Focuses on the strategic and organizational challenges that confront growing enterprises and the entrepreneurs who lead them. Provides an overview of how a new venture needs to change as it passes from the initial start-up to the growth phase. Explores how a venture's leadership, strategy, and execution need to evolve to deal with rapid growth. A rewritten version of an earlier note.
Faced with the need for a massive change, most managers respond predictably. They revamp the organization's strategy, shift around staff, and root out inefficiencies. They then wait patiently for performance to improve--only to be bitterly disappointed because they've failed to prepare employees adequately for the change. In this article, the authors contend that to make change stick, leaders must conduct an effective persuasion campaign--one that begins weeks or months before the turnaround plan is set in concrete. Like a political campaign, a persuasion campaign is largely one of differentiation from the past. Turnaround leaders must convince people that the organization is truly on its deathbed--or, at the very least, that radical changes are required if the organization is to survive and thrive. (This is a particularly difficult challenge when years of persistent problems have been accompanied by few changes in the status quo.) And they must demonstrate through word and deed that they are the right leaders with the right plan. Accomplishing all this calls for a four-part communications strategy. Prior to announcing a turnaround plan, leaders need to set the stage for employees' acceptance of it. At the time of delivery, they must present a framework through which employees can interpret information and messages about the plan. As time passes, they must manage the mood so that employees' emotional states support implementation and follow-through. And at critical intervals, they must provide reinforcement to ensure that the desired changes take hold and that there's no backsliding. Using the example of the dramatic turnaround at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the authors elucidate the inner workings of a successful change effort.
An engineer for Wind to Energy has led the creation of the North American division of a German start-up company that designs wind-energy electric power generation units - wind turbines. The engineer and his fellow engineers have licensed the technology to a small-share assembler of wind turbines and are about to receive their first payment from this firm. As they look ahead, they see opportunities for revenue in possibly supplying spare parts to wind farms, or even operating their own wind farm. The challenge is to focus this start-up company.
Quantec Geoscience is a leading global supplier of geophysical services to the mineral exploration industry. It developed TITAN 24, an award-winning highly innovative technology for deep earth imaging. TITAN 24 provided geophysical information with higher clarity at greater depths (up to 2,000 metres versus 400 of existing methods) to enable better targeting of drilling. However, by mid-2004, TITAN was far short of its sales targets. Mining companies, the major target market for TITAN, were resisting adoption. Quantec's marketing director had to rethink the company's whole marketing strategy, including its target segments, pricing, positioning and market communication.
The chief financial officer of Ontario-based Bluewater Foods Corporation has just returned from a meeting with management of County Chickens Ltd., Bluewater's largest supplier of chicken breast meat and current acquisition target. The chief financial officer must put together a recommendation as to how a purchase of County might be structured and how it would affect Bluewater's financial statement.
A loan assessment officer at Export Development Canada is evaluating a proposed deal involving the export of refurbished machines used in the forestry industry. He must decide whether Export Development Corporation should extend loans to a foreign firm that is interested in purchasing from a Canadian supplier. Issues include international business risk and the role of an export development agency in facilitating a country's exports.
This case is designed to stimulate students' reflections on ethics. The context of the case is a familiar one to most students (plagiarism on a student essay); it therefore allows them to experience more personally the range of emotions and perspectives involved in ethical issues. Yet the parallels to business ethics situations are strong, and can be discussed in depth. Students are assigned to one of two roles in advance of class (a student who has plagiarized text for an assignment and a professor), supplement cases A Minor Assignment: Role of Rob Thatcher and A Minor Assignment: Role of Lydia Katz, products 9B05C007 and 9B05C008 are given out to support the roles.
In this role play supplement to A Minor Assignment, product 9B05C006, Professor Lydia Katz catches a student plagiarizing and must decide what to do about it. She calls a meeting with the student.
Rob Thatcher is a student in an honours business administration program. He copies and pastes some text from a web site into an essay. He is under time pressure and does not consider this assignment important and most likely will not be read. This is a role play supplement to A Minor Assignment, product 9B05C006.
A graduate of a business school must consider two options available to him with similar salary packages. The first is to accept an offer to start as an assistant marketing manager with a consumer packaged goods firm, the other is a consulting assignment with a small tool & die firm. The case provides students the opportunity to value different benefits based on their risk tolerance and career aspirations.
