This case study asks the reader to step into the shoes of Susan Chen, a business studies student who has an intern placement with Happy Cow, a Niche ice cream maker in Hong Kong. The central theme of this case is how best to use time series data when running a small business operating in a competitive retail environment: how can insights from data analytics influence sales strategy? Although vision, industry knowledge, and people management are essential to entrepreneurs, making the best strategic marketing choices is equally vital. Extracting the maximum value from sales data can therefore be extremely helpful.
In April 1930, US Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon reviewed recent stock market events as he prepared to enter a meeting of the Federal Reserve Board, which he chaired. In September and October 1929, the US stock market had fallen about a third, and then recovered somewhat. In response to the turmoil, the Federal Reserve (Fed) had lowered the discount rate in five steps from 6% to 3.71%, and market rates of interest across a range of debt securities had followed. Now, given the recovery in the stock market, Mellon wondered what further guidance to give to the Fed, and what actions to recommend to the president and to Congress. What were the lessons of the recent market turmoil? What policies should the Fed pursue? Answers to such questions depended on agreement about the issues to be resolved. Advice streamed in from business, politicians, the press, and pundits of all kinds, and hinged on interpretations of the recent turmoil, which ranged from a standard cyclical correction to an international crisis. This case presents the events leading up to the Great Depression and explores a range of responses and interpretations by participants, contemporary observers, and scholars of economics and history.
What does the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) mean for a country like Malaysia? This case investigates the far-reaching domestic ramifications of this type of "mega-regional agreement," as well as how international agreements can be an important way to strengthen alliances and global standing. The case asks students to evaluate an important decision facing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a long-serving former prime minister who surprised everyone by winning Malaysia's May 2018 election. Having come out of retirement to secure his legacy, Mahathir faces a complicated political choice. The previous administration had signed on to the CPTPP, and signatory countries must now pass the deal through their respective domestic approval processes. But Mahathir's party and government are divided on the deal, which could bring new export and investment opportunities - but also would require Malaysia to make commitments to protect labor rights and intellectual property. These commitments, in turn, could prove politically unpopular at home.
Synthetic biology start-up C16 Biosciences wants to solve a big problem: replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation and climate change, with a lab-grown substitute. CEO Shara Ticku has ambitious plans to supply her lab-grown palm oil to food manufacturers, who use palm oil liberally in a variety of products from ice cream to margarine. In bringing her product to market, Ticku faces a tough decision. Should she roll out the product first in the personal care market, which has lower volumes and premium prices, or go straight for food? The meteoric rise of lab-grown meat company Impossible Foods has caught the attention of an investor, who wonders if C16 should tap into excitement about lab-grown foods to raise a Series A funding round. But are there merits to starting small?
This two-part case series (A and B) puts students into the role of Juan Perez, an investment analyst who works for Suprabanco, a fictional multilateral lending institution headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia. The case opens in 2018, when a risk assessment determined that Venezuela might struggle to repay a Suprabanco loan because it was denominated in US dollars. At the same time, the bank wondered if cryptocurrencies had the potential to increase returns and diversify a portfolio. So, Suprabanco assigned Perez two tasks: 1) Investigate the viability of increasing returns by adding cryptocurrencies to a portfolio of investments and, 2) Determine if cryptocurrencies could be an alternative to the US dollar in case the Venezuelan loan situation deteriorated. Case (A) examines cryptocurrencies in general and focuses specifically on bitcoin, including its origins, requirements (technology, community, and liquidity), regulatory environment, and competitors. Case (B) examines the Venezuelan Petro, a sovereign-issued cryptocurrency designed to overcome hyperinflation and US sanctions that locked the country out of international financial markets. Both cases describe decisions facing Perez as an investment analyst and introduce the reader to cryptocurrency opportunities and challenges, blockchain technology, and ethical dilemmas.
