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Case study ABB Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) is one of Europe’s major industrial firms. Since the merger in 1987 that created it, ABB has been acquiring or taking minority positions in a large number of companies throughout the world. In recent years it has purchased Westinghouse’s transmission and distribution operations and Combustion Engineering, the manufacturer of power generation and process-automation equipment. In Mexico, ABB acquired FIP SA in 2001, an oil and gas production equipment company. The conglomerate, which currently employs 102,000 people worldwide, has annual revenues in excess of $20 billion. Fifty-five per cent of its revenues come from Europe, 25 per cent from the Americas, and 12 per cent from Asia. The remainder comes from Africa and the Middle East. ABB operates on both local and global terms. On the one hand it attempts to maintain deep local roots wherever it operates so that it can modify both products and operations to that market. For example, managers are trained to adapt to cultural differences and to learn how to communicate effectively with local customers. At the same time the company works to be global and to make products that can be sold anywhere in the world because their technology and quality give them a worldwide appeal. A good example of a business that demonstrates ABB’s advantages is transportation. The company generates $2 billion a year in revenues from such products as subway cars, locomotives, suburban trains, trolleys, and the electrical and signaling systems that support these products. This is possible for four reasons: (1) ABB’s research and development makes it a technology leader in locomotives and power electronics, enabling it to develop and build highspeed trains and rail networks throughout the world; (2) its operations are structured to take advantage of economies of scale and thus keep prices competitive; (3) it adapts to local environments and works closely with customers so that it is viewed as a national rather than a foreign company; and (4) it works closely with companies in other countries that are favored by their own government but need assistance in financing and producing locomotive equipment for that market. As a result, ABB is able to capitalize on its technological and manufacturing expertise and develop competitive advantages in both triad and non-triad markets. In some cases, ABB has gone so far as to take an ownership position in companies located in emerging economic markets. For example, the firm purchased 76 per cent of Zamech, Poland’s leading manufacturer of steam turbines, transmission gears, marine equipment, and metal castings. And it has bought into two other Polish firms that make a wide range of generating equipment and electric drives. ABB is now in the process of reorganizing these firms into profit centers, transferring its own expertise to local operations, and developing worldwide quality standards and controls forproduction. If all goes according to plan, ABB will soon have a thriving Polish operation that will be helping to rebuild Eastern Europe. ABB works hard to be a “good citizen” of every country in which it operates, while also maintaining its supranational status. As a result, the company is proving that it is possible to have worldwide operations and local strategies that work harmoniously.

Questions 1. Why did ABB buy Zamech? How can ABB link Zamech to its strategic plan? (5 Marks).

2. How does ABB address the issues of globalization and national responsiveness? In each case, cite an example. (5 Marks)

 

 

 

 

 

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Why Children Should Be Encouraged to Play Outside

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youngsters playing outdoorsAbout twenty years back, when the Internet was not all that effectively available, and day by day life was not spammed with a wide range of contraptions and electronic toys, kids used to invest considerably more energy outside. These days, be that as it may, kids want to invest free energy at home, as along these lines they can observe more TV, play XBox or Playstation, mess around on their folks’ tablets, etc. Despite the fact that this may likewise be increasingly agreeable for guardians, as they can watch and control their kid simpler when at home, for the wellbeing of a child, it is smarter to urge the person in question to play outside.

As indicated by another examination held in Australia, adolescents who are routinely occupied with moderate-to-fiery open air action will in general have better wellbeing and simpler social collaborations than their friends who like to remain at home and mess around. By and large, the distinction in time spent outside for these two gatherings was about 2.5 hours. Bamini Gopinath, a senior research individual at the college’s Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, says that “Guardians ought to be aware of the way that outside physical movement is gainful to their kid’s general wellbeing and prosperity, and should attempt to restrict the time their kid spends before the screen” (HealthDay).

In fact, as it has been found that outside action doesn’t simply for the most part improve the manner in which a youngster feels; there are various explicit advantages a kid or adolescent gets from playing outside. Specifically, such youngsters fabricate more grounded bones and muscles, are progressively adaptable, and have a superior feeling of parity; such kids likewise have an increasingly solid weight and cardiovascular framework. Investing a great deal of energy outside assists adolescents with maintaining a strategic distance from or diminish pressure and feel increasingly loose, have more trust in themselves, helps confidence, and permits them to stay in contact with old companions and furthermore make new ones (Healthy Kids).

Additionally, investing energy outside causes youngsters to create abilities associated with innovativeness and development. As per Robin Moore, a specialist in the structure of playing and learning conditions, the objects of the outside award kids with boundless potential outcomes for playing, and each time a youngster ventures outside, these games change, or new ones are created. “Characteristic spaces and materials invigorate youngsters’ boundless creative mind and fill in as the mode of innovativeness and inventiveness,” says Moore (Portland Family). Inventive aptitudes that a kid creates when playing outside can support the person in question later on—for instance, when there is a need to unravel a non-standard errand, or concoct another thought.

In spite of the fact that the prevalence of contraptions and gaming comforts is helpful for guardians (since it is simpler for them to control and watch their youngsters when they are at home), for the good of children, it is better that they invest more energy outside. Playing outside not just improves a youngster’s general physical and psycho-passionate condition, however makes the person in question truly more grounded, progressively adaptable, and fearless. Playing outside emphatically influences confidence, causes a youngster to keep up a sound weight, and create social contacts. Besides, playing outside adds to the improvement of inventive reasoning and creative mind. In this manner, guardians ought to urge their kids to invest significantly more energy outside.

References

Holohan, Ellin. “Dynamic, Outdoor Teens are Happier Teens: Study.”HealthDay. N.p., 22 June 2012. Web. 30 July 2015.

“Get Active Each Day.” Healthy Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2015.

“Why Playing Outdoors Makes Children Smarter.” Portland Family. N.p., n.d. Web.

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