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The largest hospital system in Wisconsin is trying to respond to new threats from nontraditional care providers. This case presents the hospital's dilemma as it tries to create change from within.

The case deals with the concepts relating to finalization of accounts using basic data on transactions. It is expected that income statement, balance sheet and adjusting will be passed with the help of information given within the case.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 102021.

The purpose of this note is to prepare the student for a series of exercises in making marketing economics calculations. These calculations are not replacements for spreadsheets or more detailed economic calculations such as net present value or return on investment. They are "back of the envelope" estimates that can easily be communicated to others to buttress arguments about what a company should or should not do in a decision situation.

Examines the founding and early development of an Indian venture capital firm. Focuses on the opportunity in the Indian high-technology sector, how the founders have adapted the U.S. venture capital model to an emerging market context, and the organizational challenges of early success.

In early 1999, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., had to determine the appropriate U.S. launch strategy for the next-generation video game player, Sony PlayStation2. Despite the success of the original PlayStation1, new competitors and an uncertain consumer environment make the launch difficult. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

The senior management team of Dakota, an office products distributor, is concerned about the company's first loss in history. Explores the role for activity based costing and customer profitability measurement in a distribution company. Dakota's customers are increasingly demanding more specialized services, such as desktop delivery. Also, whereas some customers have switched to electronic ordering, others continue to place their orders manually. Pricing is based on a fixed markup of the cost of the purchased item. The managers feel that the fixed markup may not be compensating them for the higher costs of manual order processing and desktop delivery. The financial manager initiates an effort to estimate the costs of handling the different types of orders so that she can estimate the profitability of individual customers based on their actual order pattern.

Describes the execution of a new economy merger. Officenet, a bricks-and-clicks retailer of office supplies, is sold to an Internet pure-play, Submarino.com. Officenet's founders are in Brazil, where the company recently expanded its operations, and must consider several questions about the company's growth plans and financial position.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 902401

This case presents the situation of an unemployed web page designer who starts a new consulting firm with personal savings and a family loan. Two months later, she is to report on operations to her father, using financial reports she must design and construct.

Describes an initiative by Guinness, LLP to revise the process by which it centrally authorizes, supports, and reviews negotiations that are undertaken worldwide on its behalf. Senior managers wished to give regional officers enough discretion to respond to local conditions while still maintaining centralized control and coordination. Includes detailed descriptions of two such negotiations, one involving the dissolution of a partnership, the other a possible acquisition.

In the wake of the fraud conspiracy convictions of its former executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, the name Enron will likely long be synonymous with corporate corruption. But how did it rise, to the point of being the sixth highest-value US orporation, before its precipitous 2001 fall? This case provides a glimpse of a key element of Enron in action, as well as illuminating the complex process of foreign direct investment in a developing economy. The case focuses specifically on the Enron Development Corporation, that arm of the complex web of Enron subsidiaries which sought to build and operate power facilities around the world, including Argentina, Guatemala, the Philippines, Colombia and China. HKS Case Number 1618.1

Logitech International was a leading maker of mice and other devices for controlling computers, including PC cameras. In 1998, the new CEO learned that the Quickcam business unit of Connectix was for sale, an offer the founders had rejected because the technology was not as good as Logitech's internally developed Web camera, and purchasing an inferior product was not seen as an advantage. The CEO thought that reassessing this acquisition was a good way to examine Logitech's business and organizational model, and the strategic opportunities facing the company. Logitech was an OEM-focused and engineering-dominated company, with power centered in the business units, which developed the technology and developed the retail strategy for the products, and it faced serious competition in the branded retail market. The new CEO wondered whether the brand recognition associated with the QuickCam could be used to Logitech's advantage. The case details for discussion the strategic significance that the rights to an established brand would have on the market position and organizational structure of Logitech.

Case A: Presents three strategic options considered by a fictitious international oil and gas corporation to address the issue of climate change: fight against action, wait and see, and dynamic proactive.

Case B: Presents the climate change strategies of three multinational corporations Exxon Mobil, BP Amoco, and Total-Fina-Elf.

This case documents how SpaceDisk started out as a provider of free Web-based storage space. When the potential for such subscription and advertising revenues began to look less attractive, and SpaceDisk saw an opportunity in launching a DAP, the company moved rapidly to develop its new service and roll out its infrastructure.

Discusses potential conflicts of interest that venture capitalists face in dealing with entrepreneurs. Critiques arguments that such conflicts are easily managed and unproblematic. Suggests four ways to address potential conflicts.

Details the evolution of an e-business strategy and capabilities over a 16-year period. What began in 1984 as an effort to automate the port of Singapore to achieve productivity savings, by 2000 had evolved into a global e-business called Portnet.com. Closes as senior managers contemplate the progress they have made and the challenges still ahead.

Gerdau Group is a family-controlled Brazilian manufacturer and distributor of long steel products. Describes the evolution of the company's strategy, organization, and smart management, making it the No. 2 steel producer in Brazil. The company must decide whether to buy AmeriSteel, the No. 2 long steel producer in the United States. Considers the strategic, organizational, financial, and human issues posed by the potential acquisition.

Supplements the (A) case.