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Safe Boat Trip Private Limited (Safe Boat Trip) of Kerala, India, is planning to launch a hydrofoil ferry service connecting the Port of Kochi, India, with two other ports in the state of Kerala by August 2016, to benefit from the tourism potential of the season in Kerala. The managing director has asked the principal superintendent of Safe Boat Trip to prepare a project plan for the boats to be commissioned into service, following approval from the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS). The principal superintendent must also carry out a break-even analysis of the project investment. With these challenges before him, the superintendent must set out to devise a solid plan of action before the company's next meeting.

This case examines the strategic positioning of Dianrong, one of the largest online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in China, in its attempt to become a foundational player in the expansion of the FinTech sector in Asia. Dianrong had recently announced the acquisition of the asset-origination operations of Shanghai-based Quark Finance, augmenting Dianrong's asset management and credit evaluation capabilities across China, as well as a new initiative to develop the first blockchain platform for supply chain finance in China. The goal was to provide capital to smaller suppliers in the supply chain, and provide enhanced visibility and transparency of supply chains for large multinational manufacturers. The company had also made several recent forays into other related sectors, with their creation of "DR Group" as an umbrella corporate structure that included all wholly-owned businesses, joint ventures, and partnerships. This rebranded group structure encompassed the various aspects of "The New Finance," leveraging FinTech innovation to deliver value for borrowers, lenders, and investors. Case protagonist Soul Htite, Founder and CEO of Dianrong, and the former CTO of Lending Club, must decide how to execute on the firm's aggressive diversification plan. Recent advances at the company, while promising, were complicated by the uncertainties in the political and regulatory landscape. How should the company leverage its advantage in technology and position itself in the market? Which sectors within its larger umbrella structure were the most promising avenues to focus on? Was Dianrong tackling too many sectors and problems at once? Htite's view was that in order to truly succeed in China a technology company had to "create" much of the ecosystem and infrastructure oneself, as opposed to in the US where companies could simply "provide add-ons" to existing firms and capabilities. But the reality of trying to excel in so many different areas was daunting.

Varsity Brands, the leading manufacturer of cheerleading uniforms in the U.S., obtained copyright protection for certain designs of stripes, chevrons, color blocks and lines on cheerleading uniforms. Star Athletica, a newcomer in the field, used those designs in its own uniforms and was promptly sued by Varsity for copyright infringement. Star countered that cheerleading uniforms were useful articles and, as such, were excluded from copyright protection. In a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the issue of whether certain designs of or on a useful article were sufficiently separable from the article's utilitarian aspects. If they were separable, then they may be eligible for copyright protection. The outcome of the case could provide the more than $300 billion U.S. fashion industry with long sought protection from knock-offs.

In early 2015, the chief executive officer and the management team of Groupon India, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Groupon Inc., faced a management buyout decision. Buoyed by a high growth rate and huge market potential in India, they wanted more India-specific product positioning and greater control over technology. They explored growth options available to the company, but faced the constraints of being part of a global conglomerate. The management team had narrowed its options to either starting a new venture or acquiring ownership of the subsidiary through a management buyout. How could they ensure they made the right decision?

In July 2015, the founder of YourStory Media Private Limited (YourStory) needed to make key strategic decisions to scale up her business. YourStory was a top-ranked online media platform that focused on developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India by publishing news stories about entrepreneurs and start-ups and by organizing entrepreneurial conferences and events. Since its inception in 2008, the company had grown slowly and steadily using its own funds. However, it needed to expand rapidly in order to attract venture capital funding. YourStory's founder knew that potential investors would translate their initial interest into actual investments only if she was able to demonstrate that YourStory had a coherent, comprehensive, and consistent story of its own. She had identified various strategic growth alternatives: given the evolving online media marketplace, which should she pursue to meet her expansion goal?

The panic of 1857 stands out in financial history for its severity, for the coordination of banks through the New York Clearing House (NYCH), for the establishment of a legal doctrine about illiquidity during a panic, and for its aggravation of regional tensions. Profiled in this case are the events of the panic, the range of potential causes, and the civic reaction.

Supplement to case UV7343. The panic of 1857 stands out in financial history for its severity, for the coordination of banks through the New York Clearing House (NYCH), for the establishment of a legal doctrine about illiquidity during a panic, and for its aggravation of regional tensions. Profiled in this case are the events of the panic, the range of potential causes, and the civic reaction.

