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The case sketches the story of a charismatic and ambitious young business leader who, through value-adding commercial transactions, has helped set a South African pharmaceutical company, Adcock Ingram, on a trajectory of growth. The case reader meets up with him in May 2009 when he faces lack of closure and an ambiguous outcome to an offer to acquire a smaller pharmaceutical company. The case demonstrates the power of relationships, where the ambitions of different parties around the negotiations table and the incentives that shape their alliances can make or break a strategic business deal. As opposed to presenting a strategic decision-point for class discussion, the case presents students with an opportunity to analyze an unfavorable outcome of a business deal, and build a concept of behavioral requirements of success in business transactions. The case has been designed for class discussion and analysis of factors of leadership that underpin or influence acquisitions. As opposed to an analysis of the commercial rationale of an acquisition, it focuses on the behavioral components of leadership decision-making and their effect on business results. The case can provide a platform for the discussion of motives, interpersonal skills and relationships, and business activities in acquisitions.

Looking through the lenses of both macro and micro economic policy, this case examines how Singapore has achieved such stellar success throughout its history, from independence through 2008. The case discusses the different policy choices the Singaporean government has made as well as how the government's structure has aided development.

Continental Media Group has a series of business reviews struggling to achieve profitability. This case focuses on the use of management control systems to identify emerging opportunities and the formulation of new strategies. The interactive system used by top managers-the Friday Packet-is described and illustrated in exhibits. Top managers use this system to focus organizational attention on the critical uncertainties of the business. Provides examples of how new strategies emerge from the dialogue that is generated by the interactive control system.

Analyzes the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and employee engagement, including CSR effects on employee commitment and motivation, new skills and training, and motivation. Also discusses best practices in employee engagement through CSR.

Tennant, a leading producer of floor cleaning equipment, must determine the business model to use for its new chemical free cleaning technology. In 2005, Tennant Company had developed an innovative, environmentally friendly, cleaning technology that could potentially revolutionize cleaning. Historically, Tennant was a producer of floor and carpet washing machines for industrial and commercial markets. Over time, it became clear that the technology had applications far beyond Tennant's core markets. In mid-2009, the company set up a new venture to develop the technology's promise. In 2010 this venture was wholly owned by Tennant and run by a Tennant manager. The case examines the decisions the CEO and new venture head must make to best structure and position the venture to succeed.

The Southeast Bank of Texas, like most other financial institutions in the US, has fallen on hard times during the financial crisis of the past year. Now, in March 2009, the bank is faced with several choices as a result of the new reforms spawned from the financial crisis: The FDIC's Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program and the US Treasury's Capital Purchase Program. Additionally, the implementation of BASEL II has left new regulations in place for capital requirements for banks. Irwin Greff, President and CEO of the Southeast Bank, faces several decisions on how to proceed with these new policies that will surely shape the future of the bank.

Cypress Sharpridge, a REIT investing in agency securities, launched its IPO just before the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. The IPO failed. In June 2009, an IPO window seemed to be opening. Should the company try again? CEO Kevin Grant knew that his company's survival depended on differentiating itself from discredited real estate investment strategies and raising permanent capital. But if its IPO failed again, the company might lose any remaining credibility and be forced to fold.

The case follows Mel Young, founder and president of Homeless World Cup, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to eliminate homelessness around the world. Homeless World Cup organizes annual football (i.e., soccer) tournaments in host cities and through its grassroots partner organizations recruits and trains homeless people to play in the events. The case highlights the early days of founding and building the organization, including Young's inspiration for the idea, and also covers the importance of branding and marketing and the organization's relationship with Nike.

The case is woven around the decision dilemma faced by the second generation managing director of Ujwal Bharati Pharmaceuticals, a mid-size business. He had to decide whether to retain his non-family CEO or not. There are other issues related to corporate and family governance covered in the case as well. This case was written in the context of the major efforts made by Indian family businesses in recent years to professionalize their operations. This is particularly so among mid-size businesses. In this case, while the director appreciates the need to professionalize and successfully recruit non-family professionals, he is not able to retain them. The director's major dilemma is not only to delegate but to simultaneously find a way of making use of his time. Indirect opposition to changes from the old guard causes problems and the board, consisting of professionals, is ineffective. The director's elder brother, without any male heir, is non-interfering and the director's only son is not well-groomed for the position. The case is best suited for a session on professionalization of management of a growing company but is also appropriate for courses such as family businesses, organizational behavior, strategy implementation and entrepreneurship.