The vice-president - RBC Banking business & information solutions must develop an implementation plan for the bank's new paperless transaction system. The new system will reduce costs in proof processing and will facilitate the role of the customer service representatives, allowing the CSRs to shift from transactional to sales oriented roles. The system must be implemented across the company within 12 months. Challenges concerning the timing of installation, sequence of rollout, scope management and prioritization must be addressed.
Mars Inc., one of the world's largest privately owned businesses, purchased over $4 billion of materials annually, and was aware that many major firms were achieving savings of around five per cent through the use of online procurement auctions. The vice-president for Business Solutions at Mars wondered whether an online auction could be designed that would meet the special needs of the Mars company while enabling Mars to achieve the savings necessary to allow the company to prosper and grow in its highly competitive markets.
Ireka Construction Berhad is a small Chinese family business in Malaysia founded in 1967. The company's primary business was earthmoving for the mining industry, factory sites and housing lots, and has expanded its business into civil and structural engineering projects, building and construction, and hotel and property development. In 1992 it became a public company. This case illustrates the process of going from a private to a public company and discusses change management processes.
In 1996, Gillette acquired Duracell batteries for $7.3 billion in stock. The purchase was met with optimism not only by Gillette's senior management and its highly visible director, Warren Buffet, but also Wall Street analysts. The case highlights the numerous challenges that Gillette has encountered since its acquisition of Duracell. Despite the initial enthusiasm, Duracell has proven to be a drain on Gillette's earning and has cost Michael Hawley, James Kilt's predecessor as CEO, his job after only 18 months in the position - in large part for his inability to turn around the financial hemorrhaging at the Duracell division. The key strategy questions revolve around what can be done to turn around the battery business to help it achieve the potential for Gillette that everyone had assumed it possessed. The supplement Gillette's Energy Drain (B): Energizer's Acquisition of Schick, product 9B05M027 highlights Energizer's October 2003 acquisition of Schick.
This is a supplement to Gillett's Energy Drain (A): The Acquisition of Duracell, product 9B05M026. Highlighted is Energizer's acquisition of Schick. Gillette was just dabbling in batteries but its source of profits always been in razors and blades. Now, that business is under direct threat by Energizer, with its acquisition of Schick. This supplement provides an excellent example of multipoint competition, and raises the question, should Gillette have anticipated that the acquisition of a battery company would ultimately put razor profits at risk?
Studies the allocation of airport slots. As airline traffic increases, slots become scarce. Well-established airlines have historically determined rights to these slots, which limits the possibilities for new entrants to the market. In addition, sometimes, the airlines do not make efficient use of their slots. It is often argued that this allocation system has to be revised to ensure economic efficiency. Several countries are considering this issue, which is often met with strong opposition from well-established airlines. Congestion in Hong Kong airport is increasing and the question whether Hong Kong should liberalize its allocation system is under debate.
Since 1974, the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) had been the systematic means for developed countries to restrict textiles and clothing imports from developing countries, which did not conform to the GATT/WTO rules. In 1994, however, the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing was signed, prescribing a 10-year progressive phase-out of the MFA and integration of GATT 1994 rules. By late 2004, the complete phase-out of the MFA on January 1, 2005 had rekindled the debate between protectionists and free-trade advocates. Meanwhile, firms in Hong Kong, one of the world's major textiles and clothing exporting nations, were gearing up for the change.
The chief financial officer of Ontario-based Bluewater Foods Corporation has just returned from a meeting with management of County Chickens Ltd., Bluewater's largest supplier of chicken breast meat and current acquisition target. The chief financial officer must put together a recommendation as to how a purchase of County might be structured and how it would affect Bluewater's financial statement.
What is the proper role of the instructor in student-professor interactions? What challenges should new teachers expect and what pitfalls should be avoided? New faculty must meet a variety of concurrent demands when they enter an academic career, several for which they have never received any formal training. Various activities broaden the educational scope of the teacher beyond the classroom, and increase interaction with the student body. Many academic communities are settled in smaller university towns, where students and faculty share the community life: this can add another complicating layer. Establishing a strong relationship with a faculty mentor may be among the most important factors determining the success one achieves as a graduate student. So how is balance achieved in managing the multiple roles faculty members play in students' lives? This case reveals the impact of a teacher's personal relationship with students outside the classroom and the challenges of being involved with student development beyond the curriculum.