Case Scenario 2: Palmetto

question 54

Essay

Case Scenario 2: Palmetto.
Palmetto was an early pioneer of personal data assistants (PDAs)and dominates that market space (in terms of market share)with its core product, the Palmetto Pidgy. Because this product category was entirely new to the market, Palmetto had to internally develop the hardware and software sides of the business, and today it is both a manufacturer of PDAs and a programmer and licensor of its PDA operating system software. Recently, however, the hand-held device maker's performance has taken a dive as a result of slumping sales and costly inventory problems. Palmetto has also had difficulty coordinating its software and hardware businesses, in part because of the near absence of a coherent structure and the differing economics underlying the two. Specifically, hardware for PDAs is increasingly a cost-based business, while software is a highly differentiated one. While Palmetto is doing pretty well in both businesses, its own resource base does not allow it to compete any differently than that proscribed for other industry participants (that is, it competes on cost with hardware and features with software). In addition to the issues created by these fundamental differences, other large companies are entering both the equipment (such as Sony)and software (such as Microsoft)sides of its business, putting further pressure on margins. Management has decided that it is unable to focus on the complexities of each of these businesses so it is opting to break Palmetto into two separate, independent public companies - Pal, Inc. will be devoted to hardware and Mettolink, Inc. will be devoted to software.
-(Refer to Case Scenario 2). What basic structural form would you recommend for both Pal and Mettolink? What must each firm be careful to avoid with this structure?

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Definitions:

Tax Bracket

A tax bracket is a range of incomes taxed at a specific rate, with tax systems often applying progressively higher rates as income increases.

Annual

Pertaining to or occurring once every year.

Selling Price

The amount of money for which an item or service is sold in the market.

Operating Cash Flow

Represents the amount of cash generated by a company's normal business operations.