...Gateway Computers. Company Background The story of Gateway is an inspiring one. The company, originally called Gateway 2000, was founded in 1985 in an Iowa farmhouse by Ted Waitt, the son of a fourth-generation Iowa cattleman. Armed with a rented computer, a three page business plan, and a $10,000 loan guaranteed by his grandmother, Waitt dropped out of the University of Iowa to pursue his dream. Gateway’s early value proposition was similar to what it is today: offer products directly to the customer, build them to their specifications, provide them with the best value for the money, and offer unparalleled service and support. Waitt’s start-up company had $100,000 in sales in its first year and by 1993 it became a Fortune 500 company with sales of nearly $3 billion. The company’s rapid growth continued throughout the ‘90s, reaching a peak of more than $9.6 billion in 2000. Over the past 18 years Gateway has been a technology and direct-marketing pioneer. It was the first company in the industry to sell computers online, the first to bundle its own branded internet service with a PC, and among the first direct retailers to sell its own branded consumer electronic products. In 1996 the company became one of the first “brick and click” retailers when it introduced a nationwide network of Gateway Country stores. Today, the company has nearly 200 stores where customers can try out Gateway products, get advice from technical experts, and learn more about technology in classes...
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...7 (B) 1.Why did gateway have multiple production facilities in the United States? Gateway strategy was to avoid any carrying cost of the finished-goods inventory at the retail store, the facilities will assemble the product then send it to the retail store upon the customer orders. 2.what factors did Gateway consider when deciding which plants to close? The plant with the most difficulties in transporting the products and the plant with the most loss. 3.Why did Gateway choose not to carry any finished-product inventory at any retail store? To avoid carrying cost and For the customer to get the right configurations and the desired PC therefor make sure the customer is satisfied with the finished product. 4.Should a firm with an investment in retail stores carry any finished-product inventory? What characterizes products that are best manufactured to order ? It depends on the finished product and if the cost of manufacturing of it is high and the product life cycle overall some simple and easy to assemble product should be in the inventory. If the product takes time and money to manufacture and assemble and transport it is best not to have a finished product inventory. 5.Is Dell Model in selling directly without retail store always less expensive than supply chain with retail stores? Yes, The retail store will be costly so to some degree it is less expensive Model as it reduces the carrying cost. 6.What are supply chain implication of Gateway decision to offer fewer...
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...186 Gateway Case 1. As the company grew in size, number of products, and market share, it was essential to employ new agencies to help develop their brand image and positioning in the market. Gateway’s first outside agency was Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, but as the company’s international sales rapidly increased, there was a need for a new global agency, DMB&B. Unfortunately, Waitt disliked that the agency’s creative approach was geared toward traditional advertisement that used actors and scripted lines. This led Waitt to drop DMB&B and bring back Henry Corra from Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, along with another small agency, DiMassimo Brand Advertising. Later on, Waitt decided to step back from day to day operation, so he hired Jeff Weitzen as the new CEO. Weitzen then hired McCann-Erickson Worldwide, one of the largest global agencies at the time. But because Gateway did not think that McCann truly understood the company’s midtestern culture, Waitt decided to turn to Corra to direct the commercials once again. Gateway hired another agency, S/K, whose talking cow ads resonated well with consumers. However, Gateway felt the need to move away from its folksy, rural image and brand itself as a more sophisticated and modern company to better fit in the tech industry. This caused the company to part ways with S/K and employ a new agency, Arnell Group, New York. When the company’s sales declined, it moved on to yet another agency, Leo Burnett USA. But when Gateway made...
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...Shanghai By andyatue | October 2011 Case study: DMG-Shanghai. 1.Why do you think that it is so important to cultivate guanxi and guanxiwang in China? I think that it is so important to cultivate guanxi and guanxiwang in China because both of guanxi and guanxiwang are essential to business in China. It is an important mechanism to do a long-term business and getting successful business in China. Guanxi refers to the business connections that are so important to companies doing business in China. Then, guanxiwang refers to the relationship network that companies cultivate. Therefore, by establishing in relationships would help do a better job and mechanism in doing business in China. 2.What does the experience of DMG tell us about the way things work in China? What would likely happen to a business that obeyed all the rules and regulations, rather than trying to find a way around them as Dan Mintz apparently does? The experience of DMG shows us that culture is an important thing in China. Dan Mintz believes that guanxi and guanxiwang are important because they help companies get around restrictions that limit the ability of companies to function. Companies that fail to adapt will probably find it more difficult to be successful and companies that do follow all the rules are likely to be at a competitive disadvantage. As an entrepreneur who is starting up a business or penetrating into a new market, making full use of given resources is essential to overcome difficulties and...
