A learning team of five students must work together to complete a 48-hour team exam. One of the students has a reputation for being unreliable, disruptive and confrontational. When the team members convene to write their report, this student calls to say he will be late. He shows up eight hours later. The level of team tension and animosity reached a point of near-violence and the team member was expelled. The team wonders how to deal with this team member whose behaviour is dysfunctional to effective team performance, and what to do next given that there are several more team projects to come. Supplemental case Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (B), product 9B02C058, discusses the first hour after the student arrives to work on the report. Supplement Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (C), product 9B02C059, describes the student's attempt to contribute to the report and the subsequent confrontation. Supplement Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (D), product 9B02C060, an interview, conducted several months later, provides the student's perspective on the events.

A learning team of five students must work together to complete a 48-hour team exam. When the team members convene to write their report, one of the students shows up eight hours late. The report outline is nearly complete, yet he insists on questioning the work and offering uninvited comments. As the irritation level builds, another student takes him out to fetch refreshments for the team. Away from the rest of the team, the student starts discussing the exam with other students, divulging some of his own team's strategies. This is a supplement to Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (A), product 9B02C057, which discusses the process of the competitive 48-hour exam, the reputation of the fifth student and the initial meeting of the team. Supplement Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (C) product 9B02C059, describes the student's attempt to contribute to the report and the subsequent confrontation. Supplement Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (D) product 9B02C060, an interview, conducted several months later, provides the student's perspective on the events.

A learning team of five students must work together to complete a 48-hour team exam. When the team members convene to write their report, one of the students shows up eight hours late. The report outline is nearly complete, yet he insists on questioning the work and offering uninvited comments. When he is left alone to work on the editing process, his progress is slow, the master copy of the report is corrupted and many spelling and grammatical errors are missed. The irritation level builds to loud arguments in the middle of the night. This is a supplement to Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (A), product 9B02C057, which discusses the process of the competitive 48-hour exam, the reputation of the fifth student and the initial meeting of team. Supplement Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (B), product 9B02C058, describes the first hour after the student arrives to work on the report and supplement Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (D), product 9B02C060, an interview, conducted several months later, provides the student's perspective on the events.

A learning team of five students must work together to complete a 48-hour team exam. When the team members convene to write their report, one of the students shows up eight hours late. The report outline is nearly complete, yet he insists on questioning the work and offering uninvited comments. The irritation level builds to loud arguments in the middle of the night. In this supplement, the fifth student is interviewed to provide his perspective on the events. This is a supplement to Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (A), product 9B02C057, which discusses the process of the competitive 48-hour exam, the reputation of the fifth student and the initial meeting of the team. Supplement Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (B), product 9B02C058, describes the first hour after the student arrives to work on the report, and supplement Juan Pedro's Shrimp Farm: Or the 48-hour Exam Nightmare (C) product 9B02C059 describes the student's attempt to contribute to the report and the subsequent confrontation.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is one of the 10 largest full-service financial institutions in North America. Its human resources department wanted to reinvent HR service delivery and increase automation and self-service operations. A number of options were being considered, including continuing with the status quo while undertaking patchwork operations, developing new HR capabilities in-house, outsourcing the development of HR capabilities, and exploring the opportunity to outsource entire functions. Each option presents benefits and challenges, and the senior lead on the project must begin to develop a business case to go forward. The supplemental case CIBC: Outsourcing the Human Resources Department (B), product 9B02C063 discusses the human resources outsourcing agreement.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was the first major financial institution in Canada and among the first in North America to team up with an external supplier to manage its human resource operations and technology services. As such, the company required a carefully structured contract that included the necessary requirements and at the same time left room for flexibility and change. This is a supplement to CIBC Human Resources (A), product 9B02C062.

In the early 2000s, the new director of logistics at Holt Renfrew, a high-end retailer of men's and women's fashions, has been asked to prepare a detailed plan for dealing with the company's $40 million warehoused inventory and its chronic stock out problems. Given the opportunity to prove how logistics can benefit the company's profit margin, the director prepares a three-fold strategy: improve the physical layout and process flow in the distribution center, upgrade the distribution systems and business processes, and re-allocate human resources. His challenge is augmented by the need to receive merchandise from international suppliers and distribute it quickly to compete in the fast-paced fashion industry.

A venture capital firm needs to allocate $50 million in capital. Due to the firm's below-average performance and the currently sluggish financial market, a strategic allocation of this capital is critical to the firm's survival. The chief executive officer turns to his senior management team for advice. One team leader identifies firms for follow-on investments, a second team leader recommends new investments and the third team leader proposes a buy-out opportunity. The chief executive officer must decide whether the restrictions on the number of new investments is too limiting, whether due diligence is required on additional new companies and what the impact will be on the firm's return if a balanced portfolio is maintained. (Data and Solver model are available, products 7B02E012 and 5B02E12.)

