Software development company iQmetrix Software Development Corporation (iQmetrix), headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, had enjoyed success and growth for over two decades. In July 2017, iQmetrix was confronted with the challenge of managing this growth while maintaining its organizational culture as a non-hierarchical, innovative, and open place to work—a place where the best ideas could come from anywhere and where people shared ideas openly and transparently with all. iQmetrix was considering the implementation of holacracy, an organizational design based on the fluid structuring of roles and teams and broadly shared leadership. As the company’s five executives prepared to meet, they needed to consider whether the organization could adopt such a radical organizational form and whether this would foster the continued success of the firm.

In June 2017, the U.S. president had made a statement regarding his stance on Cuba-U.S. relations. Business leaders were very attentive, as his actions could impact the softening U.S.-Cuban relations started by his predecessor in 2016. A recent MBA graduate in Canada and an avid cigar smoker, viewed this scenario and wondered what effect it would have on the current environment, and if there was potential in the Cuban cigar industry. With an inheritance of $1 million coming available in the next month, he thought back to his strategy sessions and looked to evaluate this industry.

In April 2015, a legal associate at Spitzberg Elevators Corporation, a U.S. corporation operating in Hong Kong, was tasked with recommending how the company should respond to Hong Kong’s new anti-competition legislation, which was scheduled to be enacted within eight months. The legal associate first needed to review the legislation, specifically the key portions that could have an impact on her company's imminent plans to bid on several elevator contracts. She also needed to decide whether to recommend the company take a proactive stand by complying with the not-yet-enacted legislation or continue to comply with the current rules until the new legislation would take effect.

In June 2017, the U.S. president had made a statement regarding his stance on Cuba-U.S. relations. Business leaders were very attentive, as his actions could impact the softening U.S.-Cuban relations started by his predecessor in 2016. A recent MBA graduate in Canada and an avid cigar smoker, viewed this scenario and wondered what effect it would have on the current environment, and if there was potential in the Cuban cigar industry. With an inheritance of $1 million coming available in the next month, he thought back to his strategy sessions and looked to evaluate this industry.

Software development company iQmetrix Software Development Corporation (iQmetrix), headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, had enjoyed success and growth for over two decades. In July 2017, iQmetrix was confronted with the challenge of managing this growth while maintaining its organizational culture as a non-hierarchical, innovative, and open place to work-a place where the best ideas could come from anywhere and where people shared ideas openly and transparently with all. iQmetrix was considering the implementation of holacracy, an organizational design based on the fluid structuring of roles and teams and broadly shared leadership. As the company's five executives prepared to meet, they needed to consider whether the organization could adopt such a radical organizational form and whether this would foster the continued success of the firm.

This technical note provides descriptions of the basic forms of organizational structure and the conditions under which each organizational design choice might be made.

In April 2015, a legal associate at Spitzberg Elevators Corporation, a U.S. corporation operating in Hong Kong, was tasked with recommending how the company should respond to Hong Kong's new anti-competition legislation, which was scheduled to be enacted within eight months. The legal associate first needed to review the legislation, specifically the key portions that could have an impact on her company's imminent plans to bid on several elevator contracts. She also needed to decide whether to recommend the company take a proactive stand by complying with the not-yet-enacted legislation or continue to comply with the current rules until the new legislation would take effect.

Logset Oy (Logset) was a privately held, specialized forest-machine manufacturing firm in Koivulahti, Finland. The firm had a strong presence in Europe but not in North America. Canada, with 42 per cent of its land mass covered by forest, was an appealing market, although 15 years of effort had not resulted in any appreciable increase in sales there. Logset had a strong dealer network in Ontario and Quebec. However, efforts to recruit a dealer for Atlantic and Western Canada had been unsuccessful. What strategy should Logset use to enter into partnerships with Canadian companies?

In 2017, Miami was rated #1 among U.S. cities for startups, but about 40th for "scale-ups" - growth companies. This case shows how leaders of incubators and accelerators supported startups and a culture of entrepreneurship, but also describes some factors limiting growth, including a lack of local venture capital, big companies to serve as local customers or partners, and biases on the part of investors. The question is whether co-working spaces, training programs, and networks go far enough to build a new tech center for the future economy.

The effects of Miami's startup scene have not reached many "left-behind" lower-income Black communities, which are disproportionately affected by problems such as segregation and racial discrimination, lack of transportation access, crime, education quality, government incompetence, and climate change. Leaders such as mayors, real estate developers, civic entrepreneurs, and community activists are offering solutions to the systemic problems faced by Miami's lower-income Black communities. Can more innovative thinking and the entrepreneurial spirit help move such areas into the tech economy/green jobs future?

Supplement to case 717004.

In early 2016, the newly appointed recycling planning coordinator for an industry-leading food packaging and processing company, Tetra Pak International SA (Tetra Pak), was reviewing his company's recent success in creating a recycling chain in China. By 2015, Tetra Pak China had successfully created a recycling chain system, increasing China's recycling rate from almost zero in 2004 to 28 per cent. It had done so by following a four-stage process: scanning the recycling market, building awareness and selecting partners, creating recycling capacity, and securing the recycling capacity. While the recycling planning coordinator was pleased with this recent success, he knew that questions remained: How could Tetra Pak continuously motivate recyclers to grow? How could Tetra Pak support recycling activities to achieve an even higher recycling rate? How could Tetra Pak achieve its recycling targets without much financial support?

