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The case describes a large and complex IT integration project, after the acquisition of one metals mining company by another. As part of the integration, 40,000 PCs, applications, and the network had to be consolidated into one system. The project lasted two years and involved 1,000 people across the organization.

The case describes a large and complex IT integration project, after the acquisition of one metals mining company by another. As part of the integration, 40,000 PCs, applications, and the network had to be consolidated into one system. The project lasted two years and involved 1,000 people across the organization.

This case describes the experiences of an HBS student as he takes on the challege of transitioning from an intern to a president at a small consumer packaged goods firm in Southern Texas. This HBS student is confronted with the opportunity to perform an operational and financial turnaround at the company within one year. Over his short tenure, he is forced to deal with several critical immediate issues that include product line shutdowns, immediate measurement systems, and executive team building.

Mr. Young Hwi Choi, president and CEO of Shinhan Financial Group, embarked on an unconventional post-merger integration strategy with recently acquired Chohung Bank. The strategy focused on integrating traditional operations while attending to employees' reactions to change, especially the unionized workers at Chohung, an older bank that had recently fallen into decline, compared with the success of younger, more entrepreneurial Shinhan Bank. Once complete, the new bank would make Shinhan Financial Group the second largest bank in South Korea. Managing change involved a period called "dual bank" in which Shinhan and Chohung operated in parallel while undergoing an "emotional integration."

In 2002, a handful of entrepreneurs began to ship drugs from Canada into the United States, taking advantage of regulatory and price differentials across the neighboring countries. Using the Internet and a low-cost network of Canadian pharmacies, firms like Rx Depot allowed U.S. customers to order their prescription medications in the United States, purchase them at a substantial discount from prevailing U.S. prices, and deliver the medications directly to their homes. It was a powerful business model that made Rx Depot a prominent player. In November 2003, however, a U.S. court decreed that Rx Depot violated federal law. The company was forced to close, but its founder, Carl Moore, announced that he was ready to fight. Did Rx Depot simply breech U.S. laws of intellectual property? Or did its actions suggest that the laws were ready for change?

Students in a technology transfer class identify a promising application for a dormant university technology. In the process, they alienate the inventor, who threatens legal action. What exactly are the problems, and how should the professor teaching the class proceed?

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Jay Nielson has done charity work in India with AKKA International for a number of years. After a recent trip, the president of AKKA proposed that Nielson enter into a joint venture with AKKA to provide information technology outsourcing services to American companies. AKKA was willing to provide $100,000 in seed money to fund the venture. Nielson must decide whether he wants to undertake this challenge and what it would take to make it work. This also poses an ethical dilemma for him: Should he risk losing the much-needed funds in the hope of bettering a number of lives or request the seed money be used to provide direct services to the most needy?

In July 2001, eight months after the release of Intel's Pentium 4 processor, sales of the new product had not met expectations. This was due in large part to significant downturns in world markets following record microprocessor demand in 1999 and early 2000. At the same time, Pentium III processor sales had not declined as rapidly as expected; in fact, production of desktop Pentium III processors was accelerated in the second quarter of 2001 to meet demand. Intel was faced with critical decisions about how to turn the tide to make the continuing transition to the Pentium 4 processor a success.

Details the challenges facing OuterBay in pursuing an OEM deal with a very large and well-established technology company, EMC. Describes both companies' businesses, the history of their relationship, and the initial discussion surrounding an OEM deal. Looks at the particular issues that surfaced in the ensuing negotiation, including revenue sharing, term limits, exclusivity, and account control. Negotiations dragged on over several months, with the two companies exchanging 14 versions of the letter of intent. OuterBay's CEO, Michael Howard, wonders whether the deal will make or break the company.

In July 2004, Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of Greater London, had to decide whether or not to expand the system of congestion charging he had implemented 17 months earlier. Skeptics had predicted fierce popular opposition or chaos from the original scheme, which required that cars and trucks pay a charge of £5 (US$7.95) to enter an 8-square-mile area of Central London between the hours of 7:00 am and 6:30 pm, Monday through Friday. The critics were confounded, however, when the £5 charge resulted in a substantial reduction in Central London congestion and the payment and enforcement mechanisms proved to be remarkably convenient and fair. The Mayor's proposal to extend the £5 charge to a congested area immediately to the west seemed risky, however, since the technical and political problems of charging might grow disproportionately with the size of the charging zone. HKS Case Number 1788.0

In July 2004, Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of Greater London, had to decide whether or not to expand the system of congestion charging he had implemented 17 months earlier. Skeptics had predicted fierce popular opposition or chaos from the original scheme, which required that cars and trucks pay a charge of £5 (US$7.95) to enter an 8-square-mile area of Central London between the hours of 7:00 am and 6:30 pm, Monday through Friday. The critics were confounded, however, when the £5 charge resulted in a substantial reduction in Central London congestion and the payment and enforcement mechanisms proved to be remarkably convenient and fair. The Mayor's proposal to extend the £5 charge to a congested area immediately to the west seemed risky, however, since the technical and political problems of charging might grow disproportionately with the size of the charging zone. HKS Case Number 1788.0

