Deals primarily with the basic issue of revenue recognition. Homex was recognizing revenue from its modular units prior to the date on which an actual sale had taken place. In addition, there are some interesting issues dealing with the allocation of profit between divisions, the capitalization of expenses, and the meaning of 'working capital' in a specific setting.
A study of 318 executives indicates a consensus among executives on the specific characteristics that constitute a participative style, and general agreement that certain participative leadership characteristics produce more effective results. The participative leader prototype that emerged from the study is a sensitive, extroverted and emotive leader who is in close contact with his or her subordinates and is attuned to their needs. The managers in the study emphasized high performance of subordinates as an important part of a participative style.
Performance compensation for policy-level executives is interdependent with company policy. Survey data show that most companies use cash bonuses and some additional compensation while few companies rely on stock options alone. The character of the bonus system is interrelated to the company's growth. The range of possible payoffs and the variability of bonuses increase, and bonuses become more directly related to performance as a company expands.
Profit centers effectively analyze a segment of a company's business and motivate managers; however, they present implementation problems. Profit centers characteristically employ over-simplified accounting procedures. The most important criteria to use in selecting from the variety of financial measurements is company strategy and structure. The managers and their companies need a unified goal. Organizations of simple structure may use traditional cost centers, marketing profit centers, production profit centers, and multiple profit centers. It is the responsibility of the management controller to synthesize the characteristics of the business and choose the appropriate financial objective.
American management attempts to motivate employees through the carrot-and-stick approach. According to the Great Jackson Fallacy executives unconsciously envision themselves as manipulators and controllers, and their subordinates as jackasses chasing the carrot. This attitude can place severe strain on management/employee relations and lead to employee inefficiency and low productivity. Executives should change their attitudes toward subordinates in order to ensure effective job performance.
Long-range planning often involves conflicts between creativity and practicality. It is important to maintain an equilibrium when making trade-offs between plans and budgets. Three questions influence this balance: how to link planning data and financial statements; how to integrate people responsible for planning and people responsible for budget; and how to determine the proper sequence of annual planning and budgeting cycles.
The general manager of a corporation circulates a memo advising his employees on company policy about copier use. He carefully revises his original memo and in the process crystallizes his own thinking on the issue. Writing well and thinking well are interrelated. Because rewriting demands objectivity, an ability to separate essential from nonessential ideas, and a willingness to locate and correct contradictions, it provides the key to improved thinking.
Involves multinational pricing policy. Should a multinational industrial products supplier, with plants on several continents, grant a single worldwide price on given products to multinational customers who purchase on several continents? If so, what should the worldwide price policy be and how should the policy be administered? What organizational issues would a shift from decentralized pricing to internationally centralized pricing involve?
Illustrates the challenges most managers face in prioritizing their time in the workplace environment. Looks at "a day in the life" of a printing plant manager who, with well-intentioned goals for the day, is frustrated by numerous interruptions.
Examines the legal forms of ownership of real property. Included are the corporation, partnership, limited partnership, business trust, real estate investment trust, sole proprietorship, and joint venture. Tax factors and business management considerations are included.
Discusses the development of a chain of "theme" restaurants. The student is asked to evaluate the current operating strategy and suggest a long-term expansion strategy.
Illustration of the two main types of errors resulting from use of the economic order quantity (EOQ) as a tool in production scheduling. Designed to permit class discussion to begin with a consideration of one common type of mistake, errors in calculation of the EOQ volume resulting from use of incorrect data for the input parameters of the formula. The analysis can then shift to a more general discussion of the second type of error, the misapplication of EOQ and re-order point (ROP) techniques to a given system. Class discussion can conclude with student recommendations of alternative techniques which may be better suited to the Blanchard operation than the EOQ/ROP method.
Discusses the technical, economic, and packaging trends in the metal container industry, and the impact of these trends on major companies within the industry. Shows the response of Crown Cork & Seal Co. to these trends. Based on Crown Cork & Seal Co. and Note on the Metal Container Industry by W.D. Guth and J.S. Garrison.
The evolution of Timex from its inception in the 1940s to its position as a leading multinational watch manufacturer in the early 1970s. Focuses on Timex's strategy for marketing, on a worldwide basis, and its line of inexpensive watches.
All industries are, effectively, service industries. Some industries merely have greater service components than others. Many so-called service industries such as fast food, mutual funds, and credit cards have applied manufacturing solutions to people-intensive service problems. To gain benefits, managers should consider the problems and desired output; how to redesign the process and install new tools that automate the job; and how to control people's behavior and channel their choices. The primary objective is to serve the customer's needs efficiently and effectively, and to make customer service an integral part of what the customer buys. McKinsey Award Winner.
Conventional approach to performance appraisal forces managers to make judgments on the personal worth of a fellow employee. An effective alternative is employee self-evaluation. This requires that they think about their jobs, assess carefully their own strengths and weaknesses, and formulate specific plans to reach their goals. The superior's role is to help correlate the employee's self-appraisal goals and plans with the concerns of the organization. This system places the major responsibility on the subordinate, and shifts the emphasis from appraisal to analysis. The Supplement, Chairman Mac in Perspective, by W.G. Bennis, provides an evaluation of McGregor's work.