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Jess B. represents a strategic communications firm in the Washington, DC, area. He is currently considering his options for responding to a federal Request for Proposal (RFP) and negotiating with Change Analytics, a strategic partner with whom he would partner in responding to the proposal. The contract offering has been earmarked for an 8(a) certified small business.

Reliance Industries had evolved into a major player in the Asia Pacific region, and had begun to make its presence felt in the global petrochemicals and refining business segments. It had also made forays into exploration and production for oil and gas in multiple regions worldwide. This case study addresses the evolution of the company from a family-owned small-scale textile manufacturer to a global powerhouse within a few decades. It provides insights into how the company was able to trade on its competitive advantages at home in building a global strategy. Within the entrepreneurship and family business realm, the case allows for a rich thematic discussion around understanding the role of entrepreneurial leaders, the pros and cons of family control in large corporations, and impact on minority shareholders. From a global strategy perspective, the case provides a rich description of the nuances of building competitive advantage in emerging market contexts, the benefits of late movers in the race to globalize, and the unique modes of competition adopted by companies from newly industrializing countries. Since it is set in India, the case offers a comprehensive look at ground realities in that country, covering topics ranging from capital market conditions, governmental control and regulation as barriers to growth, and the role of external relationships management as a key competitive weapon in driving sustainable advantage

Andrew Ferris, a financial analyst at Southern Cross Capital LLC, was asked to evaluate salesforce.com's accounting methods and recent financial performance in preparation for the portfolio manager's decision as to whether the company's common stock should be acquired for its Growth Service fund. Salesforce.com was a computer software company focused on providing customer relationship management (CRM) applications accessible by users on the "cloud," rather than through software resident on a user's own server. Salesforce.com maintained a direct sales force, which sold services to customers through phone contacts, and through a network of geographically dispersed sales representatives who made personal contacts with potential customers. The direct sales force was compensated primarily through sales commissions, which were paid in cash after a customer signed a noncancellable subscription contract. The portfolio manager specifically asked Ferris to pay close attention to understanding how salesforce.com accounted for its commission outlays, since several companies in recent years had experienced substantial declines in their stock price after financial press articles revealed that the companies had inflated their earnings by deferring expenses.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) is a 1.25-square-mile industrial park six miles north of the Demilitarized Zone in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The complex includes both North and South Korean workers, and is subsidized by Seoul. The result of an agreement between North and South Korea in 2000, Kaesong stood as the sole beacon of hope for economic cooperation between the divided states, and remained open for business despite a number of hostilities over the ensuing decade. This case reviews the political and economic risks and opportunities of entering Kaesong through the lens of Bright Ray Apparel, a hypothetical South Korean textile manufacturing firm. Jihoon Lee, Bright Ray's CEO, is encouraged by his CFO and a trusted senior economist to enter Kaesong. But risks abound. North Korea's nuclear threats and leadership transition have brought a new wave of uncertainty to the Korean Peninsula. Facing its own upcoming presidential election, much remains to be determined in Seoul regarding future economic policy and outreach toward Pyongyang. As Jihoon Lee's meeting with his financial adviser nears, Bright Ray's leadership must consider a variety of influences and factors involved in entering Kaesong, from political instability to economic opportunity, and the potential to improve the working condition of North Korean employees.

An executive from pharmaceutical company GSK must choose how much to integrate a recently acquired biotechnology firm, Sirtris. Moncef Slaoui, GSK's global head of R&D, championed the acquisition of Sirtris to gain access to its potentially revolutionary science. Slaoui must balance the need to recoup shareholder value after paying a two-times premium for Sirtris with his desire to retain Christoph Westphal, Sirtris's co-founder and CEO, and other key individuals at the company. His desire to protect Sirtris from GSK's size and bureaucracy occurs in a period when GSK has launched major changes in its R&D organization, which focus on decentralizing and externalizing R&D, as well as revamping the resource allocation process to parallel more of a venture capital-based model. The case also explores the views of Christoph Westphal on the early challenges of the integration and the impact GSK was having on Sirtris. Can be used in conjunction with a separate case that focuses on Sirtris's business model.

