個案總覽

Wriston Manufacturing is a broad-line maker of components for the automotive industry. It has developed a network of nine plants as its product line has grown. Newer, higher-volume products tend to be made in newer, focused, high-volume plants, while older product lines tend to be assigned to the Detroit plant, the oldest one in the system. Because Detroit produces such a wide variety of products, its overhead costs are very high. Management needs to decide whether to close the Detroit plant or find a way to make it profitable. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

A young company in the medical devices area, ArthroCare, has been public for six months, and its stock--after initially performing very well--is now dropping. At the same time, the company is confronted with several tactical decisions that could impact near-term earnings and thus potentially hurt the stock price.

California has long been a lead state in terms of population growth, income, and societal norms. In the 1990s, California voters approved referenda to restrict benefits to immigrants and to prohibit affirmative action. Is this likely to be another leading indicator for the country as a whole?

Describes Seven-Eleven Japan's logistics and information systems and how they support its retail strategy. Seven-Eleven Japan tracks hourly sales trends for individual items and replenishes and changes its assortment of products throughout the day to match its offering with customer demands.

Colly Farm is an entrepreneurial cotton farm complex that has to compete on a world market. In going public it has to satisfy the market that it can remain profitable in volatile times.

A firm that started in corn processing and moved up the value-added food chain decides to spin-off the original commodity part of the business. How does the new spin-off survive and how does it develop a strategy? Firms in the food system are separating out their commodity parts of the business from branded food products. How does the new commodity firm develop a strategy for the future?

An MBA student must choose between offers from three private equity organizations. Each organization has distinct strengths and weaknesses, and different implications for the student's career development. The case presents compensation and employment data about the private equity industry. Teaching Note: Introduces the private equity industry and the key offerings between groups.

First Virtual Holdings, Inc. (FVHI) is an Internet payments company based in San Diego, CA. The company developed a technology by which consumers can securely purchase goods and services over the Internet. Each participating consumer is provided with a "VirtualPIN" number, which is used in place of a credit card number to make purchases from participating online vendors. The vendors forward the consumer's VirtualPIN number, along with the amount of the transaction to FVHI. FVHI then sends an e-mail to the consumer asking for confirmation of the transaction. When confirmation is received, FVHI processes the transaction and pays the vendor. The technology ensures that a consumer's credit card number is never sent across the Internet. The system is secure but embodies a certain amount of inconvenience as each purchase required two steps. FVHI is a good example of a company with a good technology whose main challenge is to gain the critical mass of users necessary to make the system viable. The company faces strong competition from established industry players such as software developers, banks, and credit card companies. In addition, continued consumer reluctance to embrace online commerce has hampered the company's progress.

Presents a character sketch of Herbert Hoover, along with Hoover's views on the cause of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Illustrates the political economy of the period and presents different interpretations of the course of the Great Depression. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

The founders of Cinemex, the largest capitalized venture start-up in Mexican history, are debating several issues concerning the operations of their new chain of motion picture theatres in Mexico City. The first concerns whether some seats should be left unsold to improve customer service. The second involves limits on advertising to be shown at each presentation. Others include possible investment in an expanded ticketing service and live entertainment.

Angelo Tsakopoulos wanted to convert grazing land to crop agriculture. He received different advice from different government agencies and became involved in legal battles.

Examines the choices Guidant must make in research and development spending and new product development. More specifically, CEO Jay Graf considers the payoffs and tradeoffs of using product development skills that he learned in CPI's core business when applied to a complementary business. The company's marketing strategies contribute highly to the discussion.

The acquirer wants the acquired company to be accounted for as a pooling of interests.

The efforts of two recent Harvard Business School graduates to start a venture capital/consulting firm focused on opportunities related to the Internet are recounted. Raises the question of what the nature of this opportunity is, how well-positioned the protagonists are to pursue it, and what the deal structure should be.

The president, Donna Dubinsky, and the chairman and founder, Jeff Hawkins, discuss an opportunity to sell their company to U.S. Robotics. They must weigh this option versus accepting venture capital funding, partnering with a large company that could provide distribution channels and capital, or continuing a search for capital from other sources.

A developer attempts to get into the elderly housing business. The case reviews the various elderly housing options, how they differ from one another, and how the industry differs from other types of real estate.

A successful turnaround global farm machinery company is attempting to redefine its role in the global food system and develop a strategic plan for the company.

In 1996, WESCO, a national distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, charted out a growth of 6 to 8 percent in sales, and 12 to 16 percent in profitability over the next five years. The centerpiece of this growth strategy is the National Accounts (NA) program that WESCO has developed to serve its major industrial customers in response to recent changes that they made to their business processes. However, as of June 1997, the NA program has not delivered the expected results. WESCO now needs to isolate the root cause of the NA program shortfall and implement changes that will put this program back on track. It needs to decide whether to continue to be proactive in initiating, building, and maintaining national accounts, or to be passive and offer the NA program only after customers have shown a legitimate interest.

The CEO of Sears faces issues involving the company's recent turnaround and ongoing transformation, including change management and the use of leading (U.S. lagging) indicators or measures.

Following a five-year search for a profitable, technologically-driven branded consumer products business with international growth potential, The Gillette Company announced its intended acquisition of Duracell. The focus of the case is on assessing the risk of Duracell and the measurement of a discount rate for valuation. The case is particularly rich because of the changing risk profile of Duracell.