A senior manager in a U.S. manufacturing firm must make a recommendation about whether 57 labour intensive jobs should be moved from the existing California plant to a new facility in a Mexican maquiladora. If the Mexican opportunity is pursued, decisions are also required regarding the entry mode (subcontracting, shelter operator or wholly-owned subsidiary) and location (border or interior).

VanCity has been Canada's biggest success story in the field of community banking. The board of directors must consider whether the credit union should venture into mezzanine financing, a competitive industry in which the organization has no prior experience. The proposal is favored by a board member who feels that the credit union can re-invent itself in the marketplace by following this route. The decision is troublesome because even if it makes economic sense there is an issue of whether it will achieve organizational fit with VanCity's overall culture and employee orientation.

Selkirk Group is a family-owned brick manufacturer which has built an export business to Japan and other Asian markets from zero to 10% of its volume in seven years. The managing director of the company raises the question of whether it is time to change their regional export strategy and organizational structure in light of the Asian economic crisis and the reasons for their competitive success in both Australia and Asia.

Vivosonic is a start-up biomedical company that needs to raise $565,000 to continue research and development of its biomedical devices. The executive director of a venture capital firm feels Vivosonic's technology is sound but the costs for the company would be high. He must decide whether or not to invest in the company and determine what the best terms and conditions are for the deal.

Air New Zealand is a national airline faced with a number of important strategic and financial issues. The company's recent acquisition of Ansett Australia had proved to be disastrous and a severe financial drain for Air New Zealand. Key issues facing Air New Zealand include the long-term strategic positioning of the business, and determining anticipated financing needs, the appropriate gearing ratio or capitalization (debt-to-equity) rate, and available sources of financing. A recent research report had summarized two fundamental questions that impacted on the company's stock price and needed to be addressed: Would the New Zealand government relax Air New Zealand's ownership restrictions in order to allow Singapore Airlines to increase its stake from 25 per cent to 49 per cent? If so, would any proposal fix Air New Zealand's balance sheet to allow Air New Zealand and Ansett to once again become viable airline competitors? Supplement to this case is Air New Zealand: The Recapitalization Decision (B), product number 9B02N020.

A scientist at a well-known university has been working for several years on the development of a drug that is a treatment for a particular type of cancer. He has successfully completed all pre-clinical trials and has filed an application for an investigational new drug. Once the application has been accepted by the Food and Drug Administration, the scientist plans to embark on a series of clinical trials. Although his work to this point has been financed by research grants and personal funds, he now needs to obtain more substantial financing from a venture capitalist. However, the scientist does not know what his fledgling company is worth.

This is a supplement to Air New Zealand: The Recapitalization Decision (A), product 9B02N017. The chairman of Air New Zealand is chairing the company's first annual meeting and is faced with a number of financial and strategic issues that have an impact on the survival of the airline.

Timbercreek Investments Inc. is a small investment company that specializes in the management and acquisition of income-producing real estate. For an upcoming directors meeting, the director of acquisitions must make a recommendation on the financial needs of the company for the fiscal year. With considerable growth over the past two years, the company would need additional funds to pay for the increase in operating expenses. He must analyse the company's financial statement and decide whether the company should obtain a bank loan, ask the partners to contribute further equity or approach investors.

Jack Perkowski established Asian Strategic Investment Corp. (ASIMCO) in February 1994. ASIMCO became one of the largest components organizations serving the Chinese motor vehicle industry. This case shows the process of human capital development at ASIMCO. Describes ASIMCO's management restructuring efforts, its management development strategy, and its system of fast-tracking leaders through the leadership development program. Instead of transplanting Western management models into China, ASIMCO strongly believed in creating a centralized, top-down management model that could be adapted to China's unique environment.

Toybox is the visual effects division of Command Post, Canada's largest full-service, postproduction company and industry leader in technical and creative services for film, television, video, and digital audio productions. Toybox's visual special effects manager believes that future growth requires an improved information system for managing digital projects. For example, during recent production work on a feature film, difficulties in workload, signoffs, and rework reached an unsustainable level. The visual special effects manager must choose between an off-the-shelf product and a custom, in-house solution. However, his decision is complicated by the creative work environment and the number of systems to which the new system must be integrated.

Monsanto is the biotechnology leader in agriculture. How does it use its leadership in Round Up to fund long-term research and development in biotechnology that is acceptable to the priority system of consumers in different parts of the world? Includes color exhibits.

Martha McCaskey, a project leader at a consulting firm, is asked to complete a project at a crucial point in her career. Successful completion of the project would gain McCaskey a promotion and a significant raise. McCaskey, however, cannot see a way to complete the project without compromising her values. She must decide whether to maintain the high degree of integrity that has always characterized her work or to compromise and "play the game."