個案總覽

The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to launch Creative Suite 3, the biggest software release in the company's 25-year history. The protagonist, Yvonne Murray, is a group program manager at Adobe and responsible for coordinating the integration of her business unit's product-Device Central-in Creative Suite 3. Murray is copied on an email that warns the Device Central product team that Device Central may be pulled from the Creative Suite 3 marketing materials and from the launch entirely because it was in danger of missing a deadline. Murray wonders if and how to respond to the email that was addressed to her Device Central colleague, group product manager Carol Linburn.

The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to launch Creative Suite 3, the biggest software release in the company's 25-year history. The protagonist, Yvonne Murray, is a group program manager at Adobe and responsible for coordinating the integration of her business unit's product-Device Central-in Creative Suite 3. Murray is copied on an email that warns the Device Central product team that Device Central may be pulled from the Creative Suite 3 marketing materials and from the launch entirely because it was in danger of missing a deadline. Murray wonders if and how to respond to the email that was addressed to her Device Central colleague, group product manager Carol Linburn.

This case examines currency risks faced by Microfinance Institutions, and evaluates strategies to hedge them in countries with pegged currency regimes and no derivatives markets. An MFI based in Western Samoa borrows in different currencies like the US dollar and the New Zealand dollar is worried about the additional variability in its cash flows due to unexpected currency fluctuations, and wants to explore strategies to hedge this risk in the absence of a derivatives market for the Samoan Tala. It seems to the president of the company that borrowing in different currencies, in proportions equal to the weights of the currencies in the basket peg, would reduce the currency risk. He wants to estimate the exact weights of the currencies in the basket peg and measure the reduction of currency risk using this strategy.

The case covers and analyzes the major players in the Electric Car Industry, with a focus on the United States and China. The case looks at start-ups and incumbent automakers, battery makers, retrofitters, utility companies and the government. In 2009, the electric car industry was poised to take a giant leap forward, with start-up companies a step ahead of large automakers. Venture capital firms were pouring hundreds of millions of dollars in promising electric car and Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) start-ups, while existing companies were pouring billions of dollars into electric car and PHEV research. There were also companies that retrofitted existing cars, turning them into Plug-in Hybrids. The case also examines the role of the U.S. and China's government in promoting the electric car industry by providing grants and loans to electric car and battery makers, as well as giving subsidies for consumers to buy electric cars. At the same time, battery makers were racing to build enough lithium-ion batteries for automobiles to meet the expected demand. Most batteries were developed and manufactured in Asia. The electric car industry also required a vast infrastructure of charging stations in each country to enable electric car and PHEV owners to charge their cars outside their homes. Electricity companies were taking an interest in the industry, and began partnering with automakers to test how extensively electric cars used the grid. The case also explores how internal combustion engine makers were striking back with new engines that were smaller, more fuel efficient and more environmentally friendly.

This supplement to Competing for Development (A): Fuel Efficient Stoves for Darfur (A), product 908M61 provides a summary of the dynamic interaction between the key players from 2007 to 2008 and offers students a new decision point for how CHF Sudan could harness the momentum of change moving forward.

The chief executive officer of an oil and gas company must decide whether he wants to invest heavily in reducing greenhouse gases. Specifically, Suncor Energy must evaluate whether it should invest $425 million in carbon capture and storage or wait until there is greater certainty in the political, social and business environment. The case will help students develop skills of analyzing business decisions under higher environmental uncertainty, especially when the outcome is a long-term goal. Further, the issues presented in the case open up discussions about climate change and the interaction between business actions and societal expectations. There is also an opportunity to speak about the interaction between business and public policy.

Jennifer Parks, a newly appointed business development officer at PillarPoint Home Loans, is given a mandate to identify and develop a new-growth initiative for her company, a small mortgage division of one of the largest U.S. credit card issuers. The company has more than 60 million accounts worldwide and a reputation as a leader in direct marketing and online services. After studying the industry, Parks identifies what she believes is a high-potential growth opportunity: a home mortgage product aimed at high-net-worth customers of the parent company. As she gets ready to present her idea to PillarPoint's executives, what should she propose as the next steps for moving the initiative forward?

