The case centers on Christ Church's Treasurer, James Lawrie, who is contemplating his options for investing a portion of the College's endowment in real estate. Approximately 1/3 of the total $690 million endowment was allocated towards real estate, much higher than the typical 4% allocation by his American counterparts. Differing from many US endowments, real estate has remained a vital part of the Christ Church endowment since its founding in the mid-16th century. The College began with significant real estate holdings originally received from Henry VIII, which seeded the College's endowment. In the early 1980s, real estate represented 70% of the endowment's holdings and from 2002-2015, Christ Church's direct investments returned c.10% annually. Lawrie contemplates the future role of real estate in the College's portfolio, assesses the performance of the "US Endowment Model" and compares Christ Church's performance against others as he weighs a variety of investment strategies including; redevelopment, land sales, specialist funds, pooling capital with the other Oxford Colleges, and taking on more debt considering the once-in-a-generational low interest rates.
In 2013, a team led by Gopalan Sunderraman, vice president of corporate development at Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.-one of the companies owned by Godrej Group, a large Indian conglomerate-was preparing to launch an innovative low-cost refrigerator. Developed expressly for the approximately 80% of Indians who lacked access to refrigeration (a market Godrej had never before targeted), the chotuKool represented a technological marvel-a small, inexpensive thermoelectric appliance powered by a rechargeable battery. The case traces chotuKool's development and evolution from an initial product concept inspired by theories of innovation and the strategic vision of Jamshyd Godrej (managing director and chairman at Godrej & Boyce Mfg.) to a promising new line of business that emerged from a process of learning and discovery through market feedback. As the company geared up for the broader rollout of chotuKool, Sunderraman and his team faced some tough questions. What was the proper target and scope for the launch? Which strategy gave them the best chance of success? Could chotuKool really redefine the company and bring refrigeration to hundreds of millions of Indians?
This case features Wealthfront, a Palo Alto California-based financial technology startup. Wealthfront created a fully-automated, low-cost online investment platform targeting the millennial generation. The founders positioned Wealthfront as a disruptive force within the asset management industry. By dramatically lowering the minimum investment required, they sought to democratize access to sophisticated investing. By the fall of 2014, the firm's assets under management (AUM) had surpassed $1.5 billion. CEO Adam Nash contemplates a variety of strategic questions including whether Wealthfront should maintain its focus on the consumer channel or expand into business to business channels in order to increase AUM.
On January 4, 2016, the co-founders of Forked River Brewing Company (Forked River), a small brewery in London, Ontario, revisited the company’s original business plan from 2012. Over the course of only four years, the founders went from home brewing enthusiasts to owners of a striving, award-winning craft brewery. Forked River beers were now offered in pubs, restaurants, and retail stores across the province of Ontario. In the past year alone, Forked River had expanded its production capacity by 50 per cent, hired an additional full-time brewmaster, and added a retail outlet to the brewing facility. However, business had recently become more complicated due to changes to Ontario retail liquor laws, increasing non-brewing administrative work, and looming decisions about the product portfolio and distribution strategy. Now, the three founders wondered whether Forked River was still on the right track or if a new strategic plan was needed to ensure its long-term success in the fast-changing craft beer industry.
In October 2015, WestJet, Canada's second largest airline, needed to expand its social media presence. The vice-president of marketing and communications and the manager of social media were excited about the prospects of continuing to grow their customer base and reach even more guests through social media. WestJet had developed a highly successful approach to managing social media, and now the two executives were faced with two new possible social platforms: Snapchat and Pinterest. With an economy in decline and a flat marketing budget for 2016, they had a decision to make. Should the company pursue either of these platforms for the coming year, and if so, how? Which one would be best for the growth and evolution of WestJet's social media presence?
On January 4, 2016, the co-founders of Forked River Brewing Company (Forked River), a small brewery in London, Ontario, revisited the company's original business plan from 2012. Over the course of only four years, the founders went from home brewing enthusiasts to owners of a striving, award-winning craft brewery. Forked River beers were now offered in pubs, restaurants, and retail stores across the province of Ontario. In the past year alone, Forked River had expanded its production capacity by 50 per cent, hired an additional full-time brewmaster, and added a retail outlet to the brewing facility. However, business had recently become more complicated due to changes to Ontario retail liquor laws, increasing non-brewing administrative work, and looming decisions about the product portfolio and distribution strategy. Now, the three founders wondered whether Forked River was still on the right track or if a new strategic plan was needed to ensure its long-term success in the fast-changing craft beer industry.
The case presents data from 70,340 spins of four roulette wheels: three of which are real ("imperfect") and one of which is simulated ("perfect"). The challenge posed is to identify which of the four is the simulated wheel. After weeks spent recording spin results at their local casino, the members of the Pelayo family think they have identified three imperfect wheels. Before they start betting, they want to be certain that the three wheels they identified as imperfect are easily distinguishable from a theoretically perfect wheel. This case has been used successfully in Darden's MBA elective about data analysis. That course introduced pivot tables and the chi-squared goodness-of-fit test using the case "The Roulette Wheel." Discussion of "The Pelayo Family Plays Roulette" probably will not require an entire class period. One option would be to hand out the case during the discussion of "The Roulette Wheel" as something of a follow-on.
