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Spreadsheet supplement to case IMB573.

Job titles usually don't generate much excitement. But at some companies, receptionists are "directors of first impressions," PR people are "brand evangelists," and theme park workers are "cast members." Research shows that all this isn't just a silly exercise in euphemisms--it can be a powerful tool for improving workers' morale and boosting recruitment. London Business School's Dan Cable studied how creative new titles improved life at a local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and other organizations, and he has outlined steps for companies looking to launch retitling initiatives.

Surprising new findings on how sleep affects our mental processes.

This case raises a number of issues related to the relationship between financial metrics and a company's business model and strategy. Specifically, the case requires students to match a company with a financial profile that consists of a common-size balance sheet and additional selected ratios. Students are forced to consider the many different ways a company's business model and strategy impact the financial statements, including effects on gross margin, net margin, inventories, R & D expenditures, and working capital ratios. The case is excellent when used as a capstone exercise after a discussion of financial statement ratios and their use in financial statement analysis. The case has been used in both the first year Financial Reporting course and the Financial Statement Analysis elective in the Babson MBA program. In addition, the case has been used in many different executive education programs that include sessions on financial analysis.

Alex and Mimi Ikonn were heading out to dinner in Toronto to celebrate their first real day in business. While their preparations had taken several months of their time, tomorrow was the day when their website would go live. Was all their hard work worth it? They were about to find out.

The case uses the story of one of the leading e-commerce firms in Vietnam to introduce students to concepts and models of e-commerce, and in particular, to help students get familiar with cultural, ethical and legal issues in doing cross-border e-commerce. After solving the top three challenges in doing e-commerce in Vietnam within the past 9 years - enabling a reliable and secured online transaction, building customers' trust in buyers and providing an effective shipping service, the CEO needed to consider whether he should expand his proven successful domestic ecosystem extensively or build a completely new one to serve his company's strategic move: doing cross-border e-commerce in Southeast Asia where there exist established players in the highly competitive and technology savvy market. Such a key strategic event occurred in early 2014.

In this teaching case, we challenge students to think about and discuss how the legal profession can adapt to disruptive forces caused by the globalization of skills and technology innovation. The case focuses on how one UK-based firm - Radiant Law - completely rethought the delivery of legal services. This 'new age' law firm continually tested the boundaries of new ways to leverage the value of global talent and technology. For example, it changed its pricing and sourcing models, adopted new technologies, hired freelance IT professionals globally to develop software to streamline its legal work, engaged outsourcing providers in India and (subsequently) in South Africa. After nearly 3 years in South Africa, Radiant Law contemplated switching its sourcing model again. The Radiant Law story supports discussion about challenges associated with global sourcing decisions and the present and future shape of professional work and services in an increasingly technology-enabled, globalized world.

This case is designed to illustrate the conceptual foundations of business intelligence; thus, the analysts can develop an understanding on how to utilize the business intelligence framework to make proper decisions in the turbulent and competitive business environment. The case started when Bob, the senior vice president of Thai ABC Airline, had to implement a new method of re-accommodating passengers in the case of canceled/delayed flights. The first incident was reported that the flight from Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) to Hong Kong (HKG) was expected to be delayed and seven passengers would definitely miss the original connecting flight from Hong Kong to Chicago, USA. Unfortunately, the next available flight to Chicago was almost fully booked and could accommodate only two more passengers. Thus, Bob and his team had to decide which two passengers should be on the next available flight and which others would have to stay overnight in Bangkok for the morning flight to Chicago on the next day. The following topics are discussed in or raised by the case: (1) Airline Industry and the incidence of passengers' dissatisfaction because of delayed/ canceled flights, (2) Business intelligence concept, (3) Customer acquisition and customer retention, (4) Social media and key influencers, and (5) Decision making based on different airline's strategic direction.

This teaching case describes the journey undertaken by the Beijing Capital International Airport's IT department in the implementation of various large-scale IT projects during the construction of the Terminal 3 project. The case specifically singled out the Airport Security system in the Terminal 3 project and provided a detailed description on its implementation. Airport security has always been one of the key concerns in all Airport management activities. In recent times, Airport security has become a hot topic especially given the increasing threats posted by terrorists (e.g., 9/11 incident and MH370). The case portrays Mr. Roland Lee, the project manager of the Airport Security system, as the central protagonist confronting the various challenges in balancing the risks and the requirements to keep the project on time, on budget and of high quality.

This case, based on data collected in a longitudinal field study, presents Dr. Nathalie MajorCook, a Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) pediatrician, who in January 2012 was considering what to do about a 2-year grant-funded pilot project, which had provided an innovative patient care coordination service to 23 families of children described as technology-dependent, medically complex and fragile. Convinced that the Complex Care Coordination service is worthwhile, Dr. Major-Cook wants to move it beyond the pilot test phase to a funded, ongoing service. The case situation is a 'cliff hanger,' in that in January 2012, Dr. Major-Cook has not yet learned whether a proposal to fund this as an ongoing service will be approved. If it does not receive approval, she will face the unpleasant task of explaining to parents that this valuable service will end in a few short months. If it does receive approval, several decisions need to be made and actions taken in order to scale the service up, so that it can support about 100 families of technology-dependent, medically complex and fragile children in the region. Dr. Major-Cook also wonders if there is anything else she can do to tip the scales in favor of this decision. The case context is unique and captivating; the young patients under Dr. Major-Cook's care suffer from multiple, and sometimes rare life-threatening diseases. The new Complex Care Coordination model, entailing several new roles and a new way to exchange important information among care providers, was designed to improve the quality of healthcare service delivery, increase parental satisfaction and reduce care costs.

