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On June 5, 2013, a London newspaper reported that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting the telephone records of millions of Verizon customers in the U.S. The story was the first of many top secret revelations about the NSA's spying programs, leaked by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor. The case examines Snowden's actions and motivations and asks students to consider the repercussions of whistleblowing/leaking on the general public, the U.S. government, the NSA and Snowden himself. Case Number 2018.0

This case highlights the tough choices, competing interests, and decision-making mechanisms involved in California's management of its severe drought, entering its fifth year in 2015. Stuart Woolf, CEO of Woolf Farming, a grower and processor of almonds, tomatoes, and other crops in California's Central Valley, must decide how to respond to the changing operating environment. Scarce water resources-and institutional constraints on the use of water-have forced many producers, including Woolf, to fallow farmland. Meanwhile, competing demands for water from municipalities and environmental interests have raised the public's scrutiny of agricultural water use. This case describes farming in California's Central Valley and reviews the state's complicated system for managing water rights and resources. It invites students to analyze the relative merits of competing perspectives on how to allocate water, the institutional mechanisms for doing so, and the potential responses of agricultural producers to the changing marketplace. Is now the time to double down on farming in the Central Valley, shift to a higher-value-added crop portfolio (e.g., organics), or retreat from this challenging business?

George Mitchell founded Mitchell Energy to prospect for gas in resource rich Texas. The company was imbued with a counter-intuitive, "can-do" culture right from its start as a scrappy independent player among the more formidable majors, many of whom had a large presence in the region. However, unlike the established rivals who were primarily competing to prospect and produce oil reserves, Mitchell focused on natural gas. The natural gas business was not a hospitable environment especially in the 1970's when Mitchell Energy was getting fully entrenched in the business. George Mitchell brought a new perspective to the gas business by implementing a blue ocean approach. Creating a culture of innovation that encouraged his crew to question received wisdom, fostering an environment helped his staff take well measured and well managed risks, he was able to oversee the advent of the shale gas revolution the United States. The case offers several important lessons on implementing blue ocean thinking in practice that can be used across industry settings.

Haw Par Corporation's healthcare division produces Tiger Balm, the external analgesic rub that has gained global popularity. Despite delivering strong results, the division remains dependent on Asian markets, which poses challenges with regard to low affordability, weak protection of intellectual property and aggressive competition. To achieve sustained growth, the company's executive director is considering several alternatives: geographic expansion, by entering more markets; product expansion, through deeper penetration of existing markets with new products; and extending the brand into the highly competitive wellness space. He also needs to decide whether the division should pursue organic or inorganic growth.

Given an interest rate, readers will learn to calculate the present value of a sum to be received in the future or, alternatively, the future value of a sum invested today. The reading covers compounding and discounting, the two types of calculations used to determine the future and present value of money. It concludes with more complicated calculations drawn from real-world examples, and a brief discussion of how the formulas in the reading relate to pre-programmed Excel functions. The reading includes eight interactive illustrations: "Time Value of $100 Cash" shows the value of $100 compounded or discounted over 1-, 2-, and 3-year periods; "Calculating the Present Value of Multiple Cash Flows" is an animated presentation of present value calculations involving multiple (equal) cash flows and multiple periods; "Present or Future Value of Multiple Cash Flows" covers multiple (equal) cash flows and multiple periods, and allows readers to choose whether to compute present values or future values and observe the results; "Time Value of $100 with Compounding Frequencies" allows the reader to observe the impact of varying the interest rate and compounding frequency on the present or future value of $100; "Effect of Compounding Frequency" visually illustrates the economic impact of compounding frequency on future value; "Mortgage as an Annuity" is a mortgage calculator which allows the reader to set the APR and mortgage term and see how each affects the monthly payment as well as the split between principal and interest over time; "Present Value of Perpetuities and Annuities by Term" illustrates the changing relationship between a perpetuity and annuities (which share the same annual payment stream but differ in their term lengths) as interest rates change; "Practice Questions for Time Value of Money" is a self-study tool which enables readers to check their comprehension.

Hain Celestial manufactured natural and organic food and personal care products to be sold to retailers of these products. The company had grown successfully and profitably through acquisitions and organically for two decades. In late 2015, Hain faced challenges on several fronts. First, new consumers were interested in these products and these consumers had characteristics different from those of historical consumers in the segment. Second, the natural and organic market segment had been growing faster than the conventional market overall and was expected to continue to do so. This had caused large conventional manufacturers to enter this space increasing the level of competition for Hain. Third, this segment growth was also attracting a wider range of retailers wanting to sell these products and some of these retailers were introducing their own natural and organic brands.

This note introduces students to some economic concepts and ideas that are important ingredients for strategy, such as scale, learning, and the effects of market structure on competition. The note approaches these ideas really from a strategy perspective with a focus on their practical implications.

In 2015, BRF's new leadership team is transforming several aspects of the Brazilian protein giant, which had grown sluggish after the 2011 merger that created it. Underlying their reforms are the common goals of reducing bureaucracy, streamlining decision making, and, most importantly, creating a unified culture that, to date, the company has been missing. CEO Pedro Faria believes a strong culture, in which both BRF employees and its thousands of supply partners feel a sense of pride and ownership in working with BRF, will be critical to enabling BRF's global ambitions.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 214084.

This note serves as a supplement to any course on incentive design within organizations. The note focuses on the principal difficulties in designing incentive systems, including the trade off between objective and subjective performance metrics, how to design incentive systems in team environments, and the inherent problems with designing incentive systems in environments where workers are involved in multiple activities.

Betaspring was a mentorship-driven startup accelerator program for technology and design entrepreneurs. Founded in Rhode Island in 2009, it was one of the highest-ranked and longest-operating accelerators in the United States and was notable for being headquartered outside Silicon Valley. However, debate had emerged about the value provided by accelerators, and in August 2014 Betaspring faced two crucial strategic questions. Had a bubble emerged in the accelerator industry? If so, should Betaspring change its business model in order to survive a potential industry shakeout?

In 2013, Oxigen Services India Pvt. Ltd. launched a money transfer service integrated with the infrastructure of the National Payment Corporation of India. The Oxigen Wallet, India's first non-bank wallet, allowed instant money transfers to and from any bank account over an extensive ecosystem, with a large retail presence across India using point-of-sale terminals. Oxigen was a major provider of bill payment and merchant payment services, with complete interoperability between mobile wallets and bank accounts. But newer mobile wallet players were focused on alternative strategies, and were showing rapid growth in the number of subscribers thanks to innovative services, extensive sales promotions, and varied marketing initiatives. Oxigen wanted to be sure that it was using the capabilities of the ecosystem effectively within the context of changing market dynamics. Should Oxigen continue to invest significantly in ecosystem development, as it had been doing, or focus instead on a sales-and-promotion-driven growth strategy? In the changing market, what were Oxigen's best options for success?

This case introduces the key features of Google's wearable technology product "Glass" and illustrates the tensions that Google faced over the development and marketing of this product. The case goes on to highlight the growing backlash that Google experienced when promoting Glass.