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This (B) case in the Kapco series presents the situation described in Kapco Limited (A), case 9A93D015, but from the perspective of one of Matt Gruber's superiors.

Further information is provided to the situation described in Kapco Limited (A), case 9A93D015, which leads to a request for Matt Gruber's resignation.

In the final case of the Kapco series, Matt's firing, and how he handled it, are presented. See Kapco Limited (A), case 9A93D015, for the origins of the story.

Scores of companies have been trying to become mass customizers: businesses that produce individually customized goods or services at the cost of standardized, mass-produced goods. Mass customization entails breaking up the tightly integrated networks that form the backbone of the continuous improvement organization and creating a loosely linked collection of autonomous modules. Each module performs a different task and is perpetually reconfigured in response to customer demands. Automation typically is the key to linking these modules so that they can come together quickly and efficiently. Leaders of mass-customization organizations never know exactly what customers will ask for next. All they can do is strive to be ever more prepared to meet the next request. To that end, mass customizers are forever changing and expanding their range of capabilities.

In this two-part case series, Jackie Woods and her family are planning a trip to Europe when she is appointed to a key task force at Ameritech. Her colleagues are canceling their vacations to participate in the task force, but Jackie's family has been looking forward to this time together. At the same time, she and her husband have been wondering what future they have at Ameritech. See also the B case (UVA-BP-0331). A teaching note is available for registered faculty, along with video supplements to enhance student learning.

The founders of Bright Horizons have developed a distinctive strategy and raised venture capital money. Now they are ready to make their dream come true. How should they proceed in implementing their strategy?

The CEO of Sears must decide how to respond to allegations that the company's auto repair division has been misleading consumers and charging them for unnecessary repairs.

Describes the development and management of the relays business area (BA) in ABB's global matrix organization. Focuses on three levels of management--corporate, BA, and operating company. Highlights the roles and responsibilities of individuals at each level as ABB creates a unique, highly successful organization structure and management process that enables it to integrate its disparate worldwide operations while maintaining a highly entrepreneurial front-line environment.

Focuses in detail on implementing a corporate restructuring program in ABB's German subsidiary. Special attention is given to Germany's unique form of industrial governance. Two major problem areas--power plants and power transformers--are described in detail. ABB's new policies, in terms of strategy, organization, behavior, and financial targets, are portrayed. How should the head of ABB Germany proceed? Will the new ABB policies clash with Germany's national and BBC's corporate culture? Why are power plants and power transformers in deep trouble and what action can be taken? Does decentralization of the salesforce make sense? What are the challenges, opportunities, and risks facing ABB's Germany country head? Will the new international matrix be a help or a hindrance?

Sears's CEO responds to the allegations.

Describes Nike's responses to market and competitive challenges as well as its attempts at an organizational transformation from unstructured entrepreneurial management to more formalized, professional management. Focuses on Phil Knight's leadership role.

Supplements the (A) case.

In the opinion of some journalists and business leaders, Japan's preeminence in product quality is a direct consequence of lectures delivered 40 years ago in Tokyo by two Americans - W. Edwards Deming and Joseph M. Juran. According to Dr. Juran, this view is pure chauvinist nonsense. Despite the shoddiness of Japanese consumer goods before the war, the Japanese did have a quality tradition. It was just that the Japanese had never devoted engineering expertise, capital, or management attention to the quality of exportable consumer goods. The shock of losing the war changed their mind-set. In Japan, senior executives took personal charge of managing for quality and pursued quality change at such a revolutionary pace that by the mid-1970s, Japan had passed the United States in quality manufacturing. The unsung heroes of the Japanese quality revolution were Japanese managers, not American experts. Now Dr. Juran sees the beginnings of a quality revolution in the United States as global competition drives managers to focus on their nondelegable responsibilities in quality management.

Time-based competition, which yielded competitive advantage in the mid-1980s, revealed its dark side for many Japanese companies in the early 1990s. In industry after industry, a strategy that was supposed to produce variety ended up producing commodities. Pushing to get a greater number of products out faster, Japanese companies created a plethora of models yet stayed in the same place competitively. Today at least one strong competitor in every Japanese industry is leveraging a powerful combination of time-based competition and customer service. The success of these companies provides at least one crucial managerial lesson: strategy, to be meaningful, must link customer needs with employee capabilities and skills.

General Mills and Nestle were meeting to discuss the possibility of cooperation between the two companies in the breakfast cereal business. Executives from General Mills were arriving in a week's time and an executive vice-president at Nestle was charged with preparing a briefing on General Mills before their arrival. The executive vice-president had recently decided that Nestle should consider taking a partner in the breakfast cereal business and had collected some information on General Mills. The joint venture was of interest to Nestle because its European breakfast cereal business had been performing poorly. General Mills was interested because it has no significant breakfast cereal business outside of the United States. However, the fundamental issue was why Nestle had not made a success of the business in Europe, and what changes the company would need to make for the business to be a success. The balance between global strategy and local operations is central to this case.

COMCO Martech was a new breed of joint venture for COMCO Holding, a mid-sized Swiss-German company that had grown over a five-year period through tie-ups with small, start-up companies. Whereas a typical COMCO venture provided services to a large German retailer, was based in a German-speaking country of Europe, and granted COMCO Holding clear management control, COMCO Martech was managed on a 50-50 basis with an American partner, was active in Eastern Europe, and supplied decontamination services to non-retail related clients. The venture got off to a rocky start. This case looks at the difficulties that arise in managing cross-boundary collaboration; the characteristics that promote compatibility between partners; and the factors that account for successful international partnerships.

Mueller Chemical Company's biggest customer, Ameriton, demanded that MCC install a total quality management system five years ago. Now, in this fictional case study, Ameriton has gone bankrupt. As a result, MCC has had to cut its work force, and senior managers are meeting to decide whether TQM should be part of the downsized MCC. The division is more cost-efficient, product defects are nearly nonexistent, and its safety record is spotless. Ameriton's failure is no reason to abandon all that MCC has built. Furthermore, shareholders and customers would think that MCC was panicking. But, does MCC have the time or resources to tailor TQM to a smaller organization? Seven experts in TQM and organizational change consider whether TQM has a place in MCC's restructuring.

This technical note introduces (1) approaches to forecasting in general, (2) simple moving averages and exponential smoothing, (3) accounting for seasonality in forecasting, (4) accounting for trend in forecasting, and (5) implementing a forecasting model. Holt and Winter models for exponential smoothing are included.

Top executives of Prodigy Services Co. must decide how to respond when publicly accused of allowing anti-Semitic messages to be posted on the electronic bulletin boards of the company's interactive computer service. Can they defend free expression while at the same time opposing expressions of hatred and bigotry?

Describes the organizational aftermath.