Home Assignment: CASES
CASE 1-1
1. AUDI
OVERVIEW
Audi has invested heavily in engineering for years in order to compete with the two automotive giants of Europe, BMW and Mercedes. Those investments are finally starting to payoff. While Audi’s engines have been comparable or better than BMW’s and Mercedes for some time, it was not until recently that Audi started to receive higher marks in other areas such as reliability and design quality. Audi has made huge sales gains in Europe where it is considered to be on about equal par with Mercedes and BMW. However in the United States, the world’s biggest and most influential automotive market, Audi still lags far behind.
MAJOR ISSUES IN THE CASE
* Considers the important relationships between business and marketing strategies. * Illustrates the need for a market-oriented culture and processes. * Introduces the role of brand strengths in contributing to business performance. * Show the importance of new products and product quality in performing well against strong competition. * Illustrates the challenges of effectively managing multiple-businesses.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Describe and evaluate Audi’s brand building initiatives.
2. How important are quality gains to Audi in closing the revenue gap with BMW and Mercedes?
3. Discuss the role of SUV models in Audi’s competitive strategy.
4. Discuss the strengths and the weaknesses of Audi’s financial performance.
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2. THE NEW YORK TIMES
OVERVIEW
After years as one of America’s most preeminent newspapers the New York Times is increasingly under pressure to increase profitability in a market that is undergoing significant change. As more and more people turn to broadband to get their information, newspapers across the U.S. have taken a hit. Some changes have been made. For example, the New York Times is now fully available online. However the primary business model that the Times is using is the same as it was decades ago. No subscription fees are earned from its website and revenues from advertising, though substantial, are not enough to match that of the traditional business model that made money on ads and paper sales. Unfortunately for the New York Times it looks as though these pressures will continue. The current proprietor Arthur Sulzberger says that the paper has no plans of charging fees for website access at this time, which seems to indicate fear that online readers would be unwilling to pay such a fee. The New York Times will experience problems if, in the future, readers no longer have to pay to read its articles. Both advertising and subscription revenues will be negatively impacted.
MAJOR ISSUES IN THE CASE
* Illustrates the challenges created by new technologies and rapidly changing markets and competitive space. * Highlights how the media world is changing. * Shows the close relationship between business and marketing strategies. * Raises questions as to the long-term viability of the existing newspaper’s business design. * Illustrates the importance of matching customers’ value requirements with the firm’s distinctive capabilities.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Identify and discuss the challenges confronting the Times in the 21st Century.
2. Evaluate the initiatives that have been pursued to counter the threats of a changing media world.
3. Discuss the benefit and cost implications of editorial actions taken to regain the Times’ stride journalistically.
4. What are the prospects for the newspaper to improve financial performance in the next 3 to 5 years?
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