In August 2015, imiAID, an Indian start-up that provided portable first aid kits for emergencies, was struggling to reduce its production costs and increase awareness about its product. The company began operations in Guwahati, Assam, and subsequently expanded the business to other states in Northeast India. Key target segments for imiAID included educational institutions and health-care service providers. Customers were somewhat aware of the product; however, imiAID wanted to develop a strategy that addressed its two goals of reducing production costs and increasing awareness about the imiAID Pocket First Aid Kit. Management had to decide how to best guide the company’s growth. Would imiAID be able to successfully operate in the emerging market of Northeast India in the long term?

In March 2013, the chief executive development officer of the Heiltsuk Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) was preparing a report on the findings and recommendations of the organization’s seven-year history. The HEDC, the economic development arm of the Heiltsuk Nation, was not meeting its goals. The HEDC structure was based on the theory that economic development success in Aboriginal communities required a separation of business from political influence. Unfortunately, the HEDC had yielded little economic success to date. Further, it was not clear whether it had effectively brought about the desired separation of economics from politics. Similar concerns were expressed by the chief councilor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, the political governance structure responsible for administering, governing, and setting policy for the Heiltsuk Nation. There was hope that the report would bring clarity to what had gone wrong in the development process under the HEDC. Was the governance structure appropriate for the task the HEDC was supposed to fulfill, or were the roles and responsibilities not clearly defined? What was causing the myriad of communication issues? What should be done?

In the fall of 2010, the founders of Campus FundSource, an organization developed to help campus groups raise money for their respective causes, were asked to present to a potential investor. The three founders were struggling with how to scale their start-up that connected campus groups that needed funding (such as language groups, intramural sports teams, and singing groups) with major brands that were trying to reach a younger demographic with their marketing messages. The company was still at the start-up stage, and the founders had just graduated from a business accelerator program, where they finished developing their website and tested both the site and the business concept--connecting brands with students. In order to show potential investors that they were readily scalable, they needed to show that they could quickly attain a critical mass of both student groups and national brands. This presented a chicken-and-egg dilemma, as it was proving difficult to penetrate two markets at once. How could Campus FundSource attract both the student groups who needed funding and the national brands that wanted to attract and keep post-secondary students as their customers?

Founded in 2014, Carrum Health helped self-insured employers located in three markets (San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco, California) save money on their employees' planned surgeries. It did so by contracting directly with top-quality hospitals located within the area, and negotiating a set fee (known as a bundled payment) for each of five common surgical procedures: knee replacement, hip replacement, cervical spinal fusion, lumbar spinal fusion, and coronary bypass. By 2016, the company was growing steadily and saving its clients over 40% on average on these five procedures. In September 2016, Sachin Jain, Carrum's CEO, received an email from North Beach Apparel, a large retailer based in San Francisco with a growing presence near Chicago, Illinois and Columbus, Ohio. North Beach was ready to partner with Carrum, but the terms of the deal required Carrum to enter the Chicago and Columbus markets in order to serve all North Beach employees. The deal would significantly increase Carrum's revenue and begin to move the entrepreneurial venture closer to profitability. However, by expanding to Chicago and Columbus, the young company ran the risk of spreading itself too thin, especially given the opportunity for growth in Carrum's current three markets. But Jain knew that if he waited too long to expand geographically, Carrum might lose its first-mover advantage in several markets. With limited resources, Jain needed to decide how to scale his young company: should Carrum enter the Chicago and Columbus markets with a guaranteed initial client base and then focus on selling the existing five bundles to new customers there; or, should the company add new bundles to its product line through the existing provider networks in the three markets it currently served?

