The company setting is characterised by quite a lot of variables: competitors, dynamism, turbulence, complexity and alter. All organizations should develop capability to repeatedly and consciously remodel themselves and their contexts. Such contexts embody restructuring for optimum effectiveness, reengineering key processes and streamlining capabilities which are in a position to present a supply of aggressive benefit. The goal is to adapt, regenerate and most essential, survive. (McLean, 2006).
For an organization to thrive right now, strategists should discover methods to extend the group’s capability to learn and react to business and market modifications. They should know their objective to spice up the corporate’s strategic flexibility by recognizing disruptions earlier and responding sooner.
Strategic flexibility or adaptability may be outlined because the group’s capability to establish main modifications in its exterior environments, rapidly commit sources to new programs of motion in response to such modifications, and to acknowledge and act promptly when it’s time to halt or reverse current useful resource commitments. Being adaptable means leaders should not get caught in a too-rigid means of wanting on the world. The group should view change as an inevitable and important a part of a company’s development, with a view to obtain this adaptability.
When there’s uncertainty or unpredictability within the setting, managers are inclined to focus virtually all their vitality on efficiently executing the present technique. What additionally they ought to be doing is making ready for an unknown future. Flexibility stems from the power to be taught; managers are inclined to overlook the unfavourable and emphasize the optimistic. They want to grasp not solely what led to the optimistic outcomes but additionally what led to the unfavourable ones. This will optimize their studying expertise. According to Ford (2004) 4 factors to foster and preserve adaptability embody difficult complacency, giving all staff a voice, encouraging participative work and driving concern out of your group.
The firms chosen for this process differ by business: a well-known car producer (Ford) a financial institution going by way of a merger (Compass) and a start-up software program firm (DawningStreams). Ford and Compass have been in enterprise for a very long time; it’s possible they’ve modified their strategic plan based mostly on altering forces and traits. DawningStreams is new (established in 2005 and included in 2007). Even although they haven’t had their first sale and haven’t any employees, the house owners have devised a number of iterations of their technique.
There is a range of stakeholders all which are within the exercise of enterprise organizations. Emphasis have to be positioned on their adaptability in strategic evaluation and their adaptability in strategic administration of enterprise organizations. The group will need to have a strategic administration mannequin.
Each firm may scan the identical areas, however for various causes. Considering technological advances, Ford would put together itself to guide the market by having varied digital gear of their autos, in addition to robotic gear with which to construct them and the availability chain know-how to maintain all in examine. Compass Bank goes by way of a merge and increasing globally; due to this fact they might want to hold abreast of communication know-how. DawningStreams is a software program firm; they might want to monitor these firms who could be their competitors to make sure their product presents higher performance. All three firms would ensure that potential prospects would be capable to get good data from web web sites and commercial, which encompasses one more space of know-how the organizations may have/need to scan. In this occasion, many members of the group have to be enrolled: higher administration and finance, who will decide budgetary elements; the IT division, who can be liable for the implementation and upkeep of a number of the know-how; the employees who have to be skilled to make use of the know-how; a gross sales power who will promote the know-how.
To the skin observer, it could appear pointless for any however Ford to scan the (precise) setting in the case of points reminiscent of emission management, gasoline effectivity and hybrid vehicles. That is true nonetheless; Compass Bank and DawningStreams can plan a technique to be friendlier to the setting (and their pocketbooks) by practising paper discount (by way of the aforementioned know-how). Lastly, DawningStreams’ product could also be helpful as a file sharing service to environmental teams.
With regard to the authorized setting, all three have to be aware of legal guidelines, which have an effect on their respective business amongst others. To Ford, authorized applies, amongst different areas, to environmental safety legal guidelines and division of transportation security legal guidelines. To Compass Bank, they might abide by the principles of the Federal Reserve (www.federalreserve.gov) and the Federal Insurance and Deposit Corporation (www.fdic.gov). DawningStreams should comply with legal guidelines as they pertain to the switch of recordsdata, which have mental property and in addition the export of merchandise, which have algorithms. All three firms are international and might want to monitor these legal guidelines in different nations, which may impact the strategic planning.
