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Hewlett-Packard hired a new chief executive officer in 1999 to lead them into the future. The company, despite a strong legacy of success, had been faltering since the late 1990s, with slow sales growth and declining profitability. Industry observers felt that HP was not responding appropriately to competitive threats in its server, printer and personal computer markets. Industry conditions were also worsening, suggesting hard times ahead. The CEO felt a dramatic move was required to improve HP's position in the market. An attempt to expand HP's IT services business through the acquisition of PriceWaterhouseCoopers was unsuccessful. The CEO was considering a merger between HP and Compaq. With the help of four role plays supplements, 9B04M085 - Hewlett-Packard: Sun Microsystems in 2001, 9B04M086 - Hewlett-Packard: Dell in 2001, 9B04M087 - Hewlett-Packard: IBM in 2001 and 9B04M088 - Hewlett-Packard: Lexmark in 2001, student groups take on the roles of competitors in various segments and plan their competitive strategy while Hewlett-Packard is dealing with the merger. The supplement 9B04M084 - Hewlett-Packard in 2004 concludes the Hewlett-Packard in 2001 case series.

This is a supplement to product 9B04M083, Hewlett-Packard in 2001, and details what happened to Hewlett-Packard between 2001 and 2004. This case concludes the Hewlett-Packard in 2001 case series, which together demonstrate the effects of competition in dynamic competitive situations.

Role play supplement to 9B04M083, Hewlett-Packard in 2001.

Role play supplement to 9B04M083, Hewlett-Packard in 2001.

Role play supplement to 9B04M083, Hewlett-Packard in 2001.

Role play supplement to 9B04M083, Hewlett-Packard in 2001.

The chief executive officer of Amtelecom Group Inc. must make a recommendation to the board of directors regarding the best way to sell its Amtelecom Communications subsidiary. AGI owns and operates ICS Courier, a national fixed-route courier business and Amtelecom Communications, a regional telecommunications, cable television and Internet business. Amtelecom Communication's capital requirements are not being satisfied because cash is being diverted to ICS Courier to cover its losses. As well, AGI's stock has been performing poorly. In order to alleviate these problems, the board has decided to sell off Amtelecom Communications. The three sales alternatives being considered are: selling to a strategic buyer, IPO via a common share offering and IPO via an income trust offering. This case can be used to teach students about valuation in a strategic setting, and provides an opportunity to apply sum of parts valuation to value a diversified firm, apply discounted cash flow, conduct a transactions analysis to determine the standalone value of a firms, and gain a basic understanding of income trusts.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Oikos Sustainability Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Icelandic New Energy Company, a research and development consortium based in Reykjavik, Iceland, is considering what future direction to take. The two-person team has met their first major goal - the installation of the world's first commercial hydrogen filling station and the coordination of a public transport test project involving the operation of three hydrogen fuelled city buses. The company was founded with the overall objective of investigating the potential for eventually replacing the use of fossil fuels in Iceland with hydrogen-based fuels and creating the first hydrogen society in the world. Working towards the goal of self-sufficiency from fossil fuels, Icelandic New Energy Co was set up in 1999 by the consortium Vistorka and three major partners each contributing a part to the testing - Royal Dutch Shell (the refueling station), Norsk Hydro (the electrolysis technology to make the hydrogen) and DaimlerChrysler (fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen fuel). The shareholder agreement was established with the company's start in 1999 and is set to expire in 2005. With all of the major activities being outsourced and contracted, the team wondered how they could keep the company as a going concern and contribute to Iceland's transition to a hydrogen economy - a feat that could take more than 15 years.

The Bonita Bay Marina, founded 20 years ago by the Bonita Bay Group, established a reputation of high quality service delivery. According to the marina's manager, customers' high regard for their services was due to the organization's adherence to well-defined customer service philosophy known as the E5 Customer Service Philosophy. The manager must decide whether the benefits of pursuing a Clean Marina certification program would bolster the level of service quality and ultimately the reputation of Bonita Bay Group in the marketplace. Further evaluation of the current customer service program must be conducted to determine whether the clean marina certification would complement the existing E5 Customer Service Philosophy and create synergies that would enhance customer perceptions of their services as well as contribute to profit margins for years to come.

