An introduction to sampling and statistical inference that covers the main concepts (confidence intervals, tests of statistical significance, choice of sample size) that are needed in making inferences about a population mean or percent. Includes discussion of problems of sampling in the real world where response bias and nonrepresentativeness violate the principles on which statistical inference is based.
John Akers, IBM's chairman, must confront how to transform a $60 billion, full line, global computer company that is the leader in every market it serves, yet losing share across the board. The case explores senior management's perspective on the process of organization change.
Examines the important economic considerations affecting a firm's price-quantity decision for a product. Begins with a discussion of the appropriate decision criterion. Next, it motivates the concept of a demand curve for a product and defines demand elasticity. Marginal analysis is used to establish the following necessary condition for optimal price and quantity: marginal revenue must equal marginal cost. Price-quantity determination in the presence of a resource constraint and competition is also discussed.
Describes the development of a new word processing software package, Word for Windows. The major focus is how the development process should be improved to reduce schedule slips and cost overruns. Some of the issues raised are: the use of schedules in managing development projects, cross-functional communications, program management, and differences between software and hardware development.
Faced with changing markets and tougher competition, more companies realize that they must transform how they function. Although senior managers understand the necessity of change, they often misunderstand what it takes to bring it about. They assume that corporate renewal is the product of companywide change programs--and that to transform employee behavior, they must alter a company's formal structure. Change programs are, in fact, the greatest obstacles to successful revitalization, and formal structure is the last thing a company should change, not the first.
The management at Trail Manufacturing was so excited about installing new flexible machining equipment in their factory that they neglected to guage the impact it would have on the workers who actually ran the machines. Mike Trail, the company's owner and president, is torn between his chief engineer who encourages radical changes, and his machinists who believe the company is making a huge mistake. Four experts in operations management comment on the choices Trail must consider.
Products with integrity perform superbly, provide good value, and satisfy customer's expectations in every respect, including such intangibles as their look and feel. The most successful development organizations appoint a "heavyweight" product manager to guide the creation of a strong product concept. This person ensures that a product concept both satisfies potential customers' wants and needs and is completely embodied in a product's details.
Companies are creating new hybrid marketing systems that promise to become the dominant marketing design. These systems offer greater coverage and reduced costs, but they are also hard to manage. Managers can make the task easier with a "hybrid grid," a map that illustrates the combination of channels and tasks that will optimize cost and coverage. Another tool, a marketing and sales productivity (MSP) system, can help managers create customized channels and service for specific customer segments.
John S. Reed, chairman and CEO of Citicorp, has a clear ambition: to create the world's first truly global financial institution. Citicorp's scale may make it the only U.S. bank with the potential to do this. Still, its precarious balance sheet constrains flexibility and growth. Reed proposes a radical restructuring of international banking: "Imagine a scenario in which 10 or 12 international banks, much like the 5 or 6 giant oil companies, share the capital and risk associated with different parts of the business."
In the late 1970s, the author read everything he could about Japanese business. But only by working for Japanese companies has he been able to learn about day-to-day management. In the past 11 years, first at Toshiba's U.S. computer business and then at Seiko Instruments USA, he has learned firsthand more than ten Japanese management techniques.
According to a survey the author conducted for the International Women's Forum, women managers are succeeding by drawing on what is unique to their experience as women. Because they have historically been expected to play a supportive and cooperative role, women have learned how to manage effectively without relying on their control of resources and power to motivate others. They tend to be more interactive in their leadership than men.
Small and midsize companies make up 99% of Japanese industry, and are the real foundation of the Japanese economy. The high-quality goods that come bearing a famous maker's name are seldom the product of that company's factory -- in fact, small companies usually designed, assembled, packaged, and shipped it. These subcontractors are like serfs in a highly structured feudal system. The big companies are the daimyo -- feudal overlords who control the fates of their subjects.
To combat poor motivation and lack of commitment, and bridge the gap between performance and potential, the owner of Johnsonville Sausage completely changed his management style and redirected the structure of his company. By giving up his own authority and getting employees to take full responsibility for decisions on production, personnel, quality control, and company expansion, he was able to increase performance standards and market share.
Describes a set of decisions confronting Robin Wolaner, who is negotiating with representatives of Time Inc. about investing in a project to launch a new magazine called Parenting. The negotiations have reached an impasse. Among the issues to be considered are the following: 1) How do you assess the opportunity that Wolaner has identified? 2) How much money does Wolaner need? From whom should the capital be raised? 3) Is the proposed deal with Time Inc. reasonable? From whose perspective? What changes, if any, should be made to the deal? 4) What should Wolaner do?
Describes the leadership role of Northwest Airlines' chairman and his key organizational development "lieutenant" during five years of major change and pressure--1985-89. During this time the airline was confronted with major customer service problems, the merger with Republic, and the crash of one of its planes. Highlights the roles, responsibilities, and tactics of Steve Rothmeier and Ken Myers during this turbulent period. Can be used to evaluate leadership in times of difficult pressures, the different styles of change that each embodies and advocates, and the results of their actions.
Describes three middle managers acting in the role of change agents. Highlights their personal roles and their "moods" at two points in the course of introducing major cultural change. While their comments are only six months apart, they have reached a more pessimistic and sobering phase of the change process. It allows students to see how dynamic a change effort is, how the degree of optimism can shift, and what the major concerns are for change agents--in both the middle of the organization and in the middle of change.
The sales manager and controller have to decide on a price for a textile that lost significant market share as a result of a recent price increase. Information on manufacturing costs and on the pricing behavior of Beauregard and its only competitor are available for analysis. The case provides an opportunity to practice contribution analysis, considering fixed and variable costs as reported in a typical cost report. Also tests the students' ability to recognize the need to consider the situation from the competitor's point of view. Finally, it poses a prisoner's dilemma for the two firms where each would prefer a set of prices unfavorable to the other so that prices are likely either to be unstable or to be stable at a suboptimal level for both parties. The class can close with students attempting to devise a pricing strategy that would reach the optimal level.
Concerns the pioneering use of a method of accounting in retailing which takes into account not only sales and the cost of goods sold but, at the item level, all of the variable costs associated with each item that is sold. Focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of Hannaford's use of Direct Product Profit and the opportunities and obstacles in the way of the improvement and extension of the Direct Product Profit system.