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How real is the private-label threat to branded products? What should national-brand manufacturers do about it? On the one hand, manufacturers have reason to be concerned. There are more private labels on the market than ever before; collectively, unit share of store-brand goods place first, second, or third in 177 of 250 supermarket product categories in the United States. But many manufacturers have not fully recognized two important points in considering this threat. First, private-label market share generally goes up when the economy is suffering and down in stronger economic periods. Second, manufacturers of brand-name products can have significant influence on the seriousness of the challenge posed by private-label goods. It is difficult for managers to look at a competitive threat objectively and in a long-term context when day-to-day performance is suffering. But the authors strongly advocate keeping the private-label challenge in perspective.

The electric utility market is in upheavel. Deregulation and a wave of megamergers are sweeping the industry. With states proceeding in piecemeal fashion however, it is unclear what final form deregulation will take. In his article, Peter Navarro, an expert on utility regulation at the University of California, Irvine, argues that removing most regulation and opening up the electricity market to free competition would improve U.S. competitiveness. He contends that the state-by-state approach to deregulation will create more turmoil than a rapid, federally coordinated restructuring.

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, the nonprofit performing-arts industry in the United States enjoyed unprecedented growth. But in recent years, the arts have been hard hit by shrinking audiences, rising debt, and cuts in government funding. Can arts organizations succeed in this environment and fulfill their own special mission? The authors have observed one way in which they can succeed: through strategic collaborations--intensive, durable commmitments created for mutual gain.

Practitioners of a new technical specialty--financial engineering--can help senior managers achieve their objectives. Financial engineering can not only reduce the cost of existing activities but also make possible the development of new products, services, and markets. Peter Tufano presents five case studies that illustrate innovative applications of financial engineering and help managers determine when such techniques are appropriate.

Requires students to value Boston Beer's IPO. Set in Boston in 1995, Jim Koch, the founder of Boston Beer, must determine the appropriate price for his firm's stock in its IPO.

Supplements the (A) case.

Provides a framework for developing global strategies for service businesses. Integrates existing, separate frameworks on globilization and on service businesses, analyzes how the distinctive characteristics of service businesses affect globalization and the use of global strategy, and diagnoses which aspects favor globalization and which do not. Applies the new framework to numerous industry and company examples, with particular emphasis on the role of information technology.

Firms in high-technology industries frequently face the dangers and opportunities associated with strategic inflection points in their development trajectory. Strategic inflection points (SIPs) are caused by changes in fundamental industry dynamics, winning strategies, and dominant technologies. SIPs generate strategic dissonance in the organization because they are associated with divergences between the basis of competition and the firm's distinctive competence, and between top management's strategic intent and strategic action. Top management can take advantage of the information generated by strategic dissonance to develop new strategic intent and lead the organization through the turbulence and uncertainty associated with SIPs. This requires a capacity for strategic recognition on the part of top and senior management. Strategic recognition in turn is facilitated by an internal selection environment that allocates resources based on competitive reality and values dissent and debate. Strategic recognition is the foundation for exerting strategic leadership: encouraging debate and bringing debate to a conclusion that realigns the basis of competition and distinctive competence.

When Washington attorney and longtime Capital Hill staff member James Woolsey became director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1993, he inherited a bombshell that would soon become public. A joint CIA-FBI investigation had found that Aldrich Ames, a longtime Agency employee, had sold intelligence secrets to the Soviet Union. Ames had compromised the safety of Soviets, who had sought to help the US, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars, with which he bought a large home and fancy cars. The public announcement of the Ames scandal in February 1994 would pose a dilemma for Woolsey. Public and Congressional reaction -- focused on the failure of the CIA itself to detect Ames' duplicity for almost a decade -- was harshly critical of the Agency. There was a widespread expectation that Woolsey would mete out harsh punishment for those who had failed to detect Ames' activity. For his part, however, Woolsey was unsure as to what sort of punishment, if any, was appropriate. As a public clamor grew for "heads to roll," Woolsey would have to consider what was fair to long-time CIA officials, what was best for the morale of a beleaguered agency, and what was expected by the public. HKS Case Number 1339.0.

