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This case is a supplement to A Non-Traditional Female Entrepreneur (A).

The owner of South Side Restaurant, a mid- to upper-class restaurant located in Chicago, Illinois, must decide which of three bottles of wine to add to the restaurant’s wine list. Given that the restaurant prides itself on its environmental and social positioning and that its consumers have come to expect performance in this area, the wine’s carbon footprint represents an important decision criterion. South Side Restaurant is a for-profit restaurant and the owner must balance this environmental criterion with short- and long-term financial returns.

This case deals with the problems that Platmin faces as it heads toward full production at a new open-cast mine in Pilanesberg, South Africa. Platmin is in a very difficult situation that is affecting the viability of the operation. The main issue is the timing of the production — investment in mining is typically heavy in the beginning, but when the mine starts producing, payback of loans is usually substantial. Any delay in production has an exaggerated effect on the payback period and, by extension, the viability of the mine. The second major issue is the economic downturn, which has seen the price of platinum decline substantially; however, this may benefit Platmin because it is a low-cost producer, and the downturn has led to some competitors leaving the industry or “mothballing” operations that are not viable at the current platinum price. On the other hand, while Platmin is seeing a shakeup in the industry, it is experiencing pressures on its margins, and this also has an effect on its capital funding.

An executive must estimate the demand for Kodak Express outlets in various developing countries based on socioeconomic and demographic data about the countries. The case requires students to think about how to transform data on a national scale (GDP per capita, population, income distribution) into a form that is meaningful for a managerial decision — here, the number of outlets that could be supported by a country’s market demographics. In this instance, doing so can be accomplished effectively through modeling on a spreadsheet.

This case presents the challenge faced by Nokia India in 2007. Nokia had built a strong brand reputation over a ten-year period and was a market leader in Indian mobile devices. India, incidentally, was also Nokia’s second-largest market, next only to China. Suddenly, what corporate headquarters considered a routine product advisory for a defective battery resulted in panic in customers after the Indian media widely publicized the potential dangers that defective batteries could pose. Over a three-month period, Nokia India had to recall a few million batteries and replace them with new ones.<br><br>The case provides an opportunity for students to develop practical knowledge of the role of operations management in a product recall situation, particularly in an emerging market context. Product recalls are an integral part of supply chain management (SCM). Companies inevitably face a question of when, not if, a recall will be necessary. These recall situations combine the complexity of operations with the time-urgency of a mission-critical task. The case also provides a rich context to learn about the interaction of SCM, information systems and reverse logistics, and to understand the marketing, logistics, and communication challenges faced by a multinational company operating in an emerging market such as India.

A large financial institution has acquired a sizable portfolio of new clients of travel (corporate expense) cards. The bank must decide on the optimal mix of clients to retain in order to achieve the goals of maximizing profitability, entering a new product market successfully, and maintaining reputation. The optimal mix depends on a number of different factors, including annual account spending level, complexity of serving the account, the number of cards in each account, account risk, and account retention level. The selection and number of clients chosen will affect the bank’s future profitability and long-term strategy. The bank is limited by attempting to achieve a three-year payback, and facing costs that can vary significantly and are not in the bank’s control.

This case examines an Israeli firm, B2Bcs, which provides end-to-end services in establishing offshore project development teams and helping firms in their decisions to outsource projects offshore. An interesting aspect of B2Bcs’s work involves cross-cultural partnering, and interfacing Israel-based client organizations with service provider organizations in India and Eastern Europe. However, the recent economic downturn has made B2Bcs’s customers very cautious about the decision to set up offshore development centres. Recently, Israeli firms have been looking for less expensive outsourcing solutions as part of their various cost-reduction initiatives. They expect low-rate quotes from offshore service providers of low-cost destinations such as India and Eastern Europe. However, India has not been hit very hard by the recession, unlike the West, and hence the prices quoted by Indian service providers are still very high.<br><br>Recently, B2Bcs has been facing stiff competition from similar consulting firms. The key to getting business in this area is based on one’s past relationships with key executives in client and vendor firms. Increasingly, other consulting firms have started exploiting these relationships to get new business, thus affecting B2Bcs’s growth plans severely. In such a scenario, two broad questions need to be answered: 1) What is the new value proposition that B2Bcs should now offer to its clients? 2) How can B2Bcs help its clients find the right service provider at a competitive price?

Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. (OTH) was established in 1998 in Egypt and grew to become a major player in the global telecommunications market. OTH was among the largest and most diversified network operators in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Orascom Telecom Algeria (Djezzy) was launched in February 2002 and grew to become the market leader in Algeria in terms of both subscriber numbers and the quality of telecommunications services provided. Djezzy served more than 14.7 million subscribers on its network and had a 62.9 per cent market share.<br><br>Orascom wanted to further expand, and India was considered a great opportunity. In 2006, OTH agreed to acquire a 19.3 per cent stake in Hutchison to penetrate the Indian market. India was a promising market as there were strong complementary similarities between Orascom and Hutchinson Telecom. However, Orascom was not able to enter the market because it did not consider the expenses in an accurate way and ignored many factors. Now, in 2009, the treasury director of OTH was wondering what lessons in the risks of internationalization he could learn from the company’s failure in India and present difficulties in Algeria.

