In the late 1970s, Motorola CEO Bob Galvin knew that the electronics industry was growing increasingly competitive. Though Motorola was faring well in the battle, technology was sprinting ahead. In fact, most technical knowledge was obsolete within a five-year time frame. In an attempt to embrace the change, Galvin proposed to his board of directors an extraordinary commitment to the training of Motorola's entire workforce--from executives to shop floor employees. He was met with strong resistance, however, due to the time and financial resources such training would require. Galvin was faced with a dilemma: If he accepted the board's counsel, the company might fall behind as the velocity of technological change increased; if he pushed for the investment in training, he might jeopardize short-term performance and competitive position.
McKay Nursery Co., founded in 1897 in Waterloo, Wisconsin, had a longstanding history of commitment to employees. The close-knit organization was a pioneer in the agricultural industry of several employee-friendly policies. But in the early 1980s, as McKay's owners grew older and senior management neared retirement, the next generation of managers feared for the future of the profitable, debt-free company. Middle manager Griff Mason and his colleagues were concerned McKay might become the target of a hostile takeover, which would move the company out of the community that had supported it for nearly a century. They wondered what they might do to keep the company in Waterloo and continue to retain its employees, nearly half of whom were migrant workers.
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. In a global economy, managers constantly negotiate with people from other cultures, whether the issue is coordinating operations within a multinational firm, arranging a joint venture, or convincing a foreign government to approve construction of a plant. Yet, managers have had to rely on simplistic formulas--following lists of "dos and don'ts"--or very demanding ones--"Do as the Romans do"--to deal with the cultural aspects of these negotiations. But a number of strategies are available. The author presents these strategies according to the parties' level of familiarity with each other's cultures and the extent to which they can explicitly coordinate their strategies. These factors determine the subset of strategies that are realistically feasible for an individual manager.
Four minority employees at Inland Steel encourage their company to initiate more aggressive affirmative action and diversity efforts. The "gang of four," as they call themselves, challenge a white general manager to join them in promoting increased opportunities for minorities and women. This case focuses on diversity, strategies for social change in organizations, and how senior managers can respond to grassroots campaigns. It can be used in Organizational Behavior and Ethics courses
Researchers at Merck & Co. believe that a drug they had developed for animals might be an effective treatment for human river blindness, a debilitating illness that affects hundreds of thousands of poor people in the Third World. The process of development and testing, however, will be enormously costly. Should the company devote critical resources to developing the drug, knowing that, even if it were medically successful, it would yield little financial return? The case presents background on economic and scientific constraints that shape the pharmaceutical industry. It provides a framework for discussing ethical aspects of product innovation and the risks and benefits of investments in research. It may be used in Strategic Management, Business and Society, and Ethics courses.