CASE – 1 Your Job and Your Passion—You Can Pursue
Both!
The 21st century offers many challenges to every one of us. As more
firms go global, as more economies interconnect, and as the Web blasts away
boundaries to communication, we become more informed citizens. This
interconnectedness means that the organizations you work for will require you
to develop both general and specialized knowledge—such as speaking multiple
languages, using various software applications, or understanding details of
financial transactions. You will have to develop general management skills to
foster your ability to be self-reliant and thrive in a changing market-place.
And here’s the exciting part: As you build both types of knowledge, you may be
able to integrate your growing expertise with the causes or activities you care
most ….
dislike, what you know and what you want to
learn, what you fear and what you dream. Then try the following exercise.
Questions
1.
Create a
three-column chart in which the first column lists nonmanagement skills you
have. Are you good at travel? Do you know how to build furniture? Are you a
whiz at sports statistics? Are you an innovative cook? Do you play video games
for hours? In the second column, list the causes or activities about which you
are passionate. These may dovetail with the first list, but they might not.
2.
Once you
have you two columns complete, draw lines between entries that seem compatible.
If you are good at building furniture, you might have also listed a concern
about families who are homeless. Remember that not all entries will find a
match—the idea is to begin finding some connections.
3.
In the
third column, generate a list of firms or organizations you know about that
reflect your interests. If you are good at building furniture, you might be
interested working for the Habitat for Humanity organization, or you might find
yourself gravitating towards a furniture retailer like Ikea or Ethan Allen. You
can do further research on organizations via Internet or business publications.
CASE – 2 Biyani – Pioneering a Retailing Revolution
in India
“I use people as hands and
legs. I prefer to do thinking around here.”
─ Kishore Biyani, CEO & MD,
Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd.
Kishore Biyani (Biyani), CEO& MD of Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd.,
planned to have 30 Food Bazaar outlets, 22 outlets in Big Bazaar, 21 Pantaloons
outlets, and four seamless malls under the Central logo, by the end of 2005. He
also planned to launch at least three businesses every year and had already
selected music, footwear and car accessories as his next areas of investments.
He was already the top retailer in India followed by Raghu Pillai of RPG. As of
2004, Biyani headed a company that had a turnover of Rs 6,500 million and
operated 13 Pantaloon apparel stores, 9 Big Bazaars, 13 Food Bazaars, and 3
seamless malls (Central), one each located in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune.
Biyani’s journey from a person who looked after his family business to
India’s top retailer in 1987, when he launched Manz Wear Pvt. Ltd. The company
launched one of the first readymade trousers brands – ‘Pantaloon’ – in the
country. The company also launched its first jeans brand called ‘Bare’ in 1989.
On September 20, 1991, Manz Wear Pvt. Ltd. went public and on September 25,
1992, it changed its name to Pantaloon Fashions (India) Limited (PFIL). ‘John
Miller’ was the first formal shirt brand from PFIL.
The company opened its first apparel stores,
called ‘Pantaloons’ at Kolkata in August 1997. The stores generated Rs 70
million. Biyani then realized the potential of the Indian market and started to
aggressively tap it. Accordingly, Biyani decided to expand into other segments
of retailing besides apparel. To reflect this change in focus, the company
changed its name to Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited (PRIL) in July 1999 and
set itself a target of achieving Rs 10 billion in sales by June 2005. In course
of time he launched three other retail formats -- Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, and
Central.
Biyani didn’t believe in copying ideas from
western retailers. He was critical of his peers who felt just copied ideas form
the west without making any effort to mold them to Indian conditions. He
ensured that his store formats such as Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, and …
about the product. His decision making was
quick and devoid of unnecessary delays. Biyani was also a good learner and
learned quickly from his mistakes. He planned to improve inventory management
through responding effectively to the demands of the customers rather than
forecasting them, as he felt that forecasting would pile up the inventory in
this dynamic market.
Questions
1.
The
tremendous success of the ‘Pantaloons’, ‘Big Bazaar’ and ‘Food Bazaar’
retailing formats, easily made PRIL the number one retailer in India by early
2004, in terms of turnover and retail area occupied by its outlets. Explain how
Biyani is further planning to consolidate his businesses.
2.
“Our
striving toward looking at the Indian market differently and strategizing with
the evolving customer helped us perform better.” What other qualities of
Kishore Biyani do you think were instrumental in making him top retailer of
India?
