Journal Year Volume Issue: Business Case Journal 2011 Summer

Journal Year Volume Issue
Business Case Journal 2012/2013 Winter 20 1

Business Case Journal 2012 Summer 19 2
Business Case Journal 2010/2011 Fall/Winter 18 1
Business Case Journal 2007/2008 15 1
Business Case Journal 2002-2003 Winter 10 2
Business Case Journal 2000 Winter 8 2
Business Case Journal 1997 Summer & Winter 5 1 & 2
Author(s)
Amanda J. Weed & Craig Davis
S. Catherine Anderson, Miranda Reynolds, Christian C. Melvin, Amanda LaNeith Cash, &Robert L. Finley
Harsha Desai, John Beever, Kiran Desai
Mohan Gopinath, Dolphy M. Abrahan, Edwin L. Castelino, & Asha
Sreekumar
Kerry Marrer & Paula Weber
Bruce C. Bailey & Michael A. Levin
David W. Rosenthal & David Shrider
Dustin C. Read & Cara Lee Okleshen Peters
Christian Grandzol & Edward Pitingolo
Ram Subramanian & Pradeep Gopalakrishna
Karen Berger, William E. Stratton, Joe G. Thomas, Roy A. Cook
Issam A. Ghazzawi, Marie Palladini
A. C. Lampe, Craig Sasse
Kent Kauffman
Tim Redmer
George L. Whaley, Russell Casey & Keith Perry
Paul E. Olsen
Samuel Graci & Brian Gnauck
Colleen P. Kirk & Karen A. Berger
Robert L. Finley, Margaret Jane Willoughby, Toni Sykes, Jennifer
Lovett & Sarah Stewart
Cara Peters
Ruth McKay, Tebogo Phala & Jae Fratzl
Christian Grandzol, Pamela Wynn
Christopher M. Scherpereel & Kathryn S. Savage
Joel D. Wisner
Clifton Petty, Kelley Still & Janis Prewitt
Manisha Singal, Richard E. Wokutch, Sookhan Ho & Suzanne K.
Murrmann
Edna McGovern, Lawerence Weinstein & Brandi Hooper Morgan
A. Kinbrough Sherman & Harsha Desai
Belinda Luke, Kate Kearins & Martie-Louise Verreynne
Craig Sasse & Anthony Tocco
Woodrow D. Richardson
Woodrow D. Richardson
Zbigniew H. Przasnyski
Helen Tregidga,Kate Kearins & Eva Collins
Kate Daellenbach & Janet Carruthers
Erhard K. Valentine & Bryan Palmer
Boris Morozov & Rebecca J. Morris
Bonalyn J. Nelson
S. Catherine Anderson, Robert L. Finley, & William Sparks
Ram Subramanian, Jaideep Motwani, & John Rumery
Wanda V. Chaves & Ed Cucinelli
Gary Clendenen, John O'Neill, & Art Betancourt
Dominie Garcia, Janet Rovenpor, & Asbjorn Osland
Duane Helleloid, Partick Schultz, & John Vitton
Cara Peters, Robin Soster, & Marilyn Okleshen
Bonalyn J. Nelson
Ann Mooney
Kiran Desai & Harha Desai
Megan Biskup & Christomper Reisinger
Jacob Simons, Jerry Wilson, & Maciek Nowak
Wolfgang Jenewein & Christian Schmitz
Karen Berger
Elizabeth Ann McCrea & Gladys marie Torres-Baumgarten
Anthony F. Jurkus, Michel Kalika, Edward OBoyle
Stewart Husted
Erhard K. Valentin, Heather Hess-Lindquist
Craig Sasse, Anthony Tocco, & Thomas L. Lyon
Michael J. Fratantuono & David M. Sarcone
Martha C. Fransson & David W. Wolf
Ken Kono
Kate Daellenbach
George Howard, Elizabeth Scott, Mary Whitehouse, &Caroline M.
Fisher
Francisco J. Lopez Lubian, Ricardo Moreno
Eldon Gardner
Jonathan B. Welch
Hugh Grove, Tom Cook, Steve Coburn
Hugh Grove, Tom Cook, Rod Schuster
Arthur Sharplin
Daniel R. Marburger
Cara Peters, Marilyn Okleshen, Dinesh D'Costa
Martha C. Fransson, Robin Chase, Edward B. Miller, Scott M.
Bartosch
Gary Clendenen, Dee Ann Dorsey
John Todd
Heather Johnson, Liz Thach, Duane Dove
Martha C. Fransson, Peter J. LaPlaca, Steven M. Maynard
Delaney J. Kirk
Jamshed Hasan Khan
Douglas G. Ohmer, Claire McCarty Kilian
Jeff Totten, Don Pope
Martha C. Fransson, Robin Chase, Edward B. Miller, Scott M.
Bartosch
Arif I. Rana, James Erskine
John H. Friar, Raymond M. Kinnunen
Thomas L. Lyon, Anthony L. Tocco
Sara Smith Shull, Rebecca J. Morris
Nancy M. Levenburg, Thomas V. Schwarz
Thomas C. Leach
Joe Thomas, Ralph Williams
Peter G. Goulet, Lynda L. Goulet, Tony D. Thelen
Marilyn L. Taylor, Theresa T. Coates
Mark Kroll, Barbara Ross Wooldridge, Nguyen Viet Anh
Cara L. O. Peters, Marilyn J. Okleshen
Patricia G. Greene, Thomas L. Lyon
Jeffery Lloyd Seaton, John E. Timmerman
Theresa T. Coates, Marilyn L. Taylor
Rajib Sanyal, Hope K. Torkornoo
Tim J. Burkink
A. J. Almaney
Hugh Grove, Tom Cook
Frank C. Jenkins, Martha C. Fransson
Katherine Campbell, Duane Helleloid
Gary Clendenen, Leslie Toombs, Perry Worthen
Edwin C. Leonard Jr., Patricia A. Ryan
Fred Hebein
Erhard K. Valentin, Jerald T. Storey
William Ortega
Tammy Bunn Hiller
LuAnn Gaskill, Howard Van Auken, Mary Littell, Virginia
Blackburn, Michael Whiteford
Tammy Bunn Hiller
Ken C. Schneider, Elaine Davis
David W. Rosenthal, Terri Feldman Barr
Herbert Sherman
Patricia A. Ryan
Stephen B. Castleberry
Janell Kurtz, Richard Sebastian, Gary Sneide
William A. Stoever
Taira Koybaeva, Richard L. Ratliff, I. Richard Johnson
Ann Hackert, Steven S. Byers
W. Kent Moore, Peter M. Bergevin
John V. Mullane, Joe G. Thomas
Patricia A. Ryan
Michael Bommer, Manual V. Heitor, Conceicao Vedovello, Pedro
de Noronha Passarra
Gary B. Frank, J. B. Wilkinson
Ashley W. Burrowes, Eldon J. Gardner
Joseph Cheng, Rajib Sanyal
David W. Rosenthal, Terri Feldman Barr, Jessica Brenner
Herbert Sherman
Fred Hebein
Robert L. Brown, Anthony F. McGann
Christopher R. Moberg, David W. Rosenthal, Robert W. Twells
William F. Bowlin, Benjamin De Jong
Gerald M. Myers, John V. Celms, Joseph E. McCann III
Gerald M. Myers, John V. Celms, Joseph E. McCann III
Rebecca J. Morris
Edward L. Felton, Robert W. Service, Mary Ann Hocutt
Norman F. Foy
Robert Millen, Andrew Moulton
David B. Croll, Thomas L. Wheelen
Earl Simendinger, Mary Anne Watson, Mike Jasperson, Bryan
Boliard
Martine Duchatelet, Patricia B. Lash, Steve Gehret
Patricia A. Ryan
Nany Mohan, Bill Sekely
Gina Vega
Steven J. Maranville
Mike Boorom, Fred Hebein
Stephen E. Barndt
Williams A. Andrews
Marilyn Helms, Judy Nixon
Fred Hebein
Deborah A. Howard, Larry R. Steenberg, Nancy H. Leonard, Terry
W. Mullins
Thomas R. Miller, James C. Hodgetts
Robert Millen, Frederick Van Bennekom
Daniel J. McCarthy
John Lawrence, Wendy Lawrence
Rebecca Roseberry, Michael Jay Garrison, Jo Ann Duffy
Peter M. Bergevin, W. Kent Moore
Tom Cook, Hugh D. Grove, Steve Coburn
Tammy Bunn Hiller, Paul J. Muir, Neal Harrison, Eric Hidy, Sandra
Cook
Chetan S. Sankar, P.K. Raju, Michael F. Kler
Thomas H. Stevenson
J. David Hunger
Mark Kroll, Leslie Toombs, Jennifer Videtto
Title Pages
American Apparel and the Xlent Contest pp. 6-18
The Fried Pickle Fight pp. 19-30
J D & Sons: After 123 Years Its Succession Plan Fails! pp. 31-35
Man vs. Machine pp. 36-52
Nagre Metal Products: Does 1+1=3? pp. 53-67
Advantage Food & Beverage: The Avanti Opportunity pp. 6-17
Calibre Systems, Inc.: An Employee-Owned Company pp. 18-35
Reinventing University City: Applying Branding Principles to Places pp. 36-44
Sold from Big Pharma: A New Entrant in the Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing
Industry Seeks a Capital Fix pp. 45-61
Under Armour pp. 62-83
Critical Incidents: Demand for Short Cases Creates a New Genre pp. 6-20
Campbell Soup Company: From Farm to Family pp. 21-49
Copper Ridge, Inc.: In Search of a New Culture pp. 50-63
(Not So) Close, But no Cigar: The SEC v. Mark Cuban pp. 64-73
Gates Inc. - Fixed Asset Decision pp. 74-97
Career Crossroads pp. 16-27
Controversial Burton Snowboards Spark Debate pp.28-38
Superior Timing LLC: The Birth of a New Business pp. 39-50
A Tale of Two Markets: NYC Subway Line pp. 51-69
U. S. National Whitewater Center pp. 70-94
Accessible Computing pp. 7-15
Due to a Personality Disagreement: Workplace Bullying at Roam Inc. Canada pp. 16-30
Flying Out of the Perfect Storm: The LeanJ journey of Lycoming Engines pp. 31-48
Muddling Through: The Aerial Chair pp. 49-64
The Chinese-Made Toy Recalls at Mattel, Inc. pp. 64-80
Askinoisie Chocolate: Single-origing or Fair-Trade Sourcing pp. 16-30
Coping with Katrina: Fairmont's Response to Hurricane Katrina pp. 31-51
High-Speed Success in Indy Leaves Canadian Club Wondering, "Should We Stay or
Should We Go?" pp. 52-65
Ingeous Skis: Custom Ski Making in a Scale-Driven Industry pp. 66-83
Who's Afraid of the Dark? Transpower New Zealand LTD 84-97
Dane and Company: In Search of Corporate Social Responsibility in Indonesia pp. 7-15
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (A): The CalPERS Focus List pp. 16-32
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (B) Dj Vu All Over Again pp. 33-41
Jay and Als Music Show pp.42-49
Kapai New Zealand: Eat Your Greens! pp. 50-69
Tackling Discrimination: A Social Marketing Case Study pp. 70-77
Ace Insurance Services at a Crossroads: Big Challenges for a Small Company pp 6-20
Kodak's Challenge: Surviving the Disruptive "Winds of Change" pp 21-45
Medallion Consulting: The Case of the Problem Employee pp 46-63
Nucor: Values and Transition pp 64-72
West Michigan Whitecaps pp 73-82
Lean Initiatives and Growth at Orlando Metering Company pp 5-17
The Many Call Centers at Teen Mania pp 18-26
Wall-Mart's New Challenge: Reaching Out To Socially Responsible Investors pp 27-54
Reinvigorating Innovation at 3M in 2005 pp 55-83
Singleton Home Health Care Medical Supply, Inc. pp 5-30
Hunger Mountain Cooperative: Buliding Consensus in a Member-Owned Cooperative pp 31-59
Nordstrom in 2003: Embarking on its Second Century of Business pp 60-77
Dilip's Gemstone Business pp 78-89
The Good Life pp 8-16
Process flow and scheduling in the Fairbanks County State Court pp 17-25
Creating a High Performance Team Through Transformational Leadership pp. 26-53
Wall-Mart and Vlasic Pickles p. 54-60
Beyond a Resonable Doubt pp.61-72
EADS Airbus Idustries Incorporated pp. 63-122
The National D-Day Memorial: The Right Vision Becomes a Question of Ethics pp. 49-62
Marketstar: A Channel Services Pioneer pp. 32-48
OWL Securities pp. 44-57
Fusing Culture and Strategy: Presciption for Success at Doctor's Community Hospital pp. 58-83
HENKEL-LOCTITE1: Hot-Melt Pur pp. 84-100
General Cable Corporation Oil-Gas-Petroleum Business pp. 101-119
A New Season Begins: The Royal New Zealand Ballet
Savage's Bakery: Knowing When to Invest and When to Sell pp. 1-7
Evaluating CEHN, S.A. pp. 8-23
WestJ et pp. 24-40
Axxon (Venture) Capital, Inc. pp. 41-56
F5 Networks pp. 57-83
Boardwalk Acquisition pp. 84-96
Sharpco, Inc. pp. 97-107
The Southwest Arkansas University Athletic Department pp. 1-12
A Perishable Coup D'Etat: Webvan and the Online Grocery Industry pp. 13-42
The Wiremold Company: The Field Sales Organization pp. 43-64
Scheduling at a Hospital Call Center pp. 65-71
A Challenge for the Medical Sciences Center on Aging pp. 72-80
Leadership Styles at PDS: The Effect on the Future of a Pharmaceutical Firm pp. 81-93
The Wiremold Company: Listening to the Voice of the Customer pp. 1-22
Unionizing the Des Moines Water Works pp. 21-31
Cressoft: J ourney from ISO 9001 to CMM pp. 32-45
Zelte USA pp. 46-51
EM2: The Phone Rang at the Game pp. 52-59
The Wiremold Company: WiremoldDistributor Incentive Program pp. 60-77
BMX Cycles pp. 78-96
Oncologic Biopharmaceuticals: The Acquisition of a Technology Start-Up pp. 1-12
Roberts Pharmaceuticals pp. 13-31
GlaxoSmithKline's Retaliation Against Cross-Border Sales of Prescription Drugs pp. 32-55
Philip's Photography: How to Compete with Superstores and the Internet pp. 56-81
Chipco International: "We Didn't Create the Problem, But We Have To Survive It." pp. 82-97
The Indicted CFO pp. 1-3
Deere & Company: Plowing the New Millennium pp. 4-45
Pivot International - Pursuing Growth pp. 46-69
Vietnam International Hospital: What Now? pp. 70-95
The Rise and Fall of Pets.com: "Because Pets Can't Buy." pp. 1-15
Rainy Day Books pp. 16-30
The Albany County Sheriff's Department: The War on Crime Statistics pp. 31-37
Note on the Security Management and Manufacturers Industry pp. 38-69
Ashanti Goldfields Company pp. 70-83
The Association of Arizona Food Banks pp. 84-94
The International Bank of Asia: Confronting a Crisis pp. 95-108
Custom Acquisition Case pp. 1-20
Our Grandfather's Legacy pp. 21-39
SIA Katalogs pp. 40-55
Natural Harvest pp. 56-72
Mann Lumber: A Question of Financial Statement Analysis pp. 73-83
Highland Place pp. 84-98
R. C. Willey Home Furnishings pp. 99-116
Alternative Charge-Back Systems for Shared Services at the Boeing Company: The Case
of Voice Telecommunication Services pp. 1-8
TeleReach: Staffing for Team Effectiveness pp. 9-23
The Noor Arfa Batik Company: An International Case Study of Small Business
Development in the Textile and Apparel Industry pp. 24-39
TeleReach: Dissatisfaction and Declining Morale in Self-Directed Work Teams pp. 40-50
Funco, Inc. pp. 51-57
Marty's Meats Lays an Egg pp. 58-63
Take the Oreck Challenge pp. 64-74
Hewlett Packard in 1999: The Beginning of the Fiorina Era pp. 75-97
Marketing Research in the Political Arena: Use or Abuse? pp. 1-17
Gold'n Pump: Sometimes Bad Things Happen to Good Companies pp. 18-25
The Spotswood Company Benefits Plan pp. 26-29
ProjectDove-Tail: A Study in Intercultural Relationships and Communication pp. 30-44
The Early Learning Center: Financial Analysis of a Nonprofit Day-Care Expansion pp. 45-57
First Protestant Church: At the Crossroads pp. 58-71
The Loewen Group pp. 72-91
Agilent Technologies' Initial Public Offering pp. 92-106
Biotecnol LDA Pharmaceutica: A Case Study pp. 107-119
Cironi's Sewing Center: Adding New Merchandise Lines pp. 252-268
The Channel Tunnel pp. 269-280
Polytech: A British Chemical Company in China pp. 281-287
WTVQ: The Rosie O'Donnell Show pp. 288-296
Where Has All the Money Gone? Funding for the Supplemental Regional Healthcare
Program pp. 184-191
Princess House: Acquisition and Turnaround pp. 192-219
The Bismuth Cartridge Company: Strategic Positioning and Transitions Among Powerful
Competitors pp. 220-236
The HeaterMeals Company: A Hot in the Dark pp. 237-251
Product Costing for Blackhawk Engineering pp. 59-74
Seattle Silicon (A) pp. 75-89
Seatlle Silicon (B) pp. 90-106
The Supersizing of the U.S. Bookselling Industry pp. 107-130
Eskom, South Africa: Branding a Commodity pp. 131-145
Decision Time at Quinby College pp. 146-151
Berube & Read Printing Company pp. 152-160
Apple Computer: The Second Time Around pp. 161-183
The ER That Became the Emergency: Managing the Double Bind pp. 1-7
The Institute for the Liberal Arts pp. 8-26
Sunbeam and Albert J . Dunlap: Maximizing Shareholder Wealth, But at What Cost? pp. 27-46
Kinetics.com: Marketing and Financing a Technology Product Through Its Infant Stages pp. 47-58
Syratech's South Bronx Acquisition pp. 1-11
YWCA of Salt Lake City: The Diversification of Diversity pp. 12-39
South Coast Rehabilitation Services pp. 40-52
Redhook Ale Brewery pp. 53-69
Non-Invasive Monitoring Systems pp. 70-85
Case Method Teaching in a Multi-Site Interactive Distance Learning Format pp. 86-92
Barrick Gold pp. 1-10
To Disclosure or Not to Disclose: The Public Secret Episode pp. 11-18
The Increased Workload and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The Case of
Harvey Livingston pp. 19-24
Metropolitan Property & Casualty Insurance Company pp. 25-37
Ben & J erry's Homemade, Inc.: Passing the Torch pp. 38-60
The Wolf Education and Research Center pp. 61-72
American Family Housing, Inc. pp. 73-85
Varity Corporation: Health Benefits for Employees or Health of the Company? pp. 86-92
Customer Service Technologies pp. 93-111
The Indispensable Prima Donna pp. 112-121
Crist Power Plant: Planning for a Maintenance Outage pp. 122-145
Autonet, Inc. pp. 146-157
Maytag Corporation: Reluctant Retrenchment pp. 158-193
The Mejia Family Tire Company pp. 194-208
Abstracts Key Words
In 2011, American Apparel conducted an online contest titled "The Next Big Thing." An open call was made for women who needed a "little extra wiggle room" to become the companys next "XLent" model. Nancy Upton, a college student from Texas, posted a satirical entry into the content. Upton counter-framed the typical American Apparel advertisement to include images of her eating a rotisserie chicken in a swimming pool and dousing herself with chocolate syrup while wearing only her underwear. She won the contest by popular vote, but American Apparel rejected her entry in an open letter to Upton and the media. The company charged that Upton did not truly exemplify the idea of beauty inside and out. Upton posted the open letter on her blog, which chronicled her experience with the XL modeling contest. Within 24 hours, 30 news organizations and online magazines reported the open letter, which was re-tweeted more than 1,600 times. The story reached national news status with reports broadcasted by ABC, CBS public relations social media contest and sweepstakes
This descriptive case presents the events surrounding the ownership struggles over the Penguin Drive-in in Charlotte, North Carolina. It examines several strategic decisions in a restaurant start-up, including intellectual property and the power of brand and social media. The Penguin started as an ice cream shop in 1954. In 2000, after owner Jim Ballentine retired and the Penguin was closed, two locals, Jimmy King and Brian Rowe, approached the family about reopening it as a local neighborhood bar. After the Penguin and its legendary fried pickles appeared on the television show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, the owners were approached with a franchise offer. Then the showdown between the old and new owners began, arguing over who owned what part of the business. Neither side would be prepared for the social media firestorm. entrepreneurship intellectual property social media
