Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sustainable Development in the Amazon: Sambazon
The Sambazon case in the linked file presents a different scenario. Sambazon is a small business based on the exportation of a fruit which occurs naturally in the Amazon. The acai fruit from the Amazon is marketed as juice, pulp, and smoothies to health conscious consumers in the United States. The fruit of the acai palm, which is extremely high in antioxidents, has become increasingly popular in the US, where it was largely unknown before the marketing efforts of the Sambazon company which began at the turn of the 21st Century. This is an example of export based entrepreneurship which contributes to the sustainable development of the Amazon rainforest which contributes to improving the lives of the indigenous rainforest inhabitants.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Aliquippa, Gerdau Steel, and the Global Steel Industry
I grew up in
In 1977 when I was on the international business faculty of
When the privatization of state industries occurred in
Gerdau has become one of the top 15 steel companies in the World, with operations in
There are always uncertainties on the horizon for any organization. One of the big ones for Gerdau is the changeover taking place to a new generation of managers. Another is whether the company will successfully remain independent in the fast changing context of the global steel industry. The industry still has a relatively low level of global concentration in comparison with almost all other industries, even as major mergers and acquisitions follow each other with high frequency. The takeover of the world’s largest steel company by family controlled Ispat Industries in 2006 is one of the most dramatic developments illustrating the trend of concentration. One can only speculate as to the future of Gerdau in the face of this trend.
Returning to the beginning of this essay, what has been the fate of J & L Steel’s Aliquippa Work’s in the town of my childhood? The company itself became a part of LTV in the 1980’s, merged with the former Republic Steel. The 1990’s found the company in bankruptcy, and liquidation followed in the early 21st Century. Some of the assets were purchased at bargain basement prices to be a part of the newly formed International Steel Industries, and are now operating again. The Aliquippa Works were not resurrected. Today Aliquippa is a community of 6,000 people, and most of the giant works along the
I wonder if the same fate will some day befall any of the communities in South and
Friday, March 9, 2007
President Bush In Sao Paulo
On another point, in the talk about the new ethanol deal between Brazil and the US there should be discussion of the protectionism afforded to US-based agribusinesses by limiting the importation of ethanol produced in Brazil. Is the US ethanol program a subsidy program for agribusiness, or is it an efficient way to increase the usage of energy from renewable resources in the US?
On still another point, demonstrations in honor of the President's visit may well be about the failure of the US to support freedom and democracy in the past six years. People in the US often overlook the radical idealism which Latino patriots took from the experience of the US in its early days. In some senses there has always been a sharing of democratic values between North and South America since the breaking of the colonial ties with Europe, in spite of the ways in which democracies in North and South America have fallen short over the years. It may be that people in Latin America are angry, in part, at the way the US has ignored its traditional role as a beacon for support for human rights, the rule of law, the observance of international committments, peaceful resolution of disputes, and the tolerance for diversity in recent years. Mr. Bush, if you are reading this blog, my suggestion to you is that "it's not just about the money."