The road to the breakthrough Dayton Peace Accords, which ushered in the prospect of a stable peace in the war-torn former Yugoslavia, is built through an intricate, high-pressure negotiation brokered by the United States and involving Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and the western European powers. This case focuses on the dynamics of those negotiations as led by US State Department chief negotiator Richard Holbrooke and members of his negotiating team. It raises strategy issues (When would it be wise to push for a ceasefire?); ethics issues (Is it moral to negotiate with those accused of war crimes?); and personality issues (Is it strategy or the force of Holbrooke's personality which ultimately brings the parties to the table?). Based on extensive interviews with Mr. Holbrooke, this case brings to light new details about one of the highest-stakes negotiations of the post-Cold War era. HKS Case Number 1356.0

When Washington attorney and longtime Capital Hill staff member James Woolsey became director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1993, he inherited a bombshell that would soon become public. A joint CIA-FBI investigation had found that Aldrich Ames, a longtime Agency employee, had sold intelligence secrets to the Soviet Union. Ames had compromised the safety of Soviets, who had sought to help the US, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars, with which he bought a large home and fancy cars. The public announcement of the Ames scandal in February 1994 would pose a dilemma for Woolsey. Public and Congressional reaction -- focused on the failure of the CIA itself to detect Ames' duplicity for almost a decade -- was harshly critical of the Agency. There was a widespread expectation that Woolsey would mete out harsh punishment for those who had failed to detect Ames' activity. For his part, however, Woolsey was unsure as to what sort of punishment, if any, was appropriate. As a public clamor grew for "heads to roll," Woolsey would have to consider what was fair to long-time CIA officials, what was best for the morale of a beleaguered agency, and what was expected by the public. HKS Case Number 1339.1.

In April 1995, Greenpeace boarded a Shell oil platform named Brent Spar in the North Sea to protest its scheduled disposal in the Atlantic. This action took the operator Shell Expro (a joint venture between Shell and Esso) totally by surprise, as this was the first protest of any kind that Shell management had encountered. Describes the circumstances why Shell wants the Brent Spar platform's disposal in the deep sea and why Greenpeace rejects these plans.

The protest of Greenpeace against the deep sea disposal of the Brent Spar led to a major consumer boycott against Shell. Within weeks, Shell suffered a significant loss of market share in Central Europe and faced protests from the highest political leaders across Europe. Despite all this, Shell continues to tow the platform to its planned disposal site in the Atlantic. Meanwhile, strong fights are taking place at sea between Shell and Greenpeace.

The board of directors of the Shell/Royal Dutch Corp. decided to discontinue the Brent Spar sea disposal. Nevertheless, the scientific debate about Shell's plans and Greenpeace's protests isn't over yet.

Gives the conclusion of the (C) and (D) cases.

FOX Venture Partners (FVP) is a proposed "Fund-of-Funds" that will enable wealthy individuals to invest in venture capital. While several leading venture capitalists are enthusiastic about the concept, FVP's general partners are finding it difficult to invest individually in the fund.

City Year, a successful nonprofit organization, is studying how, when, and where to expand to new sites. This case provides the opportunity to understand the strategy and structure of a successful delivery system for human services. That analysis raises the question of how best to expand to new sites, highlighting classic challenges faced by entrepreneurial enterprises seeking to grow.

Supplements the (A) case.

In 1994, Lenzing AG, the world's largest rayon manufacturer, is deciding whether to expand production in South Pacific Viscose, its Indonesian subsidiary. Indonesia is a booming market for rayon, but management still has some concerns about the expansion. First, for the plant to remain successful, Lenzing's downstream customers--textile producers--must also remain in Indonesia. Second, despite being located in an area of tropical forests, the Indonesian plant has no local access to wood pulp, its most critical input. Finally, with the expansion, Lenzing would be increasing its exposure in a country that remains politically and economically uncertain.

The new vice president of the industrial group at Vickers, Inc., a pump manufacturer, must decide whether to shut down the company's largest production facility located in Omaha, Nebraska. The plant is plagued by antiquated equipment, antagonistic union relations, and an unclear mission for the future.