Jack Smith, President and fourth generation owner of JD & Sons is confronting a terrible dilemma in this 123-year-old company. His two sons, aged 42 and 43, have refused to take the leadership roles in the company after Jacks retirement. His choices were to find another general manager to run the company while the sons grow up, to sell the company to a responsible buyer who will take care of his employees as he did, or to close down the company by selling the companys assets and distributing the proceeds. family business succession plan small business leadership
The case deals with a complex matterthe computerization of the Indian branches of the Taiwan International Bank (TIB), a multinational bank headquartered in Taiwan. Globally, TIB had been at the forefront of computerization and should have had the expertise to go ahead with a project in India. However, a combination of inept leadership, not understanding the complexities involved, and poor communications between the IT vendors and bankers led to a disaster of major proportions. The result was that many experienced and talented bankers lost their jobs. banking technology change management
If you have purchased a cell phone or a HDTV, chances are your purchase was displayed on a fixture made by Nagre Metal Products (Nagre). This case features a metal-wire manufacturing company seeking growth and product line expansion through acquisition. It reveals the challenges of acquisitions and how one company navigated those challenges. Nagre acquired the assets (but not the liabilities) of a competitor, ATP. It combined the equipment and the majority of ATP employees into Nagres existing location 40 miles away. After the acquisition, Nagre discovered that ATP was in a more desperate financial situation than anticipated. Customer and vendor relationships were severely strained, and employees and creditors were unaware of the upcoming asset only acquisition. This descriptive case evaluates the history of an acquisition as Nagre contemplates future growth through acquisition. merger acquisition strategy
The Avanti Opportunity highlights a B2B market segmentation situation based on business customer demographics. A small business owner had operated a traditional vending supply business for several years. Traditional vending necessitated concerns regarding equipment security, pilferage, small transaction sizes, and low food-quality perceptions. The owner had entered into a franchise agreement with Avanti Markets, a new form of retailing that appeared to address these issues. The franchise rights granted the company an exclusive territory in southern and central Ohio, and included a point-of-sale terminal that had to be installed in a controlled access location. The new retail format presented different challenges. The owner believed this format presented an opportunity for his company to serve a new market segment; however, he remained unsure about how to proceed. His biggest decision was to determine which organizations would be most appropriate for the new format. market segmentation entrepreneurship perceptual mapping
In early 2009, the CALIBRE corporate management team met to consider their strategic recommendations to the Board of Directors at its fiscal year end meeting in February. Bill DePuy, President and CEO, and his team needed to face two financial challenges: 1) share repurchase obligations associated with its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) form of ownership, and 2) potential decreases in enterprise value associated with lower industry M&A valuation multiples. CALIBRE had experienced significant growth in its first twenty years. But the company was faced with new business competitive pressures coming from both government initiatives supporting small business programs and the market power of large systems integrators. In addition, the future business planning environment was uncertain, with the country at the height of a financial market collapse and new federal governmental priorities not necessarily aligned with historical CALIBRE service offerings. The Board of Directors, charged with governance and ESOP strategic environment organizational expansion/growth
This decision-oriented case examines the application of branding principles to places by presenting some of the challenges encountered by University City Partners while developing a branding campaign to promote economic development in the University City submarket of Charlotte, North Carolina. Over the course of the project, the Executive Director of University City Partners was asked to identify the essential elements of a successful place brand and hire a consulting firm to assist in the implementation. The process illustrated the importance of several marketing fundamentals and called for a number of decisions to be made regarding brand strategy, positioning, and differentiation. place branding positioning differentiation
The Winding Creek plant had five decades of experience supplying on-time, in-spec active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) to its Big Pharma owner. Due to excess manufacturing capacity, its owner sold the plant in 2007 to ALPHA, who planned for Winding Creek to compete as a contract manufacturer (CMO). To support the growth in sales required to sustain the business, Winding Creek decided to add dryer capacity in its main chemistry block, Factory 29. The dryers were the bottleneck in the processthe extra capacity could potentially double or triple output. Rex Quinn, Plant Manager, agreed with the decision to expand Factory 29, but was conflicted about its implementation. Was the spring of 2008 the correct time to start the expansion and sink over $10 million into it? What would making an error on Factory 29, the organizations major strategic project, mean to the young CMO? theory of constraints pharmaceutical contract manufacturing capacity
Under Armour (UA) pioneered the performance apparel category in the sporting goods industry. The company, founded in 1996 by Kevin A. Plank, owned 78 percent of the market share in its category and had revenues of $856.4 million in 2009. Around 94 percent of the companys revenues, however, came from the United States and Canada. In 2006, UA took industry giant, Nike, head on by entering the athletic footwear segment of the industry. Early results indicated that UA had not made much headway in athletic footwear. As Plank reviewed the results for the second quarter of 2010, he noticed that footwear revenues had decreased for the second quarter in a row. He now faced a decision with regard to the companys footwear foray and also in terms of allocating resources between various segments of the company and its international operations. Under Armour Blue ocean market value creation
Cases originated as a pedagogical tool in business education more than a century ago for use in graduate business courses. As education changed over the years, so did cases and case writing. Recently, cases have come to be incorporated at earlier points in business curriculums, before students have fully developed the tools needed to analyze comprehensive cases. This has led to the use of shorter, more narrowly focused cases describing business situations that are different in kind and in their instructional impact from the traditional comprehensive case. This article chronicles the emergence of this new type of pedagogical tool, the critical incident. critical incidents brief cases decision briefs
Campbell Soup Company, the worlds leading soup maker and a global manufacturer of high-quality branded foods, was recognized by the Points of Light Institute and presented with the Points of Light Corporate Engagement Award at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New York City. The award recognized Campbell for inspiring, equipping, and mobilizing people to change the world through volunteer service. Campbell Soup had been widely recognized for making a positive impact in the workplace, the marketplace, and the communities in which it operated. Campbell was at the forefront of a CSR program that continued to generate wealth, and provide a non-economic winning formula for its consumers, its neighbors, its employees, and the planet. corporate social responsibility social responsibility corporate responsibility
Copper Ridge, Inc., the worlds leading social expressions company, produced products in several languages for consumers around the globe. The products were distributed under a number of names. Over time, the economic and market environments had changed. Distribution choices multiplied, competition was intense, and large retailers continued to demand better wholesale terms. Total industry sales had declined by roughly 1/2% a year. Additionally, the company failed to meet several of its performance targets over a seven-year period; in fact, one year it had failed to meet all but one target. None of the previous work had positively affected the companys performance. Finally, the CEO said, We need to change the ways we do things around here. organizational Behavior organizational change corporate culture
This descriptive case concerns a decision the Securities and Exchange Commission made in 2008 to accuse Mark Cuban, celebrity sports team owner and billionaire, of insider trading because of a stock sale he made in 2004. In March 2004, Cuban bought 600,000 shares of an Internet search company, Mamma.com, and then sold his entire stake in the company between the afternoons of June 28 and 29, 2004. His sale was precipitated by a phone call he had with the Mamma.com CEO on the morning of June 28, where CEO Guy Faure asked Cuban to take part in a Private Investment in Public Equities (PIPE) offering, which was to be announced in a few days. insider trading misappropriation theory tipper-tippee
Doug Gates was contemplating the purchase of a state-of-the-art polystyrene Kurtz molding machine, which could easily double the capacity of Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) over the current machine. However, the machine was a significant expenditure. This case involves a capital budgeting decision dilemma. Complicating the decision is the current financial condition of Gates Inc. and competing needs for limited resources. There is also the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis related to making sales forecasts especially considering the risk associated with a new product and a near bankruptcy situation. Dougs practical entrepreneurial spirit and intuition is being weighed against theoretical conceptual decision models. fixed assets capital budgeting finance
After joining 3XTech as a junior programmer immediately after college in 1971, Mark Betters experienced several major career transitions during his tenure at the firm. His first major career crossroad occurred four years after joining the firm, when he transitioned from the technical path of the dual ladder system to a management path. As he climbed the steps in the companys management ladder, his motivation changed from extrinsic motivational factors such as salary, titles, and promotions to intrinsic factors such as ego, growth, and community involvement. In 1990, he interrupted his fast-track career growth to purse a masters degree in the management of technology. Following his 1991 graduation, he became a technical staff advisor in the 3XTech software headquarters, and in 1992, his mentor and former manager presented him with three new career choices. Faced with his second major career crossroad, Betters selected the riskier choice of a lateral move to chief operations officer (COO) of a new, semi- career development human resource development organizational behavior
Burtons Love snowboard line featured four different classic Playboy photos reproduced on the board. The bottom of the board contained the word Love in a variety of colors placed above each womans bare buttocks. The $349.95 Primo board featured five cartoon panels depicting someone cutting off his index finger with a pair of scissors and then sewing a new artificial finger on containing the text #1. Blood is seen in three of the five panels. Burtons new boards resulted in a negative community response. Advocates of both women and youth in Vermont took issue with the Love and Primo boards respectively claiming they objectified women and made light of self-mutilation. A protest was held at Burtons company headquarters and a number of ski resorts nationwide prohibited or discouraged employees from using the Primo and Love boards while working. The ethical issues involved in the images on the boards, the public relations problems that followed, snowboarding culture, and Burtons response to the cont marketing public relations introduction to business
John and Eric Matter were getting serious about the race-timing business they had just started (April, 2009) and were making a significant investment in new equipment. John took an interest in timing due to his childrens interest in skiing and bike racing. He had worked with a major timing firm in the area, Run Fast Sports Timing, and he had gained significant knowledge of the timing business. In June 2009, he and his son created Superior Timing LLC into a formal business. Eric was thinking of this as a step into full-time employment, and he brought significant skills in database management and web-based programming to the company. The Matters needed to make some major capital investment decisions that would cost about $55,000. The nature of these decisions and the associated revenue and cost estimates would be critical to the overall ventures success. Developing pro forma financial statements and cash flow statements was essential to supporting these decisions. strategic management entrepreneurship managerial accounting
Lynne Lambert was lost in thought as she made her way through the crowded New York City sidewalk. She had just left the offices of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (the MTA) where she had once again been awarded the license for use of New York City Subway Line graphics for her apparel business. Lynne had invested years of her life and her life savings in her small business, and she was at a crossroad. Her business, New York City Subway Line, had just passed a $1 million benchmark in annual sales, but she was concerned about the future of her small enterprise. On one hand, her business was well-established in the New York City gift market, which was somewhat profitable but limited and under constant threat of competition from unlicensed counterfeits which the MTA had allowed to proliferate. On the other hand, she believed there was a much larger and potentially more lucrative urban-chic lifestyle apparel market. She had worked hard to establish the NYC Subway Line (NYCSL) brand in this market, but principles of marketing marketing management entrepreneurship
In 2001, a group of whitewater paddling enthusiasts, including Jeff Wise (the current executive director of the U.S. National Whitewater Center), began gathering public and private support to construct the USNWC in Charlotte, North Carolina. The center would be the only multi-channel whitewater park in the U.S. and one of only four U.S. Olympic whitewater training facilities. With a creative combination of public and private financing and multi-agency support, the park began operating in November 2006. From the beginning, it faced challenges: Mixed marketing messages and a small promotional budget failed to draw enough visitors to the center. Visitors came to the park to see it but fewer than expected paid to raft. A battle with neighbors over road access and questions about the viability of its financing led to a series of negative media reports. The center currently can pay its operating expenses, but it is in default on $38 million in loans, guaranteed in a set of creative public/private partnerships strategy new business strategy new venture
Christian Abad was a young entrepreneur, who had built an innovative Web design company in Charlotte, North Carolina. Abad had a background in Web accessibility, which was a unique product offering in the Charlotte area. Abad made accessibility central to the mission of his firm, but he found that most of the companies he targeted had never heard of Web accessibility. Furthermore, companies that knew of Web accessibility did not view it as an important activity to pursue. Abad wanted to help companies improve their Web accessibility, but to do so he had to market his overall Web design skills. However, Abad was concerned with this strategy because there were lots of Web design firms in the marketplace. In addition, many firms had their own in-house Web designers and did not outsource much of their Web design. Abad wondered how he was going to effectively position his company in order to grow in the future. web accessibility strategic positioning sales pitch
