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The newly appointed innovation manager at Purolator, a market leader in the parcel delivery industry in Canada, is under pressure to deliver quick wins. The manager faces three dilemmas in his role, which is the first-of-its-kind in the company. How should he bring innovation to the attention of Purolator employees, particularly the senior managers? How should he develop the roadmap and set an agenda for unveiling innovation at Purolator? How should he ensure that innovation becomes a source of long-term competitive advantage at Purolator?

Comair Limited was South Africa's largest private airline and consisted of British Airways SA and the low-cost airline kulula.com. After acquiring more fuel-efficient aircraft, Comair decided to adopt Sabre, a reservation and scheduling technology platform. Initially, some Comair executives thought that the Sabre implementation was an IT project, but they soon realized that all employees were affected and that a culture change was required to successfully implement the new standardized way of working. An organizational transformation company was hired and "Operation Crossover" was created as a reference point for employees and metaphor for change in order to enable the change process, starting with a change readiness assessment and culture change roadmap. How could Comair's CEO capitalize on the positive changes from this project and maintain the profitability and growth of the last 68 years?

America's Budget Impasse draws on a series of recent government documents to explore America's economic performance through 2016, tax policy under President Bush, economic-policy decisions - especially the stimulus and the resulting performance under President Obama, the Senate and House budget proposals in 2016, and the new budget proposals of President Donald Trump in May of 2017. The case is designed to understand Republican ideology associated with tax cuts, to evaluate the effectiveness of tax cuts, to assess the stimulus and the effects of the fiscal and tax multipliers, and to assess President Trump's proposed budget cuts and tax cuts.

Beth Wozniak, President of Honeywell Environmental and Combustion Controls (ECC) at Honeywell International Inc., spun around in her office chair, reflecting about how the classic, mature thermostat industry was rapidly evolving. In February 2014, Google paid $3.2 billion to acquire Nest Labs, a new startup whose goal was to reinvent unloved home devices, such as thermostats and smoke alarms. Their smart thermostats posed a threat to the traditional thermostat business, and it was essential that Honeywell determine the best way to respond. In addition to selling thermostats, Nest had ambitious plans to facilitate connections between Nest and other companies, making it easier for consumers to save money and energy. Many companies were developing smart, connected products that could be controlled remotely. But who really wanted to check ten different apps to make sure the heat was down, the doors were locked, and the lights were turned off? The Internet of Things (IoT) redefined the potential of industries, allowing a company that created a smart, connected product to develop an entire system of products that worked together. How would Honeywell, the mature, industrial company in a basic, mechanical business, compete with the new startup bought by Google and developing its own ecosystem - notably giving away thermostats to AirBnB in return for selling data to utilities?

Spreadsheet supplement for case 214048.

This three-part case series examines the change management challenge of putting corporate marketing at the top of the corporate executive suite (C-suite) agenda in a business-to-business (B2B) multinational. It follows the four-year journey, from 2010 to 2014, of Mauricio Adade, the newly appointed chief marketing officer (CMO) of Royal DSM - a global leader in life sciences and material sciences headquartered in the Netherlands. The case series, together with the video supplement, delves into the issues faced by the company's top leadership, including Adade, in its effort to transform a diversified industrial company into an organization with best-in-class marketing and sales capabilities. Case A begins by highlighting the culture and organizational structure of Royal DSM and the decision to raise the profile of headquarters-based corporate marketing, with the appointment of Adade in 2010. It discusses the marketing and sales excellence project launched by the new CMO during his first year at the helm and concludes by putting the spotlight on the resistance posed by the company's most powerful stakeholders: the business group leaders. Case B focuses on the implementation journey during the period 2011-2014. Adade and his team adopted a new plan of action and positioned the corporate marketing department as a partner that worked with the business groups to deliver projects with quantifiable results. Did the new strategy work? Case C provides an update on the replacement of Adade (announced in December 2014) and allows for a discussion on the challenges that lie ahead for the new CMO and the organization as a whole.

