Presents the systematic evidence in the context of the microeconomic model of market integration. Market integration is just one (economic) aspect of globalization; this is one of the particular interests to business managers.
Managers now know that knowledge is an organization's most vital competitive asset. But most are still struggling with practicalities. How can knowledge be leveraged into marketplace success in any organization? A new economy is emerging built on knowledge and innovation. At its center are knowledge workers, whose mission is not only to create a world of new products and services, but also rethink the larger purposes and day-to-day practices of the world of business. The case describes the efforts for effective knowledge management for one of the communities inside Xerox.
In 1999 Toys R Us faced the most challenging time of its history. After recording losses for the first time in 1998, it lost its number one position in toy retailing to Wal-Mart and was late in entering electronic retailing where eToys was pre-empting the competitive space. How would TRU be able to reaffirm its competitive position and improve its profitability?
This case focuses on the privatization of water and sanitation services in the city of Cancún, Mexico. Cancún's growth from a small fishing village in the 1970s to a major international tourist destination by the 1990s overwhelmed the city's public drinking water and sewerage systems. Insufficient coverage, deficient budgets, poor output quality, and environmental pollution were long-standing problems. With the aim of solving some of these problems, Cancún privatized water and sanitation provision in 1994, granting Mexico's first comprehensive private concession for water or wastewater system operation. Two years later, the concessionaire's inability to fulfill its service coverage and investment commitments led to a major legal confrontation with the state government of Quintana Roo and state administrative takeover of the concession company's operations. The case is designed to be used in discussions about (1) the problems generated by the absence of competitive bidding and transparency in concession processes; (2) the difficulty of raising tariffs without visible service improvements; (3) the role of regulatory monitoring and enforcement of concession performance targets; and (4) the impacts of contingencies like macroeconomic instability (Mexico's 1994 peso devaluation) on concession commitments. In 1996, the state government of Quintana Roo took over operation of Cancún's water and sanitation services, privatized only two years earlier. HKS Case Number 1593.0
The sequel describes the ensuing changes to the concession contract and regulatory oversight structure, and the return of operational control to the private concession company, Aguakán. It briefly discusses the financial and political difficulties that follow the concessionaire's reinstatement in Cancún, and the eventual sale of the concession in 1999 to a division of Enron Corporation. HKS Case Number 1593.1
As the 1998-99 school year began in the state of Kerala, India, state education officials were setting out to bring radical change to government schools. A new approach-designed to be child-friendly and to de-emphasize rote learning and textbook-based teacher lectures in favor of "guided learning and playful interaction"-would, in the words of Education Secretary K. Jayakumar, be no less than "an affirmation of the rights of the child." But as the extension of the so-called District Primary Education Program (DPEP) began to reach all school districts in Kerala, the approach was embroiled in controversy. The leader of the political opposition called for it to be halted. Newly-organized protest groups, charged that reform threatened to dilute education standards and create two tiers of Kerala students. It would fall to Mr. Jayakumar and other state officials to convince the public that the DPEP plan was best for the nearly three million school children of Kerala. Their task required officials to defend the concept of the program, even as they continued to oversee the details of its implementation. The approach they chose would leave some convinced that DPEP had been successfully institutionalized in Kerala, while some of the reform's strongest proponents believed that DPEP had been profoundly compromised. HKS Case Number 1573.0
What would prompt an elected official to take on what appears to be a moral cause with little immediate political benefit? That is the implicit political ethics question raised by this case, which describes the somewhat quixotic, decade-long effort of Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy to block, through legislation, the export of so-called "unregistered" pesticides -- that is, agricultural chemicals that were not approved for sale in the United States. As chairman of the Senate Agricultural Committee when he began his crusade, Leahy sought to make reform of U.S. pesticide export policy a centerpiece of his tenure, notwithstanding the hostility of commercial interests with close ties to the committee and the indifference of the public. HKS Case Number 1583.0
In an effort to control the spreading of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa, The South African government enacted a controversial patent law, the effect of which would enable the country to import or manufacture much-needed AIDS medicines at substantially lower costs than usually available. The pharmaceutical industry and the United States government opposed this legislation believing it would undermine the importance of protecting intellectual property rights. The United States eventually imposed sanctions on South Africa. An uneasy truce was finally reached, and in 1999, South Africa was considered amendments to the patent law. The United States position softened in response to the scope of the epidemic and the need to provide medicines in South Africa at affordable prices, and the President of the United States issued an Executive Order prohibiting sanctions.
