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Welcome to Introduction to Business II

Administrative Studies University of Winnipeg

Getting to know each other


Networking getting to know people and their interests, making connections, acquaintances, friendships will be very helpful to your business career. Therefore, everyone is expected to know each and every fellow student in this class by name!

Please introduce yourself


Where are you from, where have you lived? What is your work experience? What do you plan to major in at U of W? What are your career plans? What are your extra curricular activities? Why have you chosen to take this course? What do you expect to learn from it?

The Case Method


Pioneered at Harvard Business School Learning through discussion of actual business situations (case studies) from the assumed role of the actual decision maker.
What would you do in this situation and why?

Shared Responsibility for Learning in the Case Method


You are responsible for achieving understanding of each case situation and developing a plan to address it!
There is no one right answer BUT that doesnt mean anything goes.

Every student must be involved in every class


Contributing analysis, ideas and insights Actively listening to learn from other students

Instructor only moderates the discussion!

Learning with the Case Method

Three Stages of Case Learning


Individual Preparation Small Group Discussion Full Class Discussion
Each stage takes learning to a higher level
There are no shortcuts! Each stage exhibits diminishing returns

The Case Method Process

How NOT to Prepare a Case


DO NOT dive right in and plow through the case word by word on your first time through! DO NOT try to memorize every detail about the situation! DO NOT crunch numbers just because they are there!

Individual Preparation an effective way


Read opening and closing paragraphs Examine tables and figures in exhibits Examine headings in the case Review case analysis guidelines Read first sentence of each paragraph Read closely, highlight, make notes, etc. Decide what you would do and why

Small Group Discussion


Every group member must have done thorough individual preparation Limit group time be aware of diminishing returns Test assumptions, calculations, be willing to modify your analysis Group consensus is not necessary

Full Class Discussion


Share your analysis, insights and expertise with classmates Listen thoughtfully to the contributions of others Relate your contributions to the ongoing flow of discussion; build on the contributions of others.

Lets try it with

Universal Pulp and Paper West Coast Division


(Ivey case #9A99D012)

Case Preparation, Step 1


Read first and last paragraphs of the case
Identify decision issue, and your role as decision maker Why has this decision issue arisen? What is the challenge (problem or opportunity) to be addressed?

Opening paragraph
Mike Garfield, the new plant manager of the West Coast Division of Universal Pulp and Paper, had just received a disturbing telephone call from his superior located at the companys head office. The head office staff had received several complaints from customers supplied by the West Coast Division.

Opening paragraph (cont)


These complaints concerned inferior product quality and increasingly late deliveries. Given only two weeks in which to investigate and report back to his superior, Mike Garfield wondered what, specifically, could be done quickly to improve the overall operating efficiency and effectiveness of his plant.

Closing paragraph
With demand for newsprint expected to increase from three million tons of paper this year to 3,680,000 tons next year, Mike knew the current complaints might be a sign of worse days ahead. As plant manager, Mike knew he was ultimately responsible for the efficiency and profitability of his plant. With this in mind, he set out to prepare his report to his superior at head office.

Pause for thought!


What is the decision issue here? What is your role as the decision maker? Why has this decision issue arisen? What is the challenge (problem or opportunity) to be addressed?

Case Preparation, Step 2


Read each subheading of the case Read the title of each exhibit
What kinds of information seem to be available in the case? Why is this information there? How might it be useful?

Subheadings in the text


The West Coast Division The Consumer The Production Process
Wood Processing Pulp Production Paper Production

The Complaints

Exhibit(s) at end of text


Plant and Equipment Investment
(in millions of dollars)

Capacity Enhancement Cost Study Results

Pause for thought!


What kinds of information seem to be available in the case? Why is this information there? How might it be useful?

Case Preparation, Step 3


Reread entire first paragraph, read subheadings and topic sentence of each paragraph, and reread entire last paragraph
What seems to be going on in the situation? What are we trying to accomplish? What sort of analysis is likely to be useful? What kind of alternatives are likely to arise?

