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Through the first part of the twenty-first century, the number of people playing golf in the United States had been in decline. Fewer people played the game, they played less frequently, and more golf courses were closing than opening. Players complained that it took too long to play golf, new courses were too difficult, and the game was expensive and hard to learn. However, the professional game was thriving, with increasing prize money and television viewership. The case looks at the governance of golf, with particular emphasis on the United States Golf Association. It asked students to consider what groups should be responsible for the health of the game, and what might be done to increase participation.

Delivering health care to the global population was a challenge. Health care costs accounted for ten percent of world GDP by 2013. In the U.S., health care costs were expected to top $3.1 trillion in 2014. New technologies, shortages of trained personnel and lengthening life expectancies were accelerating the growth of health care costs. Physicians often failed to engage patients in preventative care, which many believed would help combat the rising costs of treating chronic conditions. Diabetes and hypertension, in particular, afflicted many developed nations and were a growing threat in the developing world. Mobile health (mHealth) used networked devices to distribute or collect medical information from patients and/or medical personnel. Given its low cost and broad reach, many wondered if and how mHealth could help solve the global health care crisis.

In 2015, King Salman of Saudi Arabia was juggling several balls as the kingdom's new monarch. At home, there were pressures for liberalization, from women and youth, and pressures for more conservative religious observance and policy from the Muslim "ulema." His domestic economic policy, which entailed diversification, infrastructure construction, education and a move towards a "knowledge economy," remained difficult to implement because of oil's immense role in the GDP, trade, and the budget. Internationally, Saudi Arabia's Middle East region was a mess; troubles as always with Israel and Palestine, but also with Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Iran. In all of this, a central question loomed: could Saudi Arabia modernize without westernizing?

Spreadsheet supplement for CU143.

Don Valentine participated in the beginnings of two significant milestones: the birth of the silicon chip and the development of the venture capital industry. From humble beginnings, Valentine became a legendary salesman at Fairchild Semiconductor and National Semiconductor, before founding Sequoia Capital in 1972. Valentine was comfortable making high-risk bets on unknown entrepreneurs in markets where he saw great potential. Unlike other venture capitalists of the time that focused on finding outstanding entrepreneurs or groundbreaking technology, Valentine took a different approach. He focused predominantly on the size of the potential market.

Tapestry Networks assembled industry leaders and their regulators in small, private meetings to build new frameworks for pressing regulatory challenges. Tapestry's motivating principle was to reimagine solutions to complex problems (e.g., drug-approval standards) in ways that created a win-win for firms and society. Tapestry meetings on bank-governance standards-initiated after the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis-had experienced some success in rebuilding trust between regulators and banks. But, five years on, the initiative faced important challenges. First, as the urgency of the Financial Crisis faded, it was becoming more difficult to show concrete successes, particularly to the meetings' sponsors-one participant described Tapestry as "sculpting fog." Second, participants differed on what they wanted to get out of the meetings-with some participants less focused on the meetings' broader social objectives. Third, Tapestry faced lingering questions about the meetings' legitimacy and whether they facilitated greater "coziness" between regulators and the regulated.

Sound financial management is the most important element in the viability of any business undertaking, and capital investment decisions are the foundation stone of this process. A company can pursue either an internal, organic approach to its financing options or an external, inorganic approach that uses borrowed funds to make acquisitions it hopes will increase its business. This is the route taken by Bharti Airtel Limited, India's leading telecommunications giant. Beginning in 2010, it has borrowed heavily on the international market to invest in acquisitions of a 3G licence in India, in Zain Africa and in the broadband wireless access branch of Qualcomm Inc. However, due to many causes - including the effects of the global recession on the industry; the highly competitive Indian telecommunications market; restructuring and disorganization in the firm's top management; and lack of innovation in offering and delivering new services in India - the company has experienced not the growth it expected from its expansion strategy, but a steady decline in profits. How can the management turn this situation around and regain the company's position as a leader in the telecommunications market in India and globally?

In an initiative to develop its herbal soap offering and create a repositioning strategy for its soap products, one of the front-runners in the Indian skincare market explored the perception of the brand image, using survey data to compare its own image with those of two of its strongest competitors. The challenge for this brand was to reposition itself and build its equity after taking into consideration the perceptual results of the study and the existing positioning of soap brands.

Zingerman's co-founders Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw have a non-traditional approach to growth, allowing employees that receive extensive training through the organization to fulfill their wildest aspirations. Charting a partnership path to ownership, the pair allows employees to forge the businesses of their dreams while benefiting the greater Zingerman's Community of Businesses. The strategy has resulted in the creation of eight successful businesses, with several more in the pipeline and annual sales of approximately $50 million. Students assess this non-conventional approach and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such a strategy.

Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company's COO, had to ensure the company's current business model of building cars and trucks remained strong, while concurrently navigating the company into the radily expanding industry of personal mobility. Personal mobility required new technologies and business models that were intraditional at Ford, and Fields had to evaluate the traditional business model colliding with the new business model. To direct these new technologies and business models, Ford released its "Blueprint for Mobility," which established near-, mid- and long-term goals to make mobility accessible and affordable to all. The case focuses on the launch of three mobility experiements (car sharing, parking, and on-deman ride sharing), and ask students to determine how Fields should balance these types of experiments with the company's traditional operations. Further, was Ford doing enough in the mobility space, and if so, was it moving fast enough? What new sources of revenue could Ford derive from mobility solutions?

In 2013, Third Point LLC, a hedge fund based in New York, became the largest owner of Sony Corporation (Sony) shares. In May 2013, Daniel Loeb, CEO of Third Point, sent a letter to Sony President and CEO Kazuo Hirai with a proposal for restructuring Sony. The proposal included two main items: (1) Take public a 15-20% stake in Sony Entertainment, and (2) Focus on industry-leading businesses to bring growth to Sony Electronics. Sony replied that it was not interested in selling the entertainment division. According to a Sony spokesperson, "The entertainment businesses are important contributors to Sony's growth and are not for sale. We look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with our shareholders as we pursue our strategy."

The case is set in January 2012, and begins with Kenneth Yap, the founder of Quantine Pte Ltd, strategising on an effective growth plan for his company. Quantine is a job candidate pre-screening service provider specialised in asynchronous video interviews. In the three years since its inception, market forces and internal factors necessitated a change in its original corporate strategy. The business originally started out in 2009 as a competency assessment service for testing technical skills in the information technology industry. But due to strong competition in the market, likely demise of the platform for its technology, and lack of funds, Quantine was forced to re-evaluate its business proposition. It now focuses on a different business idea - a new method of candidate pre- screening: on-demand video. The Next-5 platform, as it is called, was created as an ecosystem for recruitment agencies, companies and prospective employees. From 2009 to late 2011, Quantine has gone through four rounds of fund raising. With the latest grant of US$392,000, Yap wonders how he can best use this money to market his company's suite of pre-screening services, and implement an effective growth plan for the company.

Spreadsheet supplement for product UV1369.

The CEO of clothing manufacturer and retailer Abercrombie and Fitch defends his decision that the company will not offer plus sizes for women, although extra large sizes are available for men, because average- to large-sized female consumers do not fit the company's target market. This insistence on a standard of female beauty as young, svelte and tall has enraged consumers who have criticized the company, and the CEO in particular, in both the traditional and social media for exacerbating problems of body image and gender stereotypes, especially among teens. Increasing sizes, however, presents not only logistical and manufacturing challenges but may lead to charges that the company is encouraging obesity and unhealthy lifestyles as happened when a competitor, H&M, introduced large-size models and mannequins in its stores. Abercrombie and Fitch's popularity with its target teen market depends on its promulgation of exclusivity, which in turn depends on its vision of what is "cool." Yet, in the face of mounting criticism and declining sales, does sticking to the segmentation strategy make sense?

Emirates Airline (EA) needs to fund the purchase of 30 new A380 aircraft. On March 11, 2013, EA announced plans to issue US$1 billion of Islamic bonds (sukuk) and $750 million of regular bonds. These bonds arguably share similar risks and seniority even though the sukuk bonds sold with a lower implied yield. This difference in pricing for securities with similar default risks seems at odds with conventional finance thinking. Against this backdrop, the EA treasury department must decide on the appropriate funding for this next batch of A380 airplanes.

As yoga grew in popularity in Singapore, there were many new yoga studios set up in attempts to tap into this growing service industry. Space & Light Studios Pte Ltd was one of them. A small and medium enterprise set up in December 2012, it differentiated itself by offering yoga classes that emphasised on the optimal alignment of the body. This case study explores the entrepreneurial journey of the owners of Space & Light Studios and examines the viability of this yoga business utilising Cost-Volume-Profit analysis - a management accounting tool.

As yoga grew in popularity in Singapore, there were many new yoga studios set up in attempts to tap into this growing service industry. Space & Light Studios Pte Ltd was one of them. A small and medium enterprise set up in December 2012, it differentiated itself by offering yoga classes that emphasised on the optimal alignment of the body. This case study explores the entrepreneurial journey of the owners of Space & Light Studios and examines the viability of this yoga business utilising Cost-Volume-Profit analysis - a management accounting tool.

As yoga grew in popularity in Singapore, there were many new yoga studios set up in attempts to tap into this growing service industry. Space & Light Studios Pte Ltd was one of them. A small and medium enterprise set up in December 2012, it differentiated itself by offering yoga classes that emphasised on the optimal alignment of the body. This case study explores the entrepreneurial journey of the owners of Space & Light Studios and examines the viability of this yoga business utilising Cost-Volume-Profit analysis - a management accounting tool.