Matt Gruber is an effective and highly motivated executive, yet his inability to deal with superiors is shown by numerous instances of abrasive behaviour. Matt's rise and fall at Kapco is described in this case, which is one of a four-part series (see 9A93D016, 9A93D017, 9A93D018). The series' teaching objectives are to learn to manage and to maintain successful relationships with supervisors and to effectively manage an employee who has difficulty relating upward.
This (B) case in the Kapco series presents the situation described in Kapco Limited (A), case 9A93D015, but from the perspective of one of Matt Gruber's superiors.
Further information is provided to the situation described in Kapco Limited (A), case 9A93D015, which leads to a request for Matt Gruber's resignation.
In the final case of the Kapco series, Matt's firing, and how he handled it, are presented. See Kapco Limited (A), case 9A93D015, for the origins of the story.
First Fidelity Bancorporation had decided to use an outsourcing vendor to convert its existing information systems operations into a centralized facility and to operate the systems on a long-term basis. This decision was part of a rationalization process to consolidate eight independent banks into one operating structure so as to achieve cost savings and create a way of integrating new acquisitions and mergers. The holding company had to select an outsourcing vendor that could participate in this process and achieve the growth objectives set by the bank. The options were to select a partner or a supplier. A background case First Fidelity Bancorporation (A) is available.
First Fidelity Bancorporation had outsourced its information systems conversion and on-going data centre management to Electronic Data Systems (EDS) on a ten-year contract. The EDS-FFB relationship was one year into the arrangement (1991) when several challenges had surfaced, the most urgent of which was an $8 million cost overrun on the conversion project. The EDS account manager had the choice of absorbing the costs, seeking compensation from the bank or suggesting a compromise. Several other challenges would also have to be addressed in the relationship, such as an incompatible software platform, resistance, difficult communications and flexibility to accommodate future bank directions and acquisitions. Background cases First Fidelity Bancorporation (B): Selecting an Outsourcing Vendor and First Fidelity Bancorporation (A)) are available.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the first supranational financial institution of the post-Cold War era, is planning its debut in the international capital markets through a bond issuance of $500 million. The bank must determine its marketing strategy for the offering on two levels--positioning of the institution and of the bond offering itself. Integral to the marketing task is the selection of a lead manager, who will determine the marketing mix. The mix decisions involve determining product (currency, maturity, coupon), pricing (yield), promotion (road shows and media relations), and distribution (formation of the syndicate). In addition, the lead manager will need to select appropriate target markets (retail and institutional investors), along with overall positioning for the institution.
Following a store expansion in 1993, a small general merchandise retailer has not realized the expected growth in sales volume, and is now, in fact, losing money. He is evaluating his product offerings, service levels, hours, inventory, and pricing, and is trying to decide what he should do next.
Describes Nike's responses to market and competitive challenges as well as its attempts at an organizational transformation from unstructured entrepreneurial management to more formalized, professional management. Focuses on Phil Knight's leadership role.
Air Miles Canada both increases customer loyalty by rewarding shopping frequency at specified merchants, and enables its sponsors to develop a new, more complex understanding of their customers' (and potential customers') shopping habits, thus making future customer acquisition more efficient.
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. In a time of shortening product life cycles, complex corporate joint ventures, and stiffening requirements for customer service, it is necessary to consider the complete scope of supply chain management, from supplier of raw materials, through factories and warehouses, to demand in a store for a finished product. Hewlett-Packard has developed a framework for addressing the uncertainty that plagues the performance of suppliers, the reliability of manufacturing and transportation processes, and changing customer desires. Describes several cases in which entire product families are reevaluated in a supply chain context. The methodology presented should help others to manage their own supply chains more successfully.
Continuous improvement programs are proliferating as corporations seek to better themselves and gain an edge. Unfortunately, however, failed programs far outnumber successes, and improvement rates remain low. That's because most companies have failed to grasp a basic truth. Before people and companies can improve, they must first learn. And to do this, they need to look beyond rhetoric and high philosophy and focus on the fundamentals. Three critical issues must be addressed before a company can truly become a learning organization: meaning, management, and measurement.
The authors warn that any company considering a move to Mexico must manage both the old risks of a developing country and the new uncertainties of an open market. Since the 1960s, U.S. companies have operated "maquiladoras," factories near the border that use Mexican labor to assemble products for export. As trade barriers come down, these factories will compete for the first time with the most successful Mexican companies, and other fierce competitors. Hiring local managers and finding local partners have helped some companies manage the inevitable risks. But depending on a company's size and core business, the risks of doing business in Mexico may outweigh the benefits.
In the opinion of some journalists and business leaders, Japan's preeminence in product quality is a direct consequence of lectures delivered 40 years ago in Tokyo by two Americans - W. Edwards Deming and Joseph M. Juran. According to Dr. Juran, this view is pure chauvinist nonsense. Despite the shoddiness of Japanese consumer goods before the war, the Japanese did have a quality tradition. It was just that the Japanese had never devoted engineering expertise, capital, or management attention to the quality of exportable consumer goods. The shock of losing the war changed their mind-set. In Japan, senior executives took personal charge of managing for quality and pursued quality change at such a revolutionary pace that by the mid-1970s, Japan had passed the United States in quality manufacturing. The unsung heroes of the Japanese quality revolution were Japanese managers, not American experts. Now Dr. Juran sees the beginnings of a quality revolution in the United States as global competition drives managers to focus on their nondelegable responsibilities in quality management.
The authors believe that defining the difference between star performers and average workers is the way to increase the productivity of knowledge professionals. The authors' research at the Bell Laboratories Switching Systems Business Unit (SSBU) has revealed that the difference between stars and average workers is not IQ but the ways top performers do their jobs. Their study has led to a training program based on the strategies of star performers. Once the SSBU training program, known as the Productivity Enhancement Group, got underway, respected engineers ran the training session, which included case studies, work-related exercises, and frank discussion. Participants and managers reported substantial productivity increases in both star and average performers.