Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad: 1997

Approximately twenty-five years ago, a majority of the railroads in the industry were either in or near bankruptcy. As a partial cure, a series of federal and state legislation was enacted which freed the industry from archaic laws passed in the days railroads enjoyed a virtual monopoly in U.S. transportation. One of the outcomes of this new legislation was the freedom granted major railroads to abandon or sell off excess trackage to entrepreneurs. The Dakota Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E) is a regional railroad that was spun off from the Chicago and North Western(C&NW) Railroad in 1986 and purchased by a group of entrepreneurs. The railroad’s mainline extends from the Mississippi River at Winona, Minnesota across southern Minnesota and central South Dakota to Rapid City. In 1996, the DM&E acquired more than 200 miles of track from Union Pacific Railroad, extending from Colony, Wyoming through Rapid City to Crawford, Nebraska. Grain currently accounts for more than 40 percent of the railroad’s 60,000 annual carloadings, which have increased more than 40 percent since 1987—DM&E’s first full year of operation. The DM&E began operations with 130 employees, 37 locomotives and no freight cars. The DM&E now employs 350 people, and owns or leases 70 locomotives and almost 30,000 freight cars. The case traces DM&E’s first eleven years of operations from its chaotic beginnings to its development as a profitable railroad, to its recent apparent unraveling. (Contact author for a copy of the complete report.)Strategic Mgmt, Regional Railroads

Private Moments

In October, 1996 Private Moments, an adult novelty store, opened for business in Huntsville, Texas. Huntsville had no ordinances in place to prevent the opening of this type of business. In fact, the local Small Business Development Center provided guidance and assistance to Edward Delagarza, the founder and owner of Private Moments. Many of the Huntsville citizens, unhappy with the opening of Private Moments, approached the City Council requesting that it be closed immediately and asked for legislation to prevent other Sexually Oriented Businesses (S.O.B.) from locating in Huntsville. After a hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission to review alternative zoning restrictions, City Council passed an ordinance that outlined the process for obtaining a permit to operate as a S.O.B. and placed severe limitations on places a S.O.B. could locate. Private Moments, in existence when the ordinance was passed, was grandfathered. Sales at Private Moments have grown slowly, but business has been profitable. Since opening Private Moments, Mr. Delagarza has begun operating two other businesses: a tattoo parlor, which is adjacent to Private Moments, and a bar, located some distance away. He must now decide whether to remain in his current location and expand his operations by selling adult novelty items to other markets in other locations, redirect his effects toward internet sales or the wholesale distribution of S.O.B. products, or devote his time to his other two businesses. (Contact author for a copy of the complete report.)Small Busn Mgmt, Regulations

Grace Lutheran Church

Grace Lutheran Church, formed in 1963, has enjoyed stable growth. It is financially healthy and has a close-knit church community. In an effort to pro-actively plan, a long-term planning committee of approximately 50 members was formed. They chose the publication and workbook, Twelve Keys to an Effective Church by Kennon L. Callahan to guide them. Constrained by a book written by a Methodist and not always a good "fit" for their Lutheran denomination, they are sometimes frustrated with the planning process. They are further constrained by the admonition of the book to focus exclusively on "strengths to exploit and objectives to develop." Discouragement of any mention of weakness, problems, shortcomings or threats hindered their discussion. The work of the planning committee centered on the twelve keys to an effective church, as identified in the book. Focusing on the positive, they were able to identify many things they are doing well, and are determined to build on these strengths. By downplaying the negative, however, they find themselves questioning whether focusing on their strengths alone is enough. (Contact author for a copy of the complete report.)Strategic Mgmt, Non for profit org

Bridal Gallery

The Bridal Gallery is in the business of pampering its clients with a full range of bridal products and services, from gowns to garters, shoes to jewels. Located in Huntsville, TX, this small business enjoys a well deserved reputation for offering high quality, competitively priced products. In addition, free one-on-one consultation services are provided to every client. One of the company’s flyers indicates that the Bridal Gallery is “Where expert advice saves you time and money.” Although the company is run by a very knowledgeable owner who is passionate about her business, the financial picture has been very mixed. The owner has not drawn a regular paycheck during the entire eight year history of the business, and the past year resulted in a record net loss. An expanded bridal product line plus diversifying into a prom dress line might generate additional revenue, but due to space constraints, a potentially cost prohibitive move into a larger building might be necessary.(Contact author for a copy of the complete report.)Small Business Mgmt