This case deals with workplace bullying. An employee, Lynn, goes from the initial excitement of securing a job to the point where she can no longer tolerate being at work. The focus of this case is how an employee struggles with being harassed by the organizations president. Eventually the employee hires a lawyer and deals with the interpersonal difficulty by using legal means. The feelings and experience of the employee are described in her words. The only other voice in the case is the lawyer who outlines legal options to deal with workplace bullying. workplace bullying conflict management power
In 2004, Ian Walsh arrived at Lycoming Engines, the worlds leading manufacturer of piston aviation engines, to find a company on the brink of failure. Lengthy product development cycles, substantial quality issues, surging liability costs, poor safety records, long lead times, and the 2001 World Trade Center attacks contributed to multi-million dollar operating losses. Walsh found the relationship with Lycomings unionized workforce even more perplexing. Massive outsourcing and a protracted union strike in the 1990s resulted in unusually strong hostility between management and the workers. The case documents the radical transformation of Lycoming into a Shingo Silver Medallion winner in just five years by tracking both the rigorous Lean Six Sigma program initiated by Walsh and the efforts to rebuild the relationship with the workforce. lean manufacturing six sigma transformational leadership
Craig Hines sold his first Aerial Chair four years ago. The chair was a design that he personally developed and manufactured in a small shop in Montana. He originally developed the Aerial Chair out of curiosity, and for his own personal use. The concept became his passion, so he began trying to find customers for his product. Product interest was sporadic and material costs drove up the price to a premium level. After years of effort, the Aerial Chair was still not a commercial success, and many of Craigs marketing attempts had failed. He was now faced with declining capital and the perplexing decision of how to create a viable business around the Aerial Chair. Craig Hines never wanted to be influenced by external factors that might hinder his creativity in developing and promoting the Aerial Chair, consequently, he never developed a functioning business plan. The industry that he was attempting to enter was already established with several direct competitors, and many sub stitute products. Although Cr entrepreneurship product development new venture planning
Between March 2006 and October 2007, Mattel recalled over 20 million Chinese-made toys in the U.S., Canada, and other foreign markets, for the same two serious problems. The recalled toys had either been sprayed with high lead-content paint or had been constructed with small, powerful magnets which could become dislodged and swallowed. By 2007, Mattel had come to rely very heavily on its Chinese toy suppliers and the inexpensive Chinese workers they employed at their company-owned facilities; as a result, Mattel was either buying or manufacturing about 500 million toys per year in China. The 2006/2007 recalls created legal, health, trust, reputation and financial problems for Mattel, its Chinese suppliers, the toy retailers, and the families around the world who bought the Mattel toys. After the recalls became public, Mattel executives apologized to everyone impacted by the recalls and spent millions of dollars along with thousands of labor hours investigating the causes of the two problems. As a result of th Mattel toy recall leadership
This case involves the sourcing dilemma faced by an entrepreneurial venture in the gourmet chocolate market. Shawn Askinosie founded Askinosie Chocolate in a mid-life career change from successful criminal defense attorney to novice chocolatier. The mission for his new company, Askinosie Chocolate, was to craft the finest authentic single-origin chocolate bars in the world, made in small batches from rare cacao beans. Cacao beans are the raw material for making chocolate, and single-origin sourcing required purchasing beans directly from cacao farmers. For a socially responsible entrepreneur such as Shawn Askinosie, the alternative to single-origin sourcing was to buy Fairtrade certified beans in bulk. This case describes the tradeoffs of these two approaches to sourcing cacao beans, and highlights the challenges faced by Shawn Askinosie as a newcomer to both the craft of making chocolate and the complexity of establishing sourcing relationships among indigenous cacao farmers in Latin America and South Entrepreneurship Single Origin Fairtrade
This case describes the successful evacuation of approximately 900 hotel guests, staff, and family members of staff who were stranded in The Fairmont New Orleans Hotel in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The rescue, spearheaded by managers at the sister Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas, was completed about 64 hours after planning began when the last bus with evacuees pulled into The Fairmont Dallas after making a round trip of more than 1000 miles. Several ethical issues are presented for discussion, including dilemmas confronting the hotels General Manager who faced hard decisions regarding employee behavior, whether or not to evacuate the hotel and consequent problems related to adequacy of food and water supplies, security, and sanitation. Ethics Business and Society Crisis Management
In early 2006, the brand management team of Canadian Club Whisky first considered an Indy Racing Car sponsorship as the primary focus for its integrated marketing communications (IMC) program. While the brands first season in 2006 was relatively short and uneventful, the second season brought Dario Franchitti, the driver, and the Canadian Club brand great success. Winning the 2007 INDY 500 race and the INDY Racing Driver Championship, the IMC program provided the Canadian Club brand with a tremendous ROI on its investment in terms of exposure. However Franchittis success landed him a treasured spot in a NASCAR Racing team for the 2008 racing season and he would not be returning to the IRL. The case places students in the brand managers role of making difficult decisions about how to successfully invest marketing dollars in IMC and sports sponsorship programs. IMC programs advertising sports sponsorship
Adam Sherman, taking a ski year after college, found that high-performance skis could not take the abuse of day-in-day-out extreme skiing. He wanted to build a ski that would combine durability with high performance. Adam was quite successful in creating a high-performance, durable ski and achieved success for freeskiing competitors and recognition in the ski media. He also found that skiers used skis so differently, that customizing the performance characteristics was a strategy that could build a niche in the otherwise mature ski industry. The Igneous team struggled to come to grips with initial setup, ongoing operations, and strategic choices, causing several years of low sales and financial losses. Igneous Skis faced the end of family funding with a strong product and a business model in need of revision. operations management entrepreneurship startups
Ongoing power problems faced by New Zealand were brought to a head in June 2006, as the electricity supply was disrupted in the countrys largest city and major commercial centre, Auckland. The unscheduled power cut was the latest in a series of electric power problems over the past decade, and attention once again turned to state-owned enterprise Transpower, which was in charge of maintaining and developing New Zealands national electricity grid. The problem of June 2006 was traced to two shackles in poor condition, small but essential parts of the electricity grid infrastructure. However, closer examination of New Zealands electricity sector indicated these shackles were merely the tip of a power supply iceberg. Transpowers Chief Executive, Ralph Craven, was now answerable to the Prime Minister for the issues creating the problem, and a workable solution to fix them. transpower state-owned enterprise strategy
Quentin Dane was three years into building his import furniture business and was considering how he could make a difference in the Indonesian community where his furniture was made. When he first went into business, Danes strategy was to pay above-market wages to his Indonesian workers to build advantageous supplier relationships, in addition to helping his workers. He settled on a daily wage of $3, generous compared to the going rate of $1. After about 18 months, Dane started to be more concerned about using his business to also help the people of Jepara and, perhaps, the broader community. He reconsidered his pay policy because he did not see it improving the life of the workers; in fact, in the long run he saw it led to bad choices that hurt the family business structure of the furniture-making culture in Jepara. After giving it some thought he considered the following options as alternatives to higher wages: giving to local charities, providing healthcare to employees, providing computer access to corporate social responsibility business ethics international business
In March of 2007, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) released its 2007 Corporate Governance Focus List. Among the firms listed as suffering from underperforming stock value and in need of corporate governance remedies was Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia. Dollar Trees market capitalization was $3.5 billion and CalPERS holdings of $26.5 million represented 0.8% of the outstanding shares. The case outlines the proposal by CalPERS to remove the supermajority vote required to make changes to Dollar Trees corporate governance and Dollar Trees opposition to the CalPERS proposal. The case described the relationship between an activist shareholder and a corporation. In doing so it exposes students to broader issues of corporate governance and shareholder rights in America. The case while not decision-oriented per se does ask students to assume the role of shareholders faced with a proxy vote decision. As shareholders of Dollar Tree, students must deci business policy strategic management corporate governance
Prior to the June 19, 2008 annual meeting of Dollar Tree, Inc., the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) announced its shareholder proposal to eliminate the classified (staggered) board structure of Dollar Tree in order to elect all board members on an annual basis. In 2007, CalPERS placed Dollar Tree on its Focus List of underperforming companies whose corporate governance practices were in need of improvement. At the 2007 shareholder meeting, CalPERS had proposed to eliminate the supermajority voting requirement used by Dollar Tree in its corporate governance. The 2007 proposal fell just short of the two-thirds needed to pass the proposal, but management had placed its own proposal to eliminate the supermajority voting requirement in its proxy statement for the 2008 meeting. CalPERS also showed some softening of its position by not including Dollar Tree on its 2008 Focus List. The case describes the continuation of a proxy battle between CalPERS and Dollar Tree. It uses the CalPERS business policy strategic management corporate governance
The case is based on a real-life problem and describes the problem of assigning DJs to shows (gigs) for a given week in a small company (JAAMS) employing five DJs. JAAMS evolved slowly from the individual efforts of its two owners until it had five DJs working for the company and as its gig schedule continued to grow, the assignments of DJs to gigs was getting more complex. Some DJs excelled at certain types of gigs, and there was a wide variety in the types of gigs and associated artistic expectations. The owners were, therefore, sensitive to making the assignments according to the DJs preferences so that they were stimulated and happy and therefore more creative. On the week in question there were twelve gigs that needed to be staffed. A preference ranking of the DJs for each type of gig (the higher the preference value, the better the fit) and cost data to calculate the net profit for each assignment are provided in the case. Some preprocessing is required to determine the costs, availabilities, and req management strategy spreadsheets
By August 2007, Kapai New Zealand Limited had grown from an idea to two salad stores with two more on the way, and ambitions for national and international expansion. James Irvine and Justin Lester had returned from their travels abroad, keen to start a successful business, and to promote both their country and healthy eating. Despite their big ambitions, they were resource-poor, both in time and money. James was doing daily management of the salad stores, and Justin, who had a day job elsewhere, was working after-hours on strategic and operational plans. Franchising struck them as a good way to quickly grow the salad store business ahead of competitors who were also planning expansion and to ultimately free up more time for soccer and personal relationships. The pair needed to update their business plan, to seriously consider the criteria for future store locations, and to decide on other revenue-enhancing activities to make Kapai a more attractive franchise proposition. James and Justin wondered how entrepreneurship small business management strategic management
Id like to be able to not be afraid of anything different, but were all like that, afraid of anything different, and having a mental illness can make people be very different (Phoenix Research, Oct 1999, p. 15). Janet Peters, National Co-coordinator for New Zealands Project to Counter Stigma & Discrimination Associated with Mental Illness sat down at her desk to prepare for the upcoming meeting. The meeting was an important session with her team to discuss ideas for a new social marketing campaign. She felt both nervous and excited about the project and the tasks ahead. The team was faced with a worthwhile and significant challenge - changing New Zealanders attitudes towards mental illness. This required a change in attitude toward a subject that the many of the people in New Zealand knew little about; in fact it was not something most people even thought about. Initial research had been conducted that confirmed the importance of the issue and the extent of the challenge ahead. The immediate task social marketing consumer behavior commercial marketing
Ace Insurance Services, an independent Northern Utah agency, sold mostly car insurance policies for several underwriters. Brevin Pryor, the owners son, suspected bold changes were needed to keep Ace afloat. The changes he recommended included targeting clients who made few demands on the Ace staff, firing other clients, and closing one or two of Aces three offices. Dustin Pryor, who owned Ace, feared his sons recommendations were too extreme. He asked Brevin to support his recommendations with compelling evidence, including a thorough, well-documented analysis showing the likely financial impact of closing offices. Insurance services Insurance agency insurance channels
The aftermath of Kodaks transformation from traditional photography to a digital company during the period of 2003-2008 is explored in this case. Students should be able to evaluate Kodaks digital strategy in light of the many changes occurring in the digital photography industry during this time period. These changes include rapidly improving technologies (along with competitive pressures on pricing), increases in the quality and use of camera-enabled mobile phones, maturing demand in the United States, rapid adoption of digital photography in foreign markets, and increasing competitive challenges. The case concludes with Kodaks announcement at the end of 2007 that the transformation has been completed and the company is well positioned for the future. Kodaks view of the firms progress is contrasted with the skepticism of investment analysis and rumors of possible mergers/takeovers or breakups of the firm. Students are asked to evaluate the transformation and to consider Kodaks next moves. Strategy competitive dynamics disruptive technologies
