An Introduction To The Case Method [Lecture Notes Sav]
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Lecture Slides for "An Introduction to the Case Method". How to approach a business school case and an example case analysis: "Nike Business Class Travel"
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An Introduction To The Case Method [Lecture Notes Sav]
- 1. The Case Method How to Approach and Analyze a MBA Case for Class Discussion
- 18. *****Break***** Next: Nike Business Class Travel
- 23. Coach anyone?
- 24. Business Class Travel (A380)…
- 32. “ Spend the companies money like it was your own” Like Ted described as the “Old Days”
Editor's Notes
- What really are the problems which this manager has to solve? Too often in real life situations, managers manipulate the facts and figures without specifying the real problem.
- Discussion Questions: NIKE (B1) 1. What should NIKE's air travel policy be? There are several options which might be explored: - Employees should use own judgment - Employee's judgment with approval of supervisor. - Employees may upgrade to business class on "transoceanic" or long flights. - Coach travel only permitted. The instructor should make an effort to get as many options up on the board as possible before exploring any one in detail. The options should be listed in the same order in which they appear in this note. That is, from a high amount of individual freedom to a rigid corporate policy Now, participants can be asked to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option. In terms of the organizational impact of various policies, there are obvious trade-offs between loose and tight policies. - Loose policies, i.e., "employees should use their own judgment" recognizes that there is no one answer that is right all of the time. A tall manager may need a business class seat in order to be comfortable on any flight. - Another manager may have a report to write, and need the space of a business class seat to do it. Other managers may be perfectly comfortable in a coach seat, or know that coach will be empty enough to spread out. - A loose policy in effect, says that the company trusts its employees to make the right decision. - A tight policy, however, like "employees may only upgrade on flights over 5 hours" says that the important thing is standardization. As Ray says on page 3 of the case, "It provides a consistency that people can count on. That is only fair." There are of course, trade-offs involved. - Loose policies allow the organization to remain fluid, flexible, and to respond quickly as events dictate. Loose policies also give managers a sense of control and freedom which is very motivating. As Ted says on page 3, "We were good because we were flexible, could respond quickly, could do the right thing to get the job done. I'm afraid these policies will undermine that." On the negative side, however, loose policies can create organizational slack, and cost the company a significant amount of money Travel costs are probably quite high for a company which is both international and based in Beaverton, Oregon. - Tight policies prevent this from happening. Bill describes the problem with loose policies that a tight policy overcomes (page 3): " you know some jerk is going to decide that he needs to travel first class, and then other people will see that and think they should be doing it at some point it gets to be real money." This also surfaces another attribute of the tight policy—consistency. On the downside, however, there is some overhead cost associated with administering policies. Finally, these policies—often called red tape—do distract managers from their real task at hand, and may cause frustration and decrease motivation. At one level, students may discuss their own views of air travel. In essence, this is a debate about how much a manager's time and comfort is worth. Participants who recommend a formal policy can also be asked to draft—in class—a statement of what they think NIKE's travel policy should be. The instructor can press these individuals by using proposed "exceptions" to test how difficult it really is to formulate a good policy.
- What is NIKE's policy now? This question gets to the issue of "what is a policy?" There are several alternative views of what NIKE's current policy is. - What is written down on paper: NIKE's "Travel and Entertainment Policy" states that (case page 2). Employees should arrange trips through their department manager's secretary, if possible. Every effort should be extended to take advantage of special rates offered by airlines. Remember that coach class is not necessarily the least expensive. First class service may be used only when the above service is not available, and with approval of the employee's supervisor. - What is commonly understood, page 2 states: Managers did report a common understanding that employees were to travel coach class, and stories circulated informally of managers occasionally being "called on the carpet" for upgrading to business class. Yet both of these policies conflict with the guideline which is stated in NIKE's philosophy: Spend the company's money like it was your own. And, this guideline seems in line with the policy that Ted describes as characterizing the "old days" (page 3): You
- Get options from students List from loose (on top) to rigid (on bottom) Discuss trade off’s: loose = flexible, fluid, responsive Rigid – standardized and control of costs.