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"The case opens with Martha Stewart's 2005 release from prison following her conviction for obstructing an insider-trading investigation of her 2001 sale of personal stock. The scandal dealt a crippling blow to the powerful Martha Stewart brand and drove results at her namesake company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO), deep into the red. But as owner of more than 90 percent of MSO's voting shares, Stewart continued to control the company throughout the scandal. The company faced significant external challenges, including changing consumer preferences and mounting competition in all of its markets. Ad rates were under pressure as advertisers began fragmenting spending across multiple platforms, including the Internet and social media, where MSO was weak. New competitors were luring readers from MSO's flagship publication, Martha Stewart Living. And in its second biggest business, merchandising, retailing juggernauts such as Walmart and Target were crushing MSO's most important sales channel, Kmart. Internal challenges loomed even larger, with numerous failures of governance while the company attempted a turnaround. This case can be used to teach either corporate governance or turnarounds. "

The case is based on an actual challenge faced by Christie's Hong Kong, the Hong Kong subsidiary of the renowned auction house. For its biannual auctions, the company needs to hire 200 to 300 temporary sales assistants and assign them to different positions on different days. The human resources team believes that the current manual process of hiring and assignment is labor intensive and is unable to cope with sudden changes. They are looking to streamline the process and use decision tools.

This 2014 case describes how the Los Angeles-based Magnolia Community Initiative (MCI) - a network of 70 government, nonprofit and for-profit organizations from multiple sectors - is trying to create population-level change for 110,000 people in a neighborhood plagued by poverty and low education levels. The case discusses the challenges for such a network and raises questions about 1) how to measure progress and outcomes and 2) what factors contribute to success or failure. The six-year-old initiative had built the large network, linked participating organizations together to better serve clients, and designed a new data-driven system for measuring progress and outcomes. However, MCI had not yet seen any improvements in population-level outcomes or intermediate-level outcomes for the neighborhood. MCI is an example of "Collective Impact," an approach to solving social problems that involves commitment from many groups around a common agenda - with the specific features of a centralized infrastructure, a dedicated staff, a structured process, shared measurements, continuous communication and mutually reinforcing activities among all participants.

This case traces the various events that happen in the organizational journey of a newcomer to the corporate world. It is based on the real-life incidents of a new employee in a leading information technology (IT) services company, Xciting, in India. Xciting is one of India's top IT and IT-enabled services companies, with offices around the globe. With revenues in excess of $6 billion in 2010 and a global headcount of around 100,000, Xciting is a popular and reputable company in the global software services industry.The case covers the initial year of the employee's work with Xciting, following college graduation. She undergoes a training period with examinations in order to determine an appropriate work domain and relocation destination within India. She experiences organizational culture shock and location anxiety, and must respond to difficult co-workers and cancelled projects. In September 2011, with the first yearly review approaching, she reflects on her journey at Xciting and has to decide on what she wants to do with her career. Is there a mismatch between her expectations and those of Xciting?

This technical note proposes some useful strategies for improving spreadsheet design. It urges students to think of spreadsheets as communication tools whose sole purpose is to deliver a clear message to the reader. Thus, spreadsheets should not be seen simply as technical tools but as stories meant to engage the reader and, ultimately, drive a response. To this end, we gather inspiration from writers and journalists - story experts whose processes can be put to use in the creation of "story spreadsheets." We supply 12 principles of spreadsheet creation that are useful in maximizing effective communication of the message, and we urge readers to use these principles when designing their own story spreadsheets.

Coral reef ecosystems are beautiful and vibrant underwater communities inhabited by a spectacularly diverse and abundant array of organisms essential to human needs. Reefs are severely threatened worldwide-estimates are that one-fifth of coral reefs have already been lost or severely damaged, and the rest are expected to disappear before the end of this century. The intrinsic value of coral reefs is incalculable and immense, and this technical note seeks to educate students about that value, as well as the threats-global and local-to coral reefs.

This technical note provides information on the evolution and current state of angel investing in Europe. The note first describes the role and types of angel investors, focusing on their investment preferences and practices. It then details the new trends in the market, including the development of policy tools and the proliferation of incubators/accelerators to support angel investors. Finally, the note explores salient issues in angel investing for the future and pays particular attention to the recent developments in crowdfunding.

In 2014, Yasuchika Hasegawa was orchestrating the transformation of Takeda from a Japanese pharmaceutical company with a global footprint into a global company with a Japanese heritage. A 33-year veteran of Takeda, Hasegawa-san was appointed president of Takeda in 2003 and chief executive in 2009. By 2013, Takeda was in the midst of implementing its new Vision 2020 plan, a strategic plan for the evolving global corporation, which included developing a global vaccine business.

China Vanke's president and his team must decide on a plan of action after reviewing the quality issues the company faced in early 2012 after a series of highly publicized incidents concerning the quality of the homes they built.

