Cost pressures and the need for increased flexibility in marketing programs give rise to new communications approaches that include national account management, demonstration centers, telemarketing, and improved forms of catalog selling. The four major steps for developing an effective program include careful analysis of communications costs, precise specification of communications needs, formulation of a creative and coherent program, and meticulous monitoring of the total system.
Resource poverty distinguishes the management of small businesses from that of big businesses. An examination of fundamental financial concepts, such as cash flow, break-even analysis, return on investment, and debt-equity ratio demonstrates how small businesses adapt these financial management tools to their particular situation. An emphasis on liquidity, rather than profit, helps small businesses overcome the problems of strained financial resources, lack of trained personnel, and short-range management perspective imposed by a volatile competitive environment.
The marketing vice president of the leading supermarket chain in a major metropolitan area has to plan his 1981 strategy in light of increasing warehouse store competition. Considers relationships with major manufacturers who are supplying warehouse stores with deal merchandise.
L.L. Bean, Inc., a Maine-based manufacturer and mail-order retailer of sporting goods and apparel, has grown from $3 million in sales (1967) to over $120 million (1980). Current projections predict an annual compounded growth of 25% through 1985. Management must decide how to achieve this growth: through mail order, by opening more retail stores, by increasing manufacturing operations, or by going international. In managing growth, the company president is determined to maintain the highly personal service, excellent product quality, and friendly, informal working environment which he considers key to the company's popularity with customers and employees.
Presents a review of published data on the 1976 cheating scandal at West Point. Written from the perspective of the Academy Superintendent, it raises issues of ethics, organizational change and action planning in the face of conflicting stakeholder interests.
Contains President Reagan's address to Congress in February of 1981 in which he proposes $49 billion in budget cuts and tax reductions. Also contains David Stockman's "economic Dunkirk" memorandum of November 1980. Exhibits contain economic data. Purpose is to provide an opportunity to analyze and evaluate Reagan's assumptions.
The product manager for Vaseline Petroleum Jelly has to prepare the 1978 brand budget and determine expenditure levels for advertising, trade promotion, and consumer promotion.
The President of MEM Co., Inc. is assessing the proposed introduction of a new line of men's toiletries. He also must determine the best distribution channels and the size of the product's advertising budget.
Describes the decision faced by a rapidly growing firm in the merchandise security systems business on whether it should integrate backward into the injection molding of plastic parts. Financial analysis, comparative economics, and manufacturing strategy in an industry with rapid technological change are all important elements in the analysis.
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.
Rather than distinguishing between the marketing of services or goods, it is more useful to identify companies according to whether they sell intangibles such as travel or tangibles such as automobiles. Companies that sell tangibles emphasize intangible benefits, including status and comfort, to enhance their products. Tangibilizing intangible products presents more difficulties because of their people-intensive production and delivery which increase the chances for personal discretion and error.
Corporate financial officers (CFOs) who successfully second-guess stock market analysts observe three requirements: they avoid the trap of equating a low price-earnings multiple with evidence of undervaluation; they monitor the leading analysts' perceptions for significant variations from company forecasts; and they translate these forecasts into estimates of economic value. The recommended dividend valuation model uses as its basis a company's fundamental detriments of value, including its prospects for profitability and its long-run investment opportunities. While companies can profit by outguessing the market, corporate management should assume the correctness of market prices unless disproven by the CFO's thorough, fundamental valuation.
Earnings per share, return on investment, return on equity, and other conventional accounting-oriented approaches for evaluating corporate strategy fail to answer basic questions regarding the creation of shareholder value. With discounted cash flow analysis as a basis, the recommended shareholder value approach uses readily available data to determine the value-creating prospects for alternative strategies at the business unit and corporate levels. A case example illustrates the sequential steps of the shareholder value approach.
When a former middle manager of a technology manufacturing company becomes a general manager, he finds his new role more stressful. There are complaints from sales reps about delayed shipments to customers, and workers are protesting the new climate survey he initiated in an attempt to learn more about how employees feel. Also EEOC regulations have forced him to study how well his employees are treated. His attempts to delegate have backfired, and his organization is $400,000 off plan. 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 styles, organizational behavior, and leadership.
Describes the introduction and evolution of General Electric's strategic planning system from the 1960s to Jack Welch's tenure. Allows discussion of the interplay of problems and circumstances to the evolution of the strategic planning system, and how Welch might use or alter the system to meet the challenge of growth.
Considers decisions facing the leader of a manufacturing staff project team assigned to a plant where yields have deteriorated sharply. The process is complex: the plant organization is not cooperative and there are deep disagreements about what is wrong and how to fix it. Provides an opportunity to analyze yields and productivity, as well as the organizational and personal challenges inherent in line-staff interaction.
Raises issues on monitoring and controlling flight demonstration costs for the Westwind business jet. Atlantic's marketing vice president is concerned about rising demonstration costs, but doesn't wish to deny solid prospects an evaluation ride. He asks the general manager of the division to formulate a policy meeting both of these goals. Intended for use in the marketing policy section of the marketing implementation course.