Teaching note for product 9B10M040.

The case describes the challenges faced by Ford and other automobile manufacturers in an era of declining oil reserves and volatile fuel prices. The Ford diesel decision seems to reflect classic thinking constrained by mental models that were developed in a different world. Diesels constitute over 50 per cent of automobile sales in Europe, because fuel is extremely expensive there. If fuel gets extremely expensive in the United States, one would expect .....more

Teaching note for product 9B03M041.

By using standard components, Compaq's supercomputer line, known as the Alpha Server SC, attempted to avoid some of the risk associated with supercomputer development. However, more than five years after unveiling its first supercomputer, known as Turbozilla, Compaq's High Performance Technical Computing Group had yet to make a profit, despite rapidly growing demand. The bidding process for large government contracts typically resulted in .....more

In this supplement to Compaq High Performance Computing (A), product 9B03M041, Compaq's High Performance Technical Computing Group attempts to shift its focus from one of gaining access to new markets to becoming a profit center through the manufacture and sale of standardized products. To accomplish this goal, the HPTC must learn to balance core development with manufacturing, sales, and service. Unlike large government accounts, volume customers .....more

This note discusses the role of supercomputing in nuclear weapons research, from the first UNIVAC system installed in 1953 to the planned installation of a 100 TeraOPS system at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories in 2004. Topics include military and civilian uses for supercomputers, the evolution to parallel processing, the growing importance of open source software such as Linux, and emergent scientific uses, such as genetic sequencing and AIDS research. .....more

Teaching note for product 9B02A007.

Monsanto, one of the world's largest producers of commodity chemicals, had decided to focus its operations on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The first shipment of genetically modified soybeans arrived in Europe in November of 1996. Genetic engineering promised to reduce the use of pesticides and curtail world hunger. Therefore, Monsanto was dismayed at the powerful opposition that developed over the next few years. A series of .....more

This supplement to Monsanto Europe (A), product 9B02A007 discusses the non-acceptance to genetically modified products showing up in the poor performance of Monsanto's agricultural division, affecting its successful divisions and the survival of the company. In order to win back its respectable standing in the marketplace, Monsanto must develop new strategies to educate consumers and influence political decision makers in order to gain greater .....more