After independence in 1947, the government of India founded the Industrial Finance Corporation of India as the first development financial institution to provide medium- and long-term loans to public limited companies and cooperative societies engaged in productive activities. Then in 1991, the government's New Economic Policy opened the door to liberalization, privatization and globalization of the Indian economy. The company was restructured and incorporated in 1993 but was unable to diversify its business model from project financing to other financial services. By 2004, it had almost collapsed; its profitability had become negative. Non-performing assets had reached their peak, and the company did not have money to do business. It began selling off and/or renting out its premises, going door-to-door to save its future, and employee morale hit rock bottom. The business had become unsustainable and unviable. With this as backdrop, the board of directors needs to decide on the company's future. What is their best option: liquidation, restructuring, merger or strategic partnership?

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. can trace its current-day profitable business operations in its Doom Dooma factory in the conflict-ridden northeastern state of Assam (India) to its proactive corporate responsibility initiatives since the start of its operations. A spurt in sales in the personal care segment has led the company to consider capacity expansion. The company needs to decide whether to continue to invest in Assam despite three challenges: operational risks posed by the area's continuing insurgency, the possibility of labour disruptions and the imminent discontinuance of fiscal incentives.

The executive director, human resources, at Hindustan Unilever Ltd., a market leader in the Indian fast moving consumer goods sector and the Indian subsidiary of the major multinational, Unilever Ltd., is concerned that the company may be losing its position as the "dream employer" for graduates from the top Indian business schools from which it recruits its management personnel. The shifting demographic profile of employees and their changing expectations have already resulted in changes in the company's employment model. These include on-the-job training and classroom and e-learning program facilities at all levels of the organization and at all stages of one's career; mentoring by senior management; communication of vision and goals throughout the company, especially through regular meetings with the CEO; a focus on corporate social responsibility; and an emphasis on work-life balance, such as offering sabbaticals and providing health and recreation facilities at the new headquarters. While the company has changed its traditional employment value proposition, in a highly competitive and talent-scarce job market, can it continue to be relevant in order to attract and retain the best talent in the country?

It was February 2009, when Eric Edelson wondered to himself how he had gotten into this situation. Less than two years earlier, Edelson had been an MBA student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business ready to market a footwear product to the elderly. Since then, he had been unemployed, fired from his first job, and had acted as an underpaid consultant for a series of small and struggling companies. At present, Edelson was an operator at Fireclay Tile, an insolvent tile manufacturer with revenues of less than $3 million. Much had changed for Edelson since his pre-GSB days at Lehman Brothers. As Edelson sat in Fireclay founder Paul Burns' car driving what would become a daily commute from his home in San Francisco, California, to Fireclay's headquarters in San Jose, California, he evaluated the challenges that lay before him. Edelson had initially been brought in by Burns and his partner to evaluate BottleStone, one of Fireclay's product lines. Over time, Edelson had become more involved in Fireclay's strategy development and operations, eventually helping Burns highlight Fireclay's inefficiencies and providing him with actionable recommendations on how to address them. Little did Edelson know then that his work would result in his potentially joining and operating the company. Edelson had provided Burns with his turnaround plan just a few weeks before with the expectation that Burns would execute the recommendations himself. Now, Edelson was in a position to take charge and assume the responsibility of turning around the flailing organization. Pulling up to Fireclay's headquarters in San Jose, and with his game plan in hand, Edelson knew he had his work cut out for him.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation owned a 168-year-old British tabloid, News of the World, which obtained its juiciest stories by illegally hacking the phones of many people, including actors, celebrities and prime ministers. Murdoch shut down the paper following the disclosure of the scandal. A Parliamentary investigation showed the phone hacking practice was widespread and supported at the top of the organization. Was this scandal a failure of governance by the board, or was it only a failure of management?

The executive director, human resources, at Hindustan Unilever Ltd., a market leader in the Indian fast moving consumer goods sector and the Indian subsidiary of the major multinational, Unilever Ltd., is concerned that the company may be losing its position as the “dream employer” for graduates from the top Indian business schools from which it recruits its management personnel. The shifting demographic profile of employees and their changing expectations have already resulted in changes in the company’s employment model. These include on-the-job training and classroom and e-learning program facilities at all levels of the organization and at all stages of one’s career; mentoring by senior management; communication of vision and goals throughout the company, especially through regular meetings with the CEO; a focus on corporate social responsibility; and an emphasis on work-life balance, such as offering sabbaticals and providing health and recreation facilities at the new headquarters. While the company has changed its traditional employment value proposition, in a highly competitive and talent-scarce job market, can it continue to be relevant in order to attract and retain the best talent in the country?