Opening paragraph
Mike Garfield, the new plant manager of the West Coast Division of Universal Pulp and Paper, had just received a disturbing telephone call from his superior located at the companys head office. The head office staff had received several complaints from customers supplied by the West Coast Division.

Opening paragraph (cont)


These complaints concerned inferior product quality and increasingly late deliveries. Given only two weeks in which to investigate and report back to his superior, Mike Garfield wondered what, specifically, could be done quickly to improve the overall operating efficiency and effectiveness of his plant.

The West Coast Division


(first subheading and topic sentences)

The West Coast Division was a manufacturing operation involved in the processing of cut timer (wood) and the production of various paper products. The West Coast Division was a fully integrated operation, in that it produced and processed all of the wood pulp (raw material) it required for its manufacture of paper products.

The Consumer
(second subheading and topic sentences)

Although an endless number and variety of paper products were sold at the retail level, the West Coast Division plant supplied companies that produced or used paper products for two basic purposes:

The Consumer (cont)


(second subheading and topic sentences)

1. Approximately 95 per cent of the plants production was newsprint, used primarily in the production of daily newspapers. 2. The remaining five per cent of the plants production was used for specialty writing paper products.

The Consumer (cont)


(second subheading and topic sentences)

End consumers of these [specialty] paper products tended to buy infrequently and in small quantities. Mike Garfield recalled that, although the West Coast Division plant was originally designed primarily for the production of high volume, low-to-medium quality newsprint;

The Production Process (cont)


(third subheading and topic sentences)

The production process was quite complex at the West Coast plant, but could be simplified into three key components: wood processing, pulp production, and paper production.

The Production Process (cont)


(third subheading and topic sentences)

Wood Processing. The entire production process began with the receipt of wood logs. Once de-barked, the logs were moved to a chipper machine. The entire wood processing component of the production process could provide 730 tons of wood chips per hour.

The Production Process (cont)


(third subheading and topic sentences)

Pulp Production. Pulp, the key raw material for the production of paper, was produced using a complicated chemical process known as the Kraft process. Upon leaving the digesters, the digested chips entered a machine known as a blow tank. The pulp production facilities were capable of converting as much as eight million tons of wood chips into about four million tons of paper per year.

The Production Process (cont)


(third subheading and topic sentences)

Paper Production. The two papermaking machines in the West Coast plant were extremely large and involved an investment of about $500 million each. A paper-making machine had a wet end (where the diluted wood fibre pulp entered the process), and a dry end (where the completed paper was wound onto very large rolls or logs of paper).

The Production Process (cont)


(third subheading and topic sentences)

The paper-making process was highly complex, and required the monitoring of many variables such as temperature, chemical content, and machine speed. Mike Garfield recalled a report prepared by the director of computer services indicating that a computer program was available that could enhance the present system so that all 75 measurements could be computer-controlled.

The Production Process (cont)


(third subheading and topic sentences)

If machine capacity was at the root of the complaints, Mike knew that a report recently prepared by the production engineers would be most helpful.

The Complaints
(fourth subheading and topic sentences)
To better understand the source and cause of the recent complaints, Mike held a meeting with the chief production supervisor, Charlie Robertson. Its not my fault! Its those idiots in sales and marketing that keep sending me those stupid, small fancy orders

Closing paragraph
With demand for newsprint expected to increase from three million tons of paper this year to 3,680,000 tons next year, Mike knew the current complaints might be a sign of worse days ahead. As plant manager, Mike knew he was ultimately responsible for the efficiency and profitability of his plant. With this in mind, he set out to prepare his report to his superior at head office.

Pause for thought!


What seems to be going on in the case situation? What are we trying to accomplish as the decision maker? What sorts of analyses are likely to be useful? What kind of alternatives to address this situation are likely to arise?

For next class.


Do your individual preparation for the Universal Pulp and Paper: West Coast Division (case 6.10 in the text) using the above context to guide your work.
For further information and helpful hints on the case method, read:
Learning by the Case Method, IB Web site

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