A government-owned bank is struggling to transform itself into a modern, internationally competitive financial institution. However, as a state-owned bank, it had limited freedom to reduce and train staff, to be selective in its lending, or to experiment with new kinds of financial services. Furthermore, many concepts that were common in non-communist countries had not yet become part of the Chinese banking system, such as collateral, security, risk .....more

The assistant engineer in the Thermal Treatment Department of a state-owned enterprise in China has received approval for the formation of a new quality control group to reduce the high defect rate of a critical part. The total quality concept is presented within the context of a specific quality problem, which encourages students to both assess the company's quality system and apply quality improvement tools to this particular problem. This case .....more

The assistant engineer in the Thermal Treatment Department of a state-owned enterprise in China has received approval for the formation of a new quality control group to reduce the high defect rate of a critical part. The total quality concept is presented within the context of a specific quality problem, which encourages students to both assess the company's quality system and apply quality improvement tools to this particular problem. This case .....more

After selecting the quality control group members, the assistant engineer and his group begin data collection and need to construct a cause-and-effect diagram to develop an action plan. This case should be used in conjunction with case (A), 9A98D001.

The quality control group has implemented several countermeasures, and the results have been monitored and reported. A final examination is necessary to assess whether this type of problem is likely to recur, and where further improvement can be made in the company's quality systems. This case is designed to be used in conjunction with the (A) case, 998D001 and the (B) case, 998D002.

Citibank was the first U.S. bank to establish operations in China when it opened a branch in Shanghai in 1902. From the early 1940s until 1984, Citibank was absent from China, but since 1984 it had gradually re-established an active presence. In 1997, Citibank had reached a crossroads. It had to decide how best to participate in the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and the huge inflow of foreign direct investment. Citibank had many competitive .....more

A government-owned bank is struggling to transform itself into a modern, internationally competitive financial institution. However, as a state-owned bank, it had limited freedom to reduce and train staff, to be selective in its lending, or to experiment with new kinds of financial services. Furthermore, many concepts that were common in non-communist countries had not yet become part of the Chinese banking system, such as collateral, security, risk .....more