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Following its disastrous market entry into the United Kingdom in 2019, due to immediate backlash from the LGBTQ+ community, Chick-fil-A, the US$16 billion conservative Christian fast-food company, named a new chief executive officer in 2021, Andrew Truett Cathy. By inheriting the privately-held, family-owned empire, Cathy faced a monumental task, made more difficult when he appointed a vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which sparked calls for a boycott from conservative groups and claims that "the company had gone woke." To make matters worse, Chick-fil-A was in the middle of a worldwide chicken sandwich war, fighting against many competitors, including McDonald's, Popeyes, and Wendy's. As August 2023 came to a close, how could Andrew Cathy, newly minted third generation chief executive officer of Chick-fil-A, avoid the curse of wealth destruction and simultaneously fight culture and chicken wars?

Sept 2022. Corinne Avelines, SIBIUS's CEO, had received the news that the results of the first large-scale test of the company's first product had just been published. The test, conducted with children between 3 and 4 years old, validated their approach to early detection of autism. The technology was grounded in research showing that it was possible to identify many atypical cognitive behaviors by simply tracking eye movements in test patients. Digitrack dramatically simplified that process by digitizing it, allowing it to be used on any personal tablet device. The method was proposed as a screening, detection support and outcome tracking tool for a variety of clinical conditions, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Alzheimer (a form of dementia), among many cognitive conditions. But with the early test validation came business questions that kept Corinne extremely busy. Which market should they first target for this tool? Clearly, its versatility was an asset but each target market (healthcare professionals, concerned parents, etc.) required a differentiated approach. Speed was also of the essence to capture the huge potential in mental health, putting pressure on quickly finding the money to fund the rapid scale-up. High on her mind was also the potential conflict between monetizing the technology aggressively and making a massive difference in the lives of so many young patients and their families, i.e. how to balance the harsh realities of business and investors with those of mental health sufferers and society in general. Despite the promising field test results and numerous shows of support, she had little to show in terms of financial commitments at this point. It was time to revisit the assumptions and all features of the business model to ensure a future for this promising technology.

During VMware's 10-year DEI effort, leaders had to learn about making diversity gains last. VMware successfully increased the percentage of women employees globally and underrepresented employees in the U.S., at rates that stand out in the tech industry. Its journey has lessons on how to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that move the needle in sustainable ways for the long term. Learn from VMware's three best practices for culture change, including an expansive reverse-mentoring program.

In September 2023, John Ridding, CEO of the Financial Times, was considering the possible impact of Generative AI on the industry and his business. Having navigated successfully the seismic shift from print to digital, and reporting record results, the company was debating how to harness the power of generative AI. The case therefore is an example of a successful business confronting a new paradigm in its market which will impact many of the industry's power and profit dynamics, making it appropriate for teaching Porter's Five Forces, S-curves, corporate innovation, sources of value and competitive advantage.

In 2019, the three Do sons, Nam, Hoa and Giang were shocked when their parents, Mr Hanh and Mdm Nghi, announced that they would hand over the joint running of their two companies-Dai Viet (DV) and Chien Thang (CT), to them. Since 1999, the Do family had consecutively founded and operated multiple sanitary- and porcelainware factory businesses that included Mdm Nghi's CT in 2002, and the family's DV Group, in 2013. CT and DV were vastly different in their employee base, organisational cultures, and operational processes. Unfortunately, given their proximity at work, cracks soon appeared when family disputes started affecting company operations, and vice versa. This disrupted decision-making at times and escalated to the point of shouting matches in front of employees. Eventually, by early 2019, Mr Hanh and Mdm Nghi were adamant that the brothers had to learn to work with one another to eventually merge and manage the two companies together. Giang however, being the only son who had worked with his father through complex financial and operational challenges, felt the crushing weight of responsibility bearing down on him. He wondered if the two companies ought to be merged despite the cultural, operational, and personal differences. Alternatively, he could hire professional consultants to help iron out the various issues in both companies. The most drastic measure would be to consider selling one of the companies. If so, which of the two companies should the family sell? Their parents had worked hard to grow DV and CT-what would they think if their sons sold off the embodiment of their legacy in the sanitary- and porcelainware industry?

In 2019, the three Do sons, Nam, Hoa and Giang were shocked when their parents, Mr Hanh and Mdm Nghi, announced that they would hand over the joint running of their two companies-Dai Viet (DV) and Chien Thang (CT), to them. Since 1999, the Do family had consecutively founded and operated multiple sanitary- and porcelainware factory businesses that included Mdm Nghi's CT in 2002, and the family's DV Group, in 2013. CT and DV were vastly different in their employee base, organisational cultures, and operational processes. Unfortunately, given their proximity at work, cracks soon appeared when family disputes started affecting company operations, and vice versa. This disrupted decision-making at times and escalated to the point of shouting matches in front of employees. Eventually, by early 2019, Mr Hanh and Mdm Nghi were adamant that the brothers had to learn to work with one another to eventually merge and manage the two companies together. Giang however, being the only son who had worked with his father through complex financial and operational challenges, felt the crushing weight of responsibility bearing down on him. He wondered if the two companies ought to be merged despite the cultural, operational, and personal differences. Alternatively, he could hire professional consultants to help iron out the various issues in both companies. The most drastic measure would be to consider selling one of the companies. If so, which of the two companies should the family sell? Their parents had worked hard to grow DV and CT-what would they think if their sons sold off the embodiment of their legacy in the sanitary- and porcelainware industry?