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...can the company take to increase the likelihood that its hotline reporting system remains in compliance? To start with, all parties should be brushed up on existing laws and regulations and the consequences of non-compliance. Far too often there are incidents in which ignorance is claimed but the ignorance seems to be intentional. In fact it would be a good idea to regularly review such laws for their company and in their state as well as any laws that are applicable with the countries they do business with. Though it is understandable and certainly possible to not be aware of every law pertaining to your business and its practices and this is why there are lawsuits sometimes, due to the fact that someone really didn’t know. In the case of something like Yahoo and the French court dealing with access to purchase Nazi paraphernalia, one would have to wonder if this didn’t “feel right” to begin with by making it acceptable. Having things like that accessible can only bring on more fuel for breeding hate although if something is not found in one place it can be found elsewhere. If you hesitate with what you are giving access to or taking access from, you should not proceed. If there...
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...London (UWL) decided to create a student portal using Microsoft’s Office 365 offering. The University started off without a student portal and they didn’t have a single sign on. The students have had a hard time trying to find the information and services they needed and trying to remember which user ID and password to use to access the systems. Each student had separate accounts for email, the VLE and for access to their student record. University of West London wanted to create a platform that would allow students to interact with each other in a safe, secure and academically driven environment.” (UCISA, 2012). Rather than develop a basic gateway for students to access the institution’s services, the University decided to build a personalized, interactive, social platform allowing students to combine social learning with academic study. The staff was established to explore options for collaborative working. There were three different approaches that were being considered: an in house developed bespoke solution; an off the shelf on premise solution and a solution hosted entirely in the Cloud. The in-house bespoke solution was ruled out because of the high development, support and infrastructure costs. It would also take too long to implement as the University had set a go live target date of the last week of August 2012, to coincide with the start of enrolment. The off the shelf solution hosted was ruled about because of the high infrastructure, support and maintenance costs...
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...The Northern Gateway Pipeline runs from Kitimat, British Columbia to Bruderheim, Alberta transporting bitumen westbound, and condensate eastbound. The pipeline goes through Burns Lake, Bear Lake, Fox Creek, Whitecourt, Morinville, around 50+ indigenous territories, and will run cross over 1,000+ streams and rivers. South of the pipeline, Vanderhoof can be found, along with Mayerthorpe, and Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta. North of the pipeline, many more municipalities can be found, including; Terrace, Houston, Fort St. James, and Bon Accord. At the end of the pipeline near Kitimat, British Columbia, the Great Bear sea can be found. Most of the pipeline is away from major populations. Place- During the winter, the east side of the pipeline...
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...Managing Change Initiatives: Fantasy or Reality? The Case of Public Sector Organisations Ebrahim Soltani University of Kent Business School, Canterbury, UK Pei-chun Lai University of Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow, UK Abstract It is becoming a commonplace statement that change initiative programmes are key tools to organisational long-term success. To this end, the last two decades have witnessed a surge of interest in the take-up of various change initiative programmes. Organisational change initiatives, we are told by many commentators, can maximise shareholder value (i.e. economic value theory) and develop organisational capabilities (i.e. organisational capability theory). Specifically, in recent years, as companies have been confronted by the conditions of heightened competition, globalisation, advancements in communications and information technologies, economic recession and simultaneously search for excellence, so the desire to take up change initiatives has interested the majority of leading organisations. At the same time, however, the analysis of the prospects for the majority of change management tools reveals so many deep-seated barriers to change with the consequence of little success in practice. This paper explores this apparent contradiction, arguing that, despite a heightened interest in the take-up of change initiatives, very few change programmes produce an improvement in bottom-line, exceed the company’s cost of capital, or even improve service...
