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Electrosteel Castings Ltd., based in India, had been the largest domestic manufacturer of iron pipes for over four decades. Although it had achieved solid growth in recent years, the market was under increasing pressure as overall growth slowed and new competitors entered the market. The CEO saw international expansion as critical to future growth. It would also provide additional currency for further investment in new process technologies. After extensive study, management narrowed the options to Europe or Southeast Asia. Given limited resources, Electrosteel could enter only one market, either with a new marketing office or a new manufacturing plant. Building an overseas plant was particularly attractive, as it would effectively translate into Electrosteel being considered a local competitor in that market, reducing costs and improving customer service. Awareness of foreign competitors investigating similar international expansion options significantly increased the need for a decision.

Electrosteel Castings Limited, based in India, had been the largest domestic manufacturer of iron pipes for over four decades. Although it had achieved solid growth in recent years, the market was under increasing pressure as overall growth slowed and new competitors entered the market. The chief executive officer believed that international expansion was critical to future growth and would also provide additional currency for further investment in new process technologies. After extensive study, management had narrowed the options to Europe (France) or Southeast Asia (Vietnam). Given limited resources, Electrosteel could only enter one market, either with a new marketing office or a new manufacturing plant. Building an overseas plant was particularly attractive, as it would effectively translate into Electrosteel being considered a local competitor in that market, reducing costs and improving customer service. In recent weeks, the need for a decision had increased significantly, as management had become aware of foreign competitors investigating similar international expansion options. (A video highlighting the manufacturing process of the iron pipes is available, product 7B02D016.)

ING Direct Canada is a retail banking operation and a subsidiary of one of the top global providers of integrated financial services, ING Group of the Netherlands. ING Direct Canada needs to meet the operational demands of a growing client base, while maintaining its current staffing levels, physical space, and commitment to same-day account processing. The senior vice-president of operations must implement procedures to cope with the immediate challenges of the company's growth, as well as develop a long-term strategy. Options to consider include new technology, increased efficiencies, or relaxing the same-day processing requirements.

ING Direct Canada is a retail banking operation and a subsidiary of one of the top global providers of integrated financial services, ING Group of the Netherlands. ING Direct Canada needs to meet the operational demands of a growing client base, while maintaining its current staffing levels, physical space and commitment to same-day processing of accounts. The senior vice-president of operations must implement procedures to cope with the immediate challenges of the company's growth, as well as develop a long-term strategy. Options to consider included new technology, increased efficiencies, or relaxing the same day processing requirements.

Extend run time program to be distributed with case.

A regional director of donor services for the American Red Cross was wondering how to improve services to blood donors. Faced with an increasing number of complaints that donors were being held up in long lines at Red Cross' mobile blood collection operations - commonly termed bloodmobiles - she was considering several design alternatives for the blood collection process. Using the accompanying Extend run-time model (product #7B00D024), data file and structured assignment, students can explore changes in staffing assignments, donor registration and donor-bed configurations. For each alternative, a comparison is possible along a number of performance dimensions.

PowerPoint presentation for product 9B00D003.

Microsoft Project fille for case.

American Airlines is a widely cited leader in the development and implementation of yield management practices. This case is based on a training exercise used at American Airlines to introduce managers to their yield management system. Participants are given the responsibility for a single flight from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas to Miami, Florida and are required to make a series of sequential booking decisions in real time. The objective of the exercise is to maximize total revenue for the flight, after taking into account no-shows and penalties. De-briefing following the exercise provides an opportunity to discuss both the strategic and tactical issues that arise when applying yield management systems in service firms. The case is designed for use in a service management elective course or in a service operations course and is intended to expose students to yield management by giving them hands-on experience managing bookings for a flight. The game takes approximately 50 minutes to play, leaving approximately 30 minutes for class discussion. Ideally, a supplemental reading dealing with yield management should be assigned with the case in order to provide background theory on yield management and to describe the complexities of a yield management system.

