The IDIEM, through its Energy and Sustainability Department, has launched a new line of consultancy services for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in Chile. A central component of this initiative is the online Catalogo Verde, a portal for the environmental rating of construction materials. The site is designed to provide technical specifications and detailed materials testing results for architects designing buildings to be certified as LEED compliant. The LEED certification constitutes a third-party validation of the energy and environmental performance of buildings. An LEED certification is seen by the general public as an indicator of corporate social responsibility and good citizenship for the owners and users. The IDIEM-Catalogo Verde was designed as a knowledge instrument for the engineering and architecture markets, but also as a tool to build relationships and open doors for other IDIEM services. Besides, it is a tool to build the IDIEM brand among key influencers in the construction industry, government agencies, real estate investors, and materials suppliers. Catalogo Verde has been very well received. The backing of IDIEM is an umbrella that guarantees its excellence and competence. Management has launched a series of initiatives to build up online traffic and accelerate the adoption of LEED by architects in Chile.

The CEO of University Hospital expressed concern about the financial viability of the hospital's trauma care operations. On the one hand, trauma care was an important part of the hospital's community service mission and, as a teaching hospital, also part of its educational mission. On the other hand, trauma care had been a money-losing proposition for many years, and also had caused disruptions to the hospital's other care-delivery services. The CEO and the chief trauma surgeon (who served as the hospital's director of trauma services) collaborated to rethink physical arrangements and processes to make trauma care more effective at a lower cost. A natural solution, growing out of concepts from organization design and process architecture, would be to reorganize resources and create an area dedicated to trauma care. For those familiar with operations management terminology, potential solutions can be drawn from cellular manufacturing concepts that have been effectively moved into the service sector. The case discussion helps to illustrate that changes in physical configuration cannot, by themselves, ensure success. Students are challenged to consider complementary factors that will support the configuration change, as well as the challenges the hospital might face in implementing and sustaining the reconfigured work unit.

Marketing experts have long been frustrated by the limited number of tools available to measure the impact of communications campaigns. New tools are now being researched and tested that mine social media forums for information to track a campaign's efficacy. In this case, students will gain an understanding of this tool and its ability to measure the success of an advertising campaign launched to reposition the Cadillac brand.

April 2013, Leuven (Belgium). Sitting behind his desk at the Headquarters of Materialise, the company he founded and still led as CEO, Wilfried Vancraen reminisced about the exciting last few years. It had taken 20 years to lead the company from pioneer in 3D printing technology to the ultimate industry accolade, the receipt in 2011 of the RTAM Industry Achievement Award for the extensive contributions the firm had made to additive manufacturing. Revenues reached the $90 million mark in 2013, with 1,000+ employees. The company was broadly diversified, catering to different markets in both B2B and B2C sectors and was a clear market leader in applications such as software for additive manufacturing and biomedical engineering, as well as in biomedical 3D printing activities. But the competitive landscape was evolving quickly. Many new service bureaus were opening up. Hype about 3D printing was growing in the media. The barriers to entry (technological and financial) were, but becoming steeper in machine and material manufacturing. Vertical integration was starting to appear with big 3D printing machine manufacturers starting to acquire service providers, software developers and material manufacturers. It was a bit early to judge the effectiveness and long-term effects of this emerging trend. Further consolidation was clearly in sight. For Materialise, the options were numerous. It could become the consolidator, acquiring and merging into other players. But with its unique portfolio of competencies and activities, it could as easily become a seller in the process. It could also continue to grow independently. There was also the issue of whether it should seek further financing from the public in an IPO. Being an established prized player in the industry opened up many opportunities...

An entrepreneur in Atlantic Canada believes he has a five to six year window to capitalize on the growth of his newest venture, Maritime Bus, a passenger transportation and parcel delivery service, before his retirement. Having turned around a business that lost $12 million over the previous eight years in less than six months, he believes he has the opportunity to continue this success. However, he is unsure what strategies to follow to achieve growth: expand the parcel service, partner with other transportation operators to attract more riders, increase marketing efforts or move into Newfoundland and Labrador. He is also unsure about the value of the business and how he can smoothly and profitably transfer his ownership shares to his partner, one or more of his children or an external investor. Any decision needs to be made in consultation with his family.

