Management Case

Technology Report

A technology company has just come out with a laptop computer especially designed for students' use in a classroom. Sturdy and cheap, it allows students to access online editions of their textbooks, use tutorials and connect to their classroom's smart boards, as well as other functionalities. It is being advertised as the "future of learning."

Political Report

A new but strongly influential member of the school board (which chooses Colorado's textbooks) is proposing a radical overhaul of the way science is taught in the state. She proposes science be taught not through books but only through a new, experimental "hands-on" style: experiments, field trips, etc. Her popularity and influence make it likely that this measure will pass next week, even though most science teachers oppose the plan.

Evaluating the Macroenvironment—Short Term Changes

After reviewing the reports of short-term changes in the macroenvironment, you must pick one element that will have the most profound effects on your company.

You chose

OPTION 2

Technology Environment

Technological Changes

Now that you have selected the technological environment as the one most likely to affect your business in the short term, you must determine what might be the effects of these changes on Gerlach's microenvironment. Choose the possibility you see as most likely.

You chose

OPTION 1

The school board will choose to buy more educational technology and fewer textbooks.

Responding to Technological Changes

You