...chain. As stated by Schein, culture is relevant and it matters because it is a powerful, latent, and often unconscious set of forces that determine both our individual and collective behavior, ways of perceiving, thought patterns, and values (Guzman et al., 2008). In order to take a look deep inside an organization’s social and technical dynamics, via value chain we turn our attention to “The Mini-cases: 5 companies, 5 strategies, 5 transformations”. This unique interaction case study was conducted by Balu Bagopal, Maurice Berns, Zayna Khajat, Martin Reeves and Andrew Townsend a MIT Sloan Management Review and knowledge partner. The Boston Consulting Group, with sponsorship support from business analytics provider SAS, are collaborating on a project called the Sustainability Initiative. This case study is a survey of five corporate executives and managers about their perspectives on the intersection of sustainability and business strategy (Berns, M., Townsend, A., Khajat, Z., Bagopal, B., Reeves, M., et al. (2009). The researchers started their analysis by separating the case study participants into three...
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...| CASE 2 | Fortescue Metals Group: The new force in iron ore | ABC 9/12/2011 | Contents Introduction 1 Analyzing the external environment 1 Demographic 1 Economic 1 Socio-culture 2 Political-legal 2 Global 2 Technological 2 External environment conclusion 2 Industry analysis 3 Profit pool 3 Porter five forces 3 Threat of new entry 3 Bargaining power of suppliers 4 Bargaining power of buyers 4 Threat of substitute products 4 Rivalry among competing firms 4 Industry analysis conclusion 4 Competitor analysis 4 Analyzing the internal environment 5 Tangible resources 5 Intangible resources 6 Value chain analyzing 6 Capabilities 6 Core competencies 7 Weaknesses 7 Current strategy 7 Future strategy 8 Concluding remarks 8 References 9 Introduction Fortescue Metals Group: The new force in iron ore is a new company in the Australia with new vision. It was founded in 2003 with the aim of lowest cost producer in order to complete with large players of industry. Its main customer is China. Its lowest cost structure is main reason behind getting huge business from china. It had to faced many challenges in the industry but its strong policies supported company to make its distinct position in the industry Analyzing the external environment Every business/ company has external environment with some positive and negative points. Below is the analysis of Fortescue external environment. Demographic According to information...
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...My name is Dermot Vibert. I work with Rio Tinto Japan. On March 11, 2011 I was in our office when we were hit by an extremely strong earthquake. Among the many issues we faced immediately after the earthquake was what would we do on the Monday morning when we had to supposedly return to the office and recommence business. What caused this issue to arise and why is it important? B) Causes Identify the importance of the Causes to the organisation concerned. What Caused these Issues to arise? The reasons underlying the Issues will be explicit in the Causes identified. The earthquake in the afternoon of March 11 was, although it struck 520 kilometers from Tokyo, it was an extremely strong one for us in Tokyo. The buildings shook severely two or three times, and then many, many times thereafter because of the aftershocks. On at least two occasions we had to go under our desks with our helmets on and literally hold on to the legs of the tables. It was that strong. The earthquake knocked out a lot of the power system, and as a result the trains were not able to function normally, and because there was not enough power as well, things like traffic lights, lights in buildings, etc., all these things were affected. There were many unknowns such as what damage there really was in the Tokyo area, for how long would trains not be running, would there be adequate food in two or three days time, what was going to happen with fuel supply, because when we were watching on television,...
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...Executive Summary Rio Tinto, which bases its headquarters in the United Kingdom, has 71,000 workforces working across more than 40 countries including Japan. Being a leading global mining and metals corporation, it is rich in resources, human recourses and capabilities in responding to the demand for metals and minerals necessary to produce in diverse products, ranging from mobile phones to cars. It is focusing on searching, mining and processing the Earth's mineral resources as an effort to maximize shareholders’ value (Rio Tinto 2012). Rio Tinto, Japan faced a great deal of issues due to the earthquake (Vibert 2011). For instance, employees are losing of direction when business is to recommence. Most of the infrastructures such as power systems, public transports and communication channels in disaster-affected areas are destroyed. Furthermore, there are a great deals of uncertainties arose due to the earthquake and its aftermath especially the effect of radioactive contamination on water supply. Lacking of medical infrastructures to help the injuries as their numbers exceeds the affordability of the hospitals is also a concern. Rio Tinto has to act as a corporate residence and deal with these to assure shareholders’ return. This report aims to suggest a solution to deal with the issues identified. The report contains decision criteria acting as targets and measures for the recommendations. TOWS analysis is then put the Rio Tinto’s strength, weaknesses, opportunities and...
