The case examines how market trends and competition in the global airline industry have driven recent developments in the commercial aircraft industry. Continued growth of low-cost carriers and industry downturn since September 11 have created a demand for smaller, more efficient regional jets and a gap between capacity and demand for planes in the 70- to 120-seat range. As a primary player in the regional jet segment, Embraer has developed a new aircraft family to serve the 70- to 120-seat market more efficiently and fill in the gap. Meanwhile, Bombardier, its major competitor in the regional jet market, announced it would develop a CSeries of aircrafts with unmatched operating efficiency to outperform Embraer's jets. Students must decide how Embraer should respond to Bombardier's CSeries challenge and whether Airbus and Boeing, the two largest aircraft makers in the world, would be likely to respond and, if so, how.
Alphadale Community Bank, Inc., began operating as a one-branch bank on January 1, 2006. It was dedicated to serving those in the small community of Alphadale who just wanted basic banking services without all the bells and whistles in a place where they felt comfortable and at home every time they walked through the door. The transactions that took place during its first year of operation are listed, and students are asked to record all transactions related to the first year of operations, prepare a December 31, 2006 balance sheet, and prepare an income statement for the year ended. The worksheet to record these transactions is provided.
The LG brand was launched in the US in 2002 with the ambition to build it up as a premium brand. The case outlines LG's strategy in the washing machine category from 2002-2005, during which a series of successful launches has established LG as a strong player. The case presents extensive customer data and information on potential product features for a new washing machine and raises several questions: Which segment should LG serve? What features should the new machine contain? How should it be priced? How should it be marketed? The questions need to be addressed in light of LG's desire to be a premium brand. The case can be used with UG, MBA or executive audiences.
If organizational structure follows form, the organization that learns well functions well. More precisely, the organization that enables knowledge to flow and be shared at all levels is the organization that performs best. This author describes why learning organizations have the capability to read the market and innovate in ways that lead to success.
Most organizations spend vast sums on information technology to gather, manipulate, store, and use the information and data they gather. Yet, as these authors point out, managing this resource entails protecting it and complying with all laws and regulations. The authors prescribe ten best practices that should allow an organization to protect its data and comply with the law.
Almost faster than you can say mark-to-market accounting, management controls disappeared once Jeff Skilling became CEO of Enron. The rest is sad history and a shareholder's worst nightmare come true. These authors document the subversion of Enron's management controls and suggest the lessons managers can learn from the worst financial collapse in U.S. corporate history.
The spring of 2002 had been grueling for the owner of Pet Care Veterinary Services, a small-animal veterinary practice with two clinics in Southwestern Ontario. Everything seemed to be going wrong at Pet Care's Avery, Ontario location. Profitability was disappointing, medication had disappeared, and the owner had serious concerns about her associate veterinarian's quality of animal care. The owner wondered what would be her best course of action. She could afford to keep the clinic open for another year and try to either fix the operational issues or leave things as they were and see if the problems resolved themselves. The owner wondered whether it would be best to sell and avoid future problems. What price would she ask for the clinic if she chose to sell? Whatever her choice, she knew she had to make a decision quickly, because the uncertainty and stress of running two clinics were beginning to take their toll.
What makes a leader the most is a certain solidity at the core, a solidity founded on principles that are, essentially, points on a moral compass. Those principles are visible in the actions of some leaders, while other leaders act according to convenience. These authors lay down a blueprint that will allow a leader to be guided by principles.
Look into the soul of any great leader and you will find a good leader. But, if only that were the case. Some leaders, those who crave and bathe in the spotlight, are in fact not so great. Others, who are highly effective (and modest) and possess the five key characteristics this author describes, are good leaders first and foremost. Which is what, in the end, makes them great.
Scratch the surface of a true leader, or look beneath his or her personality, and you'll find character. The traits and values that make up the character of a good business leader are, for the most part, similar to those that make up the character of an outstanding citizen. These authors describe the traits and values that make up the character of leadership.
The case describes the circumstances surrounding the introduction of www.google.cn. In order to comply with Chinese government requirements, google.cn censors web results. This appears to contradict Google’s stated philosophy and its mission to organize and make accessible the world’s information. A public outcry ensues and Google is forced to defend its controversial decision. The case presents both sides of the debate and asks students to consider what they feel is right.
Dove is one of Unilever's better-known personal care brands. It has significant top-of-mind awareness among women in many countries. In an attempt to increase sales volume by 80 per cent, Unilever re-launched Dove in 2004. The campaign asks the question What is real beauty? and attempts to redefine it in ways that challenge commonly portrayed stereotypes. This case examines the re-launch of Dove, Unilever's well-known international personal care brand, and the marketing issues behind its phenomenal success. It also raises questions about how to maintain the brand's momentum as the next phase unfolds. In 2007, Dove products are still well thought of by consumers and the campaign has attracted imitators, including brands outside the cosmetics and beauty care sector.
