The assignment questions and teaching outline presented in upcoming sections of this TN reflect our thinking

SECTION 6

Case Teaching Notes for Chapters 1-32 NOTE: (For Complete File, Download Link at the end of this File) 1 / 4

Case 1 Teaching Note Mystic Monk Coffee272 The assignment questions and teaching outline presented in upcoming sections of this TN reflect our thinking about how to conduct the class discussion of the Mystic Monk Coffee case.It is really very difficult to have an insightful and constructive class discussion of the Mystic Monk Coffee case unless students have not only read the case but also conscientiously worked their way through a set of well- conceived study questions before they come to class. In our classes, we expect students to bring their notes to the study questions to use/refer to in responding to the questions that we pose. Students often find having a set of study questions is useful in helping them prepare oral team presentations and written case assignments—in addition to whatever directive questions you supply for these assignments.To facilitate your use of study questions and making them available to students, we have posted a file of the Assignment Questions contained in this teaching note for the Mystic Monk Coffee case in the instructor resources section of the Connect Library. (We should also point out that there is a set of study questions posted in the student section of the OLC for each of the 32 cases included in the 22nd Edition.) You may also find it beneficial to have your class read the Guide to Case Analysis that is posted in the Connect Library and in the textbook immediately following Chapter 12. Students will find the content of this Guide particularly helpful if this is their first experience with cases and they are unsure about the mechanics of how to prepare a case for class discussion, oral presentation, or written analysis.Auto-Graded Connect Case Exercise. The 21st Edition includes a fully auto-graded Connect case exercise for 14 cases included in the text. The auto-graded exercises closely follow the assignment questions and analysis included in the teaching note for the case. The auto-graded exercise for the Mystic Monk Coffee case requires that students answer a series of multiple choice questions related to Assignment Questions 1-5. Question 6 is left as an open ended question that allows students to fully discuss recommendations concerning improvements to the company’s coffee operations, changes in its long-term direction, objectives, strategy, or approach to strategy execution.Students should be expected to spend about 45 minutes to complete the exercise, assuming they have done a conscientious job of reading the case and absorbing the information it contains. All of the questions are automatically graded, and the grades are automatically recorded in your Connect grade book, which makes it easy for you to evaluate each class member’s ability to apply many of the concepts discussed in Chapters 1 and 2.The length of the case makes it ideal for an in-class written case or a final exam case. Our suggested written

assignment questions are as follows:

• As a new business school graduate who has relocated to Cody, Wyoming and supports the local foundation

to benefit the Wyoming Carmelites, you have been asked to prepare a strategic review and action plan for the Father Daniel Mary’s consideration. Your report to Father Prior should include an evaluation of the monastery’s mission, its vision for Mystic Monk Coffee, objectives for the monastery and the coffee operations, and MMC’s strategy and business model. You should also propose recommendations to improve Mystic Monk Coffee’s vision, objectives, strategy, business model, or approach to strategy execution. It is your job to convince Father Daniel Mary to pursue your proposed plan; hence your report should include full justification and arguments to support your recommended course of action.

• Cody, Wyoming business owners have noted your quickly developing skills of analysis and growing

business acumen and have asked that you prepare a report for Father Daniel Mary that evaluates Mystic Monk Coffee’s mission, vision, strategy, business model, and operations. Your report should also make

recommendations concerning strategic issues related to:

n The vision and mission of the monastery and its coffee operations, n MMC’s strategic and financial objectives, 2 / 4

Case 1 Teaching Note Mystic Monk Coffee273 n MMC’s strategy and business model, and n The action steps that will need to be taken to implement the strategy effectively.Please provide supporting analysis and persuasive argument for your recommended course of action (you must convince Father Daniel Mary to do what you suggest!) and you need to be specific about what to do and how to do it.Assignment Questions

• Has Father Daniel Mary established a future direction for the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming? What is his

vision for the monastery? What is his vision for Mystic Monk Coffee? What is the mission of the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming?

• Does it appear that Father Daniel Mary has set definite objectives and performance targets for achieving his

vision?

• What is Father Prior’s strategy for achieving his vision? What competitive advantage might Mystic Monk

Coffee’s strategy produce?

• Is Mystic Monk Coffee’s strategy a money-maker? What is MMC’s business model? What is your assessment

of Mystic Monk Coffee’s customer value proposition? its profit formula? its resources that enable it to create and deliver value to customers?

