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Northern Oil is moving offices, and CEO Fritz Schumacher wants to make the most of the move in this fictional case study. He believes that adopting an open-plan work space will reinvent how the company works, not to mention cut costs. Facilities manager Sasha Pasternak also supports the open plan. Her job would be easier, and her budget would stretch further, if Northern had standardized workstations and used partitions, not walls. And she likes the way the new design flattens the organization: everyone has the same amount of space and the same ergonomically sound furniture. The new building would have more conference rooms and just-in-time work spaces for employees who worked mostly off-site. And although she knew that initial meetings between the architects and Northern employees hadn't yielded much support for open space--people were attached to their private offices--she expected that people would warm to the idea. But when the new design was unveiled, employees were less than enthusiastic. They hurled questions like, How will workers concentrate if they can't shut their office doors? How will people have confidential meetings with their boss? And why would people stay at Northern when the competition offers them private offices? There was even talk of circulating a petition refusing to move to the new space. A week later, the architect presented revised plans to the project group. The new options would add costs and reduce the amount of space savings, but offering a choice to employees might make them feel less threatened. What should the project team do? In 99312 and 99312Z, commentators Nick MacPhee, Donald J. Chiofaro, Paul O'Neill, Vivian Loftness, and David Lathrop offer advice.

Northern Oil is moving offices, and CEO Fritz Schumacher wants to make the most of the move in this fictional case study. He believes that adopting an open-plan work space will reinvent how the company works, not to mention cut costs. Facilities manager Sasha Pasternak also supports the open plan. Her job would be easier, and her budget would stretch further, if Northern had standardized workstations and used partitions, not walls. And she likes the way the new design flattens the organization: everyone has the same amount of space and the same ergonomically sound furniture. The new building would have more conference rooms and just-in-time work spaces for employees who worked mostly off-site. And although she knew that initial meetings between the architects and Northern employees hadn't yielded much support for open space--people were attached to their private offices--she expected that people would warm to the idea. But when the new design was unveiled, employees were less than enthusiastic. They hurled questions like, How will workers concentrate if they can't shut their office doors? How will people have confidential meetings with their boss? And why would people stay at Northern when the competition offers them private offices? There was even talk of circulating a petition refusing to move to the new space. A week later, the architect presented revised plans to the project group. The new options would add costs and reduce the amount of space savings, but offering a choice to employees might make them feel less threatened. What should the project team do? In 99312 and 99312Z, commentators Nick MacPhee, Donald J. Chiofaro, Paul O'Neill, Vivian Loftness, and David Lathrop offer advice.

Northern Oil is moving offices, and CEO Fritz Schumacher wants to make the most of the move in this fictional case study. He believes that adopting an open-plan work space will reinvent how the company works, not to mention cut costs. Facilities manager Sasha Pasternak also supports the open plan. Her job would be easier, and her budget would stretch further, if Northern had standardized workstations and used partitions, not walls. And she likes the way the new design flattens the organization: everyone has the same amount of space and the same ergonomically sound furniture. The new building would have more conference rooms and just-in-time work spaces for employees who worked mostly off-site. And although she knew that initial meetings between the architects and Northern employees hadn't yielded much support for open space--people were attached to their private offices--she expected that people would warm to the idea. But when the new design was unveiled, employees were less than enthusiastic. They hurled questions like, How will workers concentrate if they can't shut their office doors? How will people have confidential meetings with their boss? And why would people stay at Northern when the competition offers them private offices? There was even talk of circulating a petition refusing to move to the new space. A week later, the architect presented revised plans to the project group. The new options would add costs and reduce the amount of space savings, but offering a choice to employees might make them feel less threatened. What should the project team do? In 99312 and 99312Z, five commentators Nick MacPhee, Donald J. Chiofaro, Paul O'Neill, Vivian Loftness, and David Lathrop offer advice.

Examines the relationship between management at Alpha Shanghai and San Yu Mopeds, a large Chinese moped producer, and a customer which Alpha Shanghai had hoped would become one of their largest. Specifically, the case focuses on the general manager's influence on the organization's communications strategy and the extent to which it was a departure from "typical" supplier relationships in China. The case poses the issue of to what extent the failure in the relationship was a function of the general manager's lack of exposure to doing business in China, and/or an insensitivity to local customs and business practices. By examining these issues, the students will learn to appreciate how culturally specific communication patterns are, as well as what societal and cultural assumptions affect the behavior, attitudes, and communication patterns within the organization, and between the organization and its local partners, suppliers, and strategic alliances.

David Thomas takes his first sales management assignment and is faced with a sales rep revolt because of a possible territory reorganization. In addition, his sales division is performing well below the national average. Rewritten version of an earlier case.

This case focuses on John Ellis, the Executive Director of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. As an outsider to the reservation, Ellis was brought in to turn the department around and plan for the future. Four years after Ellis energized and improved HHS, a whole new set of economical and social changes were introduced with the opening of casinos, a golf resort, and a new freeway. The case analyzes Ellis' personal leadership style and the key components needed to inspire the staff of a non-profit organization in a tight-knit community with a unique culture. Special attention is given to the importance of planning and how to lead in a time of unlimited opportunity.