Medallion Consulting Inc. is a small, Rochester NY-based consulting firm founded by Peter and Jackie Smith. Initially functioning as a two-person team, Medallion Consulting expanded its workforce in the late-1990s to accommodate growing client demand for its services. But with employees came employee problems, and Peter and Jackie found that employee misconduct and discipline occupied ever-increasing amounts of time and energy. This was particularly true after engineer Thomas Curran joined the firm. Although Curran had seemed like an ideal employee during his six-month probationary period, his subsequent employment was marred by policy violations, questionable customer service, uncooperativeness, and insubordination, culminating in what Jackie and Peter viewed as a baseless claim for unemployment compensation. However, Jackie and Peter did little to discipline their wayward employee; when Curran eventually left the firm, he did so voluntarily. Many aspects of the situation still puzzled Medallions owne Conflict Resolution negotiation employee discipline
In a time when the steel industry in the U.S. was dying, Nucor Steel rose from the ashes under the leadership of Ken Iverson. Nucor attributed its success to a strong culture centered around four key principles: gainsharing, or employees ability to earn according to productivity; long-term employment; fair treatment; and the right to appeal. The company also emphasized decentralization, and the employees significant control over improving their work productivity and making team hiring decisions. Three short cases present potential conflicts among strongly held values. Two are employment cases which span the transition from the iconic CEO Iverson to new CEO; the third involves potential cost savings at the expense of a central corporate value. In a time when the steel industry in the U.S. was dying, Nucor Steel rose from the ashes under the leadership of Ken Iverson. Nucor attributed its success to a strong culture centered around four key principles: gainsharing, or employees ability to earn a Leadership corporate values organizational behavior
The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based West Michigan Whitecaps was the Single A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers major league Baseball club. Since its inception in 1994, the club had drawn well, setting attendance records at the minor league level. Ticket sales were one of several revenue sources for the team; likewise, the other sources (such as concession sales and parking revenues) were dependent on the number of people attending a game. The club hosted about forty percent of its home games in the months of April and May.Jim Jarecki, the clubs Vice President for Baseball Operations, had been charged by the teams owners to address the attendance problem which occurred in both April and May. While the club averaged around 5,700 spectators per game on a season-round basis, the average attendance in April and May was 40-45 percent lower; this resulted in substantial lost potential revenue.Jarecki faced added pressure to increase the attendance because the club had privately financed a major addition to the Product Positioning promotion options marketing plan
Ed Cucinelli had been working within the Orlando Metering Company (OMC), a mid-size water meter manufacturing facility in Orlando, Florida, since 1993. He began his career at OMC as an engineer and then moved on to eventually become the VP of Operations. During his time with the organization, Ed witnessed many changes. When he began with OMC, the organization was a small traditional manufacturing facility. Due to its success and to the commitment of the employees, the organization began to acquire more business and was selected by the corporate headquarters as the test facility to implement lean manufacturing and become a lean showcase. Through its success with lean, OMC increased its capacity and success. During the past two years, OMC had expanded its business and grown from the small 50-person organization to a 108-person organization and had more than quadrupled its sales. But the lack of sufficient support and appropriate training of employees during this rapid growth created some significant cha Lean Manufacturing leadership self-directed teams
Teen Mania was a non-profit, Christian-based organization focused on youth. Programs included Honor Academy (HA) in which young interns participated in intensive training in leadership and Christianity, Acquire the Fire (ATF) which organized two-day weekend events that ended with Christian concerts for youth, and Global Expeditions (GE) which took youth abroad in organized trips. Each of the programs had a separate call center. Combined, the call centers handled over 100,000 inbound calls and made tens of thousands of outbound calls each year. Jim Banner managed the ATF call center which was staffed by teenagers working in HA and he was very worried about the quality of service. He debated how he could better understand what was happening in his call center and how he could improve the quality of service in all three call centers. One option was to merge the three call centers into one. Another option was to purchase a new customer relationship management system that would give interns better informati Call center queue customer relationship management system
The case focuses on Wal-Marts current dilemmas in dealing with socially responsible and activist investors. The company has had to deal with years of criticism from various sources, and recently was taken by surprise when in 2006, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance decided to remove Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. from its investment portfolio because of the retailer's "serious and systematic" abuses of human and labor rights. The central theme of the case is whether Wal-Mart has done enough to address the concerns of the Norwegians and other activist groups, and how they can better deal with opposition to their practices going forward. Discussion of the impact that Wal-Mart has had on various realms social, economic, industry, and the supply chain, among others are included in the case. The case details many of the diverging opinions about Wal-Marts operations and impact. Wal-Mart social responsibility human/labor rights
In 2001, James McNerney, Jr., came from General Electric to take over the leadership of the 3M Company. He was the first outsider to take the top position in the company, as well as the first without a technical background. His appointment signaled a substantial change for a company that prided itself on internal organic growth and a history of technological accomplishments. During his tenure, financial performance at 3M improved, and McNerney set aggressive new targets for financial performance. However, questions remained about how the company could maintain the level of innovation it produced in the past and continue to expand given its collection of mature businesses. To increase the number of successful new products and more precisely target high growth potential markets, McNerney made several changes. One major change was the introduction of a more centralized approach to new product development. In addition, he brought in the Six Sigma techniques he learned at GE. Although McNerneys purpose was a 3M managing change
Henry Singleton spent many years building a successful durable medical equipment company, Singleton Home Medical Supply, which specialized in selling health care products purchased for use in customers homes. The home health care industry seemed ripe for growth as the U. S. population aged. However, the industry was rife with uncertainty. Increasing governmental regulation was stifling competition. Changes in the home health care industry favored large, national companies instead of entrepreneurial, service-oriented regional players like Singleton Home Medical Supply. Henry thought about reducing costs to compete with large companies, which potentially risked the service quality for which his company was known. Additionally, Henry considered expanding into products that were not as heavily regulated by third-party payers, such as government institutions and insurance companies. Henry knew he would have to revise Singleton Home Medical Supplys business model. However, he was unsure of the strategic di health care government regulation product line extensions
This case challenges students to apply principles of strategic management and leadership in a relatively unfamiliar organizational environment: a cooperatively-owned business. With 3800 members and $12 million in sales in 2005, Hunger Mountain Cooperative Market (HMC) is one of the busiest and most successful natural food cooperatives in the United States. Growth has placed excessive pressure on the Co-ops current store and the organization badly needs to expand. But Co-op members were sharply divided on the merits of expansion. Although the majority of members supported expansion of HMCs current store, a small but vocal minority was adamantly opposed, and a third was neutral or undecided. The Co-ops leadership had to weigh several options available to improve the financial and competitive success of the business and secure member support for expansion. member-owned cooperatives organizational growth leadership
Over its fist hundred years of business, Nordstrom department stores built it success on its reputation for superior customer service. As Nordstrom embarked on its second century of business, however, management faced many challenges. The U.S. was slowing and Nordstrom was competing fiercely to maintain its market share. Nordstroms main competitive strategy was growth, as evidenced by a near doubling in size in the five years leading up to the case. The advantage of this strategy was geographic expansion into new markets, but the disadvantage was that the existing stores were not performing well. Key indicators such as comparable store sales, sales per square footage, profitability (e.g., ROA), and Nordstroms stock price all showed downward trends. The key decision of the case is to recommend what Blake Nordstrom (Current Chairman of the Board and Former President of Nordstrom) and Blakes son, Bruce Nordstrom (Current President), should do to turn around the company. retail department stores family-run businesses
Dilip's Gemstone Business is a worldwide family business operation that produces precious and semi-precious stones such as amethysts, rubies, and emeralds. The company has been in the gemstone business for 40 years and in the gemstone processing business for 10 years. Its core competency is in acquiring 'roughs' and processing them into 'finished' stones. The company's strategy is to grow at a rate of 10-15 percent a year and maintain a dominant position in supplying high-volume, standardized color stones. Mr. Dilip Patel, the owner of Dilips Gemstone Business (DGB), has manufacturing facilities in India and Thailand; ruby mines in India, emerald mines in Africa, and marketing offices in India and abroad. The case is especially rich in detailing the manufacturing processes required of gemstone production. It also gives a brief background of the worldwide color gemstone industry along with circumstances surrounding the operations with specific reference to India. Dilip's Gemstone Business provides an op gemstone industry technology and manufacturing strategy growth strategy
Since Timothys Fine Tobaccos was established in 2003, Tim has faced numerous decisions regarding the growth of his business. Tim is proud of his accomplishments but wonders how long his good luck will hold out. The case discusses the facts of Timothys Fine Tobaccos and prepares an overview of the elements that need to be known in order for students to make an educated decision regarding what Tim Socier should decide for the future of his business. These elements include the history of the Timothys, the customers, the competition, the products, pricing and potential future of the store. Timothys Fine Tobaccos seems to still be in the growth stage of the business life cycle. This case presents opportunities to discuss the measuring of service quality, elasticity versus inelasticity of demand, barriers to entry, as well as other risks associated with growing a business. tobacco industry niche marketing entrepreneurship
The state court system is responsible for trying alleged violations of state law which occur within a particular county. Judge John Bernard and Solicitor Lee Palefsky run the Fairbanks County state court system on a part-time basis. The court process operates on a quarterly cycle. Similar types of offenses are scheduled together in half-day blocks, so that 40 or more cases may be scheduled for the same date and time. When court convenes, defendants, law enforcement officers, witnesses, and lawyers must all wait for their case to be heard. Multiple factors make the waiting time highly uncertain. The court would like to minimize both the frequency and duration of court appearances. However, actions which optimize one of these measures for one type of participant are likely to compound problems for others. court cases service operations scheduling
On March 2, 2003, Team Alinghi achieved a resounding 5:0 victory against the defending champion, Team New Zealand, in the Americas Cup, the most prestigious award in the sport of sailing and one of the oldest in sports per se. The formula for this success lay in establishing cooperation among all the professionals involved and was embodied in the philosophy The freedom to act. Employing this directive, the leaders were able to create from a team of starsa stellar team in which each member would automatically bring his individual expertise to bear in the achievement of their common goal. Unhindered by egotistical outbursts, vanity and internal power struggles, the team pursued its common dream in a completely focused manner, dealt with problems, adversity and adversarial attacks in a singularly confident way, and sailed most impressively straight to victory in the Americas Cup. In this way, the Swiss Team Alinghi made history in the sport of international sailing a sport in which, like no other, everyt transformational leadership teamwork sailing
Things had gone terribly wrong. Sales in supermarkets and other outlets were way below a year ago. Factories were operating above capacity breaking from the strain of keeping up with production. Patrick Hunn, Team Leader of Wal-Mart Sales, for Vlasic Foods International, had made a deal with Wal-Mart that resulted in selling more pickles than Vlasic had ever sold to any one account. In addition, Hunn had secured an agreement that Wal-Mart would buy record numbers of cases of grocery-size pickles, relishes and peppers with each order of the gallon jar. Very soon it became apparent that there were far-reaching effects in every part of Vlasics operations, from raw material sources, to manufacturing and distribution. The expected profit of a few cents per jar was not sustained. The ultimate effect was that the bottom line at Vlasic had plummeted. The company, already compromised by the debt acquired in the spin off, was on the brink of bankruptcy. Why did Marketing conclude that the deal had contributed to management supply chains loss leader
On July 31, the entire manufacturing network at Omega Engineering crashed and none of the critical backup tapes could be found. U.S. Secret Service agents found that this was no accident. Computer forensics revealed a time bomb had destroyed the companys production programs, and detective work indicated that an employee had removed the only backups from the companys premises. Without the programs needed to run the sophisticated, computer-controlled machinery, manufacturing eventually came to a halt and customers had no choice but to buy products from Omegas competition. The result was $10 million in lost sales and $2 million in re-programming costs. At the trialone of the first federal prosecutions of computer sabotagea number of significant management problems came to light, thus illustrating what can go wrong when a company is successful and grows rapidly, but does not adjust policies and procedures to fit its new conditions. court case sabotage organizational behavior and design
The case provides a description of the origin and creation of Airbus as a multi-nation consortium of European states and its evolutionary transformation to a leadership position in the commercial airliner manufacturing segment of the aerospace industry. This background is provided in the context of the present-day decision environment of Airbus executives who are being challenged not only by the fierce competitive actions of Boeing, its only significant competitor in a duopolistic economic structure, but also by its own operational and structural problems in bringing to market the worlds largest commercial airliner, the Airbus A380. Program and company assessment is undertaken as well as a competitive analysis of the contenders and their products as they react to and shape environmental forces. strategic management international business
