The Management of Corporate Business Units: Portfolio Strategies for Turbulent Times

The authors examine the reasons for the problems currently afflicting corporate America, particularly the loss of global competitive advantage, and review the track record of traditional strategic planning and portfolio management. The problems of recent years, they demonstrate, have been caused when managers neglect to consider the current economic environment when developing strategic plans. They go on to offer a systematic approach to addressing the structural problems of traditional portfolio planning and present concrete proposals for generating increased business, establishing horizontal relationships, increasing commitment through long-term planning, and incorporating prevailing economic conditions into the business plan. Finally, the authors present a workable management system for the implementation of portfolio strategies in turbulent economic times that focuses on optimal use of corporate resources. Numerous case studies and figures reinforce points made in the text.