Two young entrepreneurs are considering forming a business that provides new and innovative forms of advertising. Students are required to evaluate the venture, including whether the available financing is sufficient or if additional financing will be needed. Students are required to perform both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the proposed business. Qualitatively, students must evaluate the partners' relevant capabilities as well as the business concept itself for potential success. Quantitatively, students must prepare a projected cash budget and projected financial statements for the first year of operations to gain a better understanding of the operation's cash needs and potential for financial success. This quantitative analysis will also provide students with answers to the partners' ability to make withdrawals from the business, the need for financing and the level of additional financing required, if any.
A non-profit organization, partnered with a microfinance organization would send undergraduate students from a business school to teach entrepreneurship in Third World countries: Kenya, India and South Africa. The case requires students to develop fairly straightforward cash budgets and to consider sensitivity analysis based on exchange rate fluctuations. Students are introduced to the concept of micro financing as an effective tool for improving the socio-economic status of entrepreneurs in Third World countries. Students are encouraged to think about relevant issues in gaining sponsorship for a non-profit venture.
Three business partners had finally secured the $15-million purchase of the Meadowlark Shopping Centre, a struggling mall located a few minutes away from West Edmonton Mall. The 60-day due diligence period, during which the partners had to decide whether to go through with the deal, was about to commence. If they were to go forward with the purchase, the partners had to consider changing the concept of the mall, demolishing a portion of the mall, demolishing a portion and changing the mall's concept or keeping the mall's current strategy.
Kenya's Minister of Housing faces tremendous pressures in dealing with the pervasive housing troubles in his country. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa and home to over 800,000 residents, yet only measures two square kilometers, roughly half the size of Manhattan's Central Park. Most homes are single-story structures and the density is 3,000 persons per hectare (compared to 43 in London, 100 in New York City, and 143 in Tokyo), making this one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The slum's living conditions are abysmal by Western standards and gets little to no support from the local government due to the entrenched bureaucracy that has seemingly misaligned interests in the slum.
After graduating from Harvard Business School in June 2006, Ken Pao and Bill Li were ready to fully commit to the Internet start-up they had been working on since they first stepped foot on the business school campus. They moved to Beijing, rounded out their management team, received venture capital investment, developed joint-venture partnerships, and set key milestones to create a full-impact product launch for their social networking Web site catering to the college market. On the day of their launch, they faced a setback from China's Ministry of Education and were forced back to square one. Discusses the pluses and minuses of partnering with China's government ministries, the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, and the numerous opportunities available to entrepreneurship in China today.
In 2006, Afghanistan remains a country in turmoil. It has a newly elected democratic government, a rebounding economy, and considerable economic potential. But the country is still torn by rival factions and dominated by the opium trade. Explores how Afghanistan has been rebuilt since the U.S. invasion of 2001, and what it means to create a modern state. Can state institutions be imposed from the outside? And what are the prospects for democracy in such a perilous place?
Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings ("Phoenix TV") was established in 2006 as a joint venture with News Corporation's ("News Corp's") STAR TV unit and Liu Changle, a Shanghai businessman and former military journalist, as the major stakeholders. Presenting its family of channels as the Chinese TV viewers' window to the world, Phoenix TV was able to capitalize on ambiguities in China's regulatory environment and (with tacit consent from the authorities) was the only foreign TV broadcaster to target news programming at mainland Chinese viewers. In China, where significant restrictions existed on audience measurement and advertising was still a young business, ad sales were largely driven by a media outlet's image. Phoenix TV claimed an audience comprising China's highly educated, high-income, urban elite. The broadcaster's access to the highly coveted Chinese market far surpassed that of foreign media groups such as Time Warner and Viacom. Yet its share of viewing, on a national basis, trailed behind that of the state broadcaster, CCTV, and large domestic media groups, who were raising production standards and winning over audiences with dramatic programming. Phoenix TV's management was mindful of looming developments on the horizon: the convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting, the further liberalization of China's media industry, and the gradual roll-out of digital TV networks around the country, which would increase demand for content and provide new possibilities for subscription-based TV. Above all, Phoenix TV's chairman, Liu Changle, was concerned that the broadcaster was overly dependent on advertising revenue. In June 2006, China Mobile acquired a 19.9% stake in Phoenix TV from News Corp. Through a new alliance, Phoenix TV hoped to branch out into new media as a content provider for China's largest mobile operator.