Case studies

Bright Lights is a small non-profit organization in Lincoln, NE offering a summer enrichment program to school aged children. Post 9/11, the organization faces challenges in its efforts to sustain financial resources. With enrollment and course offerings on the rise, funding is more important than ever. At the second to the last meeting of the year at which budgets are established, the Bright Lights' Board of Directors asked the Executive Director, Kathy Hanrath, and the Co-Owner/Director of Education Services, Barb Hoppe, to come up with some alternatives for fundraising top present at the final yearly meeting. Kathy has recently attended some sessions on franchising at a local entrepreneurship conference and would like to explore franchising as an option for Bright Lights growth. Kathy feels that franchising might have the potential to both increase performance and funding. This case focuses on issues associated with the exploration of franchising as a method of distribution and capital acquisition for a social organization. It calls attention to the appropriate situations for franchising, the importance of organizational assessment for franchise readiness, and other legal, economical, and organizational considerations.

The ‘Game’ is really a multi-industry case that aims at developing participants' awareness of the links between firms' strategic choices and the financial structures the choices engender. Participants are provided with Balance Sheet percentages and common ratios for firms in 12 different industries and list of different businesses and asked to match the figures with the kind of business. The goal is for participants to understand how industries' operating models impose certain financial structures.

The case is run as a kind of mystery game but leads to rather sophisticated analysis of industry and business models. The case leads students to a better understanding of the essential concepts of a business strategy course: 1) external analysis by helping students ‘see’ the structures of different industries; 2) making clear the link between the competencies and capabilities needed by firms in their internal environment to successfully compete in their industries by matching the key success factors at work; 3) providing a tangible illustrations of the competencies that must be developed to successfully pilot business strategies like cost leadership and differentiation; and, 4) developing insight into integration and outsourcing strategies and their effects.

A detailed Teaching Note accompanies the case.

This is an illustrative case analyzing shareholder and accounting outcomes and legal issues resulting from a merger of two major publicly traded companies. In today's business world, the “urge to merge” is tempered by heightened shareholder activism. In response to this activism, boards must proceed with care when negotiating mergers. Challenges to mergers that appear to be in the shareholders' best interest occur often. As is the case here, shareholders and their well funded legal representatives, seek damages for alleged bad decisions. Conoco Oil and Phillips Petroleum announced their intention to merge in November 2001. At that time the cost of gasoline spiraled ever upward and large oil firms put heavy competitive pressure on smaller oil producer/refiners. The merger described as a “merger of equals”, intimated that neither Conoco nor Phillips shareholders would receive a financial advantage (or disadvantage) over other merging shareholders following the completion of the merger. Immediately following the announcement, Michael Iorio, a Conoco shareholder, filed a lawsuit, claiming damages to Conoco shareholders from the merger of the two firms.

This is the fourth in a series of articles about case research, writing, teaching, and reviewing. In this article, the protagonist, Prof. Moore, consults experienced case teachers and learns many different approaches to use in the classroom. The article is written as if it were a case; it is fictitious.

Erick Wilson and Richard Hyche, managers of Hughes Family Furniture Store in Charlotte N.C. are exploring new ways to motivate their sales force to sell more of one of their most profitable items, a Furniture Protection Plan. They are considering a new compensation plan but are concerned about how this new change might affect their sales force.

The Congregation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (CBVM), a Catholic order founded in the early 1800s, was faced with a series of strategic concerns, including an aging clerical population, a changing laity, reduced finances, very limited vocations, and an evolving mission. Some of these concerns faced the Catholic Church in America as a whole (including sexual abuse, not discussed in this case) and several of these issues were also facing the Catholic Church worldwide. The serious matters facing them were threatening the continued viability of the order in America, and the guidance they were receiving from Rome - instruction to decide which of three suggested models for restructuring they would adopt - seemed to back them into a corner, requiring selection from among several strategies not devised by their membership and commitment to the selected strategy going forward. Change was necessary, but one of the major concerns of the order was that it remain consistent with its stated mission while adapting to a new environment and “operating system.” Their decisions were driven by Rome, but the decisions were not made by Rome; the CBVM was as autonomous in its decision-making as any decentralized international organization.

This case involves an experience in large group visioning, specifically the processes of developing and building consensus around institutional goals and objectives. It takes place at a point roughly halfway through the process. The protagonist, Sally, is the project coordinator. At this point in the process, the participants have collectively invested hundreds of hours in the creation of widely diverse ideas for the future of the university. Her dilemma is the challenge of maintaining the commitment and support of the participants as the vision is reduced to a much shorter and more focused statement.

The case is based on archival data and interviews with 40 of the 300+ participants who were engaged in the process, including Sally, steering committee members, faculty, staff, and outside stakeholders (alumni and members of the board of directors). The Instructor's Manual provides key questions for future large group process consultants, OD professionals and students of organizational behavior and leadership, including references from the OD and visioning literature. An Epilogue provides the actual decision at the time of the challenge and its rationale.

Derived from field and telephone interviews, e-mail communications, and secondary sources, this two part case describes how Gerald Mahoney, a shoes salesman in a Foley's Department store, is faced with a problem - Macy's has bought out the Foley's chain and, in doing so, has upscale the product line of shoes and altered his commission-based compensation system. These changes have resulted in less sales for Mr. Mahoney and therein lower commission - a difficult situation since he, his wife, and his daughter were barely getting by on his currently salary. Part A of the case describes an opportunity that presents itself to Mr. Mahoney; to leave his current job with a guaranteed low salary with possible additional income from commissions for a job selling residential homes which becomes purely commission-based to start with after three months of a salary plus commission pay that includes job training. In Part B Mr. Mahoney has decided to take the sales job with ABC Home Builders and receives his assignment. He finds that the working conditions of the sales office are not conducive to selling. His office is located in the rear of a trailer that is extremely run down and is paired with a competitive, noncommunicative saleswoman. The case ends with Mr. Mahoney feeling hopeless and alienated.

This two part case has been written primarily for an undergraduate junior level course in career planning or sales management and deals with the issues of recruitment, placement, training, and compensation. The case may also be employed in a course dealing with human resource management (from an individual's perspective), salesmanship, and organizational behavior.

The case is a continuation of the series of articles, written in the form of a case, that focus upon various issues relating to case research, writing and teaching with cases. In this article Professor Moore and the other fictitious characters, confront the difficulties that he had experienced grading student case analyses. In discussing the situation with his department chair Gloria Gorham he learns much about the origins of grading and the various methods of evaluating student work. At a later date other colleagues, Chris Anderson and Dave Berger, are brought into the discussion expressing their views and providing rubrics for use in grading student case analyses.

On April 4, 2007, Don Imus, one of the company&s most popular talk show personalities made comments on the air regarding the Rutgers women&s basketball team. According to the transcription from Media Matters for America, Imus said, “ That&s some nappy-headed hos there. I&m gonna tell you that now, man, that&s some … woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like … kinda like … I don&t know.” At first, the comments did not seem out of the ordinary for one of radio&s “shock jocks.” However, as the public reaction grew, the situation changed considerably. Under pressure from the public, Moonves reluctantly suspended Imus. But it was too little too late. By the end of the day on April 11, analysts estimated that $2.5 million in advertising revenue was lost. On April 12, Moonves terminated Don Imus& contract.

After Moonves fired Imus, there was still a lot to consider. He really wanted a way for the company to meet the demands of the company&s stakeholders. In addition, he wanted to avoid any more distractions from the firm&s normal day-to-day operations.