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Although the global cost of natural disasters has increased sharply, traditional sources of funding--governments, nonprofits, and NGOs--have not kept pace. Corporations have taken up the slack, prompting researchers to ask: Does it matter whether the companies pitching in have local ties? And are they and their shareholders benefiting? The resulting studies show that countries with a large share of aid from locally active companies get help more quickly than their counterparts and recover more fully, and that the business impact of donations varies according to firm reputation rather than the amount donated. In particular, if the first donor is well regarded, that company and others that make similar donations stand to gain--but if the first donor has a poor reputation, it and others that follow suit will see a dip in local revenue that can't be explained by the impact of the disaster alone.

Though the research on meditation and mindfulness is almost universally positive, a new study points to a potential downside of being present in the moment: A significant decrease in motivation. Yet, surprisingly, the inspirational dip appeared to have no impact on task performance.

Agriculture was Ireland's largest indigenous industry. Its agri-food sector was export-driven, with almost 90% of production exported. Bord Bia was the Irish government agency charged with the promotion, trade development and marketing of the Irish food, drink and horticulture industry. Bord Bia's CEO, Tara McCarthy, was shaping the government agency's new strategy amid a volatile socio-political environment (with Brexit and other cross border trade issues) and in light of consumer trends in the macro food and drink industry.

With hundreds of suppliers providing a medical inventory that delivers medicine to nearly 4 million patients a year, Shanghai General Hospital is looking for new ways to improve its medical supply chain. The current system not only takes up too much of pharmacists' time for menial stock-taking duties, but is also labor intensive and prone to error. Wang Xingpeng, the hospital's chief executive, wants to better utilize medical professionals' time and allow pharmacists to do more clinical work for patients. Further complicating the issue is a new set of government rules that will require hospitals to sell medicine at cost, meaning that what was once an income source will soon become a cost burden. The hospital is planning to establish a new supply system with one of its suppliers, Shanghai Pharmaceutical. How should the new system address existing issues? And as Wang reviews the strategic partnership, how can he align the new partner's interests with the hospital's objectives? This case demonstrates the components of a medical supply chain in a hospital and the challenges associated with managing such a supply chain. It allows students to discuss ways to streamline the supply chain. The case can also be used to explore topics in strategic partnerships, in particular, vendor-managed inventory systems, and offers background for discussion of the risks and considerations when introducing a third- party strategic partner into the supply chain.

Excellence in Internal Communication Management is a 10-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2017 and written by Rita Linjuan Men, Associate Professor of Public Relations at the University of Florida, and Shannon A. Bowen, Professor of Public Relations at the University of Southern California. The authors combine theories, research insights, practices, as well as current issues and cases into a comprehensive guide for internal communication managers and organizational leaders on how to communicate effectively with internal stakeholders, build ethical organizational cultures, and engage employees in a rapidly-changing business environment. In Chapter 10, the authors summarize the trends and issues that are transforming the practice of internal communication: digitization, globalization, diversity and inclusion, work-life balance, and a concern for corporate social conscience. They suggest that researchers should study topics such as internal public segmentation, enterprise social media, change communication, work-life integration, and measurement and evaluation issues.

After experiences in managing a clothing business and a family-run sugar mill, Edgard Corona (hereinafter "Corona") had a ski accident that wound up changing his life. He founded Smart Fit - a fitness center based on a value-oriented model that has achieved remarkable growth in a short period. The company, established in Brazil in 2009, by the end of 2017 had more than 1.5 million members in six Latin American markets and ranked as the absolute industry leader in the continent and the fourth largest gym chain in the world. Smart Fit's mission was to provide everyone with access to high-level physical activity - "to democratize high-end fitness". However, the model seemed easy to copy - so Smart Fit management decided to develop a package of customer features and expand rapidly. In addition, Smart Fit faced new competing business models, for example, a new smartphone platform that gave users entry to clubs located in Latin America, Europe and United States. Corona feared that intense and rapid expansion might risk customer satisfaction. Indeed, overseas expansion strained the company's financial and managerial resources. However, the question remained: Should Smart Fit devote continued efforts to sustain its high-growth path in Brazil and abroad?

The e-payments industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, especially in Asia, driven in part by technology developments such as the high adoption of smart phones and the boom in e-commerce. The digital innovation of e-payments adoption and diffusion requires the creation and sustaining of an ecosystem. This case describes the e-payments ecosystems of China and Singapore which differ in their development trajectories as well as their resulting configuration, raising important issues for discussion regarding ecosystem design and evolution.

Dr. Vera Cordeiro founded the NGO Instituto Dara in 1991 to help poor families break the cycle of poverty and illness in Brazil. She and her team of employees and volunteers developed a holistic methodology to address the multidimensional sources of poverty based on the pillars of health, housing, citizenship, income, and education. After introducing the seeds of this approach, the case examines the evolution of the organization's attempts to grow its social impact in Brazil and beyond-including a loose network of sister organizations, social franchising, licensing agreements, and government adoption.

