The three founding members of The Mammals--Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Ruth Ungar, and Mike Merenda--were facing a major decision. In the year just ending, the string band specializing in folk rock music had played over 160 concerts, earning approximately $100,000 in gross revenues but leaving little time to write or prepare new music. Signature Sounds Records had offered the group a recording contract. They needed to decide whether to accept the record deal and leverage Signature Sounds' financial and marketing resources or to remain independent. Would the record label want them to tone down their sometimes-controversial songs and compromise their artistic values? They also had questions as to the role of their two backup musicians, Mike's brother and a childhood friend. Should they join The Mammals on a permanent basis? The case presents information on the music industry in general and the folk segment in particular.
A survival strategy was needed for the Food Store department of the Northern Lakes Cooperative. The 85-person Food Store department, one of eleven departments at the Northern Lakes Cooperative, had not been profitable for years. While not profitable, it served the needs of its Co-op members by providing a grocery service and serving as an anchor in the Co-op Mall.
A newly minted MBA joins a volunteer non-profit board. Shortly after joining the board the organization experiences significant cash flow challenges. In the process of resolving this problem, much deeper issues are exposed, including long-time neglect of fiduciary responsibilities by prior and current board members, lack of basic financial and human resource controls, problems with reputation and image in the community, alienation of funders, and an executive director (ED) who tries her best to hide her performance issues from the board. The board must decide if they can continue operations and reorganize to address these weaknesses or if the agency should be closed.
When courted by KKR, Harman International was experiencing robust times. After several months of due diligence performed by KKR and its financial and legal partners, KKR announced that Harman International had agreed to be acquired in a private equity transaction valued at $8 billion. But by the time the documents pertaining to the Harman International/KKR transaction were on the table, the financial markets that had ridden on the enormous momentum from prior years into the first half of 2007, almost overnight experienced a cooling-off period of unprecedented magnitude. Unfortunately, Harman International's fourth quarter results released in August 2007 were disappointing, prompting some critical questions: What was the real intrinsic value of Harman International, and which financial metrics were most meaningful in assessing that value? Should KKR follow through on the proposed transaction or pay a required $225 million termination fee? Was going private still in the best interest of Harman International, or should the CEO abandon the transaction and have his company pay the termination fee? Followed by the (B) case, UV4348.
Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co. (SZLN) is a Chinese company that is contemplating the purchase of an Australian mining company. The management of SZLN must assess the merits of the acquisition, the offer to be made, how it is to be financed and the political implications of the purchase for both the governments of China and Australia.
Bill Strickland, CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation, must decide the best way to replicate his innovative, award-winning approach to curing poverty. Manchester Bidwell's approach, which provides both adult job-training tuned to fill the needs of local industries and after-school art instruction for at-risk youth, has proven highly effective over the 40 years Strickland has operated it. He wants to replicate this strategy across 100 or 200 cities, but progress has been slow. Is the current intensive approach correct, or should he change it? What would be at risk? How can he best provide his "cure for poverty" to the greatest number of communities?
This case presents the predicament of a company trying to do right by its customers and its employees as the economic crisis of 2008 hits home. Fifteen years earlier, this Spanish supermarket chain had adopted its own version of total quality management, called the Total Quality Model, switching from the industry's traditional high-low pricing to "always low prices" and continuous improvement. These changes called for a well-trained, empowered, and enthusiastically engaged workforce dedicated to providing the best products and service to their customers, who were always and seriously referred to as "the Bosses." The Total Quality Model had been a success in terms of company growth and profitability, sustained by the success of Mercadona's unusually high investment in employee training and satisfaction. Nevertheless, when sales growth slowed down in 2008, CEO Juan Roig concluded that Mercadona had let its customers down by not keeping prices low enough for such hard times. Mercadona set about lowering its prices, reducing product variety, and lowering its financial targets for 2009. Of the 9,200 SKUs in an average store, the company decided to eliminate 1,000. But Roig still had to decide what to do about employee bonuses. Since Mercadona did not meet its 2008 targets, the company policy was that no one-not even top management-would get a bonus. But Roig knew that his employees worked hard and well in 2008 and could not be held totally responsible for the downturn or for management's failure to react quickly enough.
Metabical is a new weight loss drug from Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals intended for moderately overweight individuals. In anticipation of final FDA approval, the senior director of marketing, Barbara Printup, prepares for the product launch and must make several critical decisions. First, she must select the optimal packaging size for the drug which typically requires a 12-week course of treatment. Next, she must determine the appropriate pricing. Since most insurance companies do not cover weight-loss medications, price has a direct impact on the sales forecast. To establish the initial demand forecast, Printup considers three approaches based on different assumptions. Her final recommendations must consider long term profitability and meet the company's desired return on investment.The case includes a quantitative assignment for students.
