When workers withdraw commitment to their jobs or allow resentments toward bosses, subordinates, and others to grow and fester, it isn't because bosses are power hungry or subordinates naturally rebellious. Conflict and misunderstanding usually arise because of power differences. Many managers can't see how their behavior toward subordinates and superiors alike is distorted by hierarchical differences. Because they are masters and servants of power, one might expect that they could transfer their experience from one role to the other. In reality, few managers link their experience as superiors and subordinates or change their behavior in response.
Most U.S. companies have developed fairly rigid marketing structures to achieve certain and predictable results, when the business climate is equally certain and predictable. But such engines of efficiency have a price. As top executives come to rely on routinized marketing structures instead of management imagination, they neglect managers' marketing skills. Companies can nourish such constructive subversion by seeking out "hungry" managers, rewarding good performance, and making creative rule breaking possible.
For more than ten years, U.S. manufacturers have tried to narrow their competitive gap with Japan by investing in flexible automation. But having the technology and using it well are two different things. A study of more than half the installed systems in both countries shows that American companies are using computerized manufacturing for the same old-fashioned, high-volume, low-variety production they have always pursued, while the Japanese are utilizing the new technology in remarkably flexible and effective ways.
The service sector, now nearly three quarters of the U.S. gross national product, may be headed toward the same global noncompetitiveness as manufacturing. Deregulation of U.S. communications and financial markets has helped drive U.S. industries into global competitive leadership, but success may be producing a familiar complacency that repeats in services the same insularity that has damaged manufacturing. This report on a multiphase study shows that warning signs have already begun to appear. U.S. companies are paying insufficient attention to customers and quality and overemphasizing scale economies.
In small companies with more than one owner, it's inevitable that partners will occasionally differ on how to run the business. Where a climate of mutual respect characterizes the relationship, such disagreements are quickly and easily resolved. But what happens when partners find themselves in deep disagreement? Small business owners can take measures to prevent disputes from becoming crises.
Pinnacle Mutual is one of the largest mutual life insurance companies in the world. Offering a full range of financial services, it competes with a broad group of financial service providers. In an effort to compete more effectively, Pinnacle adopted GAAP accounting and established profit centers in 1985. The case contains a description of the processes used to create profit centers and some of the implementation problems that were encountered.
Describes the development and terms of the largest leveraged buyout up to the date of the case. The main problem is to value the positions of the various participants: lenders, equity holders, investment bankers, and management. This is an abridged version of an earlier case by D.W. Mullins, Jr.
A loan officer must decide whether to lend $8 million to a rapidly growing high technology company. The company has had a series of relationships with three other banks. Reports from loan officers at these banks are mixed and raise questions as to the ease with which a relationship would proceed. The full range of issues must be considered in evaluating the credit worthiness (character, collateral, capacity, conditions, pricing). The loan officer must also determine how much weight to place on a comfort letter from a major pharmaceutical firm.
Manac Systems International is confronting a decision about how best to market one of its computer software product lines to small law firms. In the past, Manac has focused on traditional personal selling approaches to market software products that ran on IBM minicomputers. With the advent of increasingly powerful microcomputers, they now have the opportunity to market a new software product line and must decide how to market it. Should they rely on personal selling in the channels or invest heavily in a different marketing program, with advertising, a toll-free telephone line, and a money-back guarantee to get small law firms to order the software direct from Manac?
Americana Hotels decides to lease a resort hotel on Jamaica's north coast from the Jamaican government. Management must decide whether to operate it as a traditional resort, or as an all-inclusive, club-type resort, similar to those operated by Club Med. The traditional resort appears to be a low-risk, solidly profitable opportunity. The all-inclusive option, on the other hand, has enormous profit potential, but the company has no experience operating this type of resort--and there are major differences in its operational characteristics.
A completely unexpected telephone call comes from the Jamaican Prime Minister. The government's position provides an interesting look into government-business relationships, especially in third-world nations.
New competition has led to doubts about Singapore Airlines' excellent reputation for in-flight services. The key to maintaining or improving service is the attitude and proficiency of the cabin crews. The company now discovers that there may be problems in this group. This is a rewritten version of earlier cases by D.D. Wyckoff.
Describes the evolution of the working relationship of Karen Leary, a new manager of a Merrill Lynch retail branch, and Ted Chung, a new financial consultant in the branch. Leary has some concerns about her working relationship with Chung and with his performance. Chung makes what Leary perceives to be an unreasonable request for a private office. Leary must respond to this request, taking into account the implications of her decision for her ambitions for the branch office and her career.
As import penetration into the American footwear market reached 81% in 1986, B-W Footwear, along with all of its American competitors, was struggling. Supply lines were deteriorating, retailers and importers were gaining power, and the government had rejected two consecutive petitions for protection. Like all industries faced with comparative cost disadvantages in international competition, footwear firms such as B-W have to find new ways to compete. This case explores different survival strategies for managing comparative disadvantage.
Concerns negotiations between managers of Becton Dickinson's (BD) VACUTAINER division (which manufactures and sells blood collection products) and managers of a large hospital buying group. Recent changes in the health care industry are the background for the negotiations, which involve the buying group's attempt to negotiate both lower prices and different distribution terms with BD. The case provides background information about important industry changes and the previous history of purchasing and negotiations among BD, the buying group, and important distributors. As well as a pricing-negotiations case, it is a good vehicle for raising issues concerning what factors affect the balance of power in channel relations.
What does international competition mean for competitive strategy? While there is ample literature on the problems of becoming a multinational, the specific strategic needs of established multinationals require closer examination in light of the increasingly competitive international environment. We need to distinguish between multidomestic industries and global industries. If American firms are to catch up with the Japanese, they must strive to achieve global platforms rather than engage in competition on a country-by-country basis. A global strategy requires that a firm rebalance the configuration and coordination of its activities so that comparative as well as competitive advantage is achieved. The increasing globalization of international competition requires strategic responses that overcome country parochialism.