In May 2016, Michael Rechtin, an expert in international data center law, advised global financial services firm Great Lakes Banking Group (GLBG) on its plans to upgrade its data centers. The bank's data processing and storage systems were in need of an update, and since GLBG last made heavy IT investments in the late 1990s, the technology had changed considerably. GLBG sought Rechtin's advice on whether or not it should build a new data center, pursue a wholesale colocation solution, rent space from a retail colocation provider, or store more data in the cloud.
In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity measurement, and the structural shift involved with the increased usage and introduction of robots in place of workers, garnering the interest of academic economists, businesses and policymakers. Another contention was whether declining productivity was the result of secular stagnation, a more permanent economic state of low growth and lack of economic progress, or whether it was the result of deleveraging and the post-Global Financial Crisis period, a mere cyclical phase. Distilling the sources and drivers of productivity decline was further complicated by the rise in economic integration across countries, and even more so considering research findings that research and innovation was becoming less productive and more difficult. What, if anything, was the role of government? Should businesses play a role? If so what should they do?
In 1837, President Martin Van Buren confronted a dilemma over the appropriate federal response to the recent panic of 1837 that seemed to undercut the policies and power of Andrew Jackson's "Democracy." Now, Van Buren must decide how best to harness the civic reaction in stabilizing the financial system and returning the American economy to growth. Van Buren's dilemma occurs in the midst of a dramatic regime shift in American politics. The rise of Whig politicians in reaction to the populist policies of Andrew Jackson marked 1837 as an historic pivot-point. It is useful to consider how the panic of 1837 contributed to that pivot and how the subsequent civic reaction to the panic developed. The A case recounts the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his "war" on the Second Bank of the United States, a quasi-central bank. It also describes the "market revolution" occurring in the U.S. economy and the political factions that had emerged. Finally, it summarizes the causes and story of the panic of 1837. The B case presents draft legislation for an Independent Treasury and President Van Buren's message with which he aimed to open a special session of the U.S. Congress and enact the Independent Treasury proposal. The C case describes the failures to enact the proposal in 1837, 1838, and 1839-ultimately the proposal was enacted in 1840. The case also describes other civic reactions: a new Bankruptcy Act and state-level "free banking" laws. Finally, the case describes the economic aftermath: another panic in 1839 and a long depression that ensued.
In 1837, President Martin Van Buren confronted a dilemma over the appropriate federal response to the recent panic of 1837 that seemed to undercut the policies and power of Andrew Jackson's "Democracy." Now, Van Buren must decide how best to harness the civic reaction in stabilizing the financial system and returning the American economy to growth. Van Buren's dilemma occurs in the midst of a dramatic regime shift in American politics. The rise of Whig politicians in reaction to the populist policies of Andrew Jackson marked 1837 as an historic pivot-point. It is useful to consider how the panic of 1837 contributed to that pivot and how the subsequent civic reaction to the panic developed. The B case presents draft legislation for an Independent Treasury and President Van Buren's message with which he aimed to open a special session of the U.S. Congress and enact the Independent Treasury proposal.
In 1837, President Martin Van Buren confronted a dilemma over the appropriate federal response to the recent panic of 1837 that seemed to undercut the policies and power of Andrew Jackson's "Democracy." Now, Van Buren must decide how best to harness the civic reaction in stabilizing the financial system and returning the American economy to growth. Van Buren's dilemma occurs in the midst of a dramatic regime shift in American politics. The rise of Whig politicians in reaction to the populist policies of Andrew Jackson marked 1837 as an historic pivot-point. It is useful to consider how the panic of 1837 contributed to that pivot and how the subsequent civic reaction to the panic developed. The C case describes the failures to enact the proposal in 1837, 1838, and 1839-ultimately the proposal was enacted in 1840. The case also describes other civic reactions: a new Bankruptcy Act and state-level "free banking" laws. Finally, the case describes the economic aftermath: another panic in 1839 and a long depression that ensued.
In 1837, President Martin Van Buren confronted a dilemma over the appropriate federal response to the recent panic of 1837 that seemed to undercut the policies and power of Andrew Jackson's "Democracy." Now, Van Buren must decide how best to harness the civic reaction in stabilizing the financial system and returning the American economy to growth. Van Buren's dilemma occurs in the midst of a dramatic regime shift in American politics. The rise of Whig politicians in reaction to the populist policies of Andrew Jackson marked 1837 as an historic pivot-point. It is useful to consider how the panic of 1837 contributed to that pivot and how the subsequent civic reaction to the panic developed. The A case recounts the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his "war" on the Second Bank of the United States, a quasi-central bank. It also describes the "market revolution" occurring in the U.S. economy and the political factions that had emerged. Finally, it summarizes the causes and story of the panic of 1837. The B case presents draft legislation for an Independent Treasury and President Van Buren's message with which he aimed to open a special session of the U.S. Congress and enact the Independent Treasury proposal. The C case describes the failures to enact the proposal in 1837, 1838, and 1839-ultimately the proposal was enacted in 1840. The case also describes other civic reactions: a new Bankruptcy Act and state-level "free banking" laws. Finally, the case describes the economic aftermath: another panic in 1839 and a long depression that ensued.
