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Hasbro Interactive

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Running head: HASBRO INTERACTIVE CASE

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Diego Hidalgo
Ottawa University
Planning and Budgeting
Dr. Kayong Holston
Hasbro Interactive case
February 8th, 2016

HASBRO INTERACTIVE CASE

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Introduction

In 1995, chief executive of toy and game company Hasbro, Alan Hassenfeld, decided to take a risk on interactive games. During this time, it was believed that interactive games had a brilliant future given the improving multimedia capabilities of a personal computer. Soon after,
Tom Dusenberry was charged with building the new division for Hasbro, to be named Hasbro
Interactive (Anthony, 2007). This essay analyzes the evolution of Hasbro Interactive, its strategy compared to the traditional businesses, and its success as a division of the company.
Hasbro Interactive Case
During the developing stages of Hasbro Interactive, many outside experts (software developers) were consulted and hired in order to meet this division's specific demands. Under
Dusenberry, Hasbro Interactive saw early revenues generated; these early revenues allowed for early growth and success. After a successful start, the division started acquiring firms that specialized in software development. Therefore, Hasbro Interactive needed to earn revenue from more sales. After the division failed to meet the high target sales, and its departments became over budgeted, it began to lose money. Besides acquiring the software firms, the early revenues were used to give large bonuses to Hasbro Interactive employees. With the acquisition of multiple firms, the division struggled to keep control of its organizational structure, and soon, Mr. Hassenfeld was forced to make some changes (Anthony, 2007).
In 1999, Alan Hassenfeld began by making management changes by hiring Herb Baum, whose first order of business was to change the division’s strategy and planning. He also required that managers from the acquired firms worked closer in order to develop a more standard organization. The division made more mistakes along the way, including the expectation of high revenues ($1 billion dollars), taking risks in order to meet the expectations, continued acquisition of more software firms, and high spending of their funds. Soon after,

HASBRO INTERACTIVE CASE

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Hasbro lost all confidence in Hasbro Interactive due to a large number of returned products, inability to compete with “Interactive Monopoly”, missed deadlines, and many revisions of the division's financial forecasts. Hasbro’s corporate decided to make more changes in an effort to repair the financial damage that the Interactive division caused. Jackie Daya was hired to repair the damages and began by developing an accounting method that made sense for the division; she also re­evaluated the spending and general finances of the division (Anthony, 2007). The results showed that the division was on track to fall short of the yearly forecast and soon after,
Hasbro, Inc. sold the interactive division to a french company (Anthony, 2007). The future seemed bright for Hasbro Interactive but with such a fast growth, the division was unable to create a suitable strategy for long term success, and eventually, saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Conclusion
Hasbro Inc. and the Hasbro Interactive division mishandled the opportunity of long term success through interactive games. Top management for the Interactive division did not build a true strategic plan to remain profitable and competitive. Early revenues lead the division to risky decisions and inconsiderate spending. On the financial side, revenue forecasts were very high and the accounting method used by the division was not suitable for the structure of the organization. Bad decisions by management eventually resulted in selling the division as a solution to this financial crisis. If Hasbro had maintained a more standard structure across its divisions, as well as having implemented management control from corporate level to divisional level, Hasbro Interactive could still be relevant in the gaming industry.

HASBRO INTERACTIVE CASE

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Reference

Anthony, R. N., & Govindarajan, V. (2007). anagement control systems
M
. Boston:
McGraw­Hill/Irwin.

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