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Presents profiles written by six members of the HBS Class of 1976 from the 10th and 20th reunions. The six alumni represent a cross section of the class of 1976 and provide a snapshot of life at the time of the reunions.

This case series presents profiles written by six members of the HBS Class of 1976 from the 10th and 20th reunions. The six alumni represent a cross section of the class of 1976 and provide a snapshot of life at the time of the reunions. "Profiles of the Class of 1976" is to be used with case supplements: 403081, 403082, 403083, 403084, 403085, and 403086.

Collectively owned township and village enterprises (TVEs) played a pivotal role in China's rapid growth during the 1980s and 1990s. Although they originated in the policies and institutions of the Maoist era, TVEs thrived only after Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms redistributed property rights, taxing powers, and responsibility for the provision of public goods. These reforms made local governments dependent on their TVEs for tax revenues and gave party cadres powerful incentives to promote economic growth. Local officials often helped TVEs under their jurisdiction to gain access to technologies, capital, and production permits. Instead of rapidly privatizing its state-owned enterprises (SOEs), China gradually liberalized aspects of its economy in a controlled manner, often establishing a "market track" alongside its planned system. As the SOEs' share of output and employment shrank, that of the TVEs dramatically increased. By the mid- to late 1990s, TVEs accounted for nearly 40% of China's industrial output and had created about 100 million jobs. Nevertheless, party officials questioned whether the TVEs were a viable form of organization for an economy with ever-larger firms, more complex products and production processes, and the need for more capital and more skilled managers.

On August 21, 2001, Keane, Inc. announced the acquisition of Metro Information Services, Inc. This case analyzes the challenges facing firms and examines transactions whose major source of value creation hinges on intangible assets (e.g., people or knowledge).

Describes the alliance between a private businessman in Chile and a municipality to manage the local public education system. Describes the institution of a performance-based culture, including the use of management tools to align visions and incentives among key stakeholders.

ApproTEC markets a range of technologies to improve the income of subsistence farmers and other small-scale entrepreneurs in East Africa. Having achieved considerable success in its first eight years, the two founders/entrepreneurs are seeking ways to scale the impact of its operations across Eastern and Southern Africa. The question is, what should they do to accomplish this? Includes color exhibits.

Describes the economic integration efforts of the Central American countries in the late 1990s.

Describes three stages in Intel's history: the initial success and then collapse in DRAMs and EPROMs, its transition to and dominance in microprocessors, and its move to become the main supplier of the building blocks for the Internet economy. Allows a rich discussion of industry structure and transformation in DRAMs and microprocessors, creation of competitive advantage and value capture, and sustainability.

Describes the evolution of Amazon.com and its business model since its founding. Specifically, discusses Amazon's transformation from an e-Tailer to a commerce platform and its marketplace initiative, which has driven this. Also describes the economics of various commerce models that Amazon employs and discusses a decision confronting Jeff Bezos regarding how the company should participate in the apparel segment.

This case follows the performance review and financial-statement-forecasting decisions of a Value Line analyst for the retail building-supply industry in October 2002. The case contrasts the strong operating performance of Home Depot with the strong stock-market performance of Lowe's. Students examine a financial ratio analysis for Home Depot that acts as a template to generate a comparable ratio analysis for Lowe's. The student ratio analysis is designed to build intuition with respect to interpreting individual ratios as well as ratio interrelationships (e.g., the DuPont framework). The historical-performance comparison suggests that investors are skeptical of the ability of Home Depot to maintain its performance trajectory, yet they project sustained improvements for Lowe's. Students are invited to scrutinize the analyst's five-year income-statement and asset-side balance sheet forecast for Home Depot. The case expressly focuses on the asset side of the balance sheet as a preview for other cases using free-cash-flow forecasting. The Home Depot forecast exercise exposes students to the mechanics of financial-statement modeling and sensitivity analysis, which they can use in building their own forecast for Lowe's. Finally, the strong-growth assumptions for Home Depot relative to the modest-growth forecast for the industry suggest that the company can be expected to capture massive and perhaps unreasonable market share in the near term. The exercise provides a striking example of the importance of comparing bottom-up business forecasting with top-down industry forecasts.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 703-427.