Owens & Minor (O&M) performed lean inventory services for Virginia Mason (VM) as its alpha vendor, but the outdated industry pricing model created perverse incentives and could not capture O&M's costs. Together, O&M and VM created an activity-based pricing model called the total supply chain costs (TSCC), which incented both companies to be more efficient and to streamline their distribution activities. After beta testing the TSCC for one year, VM's Daniel Borunda and O&M's Michael Stefanic believed that TSCC was a better and more cost-effective pricing model, but could they convince their companies to continue to invest in TSCC?
On April 4, 2010, Apple Inc. launched the iPad, the company's third major innovation released over the last decade under its iconic CEO Steve Jobs. Apple's strategy of shifting its business into non-PC products had thrived so far, driven by the smashing success of the iPod and the iPhone. Yet challenges abounded. Macintosh sales in the worldwide PC market still languished below 5%. Growth in iPod sales was slowing down. iPhone faced increasing competition in the smartphone industry. And would Apple's latest creation, the iPad, take the company to the next level?
From the perspectives of the senior executive of Mittal and the senior executive of Arcelor, this case looks at post-merger integration. As with many mergers, the ArcelorMittal merger was touted as a "merger of equals." Unlike most, it was actually managed as such and it worked. The case series looks at three critical decision points (one for each case) and challenges that the two senior executives faced from the line organization during the execution of the integration. Also see supplemental cases ArcelorMittal (B), product #910M02 and ArcelorMittal (C), product #910M03.
In early 2005, South African company Tiger Wheels Limited (Tiger) had established a global footprint in the manufacture of aluminum alloy wheels with customers comprising several high-end automotive producers. It was the 10th largest alloy wheel company in the world with a solid balance sheet and net current assets of $42 million. Tiger had a chance to expand and grow with the potential purchase of a new world-class alloy wheel facility in Kentucky, United States for half of its estimated value. The Kentucky plant came with a significant long-term Ford contract to supply aluminum wheels at attractive prices. To Tiger's chairman, it seemed an attractive offer, but the pros and cons of purchasing the plant would have to be carefully evaluated by the board of directors. An African Tiger Case A is a part of An African Tiger case series, which includes A and B cases. The series can be taught in the main strategy course of an MBA program to focus the discussion on the portfolio of competences within the resource-based view of the firm. The cases are also ideal for teaching an elective course on global strategy in MBA and executive programs. Ideally, case A and case B should be used in sequence over two sessions. In programs with time constraints, instructors could choose to use only case A, as there is enough material in case A to cover the main themes. The important learning themes of case A are:1) the need to evaluate the dynamics of five forces in different industry segments as the company plans to expand into larger size and higher growth segments, 2) the importance of country differences in global strategy, 3) the need to incorporate new competences as a criterion in evaluating global opportunities, 4) the compulsions on growth as a company becomes a member of a globalizing industry where its customers are global entities and 5) the need for a new business model as the strategy becomes complex to incorporate numerous businesses and competences in many countries.
In January 2007, Tiger Wheels (Tiger) and ATS informed its lead banker in Germany that it was forecasting a breach of its covenants, just 18 months after acquiring the Kentucky wheel plant. This was a critical matter and, as a result, the top management at Tiger was intimately involved in the deliberations. ATS had borrowed from a consortium of European banks to fund its growth. The borrowings were covenant driven and not set against any ATS assets. Under the loan agreement, the banks had the right to call in the loan if ATS were to breach one or more of the three covenants. The aim of the top management of Tiger and ATS was to win the confidence of the banking consortium by presenting a comprehensive strategy, including an action plan, which would restore ATS's financial health and make it compliant with its covenants once again. An African Tiger Case B is a part of An African Tiger case series, which includes A and B cases. The case series can be taught in the main strategy course of an MBA program to focus the discussion on the portfolio of competences within the resource-based view of the firm. The cases are also ideal for teaching an elective course on global strategy in MBA and executive programs. Ideally, case A and case B should be used in sequence over two sessions. In programs with time constraints, instructors could choose to use only case B as the case clearly brings out the issues of country differences and difficulties in transferring competences. In such situations, the instructor can distribute the summary of the case A from the teaching note along with case B. The important learning themes are: 1) the challenges in recognizing and developing new competences, 2) the limits of the control and influence of the majority owner in the execution of strategy, when the key competences reside with the minority shareholder and 3) the relationship between corporate response, managerial cognition, monitoring and divisional operations in a large company.
