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In the face of global economic downturns, an increasing number of women are rising to top management positions. What happened in China seems to resonate with the trend in the West. In China, only one in four have made it to the top management level, with a majority taking the position of chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and human resources director. In China, 53% of women are caught in sticky-floor situations and never advance beyond lower-level positions in the workplace. What holds women back from climbing up the corporate ladder? This research explores the stories of women executives in China's corporate world based on an exploratory study. We investigated the following questions: What are these women's beliefs about and responses to the glass ceiling? What personal, social, and organizational constraints undermine their capacity to play a part in a traditionally male-dominant world? How did these women make their way to the top? And, what factors are unique to Chinese women managers' career advancement?

Teams are pervasive in today's world of work. Unfortunately, in many cases teams do not live up to their promise and, instead, lead to disappointing results. In this installation of Human Performance, we discuss how to design and implement performance management systems that include a good combination of both ''me'' and ''we'' considerations. We offer the following research-based recommendations: (1) use measures of individual and team performance, (2) use measures of processes and outcomes, (3) develop performance measures using input from inside and outside the team, (4) gather performance information using sources from inside and outside the team, (5) foster team learning and development, and (6) reward both individual and team performance. We discuss implementation guidelines for each of these recommendations that will help maximize individual and team performance as well as alignment among individual, team, and organizational goals. Implementing performance management systems following our recommendations will help organizations turn teams into an inimitable and sustainable source of competitive human capital advantage.

Over the next 10 years, the intelligent use of data will become one of the greatest competitive advantages a company can possess. At the same time, the loss or mishandling of data/information is one of the bigger risks facing modern businesses. As consumers become increasingly aware of security issues, and of the value of their data, data/information policy is moving away from the 'gather-with-consent' approach toward a model that holds the business accountable at each stage of the process. This fundamental shift in practice will need to be reflected in the data/ information management policy of the business. Yet, many companies lack up-to-date data/information policies and few recognize the growing influence of the European Union on the manner of data/information handling. This installment of Business Law & Ethics Corner seeks to assist in the development of new policy by explaining key legislative and policy initiatives in both the United States and the European Union, and by making data management policy recommendations.

In 2010, Experience! The Finger Lakes (ExperienceFLX), a tour operator offering guided tours and concierge services in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, was at a crossroads. The business was poised for growth, and its owners, Laura and Alan Falk, were considering signing a deal with Groupon, the online coupon firm, to see if a Groupon deal would help the ExperienceFLX bring in new customers. While the prospect of marketing ExperienceFLX's business to a new customer base through Groupon was very appealing, the Falks found that designing a deal that met Groupon's requirements while still allowing ExperienceFLX to make money and without endangering their relationships with area winery partners was a real challenge. The Falks had to decide whether a Groupon deal worked well for them, and if so, how to manage Groupon redemptions by their customers in a way that made financial sense.

Scott Malkin, CEO of Value Retail, a developer and operator of European outlet villages serving luxury brands, is planning on developing a 18,503 m2 open-air outlet village to be built 98 kilometers south of Milan on land he was about to acquire for 7.26 million lira. Is this a good investment? What are the risks associated with the project? Could Value Retail pursue its outlet strategy in Italy? Includes color exhibits.

The prescription eyeglass lens industry was complicated and highly fragmented, and even though many of the tools and techniques employed have been relatively unchanged over the last century, there was still a surprising pace of innovation. An aging population around the world meant the demand for progressive lenses was increasing rapidly, and innovations in production technology meant an evolving competitive dynamic with potentially quite different patterns of manufacturing and distribution. Are there theories that Zeiss managers can use to see clearly how industry evolution might portend shifts in the value network?