In this set of six cases, students are placed into the role of the fictional Andrea Johnson, a recent graduate who has just begun her career at a mid-sized organization in the consumer electronics industry. While in the role of Andrea, university students and early-stage professionals follow Andrea's career development and are exposed to a variety of ethical challenges she encounters along the way. Each hypothetical scenario is based on real-world events and will illustrate the types of situations that students may encounter in the course of their career. The cases may be taught sequentially or as standalone scenarios. Case A is delivered in the inspection copy and purchased copy, and Cases B - F are delivered alongside the teaching note. A slide deck accompanies the comprehensive teaching note that provides an in-depth analysis of each scenario with tips on promoting student engagement to create an active and dynamic learning environment. The intent of the case series is to enable students to develop fundamental tools for how to recognize, address, and successfully overcome compromising situations.

Supplement to case W97A17. In this set of six cases, students are placed into the role of the fictional Andrea Johnson, a recent graduate who has just begun her career at a mid-sized organization in the consumer electronics industry. While in the role of Andrea, university students and early-stage professionals follow Andrea's career development and are exposed to a variety of ethical challenges she encounters along the way. Each hypothetical scenario is based on real-world events and will illustrate the types of situations that students may encounter in the course of their career. The cases may be taught sequentially or as standalone scenarios. Case A is delivered in the inspection copy and purchased copy, and Cases B - F are delivered alongside the teaching note. A slide deck accompanies the comprehensive teaching note that provides an in-depth analysis of each scenario with tips on promoting student engagement to create an active and dynamic learning environment. The intent of the case series is to enable students to develop fundamental tools for how to recognize, address, and successfully overcome compromising situations.

Supplement to case W97A17. In this set of six cases, students are placed into the role of the fictional Andrea Johnson, a recent graduate who has just begun her career at a mid-sized organization in the consumer electronics industry. While in the role of Andrea, university students and early-stage professionals follow Andrea's career development and are exposed to a variety of ethical challenges she encounters along the way. Each hypothetical scenario is based on real-world events and will illustrate the types of situations that students may encounter in the course of their career. The cases may be taught sequentially or as standalone scenarios. Case A is delivered in the inspection copy and purchased copy, and Cases B - F are delivered alongside the teaching note. A slide deck accompanies the comprehensive teaching note that provides an in-depth analysis of each scenario with tips on promoting student engagement to create an active and dynamic learning environment. The intent of the case series is to enable students to develop fundamental tools for how to recognize, address, and successfully overcome compromising situations.

Supplement to case W97A17. In this set of six cases, students are placed into the role of the fictional Andrea Johnson, a recent graduate who has just begun her career at a mid-sized organization in the consumer electronics industry. While in the role of Andrea, university students and early-stage professionals follow Andrea's career development and are exposed to a variety of ethical challenges she encounters along the way. Each hypothetical scenario is based on real-world events and will illustrate the types of situations that students may encounter in the course of their career. The cases may be taught sequentially or as standalone scenarios. Case A is delivered in the inspection copy and purchased copy, and Cases B - F are delivered alongside the teaching note. A slide deck accompanies the comprehensive teaching note that provides an in-depth analysis of each scenario with tips on promoting student engagement to create an active and dynamic learning environment. The intent of the case series is to enable students to develop fundamental tools for how to recognize, address, and successfully overcome compromising situations.

Supplement to case W97A17. In this set of six cases, students are placed into the role of the fictional Andrea Johnson, a recent graduate who has just begun her career at a mid-sized organization in the consumer electronics industry. While in the role of Andrea, university students and early-stage professionals follow Andrea's career development and are exposed to a variety of ethical challenges she encounters along the way. Each hypothetical scenario is based on real-world events and will illustrate the types of situations that students may encounter in the course of their career. The cases may be taught sequentially or as standalone scenarios. Case A is delivered in the inspection copy and purchased copy, and Cases B - F are delivered alongside the teaching note. A slide deck accompanies the comprehensive teaching note that provides an in-depth analysis of each scenario with tips on promoting student engagement to create an active and dynamic learning environment. The intent of the case series is to enable students to develop fundamental tools for how to recognize, address, and successfully overcome compromising situations.

Supplement to case W97A17. In this set of six cases, students are placed into the role of the fictional Andrea Johnson, a recent graduate who has just begun her career at a mid-sized organization in the consumer electronics industry. While in the role of Andrea, university students and early-stage professionals follow Andrea's career development and are exposed to a variety of ethical challenges she encounters along the way. Each hypothetical scenario is based on real-world events and will illustrate the types of situations that students may encounter in the course of their career. The cases may be taught sequentially or as standalone scenarios. Case A is delivered in the inspection copy and purchased copy, and Cases B - F are delivered alongside the teaching note. A slide deck accompanies the comprehensive teaching note that provides an in-depth analysis of each scenario with tips on promoting student engagement to create an active and dynamic learning environment. The intent of the case series is to enable students to develop fundamental tools for how to recognize, address, and successfully overcome compromising situations.

