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In July 2017, a financial analyst from an Indian investment bank was assigned the task of identifying a suitable company from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector for the bank’s portfolio. The bank wanted to expand its investment portfolio from the mobile Internet, information technology, health care, financial technology, and e-commerce sectors into the FMCG sector. After researching three significant players in the personal care segment and comparing these companies’ key ratios, the analyst determined that one of them, Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd., was a suitable candidate for valuation. Now, he had to perform a buy-side valuation of the company using the discounted cash flow technique to determine whether Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd. would be the right fit for his company’s investment plans.

Instructor spreadsheet to accompany product 8B20N009.

Student spreadsheet for product 9B20N009.

The chief executive officer of Ridlr, a mobile application (app), faced a new challenge in 2019. Ridlr was a subsidiary of ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which was a major player in India's transportation-as-a-service sector and also owned Ola, a ride-hailing app. The chief executive officer envisioned Ridlr becoming the preferred information and mobile ticketing option for India’s public transportation modes. He wanted to successfully position the firm to grow from 600 million annual transactions in 2019 to 6 billion in 2022. He was confident in the firm's value proposition to serve the large consumer base, but he wasn't convinced that direct monetization through consumers was the best option. Although the business-to-business channels of transporters and technology service providers offered some opportunities at monetization, how could Ridlr gain access to that value? The chief executive officer needed to prepare a product and marketing strategy that would ensure both growth and monetization. Where should he begin?

In December 2018, Hindustan Unilever Limited announced that it would buy out GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Consumer Healthcare Ltd. India business, which included popular brands such as Horlicks, Boost, and Viva. With Horlicks in its portfolio, Hindustan Unilever Limited expected to gain market share, draw synergies from individual strengths, and gain access to a larger consumer base. However, India’s health food drink category had registered only single-digit growth in 2017. Its primary target audience of parents, physicians, and nutritionists had concerns regarding the side effects of sugar as a key ingredient in beverages such as Horlicks. With consumer focus shifting to healthier, preservative-free alternatives, among other issues, Hindustan Unilever Limited was faced with a challenge: how could it build on Horlicks’s brand equity to sustain its leadership position in the disrupting health food drink market, leverage its leadership position to grow the company in this segment, and take that growth to double digits?

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Middle East Airlines (MEA) had to decide whether the airline should fly over Syria during the armed conflict. All other airlines in the Middle East had decided not to fly over Syria either because they did not want to show their support for the Syrian government or because they believed it was too dangerous. Yet, these airlines did not have as much to lose as MEA because, unlike them, 50 per cent of this airline’s flights flew over that country. It was estimated that MEA could lose US$50 million if it did not fly over Syria. What should the CEO do?

In October 2018, the founder of NutriHealth started to think about the next phase of her company’s growth strategy. NutriHealth began as a stand-alone clinic in 1998 and was a service provider of personalized wellness and health management diet plans. It was time to make decisions that would lead to sustained growth. NutriHealth had reached a satisfactory position in the market, and investors had become interested in the venture, offering capital. There were many options to explore, and the founder wanted to find the best approach in choosing a growth pathway.

The case discusses the international expansion strategy of The WeWork Company (WeWork), a co-working space company. In the United States and Europe, the expansion of WeWork occurred through greenfield investment; membership focus was on freelancers and entrepreneurs. In Asian markets such as India, where WeWork entered through a joint venture, enterprise customers were the revenue generators. In June 2019, a co-founder of WeWork considered buying the entire stake of its partner in the Indian joint venture. However, given that revenues continuously remained lower than losses, investors doubted the expansion strategy and business model of WeWork. Should WeWork’s pace of expansion be slowed? Can WeWork’s business model be revamped for more profitable returns, and if so, should it?

In 2019, the managing director of Sarva Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, a pharmaceutical company based in India, was considering an expansion of his company by entering the growing pharmaceutical market in Myanmar. He needed to identify the best way to execute this expansion plan, assess whether his company’s product range was adequate and suitable for the Myanmar market, prepare for possible risks and cross-cultural marketing issues, and plan the management staffing approaches in Myanmar.

In July 2019, Green Trend Holdings Co. Ltd. (Green Trend) faced a difficult situation with regard to flaws in the preparation of its proposed initial public offering on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. According to the remedy measures raised by the underwriter facilitating the initial public offering process, Green Trend needed to raise additional capital of ¥1 billion with a proposed annual interest rate of about 30 per cent. Of course, the company could have postponed the initial public offering; however, without the long-awaited return following a successful initial public offering, all the efforts taken in past years would be in vain. The uncertainty of the capital market would further complicate the future road to an initial public offering. Did Green Trend have better alternatives?

Supplement for product 9B18M132.

