Introduces Reverend Jeffrey Brown, one of the cofounders of the Ten Point Coalition in Boston, Mass. The Ten Point Coalition, a group of ministers that worked to change the dynamics between the Boston Police Department and the kids on the street, was instrumental in reducing the rate of youth violence in Boston. Describes the unique history of Boston and how the coalition came to be successful in Boston. Wrestles with the question of whether or not the success can be replicated in other cities around the world.
Provides a framework for thinking systematically about innovations in philanthropy. To be successful and sustainable, innovative approaches to philanthropy need to create value for donors and recipients, as well as for society. Three historical innovations in society are professional foundations, federated community campaigns, and community foundations. Even the most innovative program contains threads of the old. Modern innovations include charitable giving funds, e-philanthropy, and venture philanthropy. The most successful innovations are those that expand the volume of donated funds in a sustainable way while improving the productivity of those funds through increases in efficiency or effectiveness. The challenge of the philanthropic project is, at the most basic level, to keep pace with changing needs and opportunities facing the social sector.
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Today's vast array of Web applications for supply chain integration, sales force automation, work group collaboration, and the sale of everything from equities to automobiles makes it perfectly clear that information technology has evolved beyond the role of mere infrastructure supporting business strategy. In more and more industries today, IT is the business strategy. Unfortunately, many CEOs are ill-equipped to manage effectively in the Information Age. The problem has less to do with IT literacy than with a range of behaviors and attitudes that cause such CEOs to shirk their IT responsibilities. By their actions, many CEOs send negative signals about IT's role to other leaders in their organization, who then repeat the behavior. Companies with such leaders frequently fail to reap business advantage from information technology. The authors describe seven types of CEOs and their behaviors and attitudes toward IT and explain why all but one are decidedly unfit to lead companies in the Information Age. Only the "believer CEO" is ready to play a constructive role in his or her company's use of IT. Believers understand that IT enables strategic advantage and demonstrate such beliefs in their daily actions. Believers are involved in IT decision making and are proactive in addressing IT problems and opportunities. They seek advice from a variety of sources, study the IT strategies of competitors, and set examples for others managers in their company to follow. Using examples, the authors explain how believer CEOs play a critical role in their corporate IT strategies, how they craft IT-savvy organizational cultures, and how these actions benefit their businesses. The authors prescribe a variety of methods for leaders to address their shortcomings and master the techniques of believers.
This is a series of four case studies illustrating a number of key financial issues facing many small to medium sized companies. The setting is Hong Kong, but the concerns of the company's management are universal: financing growth, measuring performance, deciding whether or not to invest in a new product, valuation of the company for a possible sale, dealing with currency risk. Company Situation In late July 1998, the senior management of Great Eastern Toys, a medium-sized, family-owned company with annual sales of over HK$245 millions (US$31 million) from designing and distributing children's toys, books, and games was reviewing recent performance and future operations. The company exported about 50% of its products to North American markets, close to 50% to major department stores and distributors in Europe, and less than 5% in the local market. Its principal suppliers were in Hong Kong; it financed its operations mainly with the local currency, Hong Kong dollars, but also with Yen loans. Great Eastern Toys (A) The company had enjoyed substantial growth following management changes in 1996, Management's attention had been focused on expanding sales, leading them to ignore a large increase in working capital needs. These had been financed mainly with short term bank borrowing. The economic crisis in Hong Kong in 1998 led the company's banks to ask that loans be substantially reduced with potentially serious liquidity consequences for the firm. The "A" case focuses on how to deal with these developments. Students are asked to evaluate the company's situation using standard tools of financial analysis: ratio, cash flow, and profitability analysis. Two class sessions are normally needed for adequate discussion of the various issues arising in the case.
Supplement to case IN1047. As part of its growth strategy, a new product has been designed and a study carried out by a consultant to estimate the market potential and the investment required to put it into production. The analysis calls for an estimation of the relevant cash flows from the project raising questions such as measuring opportunity costs, evaluation of sunk costs and joint costs, the impact of the new product eroding sales from existing products - typical problems arising when making capital investments. Since the investment project extends over several years, a DCF analysis is necessary. Discussion needs a full class session.
Supplement to case IN1047. A major concern of the family owners was whether to try to sell their company. The "C" case gives students the opportunity to consider many approaches to valuing a firm: comparative valuation (P/E ratios, price-to-book ratios, price to cash flow ratios, and price to sales ratios) or a DCF valuation. Both approaches present considerable analytical problems. A major weakness of the comparative approach is to find a similar company. Hong Kong, a relatively small stock market, has no firm in the toy business to use as a guide. Other publically traded firms of similar size, markets, and product-lines are found in the Japanese and the American stock markets. But given the differences among the companies and also the markets, how useful are these? There is enough data in the case to allow the student to make a DCF valuation, although projection of the cash flows is subject to a wide range of possibilities. An estimate of a reasonable discount rate also is required, raising questions (assuming use of the CAPM) such as what should be the firm's beta, the risk-free rate, and the equity market premium. Students will need at least two hours of preparation plus a full class session.
