Product details

Rhone-Poulenc, France's largest chemical firm, has achieved a major position in the United States as the result of an ambitious series of acquisitions. As it expanded in the United States from 1986 to 1990, Rhone-Poulenc management sought to take a 'hands-off' approach and allowed the local management to build a coherent and stable US operation. By 1991, however, there is a perceived imperative for the global management of all product lines. A proposal is made to shift the major axis of the firm toward a worldwide product structure, with the effect of changing the role of the US country management. Whether this move makes sense, what the best structure might be, and how any changes are to be implemented are all topics for discussion in this case.