個案總覽

Presents the systems approach to law and management, a construct for understanding how public law affects the competitive environment and a firm's resources. Describes how the legally astute manager can use legal tools to assess opportunities, develop the firm's value proposition, and select and perform the activities in the value chain. Also, explains the social context in which business operates.

Howard Atkins, the chief financial officer of Wells Fargo, is considering issuing $3 billion in convertible debt. With an investment-grade credit rating, Wells Fargo is not the typical issuer of convertible securities, but the market conditions in 2003 are unusual. Strong demand from both convertible arbitrage hedge funds and income mutual funds appears to create an opportunity for Wells Fargo to raise capital at a low cost.

In 2004, Adrian Pandal is seeking financing for a residential conversion of a building in Mexico City's historic center district. He must convince potential lenders that the project is viable and that it makes sense to bet on the future potential of an area that, until recently, has not attracted substantial real estate investment.

Five years after the launch of the Frederick Douglass Charter School, the school's performance is under review by the state board of education as part of a decision about whether to renew the school's charter for a school as well as the implications of a state-administered accountability system based on student achievement data.

How do you go to market with a brand new product in a new industry? How does a business develop an opportunity and then adapt its strategy to ensure success? Who are the early adopters and how does a business work with them? Katherine Hays, chief operating office at Massive Inc., faced several options for guiding the development and launch of the Massive Ad Network. Massive had recognized that young males, ages 18 to 34, were becoming increasingly hard to reach through traditional means of advertising yet, at the same time, video game usage by this highly coveted market segment had skyrocketed and online game advertising provided a valuable revenue opportunity. To capitalize on the situation, Massive had built a product that enabled the dynamic delivery of advertising content into video games. Although the concept was simple, successful adoption of the new advertising medium required the enthusiastic buy-in from three distinct audiences: game publishers and developers, advertisers and their media buyer, and gamers. To be successful, Massive needed to continue to ask questions, experiment, and listen to each of these constituencies.

This technical note describes the process of hypothesis-driven thinking, using examples from strategy consulting, medicine, and architecture. Associated with the scientific method, hypothesis-driven thinking focuses on the creative generation of alternative hypotheses and on their subsequent validation or refutation through the use of data. Hypothesis generation asks the creative question, "What if ...?" Hypothesis testing follows with "If ..., then ..." and brings relevant data to bear on the analysis. Taken together, and repeated over time, this sequence allows us to pose ever-improving hypotheses without forfeiting the ability to explore new ideas.

Technically, the Three-Paned Model helps us understand the determinants of interest rates in general but tells us nothing about any particular interest rate. The vagueness of the Three-Paned Model is useful when first learning international macroeconomics, but is untenable as we move toward a more complete understanding of interest rates. This technical note is much more precise about real and nominal interest rates, providing a more complete IS/LM model as a driver of general movements in interest rates, presenting a supply and demand model for bonds that further enhances our understanding of interest rate movements, and discussing the yield curve, which informs us about the relationship between similar bonds of different maturities.

A significant part of the long-term economic growth in developed economies depends on the translation of scientific research into new products and processes. Focuses on the front end of this value creation stream. The laboratory of George Whitesides has a 30-year history of outstanding chemistry research as reflected by the quality and quantity of journal papers, paper citations, successful graduates, breakthrough ideas and concepts, and new companies. Details the research philosophy and processes for selecting research problems and forming teams. Whitesides guides students to choose challenging research topics rather than safe, incremental research, and problems that require interdisciplinary teams. Allows discussion of: the principles for operating a creative and productive lab; the role of the leader in creating the infrastructure and systems for discovery and learning; the issues of resource allocation and the appurtenant wasted effort as researchers seek academic research support; and the scale and scope limits for highly successful labs. Also discusses applying the Whitesides lab principles and processes to nonscience organizations and teams.

The head of Manchester Bidwell Corp. ponders what it will take to replicate its social services in 100 cities across North America and internationally--an effort that ultimately would cost several hundred million dollars.

