Introduction A global strategy is one in which a firm seeks to gain competitive advantage on a global basis through either an optimal arrangement of value-adding activities, coordinating among those dispersed value-adding activities, or both. The highly competitive nature of many markets and the likely future prospect of continued economic turbulence as national and global economic fortunes vary, require that business managers continue to look for opportunities to improve performance. BHP Billiton (BHP), the world’s largest mining company, follows a global strategy that helps it to achieve a competitive advantage and remain competitive and profitable. The case of BHP vividly portrays that the ultimate purpose of strategic management is to secure the competitive advantage of the organization in question. The aim of strategic alliances is to acquire resources and capabilities beyond BHP’s own control. Strategic alliances allow BHP to set up exchange technology, gain market entry, lower production costs, and offset exports. Analysis of the General Environment BHP operates on the global scale and deals with “a diverse range of products, customers and markets, outstanding management depth and an enviable portfolio of growth opportunities” (BHP Home, 2007). BHP uses a number of strategies by which any set of objectives can be reached. In general, a number of possible strategies exist, since they give rise to a large number of possible combinations or alternative strategies, one of which must be selected as the most promising. BHP states: ‘we are distinguished from other resource companies by the quality of our assets; our deep inventory of growth projects; our customer-focused marketing; our diversification across countries, commodities, and markets; and our Petroleum business” (BHP Home, 2007). Demographic Factors The global demographic situation is marked by such factors as the increased population in less developed countries, high population growth rates in Asia, the aging population in Europe and America. The demographic situation in America and Africa suggests changes in demand patterns and consumption. While in the USA the unemployment rate is not high, and the demographic situation did not a great influence on the market, in low developed countries this is the main factor that influenced BHP’s sales. A high poverty level and unemployment are the main threats for BHP in these markets. Population density is consistently positively associated with economic growth across time and across all countries; that population size is positively associated with economic growth during some time periods (Bengtsson and Saito, 2003). Taking into account the population growth rates, it is evident that India has the highest rate – 1.606%. The place is occupied by the USA (0.894%) and the third one – Australia (0.824%). The negative population growth rates have Japan (-0.088%) and Germany (-0.033%) (Bengtsson and Saito, 2003). Real resource flows per person—to isolate the effect of fertility on distribution, and to act as the dependent variable in analyzing the effect of fertility on growth. New sources of power and energy (oil and natural gas) have improved the economic conditions of millions of people. Population growth is usually influenced by increased productivity, changing agricultural patterns, and technological innovation aimed to improve conditions of life (CIA World Factbook, 2007). These factors have a great impact on BHP’s strategy