Skip to content
Product cover

Transforming Internal Governance: The Challenge for Multinationals

April 15, 1999 | C. K. Prahalad , Jan P. Oosterveld | Leadership

Competitive discontinuities demand changes in how diversified multinational corporations create wealth. While executives agree that changes in the last decade are qualitatively different from those in the past, many fail to take action or they apply old solutions, such as cost cutting, to new problems. The challenge for companies is to move from the zone of comfort -- the familiar -- to the zone of opportunity -- the unfamiliar.

Sources of discontinuity include more powerful, better informed consumers; the breakup of traditional channel structures; deregulation, privatization, and globalization; the convergence of traditional and new technologies; changing competitive boundaries; the evolution to new standards; shorter product life cycles; and the greater involvement of business in ecological and social issues.

In this environment, managers must develop new capabilities. They need to think and act globally, regionally, and locally; adapt to a different pace and rhythm in all aspects of a firm's activities; integrate new technological knowledge with old and reconfigure that knowledge into new business opportunities; develop consensus-building skills; form alliances; and allocate resources under conditions of ambiguity. At the same time, they must ensure the profitability of current business.

The obstacles to transformation are formidable. Many senior managers have little knowledge of, or experience with, alternate models of managing and responding to new customer expectations. They seek administrative clarity at the expense of strategic clarity and sometimes lack the stamina needed to sustain high performance.

Transformation requires interrelated systemwide changes. The effort must be driven by a new concept of opportunity and involve the entire organization. The first step is to create a transformation agenda to mobilize the organization. Managers must then fight inertia, align the organization with the new direction, undertake projects that provide the basis for experimenting and learning, and evaluate failure and success. Innovations in how firms manage must precede innovations in how they compete and create wealth.

Purchase Options

Educator and Student Discounts Available. Learn more »

  BENCHMARKS  
Loading Time: Base Classes  0.0005
My Controller Construct  0.0003
Build Nav  0.0005
Controller Execution Time ( Products / Route )  0.0598
Total Execution Time  0.0604
  GET DATA  
No GET data exists
  MEMORY USAGE  
1.5757 MB
  POST DATA  
No POST data exists
  URI STRING  
store/transforming-internal-governance-the-challenge-for-multinationals
  CLASS/METHOD  
products/route
  DATABASE:  MITSLOAN_DEV   QUERIES: 68  (Hide)
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '69cf5cd297c2ebc71ef25100eed109e7'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS cat_id
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `url_friendly` =  'transforming-internal-governance-the-challenge-for-multinationals'
AND `parent_id` =  1 
0.0081  

SELECT c.parent_id, c.format_id
                    FROM products AS p, products AS c
                    WHERE p.prod_id = c.parent_id AND
                        c.avail_id IN ('A','B','D') AND
                        c.type_id = 'V' AND
                        (
                            c.sku = 'transforming-internal-governance-the-challenge-for-multinationals' OR
                            if(c.format_id = 'Certificate', '', p.url_friendly) = 'transforming-internal-governance-the-challenge-for-multinationals'
                        )
                    LIMIT 1 
0.0002  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  2217 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '2217' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '2217'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '2217' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_flags__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '2217' 
0.0002  

SELECT `sku`
FROM (`products__xsell`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '2217'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0316  

SELECT `products`.`parent_id`
FROM (`transaction_lines`)
JOIN `products` ON `products`.`sku` = `transaction_lines`.`sku`
JOIN `product_categories__products` ON `products`.`parent_id` = `product_categories__products`.`prod_id`
WHERE `products`.`avail_id` =  'A'
AND TO_DAYS(transaction_lines.updated_at) < (TO_DAYS(NOW()) - 90)
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` IN ('246') 
GROUP BY `products`.`parent_id`
ORDER BY COUNT(*) DESC
LIMIT 6 
0.0002  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '4013' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '4013' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '4013'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '97' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '97' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '97'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '3421' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '3421' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '3421'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '901' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '901' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '901'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '1015' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '1015' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '1015'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '4189' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '4189' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '4189'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0003  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '2217'
AND `kind` =  'image_600x600'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `media`.`media_id` =  '996' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`mime_types`)
WHERE `mime_types`.`extension` =  'jpg' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`media_metadata`)
WHERE `media_id` =  '996' 
0.0002  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '2217'
AND `kind` =  'gallery_image'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `avail_id` IN ('A', 'B', 'C', 'H') 
AND `parent_id` =  '2217'
AND `type_id` =  'V'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `title` 
0.0001  

SELECT `c`.`format_id`, `c`.`price`, `c`.`sale_price`
FROM (`products` AS c)
WHERE `c`.`prod_id` =  '2218'
LIMIT 1 
0.0002  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '2218'
AND `kind` =  'thumbnail'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0002  

SELECT `product_categories__products`.`cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
JOIN `product_categories` ON `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` = `product_categories`.`cat_id`
WHERE `product_categories__products`.`prod_id` =  '2217'
AND `product_categories`.`parent_id` =  1
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261)  
0.0004  

SELECT `cat_id` AS id, `parent_id` AS parent, `status_id`, `name`, `description`, `url_friendly`, `page_title`, `meta_keywords`, `meta_description`, `position`, `updated_at`
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `cat_id` != 1
ORDER BY `parent_id`, IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `name` 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `parent_id` =  1
AND `cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261) 
ORDER BY `name` 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`site_settings`)
WHERE `option_key` =  'announcement' 
  HTTP HEADERS  (Show)
  SESSION DATA  (Show)
  CONFIG VARIABLES  (Show)