個案總覽

An analyst at Harrison, Young, Pesonen, and Newell, Inc. had developed the media plan for a discount long distance telephone carrier (Super-Tel) and was supervising its execution. At the start of week eight of the twelve-week direct response television campaign she was monitoring customer response data from the telemarketing contractor in order to judge the performance of the advertising plan, with the objective of making adjustments to improve the plan. The analyst hoped to fine-tune the final weeks of advertising in order to maximize the number of customer orders received by Super-tel, while minimizing the costs of obtaining those orders. Could she use a decision support system to solve this problem. (A Microsoft Excel data file is available for use with this case, product 7A98E028.)

Citibank Argentina faces a number of questions on how to develop its future strategy in its credit card business. Citibank is the most successful foreign bank in Argentina and is number one in the country's credit card business. To defend its position as leader, Citibank has to maintain its role as driver of the business, since aggressive competition from American Express and others can be expected. However, intensifying competition involves increasing pressure on margins, and the need to tap new (and less secure) market segments to achieve the growth target.

After almost 30 years with an electric supplies company, an international manager feels that it was time to look for new opportunities outside the company. This case is a supplement to the (A) case, 9A99C030.

The newly appointed general manager of Alfonso's Department Store has initiated a review of Alfonso's newspaper marketing, in part to gain familiarity with the store's marketing practices, but also to look for ways to enhance both sales and market share. (A Microsoft Excel data file is available for use with this case, product 7A99E002.)

The CEO of Wilson Industries, a U.S. firm, is concerned about the performance of a joint venture between Wilson Industries and a Japanese firm, Morota Manufacturing. He wants the joint venture president to make some changes to improve financial performance. However, the president is unsure of what action to take because the Japanese partner, Morota, is satisfied with the performance and is considering expansion plans.

The co-directors of a student initiative to teach management fundamentals in several states of the former Soviet Union and in Russia, were having a rather heated argument in one of the partner's school office. The co-directors must decide how best to resolve the conflict.

The co-directors of a student initiative to teach management fundamentals in several states of the former Soviet Union and in Russia were having a rather heated argument in one of the partner's school office regarding planned activities. The co-directors must decide how best to resolve the conflict. The Leader Project - Canada (A) case, (9B00C002), presents one director's views, and this supplement presents the other director's sentiments. These cases lend themselves naturally to role plays.

The vice president of marketing at Creemore Springs Brewery needs to develop a marketing plan to absorb the doubling of brewing capacity without hurting the brand. According to him, the Creemore brand has been successful and has had such committed and loyal consumers because it was known only to a select few. Its reputation had grown mainly through word of mouth. However, with the brewing capacity increase in progress, Creemore would need to double sales. Would this hurt the brand?

This series of 14 exercises is intended to provide practice in the typical arithmetic challenges faced by marketers. Each exercise focuses on different calculations, including margin calculations, contribution analysis, profit analysis, price calculations and break-even calculations.

Founded in 1953, Stewart Shoes had grown to six outlets by 1990 with headquarters in Nova Scotia. Management is debating the value of money being spent on advertising and promotions. The controller feels that they should stop advertising and the marketing manager believes they should increase advertising by 50 per cent. The president suggests testing the effects of advertising, in-store promotion, and direct mail on sales.

In this first case of a three-case series, Procter & Gamble's strategy for a new shampoo product is outlined. The product is successfully developed and introduced to the Taiwan market. In the series' two subsequent cases, planning for the introduction of this product in Canada (9A99A039) and in the Philippines (9B00A010) is examined.

Procter & Gamble's Canadian brand management team must decide what changes, if any, should be made to the successful Taiwan launch strategy of a new shampoo to meet market requirements in Canada. This is the second of a three-case series. The first case, The Global Introduction of the New Pantene Shampoo: Success in Taiwan (9A99A038) must be used before this case.

Some of the advantages and disadvantages of franchising from the point of view of both the franchisor and the franchisee are described in this note. It also gives some guidelines for what characteristics one might look for in deciding whether a business is franchisable. It is intended as background reading for students, and could be used in conjunction with a case that involves franchising as a central issue.

This is an abridged version of Compaq Computer Corporation 1995, case 9A95A011. The case describes the evaluation of Compaq's marketing strategy in the personal computer industry from its founding in 1982 up to 1995. The market environment and the strategies of key competitors and Intel are discussed. Compaq management must decide how to respond to the changing market and competitive environment.

An assistant manager of a university student residence is aware that there are capacity and service problems in the cafeteria. Long waits in line were common, and he hoped to propose some improvements to residence management, preferably ones with no major investments or disbursements involved.

The operations manager at Diverse Industries International's plant needs to make a decision regarding a restructuring of the plant's Automatic Dishwasher Gel production line. The restructuring suggestion which included replacing a loading table with a lift conveyor and hopper system, came from the company's industrial equipment contractor who hoped to sell them some used production equipment. The operations manager, while he was fairly sure the investment was a good idea, was concerned about how he could best justify the cost to the finance department and, if approved, how he could reallocate direct labor on the line to maximize efficiency.

The president and CEO of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) is faced with the task of reconstructing the TSE to succeed in the face of significant industry and technological change. The exchange industry is undergoing a transformation brought about by globalization of financial markets, consolidation of exchanges, and the introduction of new competitive players due to technological advancements. The TSE is Canada's largest equity market and has created and started to implement a plan to deal with these threats. Concurrently, the TSE has been recreating its technological platform, moving from its computer assisted trading system to the Torex system purchased from the Paris Bourse. Implementation problems have delayed the project from its original release date to three years later. During the time frame of this implementation, the TSE suffered several computer glitches causing closure of the exchange for temporary periods of time. The president and CEO needs to review the priorities of the TSE and consider what actions she should take to ensure the successful implementation of this new technology, and the long term alignment of information technology with TSE business strategies.

Clearnet is a rapidly growing wireless communications company in the midst of a major capital investment and marketing program. The vice-president/chief financial officer must make an immediate decision involving how much Clearnet should try to raise from the public, when, what sort of instrument, and where? Among the alternatives are equity and high yield debt issues in Canada versus U.S., and cash-pay versus discount notes. Two years after its start-up, Clearnet successfully launched its Mike network, an enhanced specialized mobile radio digital network. In addition, Clearnet was awarded a national personal communications service license and was in the midst of a major network build-out program and organizational expansion in preparation for launching personal communications services the following year to be directed at the mass consumer market.

Excel data file for product 9B00N004.

The new CEO of Compaq Computer, the world's second largest computer company, is facing some difficult decisions about how to combat the increasing threat posed by Dell Computer Corporation. The case describes the strategic moves made by Compaq in the late 1990s under the leadership of a previous CEO who was dismissed by Compaq's board earlier in the year. It also describes in some detail the history of Dell Computer and the evolution of the Dell Direct model. Compaq's new CEO faces some major issues, one of which is the resolution of the channel issues, particularly in the commercial personal computing segment. It is clear he faces some very tough strategic and marketing choices. The power of information technology and standards that have allowed Dell to build a powerful ecosystem with its customers, suppliers and complementers are illustrated in this powerful teaching case. With the support of these other players, Dell has been able to topple one of the great companies of the late 20th century from its leadership position. It also illustrates how difficult it is for a market leader to effectively respond to such a challenge.