Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Most discussions of strategic planning tend to focus on business growth or maintenance. There is relatively little discussion of managing situations of business decline, particularly in terms of the roles and responsibilities of those directors who are responsible for leading the company, and their relationships with influential third parties such as creditors, shareholders and employees. This book sets out a benchmarking framework that can be used by those involved in such situations to check their approach against best practice, identify alternative strategies to resolve governance issues and approach distress situations using a systematic rather than ad-hoc approach. The increasing number of examples of companies reported in the media which are recognising and attempting to deal with such situations indicates the importance of this area to the development of management practice and theory.
Synopsis
Businesses fail - some spectacularly and suddenly, others more gradually over time. In some companies, business decline can be turned around or at least delayed. In many others there is no option other than business closure. Over the past twenty years the rate of business failure has accelerated. Insolvency rates are high not just for small businesses but also for large well known public companies. Identifying possible causes of business distress is now recognised as an important agenda item. Creating the capacity to bounce back from such distress - business resilience - has become a priority.
Parkinson and Parkinson blend their own practical experience, academic research and a systematic analysis of recent high profile cases including Flybe Group Plc, Arcadia Ltd, Carillion Plc, NMC Health Plc and Thomas Cook Group Plc in a review of potential causes of business distress and key resilience drivers. This is presented in detail in separate chapters covering business purpose, board effectiveness, the quality of strategic planning, financial stewardship, risk management, business turnaround strategies and effective governance. The book sets out a practical benchmarking framework in the form of a toolkit with a series of detailed evidences - performance indicators - that companies can use to check out potential business distress and build a resilient company.