In 1990, President Alberto Fujimori swept to power in Peru on a wave of public enthusiasm for his promised reforms. Indeed, over the next five years Fujimori accomplished something of an economic turnaround miracle. He also vanquished a homegrown terrorist movement and proved a willing partner in the war against drugs. The international community, including the US, admired and supported him. By Fujimori's side stood a shadowy figure, Vladimiro Montesinos. Never appointed to any official office, Montesinos nonetheless became the virtual head of the intelligence service, and he exercised unique influence over Fujimori. His reputation was as Mr. Fix-it: he could get anything done. Both Fujimori and the US (he had a relationship with the CIA) benefited from his services. With Montesinos' behind-the-scenes assistance, Fujimori's government became ever more authoritarian, extending executive influence over the judiciary, the military and the legislature. But in September 2000, the reason for Montesinos' remarkable effectiveness was dramatically exposed with the television airing of a videotape in which he bribed an opposition congressman. As the story unfolded, Montesinos was revealed as the mastermind of a sophisticated network of corruption which reached into most sectors of society: the legislature, judiciary, media, military and industry. Working with the primary evidence of the videotapes, this case paints a rarely glimpsed picture of corruption in action. It describes Montesinos' rise to power, and the mechanics and protocols of bribery and fraud. HKS Case Number 1722.0

This study of Banco Comercial Português ("BCP") raises broad issues relating to strategy by growth and acquisition and how market leadership can best be created and extended at home or abroad. The authors trace the history of the bank from a much-admired startup to becoming the largest publicly listed Portuguese financial institution and an up-and-coming player in other European retail banking markets.

This study of Banco Comercial Português ("BCP") raises broad issues relating to strategy by growth and acquisition and how market leadership can best be created and extended at home or abroad. The authors trace the history of the bank from a much-admired startup to becoming the largest publicly listed Portuguese financial institution and an up-and-coming player in other European retail banking markets.

In industries characterized by very large capital investment and fast-moving technological dynamics, cyclical behavior emerges as the setting in which firms have to strategize. The barriers to entry in such settings are extremely high, but they can be breached--as shown in the flat panel display industry, which has seen successive entries by Japanese, then Korean, then Taiwanese firms during the past decade. In its short history, this industry has already exhibited four cycles (the "crystal cycle") and a fifth downturn is now looming. However, the striking feature of the industry is that firms have successfully entered only during industry downturns, engaging in counter-cyclical investment; not a single firm has entered during an upturn. This provides the starting point for a strategic analysis of this fast-growing industry, conducted through a dynamic framework that complements the "competitive forces" framework introduced in a static setting by Michael Porter over two decades ago. It is critical to draw on both dynamic and static frameworks to comprehend fully the strategic options open to firms.

Analyzes the multiple innovation trajectories and changes in competitive strategy in Singapore as it evolves from an industrial economy to a knowledge-based one. In addition to the existing national innovation system in the well-heeled industrial manufacturing sectors such as electronics, chemicals, and precision engineering, a new mode of innovation has been evolving in the research-intensive biomedical industries cluster, which emphasizes a special role for the academic sector in the innovation milieu. Biotech investments at the moment appear to pose high risks due to the rather amorphous and unclear market signals coming out of the industry. However, as technologies become more speculative, governments need to spread their bets more widely to encourage more possibilities. The challenges and opportunities Singapore faces are relevant to other states seeking to adopt new policies for gaining competitiveness and national comparative advantage in an era of globalization.

Real options can be a powerful tool for quantifying the value of strategic and operational flexibility associated with uncertain IT investments. However, they also constitute a new way of thinking about how projects can be organized and managed to maximize upside potential while minimizing downside risk. Explains how practitioners can incorporate options thinking into contemporary IT project management. Options thinking means recognizing real options and how they add value. Just as important is managing projects so that the option value that exists in theory is realized in practice. Several real-world examples illustrate how the value of embedded real options can be realized through active project management. There are pitfalls associated with each option, as well as benefits and limitations of different approaches to valuing options. Organizations must decide whether to undertake the challenges of adopting options thinking as a project management philosophy.

Like many technology organizations in the late 1990s, Cisco was booming. It grew so quickly, in fact, that it was bringing in up to 1,000 new employees each month. Cisco's solution was to acquire talent by buying small firms, topping out in one year with 24 separate acquisitions. However, in 2000, the dot-com bubble burst and Cisco quickly realized that it had another human capital challenge on its hands: how to develop, rather than hire, the strategic thinkers and leaders needed for the future. Explores the challenges facing Mary Eckenrod, Cisco's vice-president of worldwide talent, in developing a new human capital strategy to identify and develop leaders from within the company--and to do this in a company with no tradition of developing people internally. How can Cisco move from a "buy" to a "make" human capital strategy?

Describes how to use the Data Desk software package to perform statistical analysis.