Netflix, Inc. (Netflix), the world's leading provider of subscription video on demand (SVoD), launched its Indian platform on January 6, 2016. Due to its huge population, India represented a lucrative market. Furthermore, the younger generation in India had dynamic consumption patterns that were comparable to those of Western consumers, giving Netflix another reason to invest in the country. However, six months after Netflix's launch in India, as the initial buzz surrounding the entry subsided, important questions loomed: Would the company be able to meet the diverse needs of Indian consumers? Was the Indian market and consumer seasoned enough to adopt a more sophisticated model of SVoD? How could Netflix get a stronghold in a market that was still grappling with basic infrastructure problems and low Internet penetration, as well as censorship issues? Even though Netflix was a formidable player globally, it was not the first mover in the Indian market and many of its competitors were already doing extremely well. How could Netflix compete and move forward in India?

After several years of effort, Dalian Zhongding Information Co. (DZI) had become the leading prepaid card distributor in Liaoning Province. When government regulations and the rise of online third-party payment options sent the prepaid card business into decline, DZI transformed itself into an online intermediary by building a regional e-commerce platform offering fast home delivery, mainly of supermarket products. Despite its marketing efforts, the company faced fierce competition, difficulty attracting users, and a low secondary purchase rate. In 2015, the company needed to adjust its development strategy. What practices should this regional e-commerce platform adopt to obtain traffic, increase purchasing conversion rate, and increase visitor retention?

Netflix, Inc. (Netflix), the world’s leading provider of subscription video on demand (SVoD), launched its Indian platform on January 6, 2016. Due to its huge population, India represented a lucrative market. Furthermore, the younger generation in India had dynamic consumption patterns that were comparable to those of Western consumers, giving Netflix another reason to invest in the country. However, six months after Netflix’s launch in India, as the initial buzz surrounding the entry subsided, important questions loomed: Would the company be able to meet the diverse needs of Indian consumers? Was the Indian market and consumer seasoned enough to adopt a more sophisticated model of SVoD? How could Netflix get a stronghold in a market that was still grappling with basic infrastructure problems and low Internet penetration, as well as censorship issues? Even though Netflix was a formidable player globally, it was not the first mover in the Indian market and many of its competitors were already doing extremely well. How could Netflix compete and move forward in India?

Mary Kay (China) Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (Mary Kay China) was one of China’s leading direct-enterprises in skincare products and cosmetics. In September 2015, the president of Mary Kay China was considering how best to continue to grow the company in the face of increasing e-commerce. The parent company and all its subsidiaries ascribed to the mission of enriching women’s lives; its guiding principles emphasized relationships and connections between people. Mary Kay China’s development was a testament to its success as a people-oriented culture that contributed to the environment and society. However, the Internet era had raised concerns about whether the connections among the company's people were strong enough to succeed against competitors who maintained a broad network developed through the Internet. Should Mary Kay China expand into e-commerce, or would relying on the Internet undermine the principles and values that grounded the company?

Joneja Bright Steels Private Limited (JBS) was one of many major players in India’s bright steel industry, serving almost every automobile manufacturer in Northern India. After the business launched in 2002, the automobile market expanded, leading JBS to an early strong position. But in fiscal year 2014/15, the company experienced working capital management issues. JBS considered using credit policies as a way of improving profitability—shifting from a strict credit policy of net 45 days to a flexible credit policy with a 2 per cent discount for accounts paid within 10 days (2/10 net 45 days). Should JBS implement a cash discount for fiscal year 2016/17? The discount could potentially increase the burden caused by already declining sales, but could also improve the company’s cash position.

Founded in 1997, Allegiant Airlines (Allegiant) was one of the most profitable ultra-low-cost airlines in the United States. Allegiant maintained high profit margins by targeting the uncaptured market segment for leisure travel and using a unique way of managing cost and revenue drivers. Allegiant avoided direct competition with traditional airlines and captured the new market of price-sensitive leisure travelers. After employing extreme cost-reduction and revenue-enhancement strategies, Allegiant achieved one of the highest profit margins in the industry. In 2015, despite inexpensive airfares, Allegiant received low scores on customer satisfaction. The airline also faced labour and safety issues by the end of 2015, but it took several steps to resolve the issues in 2016. With increasing competition, rising costs, and low customer satisfaction, maintaining long-term profitability remained a challenge for Allegiant. How could the airline sustain its position in the market?

In 2014, Alibaba—the Chinese e-commerce giant who, in September 2014, completed the largest initial public offering (IPO) in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) history—was preparing itself for an additional round of capital fundraising. This time, Alibaba focused its efforts on a new, large bond issue. Its chief executive officer would lead Alibaba’s finance team in meetings with investors in Hong Kong, Singapore, and London to gather information about this pending bond issue. <br><br>Although Alibaba was listed on the NYSE, an overwhelming majority of its revenues originated in China. Most U.S. investors had not heard of Alibaba until just a few months prior to its IPO in September 2014. Also, being a high-tech company, Alibaba was subject to the potential for large swings in valuations typical for the industry. Fluid valuations and matters related to country risk premia meant pricing the bond issue was going to be a challenge. How would Alibaba estimate the bonds’ pricing? Further, how should the firm determine the location and timing of the new bond issue?

