The case assembles texts giving perspectives on the Great Depression by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, Anna Schwartz and Ben Bernanke. This should allow for a discussion of the role of fiscal and monetary policies in reaching and escaping outcomes in which the interest rate is close to zero for a long time.

The case examines Harley-Davidson's decision to enter the Indian market. Due to India's rapidly growing economy and its swelling base of high-net-worth consumers, numerous luxury product companies lined up to enter India. The case enumerates the factors that such firms should take into account when selecting new markets to enter. Also discussed are the various post-marketing issues Harley-Davidson faced in India after its entry and the resolutions the company could implement to resolve those issues.The case provides an opportunity for students to understand the dynamics involved in selecting new markets for the firm to maximize its gain while expanding its business.

Building Strategy and Performance Through Time is an eight-chapter book written by Kim Warren, professor of Strategic Management in MBA and Executive programs at London Business School, and published by Business Expert Press in May of 2009. Written for both students of and professionals in strategic management, the text sets an agenda for building business strategies in powerful, actionable, and accessible terms. It provides frameworks for understanding why a business's performance is moving on its current path, where it will go if the strategy remains unchanged, and how to design a robust strategy to transform this future. The author begins by examining the movement of performance and strategy over time, as strategic challenges evolve and resources, both tangible (staff, cash, and customers) and intangible (reputation and investor support), develop or decline. He then identifies the problems and shortcomings associated with existing strategic analysis tools, including SWOT and industry analyses. Finally, he provides an overview of practical techniques for developing a time-based picture of the challenges that organizations face.

Building Strategy and Performance Through Time is an eight-chapter book written by Kim Warren, professor of Strategic Management in MBA and Executive Programs at London Business School, and published by Business Expert Press in May of 2009. Written for both students of and professionals in strategic management, the text sets an agenda for building business strategies in powerful, actionable, and accessible terms. It provides frameworks for understanding why a business's performance is moving on its current path, where it will go if the strategy remains unchanged, and how to design a robust strategy to transform this future. Chapter 2 examines the link between resource availability and organizational performance. The author explains how to identify and focus on strategic resources, as well as how to define, measure, and obtain the quantitative understanding needed to best manage these resources.

Building Strategy and Performance Through Time is an eight-chapter book written by Kim Warren, professor of Strategic Management in MBA and Executive Programs at London Business School, and published by Business Expert Press in May of 2009. Written for both students of and professionals in strategic management, the text sets an agenda for building business strategies in powerful, actionable, and accessible terms. It provides frameworks for understanding why a business's performance is moving on its current path, where it will go if the strategy remains unchanged, and how to design a robust strategy to transform this future. In Chapter 3, the author introduces his concept of bathtub behavior - the idea that resources fill and drain over time -- and explains the relevance of this behavior to strategic decision-making. Specific topics include how to model and quantify these resources as they fill and drain; how management control affects resource behavior; and how to create strategies for developing resources through time.

Building Strategy and Performance Through Time is an eight-chapter book written by Kim Warren, professor of Strategic Management in MBA and Executive Programs at London Business School, and published by Business Expert Press in May of 2009. Written for both students of and professionals in strategic management, the text sets an agenda for building business strategies in powerful, actionable, and accessible terms. It provides frameworks for understanding why a business's performance is moving on its current path, where it will go if the strategy remains unchanged, and how to design a robust strategy to transform this future. Chapter 4 explores the mechanisms that make resources complementary and the implications of these interdependencies on organizational performance over time. Major topics include: gaining and maintaining resources; identifying both the external and internal drivers of resource growth and decline; methods by which specific resources - such as capital and customers - can be harnessed to stimulate their own growth; and how existing resources can be utilized effectively to grow complementary resources.

Building Strategy and Performance Through Time is an eight-chapter book written by Kim Warren, professor of Strategic Management in MBA and Executive Programs at London Business School, and published by Business Expert Press in May of 2009. Written for both students of and professionals in strategic management, the text sets an agenda for building business strategies in powerful, actionable, and accessible terms. It provides frameworks for understanding why a business's performance is moving on its current path, where it will go if the strategy remains unchanged, and how to design a robust strategy to transform this future. Chapter 5 applies the concepts discussed in Chapters 1 through 4 as it explores methods to assemble a complete strategic architectural model for an organization. The model takes into account performance, resource flows, and interdependencies. The author explains how to utilize this architecture to understand past performance, anticipate likely developments, and plan for alternative possibilities for the future. He also identifies five methods that managers can use to improve organizational performance: minimizing leakages in the resource system, improving resource acquisition and development, eliminating self-imposed limits, looking for reinforcing mechanisms to drive growth, and evaluating step solutions to shift the system to a new state.

