個案總覽

In the past, companies kept most of their research and development activities in their home country because they thought it important to have R&D close to where strategic decisions were being made. But today many companies choose to establish R&D networks in foreign countries in order to tap the knowledge there or to commercialize products for those markets at a competitive speed. Adopting a global approach entails new, complex managerial challenges. It means linking R&D strategy to a company's overall business strategy. The best individual for managing R&D abroad combines the qualities of good scientist and good manager, knows how to integrate the new site with existing sites, understands technology trends, and is good at gaining access to foreign scientific communities. As more pockets of knowledge emerge around the globe and competition in foreign markets mounts, only those companies that embrace an informed approach to global R&D will be able to meet the new challenges.

U.S. foundations and nonprofits work diligently on behalf of society's most needy and yet report that progress is slow and social problems persist. How can they learn to be more effective with their limited resources? Foundations should consider expanding their mission from investing only in program innovation to investing in the organizational needs of nonprofit organizations as well. Their overemphasis on program design has meant deteriorating organizational capacity at many nonprofits. If foundations are to help nonprofits be assured of making payroll, paying the rent, or buying a much-needed computer, they must develop hands-on partnering skills. Venture capital firms offer a helpful benchmark. In addition to putting up capital, they closely monitor the companies in which they have invested, provide management support, and stay involved long enough to see the company become strong.

Susan Carter, a partner at a prestigious strategy consulting firm, is caught in a dilemma she never expected: her firm's most important client has made an unwanted sexual advance toward her. As a friend of Susan's observes afterward, "The easy part was saying no. The hard part will be picking up the pieces." Susan is a savvy, successful professional who has spent the 12 years since business school climbing the corporate ladder. But this event throws her off balance, forcing her to confront some of the most subtle issues of power and inclusion at the highest levels of her organization. Her story takes us beyond the legal issue of sexual harassment to explore how gender can influence who is--and isn't--welcome at the top. In 97208 and 97208Z, commentators Gillian Derbyshire, Anthony P. D'Andrea, J. William Codinha, and Freada Klein offer advice on this fictional case study.

Susan Carter, a partner at a prestigious strategy consulting firm, is caught in a dilemma she never expected: her firm's most important client has made an unwanted sexual advance toward her. As a friend of Susan's observes afterward, "The easy part was saying no. The hard part will be picking up the pieces." Susan is a savvy, successful professional who has spent the 12 years since business school climbing the corporate ladder. But this event throws her off balance, forcing her to confront some of the most subtle issues of power and inclusion at the highest levels of her organization. Her story takes us beyond the legal issue of sexual harassment to explore how gender can influence who is--and isn't--welcome at the top. In 97208 and 97208Z, commentators Gillian Derbyshire, Anthony P. D'Andrea, J. William Codinha, and Freada Klein offer advice on this fictional case study.

Susan Carter, a partner at a prestigious strategy consulting firm, is caught in a dilemma she never expected: her firm's most important client has made an unwanted sexual advance toward her. As a friend of Susan's observes afterward, "The easy part was saying no. The hard part will be picking up the pieces." Susan is a savvy, successful professional who has spent the 12 years since business school climbing the corporate ladder. But this event throws her off balance, forcing her to confront some of the most subtle issues of power and inclusion at the highest levels of her organization. Her story takes us beyond the legal issue of sexual harassment to explore how gender can influence who is--and isn't--welcome at the top. In 97208 and 97208Z, commentators Gillian Derbyshire, Anthony P. D'Andrea, J. WilliaM Codinha, and Freada Klein offer advice on this fictional case study.

Conventional wisdom has it that the best way to do business in China is through an equity joint venture (EJV) with a well-connected Chinese partner. But pioneering companies are starting a trend toward a new way to enter that market: as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, or WFOE. Increasingly, says the author, joint ventures do not offer foreign companies what they need to succeed in China. By contrast, the author asserts, WFOEs are faster to set up and easier to manage; and they allow managers to expand operations more rapidly. That makes them the perfect solution, right? The answer is a qualified yes. First, foreign companies will still need sources of guanxi, or social and political connections. Second, managers must take steps to avoid trampling on China's cultural or economic sovereignty. Third and perhaps most important, foreign companies must be prepared to bring something of value to China--usually in the form of jobs or new technology that can help the country develop. Companies willing to make the effort, says the author, can reap the rewards of China's burgeoning marketplace.

This case investigates an innovative bond issue by Enron. The coupon on the bond is indexed to the company's credit rating, making it a credit derivative structure.

Provides a framework for maximizing the value of a plant tour, or a single visit to an operation. There are three principal types of plant tours within this framework tht can provide information about four broad types of operational performance.

Describes the evolution of the Mexican economy and its relation with the international capital markets in the period leading up to the Peso crisis of December 1994. Emphasizes the role of "Washington consensus" policies in stimulating the inflows, and the inability of the Mexican banking system to intermediate them efficiently.

Describes the response of the Mexican authorities and the international community to the Mexican Peso crisis of 1994 and the banking, financial, and macroeconomic crisis that followed it.

Describes the evolution of the Mexican economy from 1945 to 1982. Describes the import-substituting industrialization strategy pursued in the aftermath of World War II. Discusses briefly why this failed in the late 1960s and then analyzes the change of strategy toward a state-led development financed by bank-borrowing from abroad that culminated in the debt crisis. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Describes the response of the Mexican authorities and the international community to the "Third World Debt Crisis" that came to the forefront of global economic concerns in the early 1980s. Focuses on the respective roles of the private sector, governments (Mexican and foreign), and the international community in addressing the crisis.

In 1984, Mortimer Zuckerman and Ed Linde, through their firm, Boston Properties (BP), acquired land in Concord, MA to build a 147,000-square-foot, first-class suburban office building. BP proceeded to go through the permitting and approval process with the town and was ready to commence construction when in August 1988, the state, after considerable lobbying from historic and environmental groups, delayed the project by requiring an environmental impact statement. Environmental groups from around the country continued to organize against BP's development along with a nearby affordable housing development. While the project was delayed, the real estate market collapsed. But by the spring of 1993, the market was beginning to recover and BP had received all necessary permits. Zuckerman and Linde had to decide whether to proceed with the development or sell to the environmental group opposing them, and if they were to sell, at what price.

Provides information on economic reform programs in Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1990. Students are asked to compare and contrast the economic situations in the two countries, as well as the political constraints on reform.

Describes India's move from a controlled economy toward a more market-oriented one, commencing in 1991. Highlights the extent of changes in the product, capital, and labor markets, and the political situation at the central government, as these stood in 1995.

The market values Arch differently from analysts' values.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 197047

Sets out the strategy and competitive competencies of one of the leading grain trade and processing companies in the world. An overview of the company's innovations in corn and oilseed by-products is provided. The strategy of the firm is to add by-products to corn, soybeans, and wheat processing so that they become part of a food, feed, fuel, and pharmaceutical industry complex.

In early 1993, Stone Container was heavily burdened by debt following a series of highly leveraged acquisitions. A prolonged depression in paper prices necessitated the development of a comprehensive financial plan to relieve the financial pressures on Stone. Among the alternatives to be considered are straight debt, convertible debt, and equity.

Charles Ferguson has just heard from a venture capital (VC) consortium that it is willing to finance Vermeer Technologies, a company he has cofounded for developing Internet software. The funds are sorely needed, but the VCs have imposed some onerous conditions, including a request that Vermeer's first CEO be an outsider.