At one firm after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, technique is once more a significant focus within the quest for increased revenues and income. With assist from a brand new technology of enterprise strategists, firms are pursuing novel methods to hatch new merchandise, develop current companies, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some firms are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning teams. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a brand new technique group from its advertising and marketing division, the place strategic plans at the moment are hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making greater bets on investments in know-how, we won’t afford to spend an entire lot of cash in a single course after which discover out 5 years later it was the flawed course.”
In such a world we want a planning mannequin that permits us to anticipate the longer term and to make use of this anticipation at the side of an evaluation of our organization–its tradition, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to outline strategic points, to chart our course by creating strategic imaginative and prescient and plans, to outline how we’ll implement these plans and to specify how we’ll consider how effectively we’re implementing these plans. The incontrovertible fact that the world is altering as we transfer ahead sooner or later calls for that the method be an iterative one.
Ford Motor Company – Socio-cultural
Ford Motor Company embraces the socio-cultural modifications happening to permit the corporate to maneuver in the correct course with respect to attitudes within the society. Two areas that stand out by way of socio-cultural attitudes could be that of gasoline financial system and smaller vehicles. The rising concern by the general public for higher gasoline financial system has influenced the corporate’s introduction of the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The group is dedicated to the hybrid to enhance gasoline financial system as a worldwide technique to fulfill buyer calls for. The elevated demand in society for such environmentalism has assisted within the determination for Ford Motor Company to sit up for including the hybrid characteristic to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan and proceed in such a strategic planning course.
The prospects that use these autos get a considerable break on their insurance coverage in lots of states and a tax credit score as effectively whereas having fun with the elevated mileage of a car that runs on gasoline and capabilities for 100% electrical energy. The environmental scanning by Ford Motor Company has allowed the corporate to be educated of the truth that the folks within the United States are shopping for extra small vehicles right now than every other kind of auto phase. The existence modifications have been monitored and there’s good information that exhibits that such a development will proceed on this course and the anticipated development on this phase will proceed. The firm has redesigned the within and outdoors of the Ford Focus to set the automotive aside from the opponents within the small automotive phase whereas growing upgrades and options to expertise optimistic outcomes. The course that the corporate is taking relies on a aggressive benefit and being a frontrunner within the business. The car line has each a sedan and a coupe to draw focused markets together with youthful patrons at an entry stage to construct upon model loyalty and buyer retention. Ford Motor Company will proceed to make use of the socio-cultural elements to drive the enterprise and revel in future success.
Ford Motor Company – Legal –
Ford Motor Company with regard to the Environmental Protection Agency adheres to the authorized facet of environmental scanning. Ford Motor Company accepted an award in March 2007 from the Environmental Protection Agency known as the Energy Star 2007 Partner of the Year Award in Energy Management. The firm is the primary automaker to have ever been awarded the award two years in a row. The award has come to be introduced because of the dedication made by the corporate to extend vitality effectivity and to cut back the greenhouse fuel emissions from all the amenities within the firm.
The group is dedicated to the accountable use of sources and vitality effectivity. The management realizes that the environmental safety legal guidelines are of nice significance and use the environmental scanning to maneuver in the correct course to acquire future success within the firm. In 2006 alone the corporate has improved the vitality effectivity within the United States operations by 5 p.c and saving roughly $25 million with sufficient vitality saved to equal 220,000 properties. The efficient vitality administration protects the setting and reduces the greenhouse emissions. Some of the actions taken by the corporate embody changing lighting that use 40 p.c much less vitality and utilizing totally different low-energy, long-lasting compact fluorescent lamps within the properties to incorporate the vegetation, company places of work, distribution facilities, and analysis and growth campuses. Due to the environmental scanning that takes place at Ford Motor Company the corporate will use the knowledge that’s collected and proceed on this course. New initiatives for the corporate embody Fumes-to-Fuel that could be a system that converts paint fumes into electrical energy that’s being carried out with Detroit Edison together with making an attempt to consolidate the applying of primer, base and clearcoat paint purposes right into a single utility to get rid of the necessity for separate purposes and ovens. In addition to the paint sales space emissions Ford Motor Company will proceed to depend on different vitality sources reminiscent of landfill fuel and wind and photo voltaic applied sciences to energy their manufacturing amenities.
