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• Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2020

  ZEISS Group: Organize by Customer Culture?

  Willy C. Shih

  How should ZEISS, the German manufacturer of precision optical and optoelectronic systems manage two historic businesses that operated fairly autonomously? The Industrial Quality Solutions (IQS) business sold measurement equipment to manufacturing companies in sectors like automotive and aerospace. The Research Microscopy Solutions (RMS) business sold into scientific research laboratories and industrial materials laboratories. The two units had many similar characteristics. Both served demanding customers in complex and competitive market segments, and the use of RMS microscopy products in materials research meant an increasing amount of cross-selling into IQS customers. Yet there were many differences in the sales processes, product development processes, and approaches to product and market planning. RMS and IQS had very different ways of working, and most team members would say that the organizational cultures and the customers were very different as well.

  Keywords: Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Manufacturing Industry; Europe; Germany;

  Citation:

  Shih, Willy C. "ZEISS Group: Organize by Customer Culture?" Harvard Business School Case 620-103, March 2020.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2019 (Revised January 2020)

  Port Competition in the Pearl River Delta

  Willy Shih

  This case examines the competition between ports and port operators in the Pearl River Delta over the last four decades. The cities surrounding the Pearl River estuary are the "workshop of the world," and the development of manufacturing in the region was heavily dependent on efficient container shipping. As China has opened up and drawn more direct trade traffic to Shenzhen and Guangzhou ports, the operators in Hong Kong have had to adapt. More change is afoot, and Hong Kong may have to reinvent itself again.

  Keywords: trade links; global business; Globalization; Trade; Supply Chain; Logistics; Transportation Industry; Asia; Hong Kong; China;

  Citation:

  Shih, Willy. "Port Competition in the Pearl River Delta." Harvard Business School Case 620-038, September 2019. (Revised January 2020.)  View Details

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• Teaching Plan | HBS Case Collection | January 2020

  Zhejiang Geely Holding Group: Acquisition of Volvo Cars and Volvo Cars: Acquisition by Geely

  Willy Shih

  This teachning plan is for the two cases 619-041 which describes Geely's acquisition of Volvo Cars, and 619-042 which describes Volvo Cars' acqusition by Geely. The case is designed to illustrate the different sides of an M&A transaction and the organizational culture implications that managers might like to consider.

  Keywords: Organizational Culture; Mergers and Acquisitions; Auto Industry; China; Sweden;

  Citation:

  Shih, Willy. "Zhejiang Geely Holding Group: Acquisition of Volvo Cars and Volvo Cars: Acquisition by Geely." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 620-072, January 2020.  View Details

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