Supplement to case IN1047. The company faced currency risk on its sales to European markets, and on some Yen loans it had taken. Because the HK$ was pegged to the US$, currency risk on its American sales was seen as practically nil. In this respect, the company's currency position is similar to that of a French or Spanish company exporting to other countries in the European Union whose currency is pegged to the Euro, but also exporting to North America, while financing part of its operations with Yen or Sterling.
Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation faces a serious threat to survival from the deep pockets of media mogul Ted Turner and Time-Warner, Inc. McMahon must tackle management, business, and ethics challenges when Turner tries to lure the WWF's top star, Bret the Hitman Hart, away from the WWF.
Supplement to case IN1075. Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation faces a serious threat to survival from the deep pockets of media mogul Ted Turner and Time-Warner, Inc. McMahon must tackle management, business, and ethics challenges when Turner tries to lure the WWF's top star, Bret the Hitman Hart, away from the WWF.
Supplement to case IN1075. Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation faces a serious threat to survival from the deep pockets of media mogul Ted Turner and Time-Warner, Inc. McMahon must tackle management, business, and ethics challenges when Turner tries to lure the WWF's top star, Bret the Hitman Hart, away from the WWF.
Supplement to case IN1079. This case illustrates the challenges facing Intel as it attempts to manage the post-acquisition integration of DECs semiconductors businesses. Additional emphasis is placed on how Intel developed a post-acquisition integration capability and on the way it is currently structured to manage the acquisition process.
This series of 3 cases describes the creation of a dotcom start-up in Singapore and its penetration of the Chinese market. The company, MyWeb Inc.com started as a web designer, but moved quickly into set-top boxes for Internet access using TVs, as well as the design of a portal with localized content for China. At the end of the case, the inventors of the dotccom realize that their original business model is not viable and they evaluate the different options they have to create a profitable business model.
Supplement to case IN1082. This series of 3 cases describes the creation of a dotcom start-up in Singapore and its penetration of the Chinese market. The company, MyWeb Inc.com started as a web designer, but moved quickly into set-top boxes for Internet access using TVs, as well as the design of a portal with localized content for China. At the end of the case, the inventors of the dotccom realize that their original business model is not viable and they evaluate the different options they have to create a profitable business model.
Supplement to case IN1082. This series of 3 cases describes the creation of a dotcom start-up in Singapore and its penetration of the Chinese market. The company, MyWeb Inc.com started as a web designer, but moved quickly into set-top boxes for Internet access using TVs, as well as the design of a portal with localized content for China. At the end of the case, the inventors of the dotccom realize that their original business model is not viable and they evaluate the different options they have to create a profitable business model.
The Lundbeck case study describes the initial public offering (IPO) that the company made in the summer of 1999. The focus of the case is about valuation, but a number of other issues arise for discussion: The company's strategy in deciding to make the IPO What the considerations were for the management and shareholder in agreeing on the issuing price and timing The number of shares to be sold, where they would be sold, and how the after-market should be developed and maintained Lundbeck is a medium-sized pharmaceutical company based in Denmark. It is specialized in the research and development, manufacture, marketing and sale of drugs for the treatment of psychological and neurological diseases and disorders. Group sales for 1998 were DKK 3.2 billion of which its principal product, citalopram accounted for DKK 2.1 billion or two-thirds of the total. The company has production facilities in Denmark and the U.K. Most R&D is carried out by the company itself, or through licensing, and from strategic alliances with others having expertise in a specific area. Some 475 scientists and technicians are employed in R&D out of a total 2,286 full-time employees in the company. Until the IPO, the Lundbeck Foundation was the sole shareholder. The IPO would put about 20% of the shares on the market in a so-called Global Offering. A listing of the shares would be made on the Copenhagen stock market.
As the food industry becomes more sophisticated, and as genomics and other factors provide for quality control from the producers to the consumers in the food chain, the beef industry has been one of the last commodity systems to organize the vertical systems to satisfy consumers' needs for high-quality, consistently tender beef. The desire to also provide traceability has led Friona Industries to develop partnerships in the vertical chain to achieve these results with case-ready meat for supermarkets and consistent supplies for institutions such as McDonalds.
This case focuses on the strategic issues of an emerging dot-com in a rapidly emerging Internet nation-China. Alibaba, a bulletin board company based in Hangzhou, China, is trying to carve out a niche in the B-to-B e-commerce world. It also shows the speed and complexity of strategy evolution and the fascinating set of problems that a player in this new space must confront. Whether the company will ultimately survive or not is very much a question. The issues are surprisingly similar to those which confront companies in Western Europe and the United States.