Supplement to case 118023. As a global energy generating company, AES frequently faces challenges from political changes and instability. This is exacerbated by the fact that in many instances AES' primary customer is the government, which is also in charge of law-making. For example, AES' management team has encountered expropriation risks in Venezuela, collection problems in the Dominican Republic, and regulatory changes in the United States that have led to asset impairments. More recently, the Bulgarian energy regulator announced its intentions to seek a 30% price reduction on a power purchase agreement signed over 10 years ago with AES. Accordingly, AES' management is evaluating whether the renegotiation will lead to any asset impairments and the overall effects on its financial statements.
The sudden departure to Hewlett- Packard of a top level EMC Corporation executive who had full knowledge of EMC's operations, business plans, and key personnel ignited a bi-coastal battle between two fierce rivals that was played out in courts competing for jurisdiction and states with diametrically opposed laws and public policies concerning non-competition agreements. The enforceability of the employment contract at the core of the case is explored in the context of motion pleading and preliminary relief and litigation strategy is presented as part of a company's overall business strategy.
The sudden departure to Hewlett- Packard of a top level EMC Corporation executive who had full knowledge of EMC's operations, business plans, and key personnel ignited a bi-coastal battle between two fierce rivals that was played out in courts competing for jurisdiction and states with diametrically opposed laws and public policies concerning non-competition agreements. The enforceability of the employment contract at the core of the case is explored in the context of motion pleading and preliminary relief and litigation strategy is presented as part of a company's overall business strategy.
This technical note explores the working mechanisms of bundling—the practice of selling two or more separate products or services as one package. The note also explains various types of bundles, including pure bundles, price bundles, and product bundles. The note uses graphical illustrations, analytical techniques, and spreadsheet simulations to discuss the working principles of each bundling type and the economic logic of bundling. Also discussed are the strategic marketing implications of bundling and the relative efficacies of various bundling strategies.
Two life-long friends, one a doctor and one a business professional, joined forces to set up Eye-Q Super Specialty Hospitals in 2007. Driven by their shared goal of bringing superior quality eye care to places where such services were desperately needed, the partners chose to operate in the small towns and cities across India. Both men believed in a vision that combined a socially driven business model with a commercially viable enterprise, and they had experienced great success with this model during their first seven years of operation. In January 2014, as they charted out Eye-Q Super Speciality Hospitals’ plans for growth, the partners decided to expand the organization’s reach from 30 to 125 hospitals over the upcoming five years. Was this growth expectation realistic? What strategy would best suit this objective?
This case explores the industry-wide lack of employee diversity in the technology sector, and Yelp's decision to take a leadership position in identifying strategies to increase diversity. The goal of the case is to provide an opportunity for students to develop a framework for understanding the factors that might lead to a less diverse workforce, and for evaluating approaches to increase diversity. The case opens in 2014, when Yelp hired Rachel Williams into a newly created position - the Head of Diversity and Inclusion. Rachel was tasked with developing strategies to ensure that Yelp was attracting and retaining a diverse, productive workforce, and creating a welcoming environment for all employees. The case puts students in Rachel's footsteps upon being hired, and tasks them to propose a set of changes for Yelp to make to increase the diversity of the workforce.
In July 2017 Cumulus Media, owner of a nationwide network of 447 radio stations and a syndicated content provider to another 8,200 radio stations, was carrying over $2 billion of debt due to recent acquisitions and shifts in the radio broadcasting industry. Operating cash flow had shrunk by about a third for the 12 months ending March 31, 2017 versus the same period in 2016, following an additional two years of significant declines. Led by Mary Berner, an experienced media executive, Cumulus had established programs to improve employee satisfaction, attempted to refinance Cumulus's term loan, and revamped the company's sales strategy. But at the end of June 2017, it was not clear whether Berner's efforts would be enough to turn Cumulus around.
