Gives an account of how an entrepreneur was able to seize an opportunity to start a new business and to manage a low-cost, but effective sales operation. Khalid Gibran exhibited the hallmarks of entrepreneurial style--he viewed rules as guidelines only and was willing to adjust his organization's priorities to make the most of changing circumstances. In less than three years, he spearheaded two organizations, but in so doing, he had to make a number of important trade-offs. OneCard--his latest and most ambitious venture--was launched just before Hong Kong was beset by the mysterious SARS virus. As retail sales plummeted and Hong Kong residents avoided eating out, many businesses were bracing for more uncertainty. Gibran, however, saw a marketing opportunity amid the many challenges and a chance to grow his merchant and subscriber bases.
Blackwell Consulting Services is the largest minority-owned IT consulting firm in the Midwest. Describes the growth of the firm and focuses on the issues of how the protagonist should handle the issue of succession and a difficult partnership separation with his minority owners.
In the spring of 2000, nine Western European governments were preparing for the sale of licenses that would allow private operators of 3G networks to use certain blocks in the spectrum of radio frequencies. The governments' objectives included the competitiveness of the resulting telephony market, an efficient allocation of licenses, and the generation of revenues to supplement governmental budgets. Most governments were considering the use of auctions to sell their licenses in the private market. Different countries faced different market conditions, and differed in their preferred choice of auction format.
In the spring of 2004, Google was one of the most-talked-about IPO ideas since Netscape had gone public in 1995. Bullish investors believed Google could set off a string of successful IPOs following a lull in tech-offering activity since 2000. Executives at Google faced several questions in the following months: Should Google go public? What options did Google have for taking its shares to market? Was the traditional form of book-building necessarily the best course of action? Could a sealed-bid auction (e.g., W.R. Hambrecht's OpenIPO) yield superior results?
TiVo's valuation is questioned by stock analyst and the case challenges students to use concepts and applications of customer lifetime value to determine whether TiVo's current share prices are appropriate.
The typical term sheet for a venture-capital investment contains a host of contract provisions designed to protect the value of an investor's capital. The purpose of this note is to focus on a few key terms (namely, antidilution, liquidation preference, dividends, redemption, and control rights) and to discuss the ways in which these terms may be made more investor-friendly or entrepreneur-friendly. The terms discussed in this note are widely regarded by practitioners as having the greatest ability to affect the economic returns for the parties involved in an early-stage investment. At the end of the discussion of each term, a chart highlights the various ways in which these terms may be structured. The examples, though not meant to be exhaustive, offer a perspective on the various ways a term might be worded in order to confer different rights on the parties.
For decades, CEOs have been looking for the holy grail of corporate transformation, asking, "What is the best way to transform my company? Which model should I use?" Management consultants and academics have been working overtime to supply the answer. They haven't succeeded, however, because the search is a futile one. Every organization is unique. Leaders can adopt ideas that have worked elsewhere, but they need to create their own one-of-a-kind change model through experimentation, learning, blueprint creation and, most of all, a strong focus on results.
Environmental scanning systems are useless in the face of strategic inflection points--the dangerous quantum changes in competitive environments. Top managers and strategic planners lack the will and the intuition, respectively, to deal with those points the system does detect. More often than not, however, the system will simply fail to see them at all. To do so requires a synthesis that can be provided only by line managers who have both the right intuitions, by virtue of day-to-day contact with the real world, and access to unfiltered information, by virtue of their lowly station in the corporate hierarchy.
BriLux develops early-stage high-speed data networking equipment. In recent month, BriLux customers have hinted that combining ARTRAN, the company's flagship optical data service platform, with a new fiber optic transportation product (tentatively referred to as FOT-320) would increase the market appeal of the company's portfolio. The research and development director must decide whether to support the development of this new product.
Bombardier Transportation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of passenger rail cars, has successfully negotiated the purchase of Adtranz, a large European manufacturer of rail equipment. The newly appointed CEO was brought in to manage the acquisition. The new CEO faces many challenges, including decisions about the pace of integration, location of headquarters, organization structure, personnel retention, and personal management style.
A recent MBA graduate has joined a small division of a medical equipment manufacturer as a regional sales manager. Sales are not going well, customer complaints are common, and he is unhappy with the amount of time he must spend away from home. The regional sales manager must analyse his options to determine the best way to balance the rigours of a sales career and personal life. He must consider the challenges of an undefined, boundary-spanning role; management's possible role in mitigating these challenges; and the expectations about the rigours of a sales career.
The director of Lubricants business for Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada is faced with a significant challenge - overcoming the apathy that many consumers had about changing their motor oil. Increasing the frequency of oil changes and improving retention of its customers was critical for the financial success of the company. In response to this challenge, the director had to make a recommendation on adoption and implementation of a major new promotional program. The program, called One-to-One, was designed to create closer relationships among consumers, retailers and Pennzoil-Quaker State. Making the program work required active cooperation from the retail installers who actually performed the oil changes. The supplement Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-To-One Decision (B), product 9B04A011, focuses on the 240-day field trial of the program.
This supplement to Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-To-One Decision (A), product 9B04A010 looks at the 240-day field trail of a program designed to build loyalty among consumers, and to increase frequency of oil changes.
Fluid Analyzers Inc. is a small manufacturer and distributor of hydraulic fittings and has recently developed a new product, the SV pushbutton. The president must decide on a number of issues relating to the product, including target market, manufacturing process, and product features. Using managerial and financial analysis methods he must develop an overall business strategy, incorporating company goals and capabilities with industry trends.
Chip Tec Industries Inc. repairs chips and scuffs on vehicles. A current employee has an opportunity to purchase the business. He must analyse the financial statements to determine the financial status of the company and evaluate the asking price for the business.
In May 1996, two world renowned climbers, along with some of their clients and guides, perished on Mount Everest in the mountain's deadliest tragedy to date. The accounts of survivors imply that biased decision making contributed to the tragedy. Did a decision lead to this tragedy or was it an unfortunate mountaineering accident? The case provides the opportunity to explore decision biases such as framing, escalation of commitment, anchoring, and over confidence and the issues of leadership style, group behaviour, team management and communication.
This note provides background information on incentive plans and non-monetary reward systems. Presented is a discussion of short-term and long-term incentive plans. In these discussions, design considerations, prevalence of these plans, types of short and long-term incentives, plan effectiveness, and current issues are presented. In addition, non-monetary and retention tools are discussed. This note is intended to be used in conjunction with sessions on incentives and rewards.
The president of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust had just returned to his office after meeting with Britain's Prince Charles, who was on an official visit to Mumbai. The Trust was the managing organization of the dabbawallah meal delivery network. The dabbawallah's service was cited internationally by management scholars and industry executives as an exemplar in supply chain and service management. The service had acquired a reputation for its delivery reliability in Mumbai. International interest in the dabbawallahs was largely due to a 1998 article published by Forbes. However, many observers now expressed concerns over the future viability of the dabbawallahs' service given the difficulty in duplicating its delivery network elsewhere, the emergence of other lunch competitors in Mumbai, and an array of environmental changes affecting both its customers and the workforce. The case allows a discussion of service and supply chain management issues related to operational excellence.
BriLux develops early-stage high-speed data networking equipment. In recent month, BriLux customers have hinted that combining ARTRAN, the company's flagship optical data service platform, with a new fiber optic transportation product (tentatively referred to as FOT-320) would increase the market appeal of the company's portfolio. The research and development director must decide whether to support the development of this new product. Excel files are available upon request, products 7B04E018A, 7B04E018B and 7B04E018C.