In July 2014, WH Group faced the issue of attempting to launch an initial public offering for the second time, after having previously failed to list its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. WH Group originated from a merger between two meat-processing companies: China’s Shuanghui International—a global leader in animal protein and the world’s largest pork producer—and Smithfield Foods from the United States. Both Shuanghui and Smithfield Foods commanded top market shares of pork consumption in their respective countries; Shuanghui controlled 2 per cent in China and Smithfield Foods captured 26 per cent in the United States. With many challenges ahead, WH Group had some decisions to make about the company’s future. Should the company try again to launch an initial public offering? Or should the company remain private?

In July 2014, WH Group faced the issue of attempting to launch an initial public offering for the second time, after having previously failed to list its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. WH Group originated from a merger between two meat-processing companies: China's Shuanghui International-a global leader in animal protein and the world's largest pork producer-and Smithfield Foods from the United States. Both Shuanghui and Smithfield Foods commanded top market shares of pork consumption in their respective countries; Shuanghui controlled 2 per cent in China and Smithfield Foods captured 26 per cent in the United States. With many challenges ahead, WH Group had some decisions to make about the company's future. Should the company try again to launch an initial public offering? Or should the company remain private?

In 2014, Alibaba-the Chinese e-commerce giant who, in September 2014, completed the largest initial public offering (IPO) in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) history-was preparing itself for an additional round of capital fundraising. This time, Alibaba focused its efforts on a new, large bond issue. Its chief executive officer would lead Alibaba's finance team in meetings with investors in Hong Kong, Singapore, and London to gather information about this pending bond issue. Although Alibaba was listed on the NYSE, an overwhelming majority of its revenues originated in China. Most U.S. investors had not heard of Alibaba until just a few months prior to its IPO in September 2014. Also, being a high-tech company, Alibaba was subject to the potential for large swings in valuations typical for the industry. Fluid valuations and matters related to country risk premia meant pricing the bond issue was going to be a challenge. How would Alibaba estimate the bonds' pricing? Further, how should the firm determine the location and timing of the new bond issue?

Joneja Bright Steels Private Limited (JBS) was one of many major players in India's bright steel industry, serving almost every automobile manufacturer in Northern India. After the business launched in 2002, the automobile market expanded, leading JBS to an early strong position. But in fiscal year 2014/15, the company experienced working capital management issues. JBS considered using credit policies as a way of improving profitability-shifting from a strict credit policy of net 45 days to a flexible credit policy with a 2 per cent discount for accounts paid within 10 days (2/10 net 45 days). Should JBS implement a cash discount for fiscal year 2016/17? The discount could potentially increase the burden caused by already declining sales, but could also improve the company's cash position.

Founded in 1997, Allegiant Airlines (Allegiant) was one of the most profitable ultra-low-cost airlines in the United States. Allegiant maintained high profit margins by targeting the uncaptured market segment for leisure travel and using a unique way of managing cost and revenue drivers. Allegiant avoided direct competition with traditional airlines and captured the new market of price-sensitive leisure travelers. After employing extreme cost-reduction and revenue-enhancement strategies, Allegiant achieved one of the highest profit margins in the industry. In 2015, despite inexpensive airfares, Allegiant received low scores on customer satisfaction. The airline also faced labour and safety issues by the end of 2015, but it took several steps to resolve the issues in 2016. With increasing competition, rising costs, and low customer satisfaction, maintaining long-term profitability remained a challenge for Allegiant. How could the airline sustain its position in the market?

Producing Written and Oral Business Reports: Formatting, Illustrating, and Presenting is a five-chapter book written by Dorinda Clippinger, a consultant, writer, and former lecturer in management at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Her book is intended to help managers, MBA students, and upper-level college students develop business reporting skills. It provides guidelines for drafting, formatting, and illustrating written reports on your own or on a team. In Chapter 1, Clippinger outlines how to choose the best report style for a given purpose or audience. She then instructs how to organize and deliver the report. She provides charts to illustrate when and how to use certain report structures or grammatical devices. She emphasizes the importance of editing reports thoroughly before presenting them and empathizing with readers so that the writing is easy to comprehend.

Producing Written and Oral Business Reports: Formatting, Illustrating, and Presenting is a five-chapter book written by Dorinda Clippinger, a consultant, writer, and former lecturer in management at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Her book is intended to help managers, MBA students, and upper-level college students develop business reporting skills. It provides guidelines for drafting, formatting, and illustrating written reports on your own or on a team. In Chapter 2, Clippinger provides guidelines for formatting a report once it is planned, drafted, and revised. She emphasizes the importance of a report's formatting to making the report easy to read and respond to. She states that you can create effectively formatted reports by following guides for designing documents, knowing traditional formats (memo, letter, and manuscript), and mastering new formats (e-mail, web page, report decks, and infographics). She goes through formatting techniques and instructs how to use both traditional and modern formats.