In December 1998, Ron Wilson, chief executive of Mobil Oil Indonesia (MOI), considered how he should respond to allegations made by a group of nongovernmental organizations that Mobil had been complicit in serious human rights abuses in Aceh, Indonesia. MOI, established in 1968, was a joint venture between Mobil and the Indonesian oil company Pertamina. Based in Lhokseumawe, MOI was responsible for setting and managing the terms of the various contracts with Pertamina and the Indonesian government and for establishing and managing the exploration and exploitation operations. As a location, Aceh was far from convenient. But could any of the team at Mobil have imagined just how challenging managing operations in Aceh would be?

In December 1998, Ron Wilson, chief executive of Mobil Oil Indonesia (MOI), considered how he should respond to allegations made by a group of nongovernmental organizations that Mobil had been complicit in serious human rights abuses in Aceh, Indonesia. MOI, established in 1968, was a joint venture between Mobil and the Indonesian oil company Pertamina. Based in Lhokseumawe, MOI was responsible for setting and managing the terms of the various contracts with Pertamina and the Indonesian government and for establishing and managing the exploration and exploitation operations. As a location, Aceh was far from convenient. But could any of the team at Mobil have imagined just how challenging managing operations in Aceh would be?

Circles, a corporate concierge company on the verge of profitability, must make a decision whether to take a D-round venture capital despite ever-changing and ever-worsening terms. A four-year-old company with several major clients, it has met its business plan projections and finds itself only a month or two away from profitability. Co-founder Janet Kraus works with her board and management team to consider alternatives to taking venture capital money. Together, they weigh the pros and cons of different types of funding and growth strategies and, ultimately, they must decide which path to pursue.

Describes the 1990s consolidation on the newsprint industry. Questions whether consolidation will ever deliver on its promise. Whereas some industry observers maintain that the effects of consolidation are already visible, others argue that further consolidation is necessary. Others, however, claim that because newsprint is a commodity and firms compete on the basis of price, consolidation will not restore industry profitability. Data to build individual firm and industry supply curves for 2001 is available upon further request. Illustrates the transition from a perfectly competitive industry (demand and supply) to oligopolistic competition (Porter's five forces). To obtain further exhibits, please contact HBSP customer service for more information.

On May 30, 2000, Calvin Klein, Inc. (CKI) filed suit against Warnaco Group, Inc. and Linda Wachner, its CEO, for breaching its jeanswear licensing and distribution contract and, in so doing, diluting the equity of its brand. On June 26, 2000, Warnaco countered with its own suit, denying the major allegation of trademark dilution and justifying distribution through warehouse clubs as acceptable business practice. The countersuit further claimed that CKI had, in fact, breached the license and eroded the brand through its own strategies and practices. The lawsuits were precedent setting: This was the first time a licensed manufacturer/distributor had been charged with brand equity dilution or a designer held accountable for ineffective brand advertising. It was a case that would potentially rewrite the rules of fashion licensing and distribution, and bring into the limelight the tensions faced by every brand steward attempting to balance revenue growth goals with preservation of the equity of the brand. This case presents extensive background facts.

In just a few years the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) made impressive progress toward its mission of promoting "environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests." By 2001, 25.5 million hectares of forests in 66 countries had been certified as meeting FSC's standards for sustainable forestry. With members in 59 countries, the FSC had managed to bring forestry's mainstream close to its viewpoint, with 80% of the industry recognizing the need for third-party certification. However, by mid-2002, the formula that had brought success to the organization as a small start-up was proving inadequate to sustain the healthy growth of a global, mature, multistakeholder organization. Its management and staff were finding themselves lacking critical skills to take the organization to the next level. Some of its governing structures were paralyzing it. Serious imbalances between supply and demand of certified wood were threatening to break the organization. Moreover, competing certification schemes backed by powerful business groups were moving swiftly to capitalize on those imbalances and displace FSC as the global standard of choice for certification. Finally, the organization also suffered from a chronic financial weakness. In that context, Heiko Liedeker, FSC's executive director, is compelled to rethink the organization.

Supplements Charles Schwab in 2002.

Develops a cultural framework for thinking about what a brand is and how firms shape their brands through their marketing activities. Four dimensions of the brand are described: economic, social, psychological, and symbolic.

Part science, part art, decision making is one of an executive's primary accountabilities. A firm's success or failure relies heavily on the quality of the decisions its top managers make. Judging from these conversations and interviews with senior execs in high-tech companies, the decision-making process is, on average, noticeably more egalitarian than in traditional, hierarchical companies. In manufacturing operations, technical specifications drive the process; in service firms, customer behavior does. But in the high-tech world, the process is based on a group-aided or participative style, with a high tolerance for employee error.