Although he was hired as a financial analyst after completing his MBA, Richard Houston’s first
assignment at Chicago Valve was with the firm’s marketing department. Historically, the major
focus of Chicago Valve’s sales effort was on demonstrating the reliability and technological superiority
of the firm’s product line. However, many of Chicago Valve’s traditional customers have
embarked on cost-cutting programs in recent years. As a result, Chicago Valve’s marketing director
asked Houston’s boss, the financial VP, to lend Houston to marketing to help them develop some
analytical procedures that the salesforce can use to demonstrate the financial benefits of buying
Chicago Valve’s products.