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Supplements the (A) case.

Rakesh Gupta sits in his new office at Nariman Point, Mumbai contemplating the future of OceanCove, which in the last two years has grown from a single seafood restaurant to a chain of five restaurants. Aware that aggressive expansion is planned in 2002 and worried about the recent proliferation of moderately expensive restaurants serving international cuisine in India, Gunta must consider a proposal to increase the size of the existing restaurants from 120 seats to 160 seats. His immediate concern is whether accepting this proposal will necessitate changing OceanCove's operating processes.

A manufacturer of construction parts spends $150,000 annually on courier services. When the courier threatens to stop shipments because the required $10,000 deposit has not been maintained, one of the company's owners decided to switch couriers. The new courier is late in delivering a vital component, nearly causing a production shutdown. The materials manager wants to recommend that the company return to the previous courier service. He needs to consider that the owner is a principled person, who favored the new courier. As well, the company has had layoffs and pay cuts. Although he had been a long-term employee and is satisfied with his work, the manager needs to determine whether he should approach the issue at the next management meeting or simply allow the situation to be the sole responsibility of the owner.

QuickMedx has created a chain of small kiosks, located in drugstores and shopping malls in the Minneapolis area, that cater to patients with a limited range of very simple primary care conditions. Service is rapid and cheap and patients wait only a few minutes to be seen. The kiosks provide an alternative to the primary care physician's office and the emergency room. Clinical care itself is highly standardized and is delivered by nurse practitioners whose decisions are governed by detailed protocols. The company is now considering its expansion strategy. Should it increase the number of kiosks or widen the currently restricted range of conditions treated?

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. In an often overemphasized focus on efficiency, many companies turn to packaged information technology systems to manage business processes. University of Michigan Business School professors C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krisnhan suggest they should be more concerned with strategy--and getting line managers and IT managers to use information systems in ways that facilitate strategic change. A new applications-portfolio scorecard helps managers assess information infrastructure before making investments. Six key considerations are: each IT application's role in strategy, whether the knowledge embodied in the application (say, salaries in a payroll application) is stable or evolving, how much change will be needed, where the application will be sourced, whether the data are proprietary or public, and the application's freedom from conformance defects. Those parameters differ for different functions. Only those companies that deeply analyze what they need from each IT application will acquire the right portfolio. The authors' work with 500 executives reveals that few managers believe their information infrastructure can handle the pressures from deregulation, globalization, ubiquitous connectivity, and the convergence of industries and technologies. Though fully aware their organizations lack rapid-response capability or flexibility, the managers rarely knew how to fix the disconnection between the quality of IT infrastructures and the need for strategic change. Considering that information-infrastructure expenditures are generally 2% to 8% of companies' revenues, new measures to address the disconnection are essential. A corresponding change in the mind-sets and skill sets of smart line managers and IT managers also helps improve overall competitiveness.

Spreadsheet supplement for 602-156.

The number of connecting passengers through Southwest Airlines' Baltimore station has grown 100% CAGR since 1997. Originally designed as a point-to-point network, this load of connecting passengers has been stressing Baltimore ground operations, resulting in an erosion of service quality and difficulties in achieving fast plane turnarounds--one of the key elements of Southwest's low-cost strategy. This case presents comparative data to illuminate the key elements of Southwest's operating strategy and provides detailed information about the activities and information flows required to turn around a plane, allowing for a meaningful analysis of the process--e.g., resource utilization, capacity, bottlenecks, and coordination mechanisms. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Supplements the case.

The case by utilizing the example of the Gujarat earthquake, illustrates the role of The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) as a choreographer of disaster management and the nature of the supply chain - multiple, global, dynamic, and temporary - it coordinates. It describes the challenging context - high degree of uncertainty and limited authority, human and financial resources - in which it extends assistance to afflicted populations. The case reviews the organization's efforts to put in place a flexible and efficient logistics system that maximizes the contribution of each party.

Gold Seal Engineering Products Pvt. Ltd is an Indian, 44-year old second generation family firm, manufacturer of rubber and polymer extruded and moulded seals for the automobile industry. For more than three decades, the company grows undisturbed in a protected environment with limited foreign competition. In the early 1990s, with the liberalization of the automobile market and the passenger cars segment in particular, the company faces new market opportunities and challenges. The company views the arrival of a horde of automobile manufacturers and automotive component suppliers as a growth opportunity as well as a menace to its survival. The case describes the company's situation and reactions to the radical shift that takes place in its external environment.

