C-Car was the first automobile retailer in the United States to go public. Subsequently the owner, Mr. Gilliland, must decide how to invest the capital raised from the public ownership. This case describes in detail C-Car's highly profitable strategy of managing its stores. Concerns four potential acquisitions and their fit within C-Car's strategy.
Seven years after graduation, an MBA grad accepts the COO position in a company he's never heard of in an industry he knows nothing about. Moving up a vertical learning curve, he is involved in a crisis, and exposed to change and people management. He also must develop a complementary working relationship with the CEO.
Describes the efforts of the president of Booz.Allen, a major consulting firm, to understand and improve the way that products, services, and processes are developed and deployed throughout the firm. Proactive management of these processes proves very difficult because of the firm's decentralized decision structure and the firm's cultural predisposition to listen to its existing customers.
Outlines the dynamic shifts in the external environment surrounding Planned Parenthood's operations in 1994. Health care reform was threatening some of its core customer base. The organization had to come up with a strategy and a process for adapting to the new environment.
Outlines the process of strategy reinvention adopted by Planned Parenthood. It lays out the new strategic proposals, and the reactions of the various constituencies to those proposals.
This case asks the student to compute Procter & Gamble's weighted-average cost of capital to determine whether another company should enter the household-products market; the student must also compute Clorox's cost of capital as a check on the P&G estimate. The case emphasizes the conceptual as well as mechanical aspects of computing cost of capital for a company with homogeneous business risk and stable capital structure.
This note introduces the notion of "Emotional Intelligence" as described in Daniel Goleman's book by the same name and extends that concept to include Social Quotient or Intelligence and Change Quotient or Intelligence. The general thrust is that IQ alone does not a good leader make, but that EQ, SQ, and CQ are also necessary to be an effective leader.
The top management at Daewoo is reviewing its close relationship with the Uzbekistan government, focusing especially on the performance of Uz-Daewoo Auto, a strategic alliance to manufacture and market passenger cars.
In 1994, Mr Olano, special projects manager of Mega Corp., must make a recommendation to Mega's owner, Mrs. Lim, about Mega's investment in a television production facility at Clark Special Economic Zone, the Philippines. Initially the investment was to have been Mega's venture into being an OEM television manufacturer, sourcing parts and selling the output on its own. Recently, however, Aiwa and Mega have had negotiations about the plant becoming a sole supplier for Aiwa's new initiative into television production. Under the arrangement, Mega would assemble televisions for Aiwa from parts either sourced through Aiwa or sourced on its own--if these parts were less expensive yet met Aiwa's standards. Mega's profits would be about $2 per unit plus 50% of any cost saving on the components it sourced.
Claire Hurley and her business partner have obtained a supra-regional TV license for Poland. Their company has received initial funding from Polish investors and now faces the difficult challenge of raising an additional $7 million to fund the start of operations of a TV station. Claire and her partner have to resolve questions about strategic partners, company valuation, and deal structures. Teaching purpose: Explores the challenges of starting a media company in Poland. Allows discussion of entrepreneurial start-ups in transition economies. Also involves analysis of economics and valuation of TV stations. Highlights challenges of raising capital from foreign partners.
Describes a senior management team's strategic decision-making process. The division president faces three options for redesigning the process to address several key concerns. The president has extensive quantitative and qualitative data about the process to guide him as he and the senior team attempt to make improvements.
Focuses on strategic decisions regarding investment in digital imaging technology facing Polaroid Corp., a worldwide leader in the traditional imaging marketplace, in July 1997. New Polaroid CEO Gary DiCamillo must decide how much emphasis to place on digital vs. traditional imaging technology, how to restructure the organization to capitalize on this new technology, and whether to support a new proposal to develop a digital camera for the mass market.
Oxfam America, a nongovernmental organization providing grant assistance to organizations fighting hunger, poverty, and their causes, was engaged in a new strategy formulation process, led by its new president.
Walt Disney is contemplating sites for a new theme park, building on the success of Disneyland in Anaheim. The focus is on Disney's strategy for land negotiation and acquisition, which is informed by his experience with the Anaheim park.
The saga of Disney's efforts to build a theme park in Manassas, Va. in the early 1990s is told. Disney's strategy against the various opponents of the project is presented.
Disney's first foray into an urban environment, is the restoration and development of the landmark New Amsterdam Theater in New York's Times Square. Disney must negotiate with the city, state, and various nonprofit organizations focused on the redevelopment of Times Square.