This case is a good introductory linear-programming case; it introduces the notion of constraint exploitation and provides practice in deciding between alternative forecasting techniques (including exponential smoothing). The case contains a decision-uncertainty structure. A production planner must determine whether or not to take a contract for future delivery of a specified product at a stated price. The decision will affect the production mix in future periods. Uncertainty surrounding the future market price of the product is crucial. In the B case (UVA-QA-0391) a second constraining resource is introduced to the decision environment.
The president of a natural-resource exploration company has to decide whether to invest in a new drilling opportunity. He already has a spreadsheet that projects the most likely scenario for the well and calculates the NPV and internal rate of return. However, six uncertainties are discussed by the president and another potential investor. He also has prepared a spreadsheet for a couple of downside scenarios--one where gas is not able to be produced after the well is drilled and a second where gas is produced but all other uncertainties are at their 1% worst possible values. A student worksheet file is available for use with this case.
Charles Hugel, the chairman of RJR Nabisco, receives a call from RJR Nabisco's CEO, Ross Johnson; Johnson plans to present an LBO plan to the board of directors at the board meeting the following week. The case details Hugel's actions as chairman, and describes the events leading up to the bidding deadline for the company. The special committee of RJR Nabisco's board must decide which of the three groups vying for the company submitted the best bid.
Involves the design and creation of a company with no formally-defined hierarchy. Describes the steps the founder takes to avoid the organizational politics he perceives as crushing the human contributions they were designed to harness. Fifteen years later, the company has achieved widespread recognition in the industry for its innovative designs, its quality products, and its highly ethical standards for business dealings. Describes the organization, the plant, and current concerns.
This case describes two shipping firms in the midst of a price war over the market for containerized shipping to and from a small Caribbean island. The situation is a classic duopoly. The case presents a table of contributions to both firms as a function of their prices. This table serves as a basis by which the class can explore the concepts of Nash equilibrium, price leadership, and prisoners' dilemma. See also ''Lesser Antilles Lines (B)'' and ''Lesser Antilles Lines (C).''
This note contains a modified version of Christie and Geis's (1970) Machiavellianism Scale, which measures leadership and interpersonal style based on opportunism, self-interest, and manipulation. The instrument is designed to be used in conjunction with the technical note "Machiavellianism: Understanding the Person and the Situation."
Describes the history and management of a startup plant that manufactures guided missile canisters for the U.S. Navy. The plant is rare in that management is minimized; most of the work is done by self-directed work teams. The decision maker is the Green River, Wyoming, FMC plant manager, who is trying to assess whether the unusual management approach at Aberdeen would suit his facility, which is larger, older, in a different industry, and unionized. Includes data on the Aberdeen plant's history, philosophy, recruiting methods, evaluation procedure, reward mechanism, career development, and information systems.
This self-assessment instrument helps students assess their current level of development and then examine their allocation of time to see whether the daily and weekly structure of time allocation is consistent with their personal definition of success. It can be used alone or with such cases as "The Life and Career of a Senior Executive Officer" (UVA-PACS-0023).
This technical note contains a scale measuring Type-A behavior patterns (Bortner, 1969), describes its impact on individuals and organizations, contains two short cases describing Type-A and Type-B individuals, and presents recommendations for modifying Type-A behavior patterns.
This note summarizes several major theories of leadership. It is intended to provide a quick overview of the major concepts and points rather than an in-depth understanding of the theories. It includes the Great Man theory, charismatic leadership, and the approaches of McClelland, Winter, Bennis, Burns, Fiedler, Hersey and Blanchard, Path-Goal, Mintzberg, Kotter, Maccoby, and Schein.
The special committee of the RJR Nabisco board has extended the bidding deadline for the company by 10 days. The case explains the process by which Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the management group bid against one another for ownership of RJR Nabisco. The board of directors is left with a decision: who has submitted the best bid?
This case depicts the history of an unusual brand in the "super premium" segment of the vodka market. The top-of-line positioning is supported with creative advertising, narrow distribution, point-of-purchase advertising, and expensive advertising production. Absolut has used very expensive inserts as advertisements in print vehicles during the Christmas season. The last inserts described in the case cost approximately $1 each to manufacture and distribute via the media vehicle (The New Yorker). The case asks students to decide whether such expensive advertising should be continued and, if so, how. The societal effects of advertising alcoholic beverages and the implications of pursuing such exclusive positioning strategies may also be explored.
This case can be used to teach students about individual behavior, Type A behavior, time and priority management, balancing work and family life, managing performance, managing energy in professional life, organizational behavior, and leadership. John Wolford, a new general manager of a technology manufacturing company, finds his role so stressful that he undergoes medical tests.
This case can be used to teach individual behavior, Type A behavior, time and priority management, balancing work and family life, managing performance, managing energy in professional life, organizational behavior, and leadership. In this C case, a business analyst who reports to John Wolford has given him a discouraging report regarding the results of a survey taken by the employees of his company.
This note introduces basic principles of organizational design and the advantages of several common organizational structures. The principles of design are fit, differentiation, integration, technology, size, span of control, staffing, unity of command, and line versus staff. The structures diagrammed and described are functional, product, customer, geographic, divisional or M-form, matrix, amorphous, and hybrids. The note also discusses the new emerging Information Age organizational forms, which the authors call "infocracies."
This note describes reflective, or active, listening. A list of types of responses, from directive to nondirective, is given in an appendix. The note itself summarizes major principles of reflective listening and how they can be applied. It may be used as a summary of, or introduction to, the topic.
Perdue Farms, the highly successful marketer of brand-name chicken, is considering the introduction of a chicken hot dog to the market. The decision is complicated by a variety of factors, including top management's concerns and conditions, potential ramifications of the hot dog for the company's high-quality image, the uncertainty of market response, uncertainties about how to position the new product, potential consumer objections to use of mechanically deboned meat, and the uncertainty of profitability at recommended levels of marketing costs.
This note introduces and describes scenario-building, the strategic-thinking approach developed by Pierre Wack and associates at Royal/Dutch Shell in the 1970s and helped catapult the company from seventh to second in its industry. The note defines the concept, outlines who should use it and how it links to strategic planning, and illustrates it with models and verbal examples. The note is appropriate for use in courses on business economics, strategic thinking, business policy, and leadership.
This note contains suggestions on casewriting under the following headings: Objectives of the Case Method; Case Development; An Overview; Preparing To Write A Case; Sources of Case Information; The Casewriting Process; Characteristics of an Effective Case; and Teaching Notes.