Building Strategy and Performance Through Time is an eight-chapter book written by Kim Warren, professor of Strategic Management in MBA and Executive programs at London Business School, and published by Business Expert Press in May of 2009. Written for both students of and professionals in strategic management, the text sets an agenda for building business strategies in powerful, actionable, and accessible terms. It provides frameworks for understanding why a business's performance is moving on its current path, where it will go if the strategy remains unchanged, and how to design a robust strategy to transform this future. Chapter 6 addresses the variation in the value, or worth, of a firm's resources. The chapter's primary focus is how to assess the value of different resources through the understanding of their respective resource attributes -- characteristics that vary between different items in the same pool of resources. For example, while cash is a uniform resource - every dollar bill is worth the same as the others - customers vary; for example, some are larger and some are more profitable. Major topics include: how to understand and effectively manage specific resource attributes; the mechanisms that cause attribute levels to change; problems, such as cannibalization, posed by resource attributes; and how best to improve resource quality.

Building Strategy and Performance Through Time is an eight-chapter book written by Kim Warren, professor of Strategic Management in MBA and Executive Programs at London Business School, and published by Business Expert Press in May of 2009. Written for both students of and professionals in strategic management, the text sets an agenda for building business strategies in powerful, actionable, and accessible terms. It provides frameworks for understanding why a business's performance is moving on its current path, where it will go if the strategy remains unchanged, and how to design a robust strategy to transform this future. Chapter 7 considers how to win, develop, and retain resources within an organizational context, and shows how rivalries between firms competing for these resources play out through time. The author explains the three dominant forms of rivalry - turning potential customers into actual customers, capturing rivals' customers, and competing for sales to shared customers - through a detailed example. The author outlines the processes of various forms of rivalry and examines the relevant challenges and opportunities that rivalry presents to managers.

Building Strategy and Performance Through Time is an eight-chapter book written by Kim Warren, professor of Strategic Management in MBA and Executive programs at London Business School, and published by Business Expert Press in May of 2009. Written for both students of and professionals in strategic management, the text sets an agenda for building business strategies in powerful, actionable, and accessible terms. It provides frameworks for understanding why a business's performance is moving on its current path, where it will go if the strategy remains unchanged, and how to design a robust strategy to transform this future. In the eighth and final chapter, the author focuses on a firm's intangible resources such as product and service quality, investor support, and employee morale; explains why they are important; and considers how managers can understand, measure, and best utilize them through time. The author also discusses managerial techniques to identify and resolve issues associated with intangibles as well as factors contributing to the growth or decline of intangible resources. He also explores "capabilities" -- activities a firm may excel at, such as building, retaining, and improving organizational resources -- and the relationship between capabilities and resource development.

John Gilleland, CEO of TerraPower, returned to his office after a lengthy meeting with potential investors. It was October 2012, and TerraPower was in the process of raising a $200M Series C round to finance the ongoing development of its next-generation nuclear reactor. Though early in the fundraising process, Gilleland noted that this most recent conversation was similar to conversations with other interested cleantech growth equity investors. The conversations circled around a common theme: "This is the biggest idea that's ever been presented at our partners' meeting. We love what you're doing, but it's not right for us as an investment." Outside of raising money from typical growth equity and infrastructure funds, Gilleland could partner with a government and/or form a joint venture with an existing nuclear power player. Reliance Industries as an investor in TerraPower could provide an entry point into the fast growing Indian market. At the same time, Gilleland and Gates had talked with China National Nuclear Corp. about a possible cooperation with TerraPower. Whom should Gilleland call next?

Edison Schools, Inc., a pioneer in the for-profit management of public schools, demonstrates the challenges and opportunities related to private sector involvement in the delivery of a public good. Follows the organization from its start-up through its initial public offering and, eventually, through its decision to execute a management buy-out to exit the public market. Explores at the corporate level the tension between Edison's effort to generate profits while achieving excellent educational outcomes.

