個案總覽

Business Liability and Economic Damages is a five-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Scott D. Gilbert, associate professor of economics at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. This book considers potential liability in business and provides insight into estimating the damages associated with liability. The author reviews the roles of insurance, the legal system, and the economist in evaluating liability and compensation for loss. He also provides basic mathematical formulas involved in determining economic loss, illustrating concepts with examples where relevant. Each chapter begins with learning objectives and ends with a short list of exercises to reinforce key concepts. In Chapter 5, Loss to Workers and Families (23 pages), the author expands on specific factors that impact economic damages when a business liability claim involves wrongful injury or death. He reviews the calculation of work life expectancy in determining economic loss. He also reviews the role of household services and how they factor into economic loss. He considers economic loss that includes life care for long-term physical disability and how this value is determined.

Company and Industry Research: Strategies and Resources is a five-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Hiromi Kubo, business and economics librarian at California State University, and Thomas J. Ottaviano, business and economics librarian at Cornell University's Mann Library. The focus of the book is to provide practical guidance for conducting effective business research. The authors describe important characteristics of research and emphasize the need for evaluating information gathered. They review several sources of business, industry, and general research. They also offer practical insight into the elements of a business plan. Chapter 1, Introduction to Company and Industry Research (6 pages), reviews the current environment of technology-enabled access to information. The authors emphasize the need to evaluate information gathered in a business setting because it is used strategically. They warn that the abundance of information available adds to the difficulty of determining the quality of the information. They identify the characteristics of business research as focused on problem-solving, time-sensitive in nature, and the need to be cost-effective. They also differentiate between primary research, which is original data directly from the source, and secondary research, which is data gathered from published sources. They also provide a brief explanation of five strategies for effective research: determining what information to gather, developing a plan, locating reliable information, asking experts, and analyzing information before acting.

Company and Industry Research: Strategies and Resources is a five-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Hiromi Kubo, business and economics librarian at California State University, and Thomas J. Ottaviano, business and economics librarian at Cornell University's Mann Library. The focus of the book is to provide practical guidance for conducting effective business research. The authors describe important characteristics of research and emphasize the need for evaluating information gathered. They review several sources of business, industry, and general research. They also offer practical insight into the elements of a business plan. Chapter 2, Company Research (30 pages), reviews resources for finding information from sources in two categories: corporate profiles, reports, and analysis and company financials. The authors explore key considerations that will impact the information available to the researcher. First, whether a company is public or private, and second, whether the company is located in the Unites States or internationally. They also discuss the nature of financial research and review the key documents available for US companies, as well as providing a detailed review of financial concepts. They also review several resources for corporate information, including Hoovers, Mergent Online, LexisNexis Academic, and ESG Manager, as well as two resources for financial information, the Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios and the Risk Management Association.

Company and Industry Research: Strategies and Resources is a five-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Hiromi Kubo, business and economics librarian at California State University, and Thomas J. Ottaviano, business and economics librarian at Cornell University's Mann Library. The focus of the book is to provide practical guidance for conducting effective business research. The authors describe important characteristics of research and emphasize the need for evaluating information gathered. They review several sources of business, industry, and general research. They also offer practical insight into the elements of a business plan. In Chapter 3, Industry Research (28 pages), the authors review resources about business industries, news and trends, data and analysis, and trade. The authors emphasize the importance of understanding the industry in which a business operates and describe how Porter's Five Forces provides a universal structure for industry analysis. They suggest that the most important step for the researcher is to define the industry suited to his or her company and review standardized industry classification system codes, North American Industry Clas¬sification System (NAICS). They also offer practical tips on conducting industry research and review the sources listed at the beginning of the chapter, including Business Insights: Essentials, IBISWorld, Mintel, Factiva, Bloomberg, U.S. Bureau of the Census, and ABI/INFORM Complete.

Company and Industry Research: Strategies and Resources is a five-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Hiromi Kubo, business and economics librarian at California State University, and Thomas J. Ottaviano, business and economics librarian at Cornell University's Mann Library. The focus of the book is to provide practical guidance for conducting effective business research. The authors describe important characteristics of research and emphasize the need for evaluating information gathered. They review several sources of business, industry, and general research. They also offer practical insight into the elements of a business plan. Chapter 4, Further Resources for Business Research (16 pages), reviews additional sources for information. The authors review sources of economic data and information, consumer and marketing research, and international business information. Specific sources include Federal Reserve Economic Data, World Bank Data, SimplyMap, and CIAWorld.