This technical note explores some of the legal implications that companies face when deciding how to price their goods. It focuses on the three main federal antitrust laws: the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Robinson-Patman Act. By learning the basics of these antitrust laws, those who read this note will have a better idea of how to avoid violating these laws.

Digital Marketing Strategy is the process by which firms employ, either partially or exclusively, digital tools, techniques, and tactics to create value for customers.

Beidahuang is a major new Chinese player in global grain trading that in 2013 is seeking access to grain both to help assure China's food security and in pursuit of its own commercial goals. Focusing on potential trade in Brazilian soybeans, the case asks students to re-evaluate the role of agricultural cooperatives in the global trading system and to assess what sort of model Beidahuang can create to capitalize on current industry trends while remaining true to its character as a leading Chinese agricultural grower and distributor.

The Clique Pens Writing Implements division of U.S. Home is a manufacturer of a full line of pens, pencils, markers, and art supplies. Despite solid sales, division president Elise Ferguson has seen gross margins drop from 42% in 2010 to just over 36% in 2012 as a result of various discounts, allowances, and other off-invoice deals. She is now considering a move away from these discounts in favor of Market Development Funds (MDF), which would be used explicitly to promote retail merchandising activity for Clique and in theory provide the company with more control of trade promotional dollars to influence consumer behavior. Along the way, Ferguson must consider the structure and problems of various trade promotions and the conflicting needs of her sales and marketing departments. This case introduces basic elements of promotion and pricing policy and the challenges of marketing through major mass retailers.

E-mail is often used as a substitute for a phone call or a meeting. This exercise addresses the appropriateness and effectiveness of e-mail as a channel for communicating sensitive information. Students assume the role of a director of marketing and design and are asked to compose an e-mail to subordinates addressing an imminent change that will affect them.

The supply chain director of Indo-Euro Pharma summoned an urgent meeting in response to significant losses incurred by the company in the last fiscal year. This was primarily due to the return of yet another international consignment of temperature-sensitive drugs (TSDs) - this time worth millions of dollars. The meeting focused on the inability of Indo-Euro Pharma to appropriately distribute and monitor TSDs cost effectively across the various stages and locations of the supply chain - especially at the pharmacist level. Deviations from drugs' required temperature ranges could happen during packaging, storage, transport, loading and unloading in aircraft, sea containers, trucks, etc. It was extremely difficult to monitor whether pharmacists were following proper procedures for storing TSDs. Most medical stores in India had domestic refrigerators that required frequent calibration. The problems indicated the need for Indo-Euro Pharma to adopt an alternative distribution system that was specifically tailored for TSDs.

Owing to the rapidly growing automotive market, international joint venture activity in the auto-components sector has been increasing in India, both in terms of frequency and strategic importance.Bonazzi Indo Fasteners Limited, a joint venture between the Turin-based Bonazzi Group and the Mumbai-based Indo Group, was set up to manufacture automotive fasteners, primarily for global original equipment manufacturers. There is a confrontational relationship between the two joint venture partners, and the chief executive officer has been unable to broker peace between them.

The supply chain director of Indo-Euro Pharma summoned an urgent meeting in response to significant losses incurred by the company in the last fiscal year. This was primarily due to the return of yet another international consignment of temperature-sensitive drugs (TSDs) — this time worth millions of dollars. The meeting focused on the inability of Indo-Euro Pharma to appropriately distribute and monitor TSDs cost effectively across the various stages and locations of the supply chain — especially at the pharmacist level. Deviations from drugs’ required temperature ranges could happen during packaging, storage, transport, loading and unloading in aircraft, sea containers, trucks, etc. It was extremely difficult to monitor whether pharmacists were following proper procedures for storing TSDs. Most medical stores in India had domestic refrigerators that required frequent calibration. The problems indicated the need for Indo-Euro Pharma to adopt an alternative distribution system that was specifically tailored for TSDs.