In May 2013, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, proposed to create the Churches’ Mutual Credit Union as an alternative to payday lenders. His chief target was Wonga.com, an online provider of short-term loans that was founded in 2006 in the United Kingdom and quickly grew to become the largest payday lender in the country. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, short-term lenders saw a rapid increase in business as banks tightened their lending standards. However, they often charged as much as 5,000 per cent interest or more. Customers were frequently unsophisticated borrowers, and Wonga’s advertising appeared to be directed to vulnerable populations and children. The archbishop did not feel that regulation was the answer to payday lenders and instead sought to compete with them. Is his strategy viable?

This relatively short case describes the development of Rolls-Royce's (RR) Seletar plant in Singapore, and in particular how the plant moved very quickly from a factory receiving information and innovation from its sister facility in the United Kingdom to a node in RR's manufacturing network. The Seletar plant in Singapore is RR's first overseas plant to assemble aircraft engines, as well as to produce some high tech components. The case is divided into three main parts, each discussing a key question: Why did RR decide to set up a plant in Singapore? How did RR develop in the early days of the plant (e.g. talent development, transfer of knowledge, etc.)? How did the RR Seletar plant evolve from a receiver of knowledge to a partner in the network? The case ends by asking the question how to maintain the good network interactions after the plant has matured, and the initial attention paid to the new plant by the UK management has subsided. The case pays particular attention to the transfer of knowledge from the UK to Singapore and the development of a capable local workforce and management.

Launched in early 2005, Zopa is a peer-to-peer online brokerage that couples British residents who want to lend with those who want to borrow. The company represents a new business model in the retail financial services industry, and since Zopa is not technically a bank and does not lend money itself, the capital requirements to run the business are relatively small. Compared to a traditional full service bank Zopa concentrates on only a few steps of the value chain. This case study provides an overview of how Zopa, a value innovator, has developed a unique position in the market through an innovative business model. This case enables students to develop a good understanding of the elements of a value innovation and how technologies have the potential to shake up an established industry structure and its key players. Students also get to discuss the sustainability of competitive advantage in a business in which network effects play an important role. Finally, the case can be used to address the topic of how incumbent firms should respond to innovative new business models.

In November 2013, GoldieBlox was accused of copyright infringement. It used the Beastie Boys song "Girls" in one of its advertisements promoting new toys for girls without permission. The company's reaction to file a lawsuit against the band was not well received and perhaps a little hasty.<br><br>In the wake of the crisis, the chief executive officer of GoldieBlox Toy Company and her team had some decisions to make regarding how to handle the lawsuit they filed against the Beastie Boys that then backfired. The hostile environment was not conducive to the image of the company and the negative media was of concern to GoldieBox and its employees.

The Treasure Trophy (Treasure) company manufactures trophies for all kinds of sporting, business and celebratory events. The trophy manufacturing industry is highly competitive and, as a result, pricing decisions with respect to formulating bids are very important. Treasure has traditionally used a job order system of cost accumulation (i.e., job cost). Treasure has to bid on two new jobs, and the new general manager must decide which method of costing should be used for these orders and subsequently set a price for each order.

Modeled loosely after the American restaurant chain Chipotle, Picante Mexican Grill seeks to offer fresh and healthy vegetarian fast-food options. The owners of this start-up chain in Gurgaon, India, struggle to manage their quickly growing operation. As they consider expanding into new locations, diverse issues-including determining store hours, location, managing centralized production, and meeting staffing needs-challenge the entrepreneurial trio.

In November 2013, the 301 Inc. division of General Mills, Inc. jumped into the emerging "subscription economy" with nibblr, a personalized snacking service. Customers utilized online tools to select and rate their deliveries. The nibblr team reached these consumers primarily through interactive marketing. It was a completely a new approach for the company: a small entrepreneurial team learning as it worked, direct response mechanisms of the consumers, technology that enabled product delivery, and lots of experimentation. In the first four months, nibblr wasn't acquiring customers as quickly as it had hoped. The 301 Inc. team was considering a number of other marketing ideas for getting the word out about nibblr, but which ones would succeed? This case has been used in Darden's required marketing course.

