Vivek Khuller has built Smartix by attracting classmates to co-found it with him, learning how to pitch it to top VC firms and potential strategic partners, and honing the concept and business model by testing it in smaller venues. Now, he is facing the implications of the choices he has made in each of these areas and has to decide how to manage those implications.
This note provides detailed instructions on finding resources for conducting industry analysis, with a special focus on resources available at Harvard Business School. It allows students to transition from doing a Five Forces analysis on the basis of a case, where all relevant facts are provided, to doing a Five Forces analysis in a work setting, without the benefit of a prepackaged case. Exhibits provide detailed information on top resources for industry analysis, instructions for accessing prominent databases, notes on using the Internet and other new media, and some publication-related tricks of the trade pertinent to each step in the industry analysis process.
Management of a diversified chemicals company faces two financial decisions: whether to finance a major investment in new production facilities for its rapidly expanding Environmental Products Division, and whether to sell a more slowly growing non-specialty chemicals division. the latter decision has implications for how the new investment, if it is undertaken, should be financed. Financing options available to the firm include bank borrowing, issuing convertible debt, and selling new common stock in the public market.
This lesson develops the classical structural approach to pricing and hedging credit risk: Merton's (1974) contingent claims model of debt and equity claims. This model is used to make investment and risk management decisions in an over-the-counter (OTC) market for distressed bonds.
This lesson integrated Merton's (1974) contingent claims model of debt and equity claims with the CAPM, which allows us to examine the risks and pricing of credit portfolios, and the derivative claims issued against them. In particular, this model is used to make investment and risk management decisions in the market for collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).
Cape Wind is an extreme example of NIMBY--not in my backyard syndrome. This is the first offshore wind project planned for the United States, in Nantucket Sound, just south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Initially proposed six years ago, in 2001, the wind farm would be visible from Hyannis port and Osterville, two affluent communities. The coastal residents of those towns have led a campaign in Massachusetts and in Congress to thwart the efforts of Cape Wind. This case introduces the global wind industry, the rationale for wind, and then carefully reviews the various issues associated with the project.
Uria Menendez, the pre-eminent law firm in Iberia, is at a critical point in its long and distinguished history. Its newly appointed second generation co-managing Partners are facing some critical strategic decisions concerning how the firm should position itself in Iberia, geographical expansion to serve the needs of its clients, and its "Best Friends Network" with leading law firms in other countries. The firm must also address critical issues regarding the hiring, development per in work/life balance, and compensation of the top law school graduates the firm needs to maintain its position and reputation.
The Uria Menendez C case describes the passing of the firm's founder, Rodrigo Uria, its continued success (including being one of the Top 10 MNA law firms in the world) and its decision to open an office in Warsaw.
The Uria Menendez (B) Cas describes the three major strategic options facing the firm. It can be used when the instructor wants to teach the case over two classes. The first class, based on the A case, explores the reason for the the firm's success. The B case describes the three main strategic options and the issues regarding each option. In the second class, students can debate each option.
The senior vice-president of Corporate Store Sales, Sears Canada (Sears), was reviewing a new retailing initiative scheduled to launch within a month in all full-line Sears department stores across Canada. For the holiday season, Sears would offer the services of an elf, the equivalent of a personal shopper, to its customers. Although personal shoppers were common in upscale department stores, especially in the United States, this concept had not been tried in Sears stores. Taylor wondered how customers would respond to this novel concept in Canadian retailing.
This case examines a hard fought litigation over a patent that originated at Bell Labs. It illustrates the challenges that technology companies face today innovating in a complex intellectual property environment in fields where there is a high amount of cumulativeness. The case highlights the leverage that good strategic thinking can bring to influencing the outcome.
Delphi Corporation, operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has filed a plan of reorganization with the court, under which a consortium of hedge funds led by Appaloosa Management will invest up to $2.6 billion in new equity. Also participating in the plan is General Motors, which as the former parent of Delphi, has agreed to fund a portion of the massive pension and retiree health care liabilities that Delphi incurred when it separated from GM in a prior spin-off. The company has also had to seek significant financial concessions from the United Auto Workers, without which it may not survive as a going concern. Greatly complicating the negotiations is the significant uncertainty surrounding the value of Delphi's business and the complexity of its capital structure.
Explains the approvals and construction process for a building to be constructed against neighborhood opposition above an operating bank branch in New York City.
Examines various approaches to measuring investment performance. The approaches include the use of risk exposure and the Sharpe and Information Ratios. Applies the approaches to a variety of mutual funds to demonstrate the effect of using different metrics to measure fund performance.
An entrepreneur is looking for business opportunities since she immigrated to London, Ontario. She has come across a franchising opportunity with Williams Coffee Pub (WCP). The promotional material for WCP indicates that annual sales for a typical restaurant can be up to $1,700,000 with a profit margin of 17.5 per cent. This business opportunity seems very attractive, however, she must do some additional investigation. The purpose of this case is for students to build a spreadsheet-based cash flow model and to use the model to perform basic sensitivity or "What if?" analysis.