Global Business Network, Case Study Example

Global Business Network (GBN) was founded in 1987 and has been part of Monitor Group since 2000. The organization is a pioneer in the field of scenario planning and works with government, corporations, and non-profit organizations to find solutions to critical long-term issues. The organization’s headquarter is in San Francisco while it has branch offices in New York City, Cambridge (MA), and London (Global Business Network).

GBN supports scenario planning in two major ways which are trainingandconsulting(Global Business Network). The organization provides training to both individuals and organizations. The training programs may either be conducted at a place of organization’s choosing or at client’s premises. The training programs are of two types which are Developing and Using Scenarios (DUS) and Scenarios to Strategy. DUS is aimed at beginners who have never been exposed to scenario planning before while Scenarios to Strategy is aimed at strategists and managers who are already familiar with the basics of scenario planning (Global Business Network).

GBN’s consulting services are aimed at organizations and make use of scenario planning and other strategic tools to address clients’ issues. The issues addressed by GBN’s consulting services include but not limited to strategic planning and decision-making under uncertainty, innovation, risk, organizational adaptability, alignment and visioning, and executive intelligence (Global Business Network).

GBN also offers a variety of educational topics related to scenario planning on its website. The visitor can visit the organization’s website to get an introduction to scenario planning as well as read related articles. The organization also hosts videos and podcasts related to scenario planning which can be accessed by anyone freely. GBN also collaborates with other organizations such to write research papers related to scenario planning. For example, it co-authored a paper titled “Scenarios for the Future of Technology and International Development” with The Rockefeller Foundation in 2010 (Global Business Network, 2010).To date, the organization has published more than 1,000 papers and reports on a wide range of topics (Global Business Network).

In order to make sure that GBN provides the best scenario planning guidance to its clients, the organization’s network consists of over hundred thinkers who come from diverse backgrounds such as science, technology, culture, arts, politics, ecology, and economics. The organization provides scenario planning services in almost every imaginable industry including high technology, medicine, energy, economic development, financial services, media, marketing, journalism, research, philanthropy, ICT, and organizational development(Global Business Network).

GBN also manages a book club which reviews books on a monthly basis. The books selected by the book club address past, present, and future events and trends. In addition, the organization also carries out quarterly interviews of its network members which yield new insights into the field of scenario planning (Global Business Network). The organization also publishes quarterly bulletins and maintains an archive of bulletins from the last four years on its website (Global Business Network).

GBN continues to be a leading authority on scenario planning because it provides a comprehensive range of tools to help clients in scenario planning. Its extensive network of professional from a diverse range of fields ensures that GBN can provide customized solutions to almost any public and private sector client.

References

Global Business Network. (2010, May). Scenarios for the Future of Technology and International Development. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://gbn.com/articles/pdfs/GBN&Rockefeller%20scenarios.technology&development.pdf

Global Business Network. (n.d.). About GBN. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://gbn.com/about/

Global Business Network. (n.d.). Consulting. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://gbn.com/training/

Global Business Network. (n.d.). GBN Perspectives. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://gbn.com/ideas/perspectives.php

Global Business Network. (n.d.). GBN Training Offerings. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://gbn.com/training/

Global Business Network. (n.d.). Ideas. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://gbn.com/ideas/

Global Business Network. (n.d.). Our Approach. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://gbn.com/about/do.php

Global Business Network. (n.d.). People. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://gbn.com/people/