CASE 24

Norton Lilly International:

Implementing Transformational
Change in the Shipping Industry

Assignment Questions
1. What impresses you about Norton Lilly International? What has accounted for Norton Lillys success over
the past 150+ years? What aspects of Norton Lilly do you find unimpressive?
2. What happened in 2006 to handicap the company?
3. What is Norton Lilly Internationals strategy? Which of the five generic competitive strategies most closely
fit with the competitive approach that Norton Lilly International is taking?
4. Is Norton Lillys competitive strategy working well? What does the information in case Exhibits 1 and
2 reveal about the companys strategic and financial performance during 2006 to 2009? What does the
information contained in case Exhibit 3 indicate regarding the companys projected performance in 2010?
Please use the financial ratios presented in the Table 4.1 of the text (pages 94-96) to guide your calculations
and reach conclusions about the caliber of Norton Lilly Internationals financial performance?
5. What policies, practices, support systems and management approaches underlie Norton Lilly Internationals
efforts to execute a turnaround strategy for the company? Has Norton Lilly International built an organization
capable of good strategy execution?
6. How has Norton Lilly Internationals use of the Balanced Scorecard and other performance measures aided
in the companys efforts to implement a companywide performance management system?
7. What is your assessment of the internal leadership of Norton Lilly International? Does the company have the
leadership in place to take the company to the next level of performance?
8. What is your assessment of Jim Burtons turnaround initiative? Has he been successful in turning around the
company? Are additional efforts or initiatives needed? Why or why not?
9. What issues do Burton and the management team need to address?
10. What recommendations would you make to Jim Burton?