When Uncle Sam Sneezes
Article Abstract:
For the many companies who do business with the federal government, new legislation or a change in the administration can mean the difference between survival and failure. One such example of a company whose very existence is dependent on the whims of the government is TRC, an environmental consulting group in Connecticut. Although the company originally decided to limit the amount of business they did with the government, environmental legislation created a demand for what TRC could offer, and the company began to do more and more business with the government. Soon most of the company's work came from the government. Finally an outsider was brought in to give TRC a new direction; try to steer it away from public business by expanding its client base. Vincent Rocco, The new president tried to reorganize TRC to operate in a more businesslike manner, and to expand the areas in which the company worked. But no matter what efforts Rocco makes and what changes he succeeds in initiating, any company such as his, which depends on the programs and regulations coming out of Washington D.C. will face a tough, volatile future.
Publication Name: Inc.
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0162-8968
Year: 1984
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Putting the Customer in the Driver's Seat
Article Abstract:
Robert Mancuso learned the automobile business from his father, who had his own successful dealership. When a Cadillac dealership became available in Barrington, Illinois, a prestigious Chicago suburb, Mancuso snapped it up, backed by financial aid from his father. But this was in 1974, the year things started to go bad for the automobile industry. Mancuso's dealership went from bad times to good times, and then back to bad times. He became a Cadillac-Honda dealer and still was not satisfied with the results. Figuring that they way to increase sales was through customer satisfaction, Mancuso designed a program in which shoppers are paid to rate the dealership. Mancuso's philosophy is customer satisfaction, and these undercover raters can do a lot to help him improve his business. The program has been so successful a shopping service called Consumer Concepts Ltd. was formed to supply other dealerships with the same type of research efforts which can help make the customer happy and improve the dealerships' sales.
Publication Name: Inc.
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0162-8968
Year: 1984
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Silicon Steppe
Article Abstract:
Although usually technology moves from the Western nations to the Eastern countries, there have been many cases lately, where American firms have capitalized on Russian inventions. Negotiations with the Russians have proven to be lengthy, difficult and time consuming, and products often have to be adapted for American markets, but the Russians have provided useful products for the United States. Some of the products which have successfully made the transition include a surgical staple gun, a new welding technique, and an electromagnetic metal shaping process.
Publication Name: Inc.
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0162-8968
Year: 1984
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