This case examines issues of asset control for Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., in light of the outstanding takeover offers by Chartwell Investments, Dreyer's Grand, Unilever, and Meadowbrook Lane Capital in January 2000. The case provides a unique opportunity to discuss fundamental firm objectives and the implications of a nontraditional corporate orientation; it reviews the development of Ben & Jerry's strong social consciousness and the takeover-defense mechanisms that maintain management's control on company assets. Students, in the role of outside board members, are invited to review management's performance, estimate the economic cost of its social agenda, and evaluate the implications of takeover defense strategies. Ultimately, they must take a position on whether Ben & Jerry's should continue to independently pursue its social agenda or accept one of the attractive takeover offers and accept a shift toward greater profit orientation. The case requires relatively little prior finance knowledge, and is designed largely to provide a stimulating introduction to the principles of a traditional corporate finance curriculum.
Global Healthcare Exchange Canada is a business-to-business exchange that connects hospitals and their major suppliers through an electronic procurement process. Founded as a subsidiary of its global parent, the exchange has become the leading health-care exchange in the country, but it is still far short of break-even. It must develop a compelling value proposition if it is going to drive adoption among hospitals and suppliers to the target levels. To do so, it must overcome considerable inertia among hospitals that are often very reluctant to change from frequently inefficient purchasing processes. Although there are major benefits to be realized from automating supply chain operations in the industry, the adoption decision process among hospitals is highly complex, but very idiosyncratic. In confronting these challenges, the exchange must also re-examine its own business model, in particular its pricing strategy for both suppliers and hospitals.
In Egypt, Genzyme's humanitarian commitment to treat all sufferers of the rare Gaucher disease worldwide first confronts its commercial imperative to recoup the huge investment required to bring the drug Cerezyme to market. Here Tomye Tierney must decide how to balance the demands of the sales organization that faces saturating developed markets, but major growth opportunities in developing economies. They believe that as long as the Gaucher Initiative-Genzyme's partnership with Project Hope-is providing free Cerezyme, they will be unable to convince the Egyptian government to authorize reimbursement, which can run from $200,000 to $300,000 per patient annually. CEO Henri Termeer believes Genzyme can hold firm to both the humanitarian commitment and its strong patient-focused commercial objectives. But it is Tierney who is on the front line and negotiates the delicate agreement between Genzyme sales, Project Hope, and Egyptian authorities.
The concept of exposure, or uncertainty that matters, is developed as the target of hedging. Then, how to hedge that exposure--in particular, how to use regression analysis to obtain a hedging ratio--is described. The note concludes with a discussion of hedging multiple uncertainties and how to use correlations in developing a hedging strategy.
This case is reflection on the importance of acquiring presence of mind in negotiations. Using a variety of metaphors, the case explores different ways for negotiators to achieve this selfawareness. Athletes experience the phenomenon of "being in the zone," artists and writers speak of being "in flow," and practitioners of mediation strive for "mindfulness." These different experiences all provide insight for negotiators as they face complex interpersonal and contextual discussions. This case resents a vivid example of a firefighter facing an extreme situation--and using an enviable presence of mind to see it through.
MedCath is a horizontally integrated chain of heart hospitals that partners with local cardiologists. It claims that its focus leads to better and cheaper results than those of an everything-for-everybody general hospital. Community hospitals generally vehemently oppose their entry into a new area. What options does MedCath have?
The management team at Athleta is attempting to raise equity capital for the company in March 2002. Athleta is a catalog and online retailer of women's athletic clothing. The company has made substantial progress, with anticipated 2002 sales over $20 million, but has been undercapitalized. Given the decline in values in the capital market in early 2002, the company has limited prospects for raising capital on attractive terms.
Describes the background, process, and aftermath of the merger between Daimler-Benz of Germany and Chrysler Corp. of America. Describes the economic structure and trends of the world automobile industry at the turn of the century as well as the individual histories and strategies of the two firms. Further describes the process and key issues in the merger negotiations. Lastly, an extensive description of the post-merger integration plan, approach, and implementation is provided, along with an explanation of the merger's impact on the performance and strategy of the combined company.
Describes a small consulting business, Business Networks, led by Les Cunningham. The firm's primary product was the establishment of groups or "networks" of similar businesses and the facilitation of each network's biannual meetings. Owners of individual firms, called networkers, met to tackle each other's business problems and share solutions. The networks were formed of like-sized remodeling contractors that specialized in similar lines of business. Provides a description of one biannual meeting and perspective from network members on the pros and cons of the process of performance improvement.