This two-part case series (A and B) puts students into the role of Juan Perez, an investment analyst who works for Suprabanco, a fictional multilateral lending institution headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia. The case opens in 2018, when a risk assessment determined that Venezuela might struggle to repay a Suprabanco loan because it was denominated in US dollars. At the same time, the bank wondered if cryptocurrencies had the potential to increase returns and diversify a portfolio. So, Suprabanco assigned Perez two tasks: 1) Investigate the viability of increasing returns by adding cryptocurrencies to a portfolio of investments and, 2) Determine if cryptocurrencies could be an alternative to the US dollar in case the Venezuelan loan situation deteriorated. Case (A) examines cryptocurrencies in general and focuses specifically on bitcoin, including its origins, requirements (technology, community, and liquidity), regulatory environment, and competitors. Case (B) examines the Venezuelan Petro, a sovereign-issued cryptocurrency designed to overcome hyperinflation and US sanctions that locked the country out of international financial markets. Both cases describe decisions facing Perez as an investment analyst and introduce the reader to cryptocurrency opportunities and challenges, blockchain technology, and ethical dilemmas.
In 2015, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) moved from target-driven sales, to a no-sales target regime. This change involved the sales incentives plan and performance measurement parameters of the front line medical sales force of the company. The executive director of Human Resources knew that challenges lay ahead in managing the company's employees and reinvigorating the values of the organization. He was hoping to shift the focus of the sales force to ethical behaviour, dissemination of scientific knowledge among doctors, and customer and patient care. Many people were adapting to the new system while a few resisted, and some left the organization. Though management anticipated this turn of events and accepted the employee turnover, the director knew that more work needed to be done to make the new system more acceptable and functional. How should he address the subjectivity of the system, simplify it for his salesforce, and address the concerns of his managers? Would the new system motivate performance? Could he convince his employees of the potential benefits of the process- and competence-based pay system at GSK?
In early 2016, ChimpChange Limited, a financial technology (fintech) start-up, had started operations in California and already had more than 80,000 customers. The company needed capital to acquire more customers in order to become cash-flow positive, as was the case with most start-ups. ChimpChange Limited should have been able to attain the break-even number of customers within another year or so, but it needed capital to execute a marketing campaign to attract these customers. It had already undergone several series of funding rounds. At this point, should it return for a series C funding round or should it raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO)? If it were to opt for an IPO, where should this take place?
Founded in late 2014, Xinke used a crowdfunding café model to provide a platform for communication among entrepreneurs and investors. In June 2015, Xinke co-operated with a leading real estate company to create a crowd innovation café, and in August 2016, it received A-round financing that led to the establishment of a crowd innovation fund and the creation of a self-access media platform. Xinke had opened a high-end shared office to provide all around services such as funds, publicity, and venues for settled enterprises. It had a network of crowd innovation space (CIS) platforms in various cities across China and was beginning to build a nationwide CIS platform. Could the crowd innovation ecology designed by Xinke inject new vitality into the development of the CIS? How should Xinke’s crowd innovation eco-strategy be improved? How could Xinke realize professionalization in and improvement of the crowd innovation ecology?
On Wednesday, March 1, 2017, Jean-Louis Chaussade, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Suez SA (Suez), a French utility company that primarily operated in water and waste management, had to decide whether or not to acquire General Electric Water & Process Technologies. During the negotiations between Chaussade and the CEO of General Electric Company (GE), there had been many drastic changes, including the January 2017 inauguration of a US president with no political experience and an agenda that did not favour international co-operation. The deal represented a significant investment of US$2–$3 billion, and Suez would have to rely on an external partner to have even a chance of winning the bid GE had launched only a few weeks earlier. The complex negotiations were also fraught with risks due to increasing political interference from the new US president. What should Chaussade do?
On April 1, 2017, Flashfood.Shop, a new brand in self-service retailing of fresh meals, was founded in Dalian, Liaoning province, China. The self-service retail platform provided office workers with affordable and convenient fresh meals 24 hours per day. Flashfood.Shop used intelligent self-catering machines as its physical sales terminals and it used an intelligent self-catering system as its online service interface. By the end of June 2018, Flashfood.Shop had launched 51 catering machines, where customers could buy fresh meals. The company had 14 catering suppliers, 135 different types of catering products, and over 500,000 customers. However, along with its success, Flashfood.Shop incurred a loss in five consecutive quarters. After its establishment, the only source of income for the company was the sale of its catered products. However, operating costs were high due to the instability of the hardware and software systems, as well as low operating efficiency and other factors. Faced with these issues, the start-up’s founder and general manager was wondering how to resolve his company’s ongoing losses.