China Vanke's president is considering whether and how the company might make further inroads into the commercial real estate sector, while continuing to lead in the residential sector. He is also considering whether to branch into overseas residential markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States.

The case describes Vanke's response to the decisions posed in the A1, A2, and A3 cases and asks whether Vanke should expand its strategic scope by defining itself as an "urban facilities provider" rather than a "residential housing developer." The management team is also reviewing the company's forays in places such as Hong Kong, Singapore, the U.S., and Europe.

The case on Randy Weiner explores the tensions between artistic and financial imperatives in a for-profit immersive theater venture. In order to revive the dormant Manhattan nightclub "The Diamond Horseshoe," theater-impresario Randy Weiner created "The Queen of the Night," a hybrid performance that combines food, opera, circus arts, and dance. While "The Queen of the Night" is the latest in a string of productions categorized as "immersive theater," a category Weiner is credited with inventing, it is also more expensive and more artistically risky than anything he has ever done before. Has Weiner finally gone too far, or will he be able to pull this off? This case explores the creation of a market for immersive theater, as well as structures Weiner has created to fund, manage, and create his productions. Additionally, this case examines the psyche of Weiner, a successful artist-entrepreneur, and investigates the role of risk, controversy, and the line between avant-garde and controversial art in creating works that are both financially profitable and artistically impactful.

Brunella Noli, General Manager of a Peruvian consulting firm (Pegaso Peru), reviews the history of a troubled IT project for client Casa Master Center (CMC). The project is 11 months overdue, and CMC is an increasingly unhappy client. Noli's review, which starts with the sale and recounts the project's scope, contract and implementation, uncovers a series of problems. Noli seeks to resolve these issues without incurring additional costs. She worries that the relationship with the client is rapidly deteriorating and she fears that this will damage Pegaso's reputation. A second one-page Case B recounts what happened next. This case is based on actual events in real organizations. The identities of the parties involved have been changed, along with other key information, to preserve anonymity.

PageWell, an e-reading platform provider, was preparing to launch PageWell 2.0 to the larger full-time MBA student market after a successful trial of PageWell 1.0 in Executive MBA (EMBA) classes at the Kellogg School of Management. Research had shown that full-time MBA students would be very interested in using products that allowed electronic access to course materials everywhere and across many platforms and that allowed electronic note-taking and storage. To better understand this user group, PageWell conducted a market research survey of students, faculty, and administrators to gauge their needs, preferences, and potential interest in the PageWell product. The study revealed that MBA student usage patterns, scenarios, and behavior varied significantly from EMBA student needs and perceptions. PageWell now had the task of prioritizing the product requirements and recalibrating the market requirements document to more accurately reflect student needs and thus create a viable product.

Sandoz, which made a significant investment in bio-similars as a way to differentiate itself from its generic drug industry peers, has to negotiate with its parent company and the innovative pharma division on how best to commercialize its bio-similar portfolio. What is the best way to balance the parenting advantage of Novartis with the unique demands of the generic drug industry?

At the end of 2005, Tommy Hilfiger is taken private by Apax Partners after years of disappointing performance and strategic impasse. Students are asked to evaluate alternative strategic options for the company, and to propose a concrete turnaround plan for the first 100 days after the acquisition.

Supplement for Transforming Tommy Hilfiger (A), 714451.

In October 2013, the Health and Human Services Secretary of the United States is tasked with making decisions about a website project, Healthcare.gov, that is a critical component in delivering the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," to the American people. The act is a cornerstone but controversial policy of the Obama administration aimed at increasing access to health care services by providing health insurance to uninsured Americans. Unfortunately, the project is over budget and late. Forced to roll out before it is ready because of political considerations, the website crashes, causing anger and frustration for users unable to sign on or get information about the program. Because the act never really had the support of Republican Party representatives, the failure of the website stokes a political storm that appears to have more to do with reopening a debate in the media about Obamacare than it does with the website launch issues. Also in the spotlight is CGI, a technology company headquartered in Canada that is responsible for the overall design, development and execution of the project.

Supplement for W14020

This case presents a role play between a buyer, seller and consultant. In January 2012, India Steel Ltd., a successful, family-owned, mid-sized steel manufacturing company headquartered in India but with agents in Europe, the United States and some parts of the Middle East, is about to enter into a negotiation to buy a steel plant owned by Swedish Steel AB, a large Swedish steel company with more than 7,000 employees working in nine production facilities all over the world. Encouraged by a family friend, India Steel's CEO has hired an Indian consulting firm to go to Sweden and evaluate the offer.This case involves the buyer and is used with Indian Steel Ltd.: Tri-Party Negotiation - The Seller (B) and Indian Steel Ltd.: Tri-Party Negotiation - The Consultant (C).