The two companies started in 1995 to develop a new breakthrough technology for converting iron ore into pure iron. The project was extremely challenging because of complexity (a three-way joint venture involving three countries) and uncertainty (new technology posing unforeseeable complications). The case describes the difficulties to make the technology work.

The two companies started in 1995 to develop a new breakthrough technology for converting iron ore into pure iron. The project was extremely challenging because of complexity (a three-way joint venture involving three countries) and uncertainty (new technology posing unforeseeable complications). The case describes the difficulties to make the technology work.

As a manufacturer and distributor of agriculture equipment, as well as a broad range of construction and forestry equipment, Deere & Company had a lot riding on the smooth flow of its logistics function. FedEx Logistics provided out-sourced transportation services to 11 Deere facilities across North America. But with each of Deer's individual business units responsible for its own logistics activities, and with each unit negotiating a separate service agreement with the FedEx facility, costs and services tended to differ across the units. Deere's manager of logistics design asked a summer intern student to evaluate the company's logistics agreement with FedEx, with a view to identifying opportunities for standardizing costs and services across the business units. The logistics manager is expecting a report containing details of each operation's work flow and cost information, as well as some recommendations for updating Deere's out-sourcing arrangements with FedEx Logistics.

The case is a follow-up to two companion cases, ""Jaguar comes to Halewood: The Story of a Turnaround"" and ""Supply Chain Design at Jaguar: Bringing ""Nirvana"" to Halewood"". It reviews the magnitude of the change programme (involving new work culture, workforce, processes, suppliers, and supply chain architecture) implemented by the newly-appointed management team at Halewood prior to the launch of a new Jaguar model, the X-Type. It illustrates the challenges faced by the company during ramp-up to full volume in a brand new, re-designed, revamped, and transformed plant catering to a premium market.

JIT, TQM, reengineering, lean manufacturing, supply chain management, and ERP are just some of the major programs that have been adopted by many companies and then abandoned without achieving the expected results. Why are programs that receive accolades at some companies trashed at others? Sustained effort is often the difference. If programs are to endure the test of time, they must be given the chance to do so. Managers must be willing to learn from difficulties encountered early during implementation and adapt the program for the firm's own unique situation. Here we share the lessons learned by a manufacturer that successfully implemented a new process improvement program. Key to its success was monitoring organizational and operational indicators over time with good measures that reflect program actions. New programs do not improve bottom-line results right away. Patience is well served if valid measures show that relevant effects in processes are in a favorable transition mode. If those effects are not realized when expected, adaptation of the program to the firm's unique context might be what is needed and worth exploring.

It's the end of the quarter, and the sales staff at Exceso Corp. is scrambling to meet CEO R. Foley Vinton's overheated 9% sales target. Sure, the sales team has always hit its target in the past, and yes, that number was based on its forecast data. But the fact is, the projection was based on raw data. And as Martin Wu, the company's head of sales, warns Vinton, sales will do well to hit 3%. Vinton remains unconvinced. He has already given that number to the analyst community, and, he thinks, if he keeps up the pressure, Wu will find a way to make it, just like he always does. So Wu and his sales team do what they have done in the past--discount the heck out of their product and load up the distribution channel. That's great news for Alice Dias over at Flemings ValuMart. She just stocked up on 3,000 cases of ClickZipPlus at a 6% discount to the standing price, with the idea of shipping most of it to diverters and to other ValuMarts in regions that haven't been offered such a good deal. But it's bewildering to analyst Andrea Valdini who, after Vinton has just shepherded her through a plant cranking at full production, can't find any eight-packs at a store near the very offices where she and her colleagues are pondering the health of Exceso's stock. "They can't keep this up much longer," suggests a ValuMart manager, pointing to the empty shelves that are the ClickZipPlus display. As he falls asleep that night, Vinton thinks they'll be able to kick the loading habit--someday, when the timing's better. But should they? In R0205A and R0205Z, four commentators offer advice in this fictional case study.