This case describes the development and subsequent failure of Iridium. Iridium was a satellite-based communications system initially developed by Motorola and then spun off as a separate company. Using its constellation of 66 low earth-orbit satellites, the Iridium system was intended to provide reliable communications from virtually any point on the globe. On November 1, 1998, Iridium began commercial telephone service and satellite-paging service began two weeks later. However, a variety of problems plagued the company, and by May 1999, Iridium had only 10,000 subscribers. In August 1999, Iridium defaulted on its debt and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In March 2000, with only 50,000 subscribers, Iridium terminated its services. Motorola's estimated financial exposure to the bankruptcy of Iridium was $2.2 billion.
An Internet service provider, INS, in which Cisco Systems has a minority ownership stake, receives an offer of $3.1 billion from Cisco's rival Lucent. Cisco's management has to decide whether to act on a request from INS management that Cisco make a counteroffer. The decision requires that Cisco's highly successful strategy be revisited.
The technology deployment specialist of the Adelaide District School Board, Christine Clark, needed to make immediate changes to the purchasing system in response to service demands. The current system was not widely accessible or user-friendly, and was creating heavy workloads and the need for overtime. Senior management recognized the advantages of implementing a system that would integrate the data processing of all functions, including human resources, inventory, finance, purchasing, etc., and gave her the mandate to find an integrated system and develop a proposal for its implementation. In addition to finding a system that would meet these criteria, she had to consider the conflicting interests of different users, a new system that had been implemented in the finance department, and the ongoing changes in the organization.
A small, founder-centered business, increasingly facing competitive imitation of their core activities, is at a crossroads. Expansion opportunities for the winery include branching into retail, expanding its offerings of wines made to their specifications in Europe, and expanding their direct sales network of end customers to include non-Bonny Doon wines. In considering these options, the core competencies of Bonny Doon as well as the interests of its dynamic founder and leader, are critical.
A new marketing advisor at Panmai, a women's weaving co-operative located in Kaset Wisai, Thailand, is trying to formulate a strategic plan for Panmai's future. Specifically, he needs to decide which product/markets and which methods of distribution are appropriate for Panmai, whether Panmai should pursue more foreign sales and how to solve many operational problems existing at the company. Since he will only be at Panmai for two years, any changes he makes must be sustainable without his presence.
Describes a potential new approach to treating cardiac disease--radiation therapy. Guidant, a leading medical device maker, faces a choice about whether to pursue this new and risky technology and, if so with what strategy.
A small, founder-centered business, which is increasingly facing competitive imitation of its core activities, is at a crossroads. Expansion opportunities for the winery include branching into retail, expanding its offerings of wines made to their specifications in Europe, and expanding its direct sales network of end customers to include non-Bonny Doon wines. In considering these options, the core competencies of Bonny Doon, as well as the interests of its dynamic founder and leader, are critical.
Organization 2005, the latest initiative by Procter & Gamble (P&G) worldwide, was put in place to help double revenue growth between 2000 and 2005. The reorganization aligned the company so that planning and managing the lines of business were done on a global basis. The company's culture, its structure, and how work would be done were three key items that the changes would impact. The newly appointed president of P&G Canada reflected on the strategy behind the changes, the implications of the organizational change, and the message he wanted to deliver as he prepared to address the Canadian employees.