In 2020, Falabella, one of the largest Latin American multi-format and multi-country retailers, faced increasing competition from the online world. The growth of online giants posed significant challenges for Falabella’s senior executives, who needed to decide how to allocate investments in this highly competitive environment. There were also growth opportunities in the brick-and-mortar business in many Latin American countries. Falabella needed to assess how to compete in the dual online and off-line world. The COVID-19 pandemic had created additional challenges for Falabella’s management team, as most shopping malls and stores were obliged to close for a long period of time, and the lower off-line sales were not expected to be fully compensated by increasing online sales. Should Falabella’s executives continue to focus on the historical strength of Falabella, fuelled by horizontal, vertical, and international expansion? Should they focus their efforts on the online business and divest some of their current business units.

In early January 2019, the founders of STMNT (pronounced “statement”) a Canadian peer-to-peer clothing rental platform, were reviewing the performance of their venture. The sisters had formally launched STMNT in November 2018 and wondered whether they had implemented the right business model for their venture or if they needed to pivot. The rental transaction process was taking too long for customers and required too much of the founders' time to make scaling up a possibility. The sisters needed to take stock of their progress to date and chart the next steps for their venture.

This annually updated exercise assesses one’s exposure to the rest of the world’s peoples. A series of worksheets require the respondents to check off the number and names of countries they have visited whether for business, family or tourism reasons, and the corresponding percentage of world population which each country represents. The summary of a group’s collective exposure to the world’s people will inevitably be the recognition that together they have seen much, even if individually some have seen little. The teaching note provides assignments and discussion questions which look at: why there is such a high variability in individual profiles; the implications of each profile for one’s business career; and, what it would take for the respondent to change his/her profile.<br><br>For marketers, it underscores the need to gather greater base knowledge about opportunities in 211 countries spread across 8 regions: Africa; North America and Caribbean; South America; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; Central Asia and Indian Subcontinent; Middle East; Asia Pacific.

Supplement for product 9B20C037.

Supplement for product 9B20C037.

In the first of three mini-cases on workplace mistreatment, "Casual Fridays Gone Wrong," the vice-president of compliance for a collections company faced the dilemma of how to deal with a complaint about a manager's comments. The incident raised challenges for maintaining a respectful and inclusive workplace environment. In the second mini-case, "Dial 911—Health Care in Distress," a nurses' union representative at a mid-sized urban hospital needed to respond to a patient's threat to take his complaints about negligence to the media; he planned to identify the individual nurses he claimed had provided negligent care, in part due to his race. In the third mini-case, "A Toxic Academic Environment," formal harassment actions have been taken against Professor Marybeth Gasman, holder of an endowed chair at the University of Pennsylvania.

In early January 2019, a recent Ivey Business School graduate logged into her online trading account to review her portfolio’s performance. As she scanned her investments, she paused at one stock in particular. It was time to make a decision regarding one of her most volatile stocks—Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., recently renamed Bausch Health Companies Inc. The pharmaceutical company was once celebrated for its innovative business approach. However, both its stock price and reputation as one of Canada’s most valuable companies had plummeted in recent years, after accusations of price gouging and investigations for fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Overburdened with significant amounts of debt from a spree of acquisitions, the company was also scrutinized by investors and regulators for using non-GAAP accounting metrics for its financial statements. The recent graduate wondered if she should hold out hope that the stock would return to its historic highs, or if she should cut her losses and divest the stock.

In February 2019, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Daily Bread Food Bank (Daily Bread) in Toronto, Ontario reflected on the charity’s strong performance in the past year. Despite Daily Bread’s success, the CEO felt there were opportunities to do more. Toronto’s food insecurity rate had been rising in recent years, and food banks across the city had been struggling to meet demand. The CEO had several potential ideas for contributing to the long-term sustainability of the food bank and delivering the highest impact in the community. Daily Bread’s underused kitchen could be turned into a social enterprise and used to generate more funds to gain additional engagement with the local community in the fight against hunger; the kitchen could also be rented out for special events after hours and on weekends; extra shifts and truck deliveries would help grow the charity’s operations; or the organization could keep the status quo and let the charity grow naturally. Most importantly, however, the decision would have to align with the charity’s mission and current operations. With the advisory board of directors’ meeting rapidly approaching, the CEO had to make a decision on how to maximize the food bank’s resources.

BusBoard Prototype Systems Ltd. (BusBoard), a company based in Calgary, Alberta, that designed and manufactured printed circuit boards targeted at the electronics hobbyist market, managed foreign-currency transactions on a transaction-by-transaction basis. The company’s general manager had been buying and selling CAD and USD while attempting to maximize the company’s value, timing transactions based on previous experience and professional judgment. This was challenging because she did not have any experience with currency futures or options, and she wondered if she could improve company performance by trading currencies differently. Exchange-rate volatility put constant pressure on her ability to make the best choice. The company paid most of its suppliers and received most of its payments from customers in USD. Highlighted in the case study is a recent transaction in which BusBoard ordered parts and supplies from a Taiwanese supplier, with 50 per cent payment due on contract negotiation and the remaining 50 per cent due on delivery. The general manager knew that developing a more effective way to manage currency transactions could play a big part in keeping the company profitable in the future.