Ford Motor Company – Technology –
Another environmental scanning device that Ford Motor Company screens and makes use of could be the technological portion. The firm has invested $1 billion within the newest know-how for versatile manufacturing. The know-how that’s concerned is in lots of kinds to incorporate wi-fi know-how that’s put in on the supply vehicles with provides to the plant as a monitoring standing and improved effectivity to cut back stock. The flexibility of merchandise in the identical plant permits the group to make use of the identical equipment and course of for all areas from physique meeting, paint facility, and ultimate meeting. The improved effectivity on the manufacturing facility permits for a number of car platforms to be constructed on the identical line to provide a number of fashions and rapidly change the car combine, the quantity, and choices based mostly on buyer demand.
The technological modifications which are being embraced by Ford Motor Company by way of environmental scanning allows the corporate to expertise enormous price financial savings by way of new product launches and 50 p.c reductions in cycle changeovers together with waste discount. Robots are among the many technological modifications which are being skilled inside the group to incorporate the 400 from the undertaking which are used to weld and assemble the metallic physique of the car for stamping and meeting. Artificial intelligence within the type of superior visions techniques and laser monitoring techniques are used to make sure high quality by way of accuracy and dimension skills. A multi-million greenback coaching facility is used to make sure that the workforce has the information, abilities, and skill to reap the advantages from the brand new know-how that’s being utilized by the corporate. The coaching that’s administered contains the brand new servo-electric weld gun system that identifies the right middle for welding that has changed the older and loud air-powered system that used a much less subtle spring system. The environmental scanning of know-how that’s carried out by Ford Motor Company has allowed the corporate to have optimistic outcomes in effectivity whereas remaining a aggressive firm within the business by way of price financial savings and steady enchancment.
Compass Bank- Political –
On February 16, 2007, Compass Bancshares, Inc., the guardian firm of Compass Bank, introduced the signing of a definitive settlement below which Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBV Madrid: BBVA) (“BBVA”) will purchase Compass for a mixture of money and inventory. Compass will change into an entirely owned U.S. subsidiary of BBVA and can proceed to function below the Compass title. The transaction is anticipated to shut throughout the second half of 2007, pending customary closing situations, together with vital financial institution regulatory approvals within the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of each Compass and BBVA.
BBVA, which operates in 35 nations, relies in Spain and has substantial banking pursuits within the Americas. The transaction will facilitate BBVA’s continued development in Texas and can create the most important regional financial institution throughout the Sunbelt. Upon completion of the transaction, Compass will rank among the many high 25 banks within the United States with roughly $47 billion in complete belongings, $32 billion in complete loans and $33 billion in complete deposits. In addition, the mixed firm will rank fourth in deposit market share in Texas with $19.6 billion in complete deposits and 326 full-service banking places of work.
Compass is a $34 billion Southwestern monetary holding firm that operates 415 full-service banking facilities in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Texas. Compass gives a broad array of services by way of three major traces of enterprise – Corporate Banking, Retail Banking and Wealth Management. Compass is among the many high 30 U.S. financial institution holding firms by asset dimension and ranks among the many high earners of its dimension based mostly on return on fairness.
Under the phrases of the definitive settlement, which has been authorised by the board of administrators of Compass and the related our bodies of BBVA, Compass will change into an entirely owned subsidiary of BBVA. After closing, BBVA intends to merge its U.S. based mostly banking associates – together with the previous operations of Texas Regional Bancshares, State National Bancshares and Laredo National Bancshares – with Compass.
The mixture consideration consists of a set variety of roughly 196 million shares of BBVA frequent inventory and roughly $4.6 billion in money. The merger is topic to customary closing situations, together with vital financial institution regulatory approvals within the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of each Compass and BBVA. The transaction is anticipated to shut within the second half of 2007.
The merger between each firms can be decided by the political elements starting from implications of legal guidelines and rules to the state of world politics together with the consideration of wars which can be occurring in several components of the world. New legal guidelines, rules, tax packages and public coverage create forces and traits, which can present challenges and obstacles or alternatives for any firm or group.
