Case studies

An employee&s husband made violent threats to the store manager of a Las Vegas shop specializing in skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products of an international company. The manager wanted the employee terminated. The employee confessed that her husband also threatened her. The employee's personnel file contained no performance problems, but the store manager admitted that she had kept a separate file with such documentation. The Executive Director and the Director of Human Resource Management wondered what they should do.

Arizona Snowbowl, a ski area located in northern Arizona, experienced several years of inadequate snowfall resulting in both operating losses and negative cash flows. The CEO had to decide whether to commit $750,000 for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) related to a proposed $19.77 million snowmaking project that uses reclaimed wastewater. U.S. Forest Service approval was required. Data for this case were obtained from the EIS that the Snowbowl submitted to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Estimated skier days, revenue levels, capital costs and interest rates are provided to facilitate the decision modeling process. Students are expected to analyze the financial information and decide whether or not undertaking the EIS project is cost effective while taking into account the possibility that the regulatory and legal system might not allow the project to go forward.

Threadneedle Investments, a leading UK Investment management company, was engaged in strategic discussions about future growth in its retail mutual funds business. The firm's Vice Chairman, Alan Ainsworth, was leading the discussion of strategic alternatives. The following options were being considered: expanding distribution of its funds in the UK by distributing directly; expanding its presence in the UK through the independent financial advisor (IFA)network; and/or building a larger presence in Germany, where Threadneedle was already established. The case takes place in June 2000 and draws much of its rationale and immediacy from the great bull market of the 1990's and the arrival of a new millennium. Investors were looking for new investment media to capture these returns. The case is based on field research including conversations with Mr. Ainsworth and his associates, internal company documents, interviews with experts in the field and library research.

The case takes place in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a booming regional tourist and commercial center located on the Arab (Persian) Gulf coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The story describes Vijay, the Indian (East Asian) entrepreneur, his personality, background, motivations and management style. The focus of the case is on how this entrepreneur grows the business over the seven years leading up to the decision to launch a travel club targeted toward East Asian travelers in the region. The details of the new venture are chronicled from inception to its eventual closure four years later under desperate financial circumstances. The richness of the case is enhanced by the inclusion of details of the legal, economic and cultural factors that define the business context and business risks. The case provides an interesting and informative view of a part of the world that is “in the news” but largely remains a mystery to the typical North American student.

This case presents the challenges facing a new pastor at Whitney Avenue Congregational church. For many years the church has seen declining membership. Karl, the new pastor, is expected to help foster growth, but as he has learned, some organization members fear that he may want to change more than they would like to see changed. Karl must decide how to conduct himself at the next church council meeting. He also must decide on an approach to effect positive change in the organization.

The strategic management literature states that firms who wish to have a competitive advantage through high customer service (rapid response) and product differentiation need to restructure their organization into empowered, self-managed work units so as to ensure that there is “value-added” at each stage of the value chain. (Porter, 1985; Hill and Jones, 2001) In this case, Vanguard altered part of its structure through the development of teams in order to maximize its operations; and given their results Vanguard successfully put theory into practice. When the major supporter of team management, Mike Wesley, leaves the firm, he is replaced by Wendy Kiefer, a strong supporter of team structures. Her replacement, Shari Lastarza, however is the “old” assembly manager and does not buy into the team concept. Could this be anything but a formula for disaster?