Dutch car maker plans move to UK

This is a good example of an International Strategy being developed based to ease operations and reduce costs.

Dutch car maker plans move to UK

A luxury sports car maker based in the Netherlands has announced it is moving an assembly plant to Coventry.
Spyker Cars makes up to 50 luxury cars a year, mainly for the US market, with prices starting from about £180,000.

Read the whole article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/8372121.stm

Climate Change Study

Climate change and/or global warming are regularly considered as Macro-External Environmental (-uncertainy) factors. This is a report by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, which acknowledges the need to go beyond mitigation strategies and to take into consideration adaptation and remediation (=direct air carbon capture, geo engineering).


Read the whole article at: http://www.imeche.org/NR/rdonlyres/77CDE5E4-CE41-4F2C-A706-A630569EE486/0/IMechE_MAG_Report.PDF

BA and Iberia agree merger

Good example of an Overcapacity Merger.
Points to note:
-the friendly terms of the 'union'
-the fact that the companies will maintain their structure
-the emphasis on the Synergies to be gained,
-

BA and Iberia agree merger

By Pilita Clark in London and Mark Mulligan in Madrid
Published: November 12 2009 12:02 Last updated: November 13 2009 09:02

British Airways and Iberia on Thursday night agreed the terms of a merger to create Europe’s third-largest airline by revenue, one of the biggest deals in the global aviation industry.

But the two airlines have agreed that Iberia will be able to terminate the accord if it is unhappy with BA’s handling of its swollen pension scheme, which has been one of the sticking points in the deal, first announced in July last year.

Read the whole article at:http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ee333056-cf7f-11de-b876-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Kraft's bid for Cadbury 'derisory'

Hostile Acquisition, if it goes ahead, the integration will be challenging to manage. Interesting to note that Kraft highlights the potential synergies while Cadbury suggests that Kraft is a conglomerate with a Portfolio parenting style. Also, interesting how the strategic direction is emphasised: Cadbury claims that Kraft has a slow growth business model.

Kraft's bid for Cadbury 'derisory'

pa.press.net, Updated: 09/11/2009 15:54A £9.8 billion hostile takeover bid from US food giant Kraft has been labelled "derisory" by Dairy Milk maker Cadbury. A £9.8 billion hostile takeover bid from US food giant Kraft has been labelled "derisory" by Dairy Milk maker Cadbury.

Read the whole article at:

'Road trains' get ready to roll

Good example of how the evolution of a Technology (Macro External Environment) can influence an entire industry. It is also useful to note that this Technology was development by European Funds (Regulatory Macro External Environmental factor) due to Environmental and Socio-Cultural trends.

'Road trains' get ready to roll
Road trains that link vehicles together using wireless sensors could soon be on European roads.
An EU-financed research project is looking at inexpensive ways of getting vehicles to travel in a 'platoon' on Europe's motorways.
Each road train could include up to eight separate vehicles - cars, buses and trucks will be mixed in each one.

Read the whole article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8349923.stm

Interesting to note how one strategic option defines the long term strategic direction of Renault.

Renault's electric-car gamble

Mr Ghosn bets the company
Oct 15th 2009From The Economist print edition

The French carmaker aims to be the first big producer of zero-emission vehicles
OVER the past few weeks Renault has been giving politicians, journalists and big commercial customers across Europe the chance to drive a slightly odd-looking battery-powered vehicle based on its Kangoo, a small van. Like most of the latest electric-vehicle prototypes, the Kangoo Be Bop ZE, as it is called, drives briskly and quietly. Unlike most of them, it is a thoroughly practical proposition. It provides plenty of space for five people and their luggage, has a range of about 160 kilometres (100 miles)—and, crucially, when it goes on sale in less than two years’ time, it will not cost a fortune.

Read the whole article at:http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14662050

Henry Mintzberg on managing

Henry Mintzberg is one of the most influential researchers and authors on strategy.

Listen to his interview with the economist at: http://audiovideo.economist.com/?fr_story=86aec0aa817a9003c3484cf810141d082d76fb7a&rf=bm

How to change the system

Ackoff is one of the founders to modern strategic thought.

How to change the system
Nov 3rd 2009From Economist.com
In praise of the ideas of Russ Ackoff
IT IS hard to imagine a less enticing title for a book than “Introduction to Operations Research”. Yet Russ Ackoff, one of the authors of this tome of 1959, who died on October 29th aged 90, did not just help to define a nascent branch of industrial engineering. He wrote 30 other books, becoming one of the most influential management gurus of the 20th century in the process. His ideas about systemic thinking are vitally important today if the world is to come out of the current economic crisis in better shape than it went into it.

Read the whole article at: http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14790477

Climate rifts ahead of G20 talks

Several Macro External Environment factors are determined in these G20 meetings.

Climate rifts ahead of G20 talks

Disputes over climate change and stimulus spending have emerged ahead of a summit of G20 finance ministers.
Ministers of the 20 leading economies are meeting in St Andrews, Fife, to discuss the nascent global recovery and how to reduce carbon emissions.

Read the whole article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8347786.stm