...Case Write Up “In a world of free agency, signing bonuses and stock options, this a place where loyalty matters more than money.” This is the belief of The SAS Institute, the largest privately owned software company in the world. At the heart of SAS are its people. While some companies drive their employees through commissioned sales and a competitive environment, SAS stands in contrast as a company that takes pride in caring for their employees and giving them a workplace that is more egalitarian than authoritarian. While it can be argued that this structure has been successful at SAS, we believe that the organizational structure is flawed from a long term perspective and creates a climate that inhibits both motivation and innovation. As a whole, SAS promotes innovation by endorsing different methods to motivate their employees. The core corporate belief is that satisfied employees will create satisfied customers. The company rewards innovation, encourages experimentation, and cares about employees’ personal needs and professional growth. Based on this corporate belief, SAS has created an environment to align employees’ personal needs with company’s business objectives. SAS Institute’s fundamental desire is to “create a corporation where it is as much fun for the workers as for top management”.(O’Reilly P.106) All employees in the company are treated equally. Many practices are created to support this philosophy such as not having reserved parking spots for...
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...Date: 4/14/2012 From: Liang Haoxuan, Lin juan, Lin ying, Li qi To: Professor Chen Re: The 2nd case STARBUCKS Brief: The case includes some proposals from the IFRS about the lease accounting and a response from the Starbucks in which the Starbucks expressed its negative attitude and its reasons why it oppose those proposals. Then, in this write-up, our group is going to analysis the influence of leases and lease accounting on Starbucks. The importance of lease on Starbucks From the case, we know that Starbucks leases retail stores, roasting and distribution facilities and office space etc. After an explicit analysis and detailed discussion, we also understand that these lease related activities and issues play a very important role in Starbucks’ business activities. After an introductory accounting course we had taken, we realize that leasing can reduce risk of obsolescence. With more leases, there will be little or no down payment. And these positive effects are preferred choices for managers, especially for the Starbucks’ managers who have a lot of leases activities. Actually lease makes Starbucks hold more available cash which could be invested to other aspects, allowing it to build up more stores and capturing the market rapidly. Thus, leases are important for Starbucks. The importance from lease accounting We already know that many of Starbucks’ business activities are leases, such as leasing retail stores, roasting and distribution facilities and office...
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...Case Write Up Prepared by: Claire Liao Case: Heineken, Marketing Management Course Date: 11/11/2015 Heineken is one of the world’s leading brands over 130 years. It is the number 2 imported beer in the U.S and it is number 1 in Europe. Its’s global network of distributors and 115 breweries in more than 65 countries. Premier brands are Heineken are Amstel Light. Heineken aims for sustainable growth as a broad market leader and segment leadership while expanding and optimizing product portfolio. It embraced innovation as a key component of their strategy in the areas of production, marketing, communication and packaging. Heineken’s goal is to grow the business in a sustainable and consistent manner, while constantly improving profitability. There are 4 priority to reach the goal. 1) to accelerate sustainable top –line growth. 2) to accelerate deficiency and cost reduction. 3) to speed up implementation by committing faster decision making and execution. 4) to focus on those markets where they believe they can win. Heineken is losing import beer market share in early 20s. The problem is the maturing competitive beer industry. 37% of U.S adults are beer drinkers and beer is the most widely purchased alcohol beverage, beer industry is projected to grow steadily. The competition within beer industry is very strong, basically it is “eat or be eaten”, and every company is just trying to strengthen their global position any way possible. The biggest rivals include InBev and Grupo...
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...Q no. 1. What are the major issues in this case? Answer: The major issues that I have found out in this case include: * Lack of customer satisfaction due to improper practice of hygiene by Moore, hence creating an unpleasant workplace for customers as well as Gulford. * Diminished morale of Gulford and Moore due to lack of recognizing social responsibility in workplace. * Absence of initiative to improve communication between work colleagues. * Lack of anticipation and influence in identifying and solving the low turnout of productivity in the clinic. * Not facilitating and supporting team member to improve performance, since Gulford being in a senior position and more experienced than Moore could’ve contributed to improve the situation. * Promotion of conflict by Gulford by repetitively emphasizing and giving in negative feedback about Moore which also suggests that there may be other political agendas against Moore too that bothers Gulford. * Inefficient organizational management that could’ve prevented the declining business. Q no.2. What would you do? Answer: In this particular situation I would have taken the following initiatives: * Body odor being a sensitive personal issue can be very embarrassing to talk about, but I will tactfully and respectfully address this issue to Moore and help her understand how it is affecting the performance of the clinic and influence her to give importance to personal grooming and enhance her...
