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International finance plays a large, although often hidden, role in our lives. As a result, an understanding of this market is essential to understanding the new global economy. In this note, students are provided with a thorough introduction to the foreign exchange market from a Canadian perspective. The history of the Canadian dollar, from confederation until the present is chronicled. Many aspects of the current flexible exchange rate system and the terminology used in the different exchange markets - the spot, forward, future, options and swap markets - are introduced.

Variations in tax impact make it essential to know a person's tax status for personal financial planning and the structuring of business transactions. A broad overview of the Canadian income tax system is presented in this note along with descriptions of various types of taxable receipts. Key messages are: that different types of income are often taxed differently; that same types of income are often taxed differently depending on the entity that receives it; and that the amount of income tax varies based on the level of income the taxpayer earns.

Blinds To Go (BTG), a Montreal-headquartered producer of made-to-order window coverings, had made the decision to enter the Florida market by opening eight retail stores. As a result of this decision, the senior vice-president (SVP) of operations for BTG was faced with the dilemma of deciding if and when an assembly plant should be built to support these and future Florida retail stores. The most recent plant, built in Lakewood, New Jersey, had experienced operational problems during its startup, resulting in the eventual replacement of most of the supervisory staff and a significant portion of the plant employees. This led to additional start-up costs and customer service problems. Faced with this expansion into Florida, the SVP set about devising an operating plan that would achieve the goals of the Florida expansion without the growing pains of past efforts. As the stores were to be opened in six months, a plan would have to be finalized soon.

Informal coaching opportunities occur in the course of daily life. In this workshop, students are provided with ways to improve their responsiveness to these opportunities. The format is a series of sessions in which students form teams and take turns playing the role of the director of operations for a software products business. Two staff members come to see the director, on their initiative, to ask for ideas, help, guidance, or a decision on an issue. The director knows key details about each staff member’s background and development needs, but does not know in advance what the specific issues or concerns are. It is necessary to explore these issues or concerns before any decision can be made. The students’ performances are videotaped and critiqued in terms of identifying each staff member’s problem(s); the effectiveness of responses to the immediate problems; and contribution to that staff member’s longer-term growth or awareness through coaching. The accompanying seven role-plays (products #9B00C007, #9B00C008, #9B00C009, #9B00C010, #9B00C011, #9B00C012, #9B00C013) provide background information on each of the staff members.

The Richard Ivey School of Business had recently introduced a wireless network and required all students to purchase laptops and network cards. After a year of use, the faculty decided to restrict laptop usage in class by disallowing the use of network cards. They felt the students were using the network cards for unrelated activities in class and that this was compromising the learning process. Reaction from the students was mixed, with some students quite vocal about the (un)fairness of this new policy. The section head for one of the MBA sections knew that finding a long-term solution would be a difficult process. There were valid points in the arguments to both restrict and not restrict the use of the cards. She had to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages in order to make a recommendation to the faculty at a section meeting the following day.

The financial uncertainty in Hong Kong and Asia from mid-1997 to mid-1998 was caused in part by the Asian flu and the return of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. A large North American-based insurance company was faced with the decision of managing its Asian assets in light of this uncertainty, especially the possible breaking of the peg between the Hong Kong dollar and the U.S. dollar. As the vice-president of capital markets at Manulife Financial contemplated what strategy he would recommend to the senior executive group, he considered the concepts of fixed/pegged exchange rates and the use of different strategies to manage the risks, as well as the potential profit opportunities that may arise when a fixed/pegged exchange rate is under attack and may break.