Compass Bank – Technology –
Ford is within the strategy of implementing a laser marking system on its manufacturing line to make sure the very best commonplace on every transmission assembled. The system can be checking for high quality on totally different factors on the meeting line. Ford is teaming up with an organization known as MECCO to implement this course of and a trial run of the brand new system will final for 3 months. MECCO is a frontrunner in its business in the case of laser know-how. The determination to implement this new laser marking system got here as a result of it’s extra cost- efficient and safer than earlier methods of marking checkpoints for high quality.
Although this course of at Ford has not formally been applied but, Compass Bank can be taught a number of various things. It could also be a good suggestion for Compass Bank to do a brief trial of on-line mobile phone banking to see how widespread it turns into and if it price on a regular basis and energy, being spent to get it launched. Compass Bank also needs to contemplate investing into an organization who’s the very best at what they do, is in the identical time zone, and may meet their calls for in a well timed method, not just because they could be cheaper. Finally, Compass Bank can be taught that they should contemplate what can be most cost-effective and in the very best curiosity of the corporate over time. Organizing a time line and a listing of prices and potential dangers would even be useful to Compass Bank so that they know what to anticipate and when with the implementation of on-line mobile phone banking.
When finishing the worldwide scan one appears for rising new applied sciences which can impression any enterprise in any business. At one time the emergence of the Internet was a know-how that was turning into an rising development throughout all industries. Today very new applied sciences are used to develop data techniques at a fraction of the price and time of processes that had been used 5 years in the past. Wireless is a telecommunications know-how which will have moved from a development to a power in revolutionizing the way in which data is saved, accessed and used throughout all industries around the globe. Some, if leveraged by an organization inside an business earlier than opponents use it, might even present a aggressive benefit.
Compass Bank – Competition –
Although mergers could also be pricey and fairly tough, the worth it creates in the long run is the specified end result firms search. The eagerness to merge relies on a number of beliefs, these beliefs are, that the efficiency positive factors are better, bills are lowered, market energy is elevated, and shareholder’s wealth can be better than earlier than. The worth of a merger is enhanced when the general profit is extra worthwhile than the mixture of two separate pre-merger firms.
In the top, each John and Bernard ought to contemplate this earlier than finalizing a choice. When Zion’s bought Stockmans, there total worth elevated by 43 branches. These branches will assist efficiency and brings way more energy to the monetary market. In the Journal of Money article, Pilloff states “Companies are extra keen to amass others to keep away from being acquired themselves.” Keeping this in thoughts, firms should determine a cross border technique.
As a part of the broad environmental scan, you will need to establish the interior capabilities of the group. There are varied fashions for outlining capabilities. Most deal with the broad set of intangible belongings reminiscent of model, human capital, organizational capital and even relationship capital. Others embody the extra concrete belongings reminiscent of out there capital, the group construction, present applied sciences and knowledge know-how infrastructure. In addition to doing a broad environmental development, Compass Bank must do a extra detailed functionality evaluation utilizing any of the fashions out there.
DawningStreams – Competitors –
Business actions have gotten increasingly more advanced to handle, due to distance, time zones, variety of events concerned in initiatives, variety of duties to attain, a number of prioritizations, lack of basic synchronization, inadequate safe and confidential communication channels and rising complexity of IT infrastructures. The use of process listing managers has change into quite common. It is turning into tougher to maintain groups synchronized, to comply with and to implement new enterprise processes and to alternate delicate data confidentially. The DawningStreams software program utility is aiming at growing the practicality of day by day govt actions. The forms of enterprise, which can likely be excited by our product, are development (dimension of community), consulting (want for synchronization), pharmaceutical analysis (safe alternate of data) and the software program business (complexity of producing).
