Managerial Decision Exercises

1. You are a manager at a traditional automobile manufacturer (Ford, GM, Daimler-Chrysler). You know that Tesla is an up-and-coming competitor, and you’re also working on electric cars for your company. An article in the Wall Street Journal about electric cars and the future of gas stations has caught your interest.⁸ One sentence has caught your eye: “Until you drive an EV, you are colored by 135 years of going to the gas station. Under that scenario, you say ‘Where is the new company that’s doing EV charging on street corners or in my highway entrance?,’ but that isn’t really how this works.” What innovations regarding recharging or other aspects of traditional “driving” could be incorporated into the electric vehicles you are developing?
2. You are a sales manager and know that technologies like automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of things are changing the way that you use and interact with the products that you use. You sense that your customers might be a good source for forecasting future product innovations. You decide to ask your salespeople to interview their toughest customers to generate ideas. Write up eight questions that your sales representatives can use to gather the information.
3. In October 2015, Google restructured into Alphabet, a holding company, which analysts said would facilitate innovation among its diverse subsidiaries. What are the benefits and risks of this decision, and would you have made a similar or alternative decision?