Coca-Cola was one of the first MNCs to enter post-reform China. The soft-drink manufacturer established robust market share on the back of a strong brand. Chinese consumer preferences, however, gradually changed: they preferred "healthy" drinks over soft drinks. As a result, Coca Cola's competitive position eroded as foreign and domestic competitors released new products. After a failed high-profile M&A attempt, Coca-Cola faced a strategic challenge: develop new products in-house or attempt to acquire them?
IBM's strategy in China was to go it alone. The company researched, produced, and distributed its own products. The Chinese government, however, viewed technology as a key factor for economic growth and national competitiveness: it wanted to promote technology transfer between foreign technology firms and domestic firms. As IBM's business and ambitions in China grew, it would have to make a decision: would it compete and cooperate with local firms?
The Ministry of Manpower in Singapore is designing a new employment pass processing centre. Working with a lean-thinking approach and using previous centers as a template, the project team proceeds to plan an updated version with faster processing times and improved interiors. Unexpectedly, plans grind to a halt as the civil servant in their line of reporting raises some crucial queries that call into question the very basis of the new centre's lean and optimal design. Time is of the essence and the project head is now faced with two very tough options: proceed with minor incremental changes that may not meet expectations, or go for a complete redraft which requires time and capabilities that the team may not possess. Which will be his choice? The case stops here to allow a class discussion to evaluate the two options on how to proceed. This provides an ideal setting to discuss how to manage a new-to-the-firm design-thinking project.
Rideau Artisanal Chandlery (RAC) manufactures and sells a large range of artisanal candles through a variety of specialty retailers in Canada and parts of the United States. It has gained market leadership by constantly adding innovative scents to its product line. The recent addition of its own online store is causing conflicts within RAC between the head of the sales operation in charge of servicing RAC's distributors and the head of RAC's online operation. The lower prices charged by the online store are seen as a threat to the traditional channel, but the online store has shown rapid growth and yields higher margins.
In May 2012, private equity firm KKR is considering the buyout of WMF group (WMF), a diversified kitchenware and professional coffee machine manufacturer headquartered in Geislingen, Germany. The deal seems a potentially compelling investment opportunity, with various options for value creation - expanding WMF's well-established brand to other geographies as well as reducing costs. Priorities must be set, however, to generate an attractive return by the end of the investment period. The deal team has to decide which business segments are worth putting more resources into and which to divest, which brands should be kept and which to trim off, and how to take up any operational slack without affecting the overall strategy.
This case describes how an intrapreneur helped Credit Suisse launch a commercially viable impact investing business in Asia. It specifically details the investment strategy and process for a new impact fund aligning social impact objectives with commercial goals of the bank. It also presents two new investment opportunities needing evaluation.
This case illustrates solutions to a) the vexing problem of how to stop counterfeit luxury goods from being sold on the Internet; and b) the larger issue of how to sell lots of pre-owned personal luxury goods without fear of undermining their lofty prices. When the "fake luxury goods" problem first appeared in the mid-2000s, brands like L'Oreal, Hermès and Tiffany responded by taking one of the biggest online marketplaces, eBay, to court. The big brands won millions in damages and dragged eBay's name through the mud for years to come. But on the sidelines were three different sets of entrepreneurs, almost all French, who saw in this scandal the opportunity of a lifetime. Separately they launched three competing digital platforms where pre-owned luxury products can be bought and sold on the condition that they are fully authenticated by experts. While all three are still in business, the company that started with six co-founders has been the most successful. This case examines the role of all six people and why eight years later the two "techies" were able to leave the company on good terms.
In early December 2013, Roxann Biller, Associate at the Chicago-based private equity firm Delta Quantitative Real Estate Capital, was asked to assess the risk associated with the firm's first potential overseas investment. Haifu Sent? Gendaino (HSG) was a large multi-tenant logistics property located in the Gaikando area of Tokyo. High-quality tenants currently occupied the property, so at first glance the risks of investing in the property seemed minimal. However, Biller knew that she had to consider the potential drawbacks. This would mean gaining a better understanding of each tenant, trying to forecast the future condition of the Tokyo logistics market, and considering what new risks her firm would face because the property's cash flows were in a foreign currency.