Describes a company that is seeking to restructure the lobster fishing industry by applying technology and management to what has been essentially a cottage industry. The student is expected to identify and evaluate the strategy pursued by the company to date and then to assess the prospects for the future in continuing to follow that strategy.
A simple, intuitive introduction to the usually-difficult topics of discounting and present value. While the mechanics of computing present value and internal rate of return are covered well, the emphasis is more about how to think about these concepts (for example, the earlier-the-better on the receipt of cash flows). Using concrete examples, it fosters an understanding of how various considerations influence present value (for instance, as the discount rate rises, the impact of cash flows further out in time is disproportionately diminished).
Most managerial styles are characterized by an emphasis on the power and the right of the manager to pass judgment on the actions of his or her subordinates. Judicious managers facilitate the expression of ideas by sharing their power and acting as collaborators with their subordinates. By creating a climate in which it is appropriate to voice imperfect thoughts and ideas, judicious managers encourage more frequent individual and group accomplishment and increased satisfaction and motivation.
Permits analysis of the need for adapting strategy to environmental change and for choosing among strategic alternatives in the light of new environmental opportunities. Management and board failures in these areas may be traced to some of the underlying causes, including personal values and leadership styles.
Reviews new product introduction and pricing decisions for a riding toy designed for preschool children. Designed to provide background in buyer behavior, market analysis, and corporate strategy.
Designed to illustrate various levels of complexity in determining optimum order sizes for a single item inventory policy. Students are asked to evaluate the impact of recent operational changes on the firm's ordering policy. Intended to follow the students' initial exposure to economic order quantities, this case widens the students' scope of tradeoff models.
The management and trustees of nonprofit service organizations satisfy supporters' demands for better expenditure controls of their contributions by means of cost accounting procedures. The cost accounting of professional services pinpoints sources and uses of funds and facilitates decisions on money allocation. In the described example, management and trustees observe the establishment of a planning and accounting system at a once-drifting mental health clinic employing about 100 professionals.
Two Corning Glass Works products illustrate the use of various forecasting techniques. Managers and forecasters should consider three issues when approaching a forecasting problem: the purpose of the forecast, the dynamics and components of the system, and the importance of the past in estimating the future. The three basic forecasting methods are qualitative techniques, time series analysis and projection, and causal methods. A gatefold chart presents several examples of each type of technique, its feaures, and limitations. Although sales forecasting primarily has used forecasting techniques, these techniques will be applied increasingly to forecasting margins, capital expenditure, and other important factors.
Describes the decision of a battery manufacturer to diversify into the computer field through acquisition and the development of a new product. Among the issues to be discussed are the company product fit, phases in new product introduction, product positioning, and distribution strategy.
An examination of the Japanese style of management regarding decision making, corporate planning, worker productivity, and management training, suggests ways in which managers in the West might redirect their approaches to these issues. Topics described include decision by consensus, lifetime employment and continuous training, and managerial godfathers. Despite existing societal tensions and frustrations, Japan's managerial achievements contain answers to Western management's most pressing problems.
The fundamental psychological conflict that plagues family businesses is rivalry, compounded by feelings of guilt. Company founders feel rivalry when they unconsciously sense that subordinates threaten to remove them from their center of power. For the founders the business is an extension of themselves which they have great difficulty giving up. By confronting and discussing their feelings of hostility and rivalry, possibly in the presence of a neutral third party, family members begin to resolve their problems.
Leading ideas and theories regarding capital structure and capital assets are translated into a useable form for managers. The suggested framework for analysis concentrates on three areas related to preliminary investment decisions: tentative investment level and estimates of cash flow and earnings; the debt/equity structure or amount of debt to be carried; and dividend policy. Investment decisions influence capital cost which in turn influences investment volume.
Dansk Designs Ltd., a supplier of high quality, highly designed tableware products, plans to enter a new product area in housewares. Past growth and anticipated future expansion make organizational changes necessary. Overseas operations, design changes, supplier relations, quality control, marketing strategy, and competition all have impact on the organizational structure.
The chairman of a successful pickle company is concerned with the organizational implications of continued growth. Affords an opportunity to analyze the corporate strategy and the management style of the chief executive.