Many firms have already developed software program purposes that allow secured communications and file sharing. However, most, if not all, are counting on Microsoft applied sciences, which stop them from increasing to Mac or Unix customers. DawningStreams is developed in Java, which can be utilized on any platform, together with Mac and Unix. Microsoft has acquired the Groove Company and has launched a brand new model of the product, which might carry out most of the functionalities of DawningStreams, however not generic actions (http://workplace.microsoft.com/en-us/groove/default.aspx). This is our closest competitor by far. More not too long ago, we discovered, merely accidentally, an organization known as Shinkuro (www.shinkuro.com), which presents the file sharing facets of DawningStreams however lacks different capacities.
Although DawningStreams will face competitors from many current gamers, the truth that it can mix a super-set of functionalities in a single utility, for a really cheap worth, will give it some forefront over different opponents. If the US patent is granted, the place of DawningStreams will change into a distinct segment. Even if the patent weren’t granted, it might take a profound architectural redesign of Groove (or different opponents) to incorporate generic actions and match the supply of DawningStreams. As a technique we’ll monitor the actions of these firms’ web sites and perceive what they provide by way of related performance and check out to make sure we match or finest these functionalities to the very best of our capability and sources
DawningStreams – Political –
Maintaining the secrecy of data is the elemental perform of encryption gadgets. Persons overseas might use such gadgets to hurt US legislation enforcement efforts, in addition to US international coverage and nationwide safety pursuits. The US Government has a crucial curiosity in guaranteeing that individuals against the United States should not in a position to conceal hostile or legal actions, and that the authentic wants for safeguarding essential and delicate data of the private and non-private sectors are met. Since 2000, US encryption export coverage has been directed by three basic practices: technical evaluate of encryption merchandise previous to sale, streamlined post-export reporting, and license critiques of proposed transactions involving sturdy encryption to sure international authorities end-users and nations of concern. US encryption coverage additionally seeks to make sure that American firms should not deprived by the European Union’s “license-free zone.” (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).
DawningStreams will include cryptographic capabilities. Any dependable and environment friendly cryptographic system requires a government to keep away from id theft. Cryptography is a key performance of DawningStreams. All specialists insist on designing techniques utilizing well-studied algorithms and totally examined protocols; novelty is taken into account a supply of danger. The cryptographic layer of DawningStreams will depend on a twin public-private key system. The non-public key encryption system will implement Rijndael, the Advanced Encryption Standard (http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/aes/rijndael/), the general public key system will implement RSA (www.rsa.com) and the hashing perform will implement the 256 bits model of the Secure Hash Algorithm (http://secure-hash-algorithm-md5-sha-1.co.uk/ ).
Encryption merchandise can be utilized to hide the communications of terrorists, drug smugglers, and others intent on harming U.S. pursuits. Cryptographic merchandise and software program even have army and intelligence purposes that, within the arms of hostile nations, may pose a menace to U.S. nationwide safety. The nationwide safety, international coverage, and legislation enforcement pursuits of the United States are protected by encryption export controls. These controls are in line with Executive Order (E.O.) 13026, which was issued on November 15, 1996, and the Presidential Memorandum of the identical date. (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).
DawningStreams additionally plans to be a world firm, as places of work now exist within the Netherlands and the US. As a part of the technique, we’ll guarantee we stay compliant by registering our product with any vital company and permitting these companies entry to the processes in the event that they really feel there’s a menace. We can be accountable to observe (as finest as we are able to) our consumer base and to place the correct verbiage in our contracts that unlawful actions won’t be tolerated. We will proceed to observe the BIS website talked about in earlier paragraphs and in addition websites within the European Union such because the Crypto Law web site of authorized knowledgeable Bert-Jaap Koops (http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/)
DawningStreams – Technology/Intellectual Property –
The administration of organizational technique requires a complete evaluation of the macro setting of the enterprise. Intellectual Property (IP) refers back to the unique concepts and improvements developed by a company with a view to haul up its techniques and processes. Creation of concepts requires giant investments. This necessitates the safety of IP. Benchmarking is the continual strategy of measuring merchandise, processes, and techniques of a company in opposition to these which are rated finest within the business. It helps in uncovering weaknesses and flaws within the organizational techniques, processes, and merchandise. (Watson, 2003)
The research of the worldwide analysis carried out by McAfee Inc. and MessageLabs Ltd. on safety menace in small companies within the U.S. reveals that 80 p.c of small-and-medium-sized companies (SMB) consider that an data know-how (IT) safety failure could be damaging achieve their enterprise priorities. Yet, solely few are courageously making steps to battle in opposition to infringements resulting from useful resource limitations from different enterprise associated priorities. The analysis implies that firm dimension performs an important half in the way in which senior administration views safety. Among the challenges that SMBs face embody retaining up-to-date with safety options and retaining prices low. Small-to-medium companies’ conduct in direction of safety could be very tactical and meets solely speedy necessities. (unknown, 2007)
DawningStreams’ relevance to those forces is two-fold. We are a software program firm—there is a chance for us to lose the mental property by those that would obtain and try to change the code. We have opponents who supply performance just like ours, nonetheless we provide an extra performance the others don’t. It is that this ‘specialty performance’ for which we utilized for a patent the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If the patent is granted, there’s much less chance of software program piracy or the lack of our IP. Environmental scans ought to present us if there are different firms making an attempt to do that.
