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"This is a case series featuring an A, B and C case. Robert Harvey, a business professor at a small university in Iowa, arranged for Hopwood Manufacturing Company to come to the campus to interview his students for internship and management-in-training positions, only to learn that the recruiters, Dave Maggert and Wendy Blair, appeared to be more interested in the appearances of the candidates than their qualifications. Harvey must now decide what action to take in response to the recruiters' discriminatory statements."

The owner of a goat herd had successfully rented a portion of his herd to clear land at a nearby resort. The resort land clearing job generated a small profit and now the owner is evaluating the prospects of bidding on similar land clearing projects in the area. The owner believes that profitability for this line of business is constrained by the size of the truck and trailer used to transport the goats to the job site. He reasons that a larger truck and trailer would allow him to transport more goats to the job site each day, generating incremental revenues. He also realizes that a larger truck and trailer would result in increased operating costs. The owner determines the investment needed to upgrade the truck and trailer. He must then determine if incremental revenues and costs associated with the larger truck and trailer would justify the initial investment. This case provides a realistic analysis of incremental revenues and costs in the context of capital budgeting. The (B) case can be used independently of the (A) case if the professor wishes to focus exclusively on capital budgeting.

Firms that follow a hypothesis-driven approach to evaluating entrepreneurial opportunity are called "lean startups." Entrepreneurs in these startups translate their vision into falsifiable business model hypotheses, then test the hypotheses using a series of "minimum viable products," each of which represents the smallest set of features/activities needed to rigorously validate a concept. Based on test feedback, entrepreneurs must then decide whether to persevere with their business model, "pivot" by changing some model elements, or abandon the startup. This note describes, step-by-step, how to follow the hypothesis-driven approach when evaluating entrepreneurial opportunity; explains how the approach mitigates cognitive biases that otherwise can contribute to poor decisions; and considers conditions that are best suited for lean startup methods.

This note defines a business model and its major elements: a customer value proposition, a technology and operations management plan, a go-to-market plan, and a profit formula. For each element, the note lists questions that an entrepreneur must address when evaluating an early-stage opportunity. The note explores in greater depth several business model issues that are especially relevant to entrepreneurial ventures, including the impact of network effects and customer switching costs; conditions when a startup should consider vertical integration; the nature of first and late mover advantage; and conditions that favor viral marketing. The note concludes with practical guidelines for early-stage entrepreneurs on how to conduct business model analysis.

This case enables students to simulate a risk management workshop based on the description of an innovative capital project in the energy sector. Students will discuss, assess, and vote on the riskiness of the Smart Meters project and experience the dynamics of a risk workshop.

In early 2004, residents of Inglewood, California, a working-class community just outside Los Angeles composed primarily of African- and Hispanic-Americans, were preparing to vote on a referendum that would change the city charter to allow Wal-Mart to build a supercenter on a huge, undeveloped lot in the city. Walmart had put forward the measure after the city council refused to change the zoning of a sixty-acre plot on which it held an option to build. Numerous community and religious groups opposed Wal-Mart's entry and campaigned against the referendum. Walmart promised low-priced merchandise and jobs, but these groups were skeptical about the kinds of jobs and compensation that would be offered, the healthcare that would be provided to employees, and the broader impact Walmart would have on the community. Inglewood was a pro-union community, so there was also opposition based on Walmart's anti-union position. On April 6 Inglewood residents voted to reject the referendum by a margin of 60.6 percent to 39.9 percent. Though smaller, less organized, and with fewer resources than Walmart, this coalition of community and religious leaders had defeated the global retailing behemoth.

This case concerns a one billion (US) dollar 10-year global outsourcing project signed in 2007 to outsource major parts of the human resource (HR) function of a major multinational company. The client and supplier embarked on a large-scale implementation plan and ran into difficulties on meeting deadlines and delivering the systems required. The case focuses on the step-by-step phased roll-out in the client's Europe, Middle East and Africa region covering 44 countries. The case follows the many attempts to stabilise and deliver the project. In June 2010, the supplier sold its HR line of business to another supplier, which became responsible for the project. The case documents the strategy, governance, project management and escalation issues to March 2011, and asks questions about the practices exhibited so far, and future decisions on strategic sourcing, project management, de-escalating the problems and the retained capabilities needed by the client.

The case describes Aviva Investors' engagement strategy with companies and stock exchanges to improve its sustainability performance and the flow of sustainability related information to markets. Aviva Investors, a GBP 259 billion fund, is the investment arm of the large British insurance company, Aviva plc. Aviva Investors is committed to sustainability under the leadership of its CEO, Paul Abberley, and head of sustainability research and engagement, Steve Waygood. The case describes Aviva Investors' policies on materiality, engagement, and its corporate responsibility voting policy. It then explores how the company is implementing these policies in the case of a particular company, the FTSE 100 diversified mining company Vendanta, and the Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative under the sponsorship of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.