This case, GSB No. E-459, explores the SeaMicro CEO's decision of whether or not to sell the company in early 2012. SeaMicro, a developer of low-power servers, has risen quickly as an innovative and significant force in a server market dominated by giants, including HP and Dell. In the fall of 2011, the company is approached by AMD, the industry's second largest microprocessor manufacturer behind Intel. AMD has faced challenging times in the recent past and is looking to acquire SeaMicro as a way to reinvent itself and establish a leadership position in the rapidly growing cloud computing space. Andrew Feldman, SeaMicro's CEO, must consider the implications of his decision to sell in the context of a variety of factors including his fiduciary duty to his investors and employees, other strategic opportunities with the likes of Dell, Samsung and ARM, and his own future.

In 2012, GREE was one of the world's most profitable mobile social gaming companies. Its success in Japan was due both to its in-house games and to the development platform that it offered to third-party game developers. Its biggest challenge was to replicate the success of this two-pronged strategy in international markets, where it had to contend not just with many other game developers (e.g. Zynga), but also with the mobile platform providers themselves (e.g. Apple's iOS and Google's Android).

This case presents the perspective of a Chinese company, Zhejiang Tianlong Capsule Co. Ltd. (Tianlong), and its experiences with the negative impact of an industry scandal. On April 15, 2012, China Central Television disclosed that several capsule producers in Ru’ao had illegally used industrial-grade gelatin to produce medical capsules. The capsules were found to contain excessive chromium, a heavy metal harmful to human health.<br><br>Tianlong was not on the list of guilty companies, but the scandal threatened to ruin the reputation of all capsule firms located in Ru’ao. Most pharmacy companies immediately avoided Ru’ao after such a nationwide scandal. The director of Tianlong must decide how to address customers’ concerns and keep Tianlong’s good reputation from being damaged as a result of the current scandal. The director was also annoyed by the local government’s requirement to suspend production. Some gelatin material had already been melted; suspending production would result in a direct financial loss. How should he respond to the supervision agency’s order?

The role of branding at the corporate level, distinct from product marketing, has evolved to serve as an expression of corporate values. This note surveys current thinking about the ways corporations consider the alignment of brand with the business model and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

The case describes two pilot projects on applying activity-based costing to measuring the cost of treating patients. It presents process maps and financial data relating to the processes used during (1) an office visit to a plastic surgeon for three different diagnoses, and (2) application and removal of three different casts in the orthopedic cast room. Students calculate and compare the costs and margins of the three procedures at the two different sites using the hospital's existing cost system and a proposed new system based on time-driven activity-based costing.

Considers whether New Balance, one of the world's five largest manufacturers of athletic footwear, should respond to Adidas' planned acquisition of Reebok-a transaction that would join the second- and third-largest companies in the industry. Highlights the unique aspects of New Balance's strategy-focusing on fit and performance by offering long-lived shoes in a wide variety of widths and eschewing celebrity endorsement of its products-and discusses New Balance's operations decisions to support that strategy. These include significant use of domestic manufacturing at a time when nearly all other competitors sourced finished shoes from Asian suppliers and an emphasis on improving inventory management for its network of small and large retailers. Set just after the announcement of the Adidas-Reebok transaction in 2005, with New Balance having recently initiated a companywide effort to improve operational performance through the application of concepts from lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System. Asks students to consider whether New Balance should change aspects of its operations strategy in light of the consolidation among its competitors or whether the Adidas-Reebok transaction represents an opportunity for New Balance to emphasize the importance of moving forward with its current approach.

On January 1, 2012, the LEGO Group announced a major new initiative to enhance its market penetration in Asia. Later in the year, a cross-functional group of senior managers gathered at company headquarters to discuss the status of the Asian initiative and the risks associated with it. The aim of the meeting was to outline four scenarios for the future that could help managers assess what key success factors and actions were required for coping with the challenges presented by each scenario and to prioritize them. Students will have an opportunity to enact the scenario exercise themselves, devising their own scenarios, and deciding whether the LEGO Group should build a factory in an Asian location in the next five to seven years. In order to facilitate a discussion about the challenges of designing a "winning organization," the case also presents difficult choices that executives had to make about the LEGO Group's strategy, choice of primary customers, core capabilities, and organizational structure. In order to facilitate a discussion about the challenges of designing a "winning organization", the case also presents difficult choices that executives had to make about the LEGO Group's strategy, choice of primary customers, core capabilities, and organizational structure.

This technical note describes the "OpCo/PropCo" process of valuing a real estate intensive business. The term "OpCo/PropCo" refers to a business arrangement in which a consolidated, real estate-intensive enterprise is split into two separate businesses: (1) A property company and (2) the underlying operating business.