A female expatriate manager working for a large multinational financial institution must contend with gender discrimination. She had been offered a promotion and the choice of two positions. When she made her decision and informed her boss, he told her that she could not have the job she chose because it would mean periodic travel into Saudi Arabia, which, he believed, would not be possible for a woman.
This case is a supplement to Ellen Moore (A): Living and Working in Bahrain. After living and working overseas, a customer service employee recounts her experiences. She explains the decisions that she made and her experiences and opinions about women in management.
The new vice-president for Kentucky Fried Chicken in southeast Asia, must weigh the growth benefits of investing in China with alternative opportunities in the region. He is at the exploratory stage of market research and is focusing his attention on four possible locations in China. He must also balance his own personal ambitions with the possibilities for failure, not only in China, but the rest of southeast Asia. (A 31-minute video is available with this case, Kentucky Fried Chicken in China - Video.) A follow-up case Kentucky Fried Chicken in China (B) is also available.
The VP's efforts to determine whether and how to proceed with an emerging three-way partnership in China are described. Kentucky Fried Chicken has selected local partners and has been issued a license to operate a restaurant in Beijing. If he is to proceed, the VP must decide how fast he should advance the negotiations and which of three location sites in the city is most desirable. A background case Kentucky Fried Chicken in China (A) and a follow-up case Kentucky Fried Chicken in China (C) are available.
This case presents the start-up of operations in Beijing and discusses the difficulties Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is having with its local partners. By March 1988, KFC has established its largest restaurant in the world in Beijing with sales that are booming and showing no sign of slowing down. Nevertheless, the extent of operational problems and the shortage of hard currency profits is raising concerns over whether further expansion is warranted. Previous cases Kentucky Fried Chicken in China (A) and Kentucky Fried Chicken in China (B) are available.
The note explains the concept of break-even and contribution analysis for use in the financial analysis of businesses. Graphs are presented to clarify the concepts.
This is the first case of six cases which will assess the feasibility of starting a brew pub while reviewing various managerial accounting and business decision-making tools. See Kellers' Freehouse (B), Kellers' Freehouse (C), Kellers' Freehouse (D), Kellers' Freehouse (E), Kellers' Freehouse (F)
This follow-up case of the Kellers' Freehouse series provides a comprehensive review of cost behaviour. Specifically, the topics of cost classification, contribution analysis, and break-even analysis are addressed in the context of examining the cost structure of a restaurant. See Kellers' Freehouse (A), Kellers' Freehouse (C), Kellers' Freehouse (D), Kellers' Freehouse (E), Kellers' Freehouse (F)
The third case of the Kellers' Freehouse series focuses on the development of a marketing plan. A marketing analysis framework will be used to make decisions regarding the pricing policies, product offering, place, and promotion of the brew pub. See Kellers' Freehouse (A), Kellers' Freehouse (B), Kellers' Freehouse (D), Kellers' Freehouse (E), Kellers' Freehouse (F)
The fourth case of the Kellers' Freehouse series provides a review of cash flow analysis.This session addresses the importance of cash management and the mechanics of developing a cash budget. In addition, a plan will be developed to finance the new business. See Kellers' Freehouse (A), Kellers' Freehouse (B), Kellers' Freehouse (C), Kellers' Freehouse (E), Kellers' Freehouse (F)
This is the fifth case in the Kellers' Freehouse series. See Kellers' Freehouse (A), Kellers' Freehouse (B), Kellers' Freehouse (C), Kellers' Freehouse (D), Kellers' Freehouse (F)
This is the sixth and final case in the Kellers' Freehouse series. The purpose of this case is . See Kellers' Freehouse (A), Kellers' Freehouse (B), Kellers' Freehouse (C), Kellers' Freehouse (D) and Kellers' Freehouse (E).
The note describes a short-run operating decision-making model that may be used to evaluate alternate courses of action. The note covers qualitative versus quantitative analysis, relevant costs for the model, and differential investments. As well, cost behaviour, financial charges on new investments and divestments are also covered.
The vice-president, corporate and public affairs, at an insurance company has to prepare the next year's internal communications program at a time when the company is undergoing a revolution - an effort to improve service and profits through a radical organizational and cultural change. The small communications department has played a key role and tried new methods in the company's move toward empowerment and increased accountability. At this point, creating a communications strategy on a limited budget means choosing among priorities, but a recent survey of employee attitudes has provided some input into needs.
Follows a very creative founder and his business in becoming major forces in the sport and industry of cycling. Looks at a creative and visionary individual, Jim Gentes, and some of the important questions he faced as his first product (a revolutionary new bicycle helmet) became a market success. Details Jim's start-up experiences, including his beginnings when he stocked inventory in his bedroom, used his garage as a manufacturing plant, and expanded by trading a helmet with his neighbor for use of his garage. Giro maintained the highest quality and eventually placed its superior product on the heads of the sport's most respected athletes. Giro leveraged this reputation as the "helmet of champions" as Gentes worked hard to maintain the company's standards. His helmet became well-known among cycling enthusiasts and marketers, eventually garnering a reputation as an extemely "hot" new product. Along with success, the business became increasingly more complicated, and an increasing number of issues required more attention.
In the spring of 1987, Mauritz Sahlin, CEO of SKF, the world's largest bearing company, decided to transform the company to improve profitability and return on assets. Production had already been rationalized and was fully automated, leaving little room for savings. Neither could R&D expenditures be cut, given the company's reputation for technological prowess and quality standards. The only viable long-term solution was to change the strategic orientation of SKF from the production line to the market, which would now be segmented into the before market and aftermarket. The plan required a complex reorganization of the company with far-reaching consequences throughout the organization, but there was no other option. Intended to be the springboard to a new SKF market culture, SKF Bearing Services was created, and Goran Malm was asked to be its CEO. A 1995 and 1997 ECCH award winner.
Shortly after accepting the offer to become CEO of the newly created SKF Bearings Services in 1987, Goran Malm, long a proponent of market-driven change at SKF, defined his mission: trouble-free operations. Rather than simply make and sell bearings, which SKF, the world's largest bearing company, had excelled at, SKF Bearing Services was to offer customers solutions. Quickly selecting his key team members, Malm set about instituting a market-driven approach throughout his division, which was responsible for handling the vehicle and industrial aftermarket. Push through distributors and pull through advertising and the creation of maintenance support centers, which he called service factories, were key to implementing the change process.
SKF, the world's largest bearing manufacturer, decided in 1987 to change its focus significantly. Although the Swedish company was still No. 1 in the field, its profitability and return on assets had been going flat since 1985. To remain the industry leader, the company had to give customers what they wanted, not simply what the firm manufactured. Goran Malm was appointed to implement the change process within SKF.
Demonstrates the dangers in assuming that a product successful in one market will do well in another, poor global marketing implementation, poor marketing strategy and implementation in general where research was used to back decisions on how to proceed, the need for an integrated marketing strategy to launch a new brand, and overreliance on an advertising push to diffuse a new brand. A 1992 ECCH award winner.