Supplement to case IMD780. This three-part case series examines the change management challenge of putting corporate marketing at the top of the corporate executive suite (C-suite) agenda in a business-to-business (B2B) multinational. It follows the four-year journey, from 2010 to 2014, of Mauricio Adade, the newly appointed chief marketing officer (CMO) of Royal DSM - a global leader in life sciences and material sciences headquartered in the Netherlands. The case series, together with the video supplement, delves into the issues faced by the company's top leadership, including Adade, in its effort to transform a diversified industrial company into an organization with best-in-class marketing and sales capabilities. Case B focuses on the implementation journey during the period 2011-2014. Adade and his team adopted a new plan of action and positioned the corporate marketing department as a partner that worked with the business groups to deliver projects with quantifiable results. Did the new strategy work?

Supplement to case IMD780. This three-part case series examines the change management challenge of putting corporate marketing at the top of the corporate executive suite (C-suite) agenda in a business-to-business (B2B) multinational. It follows the four-year journey, from 2010 to 2014, of Mauricio Adade, the newly appointed chief marketing officer (CMO) of Royal DSM - a global leader in life sciences and material sciences headquartered in the Netherlands. The case series, together with the video supplement, delves into the issues faced by the company's top leadership, including Adade, in its effort to transform a diversified industrial company into an organization with best-in-class marketing and sales capabilities. Case A begins by highlighting the culture and organizational structure of Royal DSM and the decision to raise the profile of headquarters-based corporate marketing, with the appointment of Adade in 2010. It discusses the marketing and sales excellence project launched by the new CMO during his first year at the helm and concludes by putting the spotlight on the resistance posed by the company's most powerful stakeholders: the business group leaders. Case B focuses on the implementation journey during the period 2011-2014. Adade and his team adopted a new plan of action and positioned the corporate marketing department as a partner that worked with the business groups to deliver projects with quantifiable results. Did the new strategy work? Case C provides an update on the replacement of Adade (announced in December 2014) and allows for a discussion on the challenges that lie ahead for the new CMO and the organization as a whole.

In September 2008, the CEO of Rainbow Group, a Chinese group of companies specializing in environmental protection services, was in Beijing, China, thinking about his experience that evening. A few hours ago, eight senior executives from Rainbow Group's subsidiary in Hangzhou had come to Beijing requesting that the CEO fire their general manager, who had been appointed by the CEO only six months ago. This manager had taken control of the Hangzhou subsidiary with ambitious efforts to implement lean management and better cost control, but had met resistance from the other managers. The CEO was reviewing this appointment and thinking hard. What was the problem? What should he do?

Globally acclaimed singer, actor, author, and Grammy Award winner Ricky Martin "decided [on March 29, 2010] to put an end to the hell that was going on inside [his] mind" by using Twitter to openly declare his homosexuality. Issues posed by the revelation included: What options were available to Martin's management before and after the revelation in order to effectively deal with situations that could have jeopardized Martin's career and future projects? Should those close to Martin have planned for a potential brand repositioning strategy? If so, how should they have handled it?

The entrepreneur owner of Proof Engineering is facing a difficult decision: whether to sell his family business to a large corporation and shift to a corporate career or abandon the deal and continue as an entrepreneur. Following a setback from a previous deal in which he sold 50 per cent of his company, the entrepreneur has managed to grow Proof Engineering into a successful international enterprise. However, this second offer presents many potentially lucrative opportunities. There are a number of motivations involved in the decision to sell - including personal, financial and business considerations.

In 2014, Paris Baguette was the largest bakery chain in South Korea with 3,200 stores throughout the country and 178 locations in China, Southeast Asia and the United States. Since 1988, the company had vertically integrated with ingredient suppliers and developed its own food processing capability, giving it considerable control over the value chain. In addition, it had developed an innovative franchise arrangement that allowed for improved cash flow from operations. However, in response to domestic market saturation, intense competition from local and multinational bakery chains and independent bakeries and a recent change in government regulations, its chief executive officer is wondering how best to achieve his goal of operating 6,000 stores in 60 countries worldwide and achieving revenue of KRW4 trillion by 2020. He is also considering whether it would be better to focus instead on improving the profitability of the company's domestic operations and delay his expansion plans.

