Rather than highlight short-term accounting profits, budgets should emphasize future cash. That, as Warren Buffet knows, is where a company's growth potential lies. Changes as simple as replacing the word "budgets" and revising the format of budget reports can put you on a growth footing.
Companies attempting to grow by entering new businesses fail nine times out of 10. The problem isn't that big companies are too risk averse. Quite the opposite--new research shows that managers go after far too many phantom opportunities.
Managers are often told they should be swinging for the fences, hoping for the next blockbuster product or business model. In fact, breakthrough innovation should be the growth strategy of last resort.
Examines the changes in corporate governance at WorldCom/MCI as proposed by the company's court-appointed corporate monitor, Richard Breeden. Following the largest bankruptcy ever and the downfall of the company, Breeden wrote "Restoring Trust," a report comprised of 78 recommendations for the future governance of the company. Teaching Purpose: To think about how to improve corporate governance at a specific company.
Broad Air Conditioning, a Chinese company with a proactive environmental attitude, suffers from deteriorating financial results. The company founder and CEO must decide whether to start producing electricity-powered air conditioners to improve its financial results easily or stick to its ideal and only manufacture machines powered by heat. Focuses on corporate social responsibility by discussing the relationship between company benefits and environmental protection--especially in developing countries.
In a five-year effort, the Health Industry Manufacturers Association (HIMA) tried to influence government health policy in Japan. In 1993, HIMA mobilized in response to fears the Japanese government was planning to target the U.S. medical devices industry. The case describes how HIMA leveraged outside pressure from the U.S. government to secure exemptions from new regulations, to push for improvements in the Japanese product-approvals process, and to avoid deep cuts in reimbursement prices for medical devices in Japan in 1994 and 1996. HIMA confronts new price-cutting pressures and realizes that its external pressure strategy was proving to be increasingly inadequate. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
In December 2003, Paolo Rocca, chairman and CEO of Tenaris S.A., could look back on a momentous first year for the company. Much had been accomplished since the formation of this leading global supplier of seamless steel pipe and related services in December 2002 via an exchange of the shares and American Depository Receipts of three separately listed pipe companies--Siderca in Argentina, Tamsa in Mexico, and Dalmine in Italy--for shares in the new company. The new company had eight manufacturing facilities variously located in South and North America, Europe, and Asia and distribution and sales centers present in over 20 countries. It enjoyed annual sales of $3.1 billion to the oil and gas, energy, and mechanical industries, a market-leading 19% share globally in seamless OCTG pipes (sold to the oil and gas industry), with particularly strong market shares in a number of national OCTG markets where it had local manufacturing. Despite these accomplishments, Tenaris faced challenges ahead as it sought to transform itself strategically and organizationally. Faced with a mature seamless steel pipe market, Rocca looked to further geographic expansion and a move into service provision to maintain growth and consolidate its market position. Both of these would require new skills and new ways of managing, especially on the human resources side. Building on the legal unification to transform Tenaris' 14,500 employees from eight heritage companies into one centrally aligned, unified operation was also proving to be a major managerial challenge as the company sought to realize the potential advantages of a sophisticated new organizational design. Further, the new organization needed to generate significant cost savings from the consolidation. What should Rocca expect from himself and his managers in the face of these changes? How would they need to manage differently in a unified global organization?
This case presents a challenging discounted-cash-flow (DCF) problem associated with the valuation consequences of changes made to an earnout agreement. The task of the student is to conduct a DCF analysis to compare the values of the original earnout and the amended earnout. The case is designed to be taught in an introductory course as an application of DCF principles, in particular, the choice of an appropriate discount rate consistent with risk.
Surveys Microsoft's expansion into new businesses, such as mobile and embedded devices, home and entertainment, and business solutions, as it faces challenges due to size and maturity and outside threats from Linux and Google. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Discusses moving beyond corporate identity and branding as graphic design to the principle of Voice, defined as an organization's profile that emerges from its values and history. Outlines the design of Caterpillar's Voice as a way of building relationships as well as recognition, about taking advantage of Voice as a guidepost for strategic thinking as well as a guideline for both internal and external communications.
In 2003, Zara's CIO must decide whether to upgrade the retailer's IT infrastructure and capabilities. At the time of the case, the company relies on an out-of-date operating system for its store terminals and has no full-time network in place across stores. Despite these limitations, however, Zara's parent company, Inditex, has built an extraordinarily well-performing value chain that is by far the most responsive in the industry. The case describes this value chain, concentrating on its operations and IT infrastructure.
The managing director of a fundraising organization has recently taken on the project of raising money for charity by managing the third edition of a calendar. He had guidance from the founder of the original calendar project that raised funds for the fire fighters in New York. He focused his energies on creating high quality calendars but they were still not printed as the due date drew near and he was encountering a number of obstacles. He was beginning to feel a bit let down, but he still had to decide how to market the calendars for maximum effect. This is a supplement to Wgirl, Wboy Calendars (A) and (B), products, 9B02A018 and 9B02A019.
A supervisor at a telesales office has received very low ratings on an employee survey and the marketing manager is concerned that this team leader is not performing well. The marketing manager must decide what actions are needed to improve the leadership skills of this supervisor.
A summer assignment is turning into a nightmare for an intern at a large consulting firm. He has just receive his third reprimand from his boss, and is concerned how this relationship is distracting him from the project he needs to complete and how it could hurt his chances of obtaining full-time employment. He must decide how he can salvage the relationship with his boss and whether this organization is the best fit for him.