Business owners and managers are told that anyone who cannot see the benefits of social media marketing is unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. As organizations, brands, and products fill the social media landscape with boring content that wastes resources and alienates customers, a small voice can be heard exclaiming; "who told you that was a good idea?" In this book, Hans Christian Andersen's cautionary anecdote of the Emperor's New Clothes provides the backdrop to a review of the use of social media platforms in the marketing of an organization, brand, or product. Chapter one provides the reader with a background to social media. This starts with its history and adoption in the digital age before identifying the key elements that make up digital social media, namely, social networks, online communities, social sharing, user-generated content, and blogging.

Business owners and managers are told that anyone who cannot see the benefits of social media marketing is unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. As organizations, brands, and products fill the social media landscape with boring content that wastes resources and alienates customers, a small voice can be heard exclaiming; "who told you that was a good idea?" In this book, Hans Christian Andersen's cautionary anecdote of the Emperor's New Clothes provides the backdrop to a review of the use of social media platforms in the marketing of an organization, brand, or product. In chapter two, the public's use of social media is examined along with the digital platforms on which it is conducted. The chapter concludes by considering why the public might interact with organizations, brands, or products on social media.

Business owners and managers are told that anyone who cannot see the benefits of social media marketing is unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. As organizations, brands, and products fill the social media landscape with boring content that wastes resources and alienates customers, a small voice can be heard exclaiming; "who told you that was a good idea?" In this book, Hans Christian Andersen's cautionary anecdote of the Emperor's New Clothes provides the backdrop to a review of the use of social media platforms in the marketing of an organization, brand, or product. Chapter three analyzes what social media marketing consists and what it does not. Details of the key models associated with social media marketing are also included.

Business owners and managers are told that anyone who cannot see the benefits of social media marketing is unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. As organizations, brands, and products fill the social media landscape with boring content that wastes resources and alienates customers, a small voice can be heard exclaiming; "who told you that was a good idea?" In this book, Hans Christian Andersen's cautionary anecdote of the Emperor's New Clothes provides the backdrop to a review of the use of social media platforms in the marketing of an organization, brand, or product. In chapter four, an organization's strategic expectations of marketing on social media are addressed, as are how its success or failure can be measured and issues related to any potential return on investment. The chapter concludes with an evaluation of the role that the culture of any organization, brand, or product plays in effective social media marketing.

Business owners and managers are told that anyone who cannot see the benefits of social media marketing is unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. As organizations, brands, and products fill the social media landscape with boring content that wastes resources and alienates customers, a small voice can be heard exclaiming; "who told you that was a good idea?" In this book, Hans Christian Andersen's cautionary anecdote of the Emperor's New Clothes provides the backdrop to a review of the use of social media platforms in the marketing of an organization, brand, or product. Chapter five deliberates the operational aspects of marketing on social media from its management through which employees do what, and when they do it. Also reflected upon is the use of third party platforms by social media marketers.

Business owners and managers are told that anyone who cannot see the benefits of social media marketing is unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. As organizations, brands, and products fill the social media landscape with boring content that wastes resources and alienates customers, a small voice can be heard exclaiming; "who told you that was a good idea?" In this book, Hans Christian Andersen's cautionary anecdote of the Emperor's New Clothes provides the backdrop to a review of the use of social media platforms in the marketing of an organization, brand, or product. Chapter six analyzes examples of social media marketing in practice from entertainment, politics, and business, to help readers conclude what works, what does not, and why.

Business owners and managers are told that anyone who cannot see the benefits of social media marketing is unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. As organizations, brands, and products fill the social media landscape with boring content that wastes resources and alienates customers, a small voice can be heard exclaiming; "who told you that was a good idea?" In this book, Hans Christian Andersen's cautionary anecdote of the Emperor's New Clothes provides the backdrop to a review of the use of social media platforms in the marketing of an organization, brand, or product. Chapter seven brings together the issues raised in previous chapters, throws in a few new ideas, and encourages readers to draw their own conclusion on whether marketing on social media is a marketing panacea or the Emperor's New Digital Clothes. It identifies various components of the social media marketing mix and suggests that the goal of social media marketing is engagement.

In early 2016, the newly appointed recycling planning coordinator for an industry-leading food packaging and processing company, Tetra Pak International SA (Tetra Pak), was reviewing his company's recent success in creating a recycling chain in China. By 2015, Tetra Pak China had successfully created a recycling chain system, increasing China’s recycling rate from almost zero in 2004 to 28 per cent. It had done so by following a four-stage process: scanning the recycling market, building awareness and selecting partners, creating recycling capacity, and securing the recycling capacity. While the recycling planning coordinator was pleased with this recent success, he knew that questions remained: How could Tetra Pak continuously motivate recyclers to grow? How could Tetra Pak support recycling activities to achieve an even higher recycling rate? How could Tetra Pak achieve its recycling targets without much financial support?