Supplements the (A) case.

Theatre Calgary was a non-profit performing arts organization in Calgary, Canada. In its 2002/03 season, it faced a financial crisis that nearly ended in bankruptcy. It survived the crisis and made many changes to its budgeting and control systems to solve some of the deficiencies that had led to the financial difficulties. As the president prepares for a board meeting, the board of directors want to know if the current budgeting and control systems will ensure long-term stability. This case details Theatre Calgary's budgeting system and paints an accurate picture of the organization, and provides students the opportunity to recommend changes to control systems.

An abstract is not available for this product.

The first in a three-part series on Competitive Cost Analysis, this note provides an introduction to cost drivers and a conceptual framework for thinking about the different types. It also provides some general guidance on developing cost models.

Describes the four components of legal astuteness: the attitudes, proactive approach, judgment, and knowledge necessary to manage the legal aspects of business effectively. Identifies a number of legal tools legally astute managers can use during different phases of business development to create and capture value and manage risk.

A well-performing Chinese manufacturer faces major impediments raising funding to grow. Highlights various imperfections that shape the financing decision.

In June 2005, Koldo Saratxaga, the leader of Basque-based luxury coach manufacturer Irizar, decided to leave after 14 years at the helm of the worker-owned cooperative. Under Saratxaga's stewardship, Irizar was saved from near bankruptcy in 1991 and has become a highly profitable industry leader with a 23.9% compound annual growth rate since 1991. The company opened a number of manufacturing sites as far-reaching as Mexico, Morocco, India, Brazil, China, and South Africa. Irizar calls itself "a project based on people" and has realized its success through a business model characterized by a narrow product focus, strict quality adherence, an empowered workforce, and a truly customer-centric organization. Irizar's model is completely different from that of most other coach manufacturing firms given the absence of unions, departments, and hierarchy. All activities are carried out by self-managed teams (teams, for example, are responsible for setting their own work schedules and objectives). Although Irizar's model has worked fantastically well for over 14 years (since Sarataga's arrival), the question now is: Will the company continue to thrive without Saratxaga? Or is Irizar's success due to Saratxaga's leadership?

This technical note discusses risk and term premiums, prominent theories of the yield curve, and how to construct a yield curve.

Low birth rates, longevity, family disintegration, and other factors have reduced the size of the average household. At the same time household size is shrinking, new housing offers twice the floor space per occupant of old housing. Small households are inefficient users of space, utilities, furniture, and equipment. As these factors converge, the result is overconsumption of durables and vast stockpiles of possessions just awaiting disposal when the baby boom generation passes on. The rightful heirs to these possessions are themselves accumulators and will most likely have little use for what is left to them. What does the future hold for consumption, savings, and demand for housing? Booming flea markets, bigger homes as warehouses, a decline in consumption, or an epidemic of display and collection? Public policies have limited leverage on private behavior.

Despite increased concerns about security, most government, private, and public information systems remain vulnerable to terrorist and hacker attacks. To examine this potentially catastrophic problem, the authors study another infamous, expensive failing in information systems: the year 2000 (Y2K) problem. They argue that many of the same drivers of the Y2K problem now impede the security of information systems and identify groupthink as a root cause of the continuing inability of organizations and IS (information systems) teams to learn from past mistakes in managing information systems. They also identify measures to help organizational team leaders and members prevent future IS-related threats.

Strategic risk management is an increasing concern for both boards and senior executives. Many recent business failures are due to senior level misjudgment and mismanagement of risk, the consequences of which can range from embarrassment to serious setback to bankruptcy. Ineffective risk management puts otherwise strong business models in jeopardy. Presents CLASS (Culture, Leadership, Alignment, Systems, and Structure), an integrated, five-element model of corporate governance. Identifies how attending to the elements in this framework supports development of an integrated and robust approach to corporate risk and helps senior executives anticipate and handle the complexities of risk inherent in meeting strategic objectives.