In 2019, the three Do sons, Nam, Hoa and Giang were shocked when their parents, Mr Hanh and Mdm Nghi, announced that they would hand over the joint running of their two companies-Dai Viet (DV) and Chien Thang (CT), to them. Since 1999, the Do family had consecutively founded and operated multiple sanitary- and porcelainware factory businesses that included Mdm Nghi's CT in 2002, and the family's DV Group, in 2013. CT and DV were vastly different in their employee base, organisational cultures, and operational processes. Unfortunately, given their proximity at work, cracks soon appeared when family disputes started affecting company operations, and vice versa. This disrupted decision-making at times and escalated to the point of shouting matches in front of employees. Eventually, by early 2019, Mr Hanh and Mdm Nghi were adamant that the brothers had to learn to work with one another to eventually merge and manage the two companies together. Giang however, being the only son who had worked with his father through complex financial and operational challenges, felt the crushing weight of responsibility bearing down on him. He wondered if the two companies ought to be merged despite the cultural, operational, and personal differences. Alternatively, he could hire professional consultants to help iron out the various issues in both companies. The most drastic measure would be to consider selling one of the companies. If so, which of the two companies should the family sell? Their parents had worked hard to grow DV and CT-what would they think if their sons sold off the embodiment of their legacy in the sanitary- and porcelainware industry?

How do venture capital and private equity funds actually work? This Technical Note covers the "when, who, and how" details: "When": fund length, extensions, and when investors can no longer initiate new investments. "Who": who is in the General Partner entity, the importance of the firm's Management Company (the owners of the firm), how fees and carried interest flows work, and the Limited Partners' Advisory Committee. "How": key person clauses, invested capital vs, committed capital, what happens when an investor defaults on its commitment, how multiples are calculated (MOIC vs. TVPI), the difference between realized and unrealized gains/losses, how fund distributions work, and the difference between distributed and residual value.

This note presents an abridged description of balance of payments (BOP) and international investment position (IIP) data. It refers to data for Mexico, but given that there are worldwide standards for countries that report BOP and IIP, it provides guidance for understanding the data of just about any country.

This technical note provides an overview of accounting for investments in equity securities. It discusses passive investments and fair value accounting, investments resulting in significant influence and the equity method of accounting, and investments resulting in control and consolidation accounting. It provides examples of each of the three possible accounting approaches and walks through the appropriate accounting for each.

This technical note provides an overview of accounting for contingent liabilities. It outlines the decision process management uses to determine the financial statement implications of such liabilities. It provides an example and walks through the appropriate accounting steps.

This case, a follow-up to "WillowTree: Project Driven with a Product Mindset (A)" (UVA-S-0338), examines WillowTree, a digital products company that is navigating the implications of employees returning to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and also coping with increased employee desire to continue working from home. It explores the shift in client contract preferences toward more flexible, team-oriented models and the subsequent adjustments in team formation and collaboration strategies. The case also delves into how WillowTree measured and responded to client and team sentiment, and the effect transitioning back to office work had on WillowTree's employee satisfaction and organizational culture. The case highlights the resilience and adaptability of digital businesses that previously relied on colocated teams to develop and deliver its products. The managerial dilemma posed by this follow-up case is: What is an optimal policy for returning to work in the office? This decision will define the company's future.

ASML Holding NV (ASML) was a leading technology company headquartered in the Netherlands that specialized in the design and production of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment. It had a global presence, with operations in Asia, Europe, and North America. Its unique chip manufacturing technology was essential for the development of technology products from military equipment and laundry machines to the smartphones in peoples' pockets. ASML produced complex and consequential products that were the foundations of the modern economy. Because of this, ASML played a significant role in global geopolitics and found itself in the middle of the West's increasing efforts to control exports of semiconductor technology to China. In December 2022, a couple of months after the US government unilaterally restricted exports of chip technology to China, ASML faced a strategic crossroads: should it maximize company profits and ignore Western policy by engaging China, or should it weigh the pitfalls of ignoring the West's political decision to block China from essential technology and disengage from its business with the People's Republic of China?

Why dealing with turnover requires understanding how the traditional foundation of the workplace has been cracked by a seismic shift in the employer-employee relationship.

