個案總覽

Palliser is Canada's second largest furniture company. The company has production facilities in Canada, Mexico, and Indonesia and experimented with cutting and sewing leather in China. The company is looking at further expanding the relationship with China. Ever since Palliser set up a plant in Mexico, the company faced increasing competitive pressure from Asia, especially China. The president of Palliser must decide what form this relationship should follow: an investment, either wholly or partly owned, or through subcontracting?

Vincor International Inc. was Canada's largest wine company and North America's fourth largest in 2002. The company had decided to internationalize and as the first step had entered the United States through two acquisitions.The company's chief executive officer felt that to be among the top 10 wineries in the world, Vincor needed to look beyond the region. To the end, he was considering the acquisition of an Australian company, Goundrey Wines. He must analyze thestrategic rationale for the acquisition of Goundrey as well as to probe questions of strategic fit and value.

Vincor International Inc. was Canada's largest wine company and North America's fourth largest in 2002. The company had decided to internationalize and, as the first step, had entered the United States through two acquisitions. The company's CEO felt that to be among the top 10 wineries in the world, Vincor needed to look beyond the region. To this end, he was considering the acquisition of an Australian company, Goundrey Wines. He must analyze the strategic rationale for the acquisition of Goundrey as well as probe questions of strategic fit and value.

Mike Graves, the general manager of a U.S. apparel company's 50/50 joint venture with a Chinese manufacturer, has made the joint venture into a big success, at least in the eyes of its Chinese executives and local officials. Zhong-Lian Knitting has turned around three money-losing businesses and has increased its payroll from 400 to 2,300 employees. But Mike's boss, the CEO of the U.S. company, Heartland Spindle, doesn't share the rosy view. He's looking for a 20% ROI, which he says will require laying off 1,200 Chinese workers. He also wants to aim at the high end of the clothing market, meaning the JV will have to meet much tougher standards of quality than it has been able to do so far. To make matters worse, the Chinese executives now want to make a fourth acquisition, which they hope will position the venture to start its own brand of apparel--a move that could eat into profits for years. Can Mike keep the joint venture from unraveling? In R0308A and R0308Z four commentators offer expert advice in this fictional case study: Eric Jugier, the chairman of Michelin (China) Investment in Shanghai; Dieter Turowski, a managing director in mergers & acquisitions at Morgan Stanley in London; David Xu, a principal at McKinsey in Shanghai; and Paul W. Beamish, the director of the Asian Management Institute at the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business in Canada.

Mike Graves, the general manager of a U.S. apparel company's 50/50 joint venture with a Chinese manufacturer, has made the joint venture into a big success, at least in the eyes of its Chinese executives and local officials. Zhong-Lian Knitting has turned around three money-losing businesses and has increased its payroll from 400 to 2,300 employees. But Mike's boss, the CEO of the U.S. company, Heartland Spindle, doesn't share the rosy view. He's looking for a 20% ROI, which he says will require laying off 1,200 Chinese workers. He also wants to aim at the high end of the clothing market, meaning the JV will have to meet much tougher standards of quality than it has been able to do so far. To make matters worse, the Chinese executives now want to make a fourth acquisition, which they hope will position the venture to start its own brand of apparel--a move that could eat into profits for years. Can Mike keep the joint venture from unraveling? In R0308A and R0308Z, four commentators offer expert advice on this fictional case study: Eric Jugier, the chairman of Michelin (China) Investment in Shanghai; Dieter Turowski, a managing director in mergers & acquisitions at Morgan Stanley in London; David Xu, a principal at McKinsey in Shanghai; and Paul W. Beamish, the director of the Asian Management Institute at the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business in Canada.

General Motors Defense, a division of General Motors, one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers, designs and manufactures light armored vehicles. The company is approached by General Dynamics to jointly pursue the U.S. Army's Brigade Combat Team program. However, General Dynamic made it clear that they would also submit a bid on their own. Contrary to past practices, the chief of staff of the U.S. Army planned to award the multi-billion dollar contract within only 11 months. The executive director of General Motors Defense has to decide whether the company should bid-it-alone or submit a joint venture bid with General Dynamics.