The founder and only employee of Montreal-based Drawn and Quarterly, a company that published comic books and graphic novels, wondered whether there were changes he should make in how he ran his company. He loved his job; he was working with excellent cartoonists, and he enjoyed being his own boss. He wanted to invest in new projects, but his ability to do so depended on getting enough revenue from sales. He recently made a substantial investment in the publication of an anthology of international comics and knew this investment could put the company at risk. There were many factors for him to consider in planning the growth of this small company: management preferences in strategic growth, marketing in entrepreneurial firms, the comic book industry and the management of small companies in cultural industries.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) had implemented word recognition software, Assentor, in its U.S. brokerage arm to ensure its employees were not acting inappropriately in their dealings with customers and to protect company systems from viruses. This software scanned e-mails for flagged business words and archived the e-mails in a central database. The manager of compliance at CIBC's head office in Toronto, found that the decision to implement the Assentor software was much easier than deciding what to do in the event the software found something improper. Issues related to company ethics and employee privacy were raised. Acknowledging that occasional personal e-mails would be sent and received, he wondered what the legal ramifications would be if a manager found out about a private situation because Assentor had found a flagged word in a personal e-mail. He felt that clear communication with and upfront understanding from employees would help prevent negative impressions of this process so he had to determine the best way to inform employees about the e-mail scanning while enforcing CIBC's e-mail policy.

The founder of Surgery Futures Research, a London, Ontario-based startup, developed a new technique to assist with minimally invasive surgery. His innovation eliminated the need for incisions and retractors to manipulate the bowel, and relied instead upon magnets and an ingestible fluid. He put his surgical residency on hold and spent several years developing the technology as a sideline to his medical career. He invested his time, personal savings and much of his income into this enterprise. Even under the most optimistic scenario, commercialization was still years away and would require significant expenditures for research, development, manufacturing and marketing. At age 35, and with his wedding approaching, he felt the time had come to reevaluate the venture, considering what actions needed to be taken to commercialize the technology and what role he should play in the process.

This note will familiarize users of financial statements with how Earnings Per Share (EPS) is calculated, what accounting rules apply, and how the new CICA Handbook Section 3500 will make Canadian, U.S. and international EPS figures more comparable. It also includes a simple exercise to test the students' understanding of the mechanics. The accompanying teaching note provides the solution.

OP4.com, an Internet portal for teenagers, had just celebrated six months of existence. The co-founders of OP4.com knew that the internal culture had to reflect the identity of its Web site, so they wanted to cultivate a savvy, hip staff. They used unique methods to evaluate a prospect's fit into the company and some unorthodox training and feedback systems. With profitability being the next key step, they had to determine how to maintain this culture through the next stage of growth; one which would result in the creation of business units and formal reporting structures for staff.

Silent Witness Enterprises Ltd. was one of Canada's fastest growing technology-based firms. The 14-year-old publicly traded company created a new market niche in the security surveillance industry by introducing novel applications of VCR-based technology. The company's founder forecasted growth that would take the company from annual revenues of $34 million in 1999 to $250 million by 2005. In achieving these goals, he must decide how to balance the need to sustain innovation and new product development, while at the same time, develop the capabilities needed to manage the firm's increasingly complex operations.

Procter & Gamble reorganized its operations and created Global Business Units with Market Development Organizations (MDO) to augment the brand strategy work. This reorganization supported changes in culture that included reasonable risk taking. The marketing director of Procter & Gamble Canada was evaluating the potential success of launching a new product, Febreze, by using volume analysis resources available to her. The results indicated that Febreze would be a relatively small business opportunity, but the model could not take into account the various new MDO marketing tools that were not yet available. To justify the cost of launching the product, revenues would have to be significantly more than the volume model predicted. While trying to adjust to the new culture, she had to evaluate the risks associated with launching the product not knowing if the new tools would generate the additional volumes needed, and the risk of losing the competitive edge if she postponed the launch. A 30-minute video, product 7B00M005, is also available. The second case in this series, Procter & Gamble Canada (B): The Canadian MDO (product 9B00M006) discusses the strategy behind the changes and the implications to the Canadian group.

Organization 2005, the latest initiative by Procter & Gamble (P&G) worldwide, was put in place to help double revenue growth between 2000 and 2005. The reorganization aligned the company so that planning and managing the lines of business were done on a global basis. The company's culture, its structure and how work would be done were three key items that would be impacted by the changes. The newly appointed president of P&G Canada reflected on the strategy behind the changes, the implications of the organizational change, and the message he wanted to deliver as he prepared to address the Canadian employees. A 30-minute video is also available. The first case in this series, Procter & Gamble Canada (A): The Febreze Decision (product 9B00M005) discusses the challenges faced by the marketing director of P&G Canada while launching a new product during these changes.

