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The head of logistics has received a number of customer complaints regarding various aspects of the company's product delivery policy. She must decide what can be done to increase customer satisfaction with its pricing, delivery service and customer relations. The head of logistics is not sure if it's a problem with communications or internal problems with the delivery process. She will have to assess customer feedback and examine the sales process.

The human resources manager of the Toronto office of RSM Richter LLP, reflected upon the company's efforts and outcomes in relation to recruiting junior accountants from the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario. Although Richter had similar salary and benefits to those of the Big Four accounting firms, it offered a unique environment in which employees were able to get to know one another personally and junior accountants were likely to become exposed to different aspects of auditing that they would not encounter in larger firms. Yet, Ivey students seemed more likely to accept offers from one of the Big Four. The human resources manager considered various alternatives.

The owner and founder of Boman Communications, was proud of the company's business concept which utilized technology to allow flexibility and efficiency in the production of marketing materials. However, despite this strategic advantage, the company had been unable to attract more than one large client. More importantly, recent events had led the owner to believe that many of his own employees did not understand the company's business concept. If they did not understand the company's business concept, how could they sell it to customers? Bowman knew he had to address these issues soon but was unsure how to do so.

The director of Camp Lakeview, an organization affiliated with a religious group was reviewing the camp's operations. Although it had been successful over the past four years, the enterprise was reaching a capacity crossroads. The director realized that changes were required to avoid having to turn campers away. The director was considering three options: adding new facilities and cabins to the current campground, building a new campground nearby or sending some campers to an alternative facility. The magnitude of the potential changes required a decision soon if they were to be in place before the camp season arrived.

The owner/operator of a tanning salon is reviewing recommendations from a tanning distribution consultant regarding the business he had recently purchased. The owner knew that the salon needed improvements when he purchased it, but he was unsure how he wanted to proceed in doing so. The tanning consultant had presented the owner with a number of options. The owner must decide if he wants to simply upgrade the current tanning equipment or purchase new units. Students will be introduced to operational issues in service business, and will understand the importance of considering customer needs when purchasing new equipment in a service business. They will also perform a trade-off analysis based on qualitative and quantitive factors.

An entrepreneur is looking at opening a coffee shop franchise. She has investigated a number of options and has narrowed the selection down to two. She wants to have the coffee shop up and running in six months and must make a decision on which franchise is the best choice. This case deals with service management and looks at franchising as a growth option.

An entrepreneur is looking at opening a coffee shop franchise. She has investigated a number of options and has narrowed the selection down to two. She wants to have the coffee shop up and running in six months and must make a decision on which franchise is the best choice. This case deals with service management and looks at franchising as a growth option.

The president of Mcavan Advertising, a full advertising, marketing and design agency, was trying to decide what to do about a long-term client's request. The client, Floos Inc., had referred the president of Ryl Enterprises to Mcavan Advertising and Mcavan began work on the new account. Later, Floos Inc. claimed that Ryl Enterprises was a competitor of Floos and asked Mcavan not to work further with Ryl. Students have to identify and evaluate Mcavan's various options.

This note describes the process a student might go through in writing a report, describes the main sections in a report and, in a supplement, reviews some points of usages, style, grammar, etc. It should be used after the Note on Case Analysis, product 9A81L002.

The owners of a bar & grill located in a major tourist area must decide how to deal with the non-smoking bylaw that is being considered for the township it's located in. The bar & grill serves two different groups: a large number of tourists during the summer and local patrons who frequent the bar throughout the year. The owners are concerned how this bylaw will affect business during the slower winter months. The case allow students to produce a plan that deals with how to influence public-sector decision-makers, deal with multiple customer groups with the possibly conflicting interests, and motivating staff to implement a course of action with which they might not personally agree.

The president of Mcavan Advertising, a full advertising, marketing and design agency, was trying to decide what to do about a long-term client's request. The client, Floos Inc., had referred the president of Ryl Enterprises to Mcavan Advertising and Mcavan began work on the new account. Later, Floos Inc. claimed that Ryl Enterprises was a competitor of Floos and asked Mcavan not to work further with Ryl. Students have to identify and evaluate Mcavan's various options.

McLeod Motors recently rationalized a number of motor end shields to reduce manufacturing costs, improve service, and reduce inventories. However, inventories have apparently risen. Students must identify why McLeod has inventory, how large the inventory might have been before the rationalization, how large they might be now, why they are so large, and what could be done to reduce inventory levels. The case can be used in conjunction with a discussion on inventory function.

The president of Joong-Ang Development Company was concerned with the level of service quality at Yongin Farmland, the company's theme park located just south of Seoul, South Korea. Despite the service quality program he had initiated since he assumed his present position 14 months ago, service quality seemed to be less than that of its competitors. He wondered if he had made the right moves, how Farmland could achieve international service quality standards, whether it would be worth doing, and if it would really provide a sustainable competitive advantage. This case and its companion (B) case, 9A97D017, are intended for use in a service quality module of a service management course.

The general manager of COM DEV's Chinese facility which assembled satellite components, was trying to decide whether the plant should seek ISO 9000 certification. Not only did ISO 9000 registration have a number of advantages and disadvantages, but as well, the decision in the Chinese plant would have some implications for COM DEV's other facilities in Canada and Europe. In addition, if the general manager decided to seek ISO 9000 certification for his plant, he would have to decide which level of certification to seek.

An undergraduate commerce student has just completed a group strategy project and is wondering what to do. She believed the group had done a good job but was disturbed by many things that had happened between her and her teammates during the project. She was unsure what she and her teammates could have done to stop the situation from escalating as far as it had and what action she should take now to let her teammates know how she felt and to prevent similar instances from occurring in the future.

Canadian Tire is a large automotive parts, sports and leisure, and home improvement retail store chain. With the rise in the number of large retail outlets, the company needed to look at ways to maintain and increase sales. Continuous improvements were made to store design and in-store operations. The vice-president of store planning and merchandising was evaluating checkout configurations. He needed to make his decision soon to avoid delaying the construction of four new test stores. He has three options; continue using the current tandem system, add self check-outs or switch to a single line configuration. He must analyze the three options to determine the benefits and trade-offs of each.

During the summer, a popular hotel and restaurant must turn away customers whenever it offers its once a week family pizza buffet. With summer season fast approaching, the managers and owners of Bala Bay Inn must evaluate the process and capacity of the restaurant and identify bottlenecks in the process to determine what can be done to accommodate the demand.

Colt Companies provides engineering design, procurement and construction services to the oil and gas industry. The company president knew that, to continue to grow, the company needed to expand its service offerings or its geographic base. He was considering expansion into the United States, which had a lot of prospective benefits, but also some drawbacks; among others, the company perceived the engineering contractor market was mature and highly competitive. The company had several expansion options: build its business slowly on its own; tender an initial public offering and provide existing partners with shares in the new public company, and use the cash to acquire other firms; go forward with an acquisition based on debt rather than equity; or merge with a private competitor. The president was expected to choose a strategy and champion his case to the board of directors.

The vice-president of rehabilitation and support at a hospital must decide if the request from a department to automate and track the dispatch of porters within the hospital is the best solution. He is aware that this area has been experiencing problems, however, he is not sure he has enough information to make the decision and instructs the manager of the department to provide a cost-benefit analysis and alternatives.

Quinte MRI is a small service provider of medical diagnostic technologies. After just six weeks in operation at a medical centre, the company developed an extensive waiting list, and physicians began referring patients to competing facilities. Quinte MRI's business development coordinators must provide recommendations and an action plan to deal with this process and productivity problem in a setting with extreme variability.