Michael Patterson is an engineering technician at Confederation Kitchen. The company is downsizing its staff in response to declining profitability. Patterson has heard a rumour that he will now report to a supervisor for whom he has little respect and with whom he has had trouble in the past. The engineering and manufacturing manager has called a meeting to discuss Patterson's new role, and Patterson must decide how candid he should be at .....more

In this (B) case to Michael Patterson (A), product # 9B10C024, an engineering technician meets with the new engineering and manufacturing manager. He shares his thoughts about his new immediate supervisor, but the manager believes his comments to be inappropriate and presents the engineering technician with a formal written reprimand. In a time of economic uncertainty, the engineering technician must determine what action, if any, he should tak .....more

Your Home is a Good Place, Inc. was a unique business. It brought together homeowners, contractors and other service suppliers in a "one-stop shopping" environment that emphasized convenience as a marketing strategy. Your Home is a Good Place, Inc. (YHGP) needed to know more about the demand in the area and to decide how to attract both suppliers of services and customers as well as promote the business and build a brand identity. The owner .....more

A carpenter is considering options for improving the manufacturing process of his custom wood-flooring concept. He started the business as a part-time venture and wanted to increase production efficiency to accommodate the growing interest for his pine flooring design. The carpenter was unsure whether he should invest in new equipment or hire part-time labour, but he knew that either way, he would have to change the current process to ensure that .....more

Grandview Excavators Ltd. is a privately owned company that prepares and excavates land for construction development. A recently promoted project estimator has prepared a quote for a project. He receives a phone call from the customer stating that the quote was too low and to resubmit a new quote for a suggested higher amount. He makes the adjustment and submits the second quote. A few days later the company is awarded the project and work begins .....more

McNutt Service Group, a heating, ventilating and air conditioning business, has grown to the stage where the president is considering moving the service division to a new location, to provide increased space, a greater degree of autonomy and more efficient access to the division's customer base. He must analyse the financial feasibility and evaluate the team dynamics, motivation and the morale advantages and disadvantages of a physical move.

The accountant for Palmer Limited, a sheet metal sub-contractor, has been asked to provide a monthly cash budget along with the projected income statement and balance sheet for her client. The request came about because the banker is concerned about whether Palmer Limited can repay its loan.

Ron Lafayette, bank manager at the Royal Bank, must decide whether to call the loan for Trottier Construction Ltd. The construction industry has just been through two bad years and the economy is expected to decline further for one more year before beginning to recover. Students must analyze the nature of the industry, company's past and future performance, and liquidation values in order to come to a decision.

The bank has asked a commercial and industrial mechanical contractor for a forecasted cash budget, income statement and balance sheet. The bank is concerned with whether the company can repay its loan. The case is designed to teach students to incorporate a cash budget into the evaluation of a business that requires bank financing.

A newly hired advisor to the president and principal of Valan must recommend ways to improve the company's dismal financial performance. The advisor must take into account the complexity involved in devising and implementing control systems in a small business and the need for control systems to be internally consistent with both themselves and the goals and objectives of the organization.