Three fictional vignettes expose the less glamorous side of venture capital and the decisions that venture capitalists have to make when their investments are not performing according to plan. The three vignettes cover venture capitalists that must handle portfolio company underperformance and/or management problems, evaluate acquisition offers in the "forced sale" of a portfolio company, and decide when to put more money in a portfolio company that may have promise but has been unsuccessful in raising capital from other sources.
This case involves the decision of a publishing company, El Diablo, to target a traditionally underserved market with a series of books about gang life and street vigilantism. The decision has repercussions within the firm, as collegial relationships are tested by office politics, and outside of the firm, where community response to the project is less than positive. Civil rights groups challenge the company's development of pulp fiction targeted at black youths as unethical and likely to lead them to violence. Also, the hiring of a minority candidate by the minority director of the new products division is questioned by top management. The case raises difficult questions: Does a corporation have a civic duty to its target audience? How might that manifest itself? At the intersection of profit and responsibility, who has the right of way? (Role-play opportunities are explained in the teaching note.)
This note describes the range of skills that can be used to listen skillfully. The skill set is conceptualized as a continuum to help students learn when and where to utilize the different skills. The note is designed for use in an interpersonal-behavior elective session on listening or in any course in which a primer on listening would be useful.
Includes a brief overview of key challenges facing recent HBS graduates seeking funding for a business, followed by a 22-page excerpt from the Kingsley Management business plan. Describes Matthew Lieb and Chris Jones, two of the partners who developed the business plan for Kingsley Management, as they prepare to meet with potential investors. Lieb and Jones are particularly concerned about the investors' financial returns and the structure of the new business entity (i.e., C-corp. vs. LLC). Outlines several questions facing Lieb and his co-founders, which students are asked to resolve.
Strategic Intelligence Pte. Limited is a research and new-media company that provides Asian-based economic and political information. The managing editor is facing several challenges in building a new online business intelligence service that focuses on Asia's new economy. As the person responsible for the company's first Internet related initiative, he is expected to design, manage and help market the new initiative that will be independent from, yet complementary to, the company's existing events-oriented and research services. Although he is satisfied with the content that has been developed, he still needs to resolve several issues regarding target audience, pricing policy, revenue diversification options and service awareness. A sense of urgency pervades the situation, since he is expected to ensure that the new service will contribute 25 per cent of total company revenues within the next year.
The OHNo Swim Club is a small non-profit organization whose board of directors is swayed from its mission by one of its wealthy members. In the process the club loses control of its mission, makes a decision that comes close to financially bankrupting the organization and eventually loses several members before it rebuilds itself with a stronger dedication to its mission. Through the rebuilding process, it learns the importance of choosing board members with financial sophistication, the difficulties of a start-up enterprise and the importance of maintaining a mission and communicating that mission to members.
Introduces Handspring, a manufacturer of handheld devices, and concentrates particularly on the company's and founders' historical and forward-looking relationships. At the time of the case, Handspring is generating approximately $500 million annually in sales and is a leading brand of PDAs. The company founders are Donna Dubinsky, Ed Colligan, and Jeff Hawkins--the "legendary" team that developed Palm Computing's handheld PDA in 1992. The founders look back to their rationale for striking out on their own from Palm and the lessons learned and different paths followed in this second company founding. Focuses on the creation, valuation, and nurture of Handspring's myriad relationships, including supplier and manufacturer relationships, marketing agreements, and new business partnerships.
The venerable British retailer Marks & Spencer suffered a series of setbacks in the late 1990s. The company's performance, which had been solid for decades, quickly deteriorated, forcing the rapid turnover of chief executives and many restructurings. Perhaps the largest change the retailer made was the abandonment of its global expansion plans, withdrawing from continental Europe and trying to sell off assets in the United States, including the well-known clothiers Brooks Brothers. This case examines the changes Marks & Spencer made between 1998 and 2001, as the company tries to shore up its ailing core business, U.K. retail, while deciding on an appropriate global strategy.
After nearly two decades of spectacular performance, Home Depot reported a disappointing performance in the year 2000. The company began expanding its business scope as a result of saturating its growth in the core business. This case explores whether the disappointing performance is just a temporary slip or if the company is reaching the limits of sustainability of its competitive advantage.
GE's chief litigation counsel sought to rationalize litigation flow by viewing it as a manufacturing process. By applying the principles of Six Sigma, P.D. Villareal created an Early Dispute Resolution (EDR) system that enabled both lawyers and managers to work together to address potential disputes early and efficiently. Though the savings in time and energy were tremendous and obvious, evaluating the financial savings proved trickier. Also on the horizon was the challenge of spreading the program throughout the enormous GE global organization.
Early Dispute Resolution (EDR) has proved successful at GE. Yet, when Michael McIlwrath, new counsel at an Italian subsidiary, attempted to translate it to his company, problems arose. He had to gain internal acceptance, and explain the concept of early mediation to a European culture not accustomed to the practice. This case examines the successes and challenges of translating an American dispute resolution program to an overseas context and explores four studies of litigation cases facing McIlwrath.
The Boston Lyric Opera was the fastest growing opera company in North America during the 1990s. Having successfully completed a move to a larger facility in 1999, the board and general director recognize the need to develop a formal strategic planning and governance process to guide the company into the future. Board members, senior managers, and artistic leaders use the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as the focus of a multi-month strategic planning process that develops a strategy map and objectives in the four BSC perspectives for three core strategic themes. This case describes the high-level scorecard development, its cascading down to departments and individuals and the directors' interactions--using the Balanced Scorecard--with the artistic leaders and board of directors.
This case centers on the decisions a key executive must make to restore the image and profitability of his multinational pizza franchise in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The case contains information on franchising in Brazil and background information on both the franchiser and franchisee (disguised). In addition, the student is given information about Brazil; Brazilian dining habits and preferences with specific regard to pizza; information on competitors; and key aspects of IPH's marketing strategy and operations. .
Focuses on quality management challenges facing Nestle and investigates potentially vulnerable areas of Nestle's supply chain. Describes Nestle's proactive approach in trying to identify its challenges and further improving its performance. Presents four parts of the organization, each facing very different challenges, ranging from traceability and manufacturing efficiency to managing diverse customers.
Sets the scene for Nintendo's launch of its Super NES console in Japan and in the United States and describes consumer reaction to the console versus that of its major competitor at the time, Sega. A rewritten version of an earlier case.