Vertical and horizontal integration strategy Assignment

Vertical and horizontal integration strategy - Assignment Example t the end of this integration is the factory plant at River Rouge, Michigan where all these parts are assembled to become an automobile that will be later distributed in the market and sold. For a time, this strategy became very effective and contributed to Ford’s success. This strategy of vertical integration however eventually became obsolete as supply chain became complex and competition became stiffer. The introduction of new supply chain and inventory control such as Toyota’s Just-in-Time rendered vertical integration out of fashion. The recent recessions also exposed the vulnerability of vertical integration to economic and cyclical downturns. Thus, the strategy evolved to horizontal integration which is more appropriate for its global market. Horizontal integration as a strategy involves the acquisition of the production whose products are the same – either complementary or competitive (www.theeconomist.com, 2009). The classic example of this strategy is buying competitors who sell the same product. In the case of Ford this is the acquisition of Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Jaguar, Land rover, Volvo and Aston Martin which was sold as an option of the company’s

Merged School of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Merged School of Business - Essay Example They are globalization, technology and sustainability (Schuler & MacMillan, 2006). It is worthy of mentioning that the expression ‘human resource management’ has been used in the context of practicing organizations as well as academicians since last ten to fifteen years. Formerly, the concept was referred as personnel administration. Human resource management takes into consideration all the activities that are undertaken by the enterprises for the purpose of utilizing the resources of the organisation effectively in order to attain individual, organisational as well as group goals (Franklyn, n.d.). A well-crafted merger as well as acquisition strategy can assist an organisation to attain competitive advantage and therefore help in the creation of the shareholders value (London Business School, 2011). The case study is related to the problems faced by All Star University which is the product of a government-sponsored amalgamation between two universities as well as their school/departments. One of them is 115 years old Sandstone University and the other one is 20 years old Redbrick Institute of Technology. The main objective of the essay is to identify the key stakeholders involved in the case study and to discuss their major interests. It will also try to examine the HR challenges as well as problems involved in this merger and therefore will present solutions and recommendations in order to overcome the challenges. Stakeholders can be identified as the persons who get influenced by the strategic plan. Stakeholders may be either group of people, institutions, and organisations or may as well be individuals. The term ‘stakeholder’ may as well be identified as actors or as interest groups. It can be mentioned that the acknowledgement of the stakeholders is an iterative procedure. It is significant to mention that the stakeholders may be at any position in the society. They may be at international level to national, regional, household o r intra-household level. It may comprise all those who affect or may get affected because of the policies, actions or decision in any particular method (International Centre For Development Oriented Research In Agriculture, n.d.). It is often noted that universities are termed as typical organisation which are made up of the stakeholders. The overall management as well as development of the university is completely dependent by its close association with the stakeholders. Conventionally, universities were simply taken as institutions comprising of teachers providing lessons or conducting researches, students of all the levels, various other employees who were held accountable for the business work as well as academic work, the course systems and other related resources and management procedures. However, such opinions generally ignore other development resources as well as social capital. The major stakeholders in any university can be teachers, parents, commercial circle, students, public as well as private sectors of the economy, mass media, professional associations as well as the society (Yi & Rui, n.d.). In the context of this case study, there are many parties who are actively involved. Sandstone University is one of the stakeholders which are in operation since 115 years. The other significant stakeholder is Redbrick Institute of Technology which is into existence