Owing to the rapidly growing automotive market, international joint venture activity in the auto-components sector has been increasing in India, both in terms of frequency and strategic importance.<br><br>Bonazzi Indo Fasteners Limited, a joint venture between the Turin-based Bonazzi Group and the Mumbai-based Indo Group, was set up to manufacture automotive fasteners, primarily for global original equipment manufacturers. There is a confrontational relationship between the two joint venture partners, and the chief executive officer has been unable to broker peace between them.

In 2013, Kenyan horticulture producer and exporter VP Group is weighing potential expansion opportunities against the growing risks in its production and export markets. With $121 million in 2012 revenues, VP Group has grown rapidly in recent years by expanding its vegetable and flower production beyond Kenya into Ethiopia and Ghana; exploring new products such as sugar; and vertically integrating by bringing marketing and logistics operations in-house. The company's leadership is excited about future growth opportunities but also concerned about the impact of VP Group's growth on its entrepreneurial culture. The company also faces increasing cost pressures due to rising costs in Kenya and flat prices in U.K. supermarkets, its main buyers. VP Group's size, vertical integration, and focus on sustainability leave it well positioned as a long-term partner to U.K. supermarkets, but changes to the overall operating environment might require the company to rethink its strategy.

The management of Germany's Brainlab AG, a leading provider of software-driven oncology and surgery solutions, needs to evaluate strategic options for proceeding without an exclusive hardware partner in its most profitable business segment.

This reading provides an introduction to forecasting methods. It includes a brief summary of methods based on judgment and a longer section on quantitative analysis. It also provides sample data so readers can develop an understanding of concepts such as correlation, covariance, time-series data, moving averages, exponential smoothing, time-series decomposition, trend estimation, simple linear regression, autocorrelation, and multiple linear regression.

Isolated by the KGB in Moscow, Harvard graduate student Bruce Allyn faces high-pressure negotiation tactics to recruit him for the Soviet spy agency. At the tense height of the Cold War, with CIA agents systematically being exposed and executed in Russia, Allyn was participating in an unusual joint U.S.-Soviet study that alternated between the two countries. Going about his doctoral research, meeting and making friends with Russians, he accepted a low-key invitation from a trusted Russian friend to meet for lunch somewhere on the outskirts of Moscow. After hours of warm conversation, great food, and endless alcohol with a group of Russians, all but one of this group drifted out of the room. Suddenly the sole remaining man, "Vladimir," looked straight at Bruce and stated: "I am a high-ranking KGB officer. I have been commissioned to make to you a proposal." Drunk, isolated, and highly vulnerable, Allyn must negotiate with this sophisticated KGB counterpart. To recruit Allyn to secretly work for the KGB, the agent tries many approaches: barely veiled threats, offers of money, and the promise of high level access and Soviet documents that would enable Allyn over time to become the top U.S. Sovietologist. Should Allyn accept the offer, the agent stresses how Allyn could have a much better life and far more effectively advance the shared goals of reducing the risks of nuclear war and improving relations between the two hostile superpowers. Allyn must figure out what to do.

This case picks up (from the end of the "A" case) the detailed story of the KGB's high-pressure negotiations with Harvard doctoral student Bruce Allyn to recruit him as a secret asset for the Soviet spy agency. The "A" case describes how, at the tense height of the Cold War, with CIA agents systematically being exposed and executed in Russia, Allyn participated in an unusual joint U.S.-Soviet study that alternated between the two countries. Going about his doctoral research, meeting and making friends with Russians, he accepted a low-key invitation from a trusted Russian friend to meet for lunch somewhere on the outskirts of Moscow. After hours of warm conversation, great food, and endless alcohol with a group of Russians, all but one of this group drifted out of the room. Suddenly the sole remaining man, "Vladimir," looked straight at Bruce and stated: "I am a high-ranking KGB officer. I have been commissioned to make to you a proposal." Drunk, isolated, and highly vulnerable, Allyn must negotiate with this sophisticated KGB counterpart. To recruit Allyn to secretly work for the KGB, the agent tries many approaches: barely veiled threats, offers of money, and the promise of high level access and Soviet documents that would enable Allyn over time to become the top U.S. Sovietologist. Should Allyn accept the offer, the agent stresses how Allyn could have a much better life and far more effectively advance the shared goals of reducing the risks of nuclear war and improving relations between the two hostile superpowers. At the end of the "A" case, Allyn must figure out what to do. The "B" case recounts subsequent episodes in the negotiation as well as its conclusion.