Describes a set of key strategic decisions facing the scientific founder and CEO of a promising, early stage bio-pharmaceuticals company. Should the company establish a proposed alliance with a pharmaceutical firm? Should it create a nutraceuticals business in parallel to its effort to develop anti-aging therapeutics? And, should it in-license a second drug development candidate?

Describes the challenges and successes encountered by GE's Aviation business in implementing a teaming work structure and culture in plants across its supply chain. GE Aviation leadership had seen dramatic gains in productivity, quality, and worker satisfaction in manufacturing plants where it had implemented teaming, which was designed to move decision-making as close to the product as possible by delegating authority, responsibility, and accountability to front-line workers. The case describes what teaming looked like in two of GE Aviation's plants and discusses the benefits realized in teaming sites. It also describes the challenges GE Aviation leaders had encountered in implementing teaming in the face of an entrenched work structure and culture in one particular plant, and discusses the difficulty management had faced in moving forward in transforming the culture of the plant.

Spreadsheet Supplement to Product #UV6121

This note describes balance sheets, income statements, and statements of owners' equity and serves as an introduction to basic financial statements.

This B2B case describes a common situation that arises when channel partners gain success and the perceived balance of power shifts from the supplier to the channel. The manager for Bolster Electronics, one of the largest suppliers in Canada of state-of-the-art industrial video equipment for harsh environments, must consider a request from Vickers Industrial Supplies, a regional dealer, to be upgraded from a dealership to a distributor. Vickers was generating a growing business volume for Bolster in an important market segment, the Canadian oil sands in northern Alberta. Approving Vickers' request will generate slimmer margins for the manufacturer, which may be made up with higher projected volume, if the projections are reasonable. The potential reaction of the company's national distributors is causing concern. Although Bolster sells to regional dealerships in the United States, its policy is to distribute its products in Canada through two national distributors, and it fears that increasing Vickers' role will alienate these distributors. Each alternative has benefits and risks.

The case discusses the development of palm oil in Malaysia. This experience provides important insights about when and how government intervention can be successful in developing new sectors in the economy.

Over the past decade, Brazil's future as a leading world economic power appeared certain. An expanding middle class and commodity boom had fueled economic growth, with GDP growth hitting a peak of 7.5% in 2010. However, the high cost of conducting business in Brazil, known as "Custo Brasil," was hurting domestic manufacturing, while incoming foreign investments threatened to overwhelm Brazilian markets. Under President Dilma Rousseff, economic growth stagnated, and the Rousseff administration struggled to find the best balance between reducing inflation, maintaining a flexible exchange rate, and improving the competitiveness of Brazilian exports.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 213047.

Supplements case Tanzania A

A discussion of the history and processes behind the development of Microsoft's Office 12 software.

The case describes the four-part approach that Nestlé used to accomplish this: adapting its product from a soupy noodle to a dry cake and formulating a taste that would appeal to the Indian palate across the entire country; strengthening its competitive position by attending to each element of the value chain - R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, sales and marketing; growing the category through product innovation and go-to-market innovation; and retaining a leadership position in the face of competition from other MNCs by continuous innovation and willingness to cannibalize its own products. The case illustrates how multinational corporations (MNCs) can capitalize on the huge opportunities available in the Indian market. While the market is potentially huge, the challenges in developing it are also daunting. Success requires persistence and entrepreneurship at multiple levels of the corporation. In the case of Nestlé, top management at its Swiss headquarters, the country head in India and the front line product champion in India all played their parts in an aligned manner. The case illustrates how an MNC can blend local responsiveness with its global strengths to create a winning position in the Indian market. Learning objectives: The main learning objective of this case is to support mid-level and senior executives (senior executives, country managers in emerging markets, supply chain professionals, product development teams) as well as MBA participants in exploring how MNCs can best leverage the India opportunity.

Supplement for IMD605

Social science research shows that people are heavily influenced by a desire to conform with the group. Businesses and other organizations are beginning to understand the power of "social norms"--for example, the British government used this insight in letters to delinquent taxpayers, and its National Health Service has drawn on it to reduce missed clinic appointments. Five guidelines for companies looking to use this powerful tool.

New research refines a theory from the 1990s, demonstrating that equity pay can both encourage and discourage executive risk taking. It depends on the mix of a CEO's potential gains and losses, and boards can manage this mix to encourage the risk-taking behavior that's best for their company.