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Spreadsheet Supplement for case 309001

A German expatriate had moved to China in 2005 to take up a merchandising position at the Wal-Mart China headquarters in Shenzen. By 2008 he had been promoted to the new position of senior director for sustainability for Wal-Mart China (retail) and Global Procurement. His new position required that he lead the rapidly-approaching inaugural Wal-Mart Sustainability Summit. The senior director must ensure that Wal-Mart China's five Strategic Value Networks (SVNs), which were tasked with leading sustainability change within the organization, continued to engage stakeholders by implementing innovative solutions that not only cut costs but also lead to more sustainable operations. The case describes Wal-Mart China's operations (including purchasing, distribution and retail) in the context of the company's desire to improve sustainability in a manner appropriate to China. The immediate issue is to identify opportunities to improve the sustainability of Wal-Mart China's distribution systems and retail operations.

The owner of an indoor beach volleyball and rock climbing recreational facility in London, Ontario, is considering expanding by adding a rooftop patio and outdoor beach volleyball court. Students are asked to perform a business size-up and to analyze the expansion qualitatively. Students are required to list all the cash flows associated with the expansion and classify them as relevant (cash, future and different), recurring or one-time costs. Once this is completed, students are to perform a differential analysis, with sensitivity analysis, where necessary, to determine the return on investment and to establish the payback period. Finally, students are to make a decision about going ahead with the expansion.

This case is an excellent illustration of offline/online integration. Office Depot used its supply chain, systems integration, and existing offline channel strengths to overcome competitive online threats from pure Internet players and other office-products-category players. Students get to consider the critical strategic options for overall strategy, pricing, product line, promotion, and business integration.

Michael Pirron was a health care services consultant who had always dreamed of starting a "Nonprofit Competitive Business" with a social mission. In 2006, he launched Impact Makers, a new hybrid entity that crossed the nonprofit/for-profit lines. Although it was a small business like many others (paying competitive salaries, bidding for work, providing professional services at market prices), Impact Makers had several unique components: It would contribute strategic consulting, and all profits, to charitable community organizations; there was no stock and equity ownership; it had a volunteer board of directors and its financial information was open to the public. The first two years saw some successes and some setbacks. Impact Makers faced the challenges of growth: how to get more customers, more revenue, and a more predictable revenue stream. How would Impact Makers raise investment capital with its unique organizational structure? And how would the company survive?

This case is about the strategic-sourcing process: leading a major acquisition program with an unprecedented schedule and an unprepared industrial base. Soldiers in Iraq are dying in increasing numbers from improvised explosive devices planted in roads by insurgents. Up-armored Humvees offer little to no protection. Specialty vehicles with v-shaped bottoms to deflect blasts had been developed in South Africa and Rhodesia in the 1970s. The MRAP Vehicle Joint Program Office's mission was to procure up to 20,000 of these commercial off-the-shelf vehicles and get them to Iraq within 30 months. Yet U.S. production is fewer than 10 vehicles per month because not enough tires, ballistics-grade steel, and other raw materials are available. The daunting task: to undertake the fastest vehicle procurement since the Jeep in World War II, ramping up the industrial base, and overcoming the bureaucratic logjam in Department of Defense procedures.

Grace Vineyard was a rare family-owned, private winery in China that was set on establishing itself as a world-renowned, quality vintner. Judy Leissner, the second generation company leader was at a crossroads in how she wanted to grow the business that her father founded in 1997. Their wines were rapidly growing a strong following and had won international awards. How could the company capitalize on this success? Should Grace expand its operations to multiple Chinese provinces? Should Grace continue as a premium boutique winery serving a growing but ultimately limited niche market in China, or should it seek to make a mark internationally? Or should Grace respond to buy-out offers?

This case describes the efforts of Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, to improve liquidity in money markets during the subprime crisis. The case explains the four main new tools for monetary policy (or quantitative easing) the Federal Reserve has used between 2007 and 2009: the Term Auction Facility (TAF), the Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF), the Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF), and the Asset Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (AMLF).

In early October 1931, in the midst of a global economic depression, the U.S. banking system was in crisis - - with bank suspensions running at near record levels. At the same time, the broader economy was sputtering, and U.S. gold reserves had come under severe pressure after Britain abandoned its gold standard in mid-September. As pressure continued to mount, the leaders of the Federal Reserve faced several critical decisions. Should they adjust interest rates? Was abandoning the gold standard an acceptable option? Should they lend more freely to the nation's commercial banks? Or would this only ensure the sorts of financial excess that had gotten the country into trouble in the first place? Was it time to give in to the mounting pressure, or to hold firm?