For General Motors (GM), the year 2004 brought a wide variety of new challenges that added to an already complex business environment. The industry structure was changing quickly. Demand and supply projections for motor vehicles had promised substantial increases in sales and profits, but suddenly the optimism faded. China's new membership in the World Trade Organization created expectations of a level playing field for foreign investors, but - at least in the short run - major barriers remained. Government intervention persisted, particularly the requirement of a joint venture partner, competition from government-owned assembly firms, and arbitrary rules such as sector-specific credit restrictions. Violation of intellectual property, with the copying of foreign automobile designs and false-branding of parts, was an ongoing threat. Also, inflation was increasing and the government was unsure whether and how to use monetary and fiscal policies. The government had purposely kept the renminbi undervalued for many years. Pressure was building for the government to change its foreign exchange rate policy, but a higher renminbi would suddenly decrease GM China's international competitiveness.

Three friends start a business together upon graduation from an MBA program. Two start full-time jobs while the third, Deland Jessop, works on the business. One year later, Jessop must decide whether to continue trying to develop the business or take a salaried position. The outstanding issue of equity among the partners also needs resolution. Students have the opportunity to evaluate the business opportunity, while also evaluating the pros and cons of going into business with friends.

McLeod Motors recently rationalized a number of motor end shields to reduce manufacturing costs, improve service, and reduce inventories. However, inventories have apparently risen. Students must identify why McLeod has inventory, how large the inventory might have been before the rationalization, how large they might be now, why they are so large, and what could be done to reduce inventory levels. The case can be used in conjunction with a discussion on inventory function.

The environmental coordinator at the Chatham Assembly Plant of Navistar International Corporation, must develop a total waste management program which addresses both corporate waste reduction objectives and regulatory requirements. At the time of the case, a plant-wide waste audit had just been completed by an outside contractor in response to the introduction of provincial legislation, referred to as 3R Regulations. The environmental coordinator must assess the competitive implications of different alternatives, design the program, decide which materials will be recycled, identify who will be involved in implementation, and take into account the reaction of different stakeholder groups. (A sequel to this case titled Navistar: Environmental Management (B), case 9A96D001, is available.)

International Decorative Glass (IDG) is a small manufacturer of glass panels which are inserted into exterior steel doors. While their primary market is in the U.S., most of IDG's manufacturing is done in China through a joint venture arrangement. In response to rapidly growing customer demand, the vice president of operations, is considering the expansion of either their Chinese or Canadian manufacturing operations. Alternatively, he has been approached by a supplier to form a new joint venture manufacturing operation in Vietnam. Financial, political and infrastructural considerations must be weighed, in addition to any signal that would be sent to their current Chinese partners.

On February 9, 1995, the purchasing officer at Fisher & Paykel Limited in Auckland, New Zealand, was preparing for the next meeting of the evaporator pad cover team. Recent supply problems had threatened to close down the refrigerator assembly line and the purchasing officer's task was to propose a workable and cost effective solution.

The president of Joong-Ang Development Company was concerned with the level of service quality at Yongin Farmland, the company's theme park located just south of Seoul, South Korea. Despite the service quality program he had initiated since he assumed his present position 14 months ago, service quality seemed to be less than that of its competitors. He wondered if he had made the right moves, how Farmland could achieve international service quality standards, whether it would be worth doing, and if it would really provide a sustainable competitive advantage. This case and its companion (B) case, 9A97D017, are intended for use in a service quality module of a service management course.

A small team of Canadian managers from a large financial institution is faced with the challenges of managing a recently acquired Mexican operation. Managers must cope with a language barrier and cultural differences as they try to restructure the over-staffed Mexican financial institution. A second teaching note (5A97L01) discusses how to use this case from a cross-cultural orientation perspective.

The general manager of a division of an international cosmetic company must decide hoe to deal with a lack of response to a memo. The general manager wrote to the vice-president of operations to elicit some response from Operations that would lead to better communication between marketing and operations. It is now only three days until the next meeting between operations and marketing and the vice-president has made no response to the general manager's memo.

The entrepreneur and owner of Designer Classics Carpet, is deciding upon future growth opportunities for his company. Opportunities for forward and background integration have been identified. As well, the acquisition of a firm manufacturing a related product line is being considered. He must decide upon priorities, direction and timing of all these moves.

An auditor is planning the audit of a new client, Acme Hardware. For preparing the audit plan, he becomes aware of the possibility that certain managers might be using accounting flexibility to aid them in qualifying for incentive bonuses based on profitability. The areas are inventory and advertising. The auditor must decide what action, if any, to take.