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...Table of contents Executive summary i 1. Introduction 1 2. Motivation of publishing sustainability report 1 3. Key features of sustainability report 2 3.1 Completeness 2 3.2 Transparency 2 3.3 Comparability 2 4. Evaluation 3 4.1 Completeness 3 4.2 Transparency 3 4.3 Comparability 3 5. Conclusion 4 6. References 5 Executive summary Sustainability report is a kind of report which results from sustainable development, it aims at helping company to have a better long-term performance. Sustainability report is characterized by a range of information include environmental, social and governance. Sustainability report has a great impact on investment decision and company's financial performance. The motivation of company publish the sustainability report is the benefits which include more profit, reputation, and support from government and consumer. The key features of the sustainability report contain completeness, transparency and comparability. 1 Introduction With the growing demand for meaningful, timely and comparable data, sustainability report becomes more and more popular; almost every company will publish their sustainability report. Thus, stakeholders put more attention...
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... The case study is about Rio Tinto, a mining firm that is carrying out a program concerning the employment of aboriginal people in Australia. The firm actually works with local indigenous communities, and was one of the first organisations to take into contract with the state. That is, the business will have to sign the contract of employing indigenous workers and supporting them in their placement, training and maintaining their posts (Rio Tinto, 2013) STAKEHOLDERS A stakeholder is a group, or a person like workers that has a direct interest in an organisation’s performance, operations and the organisation is affected by them as well as the stakeholders also are affected by the business (Raymond 2010, 14) The stakeholders involved are the indigenous people itself, the present staff, the state, special interest groups and shareholders. Furthermore, the indigenous people are classified as stakeholder as they are affected when there is the selection process while recruiting staff and the company is influenced by them because it has to look for better candidates among these aboriginal people and they will finally be part of the labour force. Moreover in the program that is being carried out, the new recruits would be provided with training as they are not that educated. There is also good environment condition that is being given to them with their jobs being secured. And also concerning the learners, that is those from the tertiary and secondary school Rio is allowing...
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.....2 1.4 Delimitations..............................................................................................................................3 2. Industry Analysis .................................................................................................................................3 3. BHP Billiton ........................................................................................................................................4 3.1 Background ................................................................................................................................4 3.2 Financial Standing .....................................................................................................................4 4. Rio Tinto ..............................................................................................................................................5 4.1 Background ................................................................................................................................5 4.2 2012 Performance and Uncertain Future ...................................................................................5 5. Merger...
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...This report provides an analysis and importance of CSR reporting in mining industry, how well companies disclose social and environmental issue according to GRI guidelines. This article’s main focus is to describe trends of CSR reporting in mining companies in Australia. This article provides detailed overview of companies reporting format and structure, CSR disclosing motivation, how well company account for job losses and impact of reduction of oil price on companies. The purpose of this report is to describe CSR practice of mining companies in Australia and highlights the importance of sustainability reports regarding social and environmental perspective. This report is based on two major mining companies namely BHP Billiton and Rio Tin. The information used for writing this article is gathered from different researcher, annual reports, newspapers, and online articles, GRI guideline. Only Secondary data used to write report and study based on ASX registered companies companies in Australia are more aware of GRI reporting standards now and also know that how crucial it is to report on the sustainability issues from social and environmental perspective to have long term business and secure future. . Contents Executive Summary i Contents ii Introduction 3 Question a 3 Question b 5 Question c 7 Question d 8 Question e 9 Conclusion 11 Reference List 12 Introduction Corporate social responsibility is a business...