A major U.S.-based fast food company with extensive operations around the world was contemplating whether to enter the Korean market. The Korean fast food market was hit badly by the Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s, but the economy was turning around. Thus, fast food demand in Korea was expected to increase. For the industry analysis, this case provides information on various competitors, substitute foods, new entrants, consumers, and suppliers. Also includes social issues as potential forces.

In 1998 the soon-to-retire founder of China Kelon Group, a major home electrical appliance manufacturer, was confronting issues of market diversification (urban to rural), product diversification (refrigerator to now also produce air conditioners), and the evolution of his senior management team (from an entrepreneurial firm to one managed by professional manager). Besides offering a context to address the above issues, this case illustrate to a non-Chinese audience just how rapidly local Chinese manufacturing has developed, and that such firms are future competitors for foreign companies. It also helps students explore the broader question about the ability of founder/entrepreneurs to effectively manage the transition to becoming a larger, more diversified company. Supplement to this case is China Kelon Group (B): Integration After Merger, product number 9B03M005.

This supplement to China Kelon (A): Diversify or Not, product number 9B03M004, deals with the issue of integrating two large business groups after the Number 6 air conditioner manufacturer, Kelon Group, acquired the Number 5 air conditioner producer, Huabao. While Kelon Group is a non-state owned company, Huabao was spun off from a state owned enterprise group. It was a landmark acquisition case in which a non-state entrepreneurial firm took over a state enterprise that had strong name brand and national reputation. The two companies have different resource bases, history, tradition, corporate culture, management style, product features and reward systems. They were traditionally close rivals located in the same township. The two companies exhibit potential for synergy and the combined capacity will put the new Kelon-Huabao as the top air conditioner manufacturer in terms of market share. However, this outcome depends on a successful merger and integration.

Deals with the issue of integrating two large business groups after the No. 6 air conditioner manufacturer, Kelon Group, acquired the No. 5 air conditioner producer, Huabao. Whereas Kelon Group is a nonstate-owned company, Huabao was spun off from a state-owned enterprise group. It was a landmark acquisition case in which a nonstate entrepreneurial firm took over a state enterprise that had a strong name brand and national reputation. The two companies have different resource bases, history, tradition, corporate culture, management style, product features, and reward systems. They were traditionally close rivals located in the same township. The combined capacity will make the new Kelon-Huabao the top air conditioner manufacturer in terms of market share, assuming a successful merger and integration.

A major U.S.-based fast food company with extensive operations around the world was contemplating whether or not they should enter the Korean market. The Korean fast food market was hit badly by the Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s, but the economy was turning around. Thus, fast food demand in Korea was expected to increase. For the industry analysis, this case provides information on various competitors, substitute foods, new entrants, consumers and suppliers. In addition, social issues are included as potential forces.

A senior manager in a U.S. manufacturing firm must make a recommendation about whether 57 labour intensive jobs should be moved from the existing California plant to a new facility in a Mexican maquiladora. If the Mexican opportunity is pursued, decisions are also required regarding the entry mode (subcontracting, shelter operator or wholly-owned subsidiary) and location (border or interior).

Selkirk Group is a family-owned brick manufacturer which has built an export business to Japan and other Asian markets from zero to 10% of its volume in seven years. The managing director of the company raises the question of whether it is time to change their regional export strategy and organizational structure in light of the Asian economic crisis and the reasons for their competitive success in both Australia and Asia.

A senior manager in a U.S. manufacturing firm must make a recommendation about whether to move 57 labor-intensive jobs from the existing California plant to a new facility in a Mexican maquiladora. The Mexican opportunity would require deciding the mode of entry (subcontracting, shelter operator, or wholly owned subsidiary) and location (border or interior).