American Airlines is a widely cited leader in the development and implementation of yield management practices. This case is based on a training exercise used at American Airlines to introduce managers to their yield management system. Participants are given the responsibility for a single flight from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas to Miami, Florida and are required to make a series of sequential booking decisions in real time. The objective of the exercise is to maximize total revenue for the flight, after taking into account no-shows and penalties. De-briefing following the exercise provides an opportunity to discuss both the strategic and tactical issues that arise when applying yield management systems in service firms. The case is designed for use in a service management elective course or in a service operations course and is intended to expose students to yield management by giving them hands-on experience managing bookings for a flight. The game takes approximately 50 minutes to play, leaving approximately 30 minutes for class discussion. Ideally, a supplemental reading dealing with yield management should be assigned with the case in order to provide background theory on yield management and to describe the complexities of a yield management system.

The basics of project management are described and applied to a simple tutorial problem. The steps for project management, as well as the calculation of the critical path, using CPM, are presented.

Lin Zhang has just received approval for the formation of a new quality control group at LongXi, located in Zhangzhou, China. This new group must investigate and reduce the high defect rate of a critical part used in the final manufacture of multi-cylinder diesel engines. Lin must decide who will be directly involved in the team, which data must be collected and analyzed, what is causing the problem, and which actions should be taken. The improvement project is set within the context of LongXi's broader quality and systems, thus encouraging students to evaluate and push forward corporate quality systems. This case is the first in a three-part series that applies the principles and tools of total quality management (TQM) in a Chinese setting.

The assistant engineer in the Thermal Treatment Department of a state-owned enterprise in China has received approval for the formation of a new quality control group to reduce the high defect rate of a critical part. The total quality concept is presented within the context of a specific quality problem, which encourages students to both assess the company's quality system and apply quality improvement tools to this particular problem. This case is the first of a three part series that applies the principles and tools of total quality management in a Chinese setting. This case can either be used independently or in combination with the (B) case, 9A98D002 and (C) case, 9A98D003.

The quality control group has implemented several countermeasures, and the results have been monitored and reported. A final examination is necessary to assess whether this type of problem is likely to recur, and where further improvement can be made in the company's quality systems. This case is designed to be used in conjunction with the (A) case, 998D001 and the (B) case, 998D002.

After selecting the quality control group members, the assistant engineer and his group begin data collection and need to construct a cause-and-effect diagram to develop an action plan. This case should be used in conjunction with case (A), 9A98D001.

Unicon supplies pre-cast concrete products to the flourishing construction market in Hong Kong. Mr. Li, the deputy managing director, is evaluating an opportunity to pursue a "blanket" regulatory approval for Unicon's custom-designed concrete products with its largest customer, the Hong Kong Housing Authority. This opportunity promised to offer cost savings to both Unicon and this customer, although questions remain about the broader implications for Unicon's manufacturing operations and other customers. At the same time, management must develop a plan to expand its manufacturing capacity if Unicon hopes to capitalize on the rapidly expanding market and fend off new competitors from mainland China.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Unicon supplies pre-cast concrete products to the flourishing construction market in Hong Kong. The deputy managing director, is evaluating an opportunity to pursue a blanket regulatory approval for Unicon's custom-designed concrete products with its largest customer, the Hong Kong Housing Authority. This opportunity promised to offer cost savings to both Unicon and this customer, although questions remain about the broader implications for Unicon's manufacturing operations and other customers. At the same time, management must develop a plan to expand its manufacturing capacity if Unicon hopes to capitalize on the rapidly expanding market and fend off new competitors from mainland China.

VBF Tubing, a Dutch firm, is facing increased demand for its products, high inventory levels, and expensive setup costs. In light of these problems, the logistics manager must decide how to respond to a proposal that longer production runs be scheduled. The production, cost and market data supplied permit the students to explore the necessity and implications of changing production batch sizes on these competing priorities. In particular, the application of the traditional Economic Order Quantity can be assessed based on other facility-wide operating practices.