Company and Industry Research: Strategies and Resources is a five-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Hiromi Kubo, business and economics librarian at California State University, and Thomas J. Ottaviano, business and economics librarian at Cornell University's Mann Library. The focus of the book is to provide practical guidance for conducting effective business research. The authors describe important characteristics of research and emphasize the need for evaluating information gathered. They review several sources of business, industry, and general research. They also offer practical insight into the elements of a business plan. In Chapter 5, Business Plans (20 pages), the authors offer practical tips for creating an effective document. They review common elements of a business plan and offer insight into developing each section and what information to include. The common components covered include: executive summary, company description, description of products/services, industry analysis, market analysis, organizational structure, a marketing plan, an operations plan, other key strategic plans, financial analysis, and request for assistance. The authors explain that although there is not one way to write a business plan, researchers should consider all of the elements listed.

Rural Tourism is an important feature in development of emerging states in India. This case study, an UNDP funded project with ministry of Tourism, GOI, focuses the problem faced by a NGO in developing a rural tourism in Jharkhand in India for a decade. The management issues are feasibility and financial viability, lack of project and infrastructure planning, role of government agencies. The case stresses need of project risk management in this type of private partner partnership.

Kunvarji Group was on its way to transform from a commodity trading business to a service-driven business. To become an integrated service provider in the agri-supply chain, Kunvarji was participating actively in procurement and trading, and is now eyeing options for providing agri-storage services. Their dilemma reeled around the choice of storage that should be preferred for better returns: warehouse, cold storage, or silos and what growth strategy they had to adopt.

Writing for Public Relations: A Practical Guide for Professionals is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Janet Mizrahi, a lecturer in the writing program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The book provides an overview of key communications tools for public relations, both print and online. The author offers guidelines to creating tools, including emails, press releases, newsletters, and brochures. She explains what makes writing effective in different contexts, such as delivering positive and negative news, print versus online content, and tailoring messages to the intended audience. She explains how websites and social media fit into a company's communication strategy. She includes checklists, templates, and examples. In Chapter 1, Writing as a Public Relations Professional (15 pages), the author begins with a three-step process for writing. She first explains the need to understand the reader, using age, language ability, and education level, and knowing if the goal is to inform, persuade, or request information. She then advises the writer to construct an outline and first draft without self-censoring. She also explains how to edit for content, style, and cohesion. She recommends that the writer first look at paragraphs and offers examples of different transitions between paragraphs, and then look at specific style and grammar for each sentence. She explains several aspects of public relations writing style, including active voice, clarity, and sentence variety, with examples of each. She describes resources for writers and ends with two checklists: avoiding wordiness and editing and proofreading.

Writing for Public Relations: A Practical Guide for Professionals is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Janet Mizrahi, a lecturer in the writing program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The book provides an overview of key communications tools for public relations, both print and online. The author offers guidelines to creating tools, including emails, press releases, newsletters, and brochures. She explains what makes writing effective in different contexts, such as delivering positive and negative news, print versus online content, and tailoring messages to the intended audience. She explains how websites and social media fit into a company's communication strategy. She includes checklists, templates, and examples. In Chapter 2, Routine Communications (17 pages), the author discusses daily communications. She explains that most communication is positive, where the reader's reaction is neutral or happy. She says this type of communication is usually a request for information, reply to outreach, or sharing of information. Here, she recommends a direct approach in three parts: opening, body, and conclusion. She reviews channels such as email and instant messages, and the type of message appropriate for each channel. She explains how to write an email and shares best practices. She reviews writing a letter, a memo, and an instant message. She posits that the purpose of the communication affects the writing strategy. She recommends an indirect approach for delivering negative news, and outlines four strategies for communication as well as examples for each strategy.

Writing for Public Relations: A Practical Guide for Professionals is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Janet Mizrahi, a lecturer in the writing program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The book provides an overview of key communications tools for public relations, both print and online. The author offers guidelines to creating tools, including emails, press releases, newsletters, and brochures. She explains what makes writing effective in different contexts, such as delivering positive and negative news, print versus online content, and tailoring messages to the intended audience. She explains how websites and social media fit into a company's communication strategy. She includes checklists, templates, and examples. In Chapter 3, Writing News Releases (12 pages), the author examines the purpose of a press release and a process for creating one. She outlines the most common types of releases, including publicity, product information, bad news, financial information, and feature story. She considers the concept of news value and the elements of newsworthiness in a release. She also provides a news release template with notes on each element, from headlines to boilerplate, and shares insight into what makes a release effective. She highlights unique characteristics of writing a features news release and concludes with tips on submitting a release to the media.