PSS World Medical has grown rapidly since its founding in 1983, largely by acquisitions. It has recently had some trouble digesting a large acquisition, and its stock price is quite depressed. The CEO and his senior management team confront the question of whether the strong culture organization they have built, and the practices they are using to manage the company, will stand it in good stead at its larger size and facing the current challenges. Also, the senior management team is wondering why Wall Street doesn't fully appreciate what the company has accomplished and its management strengths.

In the early 1990s, Merck faced a series of challenges because of significant changes in its competitive and regulatory environment (e.g., growth in power of pharmaceutical buyers like managed care organizations led to price pressures and President Clinton's review of the entire U.S. health-care industry). The case describes the company under its previous CEO, and primarily under Ray Gilmartin, the new CEO. Discusses the strategic, organizational, cultural, and management challenges that Merck faced, as well as Gilmartin's change program from 1994 to 1998, which was aimed at helping Merck address these issues.

Describes the start-up, strategy, organizational design, and operations of SCORE! Educational Centers, an after-school tutoring enterprise. Alan Tripp, founder and CEO, is faced with growing organizational stresses and a looming venture capital deadline. Examines Tripp's leadership, management style, and strategy. Focuses on the steps he takes to build the company into a viable organization.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Describes Rob Waldron's actions upon assuming leadership of SCORE! Educational Centers, an after-school tutoring enterprise. Examines the issue of acquiring and growing a small, self-owned company into a professional organization. Focuses on the steps Waldron takes to address a growing employee morale problem. Concludes as Waldron must decide whether or not to alter the company's recruiting strategy.

Intel PRC was a division of Intel Corp., a U.S. $20 billion semiconductor manufacturer. A newly appointed division head makes a decision that an employee responds to emotionally, with a deep resentment, creating the potential for conflict within the department. The incident forces the manager to examine whether there are deeper organizational or communication problems he needs to consider. Cross-cultural issues come into play given that the manager, although originally from China, was educated and gathered extensive experience in the west and was thus considered an expatriate by his employees. The case examines the effect of organizational culture on an employee's behavior.

This series presents the challenges facing the board of directors of a small merchant-banking company in London that is trying to get into the New York market. After hiring an American to develop the business, the board has become concerned about his operating style and his requests for additional authority. The A case ends after the American has made substantial improvements to the business and reports to the board, leaving the board to decide what to do with him. See also the B case (OB-0666). The two cases can be used as a team role-playing exercise.

Supplements the (A) case.

In the last decade or so, technological changes--mainly voice mail and e-mail--have made a lot of face-to-face interaction unnecessary. Face-to-face contact has also fallen victim to "virtuality"--many people work at home or are otherwise off-site. Indeed, most people today can't imagine life without such technology and the freedom it grants. But Edward Hallowell, a noted psychiatrist who has been treating patients with anxiety disorders--many of them business executives--for more than 20 years, warns that we are in danger of losing what he calls the human moment: an authentic psychological encounter that can happen only when two people share the same physical space. And, he believes, we may be about to discover the destructive power of its absence. The author relates stories of business people who have dealt firsthand with the misunderstandings caused by an overreliance on technology. An e-mail message is misconstrued. Someone forwards a voice-mail message to the wrong people. A person takes offense because he was not included on a certain circulation list. Was it an accident? Often the consequences of such misunderstandings, taken individually, are minor. Over time, however, they take a larger toll--both on individuals and on the organizations they work for. The problem, however, is not insoluble. The author cites examples of people who have worked successfully to restore face-to-face contact in their organizations. The bottom line is that the strategic use of the human moment adds color to our lives and helps us build confidence and trust at work. We ignore it at our peril.

Provides an inside view on how the former Daimler-Benz and Chrysler companies organized their integration efforts following their May 1998 merger, the first truly transatlantic merger in history and, at the time, the largest ever. As such, this merger presents an unusually broad array of management issues that were both unprecedented in scope and rather unique, ranging from cross-cultural management and global strategy and implementation to international M&A alliances and change management. Describes a journey that started during the early 1980s, until the events that preceded the Daimler-Chrysler merger, outlining the key strategic, organizational, and execution challenges facing both companies.

Provides an inside view of how the former Daimler-Benz and Chrysler companies organized their integration efforts following their May 1998 merger, the first truly transatlantic merger in history and, at the time, the largest ever. As such, this merger presents an unusually broad array of management issues that were both unprecedented in scope and rather unique, ranging from cross-cultural management and global strategy and implementation to international M&A alliances and change management. Describes how DaimlerChrysler actually organized and moved to implement the post-merger integration process, raising a set of issues around structural risks, cultural aspects, and execution skills in a high-stakes, global context of a major post-merger integration effort.

Gives a straightforward overview of business governance. Discusses why a board is needed, the ideal size of a board, and the differences between a board of directors and an advisory board.

A summer intern at Procter & Gamble must decide how he will manage the launch of DayQuil sampling in Canada despite product shortages, a too-tight time frame, and potentially explosive legal implications. In particular, the intern must determine who in the organization is best able to help him and how he needs to approach those potential sources of help.