The Newell Company, a multi-billion dollar company dealing in hardware and home furnishings, office products and housewares, was contemplating a merger with Rubbermaid, a renowned manufacturer of plastic products. Newell had a remarkable record of success in growth by acquisition. Rubbermaid would mark a quantum step in this program, but equally, would pose a formidable challenge to Newell's capacity to integrate and strengthen acquisitions. Corporate strategy and advantage is studied, particularly through the Collis and Montgomery framework, to determine if the proposed merger is a step too far.

The chief executive officer of the venture capitalist Portal Investments had to decide whether to invest in eHarvest.com, a company with a vision to become the worldwide Internet portal for production agriculture. To do so, he needed to examine Portal Investment's strategic objectives; eHarvest.com's business model and the challenges and opportunities it faced in carrying it out; and issues related to valuation and deal structuring.

The founders of iCraveTV had a great idea for a potentially lucrative market segment: retransmitting network broadcast television signals to Internet-connected PCs, reaching a worldwide extension market. There were several resourcing obstacles to overcome while entering the fiercely competitive broadcasting industry and building competitive advantage: obtaining rights to the programs, securing paying advertisers, retaining viewers, having sufficient cash and management expertise. Several issues remained unresolved as they moved towards the launch of iCraveTV: negotiating rights from each of the content syndicators or attempting to pay Internet royalties for the programming; and preventing U.S. users from accessing the Canadian site since iCraveTV was legally permitted to retransmit television signals already carried on Canadian cable channels, but due to differences in regulation, it might face U.S. broadcast industry objections if U.S. audiences found access to the iCraveTV signal. A supplemental case, iCraveTV.com (B): The Aftermath of the Pennsylvania Injunction, product 9B01M010, is available.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Spin Master Toys was a Canadian manufacturer of toys ready to produce its latest product, E-Charger, an electrically powered model airplane. The operations manager had to decide which supplier should design and manufacture this new product. The timeframe from design to delivery was very short, requiring an accelerated development schedule. The company had a short list of two potential companies, both located in the major toy manufacturing district of southern China, near Hong Kong. The operations manager had to develop the appropriate criteria for this decision and evaluate the two suppliers. With relatively little information and already behind schedule, the company must make its decision in the face of considerable uncertainty. The supplemental cases Spin Master Toys (B): A New E-Chargers Supplier? (product 9B01D002) and Spin Master (C): Keeping the E-Chargers' Wings On (product 9B01D003) follow the progress and the challenges of the production of the E-Charger.

AWARD WINNING CASE - This case was one of the winning cases in the 2002 Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition. A manufacturer had been selected to produce Spin Master Toys' new product, E-Charger. Two weeks into the product design process, the operations manager was concerned because the manufacturer's progress was unsatisfactory and that, as a result, Spin Master Toys would likely miss its shipping date for the product launch. His options were to push ahead with the current supplier, try to negotiate with the other company that quoted on the contract, or look for yet another supplier. He had to evaluate the options and the impact each would have on meeting the shipping date. This is the second in a three case series that follows the selection of a manufacturer and the progress of the production of a new product. The accompanying cases are Spin Master Toys (A):Finding a Manufacturer (product 9B01D001) and Spin Master Toys (C): Keeping the E-Chargers' Wings On (product 9B01D003).

AWARD WINNING CASE - This case was one of the winning cases in the 2002 Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition. A few weeks after production started on Spin Master Toys latest product, E-Chargers, an electrically powered model airplane, the operations manager had to deal with a persistent and serious quality problem; up to 30 per cent of the current production of the wings were substandard. He knew he had to do something fast. The company could not afford any more supply problems. This is the third case in a three case series that follows the selection of a manufacturer and the progress of the production of a new product. The accompanying cases are Spin Master Toys (A):Finding a Manufacturer (product 9B01D001) and Spin Master Toys (B): A New E-Chargers Supplier? (product 9B01D002).