Founded in 1881, Seiko gained prominence for introducing the world's first quartz watch in 1969 and is often associated with the "quartz revolution" of the 1970s that threatened to destroy the Swiss watchmaking industry. Competition from inexpensive Chinese watch producers, a resurgent Swiss watch industry, domestic rivals, and a profusion of new fashion brands have led the company to reconsider its sales-oriented strategy of offering numerous products at various price points. Having become nearly obsolete in the face of quartz technology, the mechanical watch business was thriving once more, as a number of predominantly Swiss firms attracted luxury watch buyers. Since the 1960s, Seiko has produced luxury and complex mechanical watches for the domestic market under the brands "Grand Seiko" and "Credor." In 2003, Shinji Hattori, a great grandson of Seiko's founder became Seiko Watch Company's president and CEO and felt that Seiko should raise its perceived image outside Japan. In management's view, Seiko could claim distinction as the only "mechatronic manufacturer" in the world--a vertically integrated watchmaker that excelled in both mechanical watchmaking and micro-electronics. The launch of an innovative new watch movement--the Spring Drive--presented an opportunity for Seiko to make a timely foray into high-price segments in the international watch market. Examines the legacy of Seiko's watch business and provides a basic overview of the world watch industry. Considers the manner in which watches have evolved as a product category, and how a company like Seiko has attempted to reconcile its competitive advantage with its brand positioning in a highly crowded market.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club had grown from simple origins into an enormous gaming operator, with a statutory monopoly on horse racing, football betting and lotteries. At the same time, the Club served as Hong Kong's largest charity and community benefactor. It was also Hong Kong's largest single taxpayer, the operator of a prestigious membership Club and had undertaken some of the most sophisticated implementations of information technology in Asia. Under the leadership of Lawrence Wong, the Jockey Club's first ethnic-Chinese executive, the club had set about installing management discipline in the organization and raising betting revenues. He had also overseen the launch of football betting in 2003. By 2005 the emergence of local illegal and unauthorized offshore gambling operators, typically Internet-based and which paid no taxes, operated with little overhead, few regulatory restraints, and could thus offer bigger payout and more betting options posed a significant threat to the club's revenues. Wong would have to lead the club's efforts to defend gaming revenues against a host of threats and competitive forces.

Gives an account of how a ship management company was able to set itself apart from competitors and from its clients' own in-house technical and crew management capabilities by embracing a culture of continuous improvement and implementing Total Quality Management systems. The shipping industry was not alone in being regulated, but its distinctly international nature made ship managers, as cost-cutting practitioners, particularly open to criticism. A ship management company's very existence hinged upon its ability to convince ship owners that it would preserve their valuable assets and maximize revenue-earning potential--demonstrating that its collective skills were superior and more cost effective. As a result, an effective quality assurance system that continuously improved the organization's human and business systems could enhance efficiency and have a significant marketing impact.

In 2003, a year in which Hong Kong's small and medium-size enterprises faced an extraordinary disruption of normal operations as a result of the outbreak of SARS, the advantages of Internet-facilitated, remote-access solutions such as IP-VPN, telecommuting capabilities, and video conferencing became all the more evident. In February 2003, the Information Technology Services Department and the Hong Kong Productivity Council released the results of their biannual survey on the progress of e-business adoption in Hong Kong. The survey found that 47% of active businesses in Hong Kong had not adopted and/or did not have any plans to adopt online business capabilities (in even the most basic forms) within a six-month, forward-looking time frame, an increase of three percentage points over the previous survey. As a result of economic difficulties, a number of businesses had abandoned basic Internet capabilities such as e-mail accounts and company Web sites altogether to save on operating costs. Just one month later, many of these companies had reversed course and were scrambling to deploy technologies to support business operations as uncertainty gripped the region. In what ways were network technologies able to assist small and medium businesses in contingency planning? What were the long-term cost and efficiency improvements that might be realized with a "virtual office" capability? Examines how some businesses have enhanced their Hong Kong and regional presence by deploying technologies to facilitate communications and collaboration.

Gives an account of how an entrepreneur was able to seize an opportunity to start a new business and to manage a low-cost, but effective sales operation. Khalid Gibran exhibited the hallmarks of entrepreneurial style--he viewed rules as guidelines only and was willing to adjust his organization's priorities to make the most of changing circumstances. In less than three years, he spearheaded two organizations, but in so doing, he had to make a number of important trade-offs. OneCard--his latest and most ambitious venture--was launched just before Hong Kong was beset by the mysterious SARS virus. As retail sales plummeted and Hong Kong residents avoided eating out, many businesses were bracing for more uncertainty. Gibran, however, saw a marketing opportunity amid the many challenges and a chance to grow his merchant and subscriber bases.