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Describes the race to develop human insulin.

In August 1990 the president and executive vice president of Xerox are reviewing the progress made on its customer satisfaction program. The emphasis placed on the program, the success of the program to date, and the drive to achieve the corporate goals of customer satisfaction motivate this review. At Xerox customer satisfaction is the number one priority, ahead of return on assets (ROA) and market share. The case focuses on analyzing the strategic role of the customer satisfaction program, its goals, and the action steps for implementation. Also described are the customer satisfaction measurement system, the data analyses, and follow-up. To increase customer satisfaction and to drive the organization to higher levels of performance top management believes that Xerox should offer a satisfaction guarantee. Market research has been conducted on customer responses to four different types of guarantees. A decision has to be made regarding the type of guarantee to introduce.

In 1970 Xerox had a very progressive affirmative action program yet, once hired, black employees faced serious problems, due both to overt discrimination and to their exclusion from the informal networks of support, information and mentoring that the other salespeople shared. The black employees responded by establishing seven independent support groups around the United States. These black caucuses functioned as both self-help groups to prepare black employees for promotion and as pressure groups to push for policy changes within Xerox. In 1974 Xerox fears the caucuses are forming a national organization. Students must decide how to respond to this potentially dangerous situation.

Describes the development of a successful corporate strategy based on the acquisition and subsequent consolidation of low-technology manufacturing companies. Starting with a company history and discussion of current business segments, the case goes on to detail the innovation of corporate headquarters in strategy formulation and operations. Highlights the synergistic possibilities in alike acquisitions and addresses the issue of long-term value creation in acquisition-oriented firms. Emphasis is placed on the systems and procedures installed to implement the corporate strategy.

The manager and owner of The Pool Doctor, is in the process of formulating a marketing strategy for the coming year. Many strategic issues remain unresolved, such as how to advertise, whether he needs to change suppliers, and deciding upon a basic product mix to achieve maximum profits and long-term success.

Janet Wells, product manager for POST Children's Cereals, must decide how to allocate her marketing budget to in-pack premiums, trade promotions, and advertising. Her decision is complicated by recent increases in competitive activity.

Tetra Pak Inc.'s Environmental Steering Committee members review the company's communications campaign during the previous fall and must decide what changes Tetra Pak should make to make the campaign even more effective. Tetra Pak is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swiss-based Tetra Pak Rausing SA. For a long time, the parent company had felt no need to actively pursue the possibility of recycling its drink boxes, mainly due to the fact that incineration for energy recovery was a widely accepted method of solid waste disposal in Europe. However, operating in Canada, Tetra Pak felt strong pressures to respond to environmental concerns over incineration and landfill site capacity problems.

The brand manager for Sunlight Powder laundry detergent, must decide how to respond to the introduction by Loblaws' of a new green laundry detergent product. He is considering several alternatives, and must carefully consider the pros and cons associated with each approach, as well as the economic impact on his company's sales and the effect of increased consumer awareness of environmental issues. This case may be used to introduce positioning decisions, in a product policy module, or in a marketing strategy module.

The president of Noranda Minerals is evaluating the Environmental Management System in his resource-based company. The company undertakes an environmental audit, and the president must identify various stakeholders and prioritize their needs. He must decide if an environmental annual report should be made public. This case also underlines the increasing importance that qualitative considerations have in the financial decision-making process. Noranda Mines is a useful tool to discuss possible revisions to financial accounting and auditing standards in addressing environmental questions. (A sequel to this case is available, titled Noranda Minerals (B), case 9A91B009.)

A shareholder group of Sherritt Gordon Limited is not satisfied that management was running the company properly and is attempting, through a proxy contest, to have the present board of directors removed and replaced with a new board. The case is suitable for teaching as a role-playing exercise.

The president and owner of a food service business, is concerned about the manner in which his industry prices goods and services. His firm has failed to meet his desired profit margin, and he wonders if there are different pricing options. This is an introductory case in the use of an activity based costing system in the marketing and distribution part of the business.

John Moser is assigned the task of instilling quality thinking throughout the firm. He begins by trying to identify what poor quality is currently costing. Hopefully, he can develop a strategy to improve quality in the firm.

Michael Stevens was examining his blue chip stock portfolio and the market outlook for the next six months. He was wondering if he could use some options strategies - buying individual stock puts, writing individual stock calls, writing index calls, or buying index puts - to protect his paper profits and perhaps even improve his return.

The managing partner of the a new enterprise group faces a sensitive meeting with the Hong Kong native senior accountant who has indicated that he is likely to resign. A serious misunderstanding, partially involving cultural differences, has evolved over his temporary assignment to an audit, when he wants to specialize in tax. The views of a number of other partners and managers involved in the situation are included. Confusion arises over conflicting signals from the senior accountant about his willingness to take on the audit assignment. A companion case, Bob Chen, describes the situation from the senior accountant's point of view. The pair of cases are designed for use in a role play.

A senior accountant in a large accounting firm, is on the verge of resigning. He faces a sensitive meeting with the managing partner of the new venture practice. A native of Hong Kong, the senior accountant has been given a temporary assignment to audit when he wants to specialize in tax. A serious misunderstanding, partially involving cultural differences, has evolved over this assignment. A companion case, David Shorter, describes the situation from the managing partner's point of view. The pair of cases are designed for use in a role play.

A large, open pit, iron ore mine is plagued with crusher delays. The case describes the situation, provides relevant capacities and costs, and gives statistical data on the frequency and duration of crusher stoppages. The manager has to choose between holding trucks idle during crusher delays, reassigning the truck-shovel teams to waste removal, or to dump ore at an ore stockpile.

A student about to complete his MBA is considering purchasing a franchise in The Body Shop Canada chain of specialty stores. He has discussed the opportunities with company officials and drawn up pro forma financial statements. He now has to evaluate the opportunity and his fit with the organization. Despite the financial projections, would he be happy as a franchisee and would The Body Shop Canada be happy with him? Unlike many franchising cases, this case asks the student to take the role of the potential franchisee rather than that of the franchisor.

Prince Edward Island Preserve Co. is a producer and marketer of specialty food products. The company president is contemplating future expansion. Two cities were of particular interest: Toronto and Tokyo. At issue was whether consumers in both markets should be pursued, and if so, how. The choices available for achieving further growth included mail order, distributors, and company controlled stores. The case helps students watch existing resources and capabilities with potential growth opportunities.

Custom Car Care is an owner-operated company that does custom detailing and cleaning of cars on a part-time basis. The owner would like to quit his current part-time grocery store job and run his business full-time, but he is unsure if it will be profitable enough. He needs to prepare a break-even analysis and a complete marketing plan for the business.

Steelway Building Systems manufactures steel buildings. The owner and president, faces tougher American competition and realizes the need for better technology. He has three options for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of his flange and connector plate production process. He must decide which option is best and implement the solution soon so he does not lose ground to encroaching U.S. competition in these tough economic times.