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The comptroller at Four Star Fitness Club must set aside a financial reserve to cover possible refunds of initiation fees to new members. The comptroller has some historical data on refund payments to assist in estimating the size of the appropriate reserve.

Harry Lev was reviewing the recent sales reports for Bamberger's Department Store in an effort to assess whether or not the newly implemented Wednesday evening late openings had had a positive overall effect on sales. He was under some pressure to demonstrate that the sales during the extended hours were more than covering the added cost to the store of the late opening, since he had been instrumental in initiating this change despite strong employee resistance. If he could not clearly show a financial benefit, he could expect pressure to discontinue the experiment. (A Microsoft Excel data file is available for use with this case, product 7A99E006.)

The issue before the directors meeting of LanCo Catalogue Sales was the high level of product returns that the company was experiencing. These product returns were eroding profitability at a remarkable rate, however the directors were split into two camps over what to do about the problem. One camp believed that speeding up shipments would reduce the returned merchandise, while the other camp believed that this would merely increase shipping costs and reduce profits even further. LanCo management was determined that the returns problem must first be understood, then actions must be taken to reduce returns, in order to improve the profitability of the company. (A Microsoft Excel data file is available for use with this case, product 7A99E007.)

The proprietor of the Brooke Road 7-11 store was dismayed to learn of the shop's dismal financial performance the previous year. She knew that an employee had been caught stealing from the shop and had admitted taking $500 from the till over a period of about 4 months. The poor financial performance of the store could be explained if the actual amount stolen had been much larger than $500. The proprietor assembled weekly sales records in the hope of estimating the full impact and magnitude of the thefts. (A Microsoft Excel data file is available for use with this case, product 7A99E009.)

Ford Motor Company was concerned that five tug operators, each costing $100,000 annually over three shifts, was too many. Colin Cruji was hired to look into the tug operators and see if Ford could eliminate one or more of the five positions per shift. A supplement to this case is available, titled Ford Motor Company and Cruji Management Consulting (B), case 9A99E014. (A Microsoft Excel data file is available for use with this case, product 7A99E013.)

The Acer Group is one of the world's largest PC and computer component manufacturers. The vice-president of Global Operations is pondering whether the timing and environment is conducive for Acer, based in Taiwan, to commence full-scale manufacturing operations in the Chinese mainland. Students are asked to examine the criteria on which Acer should base their decision to manufacture overseas, and in so doing, create the framework for a corporation's global manufacturing strategy. The teaching objectives also include having students consider the political, economic and social environments of a global manufacturing strategy. A related case entitled Acer Group's R & D Strategy - The China Decision (9A99M007) is also available.

Domglas Inc. must estimate the potential demand for ready-to-eat soup packaged in glass jars for the convenience of microwave-oven owners. (A Microsoft Excel data file is available for use with this case, product 7A80E002.)

The plant manager for Noram Foods was considering the impact of changing Noram's policy on package weight. Noram Foods in Canada had an enviable record of sound financial performance, although there had been a period of declining profits when the Canadian economy suffered under conditions of high unemployment, high interest rates, and high inflation. Leo Marsden believed the weight control issue represented a major opportunity for re-evaluation and increased performance.

Necanko Inc. is a large international food manufacturer. A buyer-scheduler for the company must forecast sales demand to determine production planning, inventory management and distribution for the year. Sales were normally predictable and stable, but the company has just come back from a three month layoff due to slow sales and they are now experiencing a sales increase three times greater than usual. The buyer-scheduler is uncertain why the sales are spiking and must decide what action to take.

Excel spreadsheet for product 9B01E009.

Excel spreadsheet for product 9B01E009.

An executive must estimate the demand for rolls of film in various countries based on demographic data about the counties. She must determine the process and develop a spreadsheet model that will provide the results based on data (GNP per capita, population, income distribution) from the various countries. The purposes of the case are to show the relation between national statistics and company decisions and to provide training in advanced spreadsheet skills, conceptualizing a problem and modelling.

An executive wonders if it is possible to increase profits by changing the mix of products at a shipyard. The yard currently operates below the breakeven point, so must achieve profitability or default on loan payments.

IIF (Institute of International Finance) was eight months into the customized development of a customer relationship management system (CRM) by a small software development firm, QuaTeams. IIF, a member organization, wants to replace their current CRM, an Access database, by integrating member information from different departments: economic research, membership, events and finance. In addition, they want to be able to handle the growing number of members and track the interactions between their staff and their membership. With two months to go before the scheduled launch, both sides must make decisions to overcome the remaining technical hurdles they have with the database and security. The IIF must also consider implementation issues and think of creative ways that the customer relationship management system can be used once the system is operational. The objective of the case is to introduce students to the development of a custom CRM and how the process of developing and implementing a CRM can change the way an organization deals with its customers.

The Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society's management team knew that they had conceived a very unique project, Elephant Walk Thru. The success of this innovative ecotourism project would hinge on their ability to balance the needs of a diverse group of stakeholders as well as various economic and political-legal forces faced by the organization. Their primary task in the ensuing months would be to identify salient external opportunities and threats posed by stakeholder groups. Equally important would be to evaluate the continually changing political-legal and economic environments prior to constructing the facilities.

The founder of Kids Market Consulting, a market research firm dedicated to the kids, tweens and teens segment, was faced with increasing competition and slowing revenue, and was exploring a variety of possibilities for the future strategic direction of the business. In particular, she had to formulate the best plan for protecting the niche market and decide how aggressively to pursue expansion. In addition, there was the existing relationship with her business partner, and Kids Market Consulting was part of his group of marketing firms. Any changes the founder chose had to respect this relationship and she was therefore restricted to a limited number of options. The over-arching corporate objective for the company was to defend the market from larger businesses who were trying to increase their share of the market research industry.

The importance of responsible value creation is indisputable for society. How could we argue that the well-being of future generations is not important? The disagreement is with the role of corporations in this process. This technical note offers two sides of the argument of whether corporations should be involved in addressing societal issues. The purely economic argument says that a responsible corporation is one which fulfills its fiduciary duty to shareholders to maximize profits. The ethical argument is that corporations are morally obliged to give back to the societies in which they exist. Using a sustainability argument, this note shows that there does not have to be a trade-off between economics and ethics. There exists a compelling business case for corporations to operate in the overlapping area of our model where activities are both financially profitable and socially and environmentally responsible. Not only does this middle ground exist, but the activities in this area are likely to generate long-term stable profits and result in a higher level of employee, shareholder and corporate well-being.

The sudden resignation of the company's national sales manager has left the vice-president of sales and marketing stressed and concerned. He must decide on the successor from a pool of five candidates and is finding the decision difficult, not only because of the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate but this sudden resignation has him wondering about his authority and credibility within the organization.

The vice-president of regulation at the Investment Funds Institute of Canada is reviewing the monthly statistics. It shows the continuance of three trends, prevalent during the last 12 months in the Canadian mutual funds industry. Net sales of mutual funds were declining, fund redemptions were rising and the rate of growth in mutual fund assets had been marginal. The vice-president must determine how the Investment Funds Institute, as the industry trade association for mutual funds, can influence these trends. He must decide on the message, who he should target with the message and the media through which he should reach his target audience, and present his plan at the next executive committee meeting.

Plant Nutrients is a medium-sized retailer of crop supplies. The general manager is preparing a proposed operating statement to send to the parent company. This statement must reflect an increase in volume of two per cent while maintaining the required 13 per cent on investment in business. He is considering a number of ways of improving performance: getting better utilization of fertilizer blending capacity, adding a new line of seed and adding precision agriculture services. Another option is to alter pricing.