Producing Written and Oral Business Reports: Formatting, Illustrating, and Presenting is a five-chapter book written by Dorinda Clippinger, a consultant, writer, and former lecturer in management at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Her book is intended to help managers, MBA students, and upper-level college students develop business reporting skills. It provides guidelines for drafting, formatting, and illustrating written reports on your own or on a team. In Chapter 3, Clippinger outlines the benefits of using visuals in reports. She then guides readers on choosing which type of visual is appropriate for a report and then constructing said visual and provides online resources for creating visuals.

Producing Written and Oral Business Reports: Formatting, Illustrating, and Presenting is a five-chapter book written by Dorinda Clippinger, a consultant, writer, and former lecturer in management at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Her book is intended to help managers, MBA students, and upper-level college students develop business reporting skills. It provides guidelines for drafting, formatting, and illustrating written reports on your own or on a team. In Chapter 4, Clippinger outlines how to report business research. These reports provide data related to a business problem and interpret said data, but they offer no conclusions or recommendations. Clippinger dissects these reports, clarifying the separate parts of the report body. She provides guides for deciding when to include certain parts and then creating the report itself. She also discusses working in teams on business research reports.

Producing Written and Oral Business Reports: Formatting, Illustrating, and Presenting is a five-chapter book written by Dorinda Clippinger, a consultant, writer, and former lecturer in management at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Her book is intended to help managers, MBA students, and upper-level college students develop business reporting skills. It provides guidelines for drafting, formatting, and illustrating written reports on your own or on a team. In Chapter 5, Clippinger discusses planning and delivering oral reports. She offers guidance on presentation aids, rehearsing presentations, and dealing with nervousness. She also provides nonverbal ways to enhance your presentation skills that include walking and gesturing in certain ways.

In September 2014, Tom Montgomery (SVP of strategic initiatives at the De Beers Group) and his team launched a pilot program in the United States to explore the $1 billion diamond market for pre-owned (recycled) diamonds. According to Montgomery, the motivation for the pilot program was to improve the consumer reselling experience and to enhance "diamond equity". Somewhat paradoxically, consumers typically received very low prices when they tried to sell diamonds (5-20% of the original retail price) leaving them reluctant to purchase diamonds in the future and making them into ambassadors of ill will. At a meeting scheduled for November 2015, the De Beers Executive Committee would have to decide whether to end the pilot program, extend it for another year to gather more information, or convert it into a new standalone business unit. Because De Beers had historically focused on producing rough diamonds (the "upstream" business), yet the new business unit offered an opportunity to enter and enhance the market for polished diamonds (the "downstream" business), the decision was particularly noteworthy.

At the end of 2003, Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a diversified media group with revenues of $8.9 billion, could claim leadership positions in all three of its main businesses. Clear Channel Broadcasting was the largest radio-station operator in the world, with sales of $3.7 billion and EBITDA of $1.6 billion. Clear Channel Outdoor was the largest outdoor advertiser in the world, with revenues of $2.2 billion generating EBITDA of $581 million. Clear Channel Entertainment was the world's largest live-entertainment promoter with revenues of $2.6 billion and EBITDA of $191 million. Media entrepreneur L. Lowry Mays (MBA 1962) had built Clear Channel through a concerted campaign of acquisitions over 30 years by consolidating fragmented media businesses, delighting shareholders in the process. But maintaining the pace of acquisitions was proving challenging, and the synergies he had hoped for between his businesses had proven elusive. Shareholders were upset. How might Mays return Clear Channel to its former glory?

It was mid-December, 2016 as Alexandra (Alex) Willis read with satisfaction that The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) had won yet another award for its use of social media to reach its fan base. As the organizer and host of "The Championships, Wimbledon," the oldest of tennis's four Grand Slams, the AELTC prided itself on tradition and decorum. Widely regarded as the most prestigious professional tennis tournament in the world and contested each year over two weeks in late June and early July, Wimbledon, in many ways, had changed little over the years. Its showcase venue―the 15,000 seat "Centre Court," complete with a "Royal Box"―was built in 1926. Slazenger had been the official and only supplier of tennis balls since 1902. A strictly enforced ban on any player clothing other than white dated back to the 1800s. And, whereas other tournaments referred to their Men's and Women's Championships, at Wimbledon, these events were referred to as the Gentlemen's and Ladies' Championships. It was against this "steeped-in-tradition" background that Willis, hired by Wimbledon in 2012 and promoted to Head of Digital and Content in 2015, had to figure out the proper role for digital and social media at Wimbledon. The motivation behind the push into digital was one of communicating and engaging with fans and potential fans around the world, as noted by Richard Lewis, Chief Executive of the AELTC.