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ANSWERS TO CHAPTER 2 QUESTIONS
ANSWER 2.1
This is where planning makes a lot of sense. Stacy Engineer
should do the following:
A. Conceive of a set of mutually exclusive and collectively
exhaustive objectives which on attainment will lead Joe Engineer
B. Define tasks to be completed in the next 5 years which aim at
accomplishing parts of the following:
(a) Learn to save and invest – setting up an internet trade
account and using automatic deposit to start saving money and
practicing prudent investment.
C. Specify tasks to be completed in the next 5 to 10 years which
aim at accomplishing parts of the following:
(a) Continue to save and invest. Maximize savings in 401(k)
and IRA accounts. Set up savings accounts for children’s college
education and invest more in stocks. Try options trading.
(b) Practice the principles of engineering management and get
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D. Identify tasks to be completed in the next 10 to 15 years
which aim at accomplishing parts of these objectives:
(a) Actively manage one’s own savings and investment
programs.
(b) Seek promotion to Director’s level. Continue to broaden
one’s own experience base to prepare for bigger and better jobs,
either inside or outside the company.
E. Determine tasks to be completed in the next 15 to 20 years
which aim at accomplishing parts of the following: —–
ANSWER 2.2
Obviously, the company must find ways to protect its current
market share in the high-price, high-quality niche. Without
protection, this niche could become slowly eroded by the
anticipated introduction of a new low-price, low quality product
by the competition. Time is of essence and the company must act
quickly. Thus, the strategic plan to protect company’s position
should include:
A. Explore the option of importing a low-price and low-quality
C. If the market exhibits signs of accepting the competition’s
new products, then the company should introduce the imported
products to compete directly at a discounted price. The purpose
is to reach and understand customers in this new low-price, low-
ANSWER 2.3
1. INTEL CORPORATON
A. Our mission – Do a great job for our customers, employees and
stockholders by being the preeminent building block supplier to
the computing industry.
B. Discipline – The complexity of our work and our tough
business environment demands a high degree of discipline and
cooperation. We strive to: (a) properly plan, fund and staff
D. Result Orientation – We are results-oriented. We strive to:
(a) set challenging goals, (b) execute flawlessly, (c) focus on
outputs, (d) assume responsibility, and (e) confront and solve
problems.
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listen to all ideas and viewpoints, (d) encourage and reward
informed risk taking, and (e) learn from our successes and
mistakes.
2. SATURN CORPORATION
A. The Mission of Saturn
To market vehicles developed and manufactured in the United
States that lead in quality, cost, and customer
B. The Philosophy of Saturn
We the Saturn Team, in concert with the UAW and General
Motors, believe that meeting the needs of Saturn customers,
members, suppliers, dealers, and neighbors is fundamental to
fulfilling our mission.
To meet our customers’ needs, our products and services
will lead in value and satisfaction.
To meet our suppliers’ and dealers’ needs, we will create
real partnerships with these suppliers and dealers. We
will strive for openness, fairness, trust, and respect and
we will work with them to help them feel ownership of
Saturn’s mission and philosophy.
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By continuously operating according to this philosophy, we
will fulfill our mission.
C. The Core Value of Saturn
ANSWER 2.4
A typical set of operational guidelines may emphasize the
following:
A. Employees are the most important asset to our
organization (respect and listen to them).
D. Each action that is taken should add value to the final
product or service (eliminating wasteful and unnecessary
steps).
E. Timely response of the system to changing external
conditions is paramount to success (time to market is a key
competitive factor in today’s marketplace).
ANSWER 2.5
All new ventures have inherent uncertainties. In deciding to
take the risks of going forward with the venture, several
questions need to be answered first:
A. Should it luckily turn out to be successful, what is the
maximum pay-out (e.g., value) of the venture?
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C. Should the venture fail (e.g., time delay, reputation,
company bankruptcy, loss of market share, etc.), what is the
adverse impact on company?
ANSWER 2.6
The steps she should take include the following:
A. Collect critical market information (e.g., market research,
competitive information, customer feedback, technology
development, business alliance, and forecasting) – in need of
staff support.
ANSWER 2.7
The company is facing a major threat and must consider
several strategic options. These options include: stay the
current course, expand software offering to run on computers of
common platforms, and continue to market the software products
but abandon the bundling with the hardware.
A. Staying the course
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Marketing the original hardware-software bundle has several
advantages. The system works well as a group partly because the
company offers maintenance services using technicians who are
B. Marketing two versions of the software
Generally speaking, it is quite easy to develop a second
software version. Doing so allows the company to expand its
customer segment to include law firms which have existing
The question of system reliability is unresolved at this
time.
Customers who purchase hardware and software from different
sources do not have a single point of contact to turn to for
services. System reliability may be important to some, but not to
C. Pursue the software products only
This option of abandoning the hardware business is useful
only if the company wants to refocus its energy on competing
directly against the new competitors. The sense of urgency could
spark the innovative talents of the company in adding new
software features to make the company increasingly more
competitive.
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Which option should the company pursue? To answer this
question, there is one more piece of information missing, namely
the customer’s perception and preference.
Thus, it is strongly advised that the company conduct a
customer survey (e.g., focus group, web-based survey, and phone
ANSWER 2.8
Sandy Smith’s plan should include the following elements:
1. Assure the clear objective of becoming an Operations
manager in 10 years and understand the associated personal
benefits and sacrifices.
2. Define the interim positions which lead to an Operations
manager position. These include:
3. Be aware of the qualifications and work experience required
for reaching each of these job functions and set up action
plans to ready herself in a timely manner. Implement