個案總覽

Involves the unionization of the employees of a commercial bank by one of the big national unions. Illustrates the reasons why bank employees and other white collar employees may feel the need for union representation.

Gillette is trying to decide whether to enter the fast-growing blank recording cassette business. The vice president of new business development is charged with developing a marketing plan to be used as the basis for a go/no go decision. In part, the issue is whether Gillette can transfer its distinct competence to a new but related market. The problem is compounded by the rapid changes characteristic of a market early in its life cycle.

Maxco and Gambit are bidding for an oil lease. Gambit will soon know the value of the lease with some precision. Maxco is bidding with no such precise information. The objective is to get the student to think hard about how Gambit will bid before deciding on Maxco's strategy.

The expatriate manager of an international bank faces two major problems. One is internal - how to resolve the inter-departmental conflicts caused by antagonism between two department heads. The other is external - how to cope with government pressures to establish quotas for hiring personnel at every level in the organization. The internal problems of the organization mirror the major socio-cultural-racial tensions in the society.

The executive president of a major industrial company must decide 1) whether to acquire a small hand tool company and, if so, 2) the value and form that the acquisition package should take.

MRC must place a value on an acquisition prospect and also decide whether a deal makes sense from strategic and organizational perspectives. An updated version of and earlier case by W.E. Fruhan, Jr. and J.H. McArthur.

Shipping company must choose among several mutually exclusive investment projects.

Examines how the attractiveness of an investment project can be enhanced by making financing and operating decisions which either manage investment returns or reduce project risks.

Provides an analysis of capital investment (new plant and equipment), production, and operations management.

The student is required to develop a strategy for a tennis club of a large resort area. The tennis director must decide how many courts he needs to build within the next three years, what surface they should have, and how much he should charge for their use. Illustrates the problems of capacity planning in a service organization.

Company must decide whether to raise prices and tighten consumer credit in light of its strategy to rationalize production, introduce a new line of model elevators and increase its market share. Points up the interrelationships of the different functional areas within a corporate strategy and to some extent the time frame associated with strategic change.

Covers the historical development, current business, management philosophies, corporate strategy, and the nature and role of the corporate headquarters in managing the highly diversified operations. Based on Textron, Inc. (A).

Four individuals purchase a small company, making heavy use of debt financing.

Examines the decision by Mirassou to test a mechanical grape harvester that requires a major change in growing methods and operations. The machine is unproven and the investor has asked this vineyard to test it for him and commit to use it.

Deals primarily with the basic issue of revenue recognition. Homex was recognizing revenue from its modular units prior to the date on which an actual sale had taken place. In addition, there are some interesting issues dealing with the allocation of profit between divisions, the capitalization of expenses, and the meaning of 'working capital' in a specific setting.

Involves multinational pricing policy. Should a multinational industrial products supplier, with plants on several continents, grant a single worldwide price on given products to multinational customers who purchase on several continents? If so, what should the worldwide price policy be and how should the policy be administered? What organizational issues would a shift from decentralized pricing to internationally centralized pricing involve?

Involves a very rapidly growing retail chain that is financing itself in an unusual (and at first glance) risky fashion.

Illustrates the challenges most managers face in prioritizing their time in the workplace environment. Looks at "a day in the life" of a printing plant manager who, with well-intentioned goals for the day, is frustrated by numerous interruptions.

Discusses the development of a chain of "theme" restaurants. The student is asked to evaluate the current operating strategy and suggest a long-term expansion strategy.

Illustration of the two main types of errors resulting from use of the economic order quantity (EOQ) as a tool in production scheduling. Designed to permit class discussion to begin with a consideration of one common type of mistake, errors in calculation of the EOQ volume resulting from use of incorrect data for the input parameters of the formula. The analysis can then shift to a more general discussion of the second type of error, the misapplication of EOQ and re-order point (ROP) techniques to a given system. Class discussion can conclude with student recommendations of alternative techniques which may be better suited to the Blanchard operation than the EOQ/ROP method.