Carmax is the largest multi-market used car dealer in the U.S., and has no format-to-format competitor in the $375 billion used car market. CarMax is trying to do what some analysts believed to be impossible: sell used cars profitably on a national scale, and at the same time revamp the tarnished image of the used car salesman.
Examines the product development strategy and processes of the Ducati motorcycle racing team during the 2003-2004 Grand Prix seasons. Invites discussion of appropriate design and development strategies to facilitate learning across product generations. Specifically, examines the trade-offs inherent in an "integral" vs. "modular" approach to product design and the impact on learning. Also enables students to explore the behavioral aspects of development strategy and, in particular, the impact of initial success on perceptions of competence and risk taking.
Examines the impact of market liberalization on the Mainland insurance industry following China's World Trade Organization accession. With a handful of Chinese insurance companies continuing to dominate the market, what are the potential challenges and opportunities facing domestic firms in the face of foreign competition? Despite rapid growth in premium income, restrictions on business scope and geographical region of operation impede efforts by foreign insurers to tap into the country's burgeoning insurance business. Examines the experience of American International Group, the first foreign insurance firm to open a wholly owned subsidiary in China since 1979, and the difficulties it has encountered in developing its Mainland businesses.
Tetra Pak, the world's largest liquid food processor and packaging manufacturer, is among the multinational companies accused by the Chinese government of engaging in anticompetitive activities to eliminate competition in their respective markets. Concurrently, the Chinese government proposed a plan to roll out a new antitrust law in late 2005, to set up a fair market system in line with its goal to transform itself into a market economy. The new law attempts to rectify the vagueness of China's pre-existing competition policy. The government will closely scrutinize companies operating in China, especially foreign market leaders; these companies should guard against possible lawsuits. Considers the different aspects of China's antitrust policy and how companies should adapt to China's changing legal framework.
The vice-president of a resort hotel in San Felipe, Mexico must deal with low winter sales levels. Students will gain experience in assessing the current marketing strategy, analyzing the fit of a new opportunity, making pricing decisions, designing a promotional campaign and calculating market share; and receive practice in using breakeven analysis and in analyzing an opportunity from both a qualitative and quantitative standpoint.
The Aspect Group is a small entrepreneurial marketing company that focuses on brand management. Having worked in the industry for a number of years both as permanent employee and freelancer, Marie Bohm founded the Aspect Group with a goal of developing a humane work environment with work-life flexibility. To grow the business, she is faced with two choices: she could partner with a small local firm or link with a high-profile firm in Toronto. The latter would provide greater visibility and credibility but she is concerned that the demands could alter the work-life flexibility qualities she valued. A video is available, product # 7B05C017.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (DTAG) is considering offering a price guarantee to entice consumers to use their web site. Students will be introduced to break-even analysis and general spreadsheet modeling. This is an abridged version of Online Low Price Guarantees - Dollar.com, product # 9B04E016.
Harlequin Enterprises is a well-known publisher of series romantic fiction. The company is facing threats to its leading position as the world's largest romance publisher. While Harlequin was the dominant and very profitable producer of series of romance novels, research indicated that many customers were reading as many single-title romance and women's fiction as series romances. Facing a steady loss of share, Harlequin convened a task force to study the possibility of re-launching a single title women's fiction program. Students must analyze the organization's capabilities and resources as it considers the launch of this new business line.
Provides an overview of the Japanese apparel market, which was a 13.1 trillion yen industry in 2003, reflecting 5.5% year-over-year shrinkage since 1997, when retailers logged 17.5 trillion yen in sales. Compared to their global counterparts, Japanese apparel shoppers in the 12 to 35 age bracket are considered to be extremely fashion sensitive. Because these consumers commit a disproportionately large amount of their disposable income to fashion goods, the Japanese apparel market has been very attractive to global players such as Inditex, parent of Zara. Moreover, it is considered a promising market for small niche retailers and boutiques featuring up-and-coming designers, many of which are flourishing in areas of Tokyo such as the renowned Harajuku district. By the turn of the 21st century, Japan's chic apparel shoppers have enabled Tokyo to become a fashion center, influencing styles in other Asian countries such as China and Korea and drawing the attention of trend watchers and fashion journalists from around the world.
