Strategies for achieving high performance in a Multi-Polar World

The following is the approach adopted by Accenture when considering themes of increased interdependence and volatility:

"Globalization has changed. We now live in a multi-polar global economy, where risk and volatility go hand in hand with emerging growth and opportunities. Companies with the right globalization strategy have flourished, while those that have watched and waited have struggled.

The economic slowdown adds greater urgency. To succeed, and indeed survive, organizations need more cost efficiency, flexibility and new sources of growth. It is vital that businesses engage with the new reality: the opportunities, risks and challenges of emerging economies.

Accenture has identified five increasingly competitive and interdependent dimensions to the multi-polar world that multinational businesses can harness for short-term flexibility and long-term growth.

These exist in five competitive and inter-dependent areas:

Talent
Innovation
Resource Sustainability
New Consumers
Capital

Research has shown that businesses and governments that master these achieve sustained high performance in the multi-polar world.

Talent
While Western economies grapple with the effects of specialist skill shortages, emerging market workforces are set to expand dramatically. Beyond the vast labor reserves of China and India, other pockets of talent have sprung up. To remain competitive, companies must seek out, recruit and train the best talent, wherever it exists.

Innovation
A combination of investment, education and strategic policy focus has led to the emergence of clusters of innovation in emerging economies. As companies look to access new sources of revenue during the financial recovery, they need to identify these innovation hubs, harnessing the ideas and expertise they produce.

Resource Sustainability
We have entered an era of chronic volatility in the price of commodities. And thanks to global commodity markets and optimized supply chains, companies feel the effects more quickly than ever before. The challenge when sourcing critical inputs is to find the right balance of supply security, price stability, efficiency gains and decarbonization.

New Consumers
As markets emerge, so too does a growth in consumer spending. This is bolstered by fundamentals such as rising populations, the emerging middle classes, increasing incomes and greater credit availability. These new customers can help counter sagging demand in Western economies and build a base for the upturn. Yet connecting with consumers can be difficult due to cultural differences and a lack of infrastructure in emerging markets.

Capital
While Western markets remain embroiled in the aftermath of the sub-prime financial crisis, pools of capital are visible in the emerging world. Despite some volatility, emerging markets have built up substantial foreign exchange reserves. This capital is not restricted to the public markets alone. Emerging multinational companies and sovereign wealth funds bring new sources of funding. The challenge is to identify and create the optimal financing and investment models."