DesignerLabelCase-StudyThis(short)casestudyexaminesthefallofthedesignerlabel.Itisanexerciseinmodelconceptualisationwhereyouwillusebehaviourchartsandcausal-loopdiagramstoexplainthestructuregeneratingthebehaviourdescribedintheBusinessWeekarticle.Ahardcopyofthesolutionisavailable,pleasegiveAlanHockingacallinLondon5887./www/wwwroot/www.botuzhiku.cn/worker/runtime/JiuNiaoWork/Fle/19049/f845c04f-d971-436c-ae39-eb2b54dc48c4.docProblemDefinitionandModelConceptualisation†Thisexercisetakesyoufromalineardescriptionofaproblemsituation(i.e.anewspaperarticle)toadynamiccasualhypothesis.Theprocessinsteps1-7belowresembletheFastbreakmethodologydescribedintheexperimentationpack.Fastbreak,however,usesthehexagontechniquetogatherissuesontheproblemsituation(clientsrarelycomepreparedwithaBusinessWeekarticle!)1.Readtheattachedarticle“WhyDesignerLabelsareFading”(BusinessWeek,Feb21,1983,pp70-71).2.Makealistofthemostimportantvariablesorconceptsforcharacterisingtheproblemdescribedinthearticle.Yourlistshouldbecomprehensivebutasshortaspossible(lessthanten).Aggregatesimilarconceptswherepossible.Noticethereasonspeoplegiveforwantingtoincludeavariableinthelist.Inquireandsurfacetheassumptionsbehindthereasons.3.Graphthebehaviourovertimeofthekeyvariablesyouidentified.Sketchyourgraphonthesamesetofaxesoroncomparableaxesifitgetstoocrowded.Qualitativepatternsaremoreimportantthannumericalprecisionatthispoint.Identifythetimehorizonoverwhichthedynamicsoccur.4.Defineyourchosenvariablesclearlyconsiderthechoiceofyourtimehorizon,itsappropriateness,itseffectsonhowyouviewtheproblem.Justifythedynamicpattersofbehaviourillustratedinyourgraphs.5.Identifythevariablesordatawhichyoufeelarecrucialforunderstandingtheproblemthatarenotinthearticle.Ifyouhadalimitedbudgetforadditionaldatacollection,howwouldyouspendit?6.Developacasualloopdiagramthatcapturestherelevantfeedbackstructurethatunderliesthebehaviouryougraphedon(3)above.Labelthelinkswiths’sando’sandtheloopswithR’sandB’s.7.Usingthecasualloopdiagram,explaintoeachotherhowthefeedbackstructureyouhavedrawnproducedthedynamicsyougraphedin(3).†AdaptedfromanassignmentpreparedbyJohnSterman,MITSystemDynamicsGroup,Dmemo~D-3987./www/wwwroot/www.botuzhiku.cn/worker/runtime/JiuNiaoWork/Fle/19049/f845c04f-d971-436c-ae39-eb2b54dc48c4.docAppearingontoomayitemsintoomanystores,theyarelosingstatusandprofitabilityItisnotunusualtowalkintoK-martorTargetStoreandseeabargain-basementtypebinfullofyourfavouritedesignershirts.Aftersatisfyingyourselfthattheyaretherealthing,youbuyafewatalmosthalfthepriceyouwouldpayatalocaldepartmentstore.Designernamesareshowingupatoff-priceanddiscountretailersfortworeasons:therecession,whichhascurbedsalesatdepartmentstores,andmanufacturers’needto“dump”merchandisetounclogtheirinventories.Now,namesthatusedtobeexclusivetostoressuchasSaksFifthAvenue,Nelman-Marcus,andBloomingdale’sappearinmanyoftheestimated10,000off-pricestoresaroundthecountry.Asaresult,departmentandspecialitystoresarebecomingdisenchantedwithsuchfashioninnovatorsasBillBlass,JohnWeitz,PierreCardinandHalston-wholicensetheirnamesorinitialsforitemsfromshirtstosocksandfromluggagetolinens.Thesestoresarebeginningtosnubdesignmerchandise,callingittoocommonplace-andtorevivetheconceptofprivatelabelgoods,whichwilllettheirclaimexclusivityandgrantthemgreaterpricingleeway.ifthetrendystoresabandonthenamedesigners,of...