In April 2012, Jenne Britell, the Chairman of the board of directors of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) was preparing her notes for an upcoming stockholders' meeting. It was a meeting unlike most other meetings she had chaired. Stockholders were about to vote on a transaction that was perhaps the ultimate fulfillment of the founders' original vision. She was reminded of the company's founding just 15 years earlier and its meteoric growth. With a considerable sense of achievement and satisfaction, she reflected on her tenure as board chair commencing five years ago. Elected to the board in 2006 and then unanimously selected by her peers as Chairman in June 2008, Britell led the board through the aftermath of a tumultuous period that included senior management and board changes, a SEC investigation, financial restatements, the jilting of the company by Cerberus Capital Management in a transaction to acquire URI, and the deepest recession to hit the global economy since the Great Depression. At the meeting, stockholders would be asked to consider approval of a merger agreement between URI, the largest equipment rental company in the world, with RSC, the second largest equipment rental company in the world and URI's largest competitor. The meeting would mark the triumph of a new governance model and company strategy whose development and implementation Britell and CEO Michael Kneeland had led. As Britell reflected on the hard won gains, she also looked forward to the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead as the company managed the integration of RSC's operations with URI and the integration of three new board members from the acquired company. She also reflected on how governance and strategy could continue to evolve as the company planned for the next five years.

In the early 2010s, the shift towards electrified transportation remained an important trend as vehicle manufacturers were pursuing a variety of options to meet emission and fuel efficiency standards. This case provides a comprehensive update of the global electric vehicle industry, comprising vehicle manufacturers, battery suppliers, and charge providers. The situation of that industry in 2013 is assessed, which includes how the established manufacturers are reconsidering their strategies for vehicle powertrains, how newcomers are entering the market especially with electric vehicles and seem to become successful or fail. The case also summarizes governmental policies, incentives, and mandates in different regions, especially including the U.S., China, Japan, and Europe. In conclusion, more consolidation of the industry is expected, especially regarding the diversity of different electrification solutions and charge providers. While the operation range of electric vehicles is expected to remain a significant consumer concern, plug-in hybrid and range extended electric vehicles are seen as a viable solution to meet mobility and sustainability requirements. Therefore, the incumbent players seem to be relatively well positioned to provide respective products given their expertise regarding gasoline-powered vehicles and technology integration while the future of newcomers remains difficult to forecast.

A family-owned business that manufactures automobile horns for the replacement market in Delhi, India is considering options to improve current operations and expand the business. The company is faced with numerous challenges: erratic demand, lack of brand, high warranty returns, lack of information, availability of skilled manpower and implementing modern methods of manufacturing. The company is also considering expanding beyond Delhi and manufacturing products for automobile manufacturers, which requires adherence to regulatory certification.

Sears Canada's associate vice-president of sustainability faces dilemmas in executing a strategy to reduce the retailer's carbon footprint. He needs to integrate the concept of sustainability into the company's larger corporate objectives, drive the concept in individual business units and identify the metrics for tracking the progress of reducing Sears Canada's carbon footprint.

Supplement case for W13303.

HCL Infosystems Ltd. is a reputable computer hardware firm and a major player in the Indian desktop market. Due to changes in consumer behaviour, the desktop market is shrinking and demand is shifting towards laptops, where HCL has a miniscule presence. At the same time, the desktop market is witnessing the emergence of a new form of devices called all-in-ones (AIOs). HCL needs a significant presence in AIOs to retain its position in the Indian PC market. The company was an early entrant in the Indian AIO market in 2007 and sought to capture a niche market for its premium range, but did not succeed and withdrew its product line. The category has, in the last four years, grown in the mass market segment and HCL needs a successful relaunch of the HCL Beanstalk AIO in the face of intense competition from multinational competitors who have a head start. The problem is compounded by the fact that the HCL brand is losing market share and that the company lacks the financial resources to invest heavily in brand building. HCL's management believes that the Beanstalk needs to capture eight per cent of the retail segment of the Indian AIO market in order to be able to gain the same share in the business-to-business market, which is slower to adopt new technologies.

The president JH Men's Apparel, a men's apparel company in China, is considering the options available to his firm in light of the price war initiated by his competitors who are copying his company's sweater patterns and selling the sweaters at a lower price point. Several of his biggest customers have demanded a price reduction to match the prices being offered by these competitors. In the face of such fierce competition, the president realizes that the multiple options available to his company boil down to a fundamental strategic choice between competing on the basis of cost leadership or of a differentiated, branded product line. He needs to make a decision and start implementing the strategy promptly.

