"The automotive industry will ride a wave of dramatic change over the next decade as new technologies emerge, markets stagnate in developed countries and grow in emerging countries, buying patterns change, and customers become ever more demanding. The industry will respond to a wide range of political, social, and economic issues: How quickly will Eastern Europe and China develop? Which trade barriers will rise or fall? Will an environmental crisis or a medical discovery prompt citizens to demand „greener" transportation - e.g., smaller cars and more public transportation? Will safety concerns trigger massive defections to safer means of transport - planes, trains, or buses?

One tool successful companies often use to help them describe possible futures and determine likely implications for their businesses is scenarios. We invite you to join us as we explore two scenarios for the future of the automotive industry - and look at future challenges and possible responses. We hope this exercise will stimulate useful discussions of vision and strategy among your teams."

The Chinese consumer market has awesome demographics. It is huge, young and growing. But competition in the consumer market is growing, too. To win in China, companies must create strategies that overcome pitfalls while taking advantage of local strengths.

This is the second of two articles dealing with the challenges that multinational companies face in China and describing what they should do to achieve profitable growth there.

The first article highlighted the common pitfalls encountered in China and discussed the expected changes in the Chinese market and competitive environment. This second article describes what this integrated approach should entail. Companies should begin by generating deep consumer insights and building strong local capabilities. They should transform these insights into superior product market strategies, effectively manage sales and distribution and aim to achieve operational excellence. They also need to develop an organization that is fiexible, open to learning and adaptive in order to cope with China's vast size, great diversity and rapid rate of change.

To make the most of overseas opportunities, multinational companies must pay closer attention to the problems of executives transferred into them.