Website Report. Visit the website of Netherlands-based Philips NV (www.philips.com), and research the company on the Internet. As best you can, identify Philips’ production and assembly locations. What types of products does Philips, one of the world’s top three consumer-electronics companies, produce? Do you think Philips is following a centralized or a decentralized production strategy? Explain your answer. Where does Philips conduct much of its R&D, and why is it performed there?

Visit the website of LG Philips LCD (www.lgphilips-lcd.com) and Philips’ joint venture with South Korean firm LG (www.lg.co.kr). What do you think Philips had to gain by cooperating with LG? Why do you think Philips did not simply build its own facilities in South Korea to produce LCD displays? How can the LG and Philips joint venture be explained using the criteria of a make-or-buy decision? Explain your answers. djf5