Case Studies

SBM 1000

Small Business Management

Case studies bring important concepts to life in actual situations by allowing

students to problem solve real life situations and come to conclusions. The purpose of this assignment is to get you actively engaged in integrating your learning and applying the topics from the course to current business scenarios. These cases should provide you with opportunities to further enhance your understanding of ways to improve the organizations/departments in which you will work. It will also help to foster your long-term understanding of management and leadership, and the complexity of the issues managers/leaders must face.

For the case studies ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS of the case and any additional questions assigned by the instructor. The write-up should be a minimum of 3 pages in length (word document). Case studies will be downgraded by 10 pts if turned in late.

· Wal-Mart Case: Customer Profiling

1. Why has Wal-Mart been so much more successful than its competitors?

2. What market segment does its business model attract?

3. What is Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage?

4. Please list and explain all the factors that contributed to Wal-Mart’s failure entering the Chinese market?

5. What mistakes did Wal-Mart make profiling their Chinese customers?

6. If you were the manager in charge of this international expansion, how would handle this situation? Please provide a plan of action.

7. based on your analysis, what would you advise the Wal-Mart’s Board of Directors to do? Should Wal-Mart remain in China or should they opt to withdraw from the market?

· Harley Davidson: New Ventures and Competitors

1. How was Harley Davidson established? As a new business, what was its branding strategy? What challenges did they face at the beginning of their existence?

2. How did the entry of Japanese bikes into the market affect Harley Davidson?

3. What was the niche market Honda discovered? What strategies did they employ to enter the US motorcycle industry?

4. What strategies did Harley Davidson employ to compete against Honda?

5. After visiting the Japanese factory, what changes did Harley Davidson make? How did employee involvement and leadership structure change?

6. As a future entrepreneur, what are three lessons you learned from this case?