Carefully read the case study Managed by Q (posted in this module) and answer the following

questions.

1.) Describe the typical problems with firms that provide cleaning and janitorial services, and how Q aims to solve these problems (and in doing so, separate itself from the competition)?

2.) Briefly describe the typical work that Qs operators do.

3.) Describe the subcontracting method that is popular in the commercial cleaning industry. Then describe Qs different approach (answer in 1-2 paragraphs).

4.) Briefly describe how Q hires its employees? What do you think are some advantages and

disadvantages of this approach (answer in 2-3 paragraphs).

5.) Describe the company culture at Q. How does management foster this kind of culture? Why is this kind of culture important for Qs business strategy? (answer in about two paragraphs).

6.) Consider Exhibit 7 specifically, the two panels that compare the financials between Q and a typical Non-Q firm. Note that this spreadsheet uses the term churn, although what they really mean is turnover. So employee churn is the number of employees that leave the firm on an annual basis, client churn is the number of clients that leave the firm (i.e., no longer do business with the cleaning service) in a given year, etc. On what metrics does Q do better than its typical competitor? On what metrics does Q do worse? Finally, discuss how the factors you identified impact the difference in profits between the Q and non-Q firm (gross profits are listed on the last line of the chart).

7.) Examine exhibit 10, and in particular the directions for interviewers when conducting one on one interviews (listed on pages 20-21 of the text). Do you think these are good guidelines for interviewers? Are there any guidelines you would add (answer in 1-2 paragraphs)?

8.) Finally, using all information presented in the case and the exhibits, answer the question posed at the beginning of the case study Should Q focus on acquiring more customers in its existing markets and increasing the revenue from each customer by offering more services? Or should it keep expanding into new markets? (There is no right answer here, but grade depends on how well you justify your argument using information from the case. Answer in about three paragraphs).