個案總覽

The Jonathan Rose Companies must decide how to design and launch an innovative new real estate fund focused on green and transit oriented properties. JRC seeks to show through the fund that smart growth and green buildings provide superior economic returns to sprawl and environmentally damaging development. In order to launch the fund, JRC must decide on several important outstanding issues. What will be the fund's investment criteria? To whom should the fund be marketed? How should the fund be structured? What should be the fund's first investment?

Daniel Lurie headed down Highway 101 in June 2009 to investigate a potential grantee in East Palo Alto, California. As he drove, he reflected on the progress that the nonprofit organization he founded, Tipping Point Community (Tipping Point), had made in just four years of fighting to reduce poverty in the local community. It had raised a total of more than $14 million for recipient organizations, including $3 million from its main donor event in April 2009, and its profile was gaining increasing recognition in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was thinking about Tipping Point's most recent board meeting, where the board members were more relentless than ever regarding the organization's strategy and results, particularly in the areas of performance measurement, sustainability, and key funding. Tipping Point had a tremendous amount of room for improvement and growth. It was difficult to quantify its impact on the target community, which―despite Tipping Point's efforts―was struggling with homelessness, children in need of medical assistance, and limited mobility. With 600,000 people living in poverty in the Bay Area, Tipping Point's goals would not easily be met.

In December 2007, the Economics & International Affairs director of the competitiveness cluster, Lyonbiopole, was responsible for the international development of the cluster. Lyonbiopole was one of seven biotechnology clusters in France. Although Lyonbiopole performed very well at the national level, its visibility as an international cluster in the biotechnology field was uncertain. Yet, for its member firms to thrive in the globalized world of biotechnology clusters, establishing international connections for the cluster was crucial. That is why the management team of Lyonbiopole developed an internationalization program through alliances with foreign clusters (i.e. interclusteral alliances). By improving its international visibility and reputation through alliances with world-class biotechnology clusters, Lyonbiopole hoped to create new technological partnerships, increase investment, and create other kinds of opportunities for member firms. After having successfully established alliance partnerships in Europe, Lyonbiopole was preparing for the second stage in its internationalization process. The case highlights the questions - in the context of industrial clusters - whether or not a smaller organization can approach an industry leader to create a mutually beneficial alliance, and how it might accomplish this.

In 2005, China announced plans to "converge with," but not completely adopt, IFRS. China also began to lobby for changes to specific IFRS provisions, such as for related party disclosures by state-owned firms, to bring them more into line with Chinese interests. China's accounting system had already undergone significant reforms during the two decades when its economy had grown to become the fourth largest in the world. However, enforcement of accounting standards remained weak, the financial system was relatively immature, and large state-owned firms still dominated many sectors of the economy.

Students must suggest ways to value intangible assets, including trademarks, acquired by Cisco in the Linksys acquisition.

Jody Leleck has been appointed the principal of Broad Acres Middle School in Montgomery County, Maryland. The school is underperforming all other schools in the district, and she has been asked to improve the performance.

Explores the results of Jody Leleck's efforts to turn around underperforming Broad Acres Middle School.

In May 2007, Amgen Inc. (Amgen) received disappointing news from the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) that its drug Vectibix, developed to fight metastatic colorectal cancer, had been rejected. This was especially surprising news given that a similar rival drug had received approval several years prior. Moreover, Vectibix had also received Food and Drug Administration approval in 2006. During additional trials, Amgen has learned that the Vectibix is only effective with the 60% of the population that has a specific gene marker. Given this development, what should Amgen's strategy around Vectibix be both in Europe and the United States?

This case describes the operating model and history of Red Tomato, a non-profit organization dedicated to branding and logistical support for locally grown produce farmers in the northeast U.S. The case highlights the challenges involved in making locally grown produce available to large consumer markets.

This case examines VF Brands global supply chain strategy. Historically, VF has used a combination of in-house manufacturing and traditional arms-length sourcing arrangements. At the time of the case, the company is considering a third approach to supplier relations that involves much closer cooperation and partnerships. The goal of this "third way" approach is to create a sourcing relationship that combines some of the virtues of vertical integration with the flexibility of sourcing. Such arrangements are increasingly discussed in the operations literature and in practice. This case provides students an opportunity to do an in-depth analysis of such an arrangement, and develop an understanding of the trade-offs involved.

A growing folding carton company is contemplating the replacement of an old machine with a new one. The case challenge is to develop a cash flow forecast and determine the proper discount rate for the machine replacement. In addition to increased capacity and reduced waste, the new machine offers strategic advantages to the firm in its chosen market niche. Issues related to operations are central to appreciating the importance and implications of this captial investment: Operating excellence is a key competitive advantage for this firm. A teaching note and student and instructor Excel spreadsheets are available to accompany the case.

Examines the process used by a major motion picture studio to develop and select movie projects. Warner Bros.' strategy is to focus its efforts on a small number of major "event" films (i.e., films with the potential to generate gross box-office receipts of $300 million or more). This strategy--which has worked for the past two years--entails risks. The studio is now asking how it can better manage these risks and, specifically, how it can improve its odds of success.

