Hy Dairies, Inc. large Midwestern Milk Products Manufacture Company Case Study – Management Assignment Help

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Milk Products Manufacture Company Case Study
By Steven L. McShane, University of Newcastle (Australia) Syd Gilman read the latest sales figures with a great deal of satisfaction. The vice president of marketing at Hy Dairies, Inc., a large midwestern milk products manufacturer, was pleased to see that the marketing campaign to improve sagging sales of Hy’s gourmet ice cream brand was working.j Sales volume and market share of the product had increased significantly over the past two quarters compared with the previous year. The improved sales of Hy’s gourmet ice cream could be credited to Rochelle Beauport, who was assigned to the gourmet ice cream brand last year. Beauport had joined Hy Dairies less than two years ago as an assistant brand manager after leaving a similar job at a food products firm. She was one of the few women of color in marketing management at Hy Dairies and had a promising career with the company. Gilman was pleased with Beauport’s work and tried to let her know this in annual performance reviews. He now had an excellent opportunity to reward her by offering her the recently vacated position of market research coordinator. Although technically only a lateral transfer with a modest salary increase, the marketing research coordinator job would give Beauport broader experience in some high-profile work, which would enhance her career with Fly Dairies. Few people were aware that Gilman’s own career had been boosted by working as marketing research coordinator at Hy several years before. Rochelle Beauport had also seen the latest sales figures on Hy’s gourmet ice cream and was expecting Gilman’s call to meet with her that morning. Gilman began the conversation by briefly mentioning the favorable sales figures. and then explained that he wanted Beauport to take the marketing research coordinator job. Beauport was shocked by the news.

She enjoyed brand management and particularly the challenge involved with controlling a product that directly affected the company’s profitability. Marketing research coordinator was a technical support position–a “back room” job–far removed from the company’s bottom-line activities. Marketing research was not the route to top management in most organizations, Beauport thought. She had been sidelined. After a long silence, Beauport managed a weak, “Thank you, Mr. Gilman.” She was too bewildered to protest. She wanted to collect her thoughts and reflect on what she had done wrong. Also, she did not know her boss well enough to be openly critical. Gilman recognized Beauport’s surprise, which he assumed was her positive response to hearing of this wonderful career opportunity. He, too, had been delighted several years earlier about his temporary transfer to marketing research to round out his marketing experience. “This move will be good for both you and Hy Dairies,” said Gilman as he escorted Beauport from his office. Beauport was preoccupied with several tasks that afternoon but was able to consider the day’s events that evening. She was one of the top women and few minorities in brand management at Hy Dairies and feared that she was being sidelined because the,.._9_ company didn’t want women or people of color in top management. Her previous employer had made it quite clear that women “couldn’t take the heat” in marketing management and tended to place women in technical support positions after a brief term in lower brand marmo.m.nt