Writing for Public Relations: A Practical Guide for Professionals is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Janet Mizrahi, a lecturer in the writing program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The book provides an overview of key communications tools for public relations, both print and online. The author offers guidelines to creating tools, including emails, press releases, newsletters, and brochures. She explains what makes writing effective in different contexts, such as delivering positive and negative news, print versus online content, and tailoring messages to the intended audience. She explains how websites and social media fit into a company's communication strategy. She includes checklists, templates, and examples. In Chapter 4, Newsletters (17 pages), the author discusses how to create effective newsletters. She lists four types based on intended audience: employee, member, community, and special interest. She advises the writer to first identify the intended audience, the messages to deliver, and a realistic publication schedule. She explains newsletter format and analyzes print versus online delivery. She explores the importance of relevant content and provides ideas for managing ideas and conducting research, with information about doing interviews. She offers guidance on writing different types of articles, like feature stories and news briefs. She explores the inverted pyramid approach, a summary lead, headlines, and the use of images. She highlights considerations for print and electronic layout and reviews basic design elements.

Writing for Public Relations: A Practical Guide for Professionals is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Janet Mizrahi, a lecturer in the writing program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The book provides an overview of key communications tools for public relations, both print and online. The author offers guidelines to creating tools, including emails, press releases, newsletters, and brochures. She explains what makes writing effective in different contexts, such as delivering positive and negative news, print versus online content, and tailoring messages to the intended audience. She explains how websites and social media fit into a company's communication strategy. She includes checklists, templates, and examples. In Chapter 5, Brochures (16 pages), advises the writer to understand the intended reader to determine what information to include. She explains the two purposes of a brochure, either to inform or persuade the audience, and that content will differ depending on the ultimate goal. She explains how to write content and conduct research, from gathering existing data to identifying features and benefits about what is being presented in the brochure. She outlines criteria for effective writing, such as content organization, tone, voice, and flow. She also reviews brochure format and elements like headings and visuals. She briefly explains basic design and offers a sample project outline.

Writing for Public Relations: A Practical Guide for Professionals is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Janet Mizrahi, a lecturer in the writing program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The book provides an overview of key communications tools for public relations, both print and online. The author offers guidelines to creating tools, including emails, press releases, newsletters, and brochures. She explains what makes writing effective in different contexts, such as delivering positive and negative news, print versus online content, and tailoring messages to the intended audience. She explains how websites and social media fit into a company's communication strategy. She includes checklists, templates, and examples. In Chapter 6, Media Kits (6 pages), the author discusses how to assemble materials for the press. She considers the importance of understanding both the audience when doing so and the goal for sharing the information. She explains how to assemble a media kit, with tips about the necessary materials. She lists common items included, like a fact sheet, news release, company bios, non-print items, and a backgrounder, as well as optional items. She reviews the purpose of a pitch letter as a tool to capture interest. She also provides a chart that shows four types of media kits (special event, news, promotion, or crisis) and the content that each kit should include.

Writing for Public Relations: A Practical Guide for Professionals is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Janet Mizrahi, a lecturer in the writing program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The book provides an overview of key communications tools for public relations, both print and online. The author offers guidelines to creating tools, including emails, press releases, newsletters, and brochures. She explains what makes writing effective in different contexts, such as delivering positive and negative news, print versus online content, and tailoring messages to the intended audience. She explains how websites and social media fit into a company's communication strategy. She includes checklists, templates, and examples. In Chapter 8, Social Media Marketing (15 pages), the author explains the importance of social media to a company's communications. She looks at the three targets of social media: customers and clients, employees, and the media, and recommends how to interact with each. She recommends creating guidelines for using social media. She describes blogs and microblogs, and considers criteria for effective content. She explains Twitter and Facebook and offers characteristics for microblog content. She provides tips for managing comments on Facebook. She also outlines how to write a news release that targets bloggers and online journalists, suggests the elements to include in the release, and provides a sample.

