INFO 410
Case Studies 3-4 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.
3. Case Study 1-5 Royal DSM (p. 207)
The time is the year 2000. Royal DSM is faced with major changes in recent decades in
the scope of its business strategy. Your job in the case study is to outline the choices for
what Vision 2005 should be. Your target audience is Jo van den Hanenberg, the new
CIO.



DSM has been heavily involved in acquisition of other firms, even in new
industries. Will that continue, and if so, in what areas? You have a lot of latitude
in terms of the strategy you recommend for this company!
o How will the ICT (their IT department) be affected by this Vision? What
strategy do you recommend for making ICT adaptive enough to support
the company?
o Consider the organization of ICT. Is it going to be based on product lines,
or technologies, or providing services, or something else?
The financials and bios are of interest mainly for context and corporate culture.
Since you’re focusing on the scope of Vision 2005, the material afterward (e.g.
Vision 2010) isn’t relevant except to see how one alternative approach worked
out.
4. Case Study 2-3 Ford (p. 348) and 2-4 Michael Dell interview (p. 356)
The Ford case study includes the Dell interview which follows it. Ford management
circa 2000 is faced with the possibility of redefining their supply chain approach to
mimic Dell’s, called ‘virtual integration.’ Some questions to consider:




It is a reasonable comparison to base Ford’s manufacturing process and supply
chain on that of Dell computer?
What are the pros and cons of adopting the virtual integration approach?
Are there other choices possible, such as only adopting parts of it? Consider
completely different strategies as well.
How does virtual integration affect organization and management functions?
A question for class discussion: Would virtual integration make sense for Ford in today’s
business climate?