Chapter 7: Nissan as a global and local company
Aims of the exercise
- To become acquainted with the nature and extent of Nissan’s global operations and strategy through its web resources
- To assess Nissan’s corporate goals and organizational structure in global and national markets
- To critically examine the Renault-Nissan alliance in the global competitive context
Getting started
Go to Nissan’s global website at
www.nissan-global.com. Take some time to explore the various aspects of its business and organization, in both Japan and overseas. Note the contents of the social contribution elements, including corporate citizenship and environment. Note also the section on technological developments. The Annual Report of 2008 is available in the ‘investors’ section. Different sections of the report can be downloaded separately.
Tasks
A. Questions
Looking at the information provided across the website, answer the following questions:
- What are Nissan’s strategic priorities at present?
- How does CSR fit into its strategy?
- Looking at the different activities which take place in Nissan’s various locations across the world, assess the parent company’s position in terms of firm-based competencies and outsourcing. To what extent is Nissan run centrally from Japan?
- Nissan’s alliance with Renault (highlighted in CS7.2) is addressed. What are the benefits for each company from the alliance??
B. Reflection
- What is your overall impression of the Nissan global website? Does it seem Japan-focused, as Japanese companies are reputed to be, or is it more broadly stakeholder oriented?
- Carmakers are likely to suffer from economic downturn, as demand falls across the globe. You will have seen Nissan’s recent data on falling sales in its website. In your view, is Nissan well placed to cope with deteriorating economic data in major markets which they have targeted, and if so, how?
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