This note reviews the history of the human resources (HR) function and the strategic human resources management (SHRM) movement, wherein HR managers' aspired to be strategic partners with line managers. Reviews practices for implementing a strategic-business-partner model for HR with a focus on the strategy, structures, and systems companies need to implement, and the skills that aspiring SHRM leaders need to develop in order to successfully play a strategic role. Also explores line managers' perceptions of new HR roles, and what capabilities they most want HR leaders to have in those roles.
The vice-president of a resort hotel in San Felipe, Mexico must deal with low winter sales levels. Students will gain experience in assessing the current marketing strategy, analyzing the fit of a new opportunity, making pricing decisions, designing a promotional campaign and calculating market share; and receive practice in using breakeven analysis and in analyzing an opportunity from both a qualitative and quantitative standpoint.
The Aspect Group is a small entrepreneurial marketing company that focuses on brand management. Having worked in the industry for a number of years both as permanent employee and freelancer, Marie Bohm founded the Aspect Group with a goal of developing a humane work environment with work-life flexibility. To grow the business, she is faced with two choices: she could partner with a small local firm or link with a high-profile firm in Toronto. The latter would provide greater visibility and credibility but she is concerned that the demands could alter the work-life flexibility qualities she valued. A video is available, product # 7B05C017.
The vice-president and general manager of Totalline Transport wants to eliminate late appointment fees in delivering to one of Canada's premier electronic shops - Electronics International. Totalline Transport is hired by suppliers of electronics goods to deliver to retailers. The vice-president sees an opportunity to solve the problem of congestion in the parking lot of Electronics International's warehouse and eliminating unnecessary soft costs such as missed appointment fees and detention charges. The bottleneck in the process is the waiting time for all of the trucks to unload. If the carrier arrives late, the retailer will charge the carrier $1,000. If the carrier is waiting in line due to a backlog at the warehouse, the carrier will levy a charge of $50 to $60 per hour. Beyond these costs, the vice-president realizes that suppliers and retailers are spending one day per week investigating problems with shipments. He is eager to make his customers (suppliers) successful. He sees three central options in cutting down traffic: to request two dedicated doors at the warehouse; cut down on time for Electronics International by applying stickers at Totalline's consolidation point on all the deliveries so that Electronics International could immediately accept shipments into inventory without handling; or deliver direct to Electronics International stores.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (DTAG) is considering offering a price guarantee to entice consumers to use their web site. Students will be introduced to break-even analysis and general spreadsheet modeling. This is an abridged version of Online Low Price Guarantees - Dollar.com, product # 9B04E016.
Harlequin Enterprises is a well-known publisher of series romantic fiction. The company is facing threats to its leading position as the world's largest romance publisher. While Harlequin was the dominant and very profitable producer of series of romance novels, research indicated that many customers were reading as many single-title romance and women's fiction as series romances. Facing a steady loss of share, Harlequin convened a task force to study the possibility of re-launching a single title women's fiction program. Students must analyze the organization's capabilities and resources as it considers the launch of this new business line.
This case presents some information on the NCAA college basketball tournament and suggests a method for estimating the outcomes of games. The probability of winning is modeled as a normal distribution where the mean is based on a team's ratings. Students will be introduced to the normal distribution, sums of normal random variables and event simulations.
The company, once an outstanding Japan-based global leader in electronics and major appliances, suffered poor performance during the 1990s. Kunio Nakamura became CEO in 2001 and sought to transform the company in a fundamental way. Examines the company's history, distinct management system, and culture as well as the challenges facing Nakamura. Also examines his initial efforts.