Identify which functionary/department in the company would be an appropriate decision-maker?

1. Becton Dickinson & Co. is a phenomenally successful healthcare company, with an 80% market share in the blood collection needles and syringes market. Its largest division is reviewing the structure and staffing of the division's marketing organization. The division has the authorization to hire an additional marketing manager. The immediate issues for decision are: a) whether to hire an additional manager; and b) if so, what should be the roles and responsibilities of the new manager within the marketing organization. Industry developments, budgetary considerations, and changing field sales and service requirements make this a complex decision with larger implications for the division's marketing strategy and implementation.
2. Ohmeda, a wholly owned company of the BOC Group, plans to grow the company's sales from $95 million in 1985 to $158 million in five years by focusing on the sale of "high-tech" equipment. At the same time the company expects to sell Ohmeda's medical supplies business ($22 million in sales) and to transfer its medical gases business ($27.2 million in sales) to another business unit of the BOC Group. The changes in Ohmeda's products combined with the planned growth in medical equipment cause the decision-maker to reassess the company's marketing system. The new thrust requires him to review the role of Ohmeda's direct sales and dealer sales coverage. In doing so, the economics of three options are to be evaluated: a) continuing with Ohmeda's present system, b) eliminating dealer sales coverage, and specializing sales people by product group.

3. Advanced Medical Technology Corp, a Japan-based company is one of the largest manufacturers of advanced ceramic products. It must decide whether to lend $8 million to a rapidly growing, high technology company. The company has had a series of relationships with three other banks. Reports from loan officers at these banks are mixed and raise questions as to the ease with which a relationship would proceed. The full range of issues must be considered in evaluating the credit worthiness (character, collateral, capacity, conditions, pricing). The decision-maker must also determine how much weight to place on a comfort letter from a major pharmaceutical firm.

4. To develop the next generation of risky products, ALZA, a mature and profitable biotechnology firm specializing in drug delivery systems, must raise $40 million to establish a new research and development subsidiary. Organizational constraints and competitive concerns demand that the work be done inside the firm. However, accounting considerations and concerns about shareholders' reactions to the introduction of new risks to the firm lead the decision-maker to consider off-balance-sheet means to finance the new venture. To finance the new venture, the firm's finance department creates a new financing vehicle, a unit consisting of callable common stock plus warrants. The decision is whether to go in for the new finance option or not.

5. The Bibb Co. is a major manufacturer of sheets, towels, and accessories, leading the industry in juvenile sheets. Under increasing pressure from its mass merchandiser customers (e.g. Sears, Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney) for shorter order lead times and more rapid (and on-time) delivery, the company has to find a way to decrease production lead time without increasing finished goods inventory.

6. The European organization of Alden Products, Inc. is contemplating a doubling of unit sales over the next ten years. Their largest plant, located in Holland, was set up 25 years earlier to supply all demands of the EEC countries on the continent. It has since expanded six times. Should it expand again? Should it build a new plant in Southern Europe? Or should it increase subcontracting?

7. In 1986, First Chicago Corp. was faced with a dilemma. The banking industry has been deregulated, many corporations are bypassing banks in their search for capital, and foreign competition has increased. Their traditional market - corporate banking, has eroded. The strategy chosen is to strengthen their corporate banking business by adding investment banking to its portfolio of products, and distinguishing itself as a "relationship" bank. They want to maintain strong "relationships" with customers, while also developing strong investment banking capabilities. To achieve this strategic objective, the company faces three problems: recruiting and keeping investment bankers, motivating "relationship managers" (RM's) (who see career success in terms of moving away from client contact and up the managerial hierarchy), and getting the investment bankers and RM's to work together. How to resolve the dilemma?

8. AES Corp. develops and operates electric power plants all over the world, and by late 1996, has approximately 20,000 employees. But, the corporation has no human resources staff, either at corporate headquarters in Arlington, VA, or in any of its operating facilities. Moreover, the company has very little centralized staff at all--little or no strategic planning, no environmental department, and almost no legal staff. The question is: Could and should the company continue to operate in this same way, with little specialized staff, as it continues to expand and geographically diversify? Who should decide?

9. As J.C. Penney's new communications architecture is being put in place, the company must consider how best to position the company as a dominant electronic retailer. The company must exploit its electronic links with customers, suppliers, business partners, and its vast network of retail stores in order to achieve this objective. How should the Internet retail web site be designed to reach the corporate goal?

10. When BellSouth Enterprises decided to aggressively pursue the international cellular market, it needed new software in order to cope with the complexities of cellular billing and the country-specific variations in the international cellular market. BellSouth has to decide whether to enter into a strategic alliance with TeleSciences.