CASE – 3 The New Frontier for Fresh Foods
Supermarkets
Fresh Foods Supermarket is a grocery store chain that was established in
the Southeast 20 years ago. The company is now beginning to expand to other
regions of the United States. First, the firm opened new stores along the
eastern seaboard, gradually working its way up through Maryland and Washington,
DC, then through New York and New jersey, and on into Connecticut and
Massachusetts. It has yet to reach the northern New England states, but
executives have decided to turn their attention to the Southwest, particularly
because of the growth of population there.
Vivian Noble, the manager of one of the
chain’s most successful stores in the Atlanta area, has been asked to relocate
to Phoenix, Arizona, to open and run a new Fresh Foods Supermarket. She has
decided to accept the job, but she knows it will be a challenge. As an African
American woman, she has faced some prejudice during her career, but she refuses
to be stopped by a glass ceiling or any other barrier. She understands that she
will be living and working …………………………………………………………………………………………………………
and otherwise assist customers who speak
little or no English. Noble believes that she is a pioneer of sorts, guiding
Fresh Foods Supermarkets into a new frontier. “The sky is almost blue here,”
she says of her new home state. “And there’s no glass ceiling between me and
the sky.”
Questions
1.
What
steps can Vivian Noble take to recruit and develop her new workforce?
2.
What
other ways can Noble help her company reach out to the community?
3.
How will
Fresh Foods Supermarkets as whole benefit from successfully moving into this
new region of the country?
CASE – 4 The Law Offices of Jeter, Jackson, Guidry,
and Boyer
THE EVOLUTION OF THE FIRM
David Jeter and Nate Jackson started a small general law practice in
1992 near Sacramento, California. Prior to that, the two had spent five years
in the district attorney’s office after completing their formal schooling. What
began as a small partnership—just the two attorneys and a
paralegal/assistant—had now grown into a practice that employed more than 27
people in three separated towns. The current staff included 18 attorneys (three
of whom have become partners), three paralegals, and six secretaries.
For the first time in the firm’s existence,
the partners felt that they were losing control of their overall operation. The
firm’s current caseload, number of employees, number of clients, travel
requirements, and facilities management needs had grown far beyond anything
that the original partners had ever imagined.
Attorney Jeter called a meeting of the
partners to discuss the matter. Before the meeting, opinions about the pressing
problems of the day and proposed solutions were sought from the entire staff.
The meeting resulted in a formal decision to create a new position, general
manager of operations. The partners proceeded to compose a job description and
job announcement for recruiting purposes.
Highlights and responsibilities of the job
description include:
· Supervising day-to-day office personnel and
operations (phones, meetings, word processing, mail, billings, payroll, general
overhead, and maintenance).
· Improving customer relations (more
expeditious processing of cases and clients).
· Expanding the customer base.
· Enhancing relations with the local
communities.
· Managing the annual budget and related
incentive programs.
· Maintaining annual growth in sales of 10
percent while maintaining or exceeding the current profit margin.
The general manager will provide an annual executive summary to the
partners, along with specific action plans for improvement and change. A search
…
run the firm would achieve all of its goals.
Howser pointed out that people in general are resistant to change. The partners
met for drinks later that day and looked at each other with a great sense of
uncertainty. Should they ride out the storm as Howser suggested? Had they done
the right thing in creating the position and hiring Howser? What had started as
a seemingly, wise, logical, and smooth sequence of events had now become a
crisis.
Questions
1.
Do you
agree with Howser’s suggestion to “sit tight and ride out the storm,” or should
the partners take some action immediately? If so, what actions specifically?
2.
Assume
that the creation of the GM—Operation position was a good decision. What
leadership style and type of individual would you try to place in this position?
3.
Consider
your own leadership style. What types of positions and situations should you
seek? What types of positions and situation should you seek to avoid? Why?
CASE – 5 The Grizzly Bear Lodge
Diane and Rudy Conrad own a small lodge outside Yellowstone National
Park. Their lodge has 15 rooms that can accommodate up to 40 guests, with some
rooms set up for families. Diane and Rudy serve a continental breakfast on
weekdays and a full breakfast on weekends, included in the room they charge.
Their busy season runs from May through September, but they remain open until
Thanksgiving and reopen in April for a short spring season. They currently …
the expansion process. “This is our dream
business,” says Rudy. “We’re only at the beginning.”
Questions
1.
Discuss
how Rudy and Diane can use feedforward, concurrent, and feedback controls both
now and in future at the Grizzly Bear Lodge to ensure their guests’
satisfaction.
2.
What
might be some of the fundamental budgetary considerations the Conrads would
have as they plan the expansion of their logic?
3.
Describe
how the Conrads could use market controls plans and implement their
expansion.
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