This case depicts an actual, real sequence of events in L'Oreal's Active Cosmetics Supply Chain. The case provides an illustration of the challenges facing large, multi-national organizations in aligning their supply chain planning along several dimensions. The span of the planning is from customers in several markets to the centralized production at the single source factory. The framework for laying out the facts of the case is the senior operations management request to conduct a supply chain planning audit on the Active Cosmetics planning process. The audit request was a direct response to complaints regarding customer service levels by general management. The case begins by setting the narrative that sets the audit in motion. Key actors across the supply chain speak their voices through testimony to the auditor, who serves as protagonist in the story of the case. This vehicle permits the case to express different points of view with objectivity, allowing the reader to consider the validity of each actor's behaviour using that actor's perspective. The case ends with a challenge to the reader to finish what the narrator has started. Having seen the case through his eyes, the reader must now experience the rest of the story as the narrator experienced, and prepare their own analysis and presentation for senior management.

These cases are part of a module of teaching materials that study the major financial events of the first decade of the 2000s and the dramatic shift in civic attitudes that accompanied them. Cases on the so-called panic of 2001 address the start of the shift in 2001-02 (the complementary materials address the events of 2008 and beyond.) The substance of the A and B cases is the civic reaction to the dot-com crash of 2000 and the wave of corporate fraud cases exposed from 2000 to 2002. The A case reviews the dot-com crash, the collapse of Enron, other cases of corporate fraud, and the actions of the President, Congress, and other entities up to July 15, 2002. At that date, Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley agreed to meet in a conference to hash out the final draft of the bill to be named "The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002." The dominant issue for the legislators (and for the students) is how tough to make the bill. The task for the student is to compare and contrast the respective bills and make a recommendation for a compromise. More broadly, the case affords the opportunity to reflect on the dynamics of financial crises and why it seems to be that frauds emerge during times of financial instability.

These cases are part of a module of teaching materials that study the major financial events of the first decade of the 2000s and the dramatic shift in civic attitudes that accompanied them. Cases on the so-called panic of 2001 address the start of the shift in 2001-02 (the complementary materials address the events of 2008 and beyond.) The substance of the A and B cases is the civic reaction to the dot-com crash of 2000 and the wave of corporate fraud cases exposed from 2000 to 2002. The B case provides a short summary of the final draft of Sarbanes-Oxley, the voting results in Congress, and the voting results in the congressional elections in November, 2002. This case is intended to be distributed toward the end of the class discussion and can be used to stimulate further reflection on the episode.

In August 2017, Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, considered how the Miami-based Spanish-language TV network Telemundo could succeed in a rapidly shifting media landscape. Over the past few years, Telemundo had prioritized high production value original programming and made significant gains on its Spanish-language rival Univision as well as the four biggest U.S. broadcasters. By 2017, Internet-distributed programming was competing for viewer attention, and Conde wondered how Telemundo could successfully maintain and attract viewers lured to new platforms. Despite the rapid growth in the size and buying power of the Hispanic market, many advertisers considered Spanish-language TV a niche marketing venue. How could Conde convince more advertisers that Telemundo was an effective way to reach this increasingly influential market?

The case covers the youth and career trajectory of Christine Lagarde, across her time at Baker & McKenzie, as a minister in the Government of France, and as the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The case highlights the challenges and opportunities that she faced during each phase of her career and how she managed them. Lagarde started her career in 1981 as a lawyer at the global law firm Baker & McKenzie, which employed approximately 2,500 lawyers across 35 countries by 1999, when she became the firm's first non-American and female chairman. In 2005, she became France's Minister for Foreign Trade in President Jacques Chirac's administration, and was the EU's de facto finance minister when the financial crisis was most acute. In 2011, she was then selected to head the IMF in 2011. Since 2011, Lagarde built the foundations for the IMF's adaptation to the realities of the twenty-first century. By 2017, shortly after Lagarde began her second term as the Managing Director of the IMF, the world faced pressing issues as a result of the rapidly-evolving, hyper-connected global economy-ongoing recovery from the global financial crisis, the rise of emerging economies, deeper cross-border integration, technological change, and growing wealth and income inequality within countries. These interrelated dynamics were playing out alongside heightened anxiety within the populations of some major advanced economies about what these changes meant for them. The concerns manifested themselves in an inward focus, rumblings of protectionism, and questions about the worth of international cooperation and the multilateral system itself. Lagarde believed that the challenges facing the world economy warranted not less but more global cooperation. In this context, she had to determine how the IMF-as the leading advocate of global economic cooperation since its creation-could better demonstrate its effectiveness. She knew that it was a critical moment.