Berkshire Hathaway describes the history and strategy of one of the best known investment firms over the last forty years. The case describes the investment philosophy of Warren Buffett, its legendary chairman and CEO, the gradual diversification of its portfolio, its capital allocation strategy, compensation structure, and corporate governance approach, leading up to August 2008.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 709040

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 709449

The three cases in this series trace developments in the personal computer industry from its inception through 2006, making it possible to examine the issues of collaboration and competition as the value chain in the industry evolves. The A case looks at these tensions through the lens of the relationship between two for the industries' most successful firms-Compaq and Intel. As the A case describes, by the mid-1990s, Compaq was the world's largest PC manufacturer. Compaq's computers used Microsoft software and Intel processors. Compaq was Intel's largest customer and Intel was Compaq's largest supplier. Not surprisingly, then, it caused quite a stir when executives from Compaq and Intel entered into a heated public spat at a September 1994 European technology conference. See the B case (UV1012) and C case (UV1013).

The B case examines the shifting dynamics as Intel and Microsoft assert their dominance over the box makers. By 2001, Compaq was toppled as the world's largest PC maker. Intel remained the world's largest processor maker and Microsoft remained a software giant. But a company founded in 1984 by a University of Texas student had taken its place as a powerhouse in the "Wintel" value chain. That company was Dell. See the A case (UV1011) and C case (UV1013).

Dell clung to the top spot among PC makers in 2006, when it shipped just over 38 million computers-only about 20,000 more than rival Hewlett-Packard (HP), which acquired Compaq in 2001. HP also reported gains in the fast-growing laptop segment, mostly at the expense of Dell. After HP and Dell, the next three largest PC makers in 2006 were all based outside the United States: Lenovo of China (which purchased IBM's PC division in 2001), Acer of Taiwan, and Toshiba of Japan. Analysts observed that competitors had found ways to duplicate much of Dell's operations. See also the A and B cases (UV1011 and UV1012).

Huang Teng founded Xi'an International University (XAIU) as a private institute of higher education in 1992. Throughout its ensuing years, the school filled a niche and met the demand of students who did not test into one of China's public institutions. In 2008, it was seeking to grow by aggressively pursuing opportunities in other provinces and municipalities. Huang's plan was to franchise his university throughout China. However, in pursuing this strategy in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China's largest cities, Huang was not receiving warm responses. Local officials feared XAIU would jeopardize the survival of locally-run, private universities, and competition among private universities was heating up as institutions from the United Kingdom and Hong Kong partnered with public universities to form joint-ventured "independent colleges." Buoyed by the success of XAIU, Huang was confident that despite these setbacks, his franchise model would work. But was an alternative plan of expanding into second or third tier cities compromising too much of the groundwork that had already been laid, would it jeopardize XAIU's funding opportunities, and finally, would it hurt the academic quality and integrity XAIU had built up at home?

In 2009 a recent MBA must analyze the possible refunding of bonds issued in 2000 when interest rates were much higher. She must consider the possible consequences of repurchasing company bonds outstanding using cash that might be obtained by issuing new bonds at a lower interest rate. Students need to carry out a quantitative assignment.

The case describes a real instance where a college student, Sarah James, attends a Mexican university (INI) for the summer to develop her language and cross-cultural capabilities. At the end of a successful semester, she e-mails the director of international recruitment for the Mexican University - with a copy to her major professor back in the United States - complaining about the treatment she received from her host family. She appears to have alienated all parties involved as she makes her exodus. The reader must decide how Professor McGill should respond. McGill had been attempting to build a relationship with the administration at INI in hopes of sending more students there for cross-cultural and language training. The reader must also evaluate Sarah's complaints to determine if they are a result of her own inflexibility or whether the host family was inappropriately screened or prepared. Will the remedy be found in having better policies governing host families or in having more culturally-attuned students?

The president of a waste management and recycling company is considering expanding to another location within London, Ontario. Students are asked to assess the company's past performance to determine what had made it successful and then project financial results for the expansion along with projecting the company's fiscal year's overall financial results. Students are required to establish a strong promotion plan for the new facility, including the message to be promoted and the media to be used that would ensure the new site's success.

Provides an analysis of why informal financial networks and institutions still play an extremely important role in China's economy in the 21st century. Although China has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it still suffers from a weak financial system dominated by state-controlled banks and severely limited access to capital for private entrepreneurs and consumers. The case shows how the political climate, economic regulatory environment and social attitudes towards lending practices have shaped the approach to and structure of financing private enterprises over time. It also addresses the response of the Chinese government to the resilient curb market in the context of the economic reforms and policy changes for the banking and financial sector.