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Spreadsheet for product 9A92B020.

Spreadsheet for product 9A98N014.

AWARD-WINNING CASE: Adjudged third-best case at the ISB Case Competition 2010 held in partnership with the Richard Ivey School of Business and the Association of Indian Management Schools and sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.<br><br>ABC Energy Limited (ABCEL) was created in March 2007 by ABC Infra Private Limited and XYG Private Limited. In September 2007, MNP Finance Limited joined ABCEL as an equity partner. In 2010, ABCEL operated in power generation and had plans to diversify into transmission and distribution. It aspired to be a world-class energy company with operations in India and neighbouring countries. ABCEL had grown by investing in greenfield projects and acquiring existing operations. The promoters of ABCEL had set a target of achieving a project portfolio of 30,000 megawatts by 2015, up from the current portfolio of 8,655 megawatts. The chief executive officer of ABCEL wanted to discuss the following issues at the board meeting on July 31, 2010, with regard to the opportunities and challenges in the growing market: 1) the key organizational needs that ABCEL might have in achieving its target by 2015, 2) the present culture of ABCEL, 3) the relationship between the culture and extent of formalization and hence the ramp-up of formalization that ABCEL might require, and 4) the method of introducing this formalization.

The Liang family, experienced family hoteliers in China, had to leave the mainland under the pressure of the forces of Chairman Mao and the Communist Party of China in 1949. They resettled in Taiwan, resumed their hospitality business and now, two generations later, have returned to Nanjing to find that their family’s old guest house has been allowed to run down and deteriorate as a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SoE). They repurchase the old guest house with the intention to redevelop it. How will they deal with this privatization and the inevitable bureaucracy of purchasing, demolishing, and rebuilding the old guest house? How will they convert the existing SoE human resources (trained under planned-economy conditions) into dynamic employees operating in the market economy, while being sensitive to the cultural characteristics and challenges of this mainland Chinese workplace? With more than 6,000 Chinese SoEs still being targeted for privatization, this case is very relevant and provides a real-world opportunity for students to exercise their research, analytical, international management, entrepreneurial, and cross-cultural management skills.

This case focuses on Solutions Care Association (SCA) — a nonprofit health care organization established in 2000 that quickly became a leader in environmental stewardship and social responsibility. With headquarters in Nevada, United States, the company had a strong mission and socially responsible culture, which helped attract talent and launch social and environmental initiatives. Despite its numerous achievements and awards, however, there was limited awareness internally and externally about these initiatives and their impact on business and society. In addition, the company did not have a comprehensive way to track and report these achievements. As an emerging leader of the integrated health care plan in the United States, Solutions Care Association had both the responsibility and the opportunity to be a model of what American health care should look like. With growing concerns over and scrutiny of the health care industry, there was no better time for Solutions Care Association to continue to strengthen its leadership position in addressing key social and environmental problems, such as providing affordable health care, reducing climate change impacts, phasing out toxic chemicals and creating a safe, culturally sensitive, and supportive environment for employees, patients, and suppliers.

Faced with major losses from operations, Sharp Corporation’s young and unconventional president questioned the company’s long-standing operating model. Sharp was a leader in the area of liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and manufacturing. It also held strong positions in several categories of consumer electronics in the Japanese market. Although Sharp had been increasing its involvement in overseas markets, it had yet to replicate its successes overseas. Sharp’s operating model placed sensitive, high-value-added operations such as research, development, and component manufacturing near its headquarters in Japan. The company jealously guarded its LCD knowhow and had implemented strict security measures at its LCD panel plants. As Sharp’s international sales grew, limitations with its business model became more apparent. Operating primarily in Japan had drawbacks, such as exposure to currency risk, high infrastructure cost, and high taxes. Additionally, the logistics of shipping large items overseas, such as LCDs and solar panels, presented other dilemmas. Sharp needed to reconsider this model and develop an approach that was more suitable to the environment in which it now competed.

