Fiat was among the first companies to adopt a Post-Fordist system in production after its recovery from the 1970 oil crisis. The large-scale deployment of robotics in the production process of Fiat Company was the most significant move to cope with increased competition and demand. In 1972, the company initiated the adoption of FMS so that it could shift to flexible production methods from the Fordistic inflexible mass production systems. The move was considered as the first step towards discontinuity in management and organization involving the shift in planned goals and replacements of procedures supporting operations supervision. The Robogate technology was developed in-house by Fiat Company and used to create flexibility with enhanced product-mix flexibility. Product-mix flexibility is the conferred ability of an organization to produce different products sequentially using the same lines of production. As indicated, the shift from Fordist mass production systems enables a company to reduce tool specificity Continue reading
Business Analysis Case
Case Study: Analysis of Daimler-Chrysler Merger
The merger between Daimler and Chrysler was designed to create a complex multinational automobile manufacturer with a market worth of more than $130 billion. The merger was supposed to ring paradigm shifts in the way that cars would be made and driven. But unfortunately, the great upheavals and changes that were predicted did not happen and the merger sunk into a morass of cultural mismatch. Synergies between Daimler, a German company, and Chrysler, an American company could not develop. For the merger to be successful, a climate of mutual trust, learning, creativity common values, and ethics needs to be developed first. When two companies merge, there needs to be a balanced change management policy where both parties are given their due right and encouraged to exchange ideas for mutual growth. Daimler tried to ramrod its policies on the resilient Americans who resisted and this resulted in a war of attrition in Continue reading
Case Study: How Boeing 787 Dominated the Aviation Market?
Boeing has been a primary manufacturer of the aerospace industry for more than 40 years. It was set up the first time in Seattle Washington in 1916 by William E. Boeing, and merged with Douglas Aircraft Company (owned by McDonnell Douglas) in 1997 and moved its corporate headquarters from Seattle to Chicago, Illinois in 2001. The merger made the combined company a leadership in commercial aviation. Currently, Boeing has employees more than 170,000 people over 70 countries. Boeing operates in five segments: Commercial Airplanes, Boeing Military Aircraft, Network & Space Systems, Global Services & Support, and Boeing Capital Corporation. Not only producing airplanes, Boeing also works on producing components for spaceship and other significant products related to aircraft industry. Prior to the launching of 787 Dreamliner, Boeing had specialized with 767 and 747-400 models of air-crafts for its clientele. The decline in the market for Boeing 767 and 747-400 that Continue reading
Case Study: Starbucks Survival From the Financial Crisis of 2008
The beginning of the economic crisis of 2008 significantly affected all businesses throughout the country, and this event influenced the companies involved in international operations in the first place. For example, Starbucks faced challenges stemming from the emerging hardships expressed by financial losses and wrong strategic choices, deteriorating its overall position in the market. However, the managers’ external circumstances were not the most critical considerations since the existing problems in Starbucks’ activity were added to the new issues. The failure to adhere to the company’s original vision related to providing not simply a product but valuable experiences led to difficulties in overcoming the crisis. From this perspective, the analysis of all conditions as of 2008 is required to demonstrate Starbucks’ capability to survive in the future. The Company During the Economic Crisis of 2008 During the economic crisis of 2008, Starbucks’ managers were reported to struggle with maintaining operations while Continue reading
Case Study on Corporate Governance Failures: The Collapse of HIH Insurance
In the past few years, the collapse in large public listed companies has raised stakeholders concern about corporate governance, which is a leading issue area for business worldwide. While numerous definitions of the term corporate governance have been suggested, it is generally defined as the framework of processes and structures to control and manage a corporation with the objective of enhancing company and shareholder wealth, whereas at the same time, protecting the interests of other stakeholders. The failure of many corporations resulting from a corporate governance problem caused counterproductive outcomes to shareholders and also the wider community. One of the most well-known business debacles, particularly in Australia, is the collapse of HIH Insurance Limited (HIH). As a result of over-optimistic valuations of assets and extensive understatement of liabilities, many of HIH’s policyholders and its creditors encountered a substantial loss. Bailouts can cost Australian taxpayer over a billion-Australian dollar but it Continue reading
Case Study: Why did EBay’s Acquisition of Skype become a Flop?
Acquisitions and mergers are organizational expansion frameworks that allow companies to gain control of more resources and grow their reach to diverse markets. An acquisition involves obtaining another organization’s shares or resources, and a merger refers to establishing an alliance with aligned goals while sustaining independence. Therefore, though creating a partnership and buying out other companies are effective growth strategies, they have different implications, target specific outcomes, require varying managerial approaches, and do not often succeed. For example, eBay’s acquisition of Skype in 2005 was one of the biggest business flops of the 21st century because they did not investigate the feasibility of their expansion strategy. Although eBay made a sound decision to purchase a fast-growing internet company, its initiatives did not yield fruits because it could not use Skype to enhance its business or facilitate efficiency. In the late 1995, Pierre Omidyar established “Auction Web”, as an online auction Continue reading