Here is how Republic Polymer could solve some of its marketing and business-related problems:
Republic Polymer Case
Notes on the case:
Managers
asked Walden to open up new markets for foamed polystyrene.Foamed-dome
concept = dome that can be used to build a variety of structures and has
many advantages. Is stiff, light, easy to handle, insulates well, and can
be used as a base for things like stucco.Marketing
research firm decided the domes could be used for bulk storage, cold
storage, educational
construction, industrial tank covers, light
commercial construction, planetariums, or recreational construction.Walden
and contractors had a few domes built before contacting any
architects.Architects
were skeptical of fire safety and long-term durability. Also showed a
general distrust and desire to stick with convention.Walden
thinks that global markets would be more receptive.Bosses
are on the fence.
Ideas about case:
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The general public should have been tested/surveyed
before Walden thought up ideas because he’s not seeming to produce what the public
actually wants.
§
Walden should have contacted architects before he built
anything at all. Then he could have been more prepared for issues of fire
safety, etc.
§
He has no evidence that global markets would be more
receptive – only a hunch; hunches can be lucky, but are also likely to waste
plenty of the company’s money. I think he just needs to know when to fish or
cut bait. Cut bait!
§
If anything, research the market for company’s that
build low-income housing, especially in poorer countries. If a country’s
government wanted to provide housing to its lower class, the cheaper price of
polystyrene maybe advantageous. But the dome shape is NOT the most productive –
if it works so well as a dome, it might work just as well as simple walls and
roofs.