In the winter of 2003, Billy Lagor, the Hasbro toy company's brand manager for G.I. JOE, faced a set of decisions that would ultimately determine the 2004 marketing plan for the G.I. JOE brand. Under consideration were three different ways to market the military action figure: use traditional media: supplement traditional media with a short, animated DVD; or rely entirely on nontraditional marketing. In evaluating these options, Lagor grappled with a more basic question: What is the nature of the G.I. JOE and Hasbro brands? Should he market G.I. JOE as a short-term fad or as a marquee property akin to the Barbie franchise? Includes color exhibits.

A new biotechnology firm, Pharma Technologies, has developed a competing method for the treatment of erectile dysfunction which promises significant advantages over Pfizer's blockbuster drug, Viagra. With deep-pocketed pharmaceutical companies also pursuing product development efforts, the president of Pharma Technologies is charged with deciding how to leverage his company's superior proprietary technology into a viable product before the window of opportunity closes. Students can explore the trade-offs is pursuing internal versus external development of new technology, the strategic implications of in-licensing and out-licensing, and the criteria used in identifying potential alliance partners to expedite the commercialization of new technology.

The new senior vice president of marketing at Vista-Sci Health Care Inc. must decide which of two very strong yet very different candidates he should promote to the position from which he has just been promoted. Both candidates have demonstrated strengths and weaknesses in their current jobs; the question is whether or not these competencies and other personal characteristics make them a good fit for the new role.

HSBC is one of the largest and most global financial institutions in the world. The company has identified Bital, Mexico's fourth largest bank, as a potential acquisition target. Negotiations have come down to the wire, and the controlling Mexican shareholders are trying to get HSBC to raise its offer. Is it worth it? HSBC must decide on both strategic and short-term financial criteria under some degree of uncertainty as illuminated by a due diligence process. The HSBC executive who has handled the acquisition at a local level, and would be chief executive officer of HSBC Mexico should the deal go ahead, is assessing the pros and cons of the acquisition and must also identify the priorities which he and his team would have to address, including culture change issues, re-branding Bital as HSBC Mexico, personnel issues and maintaining the continuity of the business.

Candym Enterprises is a wholesaler specializing in producing, importing and exporting giftware, and selling these items through independent sales representatives. The president and founder has discovered that performance in one territory is falling. A major trade-show is approaching, and changes need to be made in the territory quickly. The president feels he has several options, including replacing an independent sales rep with a company sales rep, which would be a new strategy for the company. Learning objectives include understanding the pros and cons of salary-based relationship building, the importance of excellent customer relationship management, and recognizing that using distributors/independent sales reps has some risk.

The top sales person for Alchemy Training Firm has visited three potential clients, an existing customer, a warm call referral and a cold call, to sell a new offering from the company. While the company was well-known for providing top quality sales management training programs, the owners have decided to branch out with a new offer of supply chain management/purchasing training courses. The sales person must prepare a report of these sales calls for a planning session, and is concerned that the outcome may not be successful. He wonders what he could have done differently. The case highlights the difficulties in selling a new intangible service when firm reputation, trainer reputation, and course customization opportunities compete with cost as main buyer priorities. The differing opinions of the owners on the firm's growth strategy are an issue, as well.

The director of communications at a large university has reviewed results of a communication survey completed by employees. He is pleased that the overall results were favourable, but is concerned with comments in a recent employee newsletter that provided negative feedback of the survey. It is the director's responsibility to take the results of the research and develop a formal communications plan, but as he compares the study findings to the article is confused as to how he should tackle the problem.

A real estate analyst has been hired as a government employee to manage Canada's overseas property holdings, including its embassies and diplomatic residences. Despite strict government regulations regarding the procurement of overseas accommodations and policies relating to fiscal accountability, the analyst has witnessed the luxurious accommodations enjoyed by diplomatic staff posted abroad. She documents the abuses and reports the finding to her supervisor, who does nothing. The analyst must decide whether to take her finding further. The supplements Price of Speaking Out Against the Betrayal of Public Trust: Joanna Gualtieri (B), (C) and (D), products 9B04C030, 9B04C031 and 9B04C032 looks at her decision and the events that follow.

