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Western observers of global business, impressed with how much Asian cultures differ from those of North America and Europe, tend to think of Japan, China, and Korea as practicing much the same forms of business relationships. But although East Asian cultures have in common an emphasis on personal relationships as the foundation of business practices, the forms and values of these relationships differ markedly among the Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans. For the Japanese, the important concept is wa, or the emphasis on group loyalty, harmony, and consensus; emotional support and a long-term perspective are important. The Chinese, on the other hand, think in terms of guanxi, the special arrangements of favor-sharing that an individual has with other individuals; personal loyalties within such arrangements are more important than loyalty to an organization. Koreans emphasize inhwa, which relates to harmony between unequals and derives from the Confucian ideal of loyalty to parents, elders, and authority figures. Non-Asians hoping to do business effectively in East Asia need to understand how these concepts all translate into quite different norms of business practice.

Avon Products announced both a change in its business focus and a reduction of its dividend in June 1988. To offset the likely stock price effect of the dividend reduction, Avon announced at the same time an unusual exchange offer, under which it would take up to 25% of its common stock in exchange for an unusual preferred stock. The case traces the history of Avon from 1979-88. Requires students to evaluate Avon's efforts at diversification in the early 1980s, and to relate that effort to the company's dividend history. Also requires students to evaluate an unusual security. Suitable for first-year students or for a second-year capital markets course.

A distiller increases whiskey production and income declines because of accounting methods in use. Questions are raised regarding the treatment of expenditures which can be classified as production, inventory, or period costs. The necessary aging process raises added questions about prior period restatements and needed financing. A rewritten version of an earlier case by R.F. Vancil and R.H. Deming.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 189065.

Catching problems early is important to managers, and the best way to find out about developing headaches is to have subordinates tell you. This depends on candor and trust, but both have strict natural limits. Managers must carefully nurture trust and be aware of the six areas critical to its development: communication, support, respect, fairness, predictability, and competence. But managers must also watch for telltale signs of trouble. Managers must develop a communication network based on properly using, spreading, and creating information.

Selling industrial goods has become more complicated in recent years. It is more likely to be the domain of teams that handle large accounts by coordinating their efforts across product lines. Even without formal teams, greater coordination is often required to land the sale and keep the customer. Three concerns have the most serious effect on coordination with an account-sharing strategy: compensation systems, goal setting, and staffing and training.

A major obstacle to the implementation of information technology is the lack of understanding between company technical experts and senior managers. One way to blend both perspectives is to establish a task force that solicits input from management and creates a set of principles to guide subsequent investments in IT. By drawing on 10 to 15 statements that reflect management's basic beliefs about how the company should use IT, the task force translates the language of corporate strategy into computerese. These statements, or principles, can help speed up the decision-making process and ensure that every IT investment helps the company achieve its strategic goals.

Although construction is one of the riskiest things any company will do, upper management often ignores the risk or treats it as if it's uncontrollable. Construction risk, however, can be analyzed and managed by using seven steps. Analyzing risk is largely a matter of assessing the complexity of the building, the site, the financing, the schedule, and the special uses and problems of the project. This analysis then drives the choice of contract and contractor.

In this case, presented in the form of two memos, a grocery store prepares for renegotiating a contract with the Grocery Workers International Union. The grocery store wants to discuss issues including high employee turnover rates and problems presented by the store's new service-intensive products. The union has issues involving management trying to sidestep seniority. Carol R. Goldberg, president and COO of the Stop & Shop Companies and CEO of Bradlees Department Stores; Gerald L. Good, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia; James T. Boyle, business representative of Local 464A, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union; and David Lewin, professor of business and director of the Industrial Relations Research Center, Columbia University Graduate School of Business, discuss how the grocery store and its union can deal with a problematic confrontation.

Entente--the forging of an alliance--goes against the grain with most managers, who have been taught never to share control of a company. But alliances are necessary in a world of rapid globalization. Customer needs and preferences all over the world are converging. Technology is dispersing as well; no one company can keep the relevant technology in-house. As a result, companies face increasing fixed costs, which, in turn, point toward forging alliances.

Focuses on competitive repositioning, organizational renewal, and personal leadership. Describes how Asahi Breweries was faced with a major capacity expansion decision after succeeding in increasing market share dramatically in the traditionally stable Japanese beer industry. This has been done through the creation of a new product category, "Dry Beer." Information on industry economics, Asahi's organizational process, and competitive interaction are provided as well as an in-depth description of top management's profile and management posture at Asahi. Designed to allow discussion on how to make a balanced decision incorporating such market strategy issues as product strategy, competitor retaliation, advertising policy, rebate policy, and distributor relations management, as well as such organizational elements as corporate goals, financial integrity, quality control, personnel policy, management philosophy, and leadership style.

Acquiring resources--or to put it more broadly, attracting stakeholders--is a basic entrepreneurial task. While every enterprise needs employees, customers, suppliers, and financiers who are willing to risk their time and money, attracting these "stakeholders" to an entrepreneurial venture is a particularly difficult challenge. This note first describes the importance of the challenge and then the set of tasks the entrepreneur must work on in order to overcome it: Designing the enterprise to minimize the stakeholder investment needed, selecting the right stakeholders, and then convincing them to participate in the enterprise.

Provides a framework for assessing and enhancing an organization's reputation. Points out two dimensions of a corporate image--visibility and credibility. Discusses several critical issues that must be addressed in building an image. Finally, provides an assessment of how well various marketing tactics build visibility and credibility. Based on observations of corporate positioning issues in five industries: management consulting, public accounting, computer hardware, computer software, and systems integration.

Gives some tips to maximize all learning; offers the pros and cons of experiential learning (cases) as a method; and gives some guidelines for effective case preparation, discussion, and learning.

A brand new hotel has opened with a new service strategy: import to America Asian-style service using a butler-like employee group called the personal valets. To achieve this high level of service, the hotel has paid great attention to its human resource policies, believing that the quality of its service will depend on the quality and motivation of the people, It articulates a series of employee "rights," which it tells employees are enforceable in court. Upon opening employees are excited and highly motivated but soon morale and quality problems develop. The students must evaluate the hotel's human resource management theory and practice in light of these problems.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 489104.

The CEO of a U.S. electronics firm is assessing the financial forecasts and the financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Given the cyclicality of the industry and the volatility of the firm's performance, the CEO is unsure as to the usefulness of forecasts based on straight line extrapolation of rapid sales growth and stable relationships of profits and assets to sales. The teaching objectives include: 1) how many years into the future should the forecasts run given the level of uncertainty, 2) how can one deal with the high uncertainty when preparing the forecasts or designing a financing plan, and 3) how to estimate the financing needs under conditions of adversity.

The new general manager of Warner Cable's Medford, Massachusetts complex faces a number of turnaround challenges in 1985, including service deficiencies, customer complaints, high turnover, and low employee morale. By 1988 he has turned the situation around, but some employees and superiors question his turnaround style. Their concerns have broad implications for career systems at Warner. Teaching objectives include the understanding of human resource management tradeoffs in a turnaround situation, and the appropriateness of individual management styles over time as a company improves its productivity and communications.

Describes the view of corporate officers regarding the changes made by General Manager Bruce McKinnon.

The resolution of Warner Cable (A) and (B).