個案總覽

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.

A national sales manager is confronted by a second-tier distributor who has formed a coalition of several other second-tier distributors. This group is demanding the margins earned by first-tier distributors even though they cannot yet perform the first-tier functions. However, the group is located in a region where the first-tier distributors perform poorly.

Describes the formation, selection, and experience of a task force with multidepartmental membership. The problems faced by the task force leader at the end of the case raise issues of who does the selection; the establishment of group norms, values, and goals; the leadership of a task force; confidentiality and responsibility; individual rivalry; and intergroup conflict and politics. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

The vice-president of Advanced Technologies contemplates the appropriate strategy to manage the firm's U.S. dollar exposure. Alternatives considered include call options, forwards, and tunnels.

After many years of R&D, Goodyear has developed the Aquatred, an innovative new tire. However, the tire industry has matured and evolved, raising questions concerning the Aquatred's ability to gain support from Goodyear's independent tire dealers. Students must use information on channel evolution and consumer behavior to make two decisions: whether to launch the Aquatred and whether to expand Goodyear's distribution network. Also explores issues involved in managing a complex distribution structure during a time of rapid change.

Harlequin Enterprises, the world's leading publisher of series romances, has been particularly successful in Poland. The case explores some of the challenges/opportunities of doing business in Eastern Europe and the marketing mix elements necessary for success.

Conoco's attempted to win an oil development contract in Ecuador's tropical rain forest. The case discusses government perspectives, environmental perspectives, and indigenous people's perspectives. Allows role playing in a "negotiating forum" set up by Conoco to get their developing plan in the various interest groups. This oil development contract is key to Conoco's Latin American E&D strategy.

Genzyme Corp.'s financing history is unusual compared to most biotech companies. This case presents the sequence of financings employed by Genzyme, along with the product--market and corporate-development strategies adopted by Henri Termeer, Genzyme's CEO. As such, the case permits students to evaluate the sequence of financings as a "program" rather than a series of unrelated deals and to consider them in light of the business strategy.

George Patrick, president of Airtech Limited, is faced with both severe competition and under-utilization of the company's manufacturing capacity. He is considering a number of options, including a complete departure from the manufacturing business.

Millipore, the worldwide leader in separations technology, was in the process of launching two key new products: one a liquid chromatography/mass spectrometer and the other a virus separation membrane. The case documents the product development and commercialization activities undertaken by the company.

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?

Matt Gruber is an effective and highly motivated executive, yet his inability to deal with superiors is shown by numerous instances of abrasive behaviour. Matt's rise and fall at Kapco is described in this case, which is one of a four-part series (see 9A93D016, 9A93D017, 9A93D018). The series' teaching objectives are to learn to manage and to maintain successful relationships with supervisors and to effectively manage an employee who has difficulty relating upward.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the first supranational financial institution of the post-Cold War era, is planning its debut in the international capital markets through a bond issuance of $500 million. The bank must determine its marketing strategy for the offering on two levels--positioning of the institution and of the bond offering itself. Integral to the marketing task is the selection of a lead manager, who will determine the marketing mix. The mix decisions involve determining product (currency, maturity, coupon), pricing (yield), promotion (road shows and media relations), and distribution (formation of the syndicate). In addition, the lead manager will need to select appropriate target markets (retail and institutional investors), along with overall positioning for the institution.

Following a store expansion in 1993, a small general merchandise retailer has not realized the expected growth in sales volume, and is now, in fact, losing money. He is evaluating his product offerings, service levels, hours, inventory, and pricing, and is trying to decide what he should do next.

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.

Air Miles Canada both increases customer loyalty by rewarding shopping frequency at specified merchants, and enables its sponsors to develop a new, more complex understanding of their customers' (and potential customers') shopping habits, thus making future customer acquisition more efficient.

In this fictional case study, Adam Lawson is a promising young associate at Kirkham McDowell Securities, a St. Louis underwriting and financial advisory firm. Recently, Adam helped to bring in an extremely lucrative deal, and soon he and a few other associates will be honored for their efforts at the firm's silver anniversary dinner. George Campbell, vice president in mergers and acquisitions, is caught unprepared when Adam tells him that, after serious reflection, he has decided to bring his partner, Robert Collins, to the banquet. George is one of Adam's biggest supporters at the firm, and he personally has no problem with Adam being gay. But it is one thing for Adam to come out of the closet at the office. It is quite another to do so at a public company-client event. George is concerned with how Adam's decision will play with the firm's more conservative clients and senior management. Adam has not come to George for permission to bring Robert to the dinner. But clearly Adam wants some sort of response. Six experts comment on George's dilemma and discuss issues of diversity in the workplace.

In the wake of NAFTA, U.S. retail firms begin to see Mexico as an attractive market for international expansion. This case examines the structure of Mexico's volume retail (grocery, discount, warehouse club, hypermarket) industry, the joint ventures between U.S. and Mexican firms, and the prospects for the future.

Considers a Pakistani company's decision to conduct a joint venture with a foreign multinational. In 1987, Milkpak Ltd. had successfully developed a market for sterilized milk and wanted to produce other value-added food products. The company was evaluating the best means for increasing its success in the Pakistani market and conducted negotiations with alternative joint venture partners.