This decision case explores legal and ethical issues involved in raising funds for a non-profit foundation. The $25 million National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia is a one-of-a-kind monument to honor World War II veterans who gave their lives and served in the invasion of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. Once the foundation was launched, in 1996, a president was hired to manage the project and to raise the money necessary to turn a dream into reality. Millions of dollars came in from veterans organizations and the public. Toward the end of construction, however, the foundation fell into debt and was forced to rely on state grants and bank bridging loans. By 2001, the project contractor and the architect pushed the foundation for payment and threatened to stop work on the memorial. Finally, a few members of the board executive committee, who had been kept in the dark about memorial finances, demanded an explanation. The president and the chairman of the board faced the important decision of whether to marketing management leadership non-profit management/marketing
In 1987, Alan E. Hall was president of Netline, the second company to fail while he was at the helm. Ten years later, he was named Utah Entrepreneur of the Year for having transformed TempReps, a precarious home-based startup that demonstrated PC products, into MarketStar, a prosperous international marketing firm. By 2006, MarketStar served a host of Fortune 500 companies in more than 100 countries and, under Hall's guidance, had pioneered manifold services that powered clients' go-to-market strategies. When Hall stepped down as CEO in 2006, some long-time admirers pondered how risky launching MarketStar had been, what two earlier failures had taught Mr. Hall, what insights had compelled and enabled him to successfully reinvent his company when necessary, how MarketStar created value for clients, and why so many prominent global firms had made MarketStar a vital partner in shaping and implementing their go-to-market strategies. marketing strategic management entrepreneurship
It was August, 1999, and the only way that an ambitious port and land bridge project would get the needed funding from potential investors was if Owl Securities acquired a land concession from the Costa Rican government. Richard Halford, CFO of Owl Securities, faced a dilemma. His great desire was to move forward with a project that, if successful, would likely have many economic benefits for the citizens of Costa Rica and the investors of Owl Securities. Moving the project forward required approval of the Costa Rican government, including the essential land concession to Owl Securities. Actions necessary to gain these concessions by Owl officers, however, raised ethical and legal concerns for Halford. international business business ethics business law
Doctors Community Hospital (DCH) is located in Lanham, Maryland. At inception and through two successive ownership regimes, DCH was organized as a for-profit organization. However, by 1990, the organization was on the brink of bankruptcy. At that point, Mr. Phil Down and his management team acquired DCH and converted it to a not-forprofit community-based hospital. Despite operating in a highly regulated environment, during the 1990s and the early years of the current decade DCH completed a startling turnaround: they achieved positive margins and earned a national reputation as one of the top hospitals in the United States. The success of the organization was attributable to a distinctive culture that helped the organization satisfy the interests of important stakeholder groups and achieve its strategic objectives. In turn, those objectives were well aligned with the external environment confronting the organization. Nonetheless, by 2003 DCH was again experiencing financial stress. Thus, the management team leadership strategic management health care administration
Hot-Melt PUR was a new-technology adhesive that offered high relative advantage compared to many existing adhesives on the market, but there were significant limitations on its use. Henkel-Loctite used a technology displacement selling strategy. The case describes a sale to Lakewell Manufacturing, and provides detailed information on Lakewells adoption decision process. The case closes with the Henkel-Loctites vice president of marketing asking: Is this a situation where we need to sell into specific applications and build dominance in each? Or is this a situation where there will be a general mass-move to PUR technology and we need to move fast: in all markets simultaneously? Will we influence what happens by what we do next? Students are asked to analyze the costs of using Geoffrey Moores bowling alley strategy (dominance in specific applications) or his tornado strategy (rapid diffusion of the new product across all industries and applications) and to recommend one or the other in the situation describe marketing innovation management
Roddy Macdonald, Senior Vice President, Sales and Business Development of General Cable Corporation (GCC), Highland Heights, KY, needed to draw up recommendations on the future of his cable business in the oil-gas-petroleum (OGP) market. His team had scored a measured success in one of three segments of the OGP target market, namely, the drilling platform segment. The team had, however, encountered difficulty in penetrating the remaining two segments (i.e., operational platforms and onshore facilities) due in part to the leading competitors dominant presence. The team talked to a few engineering companies and contractors who influenced procurement decisions along with a few end-user customers about what they looked for in ideal cable products for these two segments. Their feedback made the team realize that the companys products were at par with, but not superior to the leading companys products. marketing new product development business strategy
Kirsten Dennis, Marketing and Development Manager of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, has been given the list of repertoire to be performed for the upcoming year. The company has a standard procedure for planning the seasons, and has well-researched and proven marketing strategies. The company has also built a reputation and strong following over time through many classical, full-length works. The repertoire for the upcoming year includes two classical, full-length works that Kirsten anticipates will be relatively easy to market, Madame Butterfly and Coppelia. The repertoire also includes a triple bill program (three shorter, more contemporary ballets in one evenings performance). Historically, triple bill programs are more difficult to sell and, as Kirsten notes, it is almost a test for the company to see if the audiences will put their trust in the company. marketing performance arts
In the fall of 2004, owner Van Scott faced a major dilemma as Savage Bakery experienced negative growth in net income for the first time since its founding. While confident that this financial downturn could be reversed, Scott faced a personal dilemma: after twenty-six years, he did not know if he could continue with a lifestyle that put tremendous physical and mental demands upon himself and his family. The prospect of watching his lifes work slowly vaporize through continued financial losses was certainly not an option. Not unlike many small business owners, Scott needed to plot a course for the future. entrepreneurship strategic management small business
At the beginning of 2003, Esteban Morrs, CEO of Energa Hidroelctrica de Navarra, (EHN), was pondering the future of the new company Corporacin Energa Hidroelctrica de Navarra, (CEHN).Mr. Morrs was to be appointed CEO of CEHN, and he believed that the main issues affecting the new company were as follows: a. CEHN needed a partner capable of and willing to invest several hundred million euros in order for CEHN to cancel its debtor positions against Iberdrola and funds its ambitious business plan.b. CEHN needed a partner willing to enter into some sort of shared-control agreement with its existing shareholders.c. CEHN needed a partner that would add credibility to the business and help in the development of the companys emerging international business.The case provides information to analyze the strategy developed by CEHN and identify value drivers, including future capital structure. business valuation corporate finance value-based management
WestJet Airlines (WJA) is a new, successful airline that began its life in Western Canada in 1996, based in Calgary. Its management team had been successful in establishing the airline and expanding its service to various parts of Canada and soon (late 2004 and early 2005) to the United States. Now, WJA has embarked on the most significant expansion in its history with the acquisition of a large number of Boeing 737-700 series aircraft over the period from 2001 to 2006 and even more by 2008. The first of these planes (2001-2002) had been acquired through leases provided by GE Capital Corporation. The cost of 15 acquired in 2002 and 2003 was about $750 million Canadian, with financing (debt) from ING and with a loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank in the United States. Now the questions were where to expand and when to make full use of the new aircraft so that the debt could be repaid and where to find the financing for more aircraft over the coming years as expansion continues. airline industry financial strategy and planning lease financing
Sheryl Marshal, managing partner of Axxon Capital, Inc., founded her venture capital firm to invest in minority and women-owned start-up companies. Several of her former clients provided initial funding of $18 million. The SBA provided another $34 million. Sheryl was intrigued by an opportunity to investment in RetailUP. The company had a highly talented management team with significant experience. The retail applications software market was forecast to grow fivefold in five years. RetailUP was ahead of its competitors and it had proven its strategy in the marketplace by landing blue-chip clients. The pre-money valuation of the deal of $48.719 million provided by the lead venture capitalist was below Sheryls own analysis. She was hot to invest even in light of Alan Greenspans warning of irrational exuberance. She was undeterred by a close friend who felt there was just too much capital chasing too few good ideas. She didnt believe the few economists who were cautioning about a slowing down of the econo financial strategy venture capital entrepreneurial finance
The major business challenge currently facing F5 Networks CFO focused on what types and amounts of information he should present to potential investors. From his prior experience with initial and secondary public offerings, he knew that potential investors typically had benchmarking, budgeting, and business valuation questions for him and would ask about future trends for F5s revenues, earnings, cash flows, and stock price. The CFO needed to make decisions concerning these information issues quickly since F5s road shows were scheduled to start next month for a secondary public offering in light of the stock markets recent strong performance, especially for technology stocks. managerial accounting financial accounting internet traffic management industry
Students are challenged to make a recommendation concerning the acquisition of a company that helps the acquiring company, a NASDAQ-listed public company, expand into the emerging industry of nanotechnology. This acquisition recommendation must include a financial valuation of the company. The students take the role of Steve Sanders, the CFO, who is in charge of making this acquisition recommendation to Phil Krause, the chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of the board. Steve has the tasks of financial forecasts, performance benchmarking, and a business valuation of the target company. Since the target company is privately held, estimating appropriate valuation multiples and the weighted average cost of capital will be challenging. The major decision problem is to make a recommendation concerning the potential acquisition and, if positive, to support it with an acquisition price to help close the deal. All the company names and data have been disguised at the parent companys request. financial forecasting performance benchmarking business valuation techniques
Sharpco, Inc. was a family Subchapter-S corporation that owned a Monroe, Louisiana heavy equipment parts and repair operation. The firm also did machine and welding work and made land-clearing blades, excavator buckets, and similar items. Except for a $63,000 loss in 2003, Sharpco had been continuously profitable for three decades. But in September 2004, the company was delinquent on current obligations and under pressure from its bank, which had placed it on credit watch. As Sharpcos financial situation deteriorated, sole shareholder James Sharplin has made various adjustments, including a shift in focus away from crawler tractor parts and service, where it was a recognized leader. The bookkeeper and her daughter, both longtime Sharpco employees, had developed a chaotic system of accounting and administration which encumbered operations and sales. James daughter Erin had supposedly been in training to run the front office but had been frustrated by apparent self-serving tactics of the mother and daughter small business management entrepreneurship strategic management
The Southeast Arkansas University administration was in a quandary. Arkansas law required the athletic department to finish the year without a deficit. With the end of the fiscal year less than a month away, the athletic department was roughly $1.8 million short of paying its expenses. Complicating matters, Arkansas law strictly limits the universitys ability to use tuition and fees to pay athletic expenses. The university had already made two attempts to bring the athletic department into balance that were pronounced illegal. These efforts resulted in significant negative press for the university. As the end of the fiscal year approached, the administration prepared a new proposal to keep the athletic department from a year-end deficit. Although university officials contended the transfers were legal, they had to contend with the possibility of more negative press. business ethics business law higher education
In 1996 Louis Borders, a former bookstore owner, conceived of revolutionizing the grocery industry. Because grocery shopping was time consuming and inconvenient for many people, Borders envisioned an Internet business, Webvan.com, capable of delivering groceries to consumers front doors within thirty minutes of placing an order. Webvan raised substantial venture capital and issued an IPO in November 1999. The firm equipped an automated distribution center in Oakland, California, and began selling grocery products online in April 1999. Borders hired a big name management team to lead the company. This case study addresses the online grocery industry, its primary competitors, and Webvans strategies for distribution, marketing communication, and a subsequent merger. The companys financial statements, ensuing legal entanglements, and bankruptcy are also presented. e-commerce online grocery industry marketing
Ed Miller, vice president of marketing, and Scott Bartosch, vice president of sales, The Wiremold Company were considering how to adapt their sales force to work more effectively with the global companies who might specify the companys system solutions for the management of cables carrying electrical power and voice and data communications in their buildings. In these situations, Miller and Bartosch knew that it was necessary to be in contact with both the customer companys primary architect as well as with the architect for a particular project location. This appeared to require a field sales force free to work outside their traditional territorial restrictions. At the end of the case, students are asked to consider the issues involved in releasing some sales associates from their territorial restrictions. The company received the Shingo Prize in 1999. marketing strategy lean principles kaizen
Dee Dorsey managed the call center of a large regional hospital in Texas. The call center took calls from area physicians and their staff, scheduled the physicians patients with appointments for the various tests at the different units within the hospital, and then returned the call to the physicians office with details related to the test(s). An internal review of call center operations showed both a surprisingly low utilization of call center staff and a surprisingly high number of inbound callers who hung up before being served. In a very competitive environment, hospital administration viewed a caller that hung up as a possible lost sale, but administration was also very concerned about costs. Dorsey needed to look at the pattern of demand and find a better way to schedule staff to satisfy the impatient callers from physician offices that would often wait no more than 40 to 60 seconds before hanging up. health care operations management management science
