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What makes a leader the most is a certain solidity at the core, a solidity founded on principles that are, essentially, points on a moral compass. Those principles are visible in the actions of some leaders, while other leaders act according to convenience. These authors lay down a blueprint that will allow a leader to be guided by principles.

Look into the soul of any great leader and you will find a good leader. But, if only that were the case. Some leaders, those who crave and bathe in the spotlight, are in fact not so great. Others, who are highly effective (and modest) and possess the five key characteristics this author describes, are good leaders first and foremost. Which is what, in the end, makes them great.

Scratch the surface of a true leader, or look beneath his or her personality, and you'll find character. The traits and values that make up the character of a good business leader are, for the most part, similar to those that make up the character of an outstanding citizen. These authors describe the traits and values that make up the character of leadership.

The case describes the circumstances surrounding the introduction of www.google.cn. In order to comply with Chinese government requirements, google.cn censors web results. This appears to contradict Google’s stated philosophy and its mission to organize and make accessible the world’s information. A public outcry ensues and Google is forced to defend its controversial decision. The case presents both sides of the debate and asks students to consider what they feel is right.

Dove is one of Unilever's better-known personal care brands. It has significant top-of-mind awareness among women in many countries. In an attempt to increase sales volume by 80 per cent, Unilever re-launched Dove in 2004. The campaign asks the question What is real beauty? and attempts to redefine it in ways that challenge commonly portrayed stereotypes. This case examines the re-launch of Dove, Unilever's well-known international personal care brand, and the marketing issues behind its phenomenal success. It also raises questions about how to maintain the brand's momentum as the next phase unfolds. In 2007, Dove products are still well thought of by consumers and the campaign has attracted imitators, including brands outside the cosmetics and beauty care sector.

Two young entrepreneurs are considering forming a business that provides new and innovative forms of advertising. Students are required to evaluate the venture, including whether the available financing is sufficient or if additional financing will be needed. Students are required to perform both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the proposed business. Qualitatively, students must evaluate the partners' relevant capabilities as well as the business concept itself for potential success. Quantitatively, students must prepare a projected cash budget and projected financial statements for the first year of operations to gain a better understanding of the operation's cash needs and potential for financial success. This quantitative analysis will also provide students with answers to the partners' ability to make withdrawals from the business, the need for financing and the level of additional financing required, if any.

A non-profit organization, partnered with a microfinance organization would send undergraduate students from a business school to teach entrepreneurship in Third World countries: Kenya, India and South Africa. The case requires students to develop fairly straightforward cash budgets and to consider sensitivity analysis based on exchange rate fluctuations. Students are introduced to the concept of micro financing as an effective tool for improving the socio-economic status of entrepreneurs in Third World countries. Students are encouraged to think about relevant issues in gaining sponsorship for a non-profit venture.

Three business partners had finally secured the $15-million purchase of the Meadowlark Shopping Centre, a struggling mall located a few minutes away from West Edmonton Mall. The 60-day due diligence period, during which the partners had to decide whether to go through with the deal, was about to commence. If they were to go forward with the purchase, the partners had to consider changing the concept of the mall, demolishing a portion of the mall, demolishing a portion and changing the mall's concept or keeping the mall's current strategy.

Geotech Telecom (Geotech) is a small but successful 14-year old company that provides telecom consulting to two main clients, Rogers Telecom and Bell Canada. The company is facing the upcoming transfer of a large multimillion-dollar telecom contract from one of its largest clients, Bell Canada, to another provider. Geotech's president doubts whether Geotech will be able to compete for the project and, hence, a potentially disastrous future lies ahead for the company. At the same time, the widow of the company's founder wants to sell the company, and Geotech has received acquisition offers from larger telecom consulting companies. The president needs to decide what steps to take next.

Sarbanes-Oxley may be onerous, tedious and expensive. But it is also - and arguably the most important overlooked thing - a virtual and heretofore never-considered ally of corporate managers. In fact, as this author argues, learning to live with Sarbanes-Oxley can yield unanticipated dividends and make a manager's life a lot easier.

Organizations that fail to recognize and act on their Strategic Market Position may be at risk. First, however, you must know what Strategic Market Position is and how to use it. This author, who has written the book on Strategic Market Position, describes what it is and how to use it.

