Heineken managers are evaluating the results of the research projects designed to identify the values of the Heineken brand and to translate these into effective advertising messages.
The chief financial officer of a rapidly growing U.S.-based software firm that sells its process-control software to industrial users around the globe must review the goals, strategies, and policies of the firm's currency hedging program. This review is prompted by changes in the firm's business, notably its acquisition of a United Kingdom subsidiary, other growing overseas expenses, and its recent initial public offering.
In July 1995, J.C. Penney announced the award to United Parcel Service (UPS) of a billion-dollar, five-year contract for delivery services. This was the largest distribution contract ever awarded and represented a dramatic concentration of Penney's business with one carrier. Invites students to assess the financial performance of Federal Express and UPS. The two firms have competed intensely for dominance of the overnight express package industry. Requires no numerical computations of the students; rather, their tasks include interpretation of the results and reflection on the result's implications.
One third of the 24 National Hockey League (NHL) teams are unprofitable. Another third are barely profitable. This case provides the background and market research data to help the senior managers of the NHL make decisions pertaining to how they would like to grow the fan base. The two choices under consideration are network advertising and grassroots marketing.
The managing director of Disney Consumer Products for Europe and the Middle East is reviewing recent market research in Lebanon regarding the sales potential of Disney licensed products and assessing the pros and cons of several distribution options.
Danone is the largest food company in France and is in the top ten in the world, but most of its activity is in France, Spain, and Italy. How does it become a global company? Should it? How does it leverage its leadership in yogurt, biscuits, and mineral water?
Charles Barker must decide whether to become an outside investor in a private round of financing for an early stage, high-growth-potential venture producing plastic pouring spouts for orange juice cartons. Barker must evaluate the opportunity, content, and deal to decide whether the deal makes sense for him, and whether he should recommend the investment to his clients.
Eight months has passed since Barker first invested in Beechwood Spouts, and the company's situation has deteriorated. The problems appear to be resolved. Barker must now decide whether to participate in a crucial bridge financing round, without which the company will go bankrupt.
Johnson-Grace is a cash-strapped start-up company negotiating a licensing agreement with America OnLine (AOL), a leading provider of on-line services in the United States. The Johnson-Grace technology would enable AOL to transmit visual images to its customers more quickly than existing technology. In addition to price, Johnson-Grace must consider whether to give AOL exclusivity and whether to encourage AOL to make an equity investment in their company.
The president and controller of Western Chemical Corp. are discussing the best way to measure and report performance of foreign subsidiaries. One subsidiary is a joint venture with its own borrowing capacity; another is wholly owned; and a third is wholly owned and serves as a sales base for regional sales. Applying generally accepted accounting principles gives income measurements that seem to conflict with true success of the operations.
Describes the pharmaceutical industry in the 1990s, with particular emphasis on the mergers between American manufacturers and prescription-benefits managers (PBMs). PBMs are distributors with unprecedented access to information on patient and physician characteristics. Students have an opportunity to analyze the mergers using transactions-cost techniques.
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Why are some companies able to remain vital, even after extensive reengineering, while others flounder and fail? The answer, according to these authors, lies in a company's ability to rejuvenate its employees by establishing a behavioral context with four characteristics: discipline, support, trust, and stretch. The authors trace postwar corporate history to identify the pernicious qualities that have ossified many companies, using Westinghouse as an example of an oppressive context based on the elements of compliance, control, constraint, and contract. They also show how companies like Intel and 3M have renewed themselves by creating an environment in which people are the most important resource.