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The focus of this case is on the policy alternative choices for preventing boom-and-bust behavior in the Northern Forest sawmill industry. A simulation analysis is also accessible for faculty to use to demonstrate the results of various policy alternatives. Landowners, sawmill owners, government officials, and environmentalists do not want sawmill demand to "overshoot" the productive capacity of the forest resources, a problem that the region had experienced approximately a century earlier. Students use systems-thinking skills (analysis of reference modes of behaviors, causal-loop mapping, and stock-flow mapping) to create their casual hypotheses of the underlying-systems structure. The case is based on the article, "Resource Sustainability in Commodity Market Systems," System Dynamics Review Summer 2002.

Spreadsheet supplement for 901E09.

Spreadsheet supplement for 901E09.

The CEO of Amtelecom Group Inc. (AGI) must make a recommendation to the board of directors regarding the best way to sell its Amtelecom Communications subsidiary. AGI owns and operates ICS Courier, a national fixed-route courier business, and Amtelecom Communications, a regional telecommunications, cable television, and Internet business. Amtelecom Communication's capital requirements are not being satisfied because cash is being diverted to ICS Courier to cover its losses. In addition, AGI's stock has been performing poorly. To alleviate these problems, the board has decided to sell off Amtelecom Communications. The three sales alternatives being considered are: selling to a strategic buyer, IPO via a common share offering, and IPO via an income trust offering.

In April 2004, Google announced that it was launching its long-awaited IPO. Looks at the unconventional auction format of the IPO of the world's most popular search engine, the role of investment banks in the IPO process, and the implications for corporate governance and stock valuation of a dual-class share structure.

The three founders of a London-based, start-up smoothie company must decide between three growth options: expansion of the existing product line into Europe, extension of the brand into other product categories, or continued organic growth within the United Kingdom.

Supplements the (A) case.

An executive wonders if it is possible to increase profits by changing the mix of products at a shipyard. The yard currently operates below the breakeven point, so must achieve profitability or default on loan payments.

The Bonita Bay Marina, founded 20 years ago by the Bonita Bay Group, established a reputation of high-quality service delivery. According to the marina's manager, customers' high regard for their services was due to the organization's adherence to a well-defined customer service philosophy known as the E5 Customer Service Philosophy. The manager must decide whether the benefits of pursuing a Clean Marina certification program would bolster the level of service quality and, ultimately, the reputation of Bonita Bay Group in the marketplace. Further evaluation of the current customer service program is needed to determine whether the clean marina certification would complement the existing E5 Customer Service Philosophy and create synergies that would enhance customer perceptions of their services as well as contribute to profit margins for years to come.

This case details the history of Southwest Airlines from its inception, in 1971, until 2004. The case provides details of Southwest's business model and reasons for success. It ends with a description of the company's competitive pressures in 2004. The case can be used for a course in service operations or strategy.

This case outlines the history of JetBlue Airways from its inception, in 2000, until 2004. The case provides details of JetBlue's business model and reasons for success. It can be used in a course on service operations or strategy.

This case presents a firsthand account of a flying experience on JetBlue Airways in June 2004. The narrative reports on the cross-country flying experience of one passenger.

In June 2004, members of the Material Flow Committee at Stanford Hospital and Clinics were faced with the challenge of implementing important process improvements in the operating room. Though notable progress had been made in the recent past, complaints from surgeons, nurses, and technicians regarding the availability of surgical instrumentation had reached an all-time high. Finding a solution was urgent, but opinions varied widely regarding the best course of action. Some individuals believed that instrumentation sterilization and processing should be adopted as a core competency (and made central to employee training and compensation). Others felt the hospital should invest in additional instruments and information technology to improve efficiencies. A third faction believed that instrumentation issues resulted, in large part, from low morale and a lack of cross-functional camaraderie and teamwork within the operating room. A decision had to be made to devote Stanford's limited time and resources to the solution that would have the greatest, most immediate impact on its operating room effectiveness.

The founder and CEO of a CRM software start-up must decide between an attractive acquisition offer and the opportunity to go public. Discusses the growth of the company--including a lengthy discussion of entrepreneurial bootstrapping--as well as an aborted IPO attempt in 2000. The central question is whether the company will create more value by staying independent or by joining a larger organization.

Explores how IBM incorporated diversity into its business strategy, making the case that workforce diversity is critical to marketing its products and services to its customers. In the early 1990s, Ted Childs, vice-president of Workforce Diversity, proposed to CEO Lou Gerstner the creation of eight diversity task forces. Delves into the organizational and cultural impediments to starting a diversity task force initiative and how IBM overcame these obstacles to implement an effective diversity strategy. After the task forces were established, they underwent tremendous growth and became global in scope. Childs also faces the challenge of taking a U.S.-based diversity strategy and applying it to IBM's global organization. Teaching Purpose: To demonstrate how a company can implement an effective diversity strategy and integrate it into its overall business strategy.

Explores fiduciary duty issues that arose in litigation among partners in the partnership that owned and controlled the Mall of America. Describes the complex real estate transaction in which one partner attempted to purchase an additional interest in the mall from a nonpartner financing entity and the litigation that ensued.

Supplements the (A) case.

In June 2001, the men's wrestling program at Marquette University was terminated, despite the fact that the program had been operating for several years with privately raised funding. Bucknell University discontinued its wresting program the same year. An important factor in the termination of these programs was Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which required that "no person...on the basis of sex...be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Title IX was primarily intended to help women overcome discrimination in academic programs, but it also applied to athletics. Marquette and Bucknell sued the U.S. Department of Education to eliminate what they viewed as the unintended consequences of Title IX implementation in reducing opportunities for men. Describes Title IX, its implementation, and controversial issues faced by institutions attempting to meet the objectives of the law.

In 1993 there was a major realignment of college football conferences, as three schools left the Big East Conference to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, leading to a wave of changes as the Big East moved to replace the departing schools. The University of Notre Dame was the nation's premier independent intercollegiate football program, unaffiliated with any conference. Notre Dame periodically had considered joining a conference, and had done so for its non-football sports, but had remained independent for football. Independence brought considerable financial benefits, primarily in the form of a lucrative television contract, but also caused difficulties. With the conference landscape changing, the school reconsidered its future, and the possible benefits of joining a conference. Describes the intercollegiate conference system and the related economic issues.

The case describes how Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. grew under the visionary leadership of Barry Sternlicht, its founder and CEO. It documents how Sternlicht acquired, financed and integrated two leading hotel brands - Westin and ITT Sheraton to become a globally diversified leading hotel chain. The company's newly appointed president of Asia Pacific was given the goal of boosting the share of operating profit from 10 to 25 percent by 2007.