ASSIGNMENT: Case Study on Cargill, Inc., to be turned in at the class meeting on November 2,...

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ASSIGNMENT: Case Study on Cargill, Inc., to be turned in at the class meeting on November 2, 2012. Summarize the history of Cargill, Inc., with a focus on how the vertical and horizontal boundaries of...

ASSIGNMENT: Case Study on Cargill, Inc., to be turned in at the class meeting on November 2, 2012.

Summarize the history of Cargill, Inc., with a focus on how the vertical and horizontal boundaries of the firm have evolved over the company’s 146 years of history. Indicate the types of boundary expansions that have occurred (e.g., vertical integration, horizontal integration, diversification, etc.) Assess (1) the rationale for the various expansions and (2) the success or failure of these. Evaluate how the “primary activity” of Cargill has evolved over time and what categories it has belonged to, based on the “relatedness of the firm’s businesses” . The main objective is to integrate the definitions and concepts we have been studying into an analysis of the changing vertical and horizontal boundaries of Cargill.

Your report is to be done on a word processor and be double spaced. Use Times New Roman or Cambria fonts of 12 points and margins of 1 inch all around. Append tabular and chart materials at the end of the paper. Include a list of references at the end of the text.

The Web will be a useful source of information. Start with

http://www.cargill.com/

and expand your sources from there.

Note: The Wikipedia site is useful; however, do not depend on it (or cite it) as a sole reference, because it is not a secure site and can contain false information. Verify its facts with other, original references (many of which may be given on the Wikipedia site). It also may be useful for finding other references.

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ASSIGNMENT: Case Study on Cargill, Inc., to be turned in at the class meeting on November 2, 2012. Summarize the history of Cargill, Inc., with a focus on how the vertical and horizontal boundaries of the firm have evolved over the company’s 146 years of history. Indicate the types of boundary expansions that have occurred (e.g., vertical integration, horizontal integration, diversification, etc.) Assess (1) the rationale for the various expansions and (2) the success or failure of these. Evaluate how the “primary activity” of Cargill has evolved over time and what categories it has belonged to, based on the “relatedness of the firm’s businesses” . The main objective is to integrate the definitions and concepts we have been studying into an analysis of the changing vertical and horizontal boundaries of Cargill. Your report is to be done on a word processor and be double spaced. Use Times New Roman or Cambria fonts of 12 points and margins of 1 inch all around. Append tabular and chart materials at the end of the paper. Include a list of references at the end of the text. The Web will be a useful source of information. Start with HYPERLINK "http://www.cargill.com/" http://www.cargill.com/ and expand your sources from there. Note: The Wikipedia site is useful; however, do not depend on it (or cite it) as a sole reference, because it is not a secure site and can contain false information. Verify its facts with other, original references (many of which may be given on the Wikipedia site). It also may be useful for finding other references.

005_1v49jk-rndgfixi.docx

Answered Same DayDec 21, 2021

David · Accepted Answer

Cargill, Inc: Vertical and Horizontal Boundaries of the Firm
Running Head: CARGILL, INC: VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL BOUNDARIES OF THE  1 FIRM
PAGE  
7
CARGILL, INC: VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL BOUNDARIES OF THE FIRM
Cargill, Inc: Vertical and Horizontal Boundaries of the Firm
Name
Institution
Cargill, Inc. History Summary On How The Vertical And Horizontal Boundaries Of The Firm Have Evolved Over The Company’s 146 Years Of History
Cargill, Inc has been in business since 1865 with its initial focus being grain business. Cargill owned one-grain flat house and as the years went on, the business expanded horizontally first by building grain elevators during the 1880s period and further by buying more grain elevators and storehouses as the grain business expanded in preceding years. By 1885, Cargill owned 102-grain elevators and stores with a capability of holding 1.6 million bushels of grain (Cargill, 2012).
With the start of the 20th century, the company adopted a new expansion strategy, which mainly included business acquisitions. In the first half of the 20th century, they mainly focused on horizontally expanding the grain business through acquisition of various grain elevator businesses. A change in trend occurred in 1912 when the company vertically expanded into finance and diversified its product offering through the establishment of Cargill Securities Company. The main function of Cargill Securities was to take over the indebtedness that Cargill was suffering at the time and to help pay off the company’s debt.  This introduced the company in the finance industry (Cargill, 2012).
By 1922, the company had also established a grain laboratory, which focused on studying grain products, and helped elevate the research and development with the company. The following year the company acquired a grain merchandising company with an innovative communication system at the time, which gave Cargill significant competitive advantages. In 1928, the company geographically expanded its operations in Canada, the first business outside of the USA, and subsequently expanded to other countries in Europe in preceding years. By 1935, the business had joined the Chicago Board Trade and started trading in future contracts. Furthermore, the company established a Cargo carrier’s subsidiary, and purchased shipping vessels.  In the following year, all the various Cargill grain businesses acquired were merged together to form Cargill, Incorporated.
By the second half of the 20th century, Cargill began in earnest to acquire businesses from other industries.  The acquisition strategy mainly included acquiring or merging with businesses that would enhance the original grain business (Cargill, 2012a). For instance,

ASSIGNMENT: Case Study on Cargill, Inc., to be turned in at the class meeting on November 2, 2012. Summarize the history of Cargill, Inc., with a focus on how the vertical and horizontal boundaries of...

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