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Balfour Employs Over 100 Graduates Each Year, And The Effort Required To ...

Balfour employs over 100 graduates each year, and the effort required to train and mentor these is costly both in terms of finances and resources.
Safety for Balfour is paramount, with a number of fatalities in previous years, it has introduced a policy of zero tolerance, and so the implementation of health and safety measures, monitoring them and constantly improving them is a key driver to the success of the organisation.
Political issues are a particular concern since Balfour would have no ability to influence any policies for taxes that the government may wish to introduce. The recent increase in the cost of fuel would have a dramatic impact on the profitability or otherwise of Balfour's business, as it operates 7,000 vehicles worldwide. Whilst Balfour is endeavouring to reduce the amount of fuel used, as well as reducing the amount of waste, it will inevitably continue to have an effect on the environment, but at leas they are trying to address the situation.
Balfour is an international and profitable organisation whose aim is to; create long term shareholder value by providing engineering, construction and service skills to customers for whom infrastructure, quality, efficiency and reliability are critical . . . and seeks to operate safely and sustainably
1 Strategic Overview
(a)The Strategic Contribution of Mansell
The above quotation was taken from the 2002 Annual Report, prior to the acquisition of Mansell. According to Porter, The essence of strategy formulation is coping with competition. Balfour's strategy of acquiring and merging businesses was a way of dealing with the competition. In Mansell , Balfour recognised the opportunity to add complementary skills and expertise to its business, but also recognised that there was a synergistic fit.
Balfour's aim is to achieve competitive advantage. There are two types of competitive advantage lower cost and differentiation. Rather than choose the lower cost route, Balfour chose differentiation the ability to provide unique and superior value to the buyer in terms of product quality.
Mansell also had competitive advantage, as it, grows out of the way firms organise and perform discrete activities. According to the International News magazine, Balfour Beatty Update dated April 2004, Mansell had followed a clear strategy aimed at sustainable growth and focused on discrete market sectors, developing a sustainable position in sections of the UK building market in which we do not currently operate. It also brings a wide range of blue-chip customer relationships.
Mansell had complementary skills with excellent market positions in social housing, refurbishment and other association construction disciplines. Its geography and product mix was a perfect synergistic fit with the already established Balfour brand and service offering.

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