In June 2016, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is planning for the upcoming launch of an endeavor that is a first for a Hollywood actor with superstar status-a digital channel. The channel (named "Seven Bucks Digital Studios") will be a new part of film and television production company Seven Bucks Productions, which Johnson co-owns with his business partner and former wife, Dany Garcia. Under Garcia's guidance, Johnson has made a successful transition from being a top wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment to also climbing the ranks in Hollywood, becoming one of its most bankable and highest-paid actors. The two stand out for pursuing an ambitious slate of projects as producers as well, making Seven Bucks Productions a force to be reckoned with in the world of entertainment. Are Johnson and Garcia right to bet on a new digital channel, which is scheduled to make its debut on YouTube in the next month, and do they have the best approach to making that channel a success?

The High-Impact Wealth Management case series is a portfolio of cases that are built around the high-impact theme. Each case in the series can stand on its own to deliver a unique learning objective; but, taken together, the cases are designed to cover all seven topics covered in the list of "common-cents" strategies. Also refer to W16516.

The High-Impact Wealth Management case series is a portfolio of cases that are built around the high-impact theme. Each case in the series can stand on its own to deliver a unique learning objective; but, taken together, the cases are designed to cover all seven topics covered in the list of "common-cents" strategies.

The High-Impact Wealth Management case series is a portfolio of cases that are built around the high-impact theme. Each case in the series can stand on its own to deliver a unique learning objective; but, taken together, the cases are designed to cover all seven topics covered in the list of "common-cents" strategies.

The High-Impact Wealth Management case series is a portfolio of cases that are built around the high-impact theme. Each case in the series can stand on its own to deliver a unique learning objective; but, taken together, the cases are designed to cover all seven topics covered in the list of "common-cents" strategies. Also refer to case W16525.

The High-Impact Wealth Management case series is a portfolio of cases that are built around the high-impact theme. Each case in the series can stand on its own to deliver a unique learning objective; but, taken together, the cases are designed to cover all seven topics covered in the list of "common-cents" strategies. Also refer to W16527.

The High-Impact Wealth Management case series is a portfolio of cases that are built around the high-impact theme. Each case in the series can stand on its own to deliver a unique learning objective; but, taken together, the cases are designed to cover all seven topics covered in the list of "common-cents" strategies.

In January 2015, the chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest information technology company, expected to face questions from the media related to recent rumours of his company's plans to lay off nearly 30,000 employees. Over the previous four weeks the reports had spread on both social media and conventional media platforms, leading to widespread protests against the company and attempts to unionize information technology employees (a first in India). The company's carefully constructed corporate reputation of being employee friendly was threatened. The chief executive officer needed to design and execute a communication strategy that addressed the concerns of the various stakeholders involved.

In March 2013, the chief executive development officer of the Heiltsuk Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) was preparing a report on the findings and recommendations of the organization's seven-year history. The HEDC, the economic development arm of the Heiltsuk Nation, was not meeting its goals. The HEDC structure was based on the theory that economic development success in Aboriginal communities required a separation of business from political influence. Unfortunately, the HEDC had yielded little economic success to date. Further, it was not clear whether it had effectively brought about the desired separation of economics from politics. Similar concerns were expressed by the chief councilor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, the political governance structure responsible for administering, governing, and setting policy for the Heiltsuk Nation. There was hope that the report would bring clarity to what had gone wrong in the development process under the HEDC. Was the governance structure appropriate for the task the HEDC was supposed to fulfill, or were the roles and responsibilities not clearly defined? What was causing the myriad of communication issues? What should be done?

In August 2015, imiAID, an Indian start-up that provided portable first aid kits for emergencies, was struggling to reduce its production costs and increase awareness about its product. The company began operations in Guwahati, Assam, and subsequently expanded the business to other states in Northeast India. Key target segments for imiAID included educational institutions and health-care service providers. Customers were somewhat aware of the product; however, imiAID wanted to develop a strategy that addressed its two goals of reducing production costs and increasing awareness about the imiAID Pocket First Aid Kit. Management had to decide how to best guide the company's growth. Would imiAID be able to successfully operate in the emerging market of Northeast India in the long term?