In July 2021, a major supply-side crisis in Nigeria forced the Dangote Tomato Processing Co. Limited plant of Dangote Farming to operate at just 20 per cent of its production capacity. Since its inception in 2016, the plant was shut down several times due to a shortage of fresh tomatoes of the required quality. Although the Nigerian government supported Dangote Farming by pursuing pro-tomato and pro-tomato-paste policies, it was unable to operate its processing plant at full capacity, reduce per-unit cost, and improve profitability. Due to various constraints, several tomato processing plants had exited the Nigerian market in the past several years. In view of persistent supply-side problems and tough competition from low-priced Chinese tomato paste, Dangote Farming needed to decide about the continuity of its tomato processing plant in the Nigerian market. If it decided to remain in the market, then it needed to devise strategies that could make the plant competitive and profitable.

Little more than a year had passed since Chrissy Taylor, granddaughter of the company's founder and daughter of its longest-serving CEO, had been promoted, in December 2019, to CEO of Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Taylor had spent her entire career in the family-owned business, but like all Enterprise employees, she started as a management trainee at a branch office. "Just like everybody else in our upper management, I started behind a rental counter," Taylor said in an interview at the time of her promotion. "I worked my way up in various roles, learning the job by doing it: washing cars, picking up customers." She was determined to continue the legacy of her family's company, which her father famously described as being committed to three things: "listening to and satisfying our customers, creating opportunities for our employees, and achieving long-term, sustainable growth."

This case examines the leadership challenges faced by Nathalie Wappler, the new CEO of SRF, a public media company that operates in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and is part of the largest media company in Switzerland, SRG. The study spans the period from 2019 to 2021, capturing the seismic shift in corporate identity, disruptive changes in consumer behavior and the emergence of new players in the media industry. The central challenge revolves around two key questions: First, how to lead a traditional media organization towards the future while also maintaining its core amid industry disruption? And second, what leadership qualities are required to effectively navigate such a dual transformation? Drawing on a combination of internal strategy documents, along with publicly available information, the case highlights the strategic journey undertaken by Nathalie amidst the turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the broader challenge of leadership in the face of an unpredictable black swan-style event that becomes the new normal. It reveals that strategic decision making should not be paralyzed by incomplete data and emphasizes the importance of a robust and bold strategy combined with the right type of leadership. The findings underscore that Nathalie's leadership style, characterized by collaboration and inclusivity, was complemented by a clear vision and strong conviction. This framework enabled her to effectively navigate the transformational journey and overcome potential short-term derailments. Unique and unfiltered access to Nathalie and the SRF organization provide valuable insights, enabling students to explore the complexities of decision making in dynamic industries. The case prompts students to consider when to persevere, adapt or pivot, and encourages self-reflection on their own leadership adaptability in similar challenging scenarios.

In recent years, new consumer brands have mushroomed to meet consumers' increasingly diverse and personalized demands. However, some struggled to achieve sustainable, long-term growth as they relied heavily on capital investment, outsourced production, and excessive marketing. This case focuses on Winona, a functional skincare brand for sensitive skin, and its parent company, Botanee. It unveils how Winona achieved product innovation through consistent R&D efforts, built a presence in the niche market of sensitive skin by leveraging multi-touchpoint marketing across various channels, and evolved into a leading skincare brand in the Chinese market. As a result, Winona featured in Tmall's sales top 10 in the cosmetics and skincare category for several consecutive years since 2018, becoming the only Chinese brand maintaining this position. However, Botanee faced several challenges as it sought to grow its business further. With Winona contributing 99% of the company's revenue, how could Botanee expand its brand portfolio and broaden its consumer base? While Winona's flagship product, Anti-Sensitive Moisturizing Tolerance-Extreme Cream, remained its primary revenue driver, how could the brand establish a second "hero product" to sustain its growth in the future? The issue of internal branding also came to the fore as Botanee's business expanded, touchpoints multiplied, and organizational structure grew increasingly complex.

This case is about TPG Rise Climate, a $7.3 billion climate impact fund launched in 2021 by alternative asset manager TPG. Climate investing is a complex, capital-intensive endeavor; entering it has forced TPG to think and act differently. Relative to other funds, Rise Climate's investments take longer to mature, require far more capital, and are more vulnerable to swings in commodity markets and fickle government policies. Set in December 2023, the case finds TPG considering the future for Monolith, a Rise Climate portfolio company with significant impact potential but an uncertain business model.

Brice Scheschuk, chief executive officer of WIND Mobile, embarks on a transformative journey to revitalize the company's organizational culture. This case provides a lens into the challenges and opportunities inherent in building a workplace culture in a fast-paced telecommunications market. Scheschuk employs a strategy that places significant focus on the field employees, who are often overlooked in corporate strategies. Students will gain insights into the nuanced art of leading change, leveraging HR as a strategic asset, and measuring the effectiveness of cultural interventions. This case employees qualitative and quantitative data and is an exemplar for those aiming to integrate HR strategy with organizational effectiveness.