The president of Petro-Canada Products Limited proposes to restructure his division of the company. His proposal is for an unusually decentralized organization, by oil industry standards, and it needs to be approved by the company's executive council. The case presents background material on the oil industry, West's division, and the specifics of his proposal. The reaction of other executives in the firm to the proposal is also presented.
Two-party negotiation between the lawyers for business partners concerning the ownership of a new computer program one of them has developed. HackerStar, Inc. is a small closely-held corporation that develops and markets software for microcomputers. The six-year-old company was founded by Hacker, a brilliant programmer who is responsible for the company's products and became its manager, and Star, a dentist and computer hobbyist who provided the capital. Hacker and Star are each 50% owners. The company has done moderately well, but now faces a crisis resulting from a dispute between the partners over the ownership and disposition of PowerScreen, a new product developed by Hacker, at least partly on his own time and definitely against Star's wishes. The company lawyer has referred Hacker and Star to separate counsel in order to avoid a conflict of interest. The exercise revolves around the meeting of these lawyers. At issue is the ownership of PowerScreen and the future of HackerStar, Inc.
Two-party negotiation between the lawyers for business partners concerning the ownership of a new computer program one of them has developed. HackerStar, Inc. is a small closely-held corporation that develops and markets software for microcomputers. The six-year-old company was founded by Hacker, a brilliant programmer who is responsible for the company's products and became its manager, and Star, a dentist and computer hobbyist who provided the capital. Hacker and Star are each 50% owners. The company has done moderately well, but now faces a crisis resulting from a dispute between the partners over the ownership and disposition of PowerScreen, a new product developed by Hacker, at least partly on his own time and definitely against Star's wishes. The company lawyer has referred Hacker and Star to separate counsel in order to avoid a conflict of interest. The exercise revolves around the meeting of these lawyers. At issue is the ownership of PowerScreen and the future of HackerStar, Inc.
Two-party negotiation between the lawyers for business partners concerning the ownership of a new computer program one of them has developed. HackerStar, Inc. is a small closely-held corporation that develops and markets software for microcomputers. The six-year-old company was founded by Hacker, a brilliant programmer who is responsible for the company's products and became its manager, and Star, a dentist and computer hobbyist who provided the capital. Hacker and Star are each 50% owners. The company has done moderately well, but now faces a crisis resulting from a dispute between the partners over the ownership and disposition of PowerScreen, a new product developed by Hacker, at least partly on his own time and definitely against Star's wishes. The company lawyer has referred Hacker and Star to separate counsel in order to avoid a conflict of interest. The exercise revolves around the meeting of these lawyers. At issue is the ownership of PowerScreen and the future of HackerStar, Inc.
Two-party negotiation between the lawyers for business partners concerning the ownership of a new computer program one of them has developed. HackerStar, Inc. is a small closely-held corporation that develops and markets software for microcomputers. The six-year-old company was founded by Hacker, a brilliant programmer who is responsible for the company's products and became its manager, and Star, a dentist and computer hobbyist who provided the capital. Hacker and Star are each 50% owners. The company has done moderately well, but now faces a crisis resulting from a dispute between the partners over the ownership and disposition of PowerScreen, a new product developed by Hacker, at least partly on his own time and definitely against Star's wishes. The company lawyer has referred Hacker and Star to separate counsel in order to avoid a conflict of interest. The exercise revolves around the meeting of these lawyers. At issue is the ownership of PowerScreen and the future of HackerStar, Inc.
The assistant credit manager for a jewellery wholesaler, must assess and compare the credit standing of two of their retail clients. The assessment, which would be used to determine if changes in credit policy were necessary, had to be submitted to both the credit manager and the sales manager in one week. This case provides students the opportunity to calculate financial ratios and use them in decision making. The focus should be on the development of the ratios and trying to appraise one business versus the other. If time is available, the instructor may wish to spend some time on credit appraisal. A follow-up to this case is available, Gardiner Wholesalers Incorporated (B), case 9A84J003.
Describes the various stages in the start-up process and describes in detail the questions that can be asked and the analysis that can be performed to help deal with the issues that arise at each stage.
GE is considering introducing a "just-in-time" production system to reduce inventory in its thermocouple manufacturing area. The case presents students with a description of the present inventory management system, the production process, and the perspectives of different individuals in the plant. The issue is how GE should proceed with introducing this system.
The behavior of the Federal Reserve System during the early years of the Great Depression has been a topic of considerable controversy. The Fed, it has been argued, pursued a contracting policy, thereby helping to turn what might have been only a brief recession into an economic catastrophe. This case explores the reasons behind the Fed's behavior, showing students how existing institutional values may be inappropriate to novel situations.
Describes the controls used in the casino over the blackjack game and cash stocks, and movements of cash. Also describes the results measures available in the casino and their limitations for control purposes.
Mr. Kenneth Treece, marketing director of Frito-Lay's Grandma's (R) Cookie division has received the final test market figures for the new supermarket line of Grandma's Ready-To-Eat cookies. One set of data, the Kansas City test results, was extremely encouraging; market share was 50% higher than management had projected. Although the results of the Northwest region test were not as positive, they seemed to justify continuing the rollout. In light of these conflicting test figures and the previously less than satisfactory performance of Grandma's in single-serve packages, Mr. Treece wonders how he can change the rollout specifics to better ensure the success of the new packaged Grandma's line.
Describes P&G's expansion in Europe, including the development of a strong country subsidiary management, responsive to local market differences. The launch of a new product presents strategic and organizational challenges as P&G considers making this their first Eurobrand, and managing it in a coordinated Europewide fashion.
Frontier, once a relatively small regional carrier, expanded rapidly after deregulation of the airline industry. By 1982 it found further growth difficult, due in part to its rivals' aggressive--and, according to Frontier, unfair--use of their computer reservations systems. Describes Frontier's current systems and its strategy for future systems. Frontier Airlines, Inc. (B) provides a follow-up.
On January 2, 1983 Pepsi-Cola United Kingdom had to develop a plan to defend its successful Diet Pepsi brand against the about to be introduced diet Coke. Contains useful material on competitive behavior and on U.S. versus U.K. consumer behavior.
This is an issues-oriented note designed to stimulate discussion of the ethical aspects of the sale of pesticides which are not approved for any use or only for restricted use in the United States to less developed countries. It is organized as follows: the problem, some examples, what a pesticide is, the pesticide industry, benefits of pesticides, risks to humans, the industry response, and regulation of pesticides.
Introduces managers and students of management to some of the basic categories and frameworks of philosophical ethics. Consists of five parts: l) Classifying ethical frameworks; 2) Teleological frameworks; 3) Deontological frameworks; 4) Mixed frameworks; and 5) from theory to practice.