Optical Recording Corporation (ORC) secured the rights to a technology known as digital optical audio recording. During the time it took to negotiate the final transfer of the technology ownership, it was rumored that some major electronics manufacturers were developing compact disc (CD) players that recorded digital optical audio signals. A patent lawyer advised ORC that the compact disc players and compact discs recently released by these companies might be infringing the claims of ORC's newly acquired patents. Based on this information, the company proceeded to successfully negotiate licensing agreements with the two largest CD manufacturers, Sony of Japan, and Philips of the Netherlands The third largest manufacturer, WEA Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., maintained a position of non-infringement and invalid patents. With the U.S. patent expiry date looming, ORC decided to sue Time Warner for patent infringement. When the defense counsel presented testimony that questioned the integrity of the licensing agreement, ORC's president realized that the entire licensing program was in jeopardy and must decide whether he should accept a settlement or proceed with the lawsuit.

Optical Recording Corp. (ORC) secured the rights to a technology known as digital optical audio recording. During the time it took to negotiate the final transfer of the technology ownership, it was rumored that some major electronics manufacturers were developing compact disc (CD) players that recorded digital optical audio signals. A patent lawyer advised ORC that the compact disc players and compact discs recently released by these companies might be infringing the claims of ORC's newly acquired patents. Based on this information, the company proceeded to successfully negotiate licensing agreements with the two largest CD manufacturers. The third largest manufacturer, WEA Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc., maintained a position of noninfringement and invalid patents. With the U.S. patent expiration date looming, ORC decided to sue Time Warner for patent infringement. When the defense counsel presented testimony that questioned the integrity of the licensing agreement, ORC's president realized that the entire licensing program was in jeopardy and must decide whether he should accept a settlement or proceed with the lawsuit.

Strategic Intelligence Pte. Limited is a research and new-media company that provides Asian-based economic and political information. The managing editor is facing several challenges in building a new online business intelligence service that focuses on Asia's new economy. As the person responsible for the company's first Internet related initiative, he is expected to design, manage and help market the new initiative that will be independent from, yet complementary to, the company's existing events-oriented and research services. Although he is satisfied with the content that has been developed, he still needs to resolve several issues regarding target audience, pricing policy, revenue diversification options and service awareness. A sense of urgency pervades the situation, since he is expected to ensure that the new service will contribute 25 per cent of total company revenues within the next year.

Stella Artois, Interbrew company's flagship brand of beer, has experienced phenomenal success on the international market. The United Kingdom market has played a critical role in that success, and Interbrew needs to assess the reasons for this. Interbrew's managing director and its chief marketing officer are meeting to have a discussion about how to proceed in developing the Stella Artois brand. First, they need to understand what part of the company's success was due to expert marketing practices and what part might possibly be due to being in the right place at the right time. As well, they want to assess what possible steps might be taken to spread these practices across the corporation for use in the company's global marketing strategy.

Stella Artois, Interbrew company's flagship brand of beer, has experienced phenomenal success on the international market. The United Kingdom market has played a critical role in that success, and Interbrew needs to assess the reasons for this. Interbrew's managing director and chief marketing officer are meeting to have a discussion about how to proceed in developing the Stella Artois brand. First, they need to understand what part of the company's success was due to expert marketing practices and what part might possibly be due to being in the right place at the right time. They also want to assess what possible steps might be taken to spread these practices across the corporation for use in the company's global marketing strategy.

Strategic Intelligence Pte. Limited is a Singapore-based research and media company. The newly appointed director of advisory services is considering the challenges in building the company's latest service offering. The company's strong emphasis on this new service is a departure from their previous strategy of attempting to develop its existing events, custom research and online information services in a relatively even manner. He needs to formulate a plan that will ensure the new service contributes about half of the company's revenue within the next year. This case may be used with Strategic Intelligence Pte. Limited (A), 9B01M032.