Yoga, an ancient discipline, has become popular worldwide. The marketing of yoga and dispute over its origins have led to debate as to whether yoga should be branded at all. Some yoga instructors have gone so far as to copyright their varieties of yoga; others in the yoga community say it is a religious and/or spiritual practice and as such should not be claimed as intellectual property.

Riverside District Memorial Hospital (RDMH) is a small rural hospital that must work within an operational budget that is determined by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care in a Canadian province. This case identifies the emergence of concerns for patient safety related to medication administration, and the challenges of ensuring professional services are maintained by the pharmacy department to serve patients admitted to hospital. The chief nursing executive (CNE) must decide what steps should be taken to reduce this exposure in the context of the complex relationships in which RDMH exists.

Details Nike Football's marketing efforts in the lead up to and during the World Cup in South Africa (2010). Allows students to reflect on the implementation of the strategy and to think about the implications for Nike as it begins preparing for the World Cup in 2014.

TAEQ was a new branding concept in the Brazilian retail market. The name represented a combination of two concepts associated with modern wellness: tao, representing balance and naturalness, and eki, representing vital energy. TAEQ was developed to become one of the leading private brands in the Grupo Pao de Acucar (GPA) portfolio. As the largest Brazilian retailing conglomerate, GPA wanted to extend its marketing reach into the evolving wellness market with the new brand concept.

Environmental stewardship was part of REI's culture since the company was founded, and integral to its corporate purpose. In 2005, REI began carefully measuring its environmental impact, establishing aggressive sustainability goals, and implementing programs to achieve these goals. The corporate social responsibility group, which oversaw the environmental sustainability program, took the approach that social and financial objectives should not be viewed as tradeoffs. For instance, growth objectives (increasing the number of stores and sales per store) should not come at the expense of energy consumption objectives for flat or decreasing corporate energy usage. Insisting that both objectives be met would lead to creating thinking and innovative solutions. The case describes the environmental stewardship program at REI, its objectives, and philosophy of implementation.

Provides background information for a negotiations exercise in which students will represent either Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution, or Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), a fast-growing premium coffee roaster interested in licensing Keurig's technology. The negotiation will determine the royalty to be paid to Keurig by GMCR, who will bear capital expenditures, and whether GMCR secures exclusive distribution rights to Keurig's system.

Case provides confidential information for students assuming the role of senior executives of Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution, in a negotiation to license technology to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR). The negotiation will determine the royalty to be paid to Keurig by GMCR, who will bear capital expenditures, and determine whether GMCR secures exclusive distribution rights to Keurig's system.

Case provides confidential information for students assuming the role of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) senior executives in a negotiation to license technology from Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution. The negotiation will determine the royalty to be paid to Keurig by GMCR, who will bear capital expenditures, and determine whether GMCR secures exclusive distribution rights to Keurig's system.

Unilever's Lipton Tea had been successful with the first phase of its certification partnership with Rainforest Alliance. Now the company faced challenges in how to push forward with the transformation of more difficult parts of the supply chain and how to market sustainable tea in developing markets like India.

This case depicts China Merchants Bank's second strategic transformation. In the 90's, China Merchants bank creatively introduced an all-in-one-card and an all-in-one-net based on IT systems and network, enabling itself to expand nationwide. By successfully entering the emerging credit card industry, the bank confirmed its retail banking strategy in 2004, followed by its great success in occupying 1/3 credit card market share. The market share-driven strategy didn't last forever. Recognizing business environment changes, the company changed its strategy focus to profit-driven in 2009. It's the second time that information technology enables business success.

Jamie Bailey, owner and president of C.R. Plastics, has successfully grown his business every year since 1994 when he began producing recycled plastic outdoor furniture. This rapid growth has provided its own challenges in terms of constrained financing and by summer 2010, Bailey was desperate for a new source of cash. He subsequently auditioned to be on Dragon's Den, a television show where entrepreneurs can pitch their business to a group of venture capitalists, who may then choose to invest their own cash in exchange for a share of the business. With a week remaining before he has to present his final pitch, Bailey has to make a difficult prediction: How much money will he need to meet the growing demand into 2011? Complicating his analysis are competing proposals to fundamentally change how production is managed. In addition to reconfiguring labour allocation, one method requires significant investment in equipment while the other increases inventory during the off-season. Which alternative will allow the company to retain a greater share of the equity when he pitches his business to the Dragon's Den panel?

Founder Group's Chairman of the Board, Wei Xin, made adjustments to the company portfolio in 2010. Established in the mid-1980s, Founder is the industry leader for Chinese laser typesetting systems and was once the second largest PC manufacturer in China. It is also the largest university-based enterprise in China. After twenty years of development, Founder has achieved annual revenue of 47.5 billion RMB, with business in IT hardware and software, pharmaceuticals, medical care, finance, real estate, steel, trade, education, mining, fine chemicals, storage, etc. It has undergone highly unrelated diversification. Chair of the Board, Wei Xin, wants to ensure Founder's sustained growth. To this end, he must consider Founder's portfolio structure for the future.