...Elektra Products, Inc. Barbara Russell, a manufacturing vice president, walked into the monthly companywide meeting with a light step and a hopefulness she hadn’t felt in a long time. The company’s new, dynamic CEO was going to announce a new era of employee involvement and empowerment at Elektra Products, an 80-year-old, publicly held company that had once been a leading manufacturer and retailer of electrical products and supplies. In recent years, the company experienced a host of problems: market share was declining in the face of increased foreign and domestic competition; new product ideas were few and far between; departments such as manufacturing and sales barely spoke to one another; morale was at an all-time low, and many employees were actively seeking other jobs. Everyone needed a dose of hope. Martin Griffi n, who had been hired to revive the failing company, briskly opened the meeting with a challenge: “As we face increasing competition, we need new ideas, new energy, new spirit to make this company great. And the source for this change is you—each one of you.” He then went on to explain that under the new empowerment campaign, employees would be getting more information about how the company was run and would be able to work with their fellow employees in new and creative ways. Martin proclaimed a new era of trust and cooperation at Elektra Products. Barbara felt the excitement stirring within her; but as she looked around the room, ...
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...CASE STUDY 12.1 PROFITEL INC. By Steven L. McShane, University of Western Australia As a formerly government-owned telephone monopoly, Profitel enjoyed many decades of minimal competition. Even today as a publicly traded enterprise, the company’s almost exclusive control over telephone copper wiring across the country keeps its profit margins above 40 percent. Competitors in telephone and DSL broadband continue to rely on Profitel’s wholesale business, which generates substantially more profit than similar wholesale services in many other countries. However, Profitel has stiff competition in the cellular (mobile) telephone business, and other emerging technologies (voice-over-Internet) threaten Profitel’s dominance. Based on these threats, Profitel’s board of directors decided to hire an outsider as the new chief executive. Although several qualified candidates expressed an interest in Profitel’s top job, the board selected Lars Peeters, who had been CEO for six years of a publicly traded European telephone company, followed by a brief stint as CEO of a cellular telephone company in the United States until it was acquired by a larger firm. Profitel’s board couldn’t believe its good fortune; Peeters brought extensive industry knowledge and global experience, a high-octane energy level, self-confidence, decisiveness, and a congenial yet strongly persuasive interpersonal style. He also had a unique “presence” that caused people to pay attention and respect his leadership. The...
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...Case Study: Elektra Products, Inc. The Case: Problem: Once leading manufacturer/retailer of electrical products/supplies has declining market share, low employee morale, inter-departmental communication gaps (sales and manufacturing not talking), slow innovation (i.e. new products few and far between) One of the solutions: employee empowerment but with a buy-in problem from the department heads during the proposal by B. Russel. Important characters in the case: Barbara Russel (VP for manufacturing; team leader manufacturing team) – working on ideas to improve how retail stores got the merchandise they needed it by: * Manager follow a product from design through sales to customers * Allow salespeople to refund up to $500 worth of merchandise on the spot * Make information available to salespeople about future products * Swap Sales and manufacturing personnel for short periods for job awareness Martin Griffin (New CEO) – excused himself during presentation Department heads – had concerns with Russel’s proposal. Some Employees – not buying the idea Case Discussion 1. How might top management have done a better job changing Elektra Products into a new kind of organization? What might they do now to get the empowerment process back on track? The role of the top management in employee empowerment or in any change management is to exhibit commitment to the change, provide leadership which involves influencing employees to excellence, molding...
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...contemporary organizational issue you find intriguing. Use one field site or example for the entire paper. Also, be explicit about the level issue. For example, if you are using the concept of personality then it is an individual level issue. A list of concepts and their related levels is provided in a separate document. Focus of paper-related requirements: Outline: Submit a formal outline for your paper, complete with references. The purpose of the outline is to help you organize your content, which also results in increased clarity, improved logic, and better structure of the paper. There may be adjustments from this document to your final paper, but at this stage the paper should not require major revisions. Final Paper: Use a case study format for the structure of your paper. Identify and analyze issues using course concepts, and propose recommendations for the organization you are focusing on. Use of course concepts 1. Use a minimum of 8 concepts for the paper. Include a list of the concepts you used at the beginning of the paper. 2. Briefly define each concept you use within the text (a paragraph or two). 3. For each concept, write a diagnosis at one level (e.g., the person level). For example, you might write “The employee misses work frequently due to stress from conflict with her supervisor.” Note, stress and conflict would require definitions.) 4. For each concept, write a solution or solutions. Identify the level(s) you addressed in Step 2...