This case, about creating a startup with a social mission, is designed to help students think through the strategic alignment of public value, legitimacy/support, and operational capacity in a simple context. Together with an in-class video "reveal," the case package follows the thinking of two Masters of Public Policy graduates as they create TurboVote, a nonprofit service designed to increase voter turnout by sending subscribers reminders and helping them register and vote by mail. The case shows that-despite a straightforward business idea-the young founders had to address consequential choices. The written case includes background information about the voter turnout problem and ends with the TurboVote leaders contemplating the basics of a business plan-in particular, the options and implications of different financing models. The case package includes a set of three short videos. "Meet the Founders" (5:37 min) provides a brief introduction to the two protagonists. Students will want to read the case and watch this video before class. The other two videos (4:45 min and 4:09 min, respectively) are designed to be played by the instructor partway through class. The first reveals how the founders approached some key strategic choices. In the second, they reflect on their decisions, particularly in terms of funding, and talk briefly about their hoped-for path forward. The instructor may play these videos separately or together, and follow them up with further discussion.
Sequel supplement to case HKS798. On June 5, 2013, a London newspaper reported that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting the telephone records of millions of Verizon customers in the U.S. The story was the first of many top secret revelations about the NSA's spying programs, leaked by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor. The case examines Snowden's actions and motivations and asks students to consider the repercussions of whistleblowing/leaking on the general public, the U.S. government, the NSA and Snowden himself.
The Information Age represents the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution. But despite the fact that family structures have changed dramatically since the early 1900s, the standard eight-hour workday remains entrenched. This article describes how the author’s company moved to a five-hour workday, with excellent results. As he explains, the five-hour day is about managing human energy more efficiently by working in bursts over a shorter period. Humans are not machines; just because a manager sees employees at their desk for eight hours doesn’t mean they are being productive. Having more time to pursue passions, nurture relationships and stay active also gives workers more energy emotionally and physically—which is why studies show that happiness improves productivity. Furthermore, a five-hour workday necessitates time management by forcing employees to prioritize high-value activities. The author of The Five-Hour Workday offers five tips on how to get started: 1. Read The 4-Hour Workweek by serial entrepreneur Timothy Ferriss, which discusses the 80/20 Rule or Pareto Principle. 2. Shift to a production mindset, measuring work in output rather than hours. 3. Drop the “always available” attitude. 4. Use technology to boost efficiency. 5. Don’t restrict yourself to a 25-hour week.
In October 2015, WestJet, Canada’s second largest airline, needed to expand its social media presence. The vice-president of marketing and communications and the manager of social media were excited about the prospects of continuing to grow their customer base and reach even more guests through social media. WestJet had developed a highly successful approach to managing social media, and now the two executives were faced with two new possible social platforms: Snapchat and Pinterest. With an economy in decline and a flat marketing budget for 2016, they had a decision to make. Should the company pursue either of these platforms for the coming year, and if so, how? Which one would be best for the growth and evolution of WestJet’s social media presence?
In 1980, the ALFA Group, a Mexican conglomerate, initiated a diversification process that led to the acquisition of a cold cuts company, thus creating Sigma Alimentos. Fourteen years later, seeking to make greater use of its refrigerated supply chain, Sigma Alimentos chose to make its way into the then very competitive dairy industry. Having found that large milk producers were already committed to large dairy processing companies, Sigma Alimentos decided to launch a development program for small dairy farmers in order to ensure sufficient supply of quality milk. This case study explores how Sigma Alimentos' Fomento Lechero Program helped small suppliers to grow alongside the company. A little over 15 years since the program's inception, the case recounts how small farmers managed to overcome various challenges to grow exponentially. In addition, at the time this case was written, imported powdered milk prices had dropped considerably below fluid milk prices, thus generating the case's core dilemma: letting go or retaining small farmers that have been working alongside Sigma Alimentos for a very long time.
The case contrasts the tradition-bound Old World wine industry with the market-oriented New World producers in the battle for the Chinese wine market in 2015. China's wine consumption growth presented a large and fast growing export target that was extremely attractive both to Old World producers burdened with oversupply and declining demand, and to New World winemakers faced with rising costs and a deteriorating image. But changing Chinese market conditions and consumer preferences required both sets of players to devise new strategies to gain share in this fast-growing market. The case allows analysis of the way in which newcomers can change the rules of competitive engagement in a global industry. It also poses the question of how incumbents can respond, especially when constrained by regulation, tradition, and different capabilities than those demanded by changing consumer tastes and market structures.
Having teamed up to launch their own financial services business, Noah Gottdiener and Jacob Silverman soon discover a venerable brand and viable business in an established bank subsidiary. They then work for many months to acquire the business as a platform for launching their venture. Overnight, they add 100 employees in three U.S. offices. Just months later, late in 2004, they see the chance to buy another firm that is four times the size of their growing venture and that offers them the opportunity to expand into a new product category. The two entrepreneurs are considering the issues and opportunities this new acquisition may create for their small but rapidly-growing venture.
In September 2005, Duff & Phelps closed on a deal to acquire a much larger firm that quadrupled its size to 500 employees. Almost immediately, the company faced challenging integration issues. Gottdiener and Silverman realize that they must now turn away from the thrill of deal-making to grapple with issues of organizational structure and management.
In 1861, the Heard brothers faced a decision: should they continue their family firm's business model that had made them a successful commission house in China, or was it time to make fundamental adjustments to their work? This case reveals that the brothers decided to maintain the status quo, primarily because of a lack of decision-making mechanism amongst the brothers. The firm rapidly went downhill, before declaring bankruptcy in 1875.