This case follows Sara Norton, a soccer player turned serial entrepreneur, as she transforms Seaside Organics from a fledgling startup into an $89 million company. Informed by the successes and failures of her first organics venture, WellBar, Norton tries to balance her naturally energetic, hands-on approach with the changing needs of a large company. Students discuss the differences between running a growing startup and a mature organization, and the tensions that can result between entrepreneurs and the managers tasked with running their organizations.
Marcus Crosby, President of Cilkray Graphics, convened an emergency meeting with Cilkray's senior managers in order to respond to an unexpected development. Cilkray sold three lines of specialized graphics processing units (GPUs). Each line targeted a segment of the professional market for Hosted Virtual Desktops (HVDs). Grovex, Cilkray's key competitor, had just announced the impending launch of the GSpeed, a new GPU. It said that the GSpeed would exceed the performance of competitive products, including Cilkray's most advanced product line, the CP3000. Industry rumors suggested that the GSpeed's price would be 20% to 30% below that of the CP3000. Crosby and his team saw two options. Cilkray could drop the CP3000's price immediately. It could also delay its planned release of its new CK300, scheduled for December 2013, in order to make its products more competitive. Crosby and his team had to decide what Cilkray should do next.
Executives from Portland Drake Beverages (PDB) are meeting to determine the appropriate product positioning and advertising campaign for the launch of Crescent Pure, a specialty organic beverage. They have 3 options for positioning: should Crescent Pure be positioned as an energy drink, a sports drink, or should it adopt broader positioning as an "organic health and wellness" beverage? Students studying this case explore customer segmentation, product differentiation analysis, and the evaluation of perceptual maps as a market research technique.
The Senior Vice President of FormPrint's Medical Products business unit is considering issues raised by the upcoming introduction of a new 3D printing system, the Ortho500, which could print custom exoskeletal orthopedic splints, braces, and casts that conformed to a patient's body. The potential market extended beyond large urban hospitals (the Ortho's existing market) to high-volume outpatient offices in the U.S., with a long-term goal of expanding internationally. The product represents an important new market opportunity for FormPrint's Orthopedic business unit, but requires a new approach to marketing and sales. The immediate issue is whether the product should be sold by FormPrint's existing orthopedic sales force or by independent sales representatives. Other issues include the role of the Ortho500 in the company's global marketing strategy and the need for better marketing-sales coordination in a changing healthcare marketplace. If the Ortho500 failed to meet sales targets, bonus compensation would be reduced and the department could face layoffs. The case focuses on a core marketing decision-direct vs. indirect channels of distribution-and raises important issues in strategy development and implementation. The FormPrint case is ideal for use in courses on marketing strategy, marketing organization, B2B marketing, or new product development.
Sales of CleanSpritz all-purpose cleaning spray have been steadily declining for the past five years, and management believes the decline correlates to a growing environmental concern among U.S. consumers. CleanSpritz's management is considering several options to address the environmental concerns in hopes of reversing the decline in revenue: re-launching the current product; adding a new product that includes stronger concentrate in a recyclable pouch; adding a new stronger concentrate in a dissolvable packet; or keeping the business status-quo. Students must present their recommendations for the most effective strategy, keeping in mind the potential risks of each alternative. Students learn to demonstrate the importance of packaging in the marketing mix, analyze the costs and benefits of being a first mover, and learn about the decision-making process for a product extension that represents a creative attempt to rejuvenate a mature brand. This case can be used in courses on marketing management, product management or new product development, or marketing and social responsibility.
StepSmart Fitness, a manufacturer of exercise equipment, is undergoing a sweeping reorganization. The new CEO has terminated the District Sales Director and Regional VP and promoted 30-year-old Benjamin Cooper to manage the underperforming New England district. A first-time manager with no one to train him or explain the causes of the district's underperformance, Cooper has 10 weeks to diagnose the problems and make recommendations that will ensure a turnaround in the territory in less than 16 months. Left to his own devices, Cooper must review the sales data, the incomplete notes left by his predecessor, and his own thoughts after spending a day in the field with each sales person. Then he must make decisions about termination or probation for current employees, the hiring of additional salespeople, ways to increase productivity, and potential new methods of evaluating salesperson performance. He is set to present his conclusions to his also-newly-appointed manager, the Regional VP for the Northeast, in a few days.