The Center on Aging and its affiliated Department of Geriatrics were created to focus part of a university medical schools resources on improving the health of senior citizens. The case describes the establishment and evolution of the Center under the leadership of a charismatic and dynamic Director. The Center experienced rapid growth, measured by the size of the staff, budget, and activities. A new building was constructed and equipped to support the delivery of medical care for older adults, research, and education of medical students. Even though the organization had been very successful, the new chancellor of the medical school was considering significant changes. He believed the organization had much more potential for growth and success but was concerned that its leadership, culture, and infrastructure might not be adequate for stepping up to that level. He also realized that making changes in order to better prepare the Center for further growth might jeopardize its current success. organizational behavior public administration leadership style
This case discusses the effects of different leadership styles on a small, client service-oriented company. Te case outlines and evaluates the diffeent styles of the two leaders and the effect these different styles have had on the company and the employees, as well as the impact on the future of the comapny. Should the Board extend Martin's contract? If so, are there conditions and what are the implications? If not, how does the company deal with bringing in yet another person who will undoubltedly have a differennt leadership style than James or Martin? leadership style organizational behavior strategic evolution
Steve Maynard, Vice President for Engineering at The Wiremold Company, a leading manufacturer of wire management solutions for new construction and retrofit of existing buildings, was reviewing two recent product development projects, Raceway 4000 and Raceway 5500. Using Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Voice of the Customer (VOC) methods for product development, these two products had been successfully launched in an extremely competitive marketplace and had fared well. Art Byrne, CEO of the company had asked Maynard to prepare a high level presentation to the CEO and senior executives of a Fortune 500 company about the effectiveness of doing the VOC market research in house. The Wiremold Company was a large and privately owned company. The company was the recipient of the Shingo Prize in 1999. high-tech marketing new product development Quality Function Deployment
Although other unions have failed in seven attempts over 22 years to organize the employees of the Des Moines Water Works (DMWW), the American Federation of State, County, and Muncipal Employees (AFSCME) is trying once again to unionize the water utility. As the DMWW is one of the few public utilities in the United States that is not unionized, the AFSCME is highly motivated to organize the Utilitys employees. The Director of Human Resources, Dorenda Walters, is somewhat complacent of this latest unionization attempt because of the family-like atmosphere at the Utility and the previous failures to organize the Utilitys workers. However, she realizes that a number of employee concerns brought out in a recent attitude survey have not been fully addressed. She now has only two months to train the Utilitys managers on what they can and cant do during the unionizing process and to try and address the issues the employees have that led to the signing of authorization cards. labor/industrial relations human resource management water utility industry
In April 2001, Hamayun Mazhar, the CEO of CresSoft was faced with the dilemma to either pursue his original strategy to counter Indian competition at the high-end software development business by obtaining Capability Maturity Model (CMM) certification or to abandon the idea to focus on a new, cost and time conscious Dot-com segment. CresSoft Plc. based in Lahore, Pakistan, served the high end US market, which was very quality conscious. Indian companies like Wipro and HCL had started to bid for CresSofts customers. These Indian competitors had obtained CMM certification, giving them an edge over CresSoft in the US market. In an effort to keep the competition at bay Quality Excellence Program was initiated by late 1990s to pursue CMM certification. CresSoft found that most of the Indian software firms had first obtained ISO 9001/TickIT certification before pursuing CMM certification. CresSoft followed the same path and its Lahore center was certified for ISO 9000/TickIT in 1999 and the Karachi center was production/operations management quality certification customer focus
This case presents the background, actions, and a decision point faced by an actual group of four departmental managers of a small manufacturing company in response to their concerns with the behavior and management decisions of the companys general manager. The company, Zelte USA, is the North American subsidiary of a privately owned German company. Several situational factors complicate the case, including the divorce of the General Manager; complaints from the companys largest customers, which represented approximately 60% of North American business; morale issues; and cross cultural issues. After confronting the general manager with their concerns and seeing no change, the case ends with the four managers contemplating their next move. leadership style organizational behavior human resources
Empower MediaMarketingSM (EM2) is a media management company that is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was founded in 1985 as Media That WorksSM by Mary Beth Price, a media manager formerly employed with Procter & Gamble. On February 13, 2001, the Prices were at a basketball game when Mary Beth's husband, Bill, chairman of the board of EM2, received a cell phone call from Brian McHale, president of EM2. Brian told Bill that they were losing a major client - the Wagners account. After a review of background information on the companys history, structure and plans, Mary Beth Price herself, and the advertising industry, the case ends with the Prices and McHale meeting an hour later on the issue, and then on February 15th with Wagners President. Students are thus presented with the task of determining what the company should do after an accumulation of a 25% loss in business, given major shifts in the economy and the advertising industry. marketing advertising industry customer retention strategy
Scott Bartosch, Vice President for Sales, and Ed Miller, Vice President for Marketing, of The Wiremold Company were considering possible responses to distributors requests for changes to the SynergySM Distributor Incentive Program. The emergence of new larger distributors as a result of consolidation, changes by competing manufacturers to their incentive systems, and the existence of excess distribution capacity in a number of markets were factors to be considered. The Wiremold Company was a large privately owned company known for its product leadership and its application of Lean business principles throughout the companys operations, including marketing and distribution. Key company policies were to become the marketing partner of the distributors, to create value for the distributors through Lean, and to change the competitive landscape. The company received the Shingo Prize in 1999. marketing strategy lean principles Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
Mansoor Warriach had recently been hired as a Senior Planning Engineer by Lahore Cycle Industries (LCI), a company that was in the process of being turned around by a new management. LCI had just introduced BMX Cycles, a popular product with an estimated demand of 4,000 bicycles per month, and no local competition. However, despite the heavy investment in buildings and machinery, LCI was only able to produce 1,200 bicycles a month. Mansoor had to analyze the process, and the pros and cons of the various alternatives, and find ways to increase production soon. production/operations management bicycle-manufacturing industry process analysis
OncoLogic is an 18 month old start-up biotechnology company whose founders believe they may have discovered the cure for cancer. The company has just received an offer to be acquired by another small biotechnology company. Steve Gold, MD the head of the company has been trying for 15 months to raise money in a very tight market with no luck. The offer is for much less than what he figured he needed to perform the next stage of R&D, but it is the first real offer he has received. Steve is a first time entrepreneur and this deal could potentially make him a millionaire before he turned 30. What makes the case interesting is the context of a biotech start-up, where companies need to spend money on R&D for 12 years or more before they can bring a product to market. The likelihood of success for any given R&D effort, moreover, is also very low. Steve must decide whether he is to accept the offer or keep on looking for funding. entrepreneurship biotechnology start-up company
In August of 1983, Dr. Robert Vukovich (Dr. V) took the entrepreneurial plunge. Dr. V started Roberts Pharmaceuticals in a one-room office in Coltneck, New Jersey. The case chronicles Dr. Vs journey from 1983 to 1996: building the Roberts Pharmaceuticals Corporation into a drug company with $113 million in sales, over $340 million in assets, and a drug pipeline of over 19 pharmaceutical products and numerous over-the-counter products. As entrepreneur and leader of Roberts, Dr. V balanced many conflicting tugs and pulls as he pursued opportunities, developed his team, acquired resources, and financed of Roberts Pharmaceuticals. Roberts had been successful in acquiring numerous patents through licensing agreements, but it still had not brought its first drug, ProAmatine, through the FDA process, and investors and stockholders were growing increasingly restless. Roberts' stock price had fallen from a high of $46 50 in 1995, to a low of $15.50 by early 1996. Dr. V was fighting for the life and control of his co pharmaceutical industry start-up company entrepreneurship
Late in 2002, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) faced a new challenge as Americans, especially senior citizens, took increasing advantage of price differentials for prescription drugs in other global markets by ordering their prescriptions online from pharmacies outside the U.S. GSK attempted to curb the flow of prescription drugs out of Canada into the U.S. by limiting the drug product shipped to Canadian pharmacies. This challenged pharmacies to provide adequate prescription product for their Canadian customers while continuing to ship product to American customers. Additionally, GSK discovered Americans, especially seniors, to be loud, persistent, and effective protesters when their access to affordable medications was threatened. Boycotts of GSK products were threatened. GSKs public image took a beating. How should GSK balance the complex tradeoffs between patient health, profits, and safety? business ethics social responsibility marketing strategy
For over fifty years, Phillips Photography served both amateur and professional photographers, maintaining a deep inventory of high-end photographic equipment. As sales slumped, the owner observed that large electronics chains and Internet retailers represented formidable competitors. A business strategy that had worked for many decades was now in jeopardy. small business entrepreneurship financial performance
Chipco International, the real name of this company, had become a profitable small manufacturer of chips for the worldwide gaming (casino) industry for the past several years. The company had a strong relationship with its customers by providing them with reliable and technologically advanced products. Without warning, Chipco's CEO, John Kendall, found himself in a crisis situation that put the future existence of the company in question with company wide repercussions. The company's resin supplier had changed a grade level of one of the raw materials of the formula, given to them by Chipco, as a cost savings without telling Kendall. The specially formulated resin was used in manufacturing the companys chips and the change of the ingredient resulted in chips that broke and faded prematurely. These product flaws caused Kendall to initially recall 750,000 chips that sold for approximately $.65 each, from around the world. For a company of $3 million in annual sales, the recall was threatening. Kendall h chip manufacturing financial performance enterpreneurship
Jerry Rogers was the manager for Laws Printing, the printing business he managed for his wifes family. Rogers had been forced to learn the printing business and try to gain customers after the previous manager left the company, taking several key employees and customers with him. This had left Laws Printing in serious financial difficulty. The firms outside accountant recommended the hiring of Frank Beaner to serve as Chief Financial Officer. Beaner had been able to improve cost controls and get the company to where it appeared on the verge of an almost certain financial turnaround. At that point, Rogers learned that Beaner had just been indicted for embezzling from a former employer. Jerry Rogers was faced with an ethical dilemma. He feared that the negative publicity from the trial would be bad for Laws Printing. However, terminating Frank Beaner would likely result in the turnaround not being successful, leading to the possible closing of Laws Printing ethics social responsibility human resource management
Deere & Company, one of the oldest companies in the United States, is generally acknowledged to be the global leader in the agricultural equipment industry. In 2000, a year when the company earned just under $500 million, less than half its record earnings of 1998, the firms new CEO, Robert Lane, announced that Deere & Company intended to double its value and double it again by 2010. This goal implied that the firm would need to earn nearly $2 billion in 2010 and raise its market value from $8.6 billion to over $34 billion. While this seemed a notable goal, two of Deeres main product groups, farm equipment and construction and forestry equipment, are mature and not expected to grow significantly in the near future. Deere made a number of acquisitions in recent years to redefine itself through new product lines and markets, although one acquisition, small equipment maker Homelite, was experiencing losses. This unit was a big part of the firms new strategy for entering mainstream consumer markets. financial services technology corporate strategy
This case focuses on an industrial design engineering firm located in a suburb of the greater Kansas City area. The company is part of a small engineering and manufacturing multi-national complex with operations in three countries --- the United States, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Pivot's president, Kirkland Douglass, is a minority owner in the U.S.-Taiwan company. The firm currently does most of its work under contract for fitness equipment manufacturers. Douglass wants to diversify Pivot away from its reliance on serving this industry segment because a number of the firms in this industry underwent difficulties with significant consequences for Pivot. In addition, the firms majority owner is aggressive about the firms growth. Mr. Douglass has identified the U.S. Security Device and Systems Manufacturers (SDSM) industry as a possible target for the firms design and custom manufacturing services. Excerpts from a preliminary report on an industrial market research study commissioned by the company strategic management industry analysis competitive assessment
Vietnam International Hospital (VIH) was first envisioned in 1995 as a provider of quality health care for foreign nationals coming to do business in Hanoi after the communist government began to liberalize the economy in the early 1990s. Financed and managed by Australians, it opened in 1998 just as the full force of the monetary meltdown of the Southeast Asia economy was unfolding. As a result, the target market the hospital intended to serve not only failed to grow as hoped, but actually began to shrink. This resulted in the facility recording a string of losses following its opening. In order to turn things around, the hospital management hired a series of three different marketing managers/consultants to help reposition the hospital and to revive its prospects. The marketing managers attempted a number of strategies in order to attract the foreigners who remained in Hanoi and more effectively reach out to indigenous upper-income Vietnamese population. The case tells the story of the hospital, its c international strategy and marketing health care management international joint ventures
