SUMMARY BOX 3.3: THE BOSTON TEA COMPANY The Boston Tea Company was based in Bristol, Great Britain. A key feature of the Japanese ethos was (and remains) Kaizen – the search for continuous improvement. Political interests – the move received overt government support and the takeover was allowed to proceed unopposed by the UK's Merger and Competition Commission.
Sources: Institute of Management (UK) (2000) ‘‘Mergers and Acquisitions’’; American Management Association (2000) "Advantages and Consequences of Acquisition Strategies." Presentation - images, packaging, design and appearance of the product or service; brochures and other presentations of services; Sources: Banking Federation (UK) (1999) "Corporate Restructuring"; American Management Association (USA) (2000) ‘‘The Long-Term Effects of Corporate Restructuring.’’.
Projections as ''the company in power'' that local markets can rely on in the long run. Industry: on the grounds that it would "transform" the nature of the car manufacturing and distribution industry and pricing policies. Axis economies - "The axis" is identified as Western Europe, the United States of America and Japan: the main areas of the world in states of advanced economic development.
Return on Investment – The financial and other returns desired and required as a result of participating in specific activities. Synergies – “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”; the key driver in the process of globalization through merger and acquisition. United Nations Children's Foundation (UNICEF) - The United Nations body responsible for the global welfare of children.
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) – The United Nations commission responsible for the welfare of refugees and displaced persons. World Bank – The transgovernmental organization created to provide financing and investment where it would not otherwise be available. The concept of scientific management was developed by F.W. The general approach was based on the need to be as precise as possible about the problems of work and work organization.
Power distance – the extent to which power and influence are distributed across society; to what extent this is acceptable to the members of the association; access to sources of power and influence;. Hands on, value drive – the basic philosophy of the organization is well defined and understood. Economic development with its roots in the first industrial revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which required entrepreneurial qualities such as: the ability to work hard;. enthusiasm and the ability to arouse it in others;. will, perseverance and emotional resilience; ability to improvise and organize; and.
The key point of inquiry is "assumptions". The sheer size of global organizations means that assumptions are usually taken for granted rather than tested and evaluated.
STRATEGIC THINKING
The ability to become and remain a truly global organization is based on the ability to control and deploy economic and other resources to assess specific markets and locations for opportunity. It requires strategic decisions about whether to be the sole or dominant player in markets (eg Microsoft); Cola in soft drinks); or to match the presence to the exact location (eg McDonald's is the main supplier of fast food in the USA, a niche player only in Russia); and.
This must then be re-evaluated in terms of distance, transport, logistics and support so that activities are not carried out in corporate isolation, however remote the physical location. Thinking locally – requires investment in cultural, social, behavioral and ethical understanding of the specific areas where business is envisaged. There may be strong religious customs or social norms, and work patterns may be dictated by climate extremes.
For example, a project to build a holiday resort in Spain recently failed because the main contractor, based in Britain, did not recognize that construction work could not and should not take place between 11am. nature of the business relationship to be developed and its basis in spending and consumption patterns; the tendency to purchase and consume local products and services; The required thinking mix forms the basis on which certain opportunities and organizational resources are brought together.
Helena/Sakhalin because we are confident (very subjective) we can develop good business''; "We don't want to work in Colombo/London/Vancouver because we can't see ourselves fitting in." The bad – ‘‘We want to work in Iceland/Chile/New Zealand because the market is just waiting for us to arrive’’ (arrogance); ‘‘We do not want to work in Ghana/Mexico/Australia because it is impossible to do business there’’ (reflecting social, and often national or ethnic prejudice).
LEADERSHIP
It is universally necessary to respect the fact that for those who live there the Vietnamese (or Thai or French) "way" is as important as the American, British or German "way" as for those in headquarters. Managers must therefore be prepared to travel, visit and understand, as well as act and accept advice and guidance from those on the ground in specific locations.
MARKET AND LOCATION UNDERSTANDING Analyzing new and proposed areas and locations of activity is essential
Environment – responsibilities to the planet; pollution; waste management; environmental impacts of specific activities; cost-benefit analyses. Building on the in-depth work required by Porter approaches, Cartwright's model ensures that attention is paid to the 'soft' elements of culture and aesthetics, which are too often neglected by purity.
INVESTMENT, TECHNOLOGY, AND EXPERTISE COMMAND
Once activities are initiated, customer, client and supplier liaison are then engaged from the same point of view as in more familiar terrain, recognizing the prevailing cultural, social and commercial customs and norms.
MERGER AND TAKEOVER
This is also likely to be a much more successful and comfortable overall approach, especially if the particular sector or location has had bad experiences with MNCs in the past. Biases of technological dominance did not take into account the adaptation of technology and expertise when the two companies merged.
ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION
This has not always been easy to achieve and has led to widespread job losses at Dassault (France) and Plessey Marconi (UK) from 1994 to the present day. University education: UK universities financed budget deficits in the period 1991-97 by attracting full-fee students from South East Asia. When the Asian currencies then collapsed, the universities had nothing further to fall back on.
If one company saw potential in an area, others would too. Where global organizations are able to drive others out of specific sectors, they drive out all the goodwill and mutual value that existed between suppliers, customers, clients and the previous role players.
RESPONSIBILITY
They can become dependent on the global organization for existence (and then their own prices are lowered). They find themselves unable to keep the rest of their customer base happy, and so they begin to lose reputation.
MANAGEMENT STYLE
Customers and/or suppliers are being poorly served or squeezed by existing players. Cultural requirements (see Hofstede, Chapter 8): for example, it is ineffective to engage in participatory local management if the staff involved do not understand what is expected of them. The prescriptive (or any other) management style requires fundamental integrity and an approach that staff are comfortable with.
Management structures: it is usual to establish patterns of regional and local managers (ABB calls these ''local chiefs'' - see Chapter 7) who carry devolved authority, responsibility and accountability. They set operational standards for their areas in line with overall strategy, policy and direction (see summary box 10.5). SUMMARY ROOM 10.5: OVERPOWERED SUBJECTS In sixteenth century England, the Tudor kings and queens were burdened with what became known as their overpowered subjects.
These were the landed gentry whose support the monarch required to maintain peace in the outlying parts of the country and who, if support did not come, posed a real threat to the monarch's position. Support was therefore created by giving financial rewards, local government rights and general autonomy to these nobles in exchange for their continued existence. In global organizations, highly powerful entities are located in equivalent areas, especially regional and local offices in remote locations away from headquarters.
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
REINFORCEMENT
2000) Living Strategy: Putting People at the Heart of Corporate Purpose, F.T. 1998) In Search of European Excellence, Harper Collins Business, London.