Naledo Foods and Beverages Inc. (Naledo) was a small start-up headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, that operated as a social enterprise in the Toledo District of Belize. In 2018, Naledo's operation in Belize produced about 500 jars a day of wildcrafted turmeric paste. With large orders sometimes taking up to six weeks to fill, it was imperative for Naledo to find a way to increase production, and for that, the company needed capital. Naledo's chief operating officer was thus considering ways to raise the necessary capital.
In November 2018, Five Guys, a fast-casual restaurant chain based in the United States, faced an important decision related to its future promotion strategy. Five Guys had started in 1986 as a small company with limited resources. The company had always avoided traditional advertising media, such as television, radio, print, and billboard advertisements. As a result of the company's success over the years, the founder and chief executive officer had a significantly larger promotional budget than ever before; he needed to develop a promotional strategy for the future. In particular, he needed to determine how to allocate the company's promotional budget. In which promotional media should he invest the company's promotional funds?
In January 2019, the telecommunications industry was under severe threat of disruption. Telecommunications companies (telcos), which had historically been able to cope with technological disruption by moving from first-generation through to fifth-generation cellular network technologies, were now threatened by digital service providers (DSPs)-firms that came with a new business model that threatened the telcos' existing business models. Telcos were being forced to deliver only network connectivity, whereas DSPs had positioned themselves to deliver the more lucrative digital services directly to customers. The Norwegian telco Telenor Group (Telenor) decided to take up this battle by offering digital services to end-customers. However, doing so raised several important questions: Was full confrontation with large DSPs inevitable, or was there another way? How could Telenor switch from the old to the new business model? Was it possible to manage two conflicting business models under the same company?
Between 2016 and 2019, the India-based budget hotel start-up Oravel Stays Private Limited (OYO) expanded into nine countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. However, OYO faced several crises in its home country: contracted hoteliers of OYO threatened to file lawsuits against the start-up for breach of contract, and customers raised service quality issues. Critics believed that with such rapid internationalization, OYO's founder was simply burning through the cash of venture capitalists. Nevertheless, the founder was determined to expand internationally while enhancing OYO's service portfolio in India. Should he reconsider his decision to focus on international markets instead of the domestic market? Could legal issues in OYO's home country create impediments to this growth plan? How should he deal with these issues?
Options trading is an appealing investment alternative that can enable investors to profit from both share price movements and non-volatile market environments. This note provides a guide for entry-level options traders and is a logical progression from An Introduction to the Pricing of Options (905N14). The note reviews characteristics of options and the factors affecting their valuation, and it outlines several trading mechanisms that new options traders might use as they seek their most effective strategies, including long call, short put, bull call spread, short call, long put, bear put spread, short straddle, short strangle, long butterfly, long straddle, and long strangle.
"Barcelona backs out of proposed LaLiga match in Miami." It is December 2018, and Daniel Sillman, chief executive officer of sports and entertainment company Relevent, is tasked with finding a way forward after a significant setback. Relevent had found success by convincing some of Europe's highest-profile soccer clubs to play pre-season matches in North America as part of its annual International Champions Cup (ICC), held during the summer months. Building on that success, Relevent is now seeking to bring at least one official LaLiga match to the U.S, each season-an effort that is a key pillar of Relevent's new, fifteen-year partnership with the Spanish soccer league, aimed at promoting the LaLiga brand in North America. However, the match that Relevent had selected to take place in Miami in January 2019, between FC Barcelona and Girona FC, had become a source of tension, drawing protests from the Spanish football federation, the Spanish players' association, and the president of worldwide governing body FIFA. Today, FC Barcelona's leadership team had announced the club would withdraw. Would Relevent find success in bringing a LaLiga match to the U.S.? And, more generally, did Relevent have the right approach to growing the LaLiga brand in North America?