Case 24
Assignment Questions
1. What impresses you about Norton Lilly International? What has accounted for Norton Lilly’s success over the past 150+ years? What aspects of Norton Lilly do you fi nd unimpressive?
2. What happened in 2006 to handicap the company?
3. What is Norton Lilly International’s strategy? Which of the fi ve generic competitive strategies most closely fi t with the competitive approach that Norton Lilly International is taking?
4. Is Norton Lilly’s competitive strategy working well? What does the information in case Exhibits 1 and
2 reveal about the company’s strategic and fi nancial performance during 2006 to 2009? What does the information contained in case Exhibit 3 indicate regarding the company’s projected performance in 2010?
Please use the fi nancial ratios presented in the Table 4.1 of the text (pages 94-96) to guide your calculations and reach conclusions about the caliber of Norton Lilly International’s fi nancial performance?
5. What policies, practices, support systems and management approaches underlie Norton Lilly International’s efforts to execute a turnaround strategy for the company? Has Norton Lilly International built an organization capable of good strategy execution?
6. How has Norton Lilly International’s use of the Balanced Scorecard and other performance measures aided in the company’s efforts to implement a companywide performance management system?
7. What is your assessment of the internal leadership of Norton Lilly International? Does the company have the leadership in place to take the company to the next level of performance?
8. What is your assessment of Jim Burton’s turnaround initiative? Has he been successful in turning around the company? Are additional efforts or initiatives needed? Why or why not?
9. What issues do Burton and the management team need to address?
10. What recommendations would you make to Jim Burton?
CASE 24
Norton Lilly International:
Implementing Transformational
Change in
1. What impresses you about Norton Lilly International? What has accounted for Norton Lilly’s success over the past 150+ years? What aspects of Norton Lilly do you fi nd unimpressive?
2. What happened in 2006 to handicap the company?
3. What is Norton Lilly International’s strategy? Which of the fi ve generic competitive strategies most closely fi t with the competitive approach that Norton Lilly International is taking?
4. Is Norton Lilly’s competitive strategy working well? What does the information in case Exhibits 1 and
2 reveal about the company’s strategic and fi nancial performance during 2006 to 2009? What does the information contained in case Exhibit 3 indicate regarding the company’s projected performance in 2010?
Please use the fi nancial ratios presented in the Table 4.1 of the text (pages 94-96) to guide your calculations and reach conclusions about the caliber of Norton Lilly International’s fi nancial performance?
5. What policies, practices, support systems and management approaches underlie Norton Lilly International’s efforts to execute a turnaround strategy for the company? Has Norton Lilly International built an organization capable of good strategy execution?
6. How has Norton Lilly International’s use of the Balanced Scorecard and other performance measures aided in the company’s efforts to implement a companywide performance management system?
7. What is your assessment of the internal leadership of Norton Lilly International? Does the company have the leadership in place to take the company to the next level of performance?
8. What is your assessment of Jim Burton’s turnaround initiative? Has he been successful in turning around the company? Are additional efforts or initiatives needed? Why or why not?
9. What issues do Burton and the management team need to address?
10. What recommendations would you make to Jim Burton?
CASE 24
Norton Lilly International:
Implementing Transformational
Change in