This primer provides an overview of the implications of automation technology based on state-of-the-art "Artificial Intelligence" (AI) in the late 2010s: including the trends leading to the surge in AI, applications of AI categorized by the type of work performed, limitations of the technology, discussion about AI adoption, and key concerns the technology brought about.

Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and across industry. Unlike many other social media apps, on which users typically present idealized portraits of themselves, on Fishbowl, people get real. Fishbowl prides itself in being a "safe space" that allows users to feel comfortable interacting with candor - whether to ask difficult questions in order to give and get advice, or just to vent or crack jokes. A key part of the user experience is the ability to post anonymously. But to ensure relevance of posts, when a user signs up, Fishbowl verifies their identity by requiring them to provide their full name, employer email address, LinkedIn account and contact list. Fishbowl has several hundred thousand users and is now looking for ways to monetize the platform. As such, founders Loren Appin and Matt Sunbulli face a mission-critical decision: should they integrate employers into the platform? Although formally integrating employers would provide a much-needed revenue stream, at the same time Appin and Sunbulli worry that doing so could destroy the user experience. Is formalizing employer relationships antithetical to the safe space they have created?

Since its founding in 2014, Malus Analytics International (MAI), a US-based player in the analytics consulting industry, had focused on helping its clients move to cloud-based computing and database management. However, by 2018, this strategy had left many of MAI's customers vulnerable to "Shadow IT," an information technology (IT) phenomenon where employees used computing devices, data, and software that were not provided, approved, or sanctioned by an organization's IT department for work. Twenty of MAI's top clients had experienced data breaches as a result of the use of unsanctioned applications. In response, MAI's management team needed to develop a collaborative plan to help ameliorate the natural tensions between the chief information officers and the end-users. The plan needed to balance security requirements and resource management with innovation and flexibility.

On April 2, 2017, the two founders of Foxcore Retail were preparing for a third summer managing their small retail business in Ontario, Canada. They had spent the weekend reviewing budgeting, staffing schedules, and inventory planning for their biggest expansion to date. There was only one pressing concern that had not been solved. In the past, employees had tracked sales by hand, on paper, which led to headaches when it came to calculating sales representatives' commissions. Additionally, the two partners knew that by not documenting key information about each sale, they were missing the opportunity to collect valuable data that could provide insight into the performance of employees, events, and products. As the business grew, they were starting to notice the impact of these inefficiencies on customer service, and it was clear that this was the right time to implement a more disciplined database system.

Supplement to W18796

In January 2017, the founder of Sunton Manufacturing in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, boarded a flight to Cambodia. He had to tackle the performance issue of the company's garment manufacturing joint venture (JV) there-after two years in operation, it had run out of cash. After meeting with his JV partner, he concluded that the existing JV in Sihanoukville was beyond repair. He now needed to decide whether to exit Cambodia or to remain there, albeit in a different city and with a new partner. A new factory would require further investment. If he quit Cambodia, could his company survive and develop in the future?

Sichuan Haidilao Catering Co., Ltd. (Haidilao) was the leading hot pot company in the Chinese market and the largest hot pot chain of restaurants in the world. Haidilao was famous for its extraordinary customer service, which had made it a legend in the catering industry. However, on August 25, 2017, a news report with online videos revealed that mice were in the kitchen of one of Haidilao's restaurants, that dustpans and tableware were washed in the same sink, and that spoons intended for customer use were used to unclog blockages in the plumbing. How could Zhang Yong, the founder and chair of Haidilao's board of directors, respond to the crisis, turn threats into opportunities, and prevent the recurrence of such a crisis?

In 2014, Yildiz Holding, a Turkish conglomerate, had just acquired the UK-based biscuit maker United Biscuits, the premium chocolate maker Godiva Chocolatier Inc., and the US-based company DeMet's Candy Company. As Yildiz Holding moved forward in pursuit of its goal of dominating the global confectionery market for biscuits and snacks, senior management members were questioning whether the company's business model (which had brought it success for many years) would continue to be viable, and particularly, what the implications of its global expansion were for its diversified business model.

This note can be used at the undergraduate or graduate level to accompany a case on strategy or international business. It is especially helpful when analyzing an emerging market company expanding into developed economies and the challenges associated with this.

Founded in 1969 as a small operation, Otsuka Kagu, Ltd. became Japan's largest furniture retailer and was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1980. A membership program in 1993 managed to revitalize the company's sales at a time when Japan was in a recession. Years later, after sales began to decline and the founder was convicted of insider trading in 2008, the presidency was transferred to the founder's daughter, who applied a more customer-centric model to the business. This change infuriated the founder, who removed his daughter from the company's leadership. After persistently poor performance, the company's board of directors reinstated the founder's daughter; she then launched a notorious public battle for control of the company. Despite new environment-responsive strategies, revenues continued to decline to the point of the company declaring its biggest loss by the end of 2017. In August 2018, the company reported a net loss of ¥2.3 billion, with the company's shares trading at their lowest level ever. Facing financial distress, the company had to look both inward and outward to determine its next steps.