This note discusses excellence in postmerger integration (PMI) communication, which results from applying many of the same principles that generate success in other forms of corporate communication.
Great strategists rely heavily on numbers as they go about their work. Offers an overview of the high- and low-brow quantitative tools that students encounter during the Strategy course. The class explores high-brow tools in detail; the focus here is on low-brow calculations. Such calculations come up often in class but because they seem so simple, they get little airtime or explanation. From past class experience, roughly 20% of the students in each section come into the course with the intuition and experience to do these simple calculations themselves. The other 80% understand the calculations after they see them and grasp their value, but don't spot the opportunities to do the math themselves, before class.
Explores Martha Stewart's December 2001 sale of ImClone Systems common stock, the ensuing federal investigations into possible insider trading, and Stewart's criminal prosecution and sentencing. Discusses the impact of publicity on Stewart's company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and on her personal image, and raises issues of prosecutorial discretion. Challenges students to consider the validity of the insider trading charge against Stewart as well as the securities fraud charge included in the indictment, the appropriate sentence, and whether federal authorities unfairly singled out Stewart for investigation.
Focuses on a crisis in the board at Vivendi. Highlights the difficulties that arise when dramatic pressure from outside the boardroom affects boardroom dynamics. In this case, there are two events. The first is an unexpectedly large financial loss and a pending cash flow crisis that forces Vivendi's directors to deal with the issue of dismissing their CEO. Whatever they decide, their actions will be scrutinized by the press and investors and will likely be revisited in a legal environment. The second is the board diagnosing its role in the financial crisis by approving a series of costly acquisitions in recent years that led to the crisis.
On September 17, 2004, Ford Motor Company announced the details of a "revitalization plan" for its ailing Jaguar Cars subsidiary. The plan was aimed at cost savings and reducing excess capacity and overhead expenses (e.g., withdrawing from Formula One racing). In the same period, Jaguar launched a Web-based advertising campaign for its entry-level X-Type and a provocative ad series for its XJ flagship model based on themes from the Seven Deadly Sins. The case provides opportunities to discuss Jaguar's innovative ad campaign and to explore economic models that explain expenditures on non-informative advertising as a signal of product quality (handicap principle).
The case is a continuation of Lesser Antilles Lines (UV0351) which describes the price competition between two duopolistic shipping companies facing inelastic demand for cargo volume. Customers have inelastic and time-sensitive demand, restricting their strategic possibilities. The fictional case introduces additional pricing instruments to this setup. The duopolists can now offer price guarantees and include most-favored-customer clauses and last-look provisions in their contracts.
Mario Quintana, managing partner of Pegasus Capital, was preparing for the upcoming Musimundo board of directors meeting. He was satisfied with the investment decisions of the entertainment retailer, as actual performance surpassed the initial budget. However, given a recent market rebound, Quintana worried that the firm might be falling short of its potential. Additionally, the board of directors would have to analyze a proposal to reset sales targets for the different stores.
Patrimonio Hoy is a program targeting the housing needs of the low-income population by CEMEX, a major Mexican company and a leading global cement producer. Originally conceived as a project to understand the customers in the self-construction segment better, a major component of Mexican home-building concentrated in low-income neighborhoods, Patrimonio Hoy has generated recognition and good will for the company. Its innovative approach reduces significantly the cost and time needed by the poor to improve their housing. Begun in 1998, the program has reached break-even in 2004, with strong prospects of growth in the future. The president of CEMEX North America wonders whether the program should be turned into a major line of business for the company. Provides a good understanding of financing mechanisms available to home builders in Mexico and represents an interesting application of microfinance and product design to open a new market segment based on the needs of low-income customers.
The KIPP Academies are, two high-performing public middle schools founded in 1995 by Michael Feinberg and David Levin in Houston and New York. In January 2000, Feinberg and Levin meet with Scott Hamilton, managing director of the Pisces Foundation, to discuss the possible national replication of the KIPP school model. In addition to covering the wisdom and nature of a possible expansion strategy, they need to assess their common understanding of the essential attributes of the KIPP school program. The history of Feinberg and Levin's efforts to open their schools and the characteristics of their mature schools are presented.
Describes a small, luxury retail chain's operational sophistication achieved through the use of technology and "high-touch" customer service. A family-run business, Mitchells has built its success with a customer service strategy known internally as "hugging." The term is deceptively simple. The firm's true success lies in its blend of a warm, other-oriented corporate culture, sophisticated information technology, and an effective family business structure. It is currently considering further expansion for future generations. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
The Department of Corporate Sponsored Research & Licensing (CSRL) at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) serves as the primary interface between the hospital and the private sector. Examines the range of issues related to the commercialization of MGH's technologies. Discusses the debates surrounding the CSRL office mission and measures of its success as well as the impact of conflict of interest policies on technology development and commercialization.
The Electronic Product Code (EPC) is a successor to the Uniform Product Code and will improve the efficiency and traceability of the global food system. Focuses on how best to implement this new system and respect the privacy of the ultimate consumer. Teaching Purpose: To analyze the impact of EPC on the global food system.
In 1998, STMicroelectronics initiated the e-Chain Optimization (eChO) project with one of its major customers in a joint effort to streamline the company's planning and replenishment operations. Prior to eChO, inefficient and disconnected manual processes were used to match customer demand with ST's fab capacity. This, combined with high demand uncertainty, resulted in inefficiencies in capacity utilization, inventory management, product-mix decisions, and capacity investments. As part of the eChO project, a new B2B system, based on RosettaNet standards, was put in place to enable collaborative planning and replenishments. The new solutions were to be based on a vendor-managed-inventory (VMI) model. The eChO project was successful, allowing both business partners to improve substantially the efficiency of their internal operations and increase customer satisfaction while simultaneously reducing their inventory-related and other operating costs. In addition, it helped foster greater customer loyalty. The discovery process for the first implementation project took a total of three years and required significant investments from both business partners. To reap the most benefits from this investment, ST had to apply the key findings and duplicate the RosettaNet-enabled business processes to other trading partners. However, ST was likely to face several major obstacles along the way, such as an unwillingness of other customers to make the required initial investments.
Designed as an overview of all aspects of the strategy process: industry analysis, positioning, dynamics and sustainability, and scope issues of corporate strategy, including vertical integration, horizontal diversification, and location issues. Ice-Fili is the largest ice cream producer in Russia in 2002, but is facing strong competition from Nestle despite its success over other multinational competitors. Contains detailed exhibits, allowing deeper analyses. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Two members of Deutsche Bank's Fixed Income Research Group are discussing how to advise clients on bond vs. equity asset allocation. A critical aspect to this asset allocation decision is the equity risk premium. Discusses a unique way developed by the bank for understanding the implications of the risk premium.
Deutsche Bank's Fixed Income Research Group is looking for yield curve trades to pitch to clients as well as for their proprietary trading desk. The group has data on recent bond trades and a proprietary term structure model, which they can use to develop trading ideas.
This note provides an overview of China's IT industry, using Michael's Porter's "Diamond of National Advantage" framework. Specifically, it assesses how China uses its factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, and the context for firm strategy, structure, and rivalry to achieve a competitive position in IT. The note was developed as a companion to "The Competitive Advantage of China" (GSB No. IB-57), which provides a more detailed analysis of China's political, economic, and social history, as well as an evaluation of the country's national competitiveness using the Porter framework.