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...Calendar Overall for Case-Study Presentation & Mid-Term Exam – MGT 4760 (Strategic Management) Sem 1, 2012/2013 Sec 8 (M-W) No. | Week | Topics | Class Day | Date | Schedule | Details | | 1 | Chapter 1: The Nature of Strategic Management | 1- Mon 2- Wed | 10/912/9 | | | | 2 | Chapter 2: The Business Vision and Mission | 3- Mon 4- Wed | 17/919/9 | | | | 3 | Chapter 3: The External Assessment | 5- Mon 6- Wed | 24/926/9 | | | | 4 | Chapter 4: The Internal Assessment | 7- Mon 8- Wed | 1/103/10 | Quiz 1 (Chapter 1.2.3) | | | 5 | Chapter 4: The Internal Assessment | 9- Mon 10- Wed | 8/1010/10 | | | | 6 | Chapter 5: Strategies in Action | 11- Mon 12- Wed | 15/1017/10 | | | | | BREAK(22/10 – 28/10) | 13- Mon 14- Wed | 22/1024/10 | | | | 7 | Chapter 5: Strategies in Action | 15- Mon 16- Wed | 29/1031/10 | Case Presentation Session 1Case Presentation Session 2 | Group 1:L: Lia Hilaliah (Case Study 3)Group 2:L: Mas Syairah bte Mohamad (Case Study 5) | | 8 | Chapter 6: Strategy Analysis and Choice | 17- Mon 18- Wed | 5/117/11 | | (Mid-Term Exam 7/11 Wednesday)Seminar Room 1.1 | | 9 | Chapter 6: Strategy Analysis and Choice | 19- Mon 20- Wed | 12/1114/11 | Case Presentation Session 3Case Presentation Session 4 | Group 3:L: Mohamed Sheikh (Case Study 9) Group 4:L: Izzati Nor binti Salleh (Case Study 14) | | 10 | Chapter 7: Implementing Strategies: Management and Operations...
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...ARCTIC MINING CONSULTANTS Case Synopsis Arctic Mining Consultants is a mining company that deals with mineral exploration. In this case study, the project given is staking 15 claims in Eagle Lake, Alaska. The project Manager was Tom Parker, who has a wide experience and specialized knowledge in all nontechnical aspects of mineral exploration. He is a geological field technician and field coordinator for Arctic Mining Consultants. He assigned his previous field assistants John Talbot, Greg Boyce and Brian Millar to help him complete the project. The job required them to stake at least 7 lengths each day in order to be completed on time. However, the whole team has became very tense and agitated, especially Tom Parker, as the deadline was just around the corner and there’s still many to be finished within the limited time. The problem became worse with the way Tom managed and treated his team. The only motivation to the team was the $300 bonuses promised by the company when the job is done on time, otherwise, they might wished to give up already. This happened because working as a field assistant and in long-working hours only giving them low wages, which is considered unreasonable compared to what they have to do. During the eight hard days, everything had actually proved the strengths and weaknesses of each of the team members, including Tom. Case analysis symptoms 1) What symptom(s) exist in this case to suggest that something has gone wrong? The symptom(s) to suggest...
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...Running head: CASE STUDY XYZ Case Study XYZ: An Examination of Project Procurement Management Practices Group 12 John Doe Jane Smith Bobbie Sue University of Maryland University College Project Procurement Management, Semester XXXX, Section XXXX Professor Stephen R. Guth MMMM DD, YYYY [No Abstract or Introduction required for this assignment] The Inception Phase Rating Scale: 5—Excellent, 4—Very Good, 3—Good, 2—Poor, 1—Very Poor |Project Management Area |Inception Phase | |Scope Management | | |Time Management | | |Cost Management | | |Quality Management | | |Human Resource Management | | |Communication Management | | |Risk Management | | |Procurement Management | ...
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...policy. 2) Employee conditions: a. Lack of motivation b. Compensate for low wages by over indulgence of free food allowance c. High turnover rate due to availability of high application rates. d. Employees are mostly college and high school students e. Lack of respect for managers. f. No incentive to increase motivation. In the case study Perfect Pizzeria, the area supervisor has many problems that need his attention. The largest appears to be the organization. In this case study I will assume that the area supervisor has the authority to affect change within his organization (i.e. he is the franchise owner). Being in an area with few job opportunities should give him the perfect opportunity to recruit bright, ambitious, and motivated people to staff his pizzerias. How can the area supervisor change his organization to achieve a more fluid corporate culture? I think this change can be achieved by human resource changes, structure changes, motivational changes, and reward for good performance as well as accountability for poor performance. Each one of these areas will require a change from the corporate level. For the sake of my case study I am going to assume that the area supervisor (franchise owner) can lobby to achieve this change within the organization. The first area to look...
