In the case of business reconstruction, a new company (hereinafter referred to as ‘transferee company’) is formed, the existing company (hereinafter referred to as transferor company’) is dissolved by passing a special resolution for members voluntary winding up and authorizing the liquidator to transfer the undertaking, business, assets and liabilities of the transferor company to the transferee company. The old company goes into liquidation and its shareholders, instead of being repaid their capital are issued and allotted equivalent shares in the new company. Consequently, the same shareholders carry on almost the same undertaking or enterprise in the name of a new company. Halsbury’s Laws of England defines business reconstruction thus: “While an undertaking being carried on by a company is in substance transferred, not to an outsider, but to another company consisting substantially of the same shareholders with a view to its being continued by the transferee company, there is Continue reading
Strategic Management Tools
Need of Corporate Vision Statements
A corporate entity needs a vision because “where there is no vision, the people perish”(Proverb 29:18). This quotation from the holy writ aptly captures the essence of vision both at individuals and corporate level. Vision is important in that it guides and perpetuates corporate existence. Vision is viewed as a mental picture of a compelling future situation. It originates from creative imagination, the act or power of perceiving imaginative mental images or foresightedness. Corporate vision could be thought of as related to intuition. This is, however, not to eliminate other sources of corporate vision. Corporate vision can be associated with external agencies imposition of strategy or vision and, they can be deliberately formulated as part of strategic planning process. Notwithstanding the process leading to the emergency of vision, from strategic management perspectives, corporate vision creates a picture of a company’s destination and provides a rational for going there – Somewhat Continue reading
Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
Value stream mapping is a framework that could be used by the line-managers to identify the types of wastages in a value chain. The goal of value stream mapping is to identify, demonstrate and decrease the waste. Value stream mapping identifies the non value adding activities in a process and eliminates wastage due to non-value adding activities. It focuses on visual maps the flow of materials and information from the time products come in the back door as a raw material through all manufacturing raw materials. In this frame work, the line-manager could be able to track the process flow and value addition to the product in every activity. Whenever a non value adding activity is identified then it is called as waste. 1. Value stream mapping to identify the type of wastage Value-adding steps are drawn across the center of the map and the non-value-adding steps be represented in Continue reading
Case Study: Restructuring Process of Volkswagen
As western automobile markets reached saturation, automobile giants like Chrysler and Volkswagen resorted to restructuring. Volkswagen had concentrated on its portfolio restructuring since early 90’s. Volkswagen acquired Skoda in 1991. Volkswagen helped Skoda to emerge out of bankruptcy and Skoda soon became “U.K.’s best loved car”. This in turn helped Volkswagen, whose profits were declining around the same time. It gained access to the little penetrated car market of Eastern Europe. In 2009, it acquired 49.9% stake in Porsche. During recession, Porsche plunged into debts. Volkswagen used this opportunity to gain from its rival, who had a respected brand name globally. Even though the car market has matured in western parts of the globe, Volkswagen has been using strategic acquisitions to grow further. The financial restructuring process of Volkswagen, called as ‘ForMotion’ is well-known. This restructuring process began in 2004. With the commencement of ‘ForMotion’, a number of workers lost Continue reading
The Importance of Core Competencies in Strategy Formulation
Strategy allows an organisation to deliver its vision. To develop a deliberate strategy which could potentially increase the sustainability of an organisation clearly requires the identification of core competencies but often a single strategy is not the answer. Organisations require a headline strategy to fit a brief which resonates the vision but several strategies are required over many departments such as research and development, production and marketing to deliver the main strategy. The process of strategy development is complex and methodology depends on several factors including the availability of resources and the external environment. The first step in strategy development is the identification of core competencies then followed by the the process of leveraging resources so they can be exploited for maximum benefit. Strategy development is a crucial step in attaining competitive advantage but a strategy is only as successful as its implementation. The process of leveraging core competencies therefore Continue reading
The Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix (SPACE)
Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix (SPACE) is “an approach to hammer out an appropriate strategic posture for a firm and its individual business.” SPACE is an analysis of the following four dimensions in as in a two-dimensional portfolio analysis and involves a consideration of: Company’s competitive advantage Company’s financial strength Industry strength Environmental stability Various factors are evaluated for determining each of the dimensions and they are summarized below: Dimensions Factors Evaluated Company’s competitive advantage Market Share Product Quality Product life cycle Product Replacement cycle Customer Loyalty Competitor’s Capacity Utilization Technological knowhow Vertical integration Company’s Financial Strength Return on investment Leverage liquidity Capital Required/Available Cash Flow Ease of exit from market Risk involved in business Industry Strength Growth potential Profit potential Financial Stability Technological know how Resource utilization Capital intensity Ease of entry into market Productivity Capacity Utilization Environmental Stability Technological charges Rate if inflation Demand variability Prices of Continue reading