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Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Chandler, a large U.S. consumer products firm, is rationalizing its European operations. Tony Pesci, protagonist, is deciding which plants to close for maximum efficiency. The manufacturing/marketing relationship is strained as efficiency is being weighed against cross-cultural marketing.

Xerox Corp. is on the verge of launching a new line of photocopiers made largely from refurbished or recycled parts. In spite of this reclaimed content, the company intends to position the machines as "new." The move is a response to growing environmental pressures in Western Europe and throughout the world. The challenge is how to bring the new line to market, especially with respect to pricing and promotion.

Swissair established two alliance networks in 1989 in order to improve its competitiveness. In order to evaluate the benefits of the alliances, Swissair's history, products, and cost structure are described, as is the international airline industry and the major players. The challenge for Swissair is how to gain further economies of scale in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Updates the company's progress in increasing cooperation with its partners in the European Quality Alliance and Global Excellence Alliance. A rewritten version of an earlier supplement.

Updates the (A) case.

Cunard, the world's oldest luxury line company, is confronted with several key issues involving its marketing and marketing communications strategy. One concerns the balance between image/positioning advertising and short-term-oriented promotional advertising/communications on behalf of each individual Cunard ship (i.e., "pull" vs. "push" communications). Related to this is the overall mix of marketing communications tools used by Cunard--media advertising, direct marketing, etc. Another issue is the emphasis in marketing communications between focus on the Cunard corporate identity and focus on the identity of the individual ships. The organizational setting is one of integrating marketing communications for the company and its products. Impacting consideration of the issues is a period of economic conditions adversely affecting sales, along with the effects of the U.S.-Iraq conflict on consumer leisure travel.

Because of the regulatory environment in the railroad industry, J&L Railroad's profitability is dependent upon the price of diesel fuel. In this case, the student must decide how much of next year's expected fuel demand should be hedged and how it should be hedged. Hedging alternatives include exchange-traded futures and options as well as commodity swaps, collars, and corridors offered by Continental Bank's Risk Management Group.

A group of Lotus employees propose extending all health care and other benefits to the spousal equivalents of lesbian and gay employees. The vice president of human resources considers the proposal during a reorganization and period of financial uncertainty.

Details Lotus's decision to extend benefits to spousal equivalents of lesbian and gay employees.

With very few exceptions, established premium producers eventually begin to lose market share and profitability to new, dynamic competitiors. These companies respond by focusing on their old success strategy without regard to changes in the marketplace. This is what happened to the Swiss watch industry, until Swatch CEO Nicolas G. Hayek turned it around. This case analyzes Hayek's commitment to change, his innovative vision, his charismatic leadership, his alignment strategies, and the actions he took to align the organization to the new vision.

The transformation of technology into commercially successful products is a process fraught with risk and uncertainty, and increasing pressure on time to market is exacerbating the difficulties. This note first describes a study conducted by Hewlett-Packard to improve its product development process as an illustration of the increasing focus companies are placing on understanding user needs. A framework of different technology commercialization situations is proposed and the concept of empathic design introduced as a potent mechanism for anticipating user needs, especially under conditions of moderate technical and market uncertainty. Researchers often find traditional market research techniques incompatible with creatively understanding user needs. That is, in many situations, customers cannot ask for a new product (or even a new feature) because they do not know what is possible, technologically.

The beer game is an exercise that demonstrates supply channel dynamics. Simulates the flow of material and information in a simplified channel of beer production and distribution, focusing on the linkages among a beer manufacturer, its distributors, a wholesaler, and a retailer. Students are organized into teams of four, each assigned to place orders and manage inventory for one firm in the channel. In this simplified channel, orders are the only information allowed to flow among channel participants. Despite the simplicity of the simulation, most teams find it extremely difficult to keep inventory and stockout costs low. The instructor can work with students to understand the nature of the problems they experience, identify the causes, and discuss possible remedies. The 90-minute exercise is played on game boards that are available from the Systems Dynamics Society (518-442-3865).

A compilation of press remarks that detail the changes in control and management initiated by the company.

Presents a summary of analyst and newspaper reports of events. Designed as an in-class handout. An abridged version of the (B1) case.

Supplements Fremont Financial (B).

Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc. (LOR), which profited by selling portfolio insurance to institutional investors, attempts to rebuild itself after the 1987 stock market crash by creating new products to meet the unsatisfied needs of equity investors. LOR proposes to sell a new family of products, called the SuperTrust, which would let investors trade an exchange-listed basket security and to buy collateralized put options on broad equity indices. The case examines the needs that gave rise to the SuperTrust project as well as the institutional roadblocks LOR had to overcome to bring this offering to market.