Charts the strategic shifts in the go-to-market strategy of Oracle Corp., with thousands of go-to-market partners of varying sizes and business models--many of which were also its fiercest competitors. In the past, Oracle's own salesforce had played a dominant role in its go-to-market strategy; however, the new millennium brought changing market dynamics and, thus, partnerships were becoming increasingly important to Oracle's success. Oracle was forced to consider how to reinvent its partnership strategy.
This technical note describes the basic features of a new type of security called Private Investments in Public Equities (PIPEs). Increasingly public companies in need of financing are raising capital through private equity investors via PIPEs.
This case concerns a company's advertising and redesign decisions for a DSL service. These decisions affect the switching of customers among various classifications, including those who currently use the service. The focus of the case will be on modeling the dynamics of the system and related optimal decision-making. How to structure spreadsheets using influence diagrams can be part of the discussion. The case provides an opportunity to discuss decisions using different time horizons.
This case exposes students to the process of creating an operating plan. In addition, it introduces the concept of flexible expense budgeting. It may be used as a stand-alone case on budgeting, or it may be paired with the B case (UV1704) in a module on budgeting and strategic-profitability analysis or flexible expense budgeting.
Visa was the world's leading payment brand and its vision was to be "The World's Best Way to Pay." Visa attributed an important part of its success to high-profile sponsorships such as its Olympic Games sponsorship. Visa also sponsored numerous events such as the Rugby World Cup, Best of Broadway, the Toronto Film Festival, NASCAR, the NFL, the Visa Triple Crown, and the Paralympics, and has an international alliance with The Walt Disney Co. In the fall of 2002, Visa announced its decision to extend its Olympic Games sponsorship through 2012. Thomas Shepard, Visa's executive vice president of international marketing, partnerships, and sponsorship, played a key role in convincing Visa's six regional boards and its international board to allow Visa to extend its Olympics and Paralympics sponsorship. In the summer of 2003, Shepard and his team gathered at Visa's international headquarters located in San Mateo, California, to reflect on the impact and lessons of its past sponsorship activities. Specifically, they discussed the current corporate strategy and refinement of the existing sponsorship strategy. They looked at greater involvement in the field of entertainment and, as an outgrowth of the strategy, selecting and working with new partners such as The Walt Disney Co. (2002); how to evaluate the effectiveness of Visa's existing sponsorships; and how to apply lessons from its existing and past sponsorships to current and future ones.
Surveys the history, structure, and activities of the two dominant U.S. teachers unions-the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The NEA and AFT represent approximately 90% of U.S. public school teachers and have grown rapidly since the widespread legalization of collective bargaining among public sector employees, beginning in the 1960s. Focuses on noncontroversial data related to the growth and functioning of the AFT and NEA. Presents but does not evaluate the policy debates and research that cover the effects of unionism on student achievement and other attributes of the U.S. system of public education. Includes a bibliography.
Profiling nonsystematic risk for a bond investor, the case describes lottery bond issues by the Swedish National Debt Office (SNDO). Swedish lottery bonds are a specific type of financial fixed income instrument for Swedish retail investors. The distinctive feature of lottery bonds is that, unlike traditional institutional bonds, the normally guaranteed interest--the coupon--here only is paid as "wins" to bondholders selected in drawings. The case takes place in March 2003, when Anders Holmlund, head of analysis, is reviewing the proposal for the next lottery bond issue. While reviewing the features of the bond issue, he also considers the larger picture: What are the benefits to the Debt Office of issuing lottery bonds, especially in view of a recently launched Internet-based sales system that allows retail investors to take part in government bond auctions?
The members of Singapore Airlines' (SIA) management committee needs to decide whether to cancel the implementation of the new lie-flat seats in business class after the effects of the global recession on the travel industry in September 2001. SIA was considered the gold standard for its innovative customer service, and the $100 million new seats project for the international market was planned to bolster that reputation. But with increased competition in the airline industry and the dramatic drop in travel after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the main agenda item for the management committee was how to cut costs.
In Spring 1998, Citicorp and Travelers merged to create a financial powerhouse that united the bank with Travelers' consumer finance and brokerage businesses, including Salomon Smith Barney and Primerica. It was the first U.S. financial services company to combine banking, insurance, and investments under one umbrella. Both entities historically had very different cultures, driving a radically different approach to branding. During completion of the merger, a team of managers was responsible for recommending to top management a new brand identity that would unite the entire organization and provide it with a strategic focus. The new brand also had to inform customers and shareholders of Citigroup's new financial capabilities and allow cross-selling without sacrificing the power of component brands. In a tense post-merger situation, decisions must be made early and decisively to prevent damaging brand equity.
Founded in March 2000 at the height of the dot-com bubble, Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) was one of 90 online marketplaces in the health care industry. The company's founders were among the largest suppliers in the industry, including Johnson & Johnson, GE Medical, Abbot, Baxter, and Medtronic. Becton-Dickinson, Braun, Guidant, Tyco, Siemens, C.R. Bard, and other key suppliers joined shortly after the company was founded. At the time of the case (spring 2003), GHX was the largest of the three remaining online health care marketplaces and ownership had expanded to include the leading players across all parts of the value chain, including health care providers and managed care organizations. Group purchasing organizations, distributors, and company executives must address key strategic issues, including integrating its latest merger, achieving profitability, defining a fair pricing strategy, and determining the pace of global expansion.
