INFO 410Case Studies 1-2 Handout

General Instructions

Case studies are to be performed as described in the syllabus and in the Chapter 1 lecture notes. The questions provided here are NOT designed to be comprehensive steps, just some of the points I’d expect you to address while doing the case studies. So please go beyond the issues identified here; these are just help to get you started.

1. Case Study I-1 IBM’s Decade of Transformation: Turnaround to Growth (starts on page 5)

This case study addresses several problems over the history of IBM, so it’s more like a series of little case studies. Focus your attention on the state of IBM when Louis Gerstner took over in April 1993, and address how he could have proceeded from that point. Of course the actual answer is the creation of One IBM, but what other options could he have pursued? Only use the exhibit data through 1994, and you can ignore the discussion of EBOs and other events well after 1994.

Since IBM is both a user of IT, as well as an innovator and creator of IT equipment, they have an unusual position compared to many organizations. Focus on the problems IBM faced during this time and the alternatives they faced for dealing with the problems. What is the origin of the problem? Is it a technical issue, or customer relations, or competition, or something else? What functional areas within IBM were responsible for handling each problem (e.g. HR, accounting, marketing, engineering, etc.)?

Some areas to consider:

What caused IBM to lose money in the early 1990’s? What options did they face to handle that problem?

Why was the System/360 platform significant? How did it affect the IT industry? How was marketing for the IBM PC different from the way it handled

mainframes? Was IBM a leader in client/server and networked computing? In Exhibit 2, look for trends, such as: when was IBM most profitable? What

generated most of the revenue? Exhibit 3 and related text – how did IBM’s organization affect its ability to use

and sell IT? What role does technology play in achieving the IBM values?

2. Case Study 1-2 Amazon.com: The Brink of Bankruptcy (p. 146)

Your perspective for this case study is early in 2001, when Amazon was seeing massive sales, but had yet to produce a profit. (Ironically, most people starting a company have little clue how to handle it if it’s really successful!)

Your challenge is to define the best path for Amazon to take. You are a middle manager in Amazon, offering advice. Address your case study to Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO.

Your problem analysis doesn’t need to include much company history, since the audience knows that. Focus on the relevant symptoms of the problem.

Your analysis should consider the substantial amount of data (exhibits) provided. Are different parts of the organization doing better than others? That may inspire some alternative approaches.

Consider the impact of environmental issues, like the dot com crash. Assess how the IT aspect of Amazon should be changed, if at all. Is the digital

business infrastructure viable, or should it be changed? Different approaches might answer that differently!

The changes mentioned at the end of the case study, such as Toys R Us and Infrastructure Services, should be considered part of the existing conditions before you make your recommendations.

Profitability is an obvious decision criterion. What else is important to this organization?

Your alternative approaches could change Amazon’s strategy, its capabilities, or both. It’s the end of the dot com era, don’t be afraid to shake things up!Solutions such as ‘sell the company’ or ‘do nothing’ are considered trivial, so don’t present them.