In November 2013, GoldieBlox was accused of copyright infringement. It used the Beastie Boys song “Girls” in one of its advertisements promoting new toys for girls without permission. The company’s reaction to file a lawsuit against the band was not well received and perhaps a little hasty.<br><br>In the wake of the crisis, the chief executive officer of GoldieBlox Toy Company and her team had some decisions to make regarding how to handle the lawsuit they filed against the Beastie Boys that then backfired. The hostile environment was not conducive to the image of the company and the negative media was of concern to GoldieBox and its employees.

The Treasure Trophy (Treasure) company manufactures trophies for all kinds of sporting, business and celebratory events. The trophy manufacturing industry is highly competitive and, as a result, pricing decisions with respect to formulating bids are very important. Treasure has traditionally used a job order system of cost accumulation (i.e., job cost). Treasure has to bid on two new jobs, and the new general manager must decide which method of costing should be used for these orders and subsequently set a price for each order.

Transfer pricing used by multinational corporations to lower its tax burden, thereby increasing its consolidated income, can have far-reaching implications for the stakeholders, as a fund manager for Saskhedge fund found out the hard way. A stock investment the manager had made in Cameco Corporation has dropped its value by 20 per cent. In addition, Canada Revenue Agency has initiated a law suit against the firm for alleged tax avoidance in relation to the company's transfer pricing practices with its Swiss subsidiary. The suit could result in an additional tax liability of $800 million to $850 million. The manager needs to explain to the investment board the implications of the lawsuit on the stock price and advise the board on whether the projected $800 to $850 million is a fair estimate.

As an engineering company operating in India’s steel sector, Pennar Industries boasts gross sales of INR 7.3 billion in financial Year 2009. Pennar had been on the brink of bankruptcy in the early 2000s, but, thanks to foreign investment, the company went on to experience a remarkable turnaround. In 2009, the board of directors at Pennar is considering a share buyback.<br><br>As the chief financial officer at Pennar Industries prepares the share-buyback proposal that is due to be presented to the board of directors for approval, he wonders whether a share buyback represents the right decision for the company and its shareholders. If so, what buyback price should he recommend to the board? And if not, what other investment options should the company consider instead?

Hospital for Special Surgery, a focused factory for orthopedics and joint disease, is contemplating various growth options: further growth in the United Kingdom's National Health Services, management of hospitals in the United States, and/or hospital consulting. Reviews the issues surrounding growth of a nonprofit institution and the United Kingdom's socialized health care system.

In 2006, Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, was looking for a way to solve Netflix's customer churn problem. Netflix used Cinematch, its proprietary movie recommendation software, to promote individually determined best-fit movies to customers. Hastings determined that a 10% improvement to the Cinematch algorithm would decrease customer churn and increase annual revenue by up to $89 million. However, traditional options for improving the algorithm, such as hiring and training new employees, were time intensive and costly. Hastings decided to improve Netflix's software by crowdsourcing, and began planning the Netflix Prize, an open contest searching for a 10% improvement on Cinematch. The case examines the dilemmas Hastings faced as he planned the contest, such as whether to use an existing crowdsourcing platform or create his own, what company information to expose, how to protect customer privacy while making internal datasets public, how to allocate IP, and how to manage the crowd.

Best Buy is a consumer electronics retailer with nearly 2,000 stores worldwide. In 2012, the rising popularity of price-matching apps for mobile phones made price differences between retailers transparent, online and offline. Shoppers' desire to test electronics first-hand before purchase drove them to use Best Buy stores as "showrooms" to see new products and then search for better deals on their smartphones. This case examines how brick-and-mortar stores battle showrooming through changes in product assortment, the development of apps, loyalty programs and changes in pricing policy. The case asks whether Best Buy can survive by permanently price-matching their online-only competitors, primarily Amazon, despite having higher costs.