In the early 1980s, visitors on an hour-long tour of a factory headed by Eugene Goodson reported surprisingly accurate details about the plant, its technology, and even its cost of sales. Meanwhile, the author's managers took part in short tours of a competitor's plants and learned next to nothing. With that, Goodson resolved to do better and, over time, developed a tool to assess a plant's strengths and weaknesses. The tool, the Rapid Plant Assessment (RPA) process, allows small tour teams to gauge factory's leanness accurately solely from visual cues and conversations with employees. Since 1998, Goodson, his colleagues, and his students have used the tool hundreds of times to evaluate their own plants, their competitors', and those of possible acquisition targets. At the heart of the RPA process are two assessment tools: the rating sheet and the questionnaire. The first contains 11 categories--including safety, scheduling, inventory, teamwork, and supply chain--that determine a plant's leanness. The second features 20 yes-or-no questions that focus thinking within the categories. The article explains how to rate a plant's practices in each category and how to choose team members. It also outlines how to use the tool to assess cost of sales. Even with varying levels of manufacturing experience, different teams touring the same plants have produced consistent results with this tool. It's easy to learn, quick to put into practice, and it produces results in a day or less.

It's the end of the quarter, and the sales staff at Exceso Corp. is scrambling to meet CEO R. Foley Vinton's overheated 9% sales target. Sure, the sales team has always hit its target in the past, and yes, that number was based on its forecast data. But the fact is, the projection was based on raw data. And as Martin Wu, the company's head of sales, warns Vinton, sales will do well to hit 3%. Vinton remains unconvinced. He has already given that number to the analyst community, and, he thinks, if he keeps up the pressure, Wu will find a way to make it, just like he always does. So Wu and his sales team do what they have done in the past--discount the heck out of their product and load up the distribution channel. That's great news for Alice Dias over at Flemings ValuMart. She just stocked up on 3,000 cases of ClickZipPlus at a 6% discount to the standing price, with the idea of shipping most of it to diverters and to other ValuMarts in regions that haven't been offered such a good deal. But it's bewildering to analyst Andrea Valdini who, after Vinton has just shepherded her through a plant cranking at full production, can't find any eight-packs at a store near the very offices where she and her colleagues are pondering the health of Exceso's stock. "They can't keep this up much longer," suggests a ValuMart manager, pointing to the empty shelves that are the ClickZipPlus display. As he falls asleep that night, Vinton thinks they'll be able to kick the loading habit--someday, when the timing's better. But should they? In R0205A and R0205Z, four commentators offer advice on this fictional case study.

It's the end of the quarter, and the sales staff at Exceso Corp. is scrambling to meet CEO R. Foley Vinton's overheated 9% sales target. Sure, the sales team has always hit its target in the past, and yes, that number was based on its forecast data. But the fact is, the projection was based on raw data. And as Martin Wu, the company's head of sales, warns Vinton, sales will do well to hit 3%. Vinton remains unconvinced. He has already given that number to the analyst community, and, he thinks, if he keeps up the pressure, Wu will find a way to make it, just like he always does. So Wu and his sales team do what they have done in the past--discount the heck out of their product and load up the distribution channel. That's great news for Alice Dias over at Flemings ValuMart. She just stocked up on 3,000 cases of ClickZipPlus at a 6% discount to the standing price, with the idea of shipping most of it to diverters and to other ValuMarts in regions that haven't been offered such a good deal. But it's bewildering to analyst Andrea Valdini who, after Vinton has just shepherded her through a plant cranking at full production, can't find any eight-packs at a store near the very offices where she and her colleagues are pondering the health of Exceso's stock. "They can't keep this up much longer," suggests a ValuMart manager, pointing to the empty shelves that are the ClickZipPlus display. As he falls asleep that night, Vinton thinks they'll be able to kick the loading habit--someday, when the timing's better. But should they? In R0205A and R0205Z, four commentators offer advice on this fictional case study.

A university student has taken a summer job as the manager of a house painting franchise. He is determined to offer customers quality work and to hire painters who can work long hours to help him achieve his high production goals. Six employees were hired and trained by the end of May. By mid-June, however, he is faced with a crisis situation: three of the employees have resigned and another has had a job-related accident. The manager must deal with the injured employee and the owner of the home where the accident occurred. He also needs to hire new employees and to consider whether his management played a role in the number of resignations.