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...letters in industry or for a class, knowing your purpose and audience will help determine what information to include. Generally, business letters follow a particular format, although your instructor or company may require you to use alternative formats. This guide provides writers with an introduction to writing business letters. Case Studies: This guide examines case studies, a form of qualitative descriptive research that is used to look at individuals, a small group of participants, or a group as a whole. Researchers collect data about participants using participant and direct observations, interviews, protocols, tests, examinations of records, and collections of writing samples. Starting with a definition of the case study, the guide moves to a brief history of this research method. Using several well documented case studies, the guide then looks at applications and methods including data collection and analysis. A discussion of ways to handle validity, reliability, and generalizability follows, with special attention to case studies as they are applied to composition studies. Finally, this guide examines the strengths and weaknesses of case studies. Desktop Publishing: Desktop publishing is the process of laying out and designing pages with your desktop computer. With software programs such as PageMaker and Quark Xpress, you can assemble anything from a one-page document to a...
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...Brussels and Bradshaw In response to the case study, Brussels and Bradshaw is a well-established financial institution that offers their clients competitive and innovative solutions for their community and work environments. The banking institution offers a summer internship to bright and driven individuals. The internship includes 14 weeks of very intense training and long hours. Interns are paid $20,000 for the contract. During the screening process, out of all the possible candidates Audrey Locke was selected. Audrey has some experience as an assistant, assurance analyst and financial planning analyst. Brussels and Bradshaw is operating in more than 25 countries globally; this case study takes place in Toronto. Many behavioral issues in the Brussels and Bradshaw institution are unprofessional and stressful. Job stress is defined as feeling one’s capabilities, resources, or needs that do not match the demands or requirements of the job (Hitt, Miller, & Colella, 2011 p. 249). Working 70 and 80 hours per week or possibly 120 hours will put a major burden on anyone, especially someone new to the working environment. Audrey is excited with her internship and very eager to learn. She is assigned a mentor and buddy by the business development manager, Kelly Richards. Kelly has 10 years of experience. Although associates consider her human resources, Kelly’s job is strictly administrative. Audrey is never introduced to her mentor and her buddy, Christine Page is very...
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...Business case studies determine and define the primary issues that a company faces in the modern world market. A well designed business case study can provide a detailed contextual analysis of limited conditions and their horizontal relationships to other entities. In the case of Coach, they are an international clothing accessory company with a reputation of making pristinely handcrafted items with unique designs and a label that represents over seventy years of craftsmanship. In order to fully understand Coach’s business model, empirical data must be collected and analyzed to include the historical and current financial statistics, an in-depth analysis of the company overall, an analysis of the company’s business model, and finally current issues and future forecast that affect the longevity of the enterprise. By studying the history of Coach, both investors and those with an interest in the company can gain insight into key factors that motivate company decisions. Background/History The history of Coach starts in 1941 in a small family run leather workshop with six primary artisans in Manhattan that had skills passed down from generation to generation. It was not long until leather good become sought after for their high quality and workmanship. Through the guidance of the longtime and current CEO, Lew Frankfort, Coach expanded their business from just 6 million dollars 30 years ago to current sales exceeding 3.6 billion dollars. (Coach, 2012) From 1941 to present, the...
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...Case Studies and Exercises Lecture 2. The Rise of Multinational Companies Case: MUELLER: China Bound? (A), (B) and (C). (308-358-1, 308-359-1 and 308-360-1). Discussion Questions: 1. What are the primary ownership advantages of Mueller? 2. What are the major ways in which Mueller could serve the China market? 3. What are their primary advantages and disadvantages?? 4. If Mueller decided to invest in China, what would be the main functions of its subsidiary? 5. How could the risks involved in the FDI to China be managed? Lecture 3. The Myth of the Global Company Case: Lafarge: From a French Cement Company to a Global Leader (304-019-1) Discussion Questions: 1. What are the main characteristics of Lafarge’s internationalisation strategy and competitive competences and how do these differ from those of other cement companies such as Cemex and Holcim? 2. What were the assumptions underlying Lafarge's strategy and how justified were these? 3. To what extent is Lafarge a French company with foreign operations, as distinct from a global MNC, and how is it likely to develop as a MNC? 4. What are the implications of Lafarge’s growth for the internationalisation of other French firms? Lecture 4. Competing Capitalisms in the 21st Century Case: Messier's Reign at Vivendi Universal (9-405-063) Discussion Questions: 1. What was Messier's strategy in transforming CGE into Vivendi, what assumptions was it based on and how justified were these? 2. What does this transformation reveal about the...