In the Competition Simulator Exercise, students explore through trial and error some important economic foundations of competitive strategy and managerial economics. In particular, the simulator let students explore horizontal differentiation with and without price setting, strategic complements and substitutes and their implications for commitment and for first-mover advantage, the effect of the number of competitors on the competitiveness of a market, capacity limitations and judo economics, natural monopoly and the effect of market size, technology choice as entry deterrence, endogenous economies of scale, and capacity limitation in commodity markets.

After years of vigorous denials, on January 14, 2013 Lance Armstrong admitted in a television interview with Oprah Winfrey that he "doped" in each of his record seven consecutive Tour de France victories, confirming the findings a few months earlier by the US Anti-Doping Agency that he had orchestrated "a massive team doping scheme, more extensive than any previously revealed in professional sports history." Until that moment with Oprah, Armstrong had consistently and strenuously denied using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), blood transfusions, or other artificial enhancers to compete in the grueling, three-week race throughout France. He verbally thrashed, bullied and threatened legal action against riders, journalists, race officials, and anyone else who had suggested he had cheated. This case explores Armstrong's leadership of a corrupt culture, the extensive nature of the cheating scandal among elite athletes, the decisions taken by other riders to both support Armstrong and his scheme and ultimately to admit to cheating, and the costs borne by those associated with Armstrong. It allows for discussion of the responsibilities that leaders have to followers, and that followers have to themselves and to others.

After spending two years evaluating China as a potential market for expansion, in 2012, Scott Malkin, Chief Executive of Value Retail, identifies a highly desireable site in Suzhou. Now Malkin must decide if it is the right opportunity to open a village in China.

Tim Curran, CEO of Sample6, a start-up biotechnology company developing a novel food safety diagnostics platform, must decide how to partner with food industry players. How can he best convince leaders in this mature industry to adopt a new technology and improve food safety? Additionally, he faces a number of questions related to product development, marketing, regulatory compliance, and dynamic industry trends. This case provides an overview of food safety in the United States, and focuses on the strategic goal of transforming food safety from a "necessary evil" to a brand-enhancing differentiator.

This case is about Sabina, one of the leaders in the Thai lingerie market, and its proactive adaptation to changes in its business environment over two decades. The firm first took advantage of the depreciation of the Thai baht in the late 1990s to ramp up its export business and become a trusted OEM supplier to major European and US brands. The OEM business accounted for 60% of the firm's turnover by 2006. Bunchai Punturaumporn was appointed the firm's managing director in 2007. The Thai baht had started to appreciate, so the firm de-emphasized the OEM business and built a successful Thai branded business. This required innovating in the marketing area, broadening distribution, achieving excellence in production, and adapting the firm's organization structure over time. In 2012, the OEM business accounted for only 9% of sales. Sabina also coped successfully with other challenges, including rising labor costs in Thailand, and cheap imports from China. Bunchai was preparing the company in 2013 to go regional and take advantage of the opportunities arising from the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. Learning objectives: Show how SMEs can successfully adapt to drastic changes in their business environment through proactive shifts in their strategy and organization.

This case centers around Qualcomm shareholders' 2012 Say-on-Pay vote and the dispute between the Institutional Shareholder Services and management regarding the appropriateness of the CEO's compensation plan. Was ISS right that Qualcomm CEO's pay was inflated and justified by benchmarking to aspirational peers? Or was management correct that its CEO's pay is warranted by Qualcomm's recent firm performance?

In 2008, about the time when the Yunus Model of microfinancing was under attack in its home country of Bangladesh, the Yunan Model was begun in rural China. The original model suffered from inefficiencies, high interest rates and allegations of improprieties against the founder, Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. By contrast, the Yunan Model relied on social capital and mechanism design theory to enlist the rural population, financial institutions and government in a cooperative effort to increase the financial stability and entrepreneurship level of one of the poorest areas of the country. Could "microfinance with Chinese characteristics" offer a plan to reduce poverty across China?