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...Alisa Olson MGT405 Section 7 Sunduramurthy 29 November 2012 Case Write Up: LEGO Group LEGO Group has been a successful company in the toy industry since they started in 1949. As of 2010, LEGO remained a privately held company by the Kirk Kristiansen family. Annual sales reached an all-time high equaling over $3.7 billion. The company’s strongest lines were LEGO Star Wars, LEGO City, and LEGO DUPLO. Even though the company has maintained a competitive advantage, they face some seriously threatening issues. Some of the current issues they face are maintaining patents, company acquisitions, court battles, and new competition. In 1984, TYCO introduced Super Blocks, which were almost identical to the plastic brick design that LEGO has. TYCO had advertisements that stated “if you can’t tell the difference, why pay the difference”. LEGO launched a four year lawsuit against them, but by 1988 the patent for LEGO’s building block design expired, so they lost the lawsuit. All the effort against TYCO was wasted. LEGO should have renewed their patent to prevent incidents such as this one from happening. Once this patent expired, the barriers of competition were lowered significantly in the building toy market. In 2009, Disney acquired the comic book company Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. This provided Disney with control over Marvel’s vast catalogue of over 5,000 comic book characters to be used in future publishing, movie production, and licensing operations. This was...
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...Kiehl’s Case Write-Up 1. Evaluate Kiehl’s current “go-to-market” strategy. What’s working? What isn’t? What is the role of each of their ways of reaching end users? What’s working? * Excellent service is provided through highly trained sales * Multiple potential touch-points with consumers (albeit limited overall) * Clear vision and objectives for the brand What’s not working? * Too inaccessible * Lack of awareness due to no advertising mindset Role of distribution methods * Free standing stores (48% of sales): develop and showcase how the personal consultation model works with the KCRs, full ownership * Retail partners (42% of sales): increase traffic and sales * Website (10% of sales): build awareness and knowledge of the brand in a disconnected fashion, increase sales 2. In 2000, when L’Oreal acquired Kiehl’s, it had just one Free Standing Store, its “flagship store” selling about $5M per year. L’Oreal has since increased FSS’s to 52. Does that make sense? How would the “retail partners” feel about this? * Yes - allows Kiehl’s to own the entire consumer experience while ensuring their “Circle of Service” is adhered to. * No – large capital investments with more risk than using retail partners, not broad enough product line to support having a fully dedicated store * Retail partners probably don’t love the idea, but many people probably don’t go to Nordstrom’s just for Kiehl’s, so it may produce cross sales...
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...Chapter 1 LEGO Case Write-Up My key takeaways are 1) Company should combine business strategy, organization strategy and information strategy together in order to make a good innovation. 2) Keep uniqueness and develop new product to attract new segments is very important in a hypercompetitive environment. 3) A strong information management system can be very helpful. 1. How did the information systems and the organization design changes implemented by Knudstorp align with the changes in business strategy? After Knudstorp changed Lego’s business strategy changed, Lego changes its organization structure. They encourage product innovation and sales by offering incentives. They decrease coast by move manufacturing factories to cheaper places. In order to attract more consumers, they develop new series for new segments and extend virtual world and movie business. They also engaged the communities who had already set up thousands of Web sites and blogs. Which also related to IT technology improvement. The information systems of Lego changes too. They develop new technology to support the product design and development, also the virtual and video games. They use the technology to insist the real-time feedback from customers. They created a modularized and standardized architecture for their information systems, making it possible to expand more quickly and add capacity and functionality, as it was needed. They implemented an integrated enterprise system as well. These systems helps...
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...ttools (A) Case Write-up Summary: Hazzard invented a pen/stylus device, used for PDAs, which was a pioneer in the market. After the failure of trying to license his design to a manufacturer of pens, Hazzard and his wife Leigh founded ttools company to assemble and sell the pen by themselves in early 1998. Hazzards self-financed a utility patent application for their pen/stylus device before the device was launched. Prior to writing a business plan, the Hazzards’ patent attorney drafted a nondisclosure specifically for the meeting with Palm Pilot, who owned the largest PDA market share in 1998. Palm thought the pen would be a great accessory for the Palm Pilot and invited Hazzard to advertise through Palm email ad system. With the utility patent and marketing strategy, ttools got huge success once the pen/stylus was known by customers through email. In October 1998, Hazzard learned that Palm had contracted IDEO to develop next-generation Palm PDA and a pen/stylus device similar to ttools’. On June, 1999, the USPTO issued ttools, but the attribute of 3Com was not negotiable, they would not give up the product because of the patent issue. Recommendation: I would like to recommend the third path. Firstly, the IDEO’s design clearly infringed on ttools’ patent, there was no risk to fail on course. When it comes to business risks for ttools, I think Hazzard should not be too pessimistic, ttools was on the right side, and this would be a litigation between a startup and a big corporation...