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...Research Case Study: Vodafone's Youth Market | | INTRODUCTION This case study will explain how the highly competitive telecommunications market lead Vodafone to set up an on-going 'panel' of respondents to give them a greater understanding of the youth market. THE CLIENT Vodafone is probably the biggest success story of the telecommunications market, becoming a household name with a penetration of 29% (TNS Telecoms panel Q3 2001) of the mobile phone market. Vodafone's media and planning agency, OMD UK plays an important strategic role in terms of researching the commercial market. THE CHALLENGE Operating in such a highly competitive industry meant that Vodafone had to look at new ways of researching how it could best profit from the hugely competitive youth market. The youth market is defined as anyone aged between 16-24 years old. Currently 90% of all 16-24 year olds own a mobile phone in the UK, amounting to 6.1m people in the UK. THE SOLUTION OMD UK, along with 2CV Research, recruited a panel of volunteers who receive monthly questionnaires over a long-term period in order to build up a profile of habits, attitudes and opinions of the young Vodafone user. The panel is made up of 200 respondents, all of whom must have an email address and a mobile phone (this is 85% of the youth market), and is maintained by 2CV. Questions sent out every month cover a whole range of areas, not just telecommunications. The idea is to build a very comprehensive picture of...
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...Case Study I Materials purchased $325,000 Direct Labor $220,000 Sales $1,350,000 Gross Margin 30% Cost of Goods Available for Sale $1,020,000 Prime Costs $545,000 Manufacturer Overhead 65% of Conversion cost Direct Materials $325,000 Beginning Inventory numbers: Raw Materials $41,000 Works in Process $56,000 Finished Goods $35,000 Formulas: Prime cost = Direct Materials cost + Direct Labor cost Conversion cost = Direct Labor cost + Manufacturing overhead cost (65% conversion) Prime cost = 325,000 + $220,000 545,000 ( Data given) Trying to get to the Conversion cost. Direct labor = 220,000 = 35% of conversion costs = 220,000/.35 = 628,571.42 Manufacturing Overhead = 628,571 - 220,000 = 408,571 Prime cost = direct material cost + 220,000 545,000 = direct material cost + 220,000 545,000 – 220,000 = 325,000 Direct material cost = 325,000 Gross Margin = 30% of $1,350,000 = 405,000. $1,350,000 – 405,000 = 945,000 Ending balance finished goods = 945,000 Cost of Goods Available for Sale $1,020,000 - Finished Goods Inventory (Beginning) 35,000 = Cost of Goods Manufactured $985,000 Cost of Goods sold: Beginning balance finished goods $ 35,000 + Cost of Goods Manufactured $985,000 Goods available for sale $1020,000 - Ending balance finished goods 945,000 Cost of goods sold $ 75,000 Manufacturing Costs: Direct Materials $325,000 ...
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...Mighty Amazon by Fred Vogelstein The story of how he started Amazon is now legendary. While working at Shaw in 1994, he read a study that predicted the Internet would explode in popularity. He figured it wouldn't be long before people would be making money selling over the web. After researching a host of items that could sell online, he settled on books. Almost every book was already catalogued electronically, yet no physical bookstore could carry them all. The beauty of the model, Bezos thought, was that it would give customers access to a giant selection yet he wouldn't have to go through the time, expense, and hassle of opening stores and warehouses and dealing with inventory. It didn't work out that way. Bezos quickly discovered that the only way to make sure customers get a good experience and that Amazon gets inventory at good prices was to operate his own warehouses so he could control the transaction process from start to finish. Building warehouses was a gutsy decision. At about $50 million apiece, they were expensive to set up and even more expensive to operate. The Fernley, Nev., site sits about 35 miles east of Reno and hundreds of miles from just about anything else. It doesn't look like much at first. Just three million books, CDs, toys, and house wares in a building a quarter-mile long by 200 yards wide. But here's where the Bezos commitment to numbers and technology pays off: The place is completely computerized. Amazon's warehouses are so high tech that...
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