American Connector Company

Assignment Questions:
1.How serious is the threat of DJC to American Connector Company? 2.How bug are the cost differences between DJC’s plant and American Connector’s Sunnyvale plant? Consider both DJC’s performance in Kawasaki and its potential in the United States. 3.What accounts for these differences? How much of the differences is inherent in the way each of the two companies compete? How much is due strictly to differences in the efficiency of hte operations? 4.What should American Connector’s management at the Sunnyvale plant do?

Jet Blue
Assignment Questions:
(a) How would you describe JetBlue’s operations strategy prior to the November 2005 adoption of the E190?
(b) Compare the economics of the E190 and A320 for JetBlue. What are the key drivers of profitability for each type of plane?
(c) Do you agree with JetBlue’s decision to add the E190 to its fleet? Be prepared to state the retionale for your decision.
(d)How should JetBlue slow down the growth of its fleet? Should it cut growth in A320 capacity, E190 capacity, or both?

New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
Assignment Questions:
(a) Evaluate New Balance’s current operations strategy. What are the key decisions implicit in this strategy?
(b) Assuming that the total U.S. market for athletic footwear was 400 million pairs in 2005, how costly was New Balance decision to maintain 25% of its manufacturing in the United States? What is your assessment of that decision?
(c) How should Davises react to Adidas’ planned acquisition of Reebok? What aspects of New Balance’s operations strategy should they change?
(d) Moving forward, how important is the NB2E initiative for New Balance?

Crown Equipment Corporation: Design Services Strategy
Assignment Questions:
1.What has been Crown’s competitive strategy? What role has design played in supporting this strategy? What role has operations played in supporting this strategy?
2.Why has Crown’s 30-year relationship with RichardsonSmith (RS) been so successful? How might this relationship change under the new ownership of RS?
3.How would you characterize Crown’s distinctive competence?
4.How would you advise Tom Bidwell regarding the vertical integration of design?

Michigan Manufacturing Corporation
Assignment Questions:
1.Study Exhibit 2 in the case carefully. Can you explain why overhead costs vary so greatly from plant to plant in Michigan Manufacturing’s system?
2.Why have managers in the Heavy Equipment Division underinvested in the Pontiac Plant? 3. Should Noelle Allen close the Pontiac Plant? If so, what should she do with the products currently manufactured in Pontiac? Should she follow the recommendations of her task force? If you believe she should continue to operate the plant, what, if anything, should she do to transform it into a profitable operations?

Eli Lilly and Company: Manufacturing Process Technology Strategy Assignment Questions:
1.How has the competitive environment in pharmaceuticals been changing over the past few years? What are the implications for the role of manufacturing within Wli Lilly?
2.How does each facilities option affect Lilly’s cost structure capacity management and product development capabilities? For what type of products does the proposed flexible facility provide an efficient (i.e. low cost) manufacturing capability?
3.What type of flexibility does the “flexible facility” provide? What is the value of this flexibility to Eli Lilly? How much is Lilly paying for this flexibility?
4.Given Lilly’s strategic goals in the 1990s, which option should Steve
Mueller recommend? Are there other options that Lilly should be contemplating? If so, what are they?

ITT Automotive: Global Manufacturing Strategy
Assignment Questions:
1.What are the implications for both cost and flexibility of automation? Do you agree with teh assertion made by one of the managers in the case : “If you automate, you stagnate?”
2.What are your recommendations regarding the issue of standardizing process technology across all the plants? Are there motives behind the proposal, other than those stated in the case?
3.As Juergen Geissinger, how would you go about implementing your recommendations? How would you overcome resistance from the plants? As Dickerson, the plant manager at Asheville, North Carolina, what line of reasoning would you use to convince senior management that full automation is the less desirable alternative?
4. As Klaus Lederer, what options would you like to see pursued? How do various options fit into the broader corporate strategy of ITT Automotive?

Stermon Mills Inc
Assignment Questions:
1.Evaluate the strategic and (where possible) the financial implications of the four flexibility improvement options being presented to Stan Kiefner. (Note: in performing your initial analysis , you may assume that all variable production costs due to yield loss are recoverable through in-plant recycling, and you may ignore the impact of the marketing information provided in Exhibit 10).
2.How does the marketing information contained in Exhibit 10 change your evaluation of Option 3?
3.What recommendation would you make to Mr. Kiefner? On what basis would you try to persuade him that your proposal is best for Stermon Mills?

4.How will you know if Stermon has made progress on its manufacturing flexibility improvement plan?
Delamere Vineyard
Assignment Questions:
1.What are Delamere’s sterngths and weaknesses? What does it deliver to customer that other Vineyards do not? What does it take to be outstanding in the Wine business?
2.What type of uncertainty does Richardson face?
3.What does ‘quality’ means in winemaking?
4.What principles and concepts should one apply to improving a production system such as winemaking?
5.What should Richarson do? How will his personality and experience shape his decision?

Australian Paper Manufacturers (A)
Assignment Questions:
1.What opportunities and risks did Ken McRae face as he contemplated taking APM into the fine papers market? Be specific with respect to technological, operations, and capital investment (as well as other) considerations?
2.How has the environment fared in this battle?
3. As Ken McRae, what technology and operations strategy options are available? Which do you think he ought to pursue? Why?
South West Airlines in a different world
Assignment Questions:
Q1. Why has Southwest been so much more successful than its competitors?
Q2. How has the original strategy been altered in recent years? How, if at all, have these changes affected Southwest’s key success factors?
Q3. What kinds of things over which Southwest’s leadership has some control could go wrong? what should be done to make sure they don’t happen?
Q4. Based on your response to questions 3, what further changes, if any, need to be made by Southwest’s leadership in the face of competitive moves and general economic conditions?
Q5. Would you recommend that Southwest Airlines acquire the gates and slots available at LaGuardia? Why?