Rover Group


Book Description

The Rover Group - Company and Cars is a comprehensive history of the company and a guide to its products. Centring on the period of the official existence of the Rover Group, the book also examines the events leading up to its formation in 1986 and its controversial aftermath, following its dismemberment in 2000. The book is backed by first-hand accounts from Rover employees, as well as a foreword by Jon Moulton, the man behind several bids to acquire elements of the company. Including production histories and full specification guides to its cars, The Rover Group is a compelling insider's account of one of the most controversial periods in the British motor industry. The book covers: the beginnings of Rover and its place in British Leyland; Land Rover's expansion in the 1980s and how it led to the foundation of the Rover Group; Rover under British Aerospace and the sell-off to BMW; Rover's struggle under German management and BMW's disposal of the Group and finally, the aftermath of Rover's collapse - MG Rover, Land Rover and MINI. Fully illustrated with 270 historical and original colour photographs.




The takeover of Rover Group Ltd. by BMW AG


Book Description

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: The target of this case study is to present and analyse the drastic false estimations made by BMW in planning and realising the Rover transition as well as its consequences. The worked out mistakes should be generalized in order to give opportunities of their avoidance for future M&A cases. After working out the M&A basics in the 1st chapter, the 2nd chapter deals with the reasons of BMW Management to buy another international manufacturer and gives a clue why the choice fell just on Rover. It opens with an overview of the economic development during the 6 years time period of the Rover takeover. After this, the economic and political environment is shown, also the market situation in the automobile segment in the year of the takeover, followed by the business course and goals of BMW as well as their alternatives. This chapter closes with the strategy and enterprise philosophy of BMW and with a list of the of the Rover Group s assets in 1994. In the 3rd and 4th chapters of this case study the mistakes of the BMW management attempting to integrate Rover into the BMW portfolio are shown and analysed, as well as its consequences for BMW and Rover. The 5th chapter will end with the conclusion, why the Rover takeover went wrong. Zusammenfassung: Ziel der Arbeit ist es, die strategischen Ziele, die Tragweite und die möglichen Folgen von M&A-Transaktionen in den Bereichen Finanzen (Investitionen und operatives Geschäft), Unternehmensführung- und Organisation sowie der Unternehmenskultur anhand dieses Unternehmenskaufes zu untersuchen. Dazu wurde die Arbeit in 6 Teile untergliedert. Im 1. Teil werden die allgemeinen M&A-Grundlagen beleuchtet, insbesondere die Ziele, Erscheinungsformen, rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen als auch die Vor- und Nachteile von M&A-Transaktionen. Im 2. Teil wird das Umfeld von BMW im Jahre 1994 analysiert, die strategischen Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten dargestellt und untersucht, warum gerade die britische Rover Group der für BMW geeignete Übernahmekandidat zu sein schien. Im 3. und 4. Teil wird die Transaktion und ihre Folgephasen untersucht und die Gründe für das Scheitern der Übernahme herausgearbeitet. Die Zusammenfassung und kritische Bewertung der dem BMW Vorstand unterlaufenen Entscheidungsfehler bei der Auswahl und Führung von Rover erfolgt im 5. Teil. Die Arbeit schließt ab mit dem 6. Teil, in dem die finanziellen Auswirkungen der Transaktion kommentiert und anhand von 10 Säulen- [...]




Rover Cars 1945 to 2005


Book Description

This comprehensive pictorial overview of Rover cars covers 1945-2005 models. It describes and illustrates all the great classic Rovers up to and including the SD1, British Leyland models with Rover badges, the models designed in conjunction with Honda, the later British-designed cars and, finally, the little-known City Rover.




Globalisation & Manufacturing Decline


Book Description

At a time when the manufacturing industry in Britain is coming under increasing focus, "Globalisation & Manufacturing Decline" provides a clear framework for positioning the key drivers and influences on automotive manufacturing in Britain today.




Effecting a Quality Change


Book Description

Providing an understanding of what is meant by quality and its unique position in a manufacturing environment to improve competitive business performance, this text defines all the fundamental ingredients required to introduce an improvement in quality. Concise and easy to read, the theory is backed up by numerous industrial experiences, illustrating the practical obstacles when implementing any quality change. Focusing on the essentials of quality (strategies, principles and techniques) designing for quality is also discussed and new techniques for assessing the risks and costs of non-conformance are introduced. The result is an insight to quality engineering that will prove invaluable to engineering students and professionals.




The Closure of MG Rover


Book Description

MG Rover went into administration in April 2005 when its proposed deal with a Chinese company (SAIC) collapsed and it did not have sufficient cash to continue trading. The subsequent closure of MG Rover's plant at Longbridge in the West Midlands resulted in the direct loss of almost 6,000 jobs and with potentially serious consequences for the local economy. This NAO report examines the support provided to MG Rover by the DTI and other public bodies before and during the Company's collapse in 2005, and on the effectiveness of plans to deal with and mitigate the consequences of the firm's closure. Amongst the conclusions drawn, the report identifies weaknesses in the DTI's contingency planning and questions the cost-effectiveness of the DTI's loan of £6.5 million designed to sustain the business for a week while the administrators sought to sell the Company as a going concern. The report goes on to make a number of recommendations to improve future decision-making, contingency planning, and the delivery of training and support in the event of a large-scale company failure.







British Leyland Motor Corporation 1968-2005


Book Description

British Leyland Motor Corporation, formed in the wake of the post-war manufacturing boom, brought together almost all the British-owned car and commercial vehicle companies that then existed. At the head of the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world, its management confi dently expected to give the United Kingdom a leading place in the global motor industry. The eventual failure was one of the biggest and most disappointing disasters in British industrial history. Despite this, we can be proud of British Leyland's legacy: successful and much loved vehicles like the Mini and the Range Rover have endured, its working practices had a lasting effect on industrial relations policy, and brands that once formed part of the group continue to thrive in this ever-competitive market. From their unique insider perspective, three former employees of the brand reveal in unprecedented detail the ups and downs of this iconic British company.




Organisational Learning in the Automotive Sector


Book Description

This book considers the concepts of organisational learning and the learning organisation, and critically examines their take up within the context of four contemporary work organisations in the European automotive sector. Within this dynamic environment, the pursuit and implementation of approaches that encourage individuals to learn and challenge existing orthodoxy are now dominant on the management agenda. Changes to processes, structures, cultures and the employment relationship per se.




The Social Function of Accounts


Book Description

Accountancy as presently practised is tied to the paradigm of modern financial capitalism with its reliance on market solutions and the maximization of the firm’s profits, which are the fundamental causes of most these problems. The Social Function of Accounts argues that accountancy, as currently organized and practised, is failing society, both in Britain and in the world as a whole. Examining the current problems afflicting the world: financial crises and instability, global warming, degradation of the environment, growing inequality, this book asks the question - what contribution does accountancy make to the solution of these problems? The book argues that the accountancy profession does not serve the public interest, notwithstanding its claim to this effect. The Social Function of Accounts argues that the moral responsibility of the accountant is analysed with reference to the principal theories of ethics continuing that the individual accountant has a moral responsibility to consider the impact of his actions on other people and on society as a whole. This responsibility is then analysed in a series of chapters dealing with four specific aspects of the matter: Distributive Justice, Sustainability, Financial reporting & the Accountancy Profession. Concluding with a call for the accountancy profession to adopt a new ethic of service to the public The Social Function of Accounts redraws the boundaries of current accounting literature and will be vital reading for academics, researchers and policy makers in accounting and related disciplines.