Philips Presentation
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., well known as Philips, is one of the biggest groups of the world in terms of electronics, household, music edition and medical equipment. In 2004, its sales reached € 30.3 billion and employed 161 586 people in more than 60 countries all over the world.
Philips is composed by several divisions: consumer lifestyle, semiconductor, healthcare and lighting.
In 2005, as electronic chips manufacturer, Philips is the 9th most important manufacturers of semiconductors.
History
The company was founded in 1891 by the Gerard brothers (1858-1942) and Anton Philips (1874-1951) in Eindhoven, in Netherlands. Its first products were electric bulbs and other electrotechnical products. The first manufacture is used today as museum.
In the years 1920, the company started to manufacture other products, like the first shaver, Philishave, in 1939. In United States, the brand name is Norelco. At the beginning of the 70's, Philips launched the cassette with audio ribbon with a broad success, but failed with its standard for the cassettes video ribbon, V2000, in favor of betamax and especially of VHS, cassette DCC (DIGITAL Compact Cassette) launched in November 1992 in partnership with Matsushita (Panasonic, Technics).
During the Second World War, on May 9th, 1940, the leaders of Philips were informed of the German invasion of the Netherlands on the following day. Then they decided to join the United States, taking along with them a broad portion of the capital of the company. So they kept the company working during the war from United States, having made it move (on paper), in the Dutch West Indies. After the War, Philips came back to Eindhoven. Many research centres had been hidden or padlocked, so after the withdrawal of the Germans, Philips could quickly restart its activities.
Some people thought that Philips has, before and during the war, provided equipment to the Germans, which led some to believe that they had collaborated with the Nazis, like several other companies of the time. However, no proofs exist indicating that Philips or its leaders sympathized with the Nazis or their ideologies. In addition, Philips was not able to prevent the occupant from using his manufactures and putting its employees at the forced labor.
[...] Philips organization recognizes 4 different types of risks which could have some negative consequences on its good development and which could really affect or prevent its objectives achievement. Those 4 risks are named as Strategic Risks, Market Risks, Operational Risks, Compliance Risks and Financial Risks. However, according to its 2008 Annual Report, Philips, as a lot of big companies, does not know every risk it could meet yet. Moreover, a current risk could become a bigger one few years later. [...]
[...] Operational Risks Definition: “Unexpected developments resulting from internal processes, people and systems or from external events that are linked to the actual running of echo business” Speed Innovation and Solution and product Creation process could slow down Philips growth ambition New low cost players in Asia, directly compete with Philips' product creation process. Most of Asian manufacturers have a good Research and Development department, so it will be difficult for Philips to be as good and fast as them. Philips has to find ideas first, and before they will. [...]
[...] Moreover, nowadays, worldwide companies face threats concerning Information Technologies because of the fear of non security and non confidentiality of data. Warranty and product liability claims against Philips could push the firm to cut its costs Most of products, Philips sells, are expensive, innovative and technological, which oblige the company to establish and then apply a strong warranty policy. So, Philips is responsible for repairing products or replacing them. This warranty policy has a great and positive impact on the brand image of the firm. [...]
[...] Philips's Vision Philips wants to be based on a good understanding of what people really need and want, and delivering on our promise of simplicity. They will lead in bringing sense and simplicity to people in a world where complexity touches every aspect of our daily lives. Philps sees exciting opportunities in both mature and emerging markets and apply their competences in marketing, design and technology to capture value from major economic, social and demographic trends, like for example, the growing demand for healthcare at lower cost, consumer empowerment, the rise of emerging markets and the need for energy efficiency. [...]
[...] Risk “Taking risks is an inherent part of entrepreneurial behavior”, which means that taking risks is essential in a company development. Actually, taking risks could not be risky if it is under control. Let's describe risks defined by the Philips' management. However, it is important to add, that Philips governance prefers not to order risks. Risks will be explained by defining factors which feed the risk in it. Strategic risks Definition: Risks which gather all threats and opportunities that could impact Philips' strategic objectives. [...]
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