Writing for Public Relations: A Practical Guide for Professionals is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Janet Mizrahi, a lecturer in the writing program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The book provides an overview of key communications tools for public relations, both print and online. The author offers guidelines to creating tools, including emails, press releases, newsletters, and brochures. She explains what makes writing effective in different contexts, such as delivering positive and negative news, print versus online content, and tailoring messages to the intended audience. She explains how websites and social media fit into a company's communication strategy. She includes checklists, templates, and examples. In Chapter 8, Social Media Marketing (15 pages), the author explains the importance of social media to a company's communications. She looks at the three targets of social media: customers and clients, employees, and the media, and recommends how to interact with each. She recommends creating guidelines for using social media. She describes blogs and microblogs and considers criteria for effective content. She explains Twitter and Facebook and offers characteristics for microblog content. She provides tips for managing comments on Facebook. She also outlines how to write a news release that targets bloggers and online journalists, suggests the elements to include in the release, and provides a sample.

This technical note provides an overview of religious discrimination law in the United States and provides managers with a meaningful understanding of their rights and obligations when an employee's religious beliefs or practices conflict with his or her work responsibilities. The analysis will touch on intentional discrimination and harassment ("I'm firing you because you're Christian/Jewish/other"), types of religious discrimination that are readily identifiable and resolvable. Less obviously, U.S. law requires that employers provide "reasonable accommodation" whenever a religiously neutral business practice interferes with an employee's religious practice; this reasonable accommodation doctrine is more complex and nuanced. Providing reasonable accommodation presents obstacles for managers that are as legalistically dense as they are financially treacherous. This note aims to help managers identify blatantly illegal practices but it also aims to assist management in navigating the gray areas where the law is underdeveloped or inconsistently applied. The law often provides vignettes of what managers legally can or cannot do, but neither laws nor cases interpreting them provide clear answers for managers attempting to handle challenging religious issues that arise in their firms. Finally, while digesting the information provided in this note, managers must remember that this analysis describes legal solutions, not managerial ones.

In April 2015, BitGold, an international savings and payments service, was undergoing the final steps towards its historic initial public offering, which would take place on Canada's TSX Venture Exchange and sought to raise between $10 million to $20 million in funding. With its blending of blockchain technology and aspects of digital currencies like bitcoin, BitGold was paving the way to the legitimation of future "FinTech" startups by going public. The important questions include: How can BitGold continue to maintain its legitimacy and growth on the heels of a tumultuous year for digital currencies, blockchain technology and bitcoin? Given the complexity of the regulatory landscape, how can BitGold build its customer base and expand internationally?

In 2013, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of a lingerie business in India has recently moved his business from offline to online in order to reach a wider customer base. The company is one of the very few online lingerie stores in India that also has its own brand. Although the online business is profitable, the CEO cannot ignore the fact that offline stores still dominate the lingerie market in India. Since its key product is only available online, the company may be missing out on an opportunity. Because the shift from an offline business to an online one occurred in 2012, an immediate investment in actual stores will have financial consequences. Should the CEO continue to operate his online business and consider relaunching retail stores at a later time, or should he relaunch now and manage both business models at once?

This case study features ProsFit, a European start-up company founded in 2013 that used breakthrough technology - Computer Aided Design (CAD) and 3D printing - to transform the way in which sockets for prosthetic limbs are produced. It promised to reduce fitting times considerably, improve comfort and cut production costs, helping to meet growing demand. Companies were registered in Bulgaria and in the UK. Proof of concept was established in April 2014, and ethics approval in the UK was granted. Two successful rounds of fundraising were completed at the time of publication of this case study in late 2015, and there were seven employees. It is a family firm, having been co-founded by father-and-son team Alan and Chris Hutchison. The latter is a double amputee and user of prosthetic limbs. Alan Hutchison is an experienced business developer, with a degree in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford. The decision to start the company stemmed from concern about the pain and discomfort Chris was experiencing with a prosthetic limb fitted traditionally as well as the lengthy time-to-comfort of the fitting process. Software scanning and 3D printing technology replaced the artisanal approach used for sculpting sockets. The company was set up to be both commercial and philanthropic, using profits from developed countries to subsidize sockets in developing nations. First invoices were issued in 2015. The founders estimated they had an18- to 24-month first-mover advantage from mid-2015.