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...beginning of the 21st century, its CEO/ Chairman, Yang-Ho Cho undertook various transformation initiatives - for instance, improving service quality and safety standards, technology integration, upgrading pilot training, better business focus; putting in place a professional management team, improving corporate image through sponsorship marketing, etc. He gave a new corporate direction in the form of '10,10,10' goal. However, Korean Air is held up by a slew of challenges. Among which are inefficiencies of - Chaebol system of management, possible clash of its cargo business with its own shipping company, limited focus on the domestic market and growing competition from LCCs. How would Korean Air manage growth as a family-owned conglomerate? The case offers enriching scope for analysing a family business’s turnaround strategies, with all the legacy costs involved. Pedagogical Objectives • To discuss the (operational) dynamics of Korean Chaebols - their influence/ effects on the country’s industrial sector and the economy as a whole • To analyse how family-owned businesses manage the transition phase - from a supplier-driven economy to a demanddriven economy • To identify all the possible reasons for Korean Air ’s turbulent times and assessing whether they are controllable or not • To critically evaluate Korean Air ’s transformation efforts - in terms of growth, productivity and cost cuts, especially the efficacy of '10,10,10' goal in a family-run business • To identify various challenges...
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...GOOD PRACTICE CASE STUDIES IN UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION PART OF THE DG EDUCATION AND CULTURE STUDY ON THE COOPERATION BETWEEN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANISATIONS IN EUROPE EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Education and Culture Directorate C: Lifelong learning: higher education and international affairs European Institute of Innovation and Technology; economic partnership Public open tender EAC/37/2009: CONTENTS CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Scope of report Introduction to UBC Elements in the UBC Ecosystem 5 5 5 5 AIMS & METHODOLOGY Introduction Objective Process for selection Basis for selection Countries considered in the selection of the cases Case study partners 7 7 7 7 8 8 9 CASE STUDIES Case study key insights Classification of countries Nature of case study Case study quick-find 10 10 12 12 13 NORTHERN Europe Case 1: SEA, Denmark Case 2: ETM, Estonia Case 3: Demola, Finland Case 4: REAP, Ireland Case 5: Mobility at UL, Latvia Case 6: CSE, Sweden Case 7: SMIL, Sweden Case 8: SPEED, UK Case 9: IDI/Digital City, UK Case 10: Acua Limited, UK 18 19 25 30 35 41 46 52 57 63 70 76 80 84 90 96 EASTERN EUROPE Case 11: GIS, Bulgaria Case 12: TTO Pécs, Hungary Case 13: The Science and Economy Project, Poland Case 14: WCTT, Poland Case 15: Q-PlanNet, Romania 75 1 © Science-to-Business Marketing Research Centre CONTENTS SOUTHERN EUROPE Case 16: MUHC, Malta Case 17: PNICube, Italy...
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...CONTENTS: CASE STUDIES CASE STUDY 1 Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (A): The Role of the Operating Manager in Information Systems CASE STUDY I-1 IMT Custom Machine Company, Inc.: Selection of an Information Technology Platform CASE STUDY I-2 VoIP2.biz, Inc.: Deciding on the Next Steps for a VoIP Supplier CASE STUDY I-3 The VoIP Adoption at Butler University CASE STUDY I-4 Supporting Mobile Health Clinics: The Children’s Health Fund of New York City CASE STUDY I-5 Data Governance at InsuraCorp CASE STUDY I-6 H.H. Gregg’s Appliances, Inc.: Deciding on a New Information Technology Platform CASE STUDY I-7 Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (B): Cleaning Up an Information Systems Debacle CASE STUDY II-1 Vendor-Managed Inventory at NIBCO CASE STUDY II-2 Real-Time Business Intelligence at Continental Airlines CASE STUDY II-3 Norfolk Southern Railway: The Business Intelligence Journey CASE STUDY II-4 Mining Data to Increase State Tax Revenues in California CASE STUDY II-5 The Cliptomania™ Web Store: An E-Tailing Start-up Survival Story CASE STUDY II-6 Rock Island Chocolate Company, Inc.: Building a Social Networking Strategy CASE STUDY III-1 Managing a Systems Development Project at Consumer and Industrial Products, Inc. CASE STUDY III-2 A Make-or-Buy Decision at Baxter Manufacturing Company CASE STUDY III-3 ERP Purchase Decision at Benton Manufacturing Company, Inc. CASE STUDY III-4 ...
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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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