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...The slowdown in China’s growth has had a rippling effect with consequences seen in the Australian Government, Domestic Firms and even Multinational Firms. Due to the slowdown, implications that have been placed on the Australian Government have been ones such as a need for the restructuring of certain policies to be able to handle the increased exposure to the volatility of the commodity market. The government should ensure appropriate policies are in place to facilitate the management of risk in regards to this volatility. Seeing as how the price of iron ore has fallen by more than what the government expected at the time of the May budget, there is a need to look at the budget again as this may hinder any planned spending due to predicted government investment and income. With the Australian mining industry being held at such a high standard from the rest of the world, there is a need for Australia to retain as much revenue as possible. With the super-sized profits being reeled in by resource companies operating in Australia, it is up to the Australian Government and the implementation of the mining tax, as this would reduce the damage being felt by the exports industries such as manufacturing and tourism which has suffered due to the increased Australian Dollar (Jessica Irvine 2010). Other implications seen by the Government include a potential volatility in the relationship between the Australian Government and the Chinese Government due to a reduction in the...
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...Examined: UK - Netherlands Reed Elsevier NV (REN NA) vs Reed Elsevier Plc (REL LN) Royal Dutch Petroleum (RDA NA) vs Shell Transport & Trading Co Plc (SHEL LN) Unilever NV (UNA NA) vs Unilever Plc (ULVR LN) UK - Australia BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP AU) vs BHP Billiton Plc (BLT LN) Brambles Industries Ltd (BIL AU) vs Brambles Industries Plc (BI/ LN) Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO AU) vs Rio Tinto Plc (RIO LN) Introduction: The purpose of this report is to provide a basic overview of the dual-listing environment, highlighting the nature of company structures involved, why the structures were adopted and how they work. Contents: Page 1. Frequently Asked Questions 2 2. Why do Dual Listed Companies Exist? 4 3. Dual Listing Structures 5 4. Currency Risk 6 5. Terminology 7 6. Factors Affecting Performance 8 Appendix 1: Stock Specific Data A.1 Reed Elsevier NV vs Reed Elsevier Plc 10 A.2 Royal Dutch NV vs Shell T&T Plc 12 A.3 Unilever NV vs Unilever Plc 14 A.4 BHP Billiton Ltd vs BHP Billiton Plc 16 A.5 Brambles Ind. Ltd vs Brambles Ind. Plc 18 A.6 Rio Tinto Ltd vs Rio Tinto Plc 20 Glossary of Terms 22 1. Frequently Asked Questions Q. What is a dual listed structure? Where a company is listed on two exchanges it is referred to as a Dual Listed Company. The two listed organizations have entered into profit-sharing agreements with each other, and 'equalization-ratios'...
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...market after Japan and third largest trading partner for Australia. Alternatively Australia is the ninth largest trading partner for China, thus the bilateral trade volume is increased annually in the growth rate of 30 percent (Moens.G,2007,p.56). Rio Tinto is the one, powerful multinational mining and metal company which is operated business to greatly import its porducts to China as the 19 percentage of company’s revenue is acquired from China market in 2008 (Chen, S. 2010). After Rio was declined an offer of $US20 billion from the state owned Chinalco, the arrest and sentence of Stern Hu and his colleagues in 2009 was occured for allegations of bribery about $US14 million and stealing business secrets from state-run steel company. Consequently the China Iron and Steel Association reflected by the action of stop buying iron ore for the next two months from Brazil’s Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto (Mascitelli&Chung, 2011). As a result the trade relationship between Australian and China is collapsed in some way that Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said transparency and openness could have facilitated Australia and the international business community in understanding and dealing with the matter (Sainsbury,M.2010). The case has raised the cold war tension between the essential economic relationship between Australia and China that the trial over the court’s decision was operated in a closed courtroom session. Regarding to the imprisonment of the...
