Read the mission statement of Kraft Jacobs Suchard ag and fill in the gaps using the words in the box.
cultivate b) goal c) range d) acquisition e) reliable f committed g) whet h) motivate i) branded
Our mission is to become the most successful (1) food company in
Europe. We will attain that (2) through our high standard product
(3) and through our consistent (4) policy. Nevertheless,
economic success is not everything. For this reason, we (5) a
corporate philosophy that, internally as well as externally, promotes a
positive feeling of life: we (6) our consumers' appetites for culinary
pleasures. We (7) our employees to perform and create. We are a
(8) partner to our retailers. And we are (9) to people in
need, to the environment, and to culture.
Business brief Strategic Alliances
Various definitions have been used to describe strategic partnering. Strategic Alliance is
a formal relationship formed between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon goals or to meet a critical business need while remaining independent organizations.
‘joining of forces and resources, for a specified or indefinite period, to achieve a common objective’.
a cooperation or collaboration which aims for a synergy where each partner hopes that the benefits from the alliance will be greater than those from individual efforts.
Partners
may provide the strategic alliance with such resources as:
The alliance often involves:
technology transfer (access to knowledge and expertise)
economic specialization
shared expenses
shared risk
Stages of Alliance Formation
A typical strategic alliance formation process involves these steps:
Strategy Development involves studying the alliance’s feasibility, objectives and rationale, focusing on the major issues and challenges and development of resource strategies for production, technology, and people. It requires aligning alliance objectives with the overall corporate strategy.
Partner Assessment involves analyzing a potential partner’s strengths and weaknesses, creating strategies for accommodating all partners’ management styles, preparing appropriate partner selection criteria, understanding a partner’s motives for joining the alliance and addressing resource capability gaps that may exist for a partner.
Contract Negotiation involves determining whether all parties have realistic objectives, forming high caliber negotiating teams, defining each
partner’s contributions and rewards as well as protect any proprietary information, addressing termination clauses, penalties for poor performance, and highlighting the degree to which arbitration procedures are clearly stated and understood.
Alliance Operation involves addressing senior management’s commitment, finding the caliber of resources devoted to the alliance, linking of budgets and resources with strategic priorities, measuring and rewarding alliance performance, and assessing the performance and results of the alliance.
Alliance Termination involves winding down the alliance, for instance when its objectives have been met or cannot be met, or when a partner adjusts priorities or re-allocated resources elsewhere.