This is a supplement to Price of Speaking Out Against the Betrayal of Public Trust: Joanna Gualtieri (A), product 9B04C029, and relates the actions suggested by her immediate supervisor.

A real estate analyst hired as a government employee finds abuse of regulations and policies regarding overseas accommodations for diplomats. She reports her findings to her supervisor with no result and further attempts to expose the abuses. This is a supplement to Price of Speaking Out Against the Betrayal of Public Trust: Joanna Gualtieri (A) and (B), products 9B04C029 and 9B04C030.

The analyst pursues legal action against the government for abuses both to herself and the country's taxpayers. This is a supplement to Price of Speaking Out Against the Betrayal of Public Trust: Joanna Gualtieri (A), (B) and (C), products 9B04C029, 9B04C030 and 9B04C031.

The human resources manager at Moss Earthmoving Equipment sends an e-mail to the director of career management at a business school outlining two incidents of lack of professionalism displayed by recent MBA new hires. These actions eroded the company's confidence in recruiting from the school. The director must decide what immediate action should be taken and what changes if any, should be made in the long term.

A manager must decide among seven candidates to recommend for a management promotion. The company has developed a new focus on equal opportunity for its female employees, so the manager is struggling with the decision of which to choose from five male and two female candidates, particularly in light of some company statistics that indicated women were not proportionally represented in management.

The purchasing manager was wondering how many bottles he should purchase in the coming year. Last year, the market had levelled off and sales predictions were difficult. On the one hand he wanted to be sure sufficient bottles were available to supply this year's sales levels, yet he also wanted to minimize year-end inventories as covered storage space for empty bottles was tight and a bottle change-over seemed possible in the next two years.

Google is a very popular Internet search engine firm. The company has just announced the launch of Gmail, a free, Web-based e-mail service that allows users up to one gigabyte of storage capacity, more than 100 times that offered by other free services from competitors. In return for free e-mail, Gmail would scan its users' e-mail with the goal of delivering targeted ads. Immediately, privacy groups denounced Google's plans.

Golden Tulip is a small hotel that provides a unique hotel experience for business and pleasure travelers. The owner was concerned about the decrease in occupancy and hired an independent consultant, who must complete the analysis and design task for a new information system that would address promotion and reservation concerns.

The research and development improvement manager at Shanghai Bell, a major telecommunications device manufacturer in China, has just finished a meeting with top management on strategic initiatives suggested in the corporate information systems plan report. One project that was suggested in the report — implementing a collaborative product commerce (CPC) system — is about to begin. The manager must review the project planning process and examine the extent to which the company, a European-Chinese joint venture, is ready to undertake the project.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s Shanghai branch has successfully launched its Internet-based private banking service. The vice director of e-banking felt that the project was a success in terms of schedule and quality, and he needed to present his experiences and lessons learned to senior management. Of particular importance were the e-banking system’s benefits to users, the consumer profile, impacts on the bank’s performance, and factors influencing the effective implementation of the system.

Kalista's Fine Chocolate is a home-base business that produces high-quality chocolate products. The company has been very successful and had purchased a kiosk at local mall to accommodate the increase in business, but the demand for Kalista's products is still growing and the owners must decide whether to move into a larger space or continue working out of their home.

MapQuest is a leading provider of mapping services and destination information as well as a publisher of maps, atlases and other guides. On the Internet, they provide these products and services both to consumers directly and to other businesses enabling these businesses to provide location, mapping and destination information to their own customers. The company completed a successful initial public offering five years ago and were in a strong competitive position. However, the markets were allowing competitors to quickly get funding in both private and public deals. As well, there were perceptions that a general stock market bubble existed for technology companies. The chief executive officer had several options available, and wanted to consider those options and present a recommendation to the board. Possible options included splitting the firm's old and new-line business units, raising capital to fund an acquisition strategy, forging a set of alliances, focusing on organic growth, and pursuing the sale of the firm.