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...Carrefour S.A. Case Write-up In order to finance its ongoing expansion, Carrefour decided to issue EUR750 million 10-year bond through the eurobond market. Investment banks, like Morgan Stanley and UBS-Warburg had suggested that instead of issuing the bond with EUR, Carrefour could borrow British sterling pounds this time by taking the advantage of a temporary borrowing opportunity in the currency. Carrefour also faced three other alternatives of issuance: the bond could be issued at a coupon rate of 5.25% in euro, 3.625% in Swiss francs, or 5.5% in USD. There are several considerations that Carrefour should take when it evaluated which currency it should issue the EUR debt. According to relative PPP equation, %ΔS(foreign currency/domestic currency)= π(foreign country prices) - π(home country prices) It says that the percent change in the foreign-domestic exchange rate is equal to the difference between the inflation rate in foreign country and the inflation rate in home country. The currency of a high inflation country will depreciate relative to the currency of a low inflation country by the difference in the two inflation rates. If Carrefour sets Euro as domestic currency, the country with the highest inflation rate, its currency would be expected to depreciate with the greatest amount. As it has shown in the case Exhibit 4, U.K. has the highest projected inflation rate in next 3 years compares to other countries, therefore, it’s more favorable to borrow in British pounds...
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...Snapple Case Write-up 1. In Snapple’s early years, before it was acquired by Quaker, it became a very successful and experienced rapid growth. This is due to many reasons that all can be traced to its branding. Snapple was popular in a niche group of health nuts and hipsters. Even as it increased its market share, it successfully kept the image of the “little guy” and was appealing due to how “real” the company was. People saw that not only was the drink 100% natural, but the people were too. They kept this image and were able to sell Snapple at a premium price too. When looking at this success in terms of the four P’s of marketing, obviously each P was important. That being said, I think that product and promotion were the two frontrunners, accounting for about 30% of the success each, whereas I see place and price both contributing to 20% of the success of Snapple. Snapple as a product was more than just a drink. The product that the consumer was buying at the time was more than just a natural, relatively healthy, tasty beverage. They were buying its personality, how genuine the company was, and buying into the little guy taking down the corporate giants at the time. For those reasons, Snapple as a product appealed immensely to the select market of young, healthy individuals who did not always want to go with the flow. Once Snapple gained foothold in this market as a “fashion drink” it continued to spread to more and more of these young people. None of this, of course...
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...QUESTION 1 WHY DO LARGE COMPANIES LIKE IBM FIND IT SO DIFFICULT TO CREATE NEW BUSINESSES? -Large companies generally tend to have been around longer, and have a stronger more mature presence in the business/market that they’re in. This causes strong roots and cultural implications on and within the systems which, as the case states, can also be identified as impediments. -New business can come across foreign and a bit of a distraction to well established companies. The “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mentality can kick in and there’s a higher tendency to reject any new prospects. -There can also be a lot of complexities within a large organization that make it harder for new ideas to be adopted by the organization. Multiple departments must be able to work in unity. This is harder when there has been a specific way of doing things for a long period of time and systems set in place. -There tends to be an area of comfort with inherent limits that if a new project doesn’t fall within, doesn’t bode well and by one way or another doesn’t come into fruition. -Specifically, IBM did find it difficult to nurture new business for the above reasons and more. They didn’t have a formal plan set for business development, and with the sheer size of IBM and the corporate venture fund financing, ideas weren’t as well thought out or solid for them to catch any traction with upper management. This in turn caused interdepartmental conflict causing new businesses to eventually burn out...
