Task: Use the case (Endius Inc.: Alternatives for Developing a New Medical Device by Julie H. Hertenstein; Marjorie B. Platt) to address these questions:
Question 1. Assume that Tom Davison is willing to loan Endius the cash to cover the initial product development costs regardless of whether Endius chooses in-house development or outsourced product development with Product Genesis Inc. Contrast the cost to Endius of accepting the Product Genesis proposal with the cost of developing the steerable forceps in-house. For the in-house alternative, what would it cost if it takes eight months to develop the product? 10 months? 14 months?
Question 2. Evaluate the two alternatives. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?
Question 3. If you were Tom Davison, what would you do? Why?
Question 4. If you were in Tom Davison's position, but you did not know executives at Product Genesis and they did not know you, how, if at all, would that change the situation? Your decision?