• Does the strategy qualify as a winning strategy? Why or why not?
• What recommendations would you make to Father Daniel Mary in terms of crafting and executing strategy

for the monastery’s coffee operations? Are changed needed in its long-term direction? its objectives? its strategy? its approach to strategy execution? Explain.Teaching Outline and Analysis

• Has Father Daniel Mary established a future direction for the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming?

What is his vision for the monastery? What is his vision for Mystic Monk Coffee? What is the mission of the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming?Students should have little trouble recognizing that Father Daniel Mary’s vision for the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming is to recreate Mount Carmel in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and transform the small brotherhood of 13 monks living in a small home used as makeshift rectory into a 500-acre monastery that would include accommodations for 30 monks, a Gothic church, a convent for Carmelite nuns, a retreat center for lay visitors, and a hermitage. However, students should also recognize that there is no clear evidence in the case that Father Daniel Mary has articulated a vision for Mystic Monk Coffee.If you are using this case as your lead-off case for the course, you may find that many students don’t distinguish between the monastery and MMC and believe the Prior’s general vision applies to the monk’s coffee operations. To clear up this confusion and to illustrate the lack of an appropriate vision for MMC, please have students compare Father Prior’s vision to Howard Schultz’s vision for Starbucks. Howard Schultz’s vision of bringing the Italian Espresso bar experience to America very accurately described his intended course and direction and helped stakeholders understand “where we are going.” Schultz’s vision for Starbucks was graphic, focused, desirable, and easy to communicate. The same can be said for Father Daniel Mary’s vision for the Carmelite Monks, but not for its coffee business. Initially doubting students should concede that Father Daniel Mary has yet to spell out a long-term direction for Mystic Monk Coffee.There’s merit to having students critique both visions using the information in Table 2.1 presented in Chapter

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Case 1 Teaching Note Mystic Monk Coffee274 You’ll likely find that most students readily recognize that the ultimate mission of the cloistered monks is to worship God. Some may wish to begin a debate on the role of the monastery’s coffee operations in pursuit of this mission, but we’ve found it’s best to hold this discussion for the very end of the case discussion. We prefer to have students consider this dilemma after they’ve recommended an action plan that would help the monastery achieve its vision of creating a new Mount Carmel in the Rocky Mountains.

• Does it appear that Father Daniel Mary has set definite objectives and performance targets

for achieving his vision?Students will find it very difficult to argue that Father Daniel Mary has set definite objectives or performance targets for achieving the vision. Other than the broad goal of obtaining funds to purchase the $8.9 million Lake Irma Ranch, there isn’t any evidence that the monks have set short-term or long-run goals for developing charitable contributions or for its MMC business.

• What is Father Prior’s strategy for achieving his vision? What competitive advantage might

Mystic Monk Coffee’s strategy produce?Students will generally agree that Father Daniel Mary is relying on charitable contributions to the monastery and profits from its Mystic Monk Coffee enterprise to fund the purchase of the Irma Lake Ranch. Students should also recognize that MMC does have a deliberate strategy, although it may be only tacitly understood among the monks. The case doesn’t discuss to what extent Father Prior has articulated the strategy to Brother Java (Brother Elias) and the other monks involved with MMC’s operations, but students should be able to identify the following elements of MMC’s focused differentiation strategy: n Exclusive use of high quality fair trade Arabica and fair trade organic Arabic beans n Variety of blends, roasts, and flavors to appeal to a broad range of coffee preferences n Focus on U.S. Catholic consumers and those wishing to support the mission of the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming. An appeal was made to Catholics “to use their catholic coffee dollar for Christ and his Catholic church.” n Word of mouth advertising among loyal customers in Catholic parishes across the U.S.n Majority of sales made through MMC’s Web site n Telephone orders accepted n Affiliate program that provided 18 percent commissions to secular Web site operators allowing MMC banner and text ads to appear on their sites n ShareASale participation program that allowed affiliates to refer new affiliates and earn 56 percent of the new affiliate’s commission n Wholesale sales to churches and local coffee shops n Product line extension that included sales of T-shirts, mugs, gift cards, and CDs featuring the monastery’s n Gregorian chants Students will generally approve of MMC’s focused differentiation strategy and suggest that it is capable of building competitive advantage. The use of high quality coffee beans, the variety of blends, roasts, and flavors and the Mystic Monk image produce a number of tangible and intangible benefits for MMC customers. Students will also recognize that MMC’s focus on the 69 million members of the Catholic Church in the United States makes the target market sufficiently large to earn attractive profits. Students

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