Windhorse Farm's Eco-Woodshop Guitar Top Decision

The owner of Windhorse Farm (WHF), a sustainably run woodlot and woodshop that produces building products as well as "tonewood" (wood used for guitar, mandolin, violin tops), is reaching retirement age. Since there is no heir apparent to run the businesses, he needs to determine whether he should stay in or exit the building products business and/or the tonewood business. The decision must conform to the criteria set out by the "four pillars" (economic, social, environmental and spiritual), which guide the mission and strategy of WHF. Objectives: 1) To provide a rich opportunity for students to examine how a small business uses a triple (in this case, quadruple) bottom line approach to corporate mission definition and strategy formulation. 2) To demonstrate how product extension decisions need to be integrated into the dynamics of the overall company, especially in terms of the relationship between existing product lines and new marketing, production and personnel requirements. 3) To expose students to business and community-based strategies that can enhance the sustainability of the forest industry. 4) To present students with a decision-making opportunity in a market such as tonewood where market knowledge and available data are highly "impressionistic" and informal. 5) To highlight how personal priorities, such as retirement and succession, may override other concerns.

• Organizational behavior
• Process management
• Marketing
• Succession planning
• Environmental sustainability
• Hiring and recruitment
• Sustainable business practices
• Asset management