The performance, which most resembles our opponents’, is the power to share recordsdata. That brings in a distinct concern with mental property- the likelihood another person’s IP might be despatched from certainly one of our customers to a different, as this might critically harm our status, as what occurred with Napster. (www.napster.com).
Conclusion
At one firm after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, technique is once more a significant focus within the quest for increased revenues and income. With assist from a brand new technology of enterprise strategists, firms are pursuing novel methods to hatch new merchandise, develop current companies, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some firms are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning teams. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a brand new technique group from its advertising and marketing division, the place strategic plans at the moment are hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making greater bets on investments in know-how, we won’t afford to spend an entire lot of cash in a single course after which discover out 5 years later it was the flawed course.”
In such a world we want a planning mannequin that permits us to anticipate the longer term and to make use of this anticipation at the side of an evaluation of our organization–its tradition, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to outline strategic points, to chart our course by creating strategic imaginative and prescient and plans, to outline how we’ll implement these plans and to specify how we’ll consider how effectively we’re implementing these plans. The incontrovertible fact that the world is altering as we transfer ahead sooner or later calls for that the method be an iterative one.
References
Bilek, E. (n.d.) Compass Bankshares to be Acquired by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.,
Investor Relations. Retrieved from the Internet on March 31, 2007 at
http://media.corporate-ir.web/media_files/irol/77/77589/bbvarelease.pdf
Cole, Jim. Zions makes small deal, cites rising Arizona market. American Banker, 171(175), 1-1. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from Proquest Database.
Ford Motor Company (2006). Ford Motor Company. Retrieved March 2007,
from the World Wide Web, Web Site: [https://ford.com]
Ford, S. (2004) Adapted from 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed, Harvard Business School
Press. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.
Hockenberry, Todd. (2006). Ford implements superior laser marking. Industrial Laser Solutions, 21(4), 6-7. Retrieved March 31, 2007, from EBSCOhost database
Jacobs, P. (2005) Five Steps to Thriving in occasions of Uncertainty. Negotiation (p.3) Retrieved
April 1, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.
McLean, J. (2006) We’re going by way of modifications! British Journal of Administrative Management
54. Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.
Pearce, J. & Robinson, R, (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved March 2007, from the University of Phoenix, Resource, MBA 580-Strategies for Competitive Advantage Course Web Site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/safe/useful resource/useful resource.asp
Author Unknown, Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are again in company vogue. (2006) Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm
Unknown (2007) 80% of Small-to-Medium Sized Firms Fear a Security Threat. Computer Security Update 8 (4). Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.
Unknown (2006) Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are again
in company vogue. Retrieved from the Internet at
http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm
US Department of Commerce (2007), Encryption (ch.10, part 742.15). Retrieved March 27, 2007 from the Bureau of Industry and Security Website at http://www.bis.doc.gov/information/2007/foreignpolicyreport/fprchap10_encryption.html
Watson, G. (2003) Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy (PowerPoint Presentation). Retrieved March 28, 2007 from the Oklahoma State University web site at http://www.okstate.edu/ceat/msetm/programs/etm5111/CourseSupplies/ETM5111Session3Part2.ppt#260,1,Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy
