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A division of Allentown Materials Corp. has financial and organizational problems. Conflict and lack of coordination exist between functional groups. Employees do not have a sense of direction, and morale is low. The cause of these problems is found in a change in business environment followed by changes in organization and management. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Focuses on the recommendations and implementation strategy made by the organizational development group to address the division's problems. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Supplements the (A) and (B) cases. Designed as an in-class handout. A rewritten version of an earlier supplement.

Vic, the CEO of a sporting goods company in this fictional case study, is pleased with the numbers. For several years now, they've gone steadily in one direction: up. But there's trouble in paradise. Hidden from the public's view of industry-dominating winners--from the coolest snowboards to the hottest in-line skates--lies a product-development department that may be ready to shatter like cheap fiberglass. Carver, the company's chief of product development, is the workaholic mad genius who is responsible for most--he might say all--of the company's successful products. At the same time, he has managed to alienate the rest of his staff. Four commentators suggest how Vic can keep the company's product-development group intact and its sales growth strong. In 97401 and 97401Z, Victor Vroom, June Rokoff, David Olsen, and David H. Burnham suggest how Vic can keep the company's product-development group intact and its sales growth strong.

Vic, the CEO of a sporting goods company in this fictional case study, is pleased with the numbers. For several years now, they've gone steadily in one direction: up. But there's trouble in paradise. Hidden from the public's view of industry-dominating winners--from the coolest snowboards to the hottest in-line skates--lies a product-development department that may be ready to shatter like cheap fiberglass. Carver, the company's chief of product development, is the workaholic mad genius who is responsible for most--he might say all--of the company's successful products. At the same time, he has managed to alienate the rest of his staff. In 97401 and 97401Z, Victor Vroom, June Rokoff, David Olsen, and David H. Burnham suggest how Vic can keep the company's product-development group intact and its sales growth strong.

Vic, the CEO of a sporting goods company in this fictional case study, is pleased with the numbers. For several years now, they've gone steadily in one direction: up. But there's trouble in paradise. Hidden from the public's view of industry-dominating winners--from the coolest snowboards to the hottest in-line skates--lies a product-development department that may be ready to shatter like cheap fiberglass. Carver, the company's chief of product development, is the workaholic mad genius who is responsible for most--he might say all--of the company's successful products. At the same time, he has managed to alienate the rest of his staff. In 97401 and 97401Z, Victor Vroom, June Rokoff, David Olsen, and David H. Burnham suggest how Vic can keep the company's product-development group intact and its sales growth strong.

George Zimmer, CEO of the Men's Wearhouse, is considering what has made the firm so successful; what, if anything, it should do differently to continue to succeed; and how to manage its growth and culture as the firm expands in the very competitive men's tailored clothing market. Retailing is the largest industry in the United States. Most retailing firms have traditionally been staffed with poorly paid, poorly trained, part-time help, and often experience tremendous turnover. Founded in 1973 in Houston, the Men's Wearhouse now has over 300 stores and is adding stores at the rate of 50 per year as it extends its geographic reach. This case provides information on the founder's beliefs, the firm's financial performance, the company's management practices, and detailed information on its various training activities.

Supplements the (A) case.

U.S. foundations and nonprofits work diligently on behalf of society's most needy and yet report that progress is slow and social problems persist. How can they learn to be more effective with their limited resources? Foundations should consider expanding their mission from investing only in program innovation to investing in the organizational needs of nonprofit organizations as well. Their overemphasis on program design has meant deteriorating organizational capacity at many nonprofits. If foundations are to help nonprofits be assured of making payroll, paying the rent, or buying a much-needed computer, they must develop hands-on partnering skills. Venture capital firms offer a helpful benchmark. In addition to putting up capital, they closely monitor the companies in which they have invested, provide management support, and stay involved long enough to see the company become strong.

Management at Sprint Corp. must decide what action to take with a small telemarketing operation that is about to vote on union representation. If employees vote in favor of a union, the operation would become the first business unit within Sprint Long Distance to be represented by a union. Closure of the plant is an option to be considered. This case illustrates some of the reasons employees seek union representation and requires that the student consider what implications such representation would have for the employer.

AES develops and operates electric power plants all over the world, and by late 1996, has approximately 20,000 employees. But, the corporation has no human resources staff, either at corporate headquarters in Arlington, VA, or in any of its operating facilities. Moreover, the company has very little centralized staff at all--little or no strategic planning, no environmental department, and almost no legal staff. The question is: Could and should the company continue to operate in this same way, with little specialized staff, as it continues to expand and geographically diversify? Another question is: How had the organization been able to be so successful without developing and relying on specialized expertise?

Discusses typical problems experienced by managers in conducting performance appraisal interviews. The underlying causes of these problems are analyzed and ideas are presented that might help managers overcome these problems. A rewritten version of an earlier note.