The case deals with issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in the specific setting of a medium-sized enterprise (Host Europe) in the IT industry. Host Europe is the third largest web hosting company in German-speaking Europe. In recent years, the company has put substantial efforts into living up to its CSR and improving sustainability. The case presents the IT sector in Europe and Germany and highlights several industry-related issues such as "green IT" (especially in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and e-waste) and the digital divide. Host Europe has already implemented a couple of measures, such as building a new energy-efficient green data center, switching to renewable energy, promoting virtualization, introducing several workplace measures, pursuing efforts to improve family friendliness, and publishing a sustainability report. However, there are still some challenges ahead and students are asked to think about further efforts of Host Europe to complete its path to becoming a responsible and sustainable medium-sized IT company.The case can either be used as an introductory case for CSR in medium-sized businesses and sustainability in the IT industry, or in advanced-level CSR and sustainability courses. As an introductory case it provides in-depth insights into a company that has already put substantial efforts into becoming a responsible and sustainable IT company. Students learn about various sustainability and CSR issues and measures in the specific context of a medium-sized enterprise. As an advanced case for CSR and sustainability, it can be used to build upon the existing knowledge of students and to ask them to come up with other ideas and a sophisticated strategy to pursue further CSR and sustainability. For example, since Host Europe is not certified according to environmental or social standards yet, students could come up with a detailed and customized plan on how to implement such a management system for the company.

After nearly violating its loan covenants in 2009, Momentive Performance Materials, backed by its financial sponsor Apollo Global Management, took a variety of actions to restructure its debt. The restructuring steps included an open market repurchase of publicly held notes; a notes exchange; a loan-covenant waiver; and, finally, an attempted loan amendment that sought to extend the maturity of the loan used to finance the Momentive buyout. This case allows students to see different debt-restructuring options in one setting. The case protagonist is a fund investment manager at a large hedge fund that holds 3 percent of Momentive's syndicated loan. The decision point in the case is whether the investor should vote to amend the loan. The perspective of the investor allows students to understand tensions underlying the restructuring process. The case serves as a vehicle for discussing contractual and institutional differences between public debt and syndicated loans, and challenges in the restructuring of such debt.

In 2000, Dr. Gary Kaplan became CEO of the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. The hospital was facing significant challenges: It was losing money for the first time in its history, staff morale had plummeted, and area hospitals presented ardent competition. Considerable change was imminent. Within his first few months, Kaplan had rallied the organization around a new strategic direction: to become the quality leader in health care. What Kaplan and his administrators lacked was an effective tool to execute their strategy. Soon thereafter, a series of serendipitous events led to the discovery of the Toyota production system, and the Virginia Mason Medical Center became entrenched in an overwhelming challenge: how to institute a production model in health care.

A highly progressive and award-winning regional museum is trying to create a comprehensive balanced scorecard. The case shows the linking of causally related performance measures that support the museum's strategic vision and mission.

Incumbents will beat new rivals for at least the next few decades because they're the ones that can handle cars' design complexity.

The most common reason workers aren't frank with you isn't fear of retribution. It's a sense of futility.

Private equity and venture capital firms are starting to share details about their investment strategy in public forums like social media-and it's paying off.

A research update shows that women are still choosing circuitous career paths, despite the recession.

A new study found that denying people access to a product made them desire it more and work harder to get it-but also made them less satisfied with it. That has important implications for companies that do not meet the demand for their products.

Successful enterprises create and adhere to distinct business ideologies-such as the Toyota Way and the Xerox Way-over time. These doctrines contain specific ideas about how to compete, performance measures, organization structures, and whom to reward. Every employee knows: That's the way we do things here. The problem is that those success factors turn into entrenched orthodoxies over time, and no one challenges them. That's why during a corporate transformation, the forgetting curve is sometimes more important than the learning curve.

To change CEOs' behavior, we need to change the numbers we measure and emphasize.