue to invest in energy efficiency project such as
renewable energy systems and adopting hybrid and electric vehicles.

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Conclusion

The purpose of this report is to assess Hikma Pharmaceutical business technological

environment and the advantages provided with correct used in order become competitive and
gain leverage in front of the competitors. As demonstrated alongside innovation and with the
help of technological advances and research the company had the opportunity to expand and
adapt to the new trend business. Developing new products, invest in research, new facilities
and manufacturing has giving the possibility to become a successful business model and
increase profitability for the company. All that success without forgetting their commitment
whit the stakeholders, communities, customers, and environment. They continued to deliver
integration programs for the community, educational programs for students, donation
programs for hospitals and pharmacy, also fulfilling the compromise with the environment in
developing their strategy to operate more sustainably.

Using the same ethical principal from the beginning continued to respond at the need of the
communities in which they operate and ensuring that are conducting business ethically and
sustainably according to the legal requirements. Finally, the key to success at Hikma is the
focus on promoting diversity and opportunities for employees across the business. To ensure
the success of that idea was created a Diversity, Equity and Belonging Task Force, as well as
an employee-led Black Employee Advisory Board, that facilitate greater inclusivity in how
the people are recruited, retain, and promote.

This report has provided the analysis of Hikma Business Environment focust on Ethics and
Corporate Social Responsibility and has demonstrated that they fulfilled the commitment for
their employees, communities and environment and that the structure used of decision-
making influence the business in a positive way.

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References

BBC Bitesize. (2021). Types of decisions - Decision making - Higher Business management
Revision - BBC Bitesize. [online] Available at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zkdc7nb/revision/1 [Accessed 13 December 2021].

Corporate Finance Institute. (2021). Business Ethics. [online] Available at:

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/business-ethics/ [Accessed
13 December 2021].

EcoVadis. (2021). Corporate Social Responsibility Definition. [online] Available at:

https://ecovadis.com/glossary/corporate-social-responsibility/ [Accessed 13 December 2021].
Hikma.com. (2021). Sustainability Report 2020. [online] Available at:
https://www.hikma.com/media/3018/hikma-sustainability-report-and-cop-2020.pdf
[Accessed 11 December 2021].

Monash Business School. (2021). Technological Environment. [online] Available at:

https://www.monash.edu/business/marketing/marketing-dictionary/t/technological-
environment [Accessed 11 December 2021].

Mykhaylovych, O., (2017). Top 5 Factors Influencing Decision-Making in a Business

Environment. [online] Linkedin.com. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-5-
factors-influencing-decision-making-business-oleh-mykhaylovych [Accessed 13 December
2021].

The Business Communication. (2021). Purposes or Objective of Business Reports - The

Business Communication. [online] Available at:
https://thebusinesscommunication.com/purposes-or-objective-of-business-reports/ [Accessed
11 December 2021].

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Twin, A., (2021). Competitive Advantage Definition. [online] Investopedia. Available at:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/competitive_advantage.asp [Accessed 13 December
2021].