This case study traces the rise and fall of an e-commerce company, Pets.com, an online retailer of pet food and related pet products, which was founded in 1998. With a generous infusion of cash provided by venture capitalists and an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2000, Pets.com undertook a strategy to become the number one online pet store. The company succeeded in some areas, such as its advertising campaign featuring a well-received sock puppet character. Within twenty months after the IPO, Pets.com failed. Many factors contributed to its demise: including a generic URL, excessive advertising spending, low product profit margins, a highly competitive industry, a general consumer apprehension of shopping online, poor cash flow management, and an inability to improve the bottom line. e-commerce marketing financial management
In August 1999 Vivien Jennings, owner of Rainy Day Books, a Midwest independent bookstore, decided to invest $40,000 in state of the art computer technology. In the past few years Vivien had reacted to and experienced a great deal of success in a market with increasing competition, including the arrival of bricks and mortar mega-stores and the virtual presence of Amazon.com. Viviens hope was that the increased use of technology, combined with her basic business model, would provide additional possibilities for competitive advantage by improving all operating systems. Her concern was how to compete long-term in a dramatically changing market environment. entrepreneurship technology retail industry
This case describes Riley Simpson, an eight-year officer with the Albany County Sheriffs Department, as he wrestles with his thoughts about the legitimacy of tampering with statistics to achieve desired ends, or a process he refers to as the phenomenon. He is faced with the task of creating a statistical description of crime in the region that will complement efforts by the Chamber of Commerce to portray the area as ideal for new industry. His experience in the Sheriffs Department has supplied him with six approaches for handling statistics: (1) diluting the statistic, (2) redefining a negative statistic, (3) eliminating specific cases, (4) employing the most favorable base-time, (5) reframing the question, and (6) employing advantageous semantics. Each of these manipulations has as its aim refining crime statistics to better position the Department and community. business ethics statistics
This industry note depicts the security management and manufacturers industry in the mid-1990s. security management industry manufacturing industry competitive analysis
Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC), headquartered in Ghana, had a hedging strategy predicated on a declining price for gold, the firm's principal product. An unexpected surge in gold prices exposed the firm's cash flow problems as creditors demanded cash deposits or margin calls. AGC entered into an agreement with the creditors who obtained ownership rights in the firm and a commitment from the company to improve its financial and operational situation. The decision questions focus on the nature and implications of the agreement, what AGC needed to do to meet its obligations under the agreement, and the political context in which the firm functioned. international business hedging strategy international finance
Food banks played a vital role in the U.S. food marketing system by providing a channel for unsaleable food, which was distributed to people who were food insecure. The Association of Arizona Food Banks (AAFB), comprised of nine independent food banks located across Arizona, faced a severe shortage of frozen storage space. The Association members were challenged with developing and evaluating alternative strategies to confront this issue. Although each member food bank was independent, they had been innovative in finding ways to work together and were trying to find such a cooperative strategy to deal with the frozen storage issue. The efficiencies that could be gained by securing a centralized frozen storage facility were appealing, but significant financial, operational, and political barriers existed. The Association was faced with balancing the implementation of traditional business practices against their unique structure as an informal association of not-for-profits, with both economic and nonecono nonprofit organization marketing channels food marketing system
The International Bank of Asia (IBA) is a Hong Kong-based bank. Up until 1993, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Arab Banking Corporation (ABC). In that year, China Everbright Bank acquired 20 percent of IBA's share. IBA provides a wide range of diversified financial services aimed at consumers and small to medium-size companies. Its services include multi-currency deposits, trade finance, residential mortgages, working capital loans, credit card financing, insurance underwriting, and others. In 1997 a severe financial crisis swept several countries in Southeast Asia, causing a serious dislocation to their economies. Being an important financial center, Hong Kong began to experience serious economic difficulties. As a result, the territory became a hot bed of rumors about the financial health of some banks, particularly IBA. Although none of them proved to be true, the rumors kept growing in intensity, eventually leading to customers' run on the bank. Long lines of worried customers formed outside the business strategy international business banking
The major decision problem is to make a recommendation for an acquisition price for CCA Computer Associates and to support it with a marketing strategy to close the deal. The CFO of CST is under pressure from the CEO and the marketing department to make the acquisition. Complicating the financial valuation of CCA are the lack of directly comparable financial information from other companies, the very optimistic growth projections provided by CCA, and the fact that one customer currently provides 90% of CCAs total sales. Complicating the marketing strategy to close this acquisition deal are potential financing deals from joint venture capitalists and the lack of any cushion for CST to make the quarterly earnings projections of the financial analysts. Thus, the use of either purchase or pooling accounting is an important consideration for its impact on CSTs earnings and the marketing strategy to close the deal. managerial accounting finance mergers and acquisitions
Feltco was a privately held 90-year-old company with a diversified stockholder group, most of whom were descended from the founders. The shareholders had varying personal situations. Some needed to know what their shares were worth for estate planning purposes. Others were interested in selling and obtaining cash, but there was no public market for their shares. Feltcos management was concerned about how they might satisfy these shareholder requests for information and liquidity. Since 1995, management had invested $9,300,000 in machinery, equipment, and tooling required for production under a major new contract from Global Automotive, a world-class automotive manufacturer. Investment in machinery and equipment had increased from $12.7 million in 1996 to almost $22.0 million at the end of 1999. The investment was made using funds generated from internal cash flow and bank debt. The use of bank debt had been a significant departure from past financial policy, but had been necessary to put in place quickly the financial management business valuation taxation
Lars Kristianson, Managing Director of Katalogs in Sweden, is facing some difficult questions regarding the Latvian subsidiary. The Latvian managers have done an excellent job of building the business, and have proposed several aggressive expansion ideas. Not all of these, however, fit with Katalogs long term vision for the business. strategic management international business strategy implementation
This disguised case chronicles the growth of a small Texas based retail natural foods and supplements business from its beginnings in 1993. A carpenter by the name of James Lloyd
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and his wife Betty founded the business. By the end of 2000, the Lloyds had refined their business strategies and tested their ideas with a second store in a nearby city. James wanted to continue to grow their business and had to decide whether to open the next store in Lubbock, Texas or in Dallas, Texas. He felt that the Lubbock market would probably be somewhat similar to markets in the two cities in which he currently had stores since it also had an agricultural and rural basis in contrast to Dallas. He also felt that the Dallas market would probably be somewhat different due to a younger, more affluent populace and more aggressive competition from other health food stores. James had decided to open only one store at the time. However, he was also interested in further expansion in the future. He had also thought about fr small business entrepreneurship retailing
This field-researched case is about the issues facing Mann Lumber, an eighty-year old business. Richard Andrews purchased the business from the sons of the founder in 1984. The 1990s saw many changes for Mann Lumber. The business moved from its original location to an eight-acre site located close to Interstate 95. At that time, Andrews converted from the traditional lumberyard to a Do it Best center concept.

As the business prepares for the next century, the owner, despite his prior success, is fearful of the economic uncertainty. In the face of threats to continued profitability, Andrews is concerned about his familys future. He expressed several of those business concerns to a former professor. One of his primary concerns is that he really does not understand how to use accounting tools and the products of financial analysis to forecast store objectives and assess results. His fears are compounded because of recent popular press reports of continuing accounting irregularities and fraud. Andrews small business financial analysis accounting
Sean Ryan is the President of Ryan Investments, a small firm that owns and operates residential income dwellings (apartments) in the rough neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles. Business in the 90s had been difficult. First, came the LA riots in 1992, followed by the earthquake in 1994, and finally the slow drawn-out recovery from the recession. It was not until 1999 that apartment rents and vacancies began to recover. During the decade of the 90s, the combination of increasing expenses and lower rents forced many apartment owners out of business. Many owners defaulted on loans secured by junior trust deeds. The default on the junior trust deeds and the negative cash flow on their buildings stuck Sean and his partner Bob Daniels with substantial losses in income leaving Sean with hundreds of thousands of dollars of personal debt including $100,000 owed on his personal credit cards. In the summer of 2000, the economic climate for apartment owners improved dramatically, and Sean received an offer of small business real estate financial analysis
This case chronicles the evolution of R. C. Willey (RCW) Home Furnishings from a one-man door-to-door appliance retailing business to Utahs top furniture, major appliances, and home electronics chain. In 1995, RCW became a subsidiary of billionaire Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway holding company. With a market share above 50%, RCW owned Utah at the time of the merger, but operated no stores outside the state. Although Mr. Buffett seemed content to let RCW remain Utah bound, RCW CEO Bill Child viewed growth as essential to fortifying RCWs competitive position and enhancing its long-term prospects. Because Utah afforded little growth potential, Mr. Child set his sights on neighboring states. He opened the first out-of-state RCW store in a suburb of Boise, Idaho, in the fall of 1999. It was an immediate success. The case ends in the fall of 2001 with Bill Child anxiously awaiting the impending opening of RCWs second out-of-state store on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada, a city quite unlike RCWs business strategy value creation system strategic management
A multidivision corporation that uses a shared services organization to provide common servies must develop billing systems to charge the costs of the servies back to using departments. This case illustrates how a simplifies system, based on a single chargeback rate, results in charges that are unrelated to the use of services. The case illustrates the behavioral impact alternative chargeback systems can have on users of internally-provided services. It also demonstrates how the need for more accurate infomation must be balanced against the added coast of providing this information. accounting activity-based system aerospace industry
This case chronicles TeleReach's experience implementing a variety of employee teams over the course of six years. It gives students a longitudinal perspective on the complexity and diffuiculty of implementing and sustaining effective employee teams in a growing organization. human resource management staffing employee-involvement teams
The Noor Arfa Batik Company was started from scratch by husband and wife team, Ariffin Wan Long and Noor Hijerah Hanafiah. With the help of a small government loan, the Noor Arfa Batik Company officially began in 1982. Despite the attempt of competitors to duplicate their product and hire away employees, market share increased. Employee numbers grew from 5 to 50 and Noor and Ariffin focused on control of their product, production processes and building a clientele. In the early years of the Noor Arfa Batik Company, the dominant challenge continued to be product promotion, establishing name recognition, and expanding market acceptance. In 1991, the Noor Arfa Batik Company was incorporated and annual sales reached a level of 3.5 million ringget. Finding and retaining acceptable employees was Ariffins challenge. Ariffin also recognized the importance of textile production to economic development in Malaysia and offered his time and knowledge to others in hopes of strengthening the batik business. Today, international business small business development textile and apparel industry
This case teaches students about the difficulty of implementing and sustaining efective self-directed work teams. The case centers on issues of dissatisfaction and declining morale at TeleReach's two manufacturing plants. organization behavior employee dissatisfaction hiring
On April 20, 1999 two senior high school students opened fire at Columbine High School, killing twelve other students, one teacher and, eventually, themselves. Shortly after the tragedy, various media began reporting that the two gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were fans of the video game Doom. These events once again brought to heightened consciousness the controversy surrounding a possible link between aggressive, violent play and aggressive, violent behavior. Within days of the killings, managers at Funco, Inc., a leading national retail outlet specializing in new and used video games, had received several calls from reporters seeking comments, reactions and footage. video game industry entrepreneurship financial analysis
On Christmas Eve, 1996, Marty Eysoldt, owner and operator of a small butcher shop, suffered a breakdown in his service to his customers. Marty and his father before him had ordered fresh turkeys for Christmas from a particular farm in Ohio. The turkeys had always been delivered by truck at about dawn on Christmas Eve day. On this occasion however, the delivery truck had been in a wreck, and replacement turkeys couldn't be at the store until that night. Marty and his employee, Wade, spent the night delivering turkeys to their sleeping customers' porches. Marty described the experience and the negative responses of the customers who came into the shop on Christmas Eve day. A few days later Marty was faced with the decision of how or whether, to collect the money owed him for the turkeys and how to recover his customers' good will and business. marketing strategy small business service recovery
The Oreck vacuum has historically been associated with heavy owner-related advertising, door-to-door sales, and direct marketing. Given the extremely competitive environment of the 21
st