This case illustrates managerial dilemmas that might arise when a company's offices are located in different countries, with different cultural and social styles and practices. The case also highlights how one might deal with personnel issues when many factors--including leadership, employee well-being, and different cultural norms--all present problems.
This case has been used since 2004 in Darden's first-year Global Economies and Markets MBA course in the module on exchange regimes and financial crises. In the early 1990s, in response to massive foreign capital inflows, the Chilean government restricted the flow of capital into the country in order to achieve a competitive and stable exchange rate and to control inflation. By the late 1990s, with the onset of the financial crises in emerging-market economies, investors began to pull their capital out of Chile and other emerging markets indiscriminately. This sudden reversal of capital flows was threatening to ignite a balance-of-payments crisis in Chile. The government must decide what to do. This case also contains information on the development experience of Chile, in particular, on the legacy of General Augusto Pinochet and the economic policies of the "Chicago boys." This case may also be used with the B case, "Chile: A Jungle for the Latin American Tiger (B)" (UV0920), which gives an update on the policies of the Chilean central bank up to 1999 and discusses the debate on the economic consequences of the policies. A teaching note (UV0664) is available. An abridged version of this case exists: "Chile: A Jungle for the Latin American Tiger (Abridged)" (UV0921). It focuses on the economic problems Chile faced from the early 1990s.
In the early 1990s, in the context of massive foreign capital inflows, the Chilean government restricted the flow of capital into the country to achieve a competitive and stable exchange rate and to control inflation. By the late 1990s, with the onset of the financial crises in emerging-market economies, investors began to pull their capital out of Chile and other emerging markets indiscriminately. This sudden reversal of capital flows was threatening to ignite a balance-of-payments crisis in Chile. The government had to decide what to do. This B case gives an update to the events that unfolded in the A case ("Chile: A Changed Jungle for the Latin American Tiger (A)" [UV0863]) and abridged case ("Chile: A Changed Jungle for the Latin American Tiger (Abridged)" [UV0921]).
Siebel Systems is one of the fastest growing companies in America. Tom Siebel, the company's founder, has organized the business to accommodate growth and focus on the customer. Innovative information technology systems and clear accountability prove to be essential to this new approach to organization design. For example, a new employee must successfully pass an online test to demonstrate her understanding of Siebel's management systems and practices. This product can be used with the free Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT), available at: hbsp.harvard.edu/jdot
Describes how a hotel and leisure company provides high-end service through its distinctive hotels and trains. Provides an opportunity to learn about the company's unusual quality practices and puts into doubt the unquestioned use of well-known practices, such as managing for consistency, offering incentives based on nonfinancial measures, and creating a unified message for a high-end brand. The main dilemma is whether the company should develop a loyalty program across its collection of hotels.
Three years after launching a content-based web site, a nationwide hard goods retailer invested in software to support Internet shopping. The online component was one element in a multiple-channel retailing approach, which also included retail stores, a phone-order service, and an annual catalog. Although the company is the country's most shopped retailer, the online retail segment has not turned a profit. The director of marketing must consider the effect of multiple-channel retailing on the company's profitability.
In the fall of 1999, Mike Moore, director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), anticipated that the WTO's talks in Seattle in December 1999 would focus on improving living standards around the world, bettering the environment, providing more resources for health and education, strengthening the global economy, and reducing the risk of future instability and crisis. He characterized the WTO as seeking to advance a new approach to international cooperation based on rules, not power-rules, to help manage the powerful forces of globalization to everyone's benefit, the weak as well as the strong. Instead, the Seattle meeting was sidelined by waves of protests as widely disparate groups voiced strong opposition to the WTO and, more generally, to free trade. Protests focused on the perceived impact of trade on the environment, jobs, human rights, and the balance of power between large economic powers and developing countries. Additionally, the dispute resolution policies of the WTO were placed in the spotlight. The protests gained very widespread exposure and put the WTO representatives on the defensive. As the protests intensified, President Clinton objected to the violent methods used by some protestors but expressed sympathy with their desire to have more openness and accountability for the WTO. After two days of protests, vandalism, and police enforced curfews, the meetings were suspended. This case describes the history of the WTO, the protests at the Seattle talks, the role of the Internet in mobilizing protesters, the WTO's dispute resolution processes, and the implications of the failed talks for the WTO and its opponents.