The CEO of SafeBlend Technologies must set a price for the company's environmentally friendly fracturing fluid additive. The firm is negotiating a new contract with its biggest client, Bristol Natural Gas. For the past two years, SafeBlend has been the sole provider of additives to Bristol due to aggressive negotiation and limited competition. New competitors are entering the market, and the CEO believes one competitor is prepared to offer Bristol a chemical-free additive for 50% less per gallon than SafeBlend. Anticipating lower bids from competitors, he considers reducing the price in the new contract to maintain the relationship with Bristol-despite the impact on revenue. However, the competition may not be able to supply enough additive to meet all of Bristol's needs, so he also considers the impact of setting a more competitive and profitable price that assumes losing only a portion of Bristol's business.
Wendy Peterson was recently promoted to Vice President of Sales at the Plano, Texas, office of AccountBack, an accounting software and services company. To penetrate a perceived market niche, Peterson hires Fred (Xing) Wu, whose familiarity with and access to Chinese business leaders in Plano is valuable. Wu was born and raised in China, partly educated in the U.S., and immigrated to the U.S. in 2005. Within 12 months, he had signed his regional team's largest client, but Peterson has reservations about Wu's performance and is uneasy about their working relationship. Wu has requested an assistant-unprecedented within AccountBack's flat organizational structure. Peterson reflexively perceives the request as unreasonable, but in responding she must take into account the implications her decision will have on the rest of her sales team, as well as her own career. This case is ideal for courses on managing performance, managing conflict, leadership, cross-cultural differences, conflict and negotiation, employee development, and performance evaluation.
Southfield Packaging provides packaging materials and services to medical device manufacturers. The case examines the relationship between a corporate vice president, Mark Sanders, and one of his direct reports, Regional Manager Frank Belby. Sanders' preparation for Belby's annual performance review provides a foundation for discussing the common challenges and difficulties associated with performance reviews. Specific issues include the need to clearly define criteria for evaluation and the question of whether Belby's physical health should play a role in his performance review. Overall, is Southfield's appraisal process a fair and effective way of evaluating employee potential?
Shelby Givens, a recent business school graduate, returned home to Raleigh, North Carolina to help rescue her family's ailing and outdated bowling alley, Westlake Lanes. Although she cut costs and addressed inefficiencies, moving the business from near-bankruptcy to profitability in nine months, market conditions threatened the long-term viability of the business. Givens then sold her family on a new, more youth-oriented concept, an urban lounge called Sugar Bowl that could generate sizable revenues from the food and beverage businesses already embedded in Westlake Lanes. The case follows Givens as she builds Sugar Bowl into a turnaround story through shrewd decision-making in finance, operations, and marketing while contending constantly with challenging surprises and disappointments. The case also captures Givens's reflections on how the entrepreneurial drive that has motivated her. Sugar Bowl may be taught alone or after "Westlake Lanes" (4431), which follows Givens through the initial turnaround process.
Shelby Givens, a new MBA, is the general manager of Westlake Lanes, a near-bankrupt bowling alley that her grandfather founded decades earlier. Givens has been given one year to turn a profit; if the goal is not met Westlake will close. During the first few days on the job, Givens learns that the business is in worse shape financially than she - or the board - thought. She also finds that Westlake's employees exhibit minimal productivity. Givens tackles these two issues, creatively uncovering ways to reduce costs while building morale. After nine months, the business has its first profitable month in over two years. Yet Givens is worried it is too little, too late and begins to sketch a bolder long-term strategy based on pursuing one of two alternative new markets. Students are invited to consider whether the board should accept her potentially transformative proposal, maintain existing operations, or liquidate to pay off pressing loan responsibilities. The case includes a quantitative assignment for students.
Brinda Patel, director of oral care products for the India division of a consumer home-care product company, develops a data-driven marketing plan for toothbrushes. She believes her plan can support a 20% increase in unit sales based on rising demand for modern oral-care products in India. Her boss, the VP of Marketing, believes her forecast is too conservative and suggests spending more money on promotions to boost sales by 30%. Patel must develop a new plan to meet this higher growth rate by increasing the advertising budget and revising the distribution of the budget across three targeted advertising messages. She must also consider the regional challenges within India between rural and urban consumers and their willingness to adopt a modern approach to dental care. Students must build a projected income statement and consider the effects of increasing the advertising budget and changing the product mix in favor of higher margin toothbrushes.