Words: 620
Individual Case Write Up Read the case “ABB: Strategic Rise, Decline, and Renewal” (page 312). Answer the following questions: Assignment questions: 1. CEO Percy Barnevik? s ideals in building ABB into a global corporate presence were wellfounded. Identify these ideals and discuss the factors which caused key areas to go awry and affect the performance of the business. 2. Identify and discuss the key strategic initiatives implemented by the various CEO? s appointed after Barnevik? s tenure to take the company out of the „crumbling mess? ithin which it found itself in 2001. In your opinion which CEO performed the better and why? 3. Percy Barnevik laid great store in the use of a matrix structure. Discuss the pros and cons of matrix structures and compare and contrast with those of so-called product/market structures and divisional structures. What particular structure has ABB now developed and why did it take five major restructurings from October 1997 to January 2006 to achieve it? 4. Assess ABB? s current corporate culture.
Do you think that it has changed since Percy Barnevik? s time? 5. ABB? s current growth strategy is to seek small „bolt-on? acquisitions to existing product areas rather than via major acquisitions that could take the company into new areas e. g. aerospace. Comment on these strategic options. Deadline: This assignment is due on by 23. 00 on the due date – see schedule! I do not accept late assignments for any reason whatsoever including sickness! Period! Please follow the instructions for submitting the assignments online.
Page Limits: The total number of pages for the assignment is five-pages, double-spaced, typed! I will not read anything that you want to say on the sixth page. Therefore, please stick to this page limit. This does not include any appendixes or charts you want to attach. Please do not use the appendix as a way to circumvent the five-pages limit. General Advice: In analyzing any case, please do not re-narrate the case for me. I have read the case. I am looking forward to what you would do and how you would do.
You should integrate the materials discussed in the text, your own understanding of the material, and your application of the material to the specific case in question. The answer to the “Why” is more important than merely stating the “What”. Originality, creative thinking, and problem solving are the ones I attempt to grade. The discussion or assignment questions I have given above is more as a guideline than as a comprehensive set of questions to be answered. Therefore, I expect you to expand your thoughts to identify other issues as well that I might not have asked you to respond.
Writing Style: Since this is a graduate level class, I want to see you write your answers in a report form and not in a question and answer form. That is, please follow APA format. That is, keep the discussion questions I posted as a guideline rather than as a comprehensive framework. You may want to add your own questions/thoughts in the analysis of the case. Provide a title page, table of contents page, abstract, introduction, main body including headings and sub-headings, recommendations, conclusions, and references, if any (although no outside reading is required).
You can use boldface or italics to highlight critical arguments and substantiate. Please note that title page, table of contents page, abstract, reference pages and appendixes are not included in the five-pages limit. Submission Instructions: Please submit the assignment as an attachment through the assignment drop box of the class in word fomat. If you use any other format that I am not able to open, it will lead to a grade of zero for the assignment.