Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream (Abridged)

In June 1998, the senior management team at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream was figuring out how to address the most challenging problems ever faced by the company. Problems were wide ranging, including aggressive discounting by competitors, waning demand of Dreyer’s high margin Better-For-You products, and Ben & Jerry’s severing its distribution contract. Dreyer’s management had put considerable time and effort into crafting the company culture and counted it as one of Dreyer’s strengths. As the management team recognized that a financial restructuring was mandatory, it needed to decide on the best way to make difficult changes and whether to continue adhering to the company culture.