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Supplements the (A) case.

The acquirer wants the acquired company to be accounted for as a pooling of interests.

The efforts of two recent Harvard Business School graduates to start a venture capital/consulting firm focused on opportunities related to the Internet are recounted. Raises the question of what the nature of this opportunity is, how well-positioned the protagonists are to pursue it, and what the deal structure should be.

The president, Donna Dubinsky, and the chairman and founder, Jeff Hawkins, discuss an opportunity to sell their company to U.S. Robotics. They must weigh this option versus accepting venture capital funding, partnering with a large company that could provide distribution channels and capital, or continuing a search for capital from other sources.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 29633

A developer attempts to get into the elderly housing business. The case reviews the various elderly housing options, how they differ from one another, and how the industry differs from other types of real estate.

A successful turnaround global farm machinery company is attempting to redefine its role in the global food system and develop a strategic plan for the company.

Presents an overview of strategic alliance. Discusses the academic literature and its implications for the structure of strategic alliances. Also details the types of strategic alliances utilized by small, growing firms.

Discusses issues related to government sources of financing for small business in the United States. In addition to presenting motivations for government financing programs, the note gives a detailed presentation of major federal programs to assist small business.

Presents an overview of the issues covered in Entrepreneurial Finance. The frameworks of analysis as well as themes of the course are covered. Additionally, provides references on entrepreneurial finance from both academics and the popular press.

In 1996, WESCO, a national distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, charted out a growth of 6 to 8 percent in sales, and 12 to 16 percent in profitability over the next five years. The centerpiece of this growth strategy is the National Accounts (NA) program that WESCO has developed to serve its major industrial customers in response to recent changes that they made to their business processes. However, as of June 1997, the NA program has not delivered the expected results. WESCO now needs to isolate the root cause of the NA program shortfall and implement changes that will put this program back on track. It needs to decide whether to continue to be proactive in initiating, building, and maintaining national accounts, or to be passive and offer the NA program only after customers have shown a legitimate interest.

The CEO of Sears faces issues involving the company's recent turnaround and ongoing transformation, including change management and the use of leading (U.S. lagging) indicators or measures.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 298015

Addresses the career decision-making process of Humphrey Chen as he graduates from HBS with an MBA. In choosing between an offer from a top-tier consulting firm and launching a start-up entrepreneurial venture, Chen must weigh the expectations of many people--family, fiancee, friends--as well as his own desires.

Provides the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test results and the Personal Values Profile (PVP) for the protagonist of the video case.

The president of a Jordanian pharmaceutical company is contemplating how to further penetrate the U.S. market, either through its own manufacturing and sales efforts, or as a supplier to a third party

Dr. Franklin Lowe is CEO of a new kind of company in a new kind of industry--medical foods. He must select a business model and partners that will help make this a viable business.

Richmond Engineering is a successful Vancouver-based entrepreneurial manufacturer of roadway light poles that has decided to expand into Asia rather than attempting to compete in Eastern Canada or the United States. The process of finding and qualifying leads for joint ventures, the stages for developing an agreement according to Chinese business practice, and the pressures of negotiating with the Chinese are all described in detail.

Why is it that successful strategies are rarely developed as a result of formal planning processes? What is wrong with strategy or the way most companies go about developing it? Andrew Campbell and Marcus Alexander, seasoned practitioners of the art of strategy, who consult, teach and do research at the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre, offer a "common sense" piece on why the planning frameworks managers use so often yield disappointing results. Strategy, they explain, is not about plans but insights. Strategy development is the process of discovering and understanding insights and should not be confused with planning, which is about turning insights into action. The answer is not new planning processes, better designed plans, or more effort. The answer is for managers to understand two fundamentals--the benefit of having a well-articulated and stable purpose and the importance of discovering, understanding, documenting, and exploiting insights about how to create value.

Companies find it difficult to change strategy for many reasons, but one stands out: Strategic thinking is not a core managerial competence at most companies. Managers are unable to develop competence in strategic thinking because they do it so rarely. Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen helps managers develop a creative strategy and a proficiency in strategic decision making. This article presents a three-stage method executives can use to conceive and implement a creative and coherent strategy themselves. The three-step process forces managers to dig deep in order to understand the forces affecting their business. This method is a useful tool for managers because it helps them link strategic thinking with operational planning: two processes that are often separate but are more effective when connected.