Risking becoming the target of a hostile takeover or being cornered as a small regional player in the global beer industry, the Danish brewery Carlsberg decided in the early 2000s to expand into rapidly growing emerging markets to pursue new arenas of growth. By 2008, this strategy had paid off, and Carlsberg was positioned among the five largest breweries in the world. In the Russian market — one of the fastest-growing markets in the world — Carlsberg had become the market leader. In China — the world’s largest beer market in terms of size and population — the company had achieved a 55 per cent market share in Western China, and operated 20 brewery plants with approximately 5,000 employees. The ambitious acquisition strategy applied in emerging markets had become essential to Carlsberg’s business in relation to future growth and profits. Accordingly, the case focuses on Carlsberg’s entry into China, which started as a commercial failure in the eastern part of the country, but subsequently developed successfully in the west.

A critical question for entrepreneurs starting a business, particularly in a foreign country, is choosing whether or not franchising is the appropriate mode of entry. Franchising offers the entrepreneur instant brand recognition, established business processes and supply chains, regulatory and tax guidance, and a ready supply of assistance in the early months. However, it deprives the entrepreneur of what many of them crave - the ability to create and grow a business from one’s imagination. The two entrepreneurs in this case had regular salaries, but wanted to try opening a coffee shop - or a chain of coffee shops - in South Korea, which already had many brands with multiple outlets.

Excel spreadsheet for products 9B09E027, 9B09E028 and 9B09E029.

This case describes AskTheDoctor.com, a web site that allows users to ask medical doctors questions for free, and the challenges facing its founders in 2010. While AskTheDoctor.com has exhibited steady growth since its inception in 2005, the owners are uncertain about the future of the site and where to take it next. One partner is keen on selling the company, while the other wants to develop a partnership with a technology firm. Students can evaluate these options from a variety of perspectives. The case also addresses the distinct differences between the actions underlying entrepreneurial discovery and entrepreneurial creation.

This case describes AskTheDoctor.com, a web site that allows users to ask medical doctors questions for free, and the challenges facing its founders in 2010. While AskTheDoctor.com has exhibited steady growth since its inception in 2005, the owners are uncertain about the future of the site and where to take it next. One partner is keen on selling the company, while the other wants to develop a partnership with a technology firm. Students can evaluate these options from a variety of perspectives. The case also addresses the distinct differences between the actions underlying entrepreneurial discovery and entrepreneurial creation.

On January 17, 2005, 3M Taiwan’s function head of its health care business division found himself in a meeting with the Acne Dressing project team. In 2004, the function head had initiated a project team to exploit local market needs for 3M hydrocolloid dressing, a technology that had existed in the company for many years without any practical applications. The local project team suggested applying the material for acne treatment. The product would be known as Acne Dressing. There was no standardized solution for acne treatment in Taiwan. If developed, Acne Dressing would be a brand new product in the local market.<br><br>The biggest challenge would be how to change local consumer behaviours on new acne treatment products. In addition, since there were no similar products in the market, the project team only had limited information and potential sales and volumes were uncertain. If the local development was launched, Acne Dressing would be 3M’s first product application of hydrocolloid dressing technology. With little previous experience in product development and no similar products existing in the market, the function head had to decide fast whether to proceed with this new product development. If so, what options did the local project team have? What kind of resources and support should the local health care business segment seek from headquarters for the product development? Should the local project team collaborate with other subsidiaries?

This case describes the strategic internationalization options of a Taiwan-based digital music service provider, KKBOX.com. KKBOX was the first independent profitable digital music service provider in the world, with several factors having contributed to its profitability. While KKBOX looked for growth, service internationalization made it increase its involvement in international operations through adapting its strategy, resources, and structure. The CEO of KKBOX needed to decide between global growth through a content-based path, a technology platform path, or a new service path. Though there were good reasons to pursue each, it was vital to prioritize them to understand what was negotiable and what was core when going across borders to build a sustainable and strong KKBOX brand.

The development coordinator for Just Us! Development Education Society (JUDES) was reviewing the preliminary agenda for the JUDES Annual General Meeting (AGM). The meeting would take place some time between May 1 and May 14, 2010, during Canada’s National Fair Trade Weeks. The coordinator was preparing her to-do list for the event. Just Us!, a Nova Scotia-based cooperative that offered fair trade products, had a very loyal regional following, and the coordinator wanted to communicate how the premium paid for fair trade products actually helped producer communities. She was planning several events for the AGM, most importantly presentations and discussions of the Community-based Tourism (CBT) trip that JUDES personnel had taken to Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2009, and planned to take again in 2010. For the AGM presentation, she wanted to organize the trip guidelines and the budget information into a triple bottom line format.