century, David Oreck has expanded his distribution network to include internet sales and licensees (brick and mortar operations). In 1994, Oreck had 35 floor care centers-retail establishments that exclusively sold Oreck products. That number in 2001 is more than 200 -- with 70 of them company owned and growing. This case focuses upon the sale tactics employed in one of the licensee's stores and the ethical and legal ramifications encompassed in the sales presentation. The case directs students to analyze the sales presentation in terms of how does it inform, educate, and persuade the customer to buy the product. Furthermore, students are asked to discuss the legal and moral issues associated with the sales presentation and to offer solution strategies for both the owner of the store and the Oreck Corporation. retail management ethics sales presentation
It was July 19, 1999 and Carleton (Carly) Fiorina, spoke with exuberance and confidence as she thanked Lewis (Lew) Platt, a thirty-three year company veteran for his leadership as the former President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP) from 1992 to July, 1999. Fiorina was the first female CEO of one of Americas largest companies, the only female heading the ranks at a Dow 30 company. She gained the coveted position by convincing the board that lack of computer experience was not what HP needed in a CEO; rather it was the ability to pick up quickly and help the struggling HP develop a stronger strategic vision. Fiorina was ready to take the helm; however, she realized that as a newcomer to HP, she needed to work diligently to maintain alignment of internal forces while at the same time move the company forward in a new direction. The former President of Lucent Technologies, a global service provider business, Fiorina led the Lucent spin-off from AT&T and ran the largest IPO at that time, totaling more than $

strategy leadership corporate culture
This case is designed to explore the ethical ramifications of the use of marketing research by politicians. After providing examples of the use of marketing research by the Clinton administration, the case addresses each of the following questions: Is the Clinton example an anomaly? Or is it, in fact, representative of the use of marketing research by politicians today? Is the use of marketing research a fairly new phenomenon? How prevalent is its use? For what purposes is marketing research used? What are the pros and cons, from an ethical standpoint, of politicians using marketing research? Do marketing research groups codes of ethics address the issue? business ethics marketing research politics
Gold'n Plump was the largest fully vertically integrated poultry production operation in the upper Midwest. Its production operations included hatching, grow-out, processing, shipping, sales and marketing. Gold'n Plump employed more than 1700 people and contracted with approximately 300 chicken growers in central Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The company offered steady employment to its workers with no layoffs in its 72-year history. In 1997, it continued its record growth with $200 million in annual sales. On the eve of one of its busiest times of year, Labor Day, a fire ripped through its Cold Spring plant, seriously damaging the second processing area and destroying one million pounds of inventory. crisis management human resource management marketing
The Spotswood Companys benefits plan requires employees to take basic health insurance and retirement benefits and allows them to choose from a cafeteria of other benefits such as supplemental retirement, life insurance, supplemental health coverage, drugs, dental care, mental health, eyeglasses, a prepaid legal plan, child care, home purchase assistance, matching charitable gifts, and tuition for work-related courses. The health-related benefits are also available for employees dependents. The case presents four employees of different ages, salary levels, financial situations, dependents needs, and so on. Students, perhaps working in groups, are asked to recommend an appropriate selection of benefits to each of these employees, including calculations of the costs. benefits plan human resource management
This case covers the importance of business and administrative relationships in an emerging world. international business intercultural communication intercultural relationships
Bonnie Klein sat preparing for her meeting with the President of the university in his office next week. Bonnie was a budget analyst for the Student Association. She worked on several different projects, but one of her duties was to track the finances of The Early Learning Center or ELC, the campus day care. Bonnie collected information on The Early Learning Center and did financial analysis and projections. Bonnies presentation to the President would examine the financial feasibility of opening four additional rooms at the campus day care facility. No new construction was necessary. The service expansion would use rooms that were currently empty. nonprofit organization financial analysis
First Protestant Church was a 160-year-old institution, located in the downtown area of a rapidly growing Southern city of 50,000 people. The church found itself with a campus of buildings in need of costly repairs and, in many instances, captial improvements. In addition, most of the congregation resided several miles from the church; Sunday school attendance was declining; and there was concern about the church's ability to generate sufficient revenues for substantive renovation or construction. The case examines the dilemma of trying to reach a consensus about facility loacation when strong feelings exist on each end of a specturm. Instead of doing the needed major facity renovations at the current location, money could instead be spent to bulild new and better facilities at another site. However, the later solution was unacceptable to many people who had a strong emotional attachment to the current location and existing sanctuary. The current dilemma is partly the result of the church's lack of a lo nonprofit organization fund development financial analysis
On December 2, 1999, Paul Houston was named President and CEO of the Loewen Group, the world's largest funeral home chain. The firm originated in Vancouver in 1985 and was founded by Ray Loewen. The firm had expanded to include over 1100 funeral homes. The primary difference between the growth strategy pursued by Loewen and its two major comptetitors was that the competitors integrated their acquisitions into existing operations and achieved economies of scale. Loewen allowed acquired funeral homes to operate autonomously, making Loewen more attractive to firms being acquired, but resulting in higher operatig costs and lower profit margins than its competitors. After Ray Loewen was forced out as Paul Houston took over, the new exectives initiated a turnaround strategy trying to improve earnings. business strategy funeral industry demographics
Edward (Ned) Barnholt had his work cut out for him over the next several months. A successful executive with Hewlett-Packard for ten years, Barnholt faced a unique challenge. On March 2, 1999, Hewlett-Packard announced a plan to create a separate company, subsequently named Agilent Technologies, Inc., that was comprised of Hewlett-Packards Test and Measurement division as well as the Semiconductor Products, Healthcare Solutions and Chemical Analysis businesses. Barnholt, the General Manager of Hewlett-Packards Measurement Organization, was named President and Chief Executive Officer of these spun-off divisions, soon to be known to the world as Agilent Technologies. Faced with many strengths and opportunities, Barnholt also knew the threats and risks that faced his business. At the helm of the ship, he was ultimately responsible for the companys success or failure. Agilent Technologies was to go public with an initial public offering of stock on November 18, 1999. How could this IPO go as smoothly a Initial Public Offering (IPO) financial analysis business strategy
In the next few years a number of patents for branded biopharmaceuticals drugs are scheduled to expire. While the generic durg industry is well established for traditional durgs, this creates a new opportunity to produce and maket substitutable generic durgs for these recombinant protein drugs. A new entrant in this field is BIOTECNOL LDA, an R&D-focused firm located in Portugal. Their primary strategy is to provide existing pharmaceutical firms with the production know-how and technology to allow them to diversify into this new generic durg market. BIOTECNOL LDA intends to develp low-cost technical production processes. gain reuisite certivication, and then license these technologies to existing pharmaceutical firms so that they can produce and market the generic durgs, Issues center on evaluating the viability and risks of their strategy, analyzing projected revenues with regard to differing time-to-market scenarios, and evaluating a proposal to obtain needed new venture capital in exchange for an own pharmaceutical industry generic drug industry venture start-up
venture strategy market research product line expansion
international business financial analysis
international business foreign investment operations management
TV show talk show media
nonprofit organization management control systems
financial analysis direct-selling industry mergers and acquisitions
competition government regulation manufacturing process
marketing strategy new product development market development strategy
product costing manufacturing processes job costing
venture capital strategic management value chain
venture capital strategic management corporate strategy
industry analysis supply chain strategy analysis
marketing strategy branding electric utility industry
nonprofit organization higher education strategy
venture strategy financial analysis capacity constraints
financial analysis corporate strategy new product development and introduction
nonprofit organization health care administration marketing strategy
nonprofit organization higher education administrationstrategic management
strategic management mergers and acquisitions corporate valuation
marketing strategy financial analysis software development industry
ethics business law mergers and acquisitions
nonprofit organization strategic planning strategic shift
organizational management rehabilitation services corporate culture
strategic management brewing industry operations management
small business organizational structure financial performance
distance learning education case method teaching
finance hedging strategy gold mining industry
wholesale distribution medical and surgical supplies sales representatives
human resource management Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) higher education
operations management staff scheduling quality improvement initiative
business strategy leadership corporate culture
business strategy non-profit organization environmental education
mobile home industry competitive environment financial analysis
business ethics medical benefits package business law
outsourcing customer service Initial Public Offering (IPO)
human resource management metals recycling industry corporate culture
project management decision support system operations management
small business high-tech industry dealer marketing
business strategy home appliance industry mergers and acquisitions
small business international business operations management
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reputation management American Apparel CA
Fried Pickle CA
JD & Sons CA
communications Man vs Machine CA
organization development Nagre CA
Advantage Food CA
corporate venturing Calibre Systems CA
promotion University City CA
Big Pharma CA
strategy Under Armour CA
case writing pedagogy
sustainability corporate reputation Campbell Soup case
organizational culture Copper Ridge case
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Not so Close case
managerial accounting forecasting Gates Inc. case
human resource management Career Crossroads case
ethics Burton Snowboards case
Superior Timing case
Tale of Two Markets case
Whitewater Case
e-commerce growth strategies Accessible Computing Case
hiring employee contracts Personality Disagreement Case
organizational culture labor relations Lycoming Case
Strategy Innovation Muddling Through Case
supply chain management ethics Chinese-Made Toys Case
Sourcing Underwater Case
Leadership Hospitality Askinosie Case Su
event planning product positioning Katrina Case Su
manufacturing Canadian Club Case Su
accountability Igneous Skis Case Su
Transpower Case Su
finance shareholder activists Dane & Co.
finance shareholder activists Dollar Tree A
linear programming Dollar Tree B
environmental management sustainablility Jay and Al's Music Show
marketing research Kapai New Zealand
arget marketing financial impact analysis Tackling Discrimination
organizational change Ace Insurance Case
unemployment benefits small business management Kodak's Challenge Case
employment decisions leadership transition Medallion Consulting Case
Nucor Case
organizational change West Michigan Whitecaps Case
operations Lean Initiatives and Growth Case
activist groups ethics The Many Call Centers at Teen Mania Case
leadership innovation Wal-Mart's New Challenge Case
marketing baby boomers Reinvigorating 3M Case
natural and organic foodindustry Singleton Case
financial analysis industry analysis Hunger Mountain Case
Nordstrom Case
Gemstone Case
The Good Life
Process flow and scheduling in the Fairbanks County State Court
Creating a High Performance Team Through Transformational Leadership
organizational behavior and design Wal-Mart and Vlasic Pickles
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
organizational theory business ethics
business administration
framework for business development
business valuation operations management
business strategy capital structure
expansion strategy financial structure
retail applications software start-up
benchmarking competition
mergers and acquisitions nanotechnology
business policy strategic finance
college athletics accounting
business strategy entrepreneurship
mergers and acquisitions team selling
service operations management integer-programming model
geriatrics medical care
drug development
house of quality market research
unionization
software industry ISO certification
business ethics morale issues
media management
pricing strategy new product development process
manufacturing process batch process
mergers and acquisitions FDA approval process
drug development process FDA approval process
stakeholder analysis issues management
business strategy retailing
small business management business strategy
business law printing business
operating strategy business policy/strategy
entrepreneurship international business
business strategy competitive environment
entrepreneurship dot-com business startups
bookstore industry strategy
mass marketers installers
gold mining industry financial analysis
food banks food industry
crisis management strategic management
high-tech industry financial valuation
securities regulations investment analysis
competitive environment operations management
managerial strategy and policy growth and expansion strategy
ethics entrepreneurship
retailing management entrepreneurship
manufacturing industry
product differentiation consolidation
employee selection process human resource management
ethics marketing strategy
distribution channels pricing strategy
computer hardware industry financial analysis
operations management strategic management
industry consolidation international expansion
venture capital business strategy
joint venture operational strategy
marketing popularity ratings
health care budgeting
operations management marketing
corporate strategy
market research consumer behavior
activity-based costing ABC costing system
marketing strategy product differentiation
crisis management restructuring
international business
competition computer industry
financial analysis
financial analysis
e-commerce new product positioning
cookware industry social responsibility
religion fundraising
employee survey human resources management
beer market competitive strategies
operations management competition
interactive environment
gold market
human resource management health insurance
faculty work assignment business law
customer service property and casualty insurance industry
frozen dessert industry ice cream industry
fundraising wildlife
operations management small business
legal action human resources
business valuation corporate finance
management style corporate structure
electric utility industry management science
marketing automotive industry
retrenchment competitive environment
financial management inventory management
Process flow and scheduling in the Fairbanks County State Court
Creating a High Performance Team Through Transformational Leadership

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