The class should split into groups of FOUR or FIVE for this case study and each group should assign appropriate roles to its members. Having read the case study, each group should consider the questions on the last page of the case.
THE BACKGROUND OF THE COMPANY
Danish Electronics Ltd. is a company producing extremely advanced equipment. Its primary target group is institutions, especially for military equipment, both on the domestic and on the international market.
For several years, the company has been participating in various international projects, chosen both because of compensation agreements, and also because of the company's very high quality level, and its ability to speed up the production so that even hopeless matters are on the whole solved satisfactorily from the customer's viewpoint.. The amounts involved and the duration of these projects vary considerably. The smallest project may account for 0.5 per cent of the annual turnover of the company, whereas the biggest project may account for up to 40 per cent. The company endeavours to obtain projects with a constant production and duration of more than three years.
In addition to the above mentioned projects Danish Electronics Ltd. has a production of the company's own developments which are supplied to institutions (mainly military institutions) as well as to non-military customers. These products, too, are characterized
by a very high quality level and a high degree of reliability. This, in turn, makes it difficult for the products to compete in the nonmilitary market because of too high production costs. The non-military market makes up 40 -50 per cent of the company's total turnover.
ORGANISATION
Danish Electronics Ltd. has a staff of about 250. About half of these are salaried staff.
(Please see the organisation chart above).
The research and development department employs about fifty technicians. About half of these technicians and