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Microsoft must decide how to design a new software product for global markets, identify the timing for entry into different countries, and position the product around the world.

Discusses how Philips, a major Dutch-based multinational company, attempts to bring about a fundamental change in its strategy, organization, and culture in response to a rapidly changing market and competitive environment.

In 1981, Motorola was reevaluating its strategy towards Japan. The firm had been successful in penetrating the Japanese market, and it was confronting increased Japanese competition at home. How it should respond and with what kind of organization were the central questions confronting management.

Describes the legal odyssey of two engineers who left their old employer to start a company that was directly competitive. The issues include employment contracts, technology licenses, antitrust, trade secrets, and confidential information. Provides a good opportunity for students to explore the legal and ethical issues which surround the concept of intellectual property.

Hurricane Island Outward Bound, a small, nonprofit school that helped pioneer experiential education in the United States, has recently recovered from a financial crisis. Students take the role of the school's new marketing manager, who is preparing his first marketing plan for the organization. Faced with a tight marketing budget, students must choose among several marketing programs by evaluating their past performance and further potential. Alternately, students may shift pricing or the course mix to generate additional marketing funds. Case explores appropriateness of marketing tactics relative to strategy, appropriateness of strategy, pricing and service mix issues, and marketing's management of demand in an extremely seasonal business.

This premier retail jewelry company was bought from its parent, Avon, by a group of investors led by its own management in 1984. The company was highly leveraged, financially, and had to scramble to meet the cash flow and earnings requirements laid down by its lenders. Management effected a turnaround and decided to "go public" to pay down its debt and provide further growth funds. Students must assess the company's relative appeal to investors and refine a pricing recommendation for the securities underwriting syndicate.

Describes National Demographics and Lifestyles (NDL), a Colorado-based company that compiles a database from product "warranty registration cards" and sells mailing lists from this database. The company has burned through more rounds of financing than ever intended, and its founders must decide whether--and how--to approach their venture backers for more financing. And, the venture capitalists must decide whether to proceed or not. May be used with National Demographics & Lifestyles (B).

This rewritten version differs from Black & Decker Corp.: Household Products Group (A1) in two ways: 1) It has an explicit decision focus. Homa must decide on a program to transfer the Black & Decker name to GE small appliances; and 2) The detailed information concerning advertising, promotion programs, purchase allowances, volume rebates, dating discounts, cooperative advertising, and consumer rebates has been condensed.

Forbes Magazine criticized the revenue recognition policy of Patten Corp. As a result, the company's stock price dropped by a significant amount. The students are asked to discuss if the criticism by Forbes is justified, and if not, what the company should do.

Pizza Hut, Inc. is a franchisor of eat-in pizza restaurants. It has decided to enter the home delivery market and is in the process of implementing that strategy. The case traces the development of the home delivery concept at Pizza Hut and the interaction between the franchisor and its powerful franchisees as it attempts to achieve system-wide rollout. Focuses on the management of significant change in a franchise system and on the strategy decision regarding home delivery.

Describes a company that had traditionally followed a strategy quite distinct from its major competitors', its eventual decision to imitate them, and its subsequent performance.

Atlas Copco, a Swedish company, holds the highest market share for air compressors worldwide. However, its attempts to enter U.S. markets have been unsuccessful. The case describes a series of strategic distribution maneuvers implemented by the company which enable it to improve market share from about 1% to 10% in ten years. The objective is to gain an understanding of what is involved in building distribution strength.

Describes the potential acquisition of a downtown office building in Boston through a sealed bid auction. The prospective buyer analyzes in detail all elements of the income and expense statements, calculates the effect of all improvements, and imputes a purchase price on the property.

American Bank is developing a new system to compute product costs. The deregulated, more competitive environment for commercial banks has created both problems and opportunities for banking operations. In order to price existing products and assess the desirability of new product introduction, a system is needed to estimate the demands that each banking product places on the organization's resources.

Caruso's Pizza is a small, entrepreneurial restaurant chain. The case considers expansion of an experimental pizza delivery system ("express delivery") that involves a major process innovation--producing pizzas to inventory rather than to order. The system promises faster delivery of higher quality pizza, but as yet is an unproven technology. By the end of the case, students will realize that delivery-only units and high order volume are required to make express delivery viable. One way of achieving this high order volume may be a one-phone-number system--a new computerized technology.

The division has recognized the inadequacies of its existing, traditional cost system for estimating product costs. Describes the innovative activity-based system that was developed to more accurately trace overhead costs to individual products. Provides students with the opportunity to critique a standard cost system and to assess the characteristics of the proposed system that traces costs to production activities.

After a record year in 1983, Murray Ohio's earnings declined in 1984. The company was faced with competition from cheap imports and was experiencing declining margins. Students are asked to analyze the company's 1984 financial statements and predict whether there is likely to be a change in the company's dividend policy.

Detailed description of the planning and control systems in use at Johnson & Johnson. Focuses on the actions of managers in one subsidiary in revising budget targets. Illustrates intensive strategic planning and financial planning process in a large, decentralized company. Includes interviews with the president and senior executives concerning benefits of the system. Raises issue of the role of formal control systems in decentralized organizations.

Describes the changing environment faced by Motorola in the 1980s and the recognition by its CEO, Bob Galvin, that "change is needed." Also describes a major challenge set forth by Galvin to the organization to do something to prepare for the future. The challenge is somewhat ambiguous, however, and the reaction is mixed.

Describes the efforts of a vice president of purchasing to coordinate and centralize purchasing procedures in a multinational company. He encounters a lack of active cooperation. A rewritten version of an earlier case by G. Lombard.