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...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The report aim’s to examine the annual reports of Australia’s two largest mining companies BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto and analyse their cash flow statements. The analysis requires evaluating the cash flow performance of these companies during the global financial crisis 2007- 2009.The global financial crises were originated in US because of the bloom/bubble in the housing prices. During global financial crisis many financial institutions failed to recoup their money from lenders and finally ended up declaring bankruptcy. The purpose of the cash flow statements is to provide information about the changes to an entity’s cash and cash equivalents over certain period of time. The cash flow from operating activities of the both companies shows both positive and negative signs as the companies were going through recession. Whereas both companies used external and equity source financing and thus made an efficient cost effective decisions from which BHP Billiton benefited the most. Finally it’s concluded that the both companies were successful in overcoming global financial crisis and alternative strategies affecting the profitability of the companies were presented. Introduction Last three years has faced the worst global financial crisis after the great depression of 1929-1933. The origin of global financial crisis was mainly in US starting from mid 2000’s and taking the whole world into account by the end of 2007. The main reason of the crisis...
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...ACCTG20040 Auditing and Ethical Practice Assessment item 1: Term 3, 2013 Understanding Companies and Their Business Risk Prepared by: Timothy Supandji Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 Factors in understanding company and business risk before accepting as New Client 4 Comparison of the Overall Financial Conditions of BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Limited during the GFC 6 Explanation of risks associated with BHP and Rio Tinto Ltd during GFC 8 Managing Business Risk: BHP Billiton Ltd Vs Rio Tinto Limited 10 CONCLUSION 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There are four purposes for this report. It attempts to provide description of what factors that the auditors need to consider in understanding a company and assessing business risk before attempting any audit work on a particular client. The second aim is to explain the comparison of financial conditions between BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Limited during the Global Financial Crisis that occurred in 2007 to 2008. Further, the risk that is associated with BHP and RIO during the Global Financial Crisis will be explained. Finally, this report intends to explain of which company is better in handling and managing the business risk during the Global Financial Crisis. Factors in understanding company and business risk before accepting as New Client Generally speaking, at the time when there was a Global Financial Crisis, it has detrimental effect to the companies globally with downfall of share prices. Because...
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...Nucor Corporation: Competing against Low-Cost Steel Imports Week 8 Assignment Bus 599 Nucor Corporation is today one of North America largest steel maker company. Although the company has a strong position in the steel market today, things have not always been as positive. According to Crafting & Executing Strategy, Nucor was first known as Nuclear Corporation of America, a company involved in the nuclear instrument and electronic business in 1950’s and early 1960’s. Facing bankruptcy, the company changed direction and decided to invest in the stable steel-joist business. The new name, Nucor Corporation, came along with the change in 1972 to break away from the nuclear image and embrace the new venture. This transformational change was due to the vision of new CEO and president, F. Kenneth Iverson. His strategic initiatives revealed to be a blessing as Nucor Corporation has been successfully growing since its creation. Discuss the trends in the steel industry and how it may impact Nucor’s strategy. The electric arc furnace technology was introduced in 1960. The “mini-mills” was limited when compared to integrated mills in the industry. In addition, the operating costs of companies are lower compared to integrated mills because they use electric arc furnaces that can produce various steel products to minimize production costs. (Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, 2010). Nucor Corporation started using thin-slab casting during the 1980’s and it was their...
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...Summary The world's biggest miner BHP Billiton (BHP) is cutting jobs at its coal mines after closing a loss-making mine thoroughly in Queensland early this year (Stewart 2012). BHP's job cuts is accompanied by other global mining companies such as Rio Tinto to confront a retrogressive market with falling industrial commodity prices and increasing costs. The future of Australia's mining boom which is largely dependent on Chinese demand for commodities driven by its economic growth is of particular concern (Stewart 2012). Application of Concepts Both economic environment and the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be demonstrated in this article. In particular, the nature of BHP's mining business, which is regarded as a significant contributor to Australian economy (Maddock and McLean 1987) determines its need to pay close attention to the opportunities and threats posed by the global economic environment (Blainey 2003). For example, slowdown in China's economic growth and recent European economic recession have impact on Australia's resource exports (Stevens 2012). The Australian mining industry which has once benefited from the surge in demand driven by the rapid growth of emerging economies in Asia since 2003 and the shortage of global supply (Stevens 2012) is now facing a difficult period signaled by the drop of China's GDP growth from 10 per cent to a mere 8 per cent (Connolly and Orsmond 2011). China's demand for resources has declined as a result...
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