An acquisition decision by Satyam Corporation created discontent among shareholders and led to a series of investigations that revealed fraud of about INR 50 billion, leading to resignations by several board members and the CEO. This episode became a mockery of corporate governance practices, raising questions about the efficacy of well-accepted governance norms.<br><br>This case covers the events that led to the failure of Satyam. The roles of not only the “promoter” but also other parties, such as the managers, board of directors, auditors and bankers, are discussed in detail. The case draws attention to various corporate governance and ethical issues and provides an opportunity to discuss measures that should be taken by regulators, auditors, and other bodies to prevent fraud.

This case examines the family business constitution created by Dawu Group’s founder, Sun Dawu. It was the only such system in China to date, and made it possible for the group to survive near-fatal challenges. The case starts with problems Sun Dawu encountered, such as a salary-rise request from a recently elected board member; managers’ doubts about the constitution system; and the suspicion of external experts and journalists regarding the group’s elections. The case examines the history of Dawu Group, the family business constitution system, and the approach Sun Dawu took to address succession. One of the issues the family business owner faced was whether it was possible to solve the internal challenges and external doubts about family business succession and governance and, if so, how.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Supply Chain Management Award, European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>The case examines the supply chain, managerial, and organizational challenges facing a large European industrial company competing in a mature industry with strong price pressure. Established in the 1930s in Denmark, Danfoss initially produced automatic valves for refrigeration plants. The company has since grown into a major industrial group. Until the mid-1990s, Danfoss had the majority of its sales and production in Europe. This changed, however, with the arrival of a new CEO, who initiated a process to change the company into a global player within all of its main business areas. <br><br>Following this process of internationalization, the company was facing three main issues which top management was concerned about: Danfoss’s manufacturing network; its continued global growth; and its highly engineering-based culture. The first issue stemmed from the fact that Danfoss had followed a strategy of one product, one plant. This had created a situation with a lot of highly specialized product lines and very few common features between them. On the other hand, the internationalization strategy had so far been quite successful in Eastern Europe and China. In the United States, however, the company was still experiencing difficulties despite heavy investments in its manufacturing capacity in Mexico. In China, the company had experienced success and wanted to secure long-term growth in the market. The third issue was the very engineering-based culture of the company, which among other things was manifested in the fact that Danfoss previously developed products at the expense of consumer demand and preferences.

A student is trying to incorporate various analytical tools to assist in selecting National Hockey League (NHL) players for a fantasy hockey pool, using individual player data from the 2006-2009 NHL seasons. The student must come up with a strategy in which 16 players are selected for the 2010 season.

In this supplement to Student Plays Fantasy Hockey (A), the student is faced with an additional constraint regarding the total salary of the players selected. The student must come up with a strategy to select 16 players and not exceed $45 million in total salaries.

The president of Oakville Hydro Energy services needed to make a decision on the installation of an electricity-generating engine at the regional municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant in Burlington, Ontario. This engine installation was in support of the production of green power, and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) had introduced a feed-in tariff that paid a premium for the generation of this type of green power. One of three specific engines would be purchased and installed to generate electricity from the combustible gases produced during wastewater treatment. The president had to decide which engine generator would produce the most favourable output and the best return for Oakville Hydro and the municipality. The president also needed to decide whether or not to integrate the existing on-site gas storage tank into the controls of the generator system.

The case explores the use and importance of corporate sponsorships — in this case, how these relationships are formed with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The associate director of National Corporate Programs at the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation needs to determine the Foundation’s direction regarding its corporate sponsorship program. Due to the slowdown in the economic environment, a major sponsor of the Foundation, who has contributed more than $1 million to the charity over the past five years, has decided to pull two products from the shelf. The associate director needs to find a way to replace that support. Fortunately, the Foundation has been approached by three corporations who are interested in becoming corporate sponsors. The associate director and her team now need to evaluate the three corporate sponsorship proposals to determine whether they fit with the Foundation’s values and goals.

A new line of chilled ready meals has been developed after significant technological breakthroughs in food processing by Maple Leaf Consumer Foods. The chilled ready meals category in Canada is expected to exceed $200 million by 2011, and plans call for Maple Leaf to own more than half the category by that time. In the (A) case in this four-part series, the vice president of innovation and brand development is convening a group meeting to finalize ambitious launch plans for Maple Leaf Simply Fresh.

In this supplement to Maple Leaf Simply Fresh (A), the launch team is preparing for questions that senior management is expected to ask (before giving the final go-ahead) about how the team plans to mitigate risks during the launch.

In this supplement to Maple Leaf Simply Fresh (A), the results of the first year after the launch and the next challenges the team faces are discussed.

In this supplement to Maple Leaf Simply Fresh (A), the Simply Fresh team is preparing a formal debrief of the program thus far.

The assistant site supervisor at Finemaster Projects Ltd. struggled with how to approach his boss for a raise. When hired, he had been told that regular annual reviews were held with employees and that good performance would be rewarded with corresponding pay increases. After one year with the company, the assistant site supervisor found that the owners rarely acted on this policy, leaving it up to staff to approach management about raises, promotions, and other performance-related issues. In his second year with the company, the assistant site supervisor experienced further disappointment with how his boss dealt with his compensation request, and his faith in the company’s pledge to reward employees for good performance was quickly fading. The (A) case covers the assistant site supervisor’s first meeting with his employer when offered a position with the company, as well as his conversation with a less experienced employee earning a higher wage. The supplements, Finemaster Projects Ltd. (B) and (C), describe his meetings with his boss after 12 months and two years, respectively.