Our case focuses on Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), the Shenzhen-based company that contributed significantly to the growing popularity of civilian drones not only in China, but also globally. It chronicles the genesis and development of the company and its recent efforts to address current challenges and anticipating future competition. DJI within a few years of producing its first drone, cornered more than 70% of the global civilian drone market and emerged as a "decacorn", which are "unicorns" that valued at least US$10 billion. However, with intensifying competition and rapid shifts in technology, DJI's leadership position could erode quickly. Additionally, as concerns about safety, privacy, and security continued to mount, what should DJI do? Our case offers students an opportunity to analyse the challenges and opportunities that confront a new market leader in an emerging industry, in the face of mounting competition and rapid technological shifts from 2017. It also showcases the rise of globally-minded Chinese firms, with DJI as an exemplar. These "born global" firms, also known as micro-multinationals, went global from the start and did not try to build a base in China's domestic markets as their first steps.
Many millions of people around the world experience the pervasive, and often painful, societal messages of colorism, where lighter skin tones are asserted to be more attractive and to reflect greater affluence, power, education, and social status. Even in places where the destructive effects of colorism are fairly well understood, far less is known about the problem of skin-lightening (really, it's "skin bleaching") creams and lotions, and the health risks that consumers assume with these products. In this teaching case, the protagonists are two women who have recently immigrated to the United States from Nigeria and Thailand, both with a life-time of experience with these products like many of the women of their home countries. As the story unfolds, they struggle along with the rest of the characters to copy with the push and pull of community norms vs. commercial influences and the challenge of promoting community health in the face of many societal and corporate obstacles. How can the deeply ingrained messages of colorism be effectively confronted and transformed to advance social change without alienating the community members we may most want to reach?
This case focuses on the Blackstone credit arm, GSO Capital as it evaluated a proposal for an equity investment into the distressed company, Crosstex Energy L.P., an integrated midstream energy company, that was hit hard by declining natural gas prices during the 2008 global financial crisis. At the time, Crosstex was burdened by significant bank debt in the form of a secured revolving credit line. After some initial restructuring, Crosstex was forced to stop quarterly dividend payments as part of a new covenant structure. In order to resume dividend payments, Crosstex needed to reduce its leverage ratio in accordance with its existing covenants. As part of the steps undertaken toward recovery, Crosstex management decided to find a preferred equity investor, ahead of a larger plan to raise up to $700 million in market debt. This case provides a setting for discussing a so-called "rescue financing" transaction which is a strategy within "direct lending" segment of the private debt space. It can also be used as a vehicle for discussing three core debt alternatives: (i) bank debt; (ii) public bonds, and (iii) private debt
13th Floor-Adler, a partnership of 13th Floor Investments and Adler Group, was compiling a response to a Miami-Dade County Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP's prize was the opportunity to develop a 7.5+/- acre parking lot, adjacent to a heavy-rail rapid transit station, into a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in Miami. To win, 13th Floor-Adler, had to submit a proposal that was the "highest and best use" for the land, catered to the County's demands for workforce housing, provided a market return for investors and compensated the County for the use of the land. Throughout its history, Miami has been subject to a number of real estate booms and busts. Intricate expertise of Miami's demand drivers were necessary in order to succeed. Arnaud Karsenti (MBA 2006), founder and Principal at 13th Floor Investments (13th Fl), with over $1B worth of completed transactions in the South Florida market, had this well of expertise. Furthermore, the partnership with the Adler Group, headed by Michael M. Adler, provided additional credibility for the proposal due to their 50+ years' experience in Miami. At "Link @ Douglas," can Karsenti and his team be "placemakers" creating a true live, work, and play environment, deliver market returns to investors and create a winning proposal that caters to the demands of the Miami-Dade County officials?
In 2014, TELUS Communications (TELUS) acquired Public Mobile Holdings Inc., a small, money-losing, wireless carrier that operated in the lower, price-sensitive tier of the market. TELUS had not previously competed in the lower tier of the market, which had a history of low revenues per customer and low customer retention. The director of Mobility Marketing at TELUS faced the decision of what to do with this newly acquired brand. He was considering the market positioning options, brand portfolio implications, and financial impact of his decision. The options included migrating the new customers to one of the company’s existing brands, continuing to operate the firm as an independent brand, or repositioning the brand to improve profitability.
In 2017, Ivey Publishing, a publisher and distributor of cases for the academic market, struggled with widespread copyright infringement, which affected its revenue stream. The digital revolution, which had an impact on so many other creative industries, including music, film, and computer software, had also affected the publisher. Ivey Publishing's sales team leader made a call to a business professor to elicit his support in encouraging his students to purchase cases from Ivey Publishing (rather than copying them from other students). Having failed to persuade this professor and others, the sales team leader reflected on what else she could do to strengthen Ivey Publishing's financial performance.
Doing a breakeven analysis for Carlsbad Home Care helped Director Louise Tucker better understand how many more visits she needed to eliminate her deficit. However, she wasn't sure that there was really demand in the community for more nursing, physical therapy or social service visits to allow her to increase visit volume. She also knew that negotiating a higher per visit price from their affiliated HMO was highly unlikely. If increasing volume and raising the price for visits were not feasible, she wondered what else she should be thinking about. She decided she should explore alternatives that would look at her specific programs, staffing approaches, and general expenses. In discussions with her controller, she arrived at five alternatives for consideration.
Nickol Hackett, chief investment officer of the Cook County Pension Fund, is responsible for investing the fund's $9 billion worth of assets on behalf of the employees of Cook County, Illinois. Like many other defined-benefit pensions at the time, the Cook County pension faces a funding shortfall, meaning that the value of its assets is below the value of its future obligations to retirees. Hackett can invest in fixed income securities, public equities, and alternative assets such as hedge funds, real estate, or private equity. What are the costs and benefits of each asset class? Should the funding status of the pension impact the asset allocation process? How should Hackett invest in order to grow the value of the fund's assets and secure the retirement benefits for thousands of Cook County's employees?