The Power of Pull, written by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison, all of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, is a seven-chapter book published by Basic Books/Perseus Books Group. The subtitle is: How Smart Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion. Roughly the first half of the book discusses the concept of pull: the ability to harness the power of networks, drawing out people and resources as needed to address opportunities, and participating actively in a flow of knowledge rather than simply possessing knowledge. Pull helps access people and resources when required, attract people and resources that are relevant and valuable, and achieve personal potential more effectively by pulling from within the qualities of performance that success demands. The second part of the book explores how pull can be put into practice at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. Chapter 1 discusses what the authors call the "Big Shift" in organizational behavior from a "push" to a "pull" methodology. The ongoing catalysts for the Big Shift are the constant creation of new digital infrastructure; the easier flow of capital, talent, and knowledge; and the institutional innovations that the first two engender.
The Power of Pull, written by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison, all of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, is a seven-chapter book published by Basic Books/Perseus Books Group. The subtitle is: How Smart Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion. Roughly the first half of the book discusses the concept of pull: the ability to harness the power of networks, drawing out people and resources as needed to address opportunities, and participating actively in a flow of knowledge rather than simply possessing knowledge. Pull helps access people and resources when required, attract people and resources that are relevant and valuable, and achieve personal potential more effectively by pulling from within the qualities of performance that success demands. The second part of the book explores how pull can be put into practice at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. Chapter 2 discusses the first level of the concept of pull: access. Access involves the ability to find, learn about, and connect with resources on an as-needed basis to address unanticipated needs. In the past, access to resources was dependent upon "stocks" of knowledge - information known at a point in time. However, an ever-increasing amount of information makes these "stocks" more difficult to keep current and therefore less valuable. Access now requires a different approach utilizing "flows" of knowledge, or interactions that create knowledge or transfer it across individuals.
The Power of Pull, written by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison, all of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, is a seven-chapter book published by Basic Books/Perseus Books Group. The subtitle is: How Smart Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion. Roughly the first half of the book discusses the concept of pull: the ability to harness the power of networks, drawing out people and resources as needed to address opportunities, and participating actively in a flow of knowledge rather than simply possessing knowledge. Pull helps access people and resources when required, attract people and resources that are relevant and valuable, and achieve personal potential more effectively by pulling from within the qualities of performance that success demands. The second part of the book explores how pull can be put into practice at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. Chapter 3 discusses the second level of pull: attract. Due to the proliferation of information, accessing specific resources now depends more on serendipity than on searching. To increase the probability and quality of these chance encounters, access to not only digital social networks, but to the informational "edges" - areas of knowledge creation and economic growth where unmet needs and unexploited capabilities are found - of our interests is paramount.
The Power of Pull, written by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison, all of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, is a seven-chapter book published by Basic Books/Perseus Books Group. The subtitle is: How Smart Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion. Roughly the first half of the book discusses the concept of pull: the ability to harness the power of networks, drawing out people and resources as needed to address opportunities, and participating actively in a flow of knowledge rather than simply possessing knowledge. Pull helps access people and resources when required, attract people and resources that are relevant and valuable, and achieve personal potential more effectively by pulling from within the qualities of performance that success demands. The second part of the book explores how pull can be put into practice at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. Chapter 4 discusses the third and final level of pull: achieve. Achieving allows large numbers of participants to come together, through "creation spaces," to test and refine the practices required to exploiting their potential more efficiently. The authors challenge the concept of the "experience curve," offering their own "collaboration curve" that forms across institutions, yielding more diverse participants; this curve , unlike the experience curve, does not focus on learning, but is designed to drive more rapid performance improvement with learning as a byproduct.
The Power of Pull, written by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison, all of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, is a seven-chapter book published by Basic Books/Perseus Books Group. The subtitle is: How Smart Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion. Roughly the first half of the book discusses the concept of pull: the ability to harness the power of networks, drawing out people and resources as needed to address opportunities, and participating actively in a flow of knowledge rather than simply possessing knowledge. Pull helps access people and resources when required, attract people and resources that are relevant and valuable, and achieve personal potential more effectively by pulling from within the qualities of performance that success demands. The second part of the book explores how pull can be put into practice at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. Chapter 5 discusses how individuals can put the levels of pull into practice, as well as the elements of change (trajectory, leverage, and pace) needed to galvanize change within an institution. To fully utilize pull, individuals must do three things: make their passion their profession (trajectory), harness their ecosystems (leverage), and maximize their return on attention - the value they get for the time and effort invested in focusing on someone or something (pace).