The news that one of the company's senior managers is leaving comes as a complete surprise to Paul Simmonds, CEO of Kinsington Textiles, Inc. (KTI). Ned Carpenter, KTI's vice president of operations for three years, writes in his resignation letter that he is leaving for a better opportunity. Simmonds soon learns that Carpenter's new job is at Daltex, one of KTI's main rivals in the intensely competitive carpet industry. In this fictitious case study, Simmonds, along with the company's counsel and vice president of human resources, must figure out how much and what sort of damage control they need. Five experts offer advice about communicating with KTI's employees, the media, and Carpenter himself, and about protecting the company's confidential information. In 97111 and 97111Z, Kenneth L. Coleman, Stephen A. Greyser, Hal Burlingame, Rob Galford, and Gregory S. Rubin offer advice about communicating with KTI's employees, the media, and Carpenter himself, and about protecting the company's confidential information.

The news that one of the company's senior managers is leaving comes as a complete surprise to Paul Simmonds, CEO of Kinsington Textiles, Inc. (KTI). Ned Carpenter, KTI's vice president of operations for three years, writes in his resignation letter that he is leaving for a better opportunity. Simmonds soon learns that Carpenter's new job is at Daltex, one of KTI's main rivals in the intensely competitive carpet industry. In this fictitious case study, Simmonds, along with the company's counsel and vice president of human resources, must figure out how much and what sort of damage control they need. In 97111 and 97111Z, Kenneth L. Coleman, Stephen A. Greyser, Hal Burlingame, Rob Galford, and Gregory S. Rubin offer advice about communicating with KTI's employees, the media, and Carpenter himself, and about protecting the company's confidential information.

The news that one of the company's senior managers is leaving comes as a complete surprise to Paul Simmonds, CEO of Kinsington Textiles, Inc. (KTI). Ned Carpenter, KTI's vice president of operations for three years, writes in his resignation letter that he is leaving for a better opportunity. Simmonds soon learns that Carpenter's new job is at Daltex, one of KTI's main rivals in the intensely competitive carpet industry. In this fictitious case study, Simmonds, along with the company's counsel and vice president of human resources, must figure out how much and what sort of damage control they need. In 97111 and 97111Z, Kenneth L. Coleman, Stephen A. Greyser, Hal Burlingame, Rob Galford, and Gregory S. Rubin offer advice about communicating with KTI's employees, the media, and Carpenter himself, and about protecting the company's confidential information.

Presents the 7-S framework. This framework offers managers a tool for diagnosing problems in their organizations and for proposing corrective courses of action. May be used with cases that deal with organizational alignment.

In early 1995, Karen Jimenez began implementing a project to boost morale and productivity at Acme Minerals Extraction Co.'s plant in Wichita, Kansas. The team-based productivity project, as it is known, was designed to induce similar results at all of Acme's plants. But now, in the fall of 1996, Jimenez seems to have run into a brick wall at the second site targeted for improvement--the plant in Lubbock, Texas. The tactics that worked so well in Wichita are failing. And, as a meeting with Acme's senior managers looms in this fictional case study, Jimenez must rethink the issues and explain how the project can be put back on track. What can be done? The company has earmarked big bucks for the project, and the CEO's ego and reputation are wrapped up in it. In 96602 and 96602Z, commentators Ravi Venkatesan, Lloyd Baird, Martha Maznevski, and Gary Banks offer advice on this fictional case study.

In early 1995, Karen Jimenez began implementing a project to boost morale and productivity at Acme Minerals Extraction Co.'s plant in Wichita, Kansas. The team-based productivity project, as it is known, was designed to induce similar results at all of Acme's plants. But now, in the fall of 1996, Jimenez seems to have run into a brick wall at the second site targeted for improvement--the plant in Lubbock, Texas. The tactics that worked so well in Wichita are failing. And, as a meeting with Acme's senior managers looms in this fictional case study, Jimenez must rethink the issues and explain how the project can be put back on track. What can be done? The company has earmarked big bucks for the project, and the CEO's ego and reputation are wrapped up in it. In 96602 and 96602Z, commentators Ravi Venkatesan, Lloyd Baird, Martha Maznevski, and Gary Banks offer advice on this fictional case study.

In early 1995, Karen Jimenez began implementing a project to boost morale and productivity at Acme Minerals Extraction Co.'s plant in Wichita, Kansas. The team-based productivity project, as it is known, was designed to induce similar results at all of Acme's plants. But now, in the fall of 1996, Jimenez seems to have run into a brick wall at the second site targeted for improvement--the plant in Lubbock, Texas. The tactics that worked so well in Wichita are failing. And, as a meeting with Acme's senior managers looms in this fictional case study, Jimenez must rethink the issues and explain how the project can be put back on track. What can be done? The company has earmarked big bucks for the project, and the CEO's ego and reputation are wrapped up in it. In 96602 and 96602Z, commentators Ravi Venkatesan, Lloyd Baird, Martha Maznevski, and Gary Banks offer advice on this fictional case study.

Although many firms enter strategic alliances with specific learning objectives, these objectives are often not realized. Drawing on a study of North American-Japanese joint ventures, this article analyzes the question of why some firms are more effective than others at exploiting alliance learning opportunities and develops a framework for alliance learning. The framework incorporates knowledge management processes--a set of organizational actions that establish the basis for accessing and exploiting alliance knowledge--and facilitating factors--the conditions that promote a favorable climate for effective alliance knowledge management. The primary obstacle to successfully learning from alliances is a failure to execute the specific organizational processes necessary to access, assimilate, and disseminate alliance knowledge.