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MGMT 050 Homework #
MGMT 050 – Principles of Management
Homework Assignment
September 23, 2008
Due: September 25, 2008
50 points
Use additional paper as needed…
Name_______________________________
A. Create a Means-Ends Chain (10 points)
C.J.’s is a restaurant chain with 684 outlets in 41 states. The chain’s restaurants serve over 300, customers per day. C.J.’s competes with chains such as Applebee’s and Chili’s, catering to the more than 40% of adults who eat out at a restaurant on a typical day.
Recently, however, C.J.’s revenues have leveled off. The chain’s marketing department reports that more and more customers are opting for a low-carb diet. C.J.’s signature fried onion appetizers and home fries are perceived as unhealthy.
President Ethan Webber has convened his senior staff for a brainstorming session to change the company’s mission statements and develop a plan for implementing the new focus. The group has decided to change the chain’s menus, offer more low-carb options, refocus advertising, and cater more to health-conscious consumers.
- Develop a mission statement for C.J.’s reflecting its core business and the new approach.
- Develop four strategic goals for top management.
- Develop four tactical goals for district managers.
- Develop four operational goals for individual store managers.
MGMT 050 Homework #
B. In Spite of Much Uncertainty, Executive Planning and Execution Helped
Toyota to Design and Produce Its Hybrid, the Prius (15 points)
A company needs clear, elevating goals that people at all levels of the organization can understand and relate to. This case focuses on an idea that arose when Toyota’s chairman in 1993 expressed concern about the future of the automobile, which inspired a project known as G21 (for global 21st century), with the twin goals of developing new production methods and getting better fuel economy from the traditional combustion engine. Executive vice president AkirhiroWada, who was put in charge of the project, became intrigued with the concept of hybrid technology, which would place a gasoline engine alongside an electric one powered by batteries that would be recharged whenever the car coasted or braked. Although sales executives worried that the premium price would make the hybrid difficult to sell, the engineers, headed by Takeshi Uchiyamada, thought a concept car could be developed by 1995, just 12 months away. Still, skepticism prevailed within the company, on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, about whether hybrids could drive premium pricing. Even when the Prius, as it was called, was finally unveiled in Japan in 1997 and received a surprisingly good reception, U.S. Toyota executives still worried about its prospects as a small car with a big price. But American buyers liked the car anyway because of its improved fuel economy, lower emissions, and advanced technology. ..
_1. What is your evaluation of the planning process used by Toyota? Discuss.
- What types of uncertainty were faced by the development team and members of TMS in California?
- Which of the four basic strategy types were used by Toyota? Explain your rationale.
- What is your feeling about the vision Katsuaki Watanabe has for hybrids? Do you think his vision can_ be achieved? Explain.
MGMT 050 Homework #
D. Should Home Depot Expand into China? (15 points)
In this case, which was written about in May 2006, Home Depot Inc. is considering whether to enter the home-improvement market in China, where private homeownership has skyrocketed in recent years—to 70% of all housing today. The biggest problem is that several home-improvement competitors—Homemart, Homeway, Orient Home, and British-owned B&Q—are already well established in China. Moreover, the way home improvement works in China is vastly different from the Home Depot model in the U.S.: in China, people who buy newly constructed homes buy concrete shells and are obliged to do all the interior finishing work, including installing inner walls, doors, wiring, and pipes. The Chinese home-improvement stores don’t just dispense advice and sell materials, as the U.S. Home Depot stores do; they offer a complete package, including designing the floor plan, helping choose materials, and providing installation work, including provision of the installation crew. If Home Depot goes ahead, it would have to train thousands of staffers to do such floor-to-ceiling installation, something it doesn’t do in the U.S.
1. Based on Michael Porter’s discussion of the characteristics of an effective strategy, does Home Depot _have a good strategy when it comes to China? Discuss.
- To what extent is Home Depot following the five steps of the strategic-management process?
- Conduct a SWOT analysis of Home Depot’s potential expansion into China and recommend whether_ the company should enter the home improvement market in China. 1) Strengths
2) Weaknesses
3) Opportunities
4) Threats
4. To what extent will Porter’s five competitive forces help or hurt Home Depot’s potential entry into China? Explain.
- Which of the three core processes of any business are going to create the biggest problems for a Home Depot expansion in China? Discuss your rationale.
