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Hello, Everyone,

This week's topic is about Alliances in business settings, and how alliances can achieve business-level goals when managed at a higher level. So, what exactly is an alliance? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, Alliance is a noun, and it is referred to as "a group of countries, political parties, or people who have agreed to work together because of shared interests or aims". In the business situation, it refers to two businesses working together for a common goal to both businesses. Goals are important for a company, and if a goal is similar to another company, then an alliance is the best route to follow, but why this approach to alliance management would make sense? According to Relevize "Strategic alliances are not just business arrangements." Even though they are in a partnership, businesses still maintain independence between them and their brands. They must navigate and trust the partners to actively handle and address the differences between other's strengths weaknesses, and operating styles. A great channel of communication is the key between alliances.

An example to comes to mind is from my current job. I work for a not-for-profit clinic in a major city. We heavily rely on the government for funding, but also on major for-profit hospitals. Since we are a clinic and not a hospital, there are certain services that we do not provide, for example, certain specialties, or minor and major surgeries for patients. Our goals are the patients, and for major hospitals too, but they also have the pay in mind, by us referring patients, we satisfy our patients and get some of the monetary benefit as well. It is a win-win for both businesses.