Rdb Case Study 2013
M&N13/3/BUSMT/BP1/ENG/TZ0/XX/CS
BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY: ROYAL DANISH BEARINGS For use in May and November 2013
INSTrUCTIoNS To CaNdIdaTES • Case study booklet required for Higher Level Paper 1 and Standard Level Paper 1 Business and Management examinations.
2213-5001 ; 8813-5001
6 pages © International Baccalaureate organization 2012
– 2 –
M&N13/3/BUSMT/BP1/ENG/TZ0/XX/CS
Royal Danish Bearings Royal Danish Bearings (RDB) is a successful multinational company operating in the ball bearing industry. RDB was set up in 1915, in Denmark, by a Danish machinist called Henrik Holstein. Henrik was a visionary. He foresaw the expansion of the ball bearing industry in the twentieth century, which was largely due to the growth of the automotive sector. Ball bearing technology contributed to engineering progress throughout the twentieth century, especially in the secondary sector of the economy. Today, the outlook of the ball bearing industry is still promising: its market size is predicted to further expand over the next decades. “High-tech industries” such as computer software and artificial intelligence attract considerable attention and capital; however, most global industrial output continues to be mechanical devices. For example, ball bearings are found in all types of vehicles, such as in gearboxes and wheel suspension; there are even ball bearings in fighter jets and space shuttles. RDB has always operated in the business-to-business (B2B) market. Throughout the twentieth century, it expanded by internal/organic growth. Consistent with business thinking of that era, the company concentrated its manufacturing in three megafactories (very large factories) located in Denmark, northern Germany and Sweden, where the workforce had become highly skilled in operating machinery for industrial production. Benefiting from several economies of scale, RDB created thousands of
BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY: ROYAL DANISH BEARINGS For use in May and November 2013
INSTrUCTIoNS To CaNdIdaTES • Case study booklet required for Higher Level Paper 1 and Standard Level Paper 1 Business and Management examinations.
2213-5001 ; 8813-5001
6 pages © International Baccalaureate organization 2012
– 2 –
M&N13/3/BUSMT/BP1/ENG/TZ0/XX/CS
Royal Danish Bearings Royal Danish Bearings (RDB) is a successful multinational company operating in the ball bearing industry. RDB was set up in 1915, in Denmark, by a Danish machinist called Henrik Holstein. Henrik was a visionary. He foresaw the expansion of the ball bearing industry in the twentieth century, which was largely due to the growth of the automotive sector. Ball bearing technology contributed to engineering progress throughout the twentieth century, especially in the secondary sector of the economy. Today, the outlook of the ball bearing industry is still promising: its market size is predicted to further expand over the next decades. “High-tech industries” such as computer software and artificial intelligence attract considerable attention and capital; however, most global industrial output continues to be mechanical devices. For example, ball bearings are found in all types of vehicles, such as in gearboxes and wheel suspension; there are even ball bearings in fighter jets and space shuttles. RDB has always operated in the business-to-business (B2B) market. Throughout the twentieth century, it expanded by internal/organic growth. Consistent with business thinking of that era, the company concentrated its manufacturing in three megafactories (very large factories) located in Denmark, northern Germany and Sweden, where the workforce had become highly skilled in operating machinery for industrial production. Benefiting from several economies of scale, RDB created thousands of