Most managers would admit that the COO plays a critical role in an organization and is highly visible within it. These coauthors have identified four conditions or rights that boards and organizations must satisfy to make the COO's role work and add value. They describe these rights in this article and what to do and not to do to make them work.

It is not a crisis - at least not yet - but numerous Canadian SMEs need to get with the lean program before it's too late. The authors visited 18 firms and though they found that lean practices were wanting, they were able to turn their findings into recommendations that manufacturing managers everywhere can implement to make their operations lean.

GVM Exploration Limited's (GVM) $2 million environmental assessment project at Grizzly Valley was disrupted by a road blockade set up by a small group of local First Nation people. How GVM handled this situation would not only affect the progress of the Grizzly Valley project but also other ongoing projects. The case challenges students to address an emergent situation. Students will need to think through the short-term and long-term implications of the potential project delay or legal actions. They must assess the issues, alternatives, and decision criteria before selecting the actions to be recommended. The case introduces stakeholder management and corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, the case provides a fairly inclusive scenario where a stakeholder or CSR perspective alone does not dictate strategic directions. Students will need to take into account both stakeholder and business imperatives.

The City of London was expropriating a portion of Springbank Drive as part of a project to widen the road between Wharncliffe Road and Wonderland Road. The owner of Canning Consultants Inc. was retained by the city to assess the resultant property value loss for the affected residents. The consultant had assembled a database of residential sales along with various property attributes, and had to determine how to proceed in calculating appropriate compensation for the taking. This case is appropriate in a module on multiple linear regression models.

As a small retailer of green energy, Selectpower was at a critical point in its growth. The chief executive officer (CEO) was developing a cohesive strategy for the firm's multiple business units. Revenues were expected to increase significantly in the coming year; however; limited resources also were forcing the CEO to make some tough decisions about two important investment opportunities: its growing wind-derived electricity business; or the nascent geothermal business. Both options offered clear environmental benefits to customers, although the strategic value and immediate financial return to Selectpower were less clear. The CEO was also not certain to what extent Selectpower's strategy should emphasize environmental objectives relative to traditional financial metrics. Finally, evolving customer expectations, fluctuating energy prices, and changing government regulations further complicated planning.

The founder and chief executive officer of Air Deccan, India's first low-cost airline, ponders the imminent launch of the airline. His mind goes back to his passion and vision of empowering every Indian to fly, a bold dream in a country of one billion people who travelled predominantly by buses and trains. Would Air Deccan fly?

At the beginning of 2006, the president of Ullman International (Ullman), a leading producer of hybrid chicks for both the American and world egg industry was facing many challenges: his imminent retirement, the threat of the Asian bird flu, zero or negative growth in primary markets, increasing pressure from the animal rights movement and a strained relationship with Ullman's European parent company. 2006 marked the end of an era for this $200 million company as it enters a period of revolutionary organizational and environmental change, the resolution of which will determine its fate for the next decades.

Senior management at 3M Canada's Industrial Business Division (IBD), which manufactures abrasive and adhesive products, faces a dilemma. In the light of a 2006 directive from corporate headquarters, which calls for top line growth, IBD has a goal of essentially tripling its annual rate of sales gain from its current level of three to four per cent to 10 per cent within two years. In IBD's markets, 3M as a product-driven company with strong research and development focus, has historically concentrated on original equipment manufacturers and specialty distributors, but a new channel to market has emerged. Several national distributors of items used in general repair and maintenance are growing at a rapid pace. If 3M Canada wants to participate in the growth, it must seriously reconsider how it goes to market, particularly in sales and logistics. Dealing with this situation demands analysis of the requirements of the new channel, and an assessment of fit with IBD's capabilities and strengths. Significant changes will be necessary for IBD if it is to gain and sustain business in the emergent segment.

An investor is deciding if she should invest in RONA Inc. RONA, a large Canadian hardware and renovation retailer headquartered in Boucherville Quebec. The company had experienced strong growth and had achieved considerable success. The investor was now prepared to analyse the financial data, provided as well as perform a size-up of the current and future direction of the company in order to make her decision.