In November 2003, John Fruehwirth, a principal at Allied Capital, was considering a $20 million mezzanine investment in growth capital for Elephant Bar, a California restaurant chain. Elephant Bar had had some initial success in California but now Allied's investment committee had to wrestle with the question of whether the restaurant concept was strong enough to travel and become a national brand or whether it was mainly a "California Concept." And if the concept was strong enough to travel, would Allied Capital be able to meet its underwriting standards? Because Elephant Bar is a company with aggressive growth plans, it is significantly riskier than traditional mezzanine investments. The case can be used in courses on venture investing to illustrate another funding source available to young companies. Traditional mezzanine financing is often used to provide a portion of the funding for late-stage investments, such as leveraged buyouts. The case can also be used in courses on private equity to illustrate the perspective, risk mitigation strategies, and return expectations of mezzanine investors. This case has a teaching note and a spreadsheet, which are available to registered faculty members.

This case presents an interesting acquisition opportunity that SunTrust considered in 2004: National Commerce Financial, a large commercial bank, based in Memphis, Tennessee, with a strong footprint in North and South Carolina. The case shows how capital ratios are often a key component in the bank-merger process, and it allows for the evaluation of whether Phil Humann (SunTrust's CEO) could justify a multi-billion-dollar acquisition that had the potential to deplete capital, even if the deal were accretive to earnings.

The "TRX, Inc.: Initial Public Offering" case provides comprehensive coverage of a firm's decision to undertake an initial public offering (IPO) and the process of going public. The case follows the sequence of events from the company's incorporation in 1999 through the completion of an IPO in September 2005. In addition to raising capital, the TRX IPO case also includes consideration of another motivation for going public. At the time of its incorporation in November 1999, TRX attempted to go public but in the ensuing dot-com collapse, the IPO was never completed. In response to the failed IPO, TRX president and CEO, Trip Davis, turned to strategic investors to raise $20 million in a note convertible into equity at $11 per share. Although Davis had hoped the strategic investors would provide guidance and business opportunities for TRX, they never materialized. By 2004, he had come to believe that the largest strategic investor, Sabre, Inc. was not working in TRX's best interest. Thus, the IPO is motivated by a twofold purpose: to raise money and to provide for a strategic reorganization of the firm's ownership structure.

This case concerns Gene Cattie Enterprises (GCE), a manufacturer of a variety of fabricated metal house accessories, including mailboxes and window boxes. Founded in 2001 by Gene Cattie, a former HR professional for a large diversified financial-services company, GCE manufactures window boxes in five basic colors in a small plant in central Virginia. Historically, GCE has competed by providing a low-cost, high-quality product, sold mostly to specialty stores and catalog retailers. Competitive pressures have recently made delivery lead time an issue. Cattie believes that if he can significantly reduce the manufacturing lead time, he will be able to respond to market fluctuations as well as provide a line of custom-made window boxes. He wonders whether he can improve the effectiveness of his window-box production operation. As a former HR professional, he is unsure what his choices are. He is even unsure of the measures he should use to evaluate his decisions. He is, however, sure of one thing: his goal is to make money. His gut tells him that he is not making as much as he could.

Student spreadsheet for case UV1191.

The "TRX, Inc.: Initial Public Offering" case provides comprehensive coverage of a firm's decision to undertake an initial public offering (IPO) and the process of going public. The case follows the sequence of events from the company's incorporation in 1999 through the completion of an IPO in September 2005. In addition to raising capital, the TRX IPO case also includes consideration of another motivation for going public. At the time of its incorporation in November 1999, TRX attempted to go public but in the ensuing dot-com collapse, the IPO was never completed. In response to the failed IPO, TRX president and CEO, Trip Davis, turned to strategic investors to raise $20 million in a note convertible into equity at $11 per share. Although Davis had hoped the strategic investors would provide guidance and business opportunities for TRX, they never materialized. By 2004, he had come to believe that the largest strategic investor, Sabre, Inc. was not working in TRX's best interest. Thus, the IPO is motivated by a twofold purpose: to raise money and to provide for a strategic reorganization of the firm's ownership structure.

