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The company has excess capacity. The case explores the various issues surrounding accounting for the cost of capacity. Several definitions of capacity can be discussed and accounted for.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 191071.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 191073

Spreadsheet supplement for case 191-065.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Ray Stata of Analog Devices put the importance of the learning organization succinctly: "The rate at which organizations learn may become the only sustainable source of competitive advantage." At an MIT-sponsored conference entitled Transforming Organizations, two questions arose again and again: How can we build organizations in which continuous learning occurs? What kind of person can best lead the learning organization? This article, based on Senge's book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, begins to chart the territory, describing roles, skills, and tools for leaders who wish to develop learning organizations.

Describes how Roussel UCLAF resolved the dilemma. Intended for use as an in-class handout.

Describes the rapid growth of General Electric Plastics for over the last decade to a $5 billion (sales) company. The accompanying organizational transitions are described. The task is to design a marketing organization for the coming decade given the anticipated market changes.

As the Japanese diaper market expands, Kao management must determine its response to new product introductions by its two major competitors. Options include launching a new premium priced brand or a new low priced brand, or increasing advertising and promotion expenditures for Kao's current diaper line.

1990 update of the P&G Japanese business.

Ten years after entering Japan, P&G had accumulated over $250 million in operating losses on declining annual sales of $120 million by 1983. The decision facing the president of P&G International: exit, retrench or rebuild the operation? Ironically, the initial entry was a success story with P&G Japan achieving an operating breakeven in their fifth year and market leadership in a number of categories. However, in the late 1970's market share and profit in all categories declined disastrously. Management changes failed to reverse the trends until an objective examination of the entry strategy, approach to the Japanese consumer, competition, technology and internal organization were made. By 1983, accelerating losses forced P&G to decide whether to exit or stay.

Updates the (A) case.

Updates the (A) case. The issues facing P&G were two-fold. 1) General manager, Japan--how to keep both the business and organization growing; 2) President, international--what role should the Japanese operation play in the P&G worldwide business?

Spreadsheet supplement for case 391003.

Merck & Co., Inc., a major pharmaceutical company, is in the process of reviewing and evaluating its personnel policies and practices. Employee interviews revealed that rewards for excellent performance were not adequate: outstanding performers received salary increases that were, in many cases, only marginally better than those given to average performers. In many cases, outstanding performance was not even clearly identified. The objective is to have students wrestle with a common malady of performance appraisal systems: the tendency of managers to assign uniform ratings to employees regardless of performance. Alternative appraisal systems should be suggested and discussed.

In late 1986, Merck revised its performance review and pay practices. The most important change was a shift from an absolute rating system to a forced-distribution system in which managers are forced to adhere to a given distribution of performance ratings. Other major revisions included revised rating categories, revised performance categories, and a shift in the timing of performance evaluations. A discretionary award program was also introduced. The objective is to have students discuss the costs and benefits of the revised performance plan, paying particular attention to the relative performance evaluation aspects of the new plan. Is it better than the plan it replaced? Is pay more closely related to performance under the new plan?

Discusses the 1989 modified performance appraisal program by adding performance gradations and allowing for differences in employee rating distributions depending on the division performance for the year. The objective is to have students discuss the revisions in the plan, focusing on the effects of forced-distribution ranking systems with flexible targets.

Examines the changes taking place in Eli Lilly in response to the globalization of the pharmaceuticals industry. Identifies the steps taken by management, problems currently faced, and challenges for the future. Allows examination of the process of implementing a global strategy from the headquarters perspective.

Examines Otis's market entry strategy in China through a joint venture with Tianjin Elevator Works. The teaching objective is a basic evaluation of a joint venture in a developing country. May be used with Otis Elevator Co.: China Joint Venture (B1), (B2), and (D).

Focuses sharply on a crossfunctional product development team at Honeywell's Building Controls Division. Traces the history of teams at the division, which introduced them as a response to intensifying competition and the need for faster development. Reveals the challenges team members, their managers, and executives face when an organization adopts a collaborative approach to work. With a history of sequential product development and animosity between functional areas, the MOD IV team has the added pressure of having to finish the division's most ambitious project in history under a strategy of faster development. Through three perspectives -- team member, manager, and executive -- the case exposes students to the reality of teamwork.

A department general manager has to decide whether or not to add a lightweight compressor to the line, what price to charge, and what volume to produce. The analysis requires maximizing contribution in a situation where one factor is constrained. As such, it takes into account opportunity costs and shadow prices as well as fixed and variable costs, demand curve analysis, and sunk costs. Also invites discussion about the proper measurement, offering departmental profits and return on sales as candidates.