Summerlin Masonry

Summerlin Masonry is a residential masonry company located in the Bryan-College Station, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The company specializes in rock, both real and fake, brick, glass block, and tile work. Summerlin Masonry mainly works on houses in upper-middle class neighborhoods, but occasionally works on commercial jobs as favors to builders. The company has performed very well in its first two years of operation. While the company has been performing very well, it has not been without problems. Due to deceptive practices of his former partner when he was with B&S Masonry, the owner has become indebted to the IRS. They are holding him responsible for the entire debt of payroll tax checks that were not deposited, plus penalties and interest. After many months of communication with the IRS, the owner has begun to lower his debt and fully intends to repay the entire debt for his partner’s mishap. In the past two years, Summerlin Masonry has doubled its business. Due to the high demand for the business’s services, expansion into new locations and markets are being considered. (Contact author for a copy of the complete report.)Small Business Mgmt, Ethics

The Blackstone Group: A Case Study

The Blackstone Group, Inc., located in Beaumont, Texas, is a full-service advertising agency providing design, media, and marketing support for clients in southeast Texas and the Lake Charles, Louisiana, area. The agency was founded April 15, 1978, with its first offices above owners Lawrence and Samantha’s garage. They began with three accounts. Prior to beginning their agency, Lawrence worked for two other agencies, serving five years as Art Director of the first agency, and four years as Creative Director for the second agency. Samantha was employed as a bookkeeper in a third agency. Lawrence began as a freelance designer, doing project work. Shortly thereafter, Samantha joined him in the business. They moved out of the garage, and established an upscale business address located quite near their major clients. Once they became an agency, they “pitched” every opportunity. As a result, they captured a wide variety of accounts, requiring that they become knowledgeable in every aspect of the business. Whatever it took – media buys, copywriting, radio scripts, design, television sport, photography – they did it, and learned as they went. Currently, employing five people plus the principals, the agency is the market leader in the Beaumont area with an estimated 25% market share in those service markets in which they compete. They are recognized as the quality leader in their market, and have garnered an impressive collection of local, regional and national awards for design in both print and other media. Gross billings in 1998 were $3.9 million. Capital billings, the measure used in the industry to report agency size, approximated$4.7 million. (Contact author for a copy of the complete report.)Entrepreneurship

Lone Star Productions

Lone Star Productions (LSP) is a concert promotions business that was started in 1981 by Bill Oldman. Since 1986, this company has been the exclusive provider of concert promotion materials for 75% of the top grossing national tours. In 1997, Bill Oldman sold the company to a group of investors headed by Mike Sims. With a background in banking and investments, Sims took over a LSP’s president. Bill Oldman remained as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. Lone Star Productions’ business encompasses several segments, including concert promotions, audio and video production, production staffing, video editing, web site development, and equipment and suite rental. Currently, concert promotions account for 90% of the company’s revenue. Efforts to build business in the areas other than concert promotion have been mildly successful, but LSP considers the further development of these business areas to be critical to the long-term profitability and financial stability of the company, LSP is currently considering buying the largest video production company in the Dallas, Texas area.(Contact author for a copy of the complete report.)Small Busn. Mgmt

Conventional versus highly cross-linked polyethylene in primary total knee replacement : a comparison of revision rates using data from the National Joint Registry for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland

There is evidence to support the use of highly cross-linked polyethylene (HXLPE) in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. However, the benefits for those undergoing total knee arthroplasty are uncertain, with conflicting reports based on previous cohort analyses. The purpose of the present study was to compare the revision rates following primary total knee arthroplasty with use of HXLPE as compared with conventional polyethylene (CPE) using data from the National Joint Registry (NJR) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We performed a retrospective analysis of primary total knee arthroplasties recorded in the NJR from 2003 to 2014. Cobalt-chromium (CoCr)-CPE and CoCr-HXLPE bearing surfaces were compared using all-cause revision, aseptic revision, and septic revision as end points. Survival analyses were conducted using rates per 100 years observed, Kaplan-Meier survival estimates, and Cox regression hazard ratios (HRs) adjusted for age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, body mass index (BMI), lead surgeon grade, and implant constraint. Secondary analyses compared the most commonly used HXLPEs (Zimmer Prolong, DePuy XLK, and Stryker X3) against CPE for the 3 most common total knee arthroplasty systems (NexGen, PFC Sigma, and Triathlon). In the present study of 550,658 total knee arthroplasties, the unadjusted aseptic revision rates were significantly lower following procedures performed with CPE (n = 513,744) as compared with those performed with HXLPE total knee replacements (n = 36,914) (0.29 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.28 to 0.30] compared to 0.38 [95% CI, 0.35 to 0.42], p 35 kg/m, the "second-generation" Stryker X3 HXLPE demonstrated significantly better survival than its respective CPE, with CPE having an HR of 2.6 (95% CI, 1.2 to 5.9) (p = 0.02). Alternative bearings are marketed as having improved wear properties over traditional CoCr-CPE. This registry-based analysis demonstrated no overall survival benefit of HXLPE after a maximum duration of follow-up of 12 years. Because of their increased cost, the routine use of HXLPE bearings may not be justified. However, they may have a role in specific "higher demand" groups such as patients 35 kg/m. Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete list of levels of evidence