This case details the setting up and growth of a high technology venture, Shanakt Consulting, in India. The company is founded by skilled academicians who had limited experience in setting up and managing a business. Shanakt's innovative RFID technology can be useful across several industries including mining, healthcare, heavy industries, and aviation, among others. RFID is the precursor to the Internet of Things, which is considered by many to be the next big wave in the field of networks and communication. Being in a promising but niche domain, with few competitors, Shanakt is likely to face a positive scenario for its business. However, the events in the Shanakt story do not unfold as planned, causing its management to arrive at crossroads. Shanakt toys with several business models including refining its products to target a particular industry, providing training kits, and manufacturing and developing prototypes. It has to decide on its future course of action. This case provides a detailed view, through the eyes of a technology startup, of the internal thought processes and strategy, and the external environment in a developing country that influences the growth of a new venture. It also sheds light on interactions of the startup with public sector firms, an important part of the Indian economy. Moreover, it highlights the impact of management team composition, and strategic decision making on the performance of such a firm.

The case examines how the founder of a startup company came up with the entrepreneurial idea and used Kickstarter as a platform to establish and grow his company. The case describes in detail the history of the company and charts out the crowdfunding campaigns that provided the company the initial funding. The case concludes at the point at which the founder is considering different funding options to scale the company even further. The case can be used in a variety of classes including digital business, open innovation, strategic IT management, digital innovation and entrepreneurship, and digital marketing.

Going forward, growth and prosperity in communities around the world will depend on three enablers of creativity, which the authors call 'the 3Ts of economic development': Technology, Talent and Tolerance. They share findings from their Global Creativity Index, indicating which countries are ahead of the pack-and which are falling behind. They also show that the divide between the Creative Class and the Service Class lies at the root of the growing inequality that we are seeing across advanced and developing nations alike.

Whether we admit it or not, common, everyday biases influence how we see the world. The fact is, we cannot go shopping, enter a conversation, or make a decision without a bias of some sort kicking in. The authors show that the best way to overcome common biases in the workplace is collectively. They describe five classes of common biases that all leaders should be familiar with, and show how team-based practices can be redesigned to help identify biases as they emerge, and counteract them on the fly.

Without realizing it, even well-managed companies versed in modern practices can generate an environment that is hostile to innovation. As a result, the authors argue that large companies need to have a distinct Innovation Unit, headed up by a senior executive who reports directly to the CEO. They provide a framework for designing the mission and scope for an in-house Innovation Unit, anchored by seven key tasks for the firm's innovation leader, including 'scanning for best practices' and 'designing shelter for innovations'.

Three current and former C-suite executives of thriving global companies (Magna International, Research in Motion and Manulife Financial) discuss the challenges faced by their companies in establishing global operations and key lessons learned. They also discuss current opportunities, and look to what lies around the corner for companies seeking to expand beyond their national boundaries. In the end, they agree that the biggest risk of globalization is simple: not doing it.

If your company is considering entering a new global market, why not target a wide range of consumers-from the wealthy, to the middle class all the way down to the poorest of the poor? The authors show how a wide range of for-profit healthcare organizations are experimenting with different types of smartphone-enabled services for low-income consumers. They provide several examples of how these business models work, and describe three approaches that for-profit organizations can use to serve the poor-in the realm of healthcare and beyond.

Most business leaders speak optimistically about the prospects of globalization, and for good reason. Globalization has fostered an increasingly interconnected world, with nearly $30 trillion in goods and services traded in 2013 alone. So, why do so many well-run companies fail in global markets? The author, an NYU Professor, says it's because executives fail to account for important differences between nations and to consider how those differences will generate operational risks. Using the 'cautionary tales' of IKEA in Russia, Walmart in China and Tesco in the U.S., he shows the importance of understanding the impact of 'institutional distance' when taking a business global.

Although Chinese giant Huawei surpassed Ericsson in 2012 to become the global telecom leader in terms of sales revenue and net profit, the company is still relatively unknown in the West. Many Chinese believe the blueprint for Huawei's success was created by its founder and long-time CEO, Ren Zhengfei. The authors describe seven characteristics of Zhengfei's leadership style, including 'adaptive vision', 'humble dedication' and 'winning by cooperating'. Characterized by his employees as someone who 'leads with his heart and moves with his mind', Zhengfei's purpose, inspiration and humility in leading China's most global company will provide inspiration for leaders everywhere.

Today, the world's biggest challenges-from financial (in)stability to immigration, health, the environment, terrorism and food safety- are global in nature, and their solutions demand global thinking. The authors argue that modern summitry is one of the best ways to addresses such 'spillovers'. The philosophical foundations of arrangements to achieve consensus among otherwise sovereign states as they deal with joint problems is imbued with idealism, they say, and the advance of globalization has only made such collaboration a higher imperative. While the architecture of a new global order remains a question, they maintain that one thing is certain: summitry will have a continuing and crucial role to play.