Miles Everson, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), is the Global Engagement Partner (GEP) for a large U.S. financial institution and about to take over this role for a much larger global financial institution. The GEP role is a critical one at PwC. GEPs have responsibility for the firm's largest and most important clients. They must manage a vast external network of client employees and an equally vast internal network of the firm's employees. The GEP needs to have a deep understanding of the client and its industry in order to identify opportunities and problems where the firm's resources can be brought to bear and to match the firm's capabilities to the client's needs. GEPs must be able to simultaneously manage a larger number of tasks, often under great time pressure. This case describes how a very effective GEP-Miles Everson, who was named one of the top 25 consultants for 2006 by Consulting magazine-performs this role and provides insights into the attitudes, skills, and subject matter expertise necessary to be successful in this role. Insights into how Everson does this job are provided by both PwC and client personnel. As is often the case, Everson is responsible for a business (in his case Governance, Risk, and Compliance), and so he has substantial internal management responsibilities as well. The case raises questions about whether he will be able to retain these internal management responsibilities when he takes over a much larger and more complex global client and becomes the Senior Engagement Partner (SEP) on his current client. (SEPs perform an oversight role for the work being done by the GEP and his or her team and are typically very senior members of the firm.) The case also raises areas where Everson can improve.

This three-part case study presents the initial problem, the thinking, the politics, and the design negotiations that produced New York City's "NYC Acquisition Fund" in August 2006. The case concludes with a brief round-up of performance data and commentary from the Fund's first two and a half years of operation. The NYC Acquisition Fund was created to deliver loans to small and nonprofit affordable housing developers, allowing them to compete with market-rate developers to buy property in New York City on the open market at a time of rampant speculation, rapidly rising prices, and fierce competition. It represented a groundbreaking effort to use public sector funds and authority, together with foundation capital, to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in loan capital from private lenders. In September 2008, the Fund was named a winner of the annual Innovations in American Government competition, sponsored by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, which declared it a "national model." HKS Case Number 1907.0

In November 1994, California voters were presented with a ballot initiative on a proposed "three strikes" measure, which would impose stiff penalties on repeat offenders. Under the terms of Proposition 184, offenders with one or two violent or serious felonies on their records would get much longer sentences for second or third felony crimes-in the case of a third "strike," a term of 25 years to life; moreover, these repeat crimes did not have to be violent or serious to qualify as a strike. Although California already had a three strikes law on its books, a voter-approved initiative would make it difficult for future lawmakers to tamper with the bill's tough provisions. This case consists of three parts. The first provides background on the California three strikes law, and then briefly describes the proponents and opponents of the ballot measure, and the arguments each side put forward. HKS Case Number 1908.0

This sequel is the second part of this three part case. The main case (case 1908.0) provides background on the California three strikes law, and then briefly describes the proponents and opponents of the ballot measure, and the arguments each side put forward. The next two parts can be read sequentially in class. This brief sequel summarizes the impact of the ballot initiative-which was overwhelmingly approved by voters-on both the state prison system and the state budget. The third part (supplement 1908.4) tells a different story: of two judges in Pennsylvania who pleaded guilty to taking kickbacks from the owners of two juvenile detention centers, in a scheme many labeled "kids for cash." HKS Case Number 1908.1

This supplement is the third part of a three part case. The main case (case 1908.0) provides background on the California three strikes law, and then briefly describes the proponents and opponents of the ballot measure, and the arguments each side put forward. The sequel and supplement can be read sequentially in class. The brief sequel summarizes the impact of the ballot initiative-which was overwhelmingly approved by voters-on both the state prison system and the state budget. This supplement tells a different story: of two judges in Pennsylvania who pleaded guilty to taking kickbacks from the owners of two juvenile detention centers, in a scheme many labeled "kids for cash." HKS Case Number 1908.4

This short case describes the tensions that often arise between finance executives attempting to curtail unproductive activities and strategy executives trying to optimize overall firm performance.

By positioning Immediate Annuities as "guaranteed lifetime income," New York Life has built itself a $1.4 billion per year business by 2009. However, to make Immediate Annuities a mainstream financial product for retirees, New York Life must understand why many retirees are reluctant to buy them and many agents are reluctant to sell them.

In 1997, amidst Japan's ongoing financial problems, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto sought to restructure the financial sector to make it more transparent and globally competitive. He hoped that this effort, dubbed the "Big Bang" after the British financial restructuring a decade earlier, would prove as successful. But the financial problems, which seemed to have abated, looked as if they might be worsening. Thus, Hashimoto had to weigh priorities. Should he focus on long-term restructuring, immediate financial rescue, or both? Might an over-emphasis on long-term restructuring increase the chances that major banks could collapse? And what were the best economic and political strategies in these arenas? As a major developed economy, Japan offers an analog to the problems that faced the United States in its 2008-2009 financial crisis.