The president of Industrial Accessories Ltd. (IAL) was preparing for a meeting to consider a management buyout of IAL. IAL was a privately owned maker of attachments for construction vehicles based in British Columbia, Canada. IAL was founded in 1970 by Gerald Stone, now chairman and CEO of IAL. Stone had decided to sell IAL because of health problems. Because he had no suitable heirs to take on leadership of the company, the president and three other senior managers were considering a buyout strategy. Students must size up the acquisition, a place value on the company and propose a financing plan for the acquisition.

Senior executives at American Express are reviewing the company's marketing strategy for charge and credit cards in the United States. A variety of growth options exists for students to consider including further penetration of existing markets and the opening of new markets. Historical background information in the case enables instructors to analyze the phases of American Express's card strategy over the past fifty years.

UPS had become a global public company, with a market cap of $74 billion, more than 428,000 employees, $47 billion in revenue, and operations in more than 200 countries. A recognized leader among package-delivery companies, its growth had been above industry averages and had historically been through geographical expansion. In 1998, UPS changed its business model to Synchronized Commerce and adopted a new growth strategy called the Four Quadrant Model, hoping to expand its market space by transforming itself into a logistics-solutions company. But eight years after these changes, UPS was generating only 17% of its revenue from its nonpackage deliveries, with only $2 million of its operating profit coming from the new businesses. In the company's 2006 Annual Report, the UPS chairman and CEO acknowledged the disappointing results and realized that these results required a response to the public market.

Technical stock analysis uses past prices and trading volume or both to predict future prices. A broad range of techniques such as chart analysis, moving averages, and other filters and oscillators can be used to identify predictable patterns in stock prices. The conventional wisdom is that stock-price patterns emerge from systematic psychological behavior of market participants. This note provides an overview of some common analytical tools for identifying trading opportunities.

This note provides a brief overview of the consumer benefit ladder (CBL) technique, a tool used to uncover why consumers buy particular products or services. CBLs are similar to means-end chains, hierarchical value maps, and so forth.

This case describes work-life programmes (WLPs) implemented by the management of Changi General Hospital (CGH) in Singapore since the late 1990s to 2005. Its Director of Human Resource, Yap Bee Cheng (Yap), hoped that flexible work options, support for staff and their family, and programmes for staff's physical, social and emotional well-being would make CGH a preferred employer. Yap learnt from Ivy Tai (Tai), Manager of Human Resource Management Department that WLPs had contributed to overall improvement of key performance indicators (KPIs) of the hospital from 2003 to 2005. However, she noticed that the attrition rate of the Operating Theatre (OT) Department was slightly higher than CGH's average. Further, absenteeism in the OT Department had remained higher than the organisation. Operating in a tight labour market for such skills, Yap and Tai wondered on ways to improve KPIs of the OT Department as they faced a new external environment for the healthcare sector.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (Dr. Reddy's), a large pharmaceutical company in India, is trying to acquire the fourth largest generics manufacturer in Germany. Dr. Reddy's quoted $570 million in a competitive bidding situation. The company's chief negotiator is getting ready to close the deal if selected. Students will examine the issues for the chief negotiator, such as: is the price right, is the fit strategic, will the acquisition add value, how can the synergies be fully exploited and how should management proceed with the integration. The (A) case is positioned just before the acquisition and hints at the possible risks. The supplement case, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (B), product #908M65, is positioned two years post-acquisition and examines a major risk which, as it unfolded, brought the viability of the business model into question.