A local Philippine toothpaste manufacturer, Lamoiyan Corp., faces the challenge of staying competitive against entrenched multinational giants. The company has managed to capture, at its peak, 20% of the Philippine toothpaste market and has become the number three Philippine toothpaste producer, after Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever. However, as competition will soon intensify in the region as a result of decreasing trade barriers, Cecilio Petro, president of Lamoiyan Corp., needs to decide how to grow his company and keep it competitive. Going public, expanding channel penetration, developing new products, and expanding internationally are all strategies Pedro considers, but each move is costly and time consuming. Pedro, an optimistic, dedicated entrepreneur, must assess the best way to ensure Lamoiyan's future success.
This case documents the evolution of Singapore's monetary policy over the last three decades, and encourages students to explore the reasons and possible consequences of this monetary policy.
In the summer of 2000, Stephen King, a well-known American author of "horror" novels, created a nightmare for the publishing industry: he launched an internet-downloadable novel, perhaps the first by a celebrity author, without the involvement of his traditional print-publisher, Simon & Schuster. In his own words, King asserted that this was an effort to "become big-publishing's worst nightmare." This case examines the value-chain of the traditional book publishing industry, and considers how and where King's effort poses a challenge for existing organizational actors in this industry. The case also looks at other digital initiatives that represent possible rethinking of the way that the traditional book publishing industry works, and invites the reader to consider both changes to the competitive terrain as well as the potential for appropriate strategic responses.
How many times have you heard someone at work say, "Things have just spun way out of control," or "that was lucky?" Perhaps your colleagues are more inclined to say, "I'm to blame," or "I have to accept responsibility for that." Even though most of us fancy ourselves to be unique individuals, psychologists have spent years etching out patterns in our personality traits that suggest we share some very similar qualities-those who believe they are capable of controlling events in their lives and those who don't. This note presumes your students have taken the Locus of Control instrument and are ready to interpret the results. Terry Pettijohn developed a variation to Rotter's original Locus of Control survey which can be accessed at http://www.dushkin.com/connectext/psy/ch11/survey11.mhtml. The test has no time limitation and consists of 20 true or false questions. Once you have completed the test, click on "Tally My Answers," and within a few seconds the screen will return with your choices and score. Some of the questions act as a diversion from the test's intent and are not included in the test score. This note will help you and your students interpret the results.
AlarmForce Industries Inc. is a developer and sales provider of home security systems with offices throughout Canada. Since the company's inception, it had become one of the leaders in the Canadian home security market and had established a reputation for being a technological innovator in the industry. The president and CEO of the company must decide whether to launch its new product, AlarmFog, which the president believed represented the future of the home security market. This case focuses on past strategic decisions the company made in differentiating itself in a mature market.
Introduces students to the legal standards affecting officers and directors when selling or purchasing a company. Provides a practical understanding of the Revlon Standard, the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, Rule 10b-5, and the legal criteria for a cause of action for securities fraud. Recounts three precedential cases decided by the Delaware Supreme Court.
The CEO of a Silicon Valley start-up needed to make organizational and product changes to deliver a new software solution to a Fortune 500 customer. He was wondering how he should structure the company to best meet the requirements for this particular customer, while also positioning the company for future growth. He was operating under a tight time frame and was considering options ranging from focusing the entire company on this one project to spreading out his team over several projects. The case raises such issues as developing a successful business model for a software company, outlining a distinction between software platforms and software applications, strategies for product development in tight time frames, leading a company through a transition, knowing when it is time to change directions, setting and communicating a new direction amid ambiguity, and judging how much change employees can handle at one time.
Describes the story of Posada Amazonas, a tourist lodge in the Peruvian jungle, which resulted from a collaboration agreement between the native community Eseja de Infierno and the tourism firm Rainforest Expeditions (RFE). The partnership agreement was signed in 1997 for a period of 20 years. It provided for the native community to work in tourism exclusively with RFE and protected the area's tourist resources. In turn, RFE had to procure the necessary financing to build the lodge and was expected to manage the venture. RFE had to train the community in lodge operations. After the contract expired, the community had the option to continue the partnership or assume management of the lodge on its own. Posada Amazonas received several national and international awards and was the topic of various articles in prestigious tourism and ecotourism magazines. However, RFE's management faced some trouble with the community staff. Turnover was compulsory every two years, but the community was not large enough to provide new, qualified personnel that often. The community itself had some old internal problems that had a negative impact on the business relationship with RFE, too. Lodge operations were also compromised by frequent irregularities in airlines that brought tourists into Puerto Maldonado and by the lack of a good locale.
Across industries, both Chinese and Western managers report that their primary difficulty doing business with each other stems from poor communication. Since Chinese and Western business customs and etiquette greatly differ from one another, it is of fundamental importance that both groups of business people work to develop some understanding of these differences and of how their behavior may be interpreted. This note introduces readers to some primary differences between Chinese and Western methods of communication, and suggests strategies for communicating effectively while respecting cultural differences. While, to some degree, any introductory exposition of a culture is necessarily based upon a particular perspective, the generalities contained within this note are meant to serve as a starting place for understanding how Chinese-Western communications may be facilitated. Both Chinese and Western managers would be well served to learn to balance the individual behaviors they observe with the generalities offered here.