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...Mr. Joe C Client RE: Baxter International Inc. Recommendation Executive Summary Dear Mr. Client, Baxter International is a stable company showing consistent growth over the last 5 years and I believe that the company will continue to grow at a similar rate. Their products are not easily matched by competitors and demand for them will continue as they are related to critical health care functions. Baxter’s cost risk relative to the market is low. This is reflected in a low beta and therefore cost of equity. The intrinsic value of their stock is far higher than where it is trading and is worth heavy consideration to be bought. Alex Wade Analyst Awade583@gmail.com Mr. Joe C Client RE: Baxter International Inc Dear Mr. Client, As requested, I have completed an analysis of Baxter International. As of market close on April 25th, 2014 Baxter International (BAX) stock was trading for $72.32 per share, with market capitalization of $40.54B. I have performed an analysis of the companies last 5 years of financial statements as well as a forecast of the next 10 years of cash flows to value you the company for you. My analysis concludes that the company is drastically undervalued and presents a terrific buying opportunity. Baxter manufactures products for people with “hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions” (Baxter International Inc, 2013). I believe demand will remain constant...
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...MGMT 3800 Business Policy and Strategy Lowell Miller April 14, 2016 Kiara Gitlin MGMT 3800 Business Policy and Strategy Lowell Miller April 14, 2016 Kiara Gitlin Strategic Case Strategic Case I. Core Problem/Issue McDonald’s current challenges consist of many things including their menu, product quality, appealing to millennials, and labor concerns. The new president and CEO, Steve Easterbrook, came at a time when the corporate giant was on its knees in desperate need of way to get back up. One of bigger issues is product quality because it relates to getting the younger customer as well as how the company is perceived worldwide. McDonald’s is one the top 10 biggest brands according to Forbes and Easterbrook desperately wanted to improve public perceptions of the McDonald’s brand. McDonald’s wants to position themselves as a modern, progressive “healthy” burger company in a highly competitive market. Their size made them a convenient target, and more than a decade of negative press including the 2001 book “Fast Food Nation,” the 2004 documentary “Supersize Me,” and Jamie Kennedy’s 2012 “pink slime” exposé had taken its toll. In July 2014, the Big Mac earned the dubious distinction of being America’s worst hamburger, placing last out of 21 in a study by Consumer Reports. McDonald’s also ranked lowest among peers in the 2015 American Customer Satisfaction Index. Fast food restaurants overall dropped 3.8 percent, but McDonald’s fell by 6 percent from 2014...
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...The first reason for the deficient attention to security exhibited by the management of iPremier is the focus on short term gains which is deeply imbedded in the company's culture. Many times in this case concern was expressed about what the stock price would be the following morning. There is too much attention on the stock price, which in turn plays back into the short-term focus. Companies that focus on a short-term "earnings game" often lose focus of their long term strategy, and thus causes more harm than good. Another reason for the lack of focus on security within the management ranks is the fact that the ownership of the company’s incentive package encouraged that behavior. A number of employee’s compensation incentives should have been tied to security so that those numbers were pursued as aggressively as a climbing stock price. The company’s governing values, does not even include any reference to any value delivered to the customer; it only references the internal needs and wants of the management. A revised corporate mission and value statement should be considered and more resources directed to the IT department and other operational departments with focus on long term effectiveness. A third area to study is the high turn-over rate in the management ranks. It appears most employees are fearful of losing their jobs, “unsuccessful managers did not last long”, and they appear interested in only boosting their stock option plan. Individuals are forced to perform almost...
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...C.K. Claridge, Inc. Case What are the interests of the various players in the Varacil market? * CKC: Obtain the least costly ending for the lawsuit, considering the future effects of the outcome with respect to market share and future profits. * Tolemite: Obtain a payment of all past and future liabilities at the highest royalty possible, or the highest payment. * BARD: They would benefit from two situations: 1.CKC wining the trial, as they would not have to pay royalties anymore, which could decrease CKC’s cost competitive advantage if BARD decides to lower the price of the product. Thus they can become more competitive and may increase their market share this way. 2. CKC having to pay a royalty of 4% or more. The same logic as above applies. What should Mr. Purcell do? If you think he should propose a settlement, what amount do you recommend, and how should it be communicated? I believe Mr. Purcell should propose a settlement with Tolemite. The process started on 2005, and only in 2009 they are going to trial, which means 4 years of related costs, including time and monetary costs. Moreover, if they do go to trial, the process may continue, as appeals can be made if they win the case. This will mean more years with this problem in mind, and costly lawyers and advisors. By the time the trial is over, the patent will be close to expiring (2017), thus decreasing the importance of the trial itself. Regardless of the calculations made...
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