Responses should be a minimum of 200 words and include direct questions. 

Global alliances are a key strategy to expanding a company''s growth internationally. There are five key reasons that organizations look toward alliances to create growth. The organic growth can only take a company so far, which can be insufficient for most organizations'' required rate of growth; speed of opening in a new market is paramount and can be greatly reduced with a partnership; branching out into a new market place, especially globally, is increasingly complex; partnerships can defray rising research and development costs; and finally, alliances facilitate access to global markets (Gonzalez, 2001). 
The major challenge with implementing a global alliance is the agreement of all parties in creating a win-win situation. Researchers have agreed that the greatest challenge to alliances is the abilities to manifest the agreement into a profitable and effective relationship (Kelly, Schaan, Joncas, 2002). 

To reach a successful venture in a global alliance three steps need to be made. The first step is to assign an leader to take charge of the alliance. Andrew Brown and Phil Hogg describe this person as the Alliance Champion. "The alliance champion's role is to anticipate and address obstacles or threats to the alliance's success" (Brown, Hogg, 2012). 

The next step is the empowerment of the alliance managers. A key to leadership is to empower leaders at all levels to make decisions and implement the plans. If all members of the alliance are in agreement of the plans, the long and short term goals, the managers must be empowered to truly see success down the road. Empowerment leads to employees, to include managers, to be involved and feel a part of the company. 

Another step is cross-functional thinking enhancement. "Unlike mergers or acquisitions which can be initiated with a vision to dismantle existing company structures, in contrast, strategic alliances require each partner's operations to run more effectively as an integrated unit than ever before" (Brown, Hogg, 2012). Again, like empowering managers, growing the team and working toward a common goal. 

The final key step is communication. Communication from all parties leadership down to their respective organizations as well as cross-alliance communication is important for the success of the alliance. Communication, or lack there of, can make or break any agreement or cooperation. It is the key to any venture, whether big or small. 

References 

Brown, A., & Hogg, P. (2012, May 16). Successful strategic alliances: How to prepare for an alliance. Financial Post. Retrieved from http://business.financialpost.com/executive/successful-strategic-alliances-how-to-prepare-for-an-alliance 

Gonzalez, M. (2001, September). Strategic alliances: The right way to compete in the 21st century. Ivey Business Journal. Retrieved from http://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/strategic-alliances-the-right-way-to-compete-in-the-21st-century/ 

Kelly, M. J., Schaan, J., & Jancas, H. (2012). Managing alliance relationship: key challenges in the early stages of collaboration. R&D Management, 32(1). Retrieved