An entrepreneur faced a dilemma regarding the flexible work policy in his start-up consulting firm. The leader of the firm struggled with the complications that arose after the implementation of flexible working arrangements, and the various situations caused him to rethink the concept of trying to help his employees to manage their own work-life balance. Since flexible working hours were granted on a role-by-role basis, a perception of unfairness emerged when a valuable subject-matter expert was denied flextime privileges while many of his colleagues were allowed to take advantage of them. The manager was apprehensive regarding the rising sense of detachment between the users of flextime and the non-users. Should the manager scrap the policy altogether, or should he attempt to find a better way to implement his firm's flexible work arrangements?

De Beers, a sophisticated, international mining company, operated the Victor Mine, an open pit diamond mine in Canada, located within traditional territory claimed by the Attawapiskat First Nation. To develop the mine, De Beers had to follow provincial and federal legislation, meet environmental standards, and most importantly, negotiate use of the land with the First Nation. Although the mine was successful, the First Nation community was suffering with health, education, and housing issues; rampant unemployment; and a remarkably high rate of suicide among its youth. Benefits negotiated in the mining agreement were not resolving the problems, despite the provision of employment opportunities and payment of millions of dollars to the First Nation. In frustration, the First Nation set up road blockades to stop work at the mine. De Beers now wanted to extend their mining operation by using a mine extension, but to do that, they had to seek further agreement from the Attawapiskat. Did the history of First Nations in Canada affect their relationship with De Beers? Were the stakeholders meeting their responsibilities? What lessons could be applied to negotiations for future developments?

In 2014, India's HCL Technologies emerged as one of just eight 21st-century listed technology companies in the world to surpass US$1 billion in net profits, $5 billion in revenue, and $15 billion in market capitalization. When most companies were using their websites as online information pages, HCL Technologies converted its legacy website into an effective lead-generation vehicle. Within one year of implementation, the website began generating a lead funnel worth $1 billion. HCL Technologies used its updated website to implement various strategies to ensure effective lead generation, revenue generation, and site-traffic generation. Over time, the website evolved into a driver for thought leadership for the business and its customers.

In the fall of 2010, the founders of Campus FundSource, an organization developed to help campus groups raise money for their respective causes, were asked to present to a potential investor. The three founders were struggling with how to scale their start-up that connected campus groups that needed funding (such as language groups, intramural sports teams, and singing groups) with major brands that were trying to reach a younger demographic with their marketing messages. The company was still at the start-up stage, and the founders had just graduated from a business accelerator program, where they finished developing their website and tested both the site and the business concept--connecting brands with students. In order to show potential investors that they were readily scalable, they needed to show that they could quickly attain a critical mass of both student groups and national brands. This presented a "chicken-and-egg" dilemma, as it was proving difficult to penetrate two markets at once. How could Campus FundSource attract both the student groups who needed funding and the national brands that wanted to attract and keep post-secondary students as their customers?

The managing director of this specialty foundry must decide whether to approve a major investment to automate part of her plant's production process. The case presents information sufficient to build cash-flow forecasts of production costs incremental to this investment. Discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis reveals that this investment project is attractive but that the benefits hinge on important assumptions about the plant's business volume, the manager's ability to lay off workers over the objections of a labor union, and the hurdle rate. This case provides an update for the case Fonderia de Torino.

In 2016, JCPenney was in the midst of a multi-year turnaround after coming dangerously close to bankruptcy. Under CEO Marvin Ellison, the company had identified three strategic objectives-a focus on omnichannel, private label goods, and increasing revenue per customer-to guide all company initiatives. The company was running pilot tests on a new line of appliances, rebranded hair salons, and new private label merchandise, and management now needed to decide how best to roll out and market these initiatives across the chain. Ellison also considered how to build upon the company's new ad campaign, Get Your Penney's Worth, and how to strike the right balance between serving its "core" and "emerging" customer segments. He wondered if these objectives and initiatives were enough to restore JCPenney's position in the evolving retail landscape.