Case Incident

Case Incident 7.1

First in the Market

Juan Peron is a process engineer employed by Vantage Engineering, Inc., and assigned to

the research laboratory in the Advanced Products Division (APD). Vantage is a well-established

manufacturer of military hardware. APD's general purpose is to conduct research to improve the

company's military hardware products. However, the laboratory director was recently given

permission to develop spin-off products for possible sale on the open market.

Juan spent his first year in APD assisting on various project assignments. At the end of that

year, he was put in charge of a special project to research a chemically processed wood for specialty

applications. During the initial stages of the project, Juan spent most of his time in the laboratory

becoming familiar with the basic aspects of the treatment process. However, he soon tired of the

long, tedious experimental work and became more and more eager to move quickly into the

promotion and marketing of the product. This desire was soon realized. An article in a recent

national trade publication had generated keen interest in a similar wood product, and as a result,

Vantage immediately allocated several thousand dollars to the development and marketing of the

chemically processed wood. Simultaneously, a minor reorganization occurred, placing Juan and

his project under the direction of Greg Waites, a close friend of Juan's. Thus, Juan had an

opportunity to get out of the lab and become more involved in the promotion and marketing

aspects.

Juan and Greg soon began traveling nationally, discussing the new product with potential

customers. Traveling enabled Juan to spend less and less time in the lab, and as a result many of

the experiments required to determine the performance characteristics of the new product were left

unfinished. As the number of companies demonstrating an interest in purchasing small quantities

for trial applications grew, Juan suggested to Greg...