This technical note explores one of the most important topics for firms and their managers: labor. In particular, how many people should a firm hire, and how much should they be paid? The note uses the example of Wail Al-Hayani, the owner of a kitchen that provides fresh prepared food to quick-service restaurants, to explore hiring decisions and setting wages and salaries-and the marginal values that matter. If Al-Hayani hires more workers, it would mean extra output and revenue, so long as the value of the marginal product of labor exceeds the wage. To maximize profits, a competitive firm should hire workers up to the point where the value of the marginal product of labor equals the wage.

Most talented executives can recognize when an acquisition has strategic or financial benefits, and in this case, the decision to be acquired was an appropriate exit strategy for a successful start-up. Peter Street's start-up had been growing quickly and was building a reputation for reliability in a booming industry when a Japanese firm offered to pay a premium for the U.S. firm. Having done business in Japan (and extensively with the acquiring company) before the sale of his company, Street entered the acquisition with enthusiasm. As part of the deal, Street's former company would continue to operate in the United States as a division of its parent company and Street would remain as CEO. A few months into the transition, however, Street discovered a huge difference between working with and working for the Japanese firm. Cultural norms for confronting seemingly small problems quickly became bigger operational issues, and Street experienced a growing dichotomy between corporate (in Japan) and his division (in the United States). This case focuses on the challenges of implementing a cross-border acquisition.

In 2010, Human Rights Watch, a well-regarded international NGO, approached Barrick Gold asserting that members of the company's security force at the Porgera Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea had on multiple occasions raped women who were trespassing onto the mine's waste dumps in search of gold. Subsequent investigations identified significant evidence to support the allegations, and the revelations led to broad ranging change at both Porgera and at Barrick more generally. Drawing heavily on the United Nation's Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (GPs), Barrick not only moved to make efforts to provide restitution to the women involved, but also designed and rolled out a comprehensive set of policies designed to embed the protection of human rights into the entire company. Barrick also played a central role in leading the development of an auditing and verification framework for the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (the VPs), a set of commitments embraced by most of the world's largest extractive companies. The case provides students with an opportunity to analyze the challenges that arise from operating in environments with weak state institutions; to examine the challenges of implementing voluntary frameworks, such as the GPs or VPs, and their potential as alternatives to state institutions; to learn about the field of business and human rights; and to develop an analytic framework for evaluating the responsibilities of business leaders to society, especially from the perspective of human rights.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel faced economic and moral pressure to encourage greater immigration from struggling European, and especially Eurozone, countries after the economic downturn that began in 2008. In fact, it was possible that both the Euro currency union and the European political union depended on increasing migration across member countries, including into Germany. But German domestic politics made Merkel's decision a difficult one. Instructors may also obtain a Teaching Note, written by this case's author, that provides suggestions for using this case effectively in the classroom.

In April 2014, Hector Guerra (GMP 16) was discussing his company's dilemma with his living group of the General Management Program (GMP) at the Harvard Business School. Guerra was Vice President of Operations at Evans Food, a $100 million company, which produced pork rinds - salty snacks made out of pork skin - and sold at some of the largest US retailers such as HEB, Meijer, ALDI and Wal-Mart. In the last few years, the cost of pork skin had increased dramatically but Evans Food's selling price to its customers had not kept pace with the increase in raw material costs. The company was losing money on some of the largest accounts but it seemed difficult, if not impossible, to seek price increase from multibillion-dollar retailers.

Tracks the first six months of a recent MBA grad, Tim Keller, at Katzenbach Partners, a boutique consulting firm focused on organizational change and strategy. Covers how Keller initially struggles with his assignment and ends with a question of whether or not he should attend a meeting that he was not invited to, where more senior consultants plan to implement the system dynamics tool that he was responsible for creating-on a Sunday when he had a major personal engagement.