The coming year will
give rise to many business challenges and
opportunities. On first appearances, some
of these will seem familiar, but organisations
should have no doubt; the rules of engagement
have changed. PIPC reports on the key to business
survival in challenging times and the need
for speed in 2009.
The latter half of
2008 will forever be associated with global
economic turmoil on an unprecedented scale,
epitomised by dramatic losses suffered by
the world’s major banks. The subsequent
impact on the wider business and ‘real’
economy ensures that business leaders must
now enter the New Year facing a trading environment
vastly different from any they will have encountered
before.
As disturbing as the change itself, is
the sheer speed at which it has ripped through
the banking industry.
Once
| "The
current situation fundamentally differs
from the M&A spree that took place
between 2001 and 2007, in that, in many
cases it is motivated by survival rather
than confidence." |
revered institutions have been bankrupted,
forced into mergers or rescued with Government
funding. The global financial landscape has
been utterly transformed, and all in the space
of a few months. What is clear is that many
organisations face a future of extreme uncertainty
as they grapple with a shifting economic,
regulatory and political landscape that will
not wait for them to catch up. The business
environment is therefore set to become far
harsher in the next 12 months, during which
many organisations across the world will have
to respond accordingly.
The next year will give rise to many challenges
and opportunities. On first appearances
some of these will seem familiar, but organisations
should have no doubt; the rules of engagement
have changed. Whereas in normal times a
major business event such as a merger, acquisition
or divestment may have been many months
in planning and negotiation, today a business
may find itself needing to respond at high
speed. If business leaders fail to recognise
this need for speed, they are unlikely to
survive.
As the global financial crisis continues,
and as a result of the part-nationalisations
of banks, a double-edged political bind
is emerging. On one hand, banks may be pushed
to divest certain assets, such as overseas
acquisitions, or to improve their risk profile
and to avoid accusations of profligacy with
public money. Yet on the other hand, they
will be urged to maintain or raise their
levels of lending, particularly to small
businesses, as a means of keeping the wheels
of industry turning. more
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