...Case Study: Zipcar Bryan Gibson IT496 June 24, 2013 Contents Case Description 3 Firm History & Products 3 What Do They Do Well? 4 Are Their Things They Do Poorly? 5 Porter’s Five Forces 6 POTENTIAL THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS 6 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS 6 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS 6 THREAT OF SUBSTITUES 6 INDUSTRY COMPETITORS 7 Sustainable Competitive Advantage 7 Case Questions 8 Discuss the synergy between the business strategy of Zipcar and information technology. 8 As the CEO of Zipcar, what would you do to sustain a competitive advantage? 8 Is Zipcar a Success or Failure? 9 Will Zipcar Survive? 9 Should Zipcar Alter Their Strategy? 10 References 11 Case Description Zipcar is a company that was co-founded by Antje Danielson and Robin Chase in January of 2000, and was based on a car-sharing system originally utilized in Germany and Switzerland. The concept was to allow car rentals by the hour, with arranged pick-up and drop-off times located in neighborhoods allowing customers to simply walk to the vehicle without the need to wait in line. Danielson and Chase were concerned about the environment and this was their solution to vehicle overcrowding. Additionally, they feel their service helps to alleviate the headaches associated with owning a car, and gives people the option of having a second car or a bigger car, if it suits their needs, without having to buy. Zipcar is backed by a proprietary IT platform which allowed...
Words: 2700 - Pages: 11
...Porter’s Five Forces Model – Zipcar, Inc. Threat of New Entrant ZIpcar’s IT infrastructure would be hard to replicate. They have a strong competitive advantage with their patented wireless technologies and proprietary information systems that create entrance barriers for new competition. Bargaining Power of Buyers Zipcar provides a membership based business strategy and a fully automated reservation system. GPS location services, membership accounts, and reservation modifications can all be accessed with a member’s mobile device. Customers will find it difficult to get the same level of service form another competitor. The creation of user friendly IT systems has simplified Zipcar’s car rental experience. Zipcar has managed to limit the bargaining power of buyers by decreasing the likelihood of customers switching. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Zipcar’s has experienced a steady growth, expanding its services into new locations. Taking advantage of incentives for sustainability have helped Zipcar limit the bargaining power of it suppliers. Automation of services create less dependence people, places and services that are synonymous with the traditional suppliers of the car rental industry. By dealing directly with car manufactures they can limit their bargaining power of the supplier. Entering into purchasing agreements can help to negotiate the selling cost of the car. Industry Competitors Industry competitors of Zipcar would be the traditional car...
Words: 3671 - Pages: 15
...1. How would you characterize the service that Zipcar provides? Why does Zipcar exist? What consumer needs was it designed to meet? Which firms are its competitors? Zipcar is in a nut shell a US headquartered car membership based car sharing program that provides automobile reservation and use to its members. This concept started in Boston by two entrepreneurs named Robin Chase and Antje Danielson in the end of 1999. This year 2013, a deal was struck where Avis Budget Group acquired Zipcar for $500 million in cash, becoming a subsidiary of the group. The company provides a great service to its members by being able to let them reserve a car a year or even minutes in advance charging an hourly rate or for the day. There is not hassle with a Zipcar automobile, the hourly fee usually as low as $4.50 (depending on the city) covers all expenses from fuel, insurance and maintenance. This way of car sharing through memberships is very unique and it really goes into how through the use of modern technology (self-service) one can create a revolutionizing business or concept. Zipcar’s service solves an overwhelming need for young adults living in the city (generation Y). Zipcar targets those individuals who live in dense metropolitan areas. College students also benefit from this type of service, those that are in big state schools or universities. The issues of parking, insurance and monthly car payments are long gone with Zipcar’s business concept. They really meet exactly...
Words: 2777 - Pages: 12
...TermPaperWarehouse.com - Free Term Papers, Essays and Research Documents The Research Paper Factory * Join * Search * Browse * Saved Papers ------------------------------------------------- Haut du formulaire Bas du formulaire ------------------------------------------------- Haut du formulaire Bas du formulaire * Home Page » * Business and Management Case Study: Chase’s Strategy for Syndicating the Hong Kong Disneyland Loan (a) In: Business and Management Case Study: Chase’s Strategy for Syndicating the Hong Kong Disneyland Loan (a) Case Study: Chase’s Strategy for Syndicating the Hong Kong Disneyland Loan (A) Q1. How should Chase have bid in the first round competition to lead the HK$3.3 billion Disneyland financing? 1.Three ways to approach this deal 1) bid to win, 2) bid to lose and3) no bid. Chase chose to bid to lose on the first round, but just enough to make it to the short list. Also, since Chase is one of Disney's relationship banks, Chase would not want to ruin this relationship by not bidding on their project. If Chase wanted to lead the competition from the first round, they should have made a bid that was more aggressive and aimed to win. This bid would have been closer to the desires of Disney, making them more appealing and increasing their probabilities of leading the financing. However, they chose to bid to lose, with just enough terms to get into the second round to "protect their reputation", but not...
Words: 591 - Pages: 3
...danderson@bentley.edu Office Phone: 781 891 2238 Class Times: Section 100: Monday, 7:30 - 9:50 pm Office Hours: For quick/easy questions, send me an email. For tough questions, career advice and other matters, face to face is better, and I’m happy to meet with you by appointment. Description: GS601 provides an enterprise-wide perspective on the management of information technologies (IT), software applications and the operational processes they support, and the data and knowledge that inform business processes and decisions. The course focuses on how IT professionals and non-technical managers work together to ensure that applications and data are aligned with organizational strategy and business processes. The cases and readings examine how companies in various industries use IT to serve customers well, manage operations efficiently, coordinate with business partners, and make better business decisions. A key theme -- IT as a double-edged sword -- reflects a central challenge: how to maximize the strategic benefits of investments in hardware and software, while minimizing accompanying technical and business risks. The course places equal weight on technical and managerial skills. Our primary objective is to help students prepare to be effective contributors to IT initiatives in partnership with IT professionals, including external service providers here and abroad. Course Learning Objectives: · Understand how information systems – comprised of...
Words: 7908 - Pages: 32
...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...
Words: 594 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 418 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 2346 - Pages: 10
...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 | ...
Words: 804 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 445 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 795 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 509 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 1026 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 961 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 841 - Pages: 4
