Case Study on Goldman Sachs Course Name:- Management of Organizations & Systems Course Code:- MGT501-Sec 3 Department:- Master of Business Administration Semester:- Spring 2022 Submitted to:- Mahmudul Haq Submitted by:- Name Md Abrar Faiaz Faisal Ahammed Tushar Faria Zahan Sarna Sadia Sultana Zisha Md Labib Islam BRAC Business School BRAC University 66 Mohakhali, Dhaka Student ID 22164012 22164014 22164059 22164064 22164070 1. Which forces in Goldman Sachs's external environment have accounted most for "the fortunes of fate" that the company — indeed, the investment banking industry — has experienced since 2008? The economic dimension, the sociocultural dimension, and the regulators that are part of the task environment are the forces in Goldman Sachs' external environment that account for the most "fortunes of fate”.When Goldman Sachs was in the midst of a worldwide financial crisis, some investors became restless and apprehensive, and they began to sell off their shares, causing the company's stock price to plummet by half. The regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the sociocultural dimension were major external forces once they moved from an investment bank to a holding company bank. They diverged from their high-risk, high-return culture when they transitioned because they needed to respond to changes in customs and values in their society and organization at the time, which is why they became a holding-company bank. They adapt to whatever happens in their environment, which is one of the reasons Goldman Sachs has been able to stay in business for so long. 2. Explain the roles of Goldman’s partners, both as owners and employees, in forming and managing its internal environment Goldman's partners, as owners, contributed to the company's internal environment by investing their own money and managing the company's assets throughout time. As owners, they can also assist by setting an example for their staff by first demonstrating their ideals of high-risk, highreward work and then selecting individuals who share those values. By attracting certain and certain employees, this will assist build the future of the corporate culture. Their hiring process is a grueling endeavor, but it is an important component of Goldman Sachs' plan to further build the company's internal atmosphere. Out of tens of thousands of job applications, Goldman only hires the best of the best. Employees will continually compete and try to outperform one another since they will always desire the promotion or raise that is up for grabs and to move up the ranks if they have this mentality. 2|Page 3. Which factors from the external environment will influence the business processes of Goldman Sachs most in recent times? The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. As it relates to the financial and banking industry, we believe that these four external environment factors will influence Goldman Sachs' business processes in recent times which are, → → → → Social Technology Ecology Legal BecauseThe social environment has a big impact on the industry's development. In Europe and the United States, there is a banking culture. People put their trust in banks when it comes to their money. As a result, incidents of people keeping substantial sums of money in their homes are uncommon. Banks are also used by people to obtain loans for growth. Because of the sociocultural environment in these countries, financial institutions are extremely significant and profitable. Their services are well-liked in Europe and the United States, in contrast to other emerging regions of the world, where many people are still unaware of the importance of banks in their daily lives. Technology has had a significant impact on the finance and banking industries, particularly in the last two decades. Financial institutions, like other businesses around the world, are in a technologically precarious situation where they must embrace new ways of doing business in order to survive. Emerging technologies have brought a slew of new products to the market that were previously unavailable. Internet banking and mobile banking have grown in popularity over the last decade because they simplify the banking process and allow customers to access their funds without having to visit a bank. The way businesses transact business has also changed as a result of technological advancements. Many businesses around the world are concerned about ecological issues. Companies are now attempting to develop ways to operate without endangering the environment. This industry has followed suit in its efforts to make its operations more ecologically friendly. To relieve the strain on our forests, the majority of these businesses are now going toward paperless transactions. Some of these firms, like Goldman Sachs, have also supported environmental programs as part of their corporate social responsibility. Another external environmental factor that affects all firms in this industry is the legal environment. In a market with unclear legal structures, a company cannot thrive. Unfair practices are protected by laws for firms, clients, the government, and other parties. The legal environment in both the United States and Europe has been particularly supportive of both domestic and international enterprises, creating a platform where they may compete fairly. 3|Page 4. In 2008, citing Goldman as one of the “Top 20 Most Admired Companies” in the United States, Fortune magazine characterized the firm’s culture as “an impossible-to-replicate mix of extreme aggression, deep paranoia, individual ambition, and robot-like teamwork.”† Judging from our case, how valid do you regard this characterization? If you were a top manager at Goldman, how would you deal with the apparent conflict between “individual ambition” and “robot-like teamwork”? In our opinion, Goldman's definition is correct because it accurately describes the actions and culture of the company. Employee conduct at Goldman's is characterized by extreme hostility, deep paranoia, and individual ambition. Employees are goal-oriented and determined to do whatever it takes to attain their objectives, even competing with one another. In certain ways, the employee's "deep paranoias" and "individual ambitions" are linked. Individual desire is often accompanied by a fear of failure, which is why Goldman's employees are often described as perfectionists. And finally, We believe "robot-like teamwork" is an apt description since employees who are self-centered and focused on their own goals will not be encouraged to work harder in a group, thus they will simply do the bare minimum job required in that group, making it stale and robotic-like. If I were a top manager at Goldman, I would encourage more teamwork projects and award people not only for their own achievement but also for how well they collaborate with others. For example, if someone is up for a promotion, one factor that will determine whether or not they get it is how effectively they perform in a team, and whether or not the other members of the team will speak favorably of them. 4|Page
