New World Companies - 9780757004131

Thanks to the sharp increase in mergers, acquisitions and takeovers, the number of powerful worldwide corporations has quadrupled in the past twenty years. These are firms whose yearly revenues are greater than those of most countries. They employ millions of workers in almost every nation on our planet and their influence on the global economy and the fate of citizens keeps increasing. What does this rapid development mean for your family, your friends, and your own firms? Beneath all the chatter on these differing brands and products, are there actually a small set of rules that they all breathe by and live under? There is a new reality that is reshaping the future of capitalism - whether we are aware of it or not, these New World companies shape our personal behaviour, both as investors and as consumers, both as social advocates and as agents of change within our own family and our own circles of influence. But, like all great empires, some of these businesses will flourish while most will fail. In his new book, NEW WORLD COMPANIES, best-selling author, Bruce Piasecki, explains which twenty-first-century companies will thrive, which will fall short and why. One of the country's leading authorities on the behaviour of big business, Piasecki analyses both the levers of control that these companies wield and what they require to sustain their position in the global marketplace. Piasecki offers an hourly clock image to disclose the urgency and complexity of these ceaselessly related impulses within the modern firm. He offers, based on his thirty years as a management consultant, a set of explanations on what makes that clock tick, rather consistently, in most firms of consequence from a GE and CAT to Shell, Suncor Energy and Toyota. Whether you are an investor, an executive or a consumer, NEW WORLD COMPANIES will give you the tools to measure companies' potential growth - and their potential for failure. The book offers a unique perspective from a top consultant who has helped some of the world's largest companies meet their gravest challenges and responsibilities. Part One explores how capitalism has changed in response to global needs and the connections between corporate needs for water, land, energy and innovation. Rapidly, we have left the simpler confines of the Quality Revolution. These chapters examine the nature of global competition today, the dance of globalisation of supply chains, the evolution of shared value in business networks, as well as the new flow of money management today. In the process, part one ends with a chilling description of corporate leadership by explaining actually how the world's largest firms compete for talent and skill. Part Two details the key elements of a corporation's responsibility to its shareholders, its customers and the world. According to Piasecki, every corporate mansion sits in a discernable neighbourhood. While many see the mansion has reflective glass in its windows, Piasecki describes how his firm and his teams get invited up the stairwell of these corporations. Insightful case studies highlight how specific companies, such as Toyota and Suncor, have met massive environmental challenges - and, in so doing, outperformed their competition. Innovation and sustainability have become the two new sisters in the family of a boardroom, and Piasecki's new book offers each of us an understanding of what's at stake.