Birzeit Pharmaceutical Company (BPC), established in 1974, had successfully completed a number of mergers and had overcome challenges and development phases in order to secure a strong position in its local market, Palestine, as well as introduce a wide range of products in the export market. BPC’s continuous success, despite political instability and continuous restrictions on its growth and expansion, led the company to focus beyond its local presence. Despite the growth of BPC and its financial solidity, it was very similar to other Arab businesses, which were reluctant to invest significantly and take big risks in growing outside their areas. BPC did not wish to risk large amounts of money, and instead chose to expand to new markets or introduce new niche products on a conservative basis. BPC invested in an Algerian packaging company in 2006 and aimed to meet its vision of growth by entering new markets and introducing new products. It wanted the packaging company to later grow to a manufacturing company, and accordingly to an export location. In a business environment that was characterized by quick decisions and high competition, the company needed to make faster decisions, invest more money, and choose a new path to secure its business development and growth. Competition in pharmaceutical manufacturing, especially among generics, was increasing greatly, and the faster BPC moved, the more competitive it would be.

A partner and owner of the Sunset Grill at Blue Mountain in the ski village at Blue Mountain, Ontario, had very mixed emotions. The restaurant had just finished its first year of operation and had broken even, and had been named as the Business of the Year in the counties of Simcoe and Grey. Yet the owner knew that operations were still far from perfect. Queues of waiting customers were very long, food orders were delivered slowly, and tensions were rising. What could be done to improve the situation?

The chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Foods, Inc., a food processing company employing 23,000 people in more than 50 locations, has just been advised that a deadly outbreak of Listeriosis has been linked to products shipped from a Maple Leaf Foods plant and that there have been several fatalities and many more severe illnesses linked to this contamination. He must decide what to do immediately, within the next few days, and in the longer term to deal with the problem and the effect that the negative publicity will almost certainly have on the company.

AWARD-WINNING CASE: Adjudged second-best case at the ISB Case Competition 2010 held in partnership with the Richard Ivey School of Business and the Association of Indian Management Schools and sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.<br><br>This case describes the successful journey of Dr. Amita Joshi in a medium-sized Indian pharmaceuticals organization, Samuel Drugs, which was facing serious performance problems. As CEO, Joshi realized that the organization had strong manufacturing capability but that it lacked marketing excellence and badly needed someone who could be tasked with making the company marketing-oriented. Joshi selected a young general manager of sales, Rajesh Mishra, as director of marketing. He proved to be an excellent choice and performed very well in his new role. Samuel Drugs had three subsidiaries and one of them, Eastern Pharmaceuticals Limited, required a managing director and Mishra was selected. He also continued to perform his previous role of director of marketing. Then conflict ensued between Joshi and Mishra. This case reveals the important roles of communication, co-ordination, multiple and diverse stakeholders, and organizational conflict in determining organizational effectiveness. It also highlights the point that managers need to tackle both formal and informal aspects of an organization, rational and social sides of organizational life, and changing dynamics of relationships.

The Canadian Pillsbury ready-baked goods cookie line is experiencing disappointing performance, and the marketing manager at General Mills Canada Corporation is under pressure to make strategic decisions that will help turn around the segment. The marketing manager has engaged the help of the consumer insight team to conduct market research studies that will shed light on consumers and their attitudes, behaviours, and preferences towards the product. The results from the market research studies have arrived, and the students, assuming the role of the marketing manager, must filter through them to determine how this information can be used to improve the performance of the cookie segment. More specifically, students will need to determine where the greatest opportunities lie, who the team should target, what brand messaging is the most relevant, and what type of communication plan would be most effective.

This case describes the situation for Globalive in 2009 shortly after its bid to enter the Canadian wireless telecommunications sector had been denied by the regulatory agency on the grounds that it breached foreign ownership restrictions. The case covers the background to Globalive and the events leading to the regulator’s decision. Andrea Wood, the chief legal officer of WIND Mobile, the wireless brand owned by Globalive, must decide what recommendations to make to Globalive’s chief executive officer.