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Canada's rate of organ and tissue donation was one of the lowest in the industrial world. The issue had come to the forefront in Ottawa and now each provincial government had to find a way to increase the donor rate. Students should develop an integrated marketing communications plan to boost awareness within Ontario.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Inc. had grown significantly during the past 20 years, and most recently, had fundamentally changed the nature of its business from hotel ownership to hotel and resort management. The focus of the case is on what more could be done to enhance the value of the firm. Should an equity offering be undertaken? Was the timing right? Who should be the underwriters? What should be the criteria for selecting one underwriter over another? Should it be a global equity offering or should it be kept in Canada? Would debt refinancing be a better alternative? What would be the advantage of one over the other? Who should be the target buyers? What would the impact of each choice be on shareholder value?

The CEO of the Sandvik Group is reviewing the initiatives he implemented to increase the synergies between the six disparate businesses of the Sandvik Group. Specific measures taken by Sandvik's management to increase the level of synergy between the businesses are outlined. In search for synergy, management has experienced many problems and challenges. The main challenge is how to avoid a re-centralization of power while at the same time encouraging employees to act with regard to both their business and the group. The case closes with the CEO wondering how further changes could be made to expand and sustain the search and exploitation of synergies within the Sandvik group. This case can be used as an advanced corporate strategy case, to illustrate concepts such as diversification, synergies, and parenting advantage. It can also be used as a management of change case by putting emphasis on the actions the CEO can take to achieve his stated goals. A follow-up case (9A98M013) is available.

The owner of a metal furniture manufacturing company is seeking funds to help finance his firm's expansion. He has arranged a mortgage with a life insurance firm to finance the addition to his plant. He is now trying to arrange a working capital loan with his bank manager. There were heavy pressures on manufacturers of metal furniture in recent years and the cost/price squeeze has forced out many weaker manufacturers. Talich Fabricating Inc. survived due to the managerial competence of the owner who anticipates a big sales increase, since the number of competitors has decreased considerably. He believes that this decreased pressure will enable him to increase prices to improve his profitability, which has suffered during the industry shake-out. The loan proposal must be evaluated by the bank manager in view of a head office memo suggesting the loans be limited to proposals offering the highest return with the least risk. As the bank manager, students should evaluate the loan proposal considering the character of the owner/manager, business conditions, capacity to repay, and available collateral. Talich Fabricating Inc. is a complex case, and should be used near the end of an introductory finance segment.

A machine tools distributor is planning to build an extension onto its warehouse. The owner is concerned how to source the $100,000 required to finance the expansion. Options include borrowing from a bank, borrowing from a private lender, or issuing shares. This case is intended to introduce students to financial analysis. The concepts of ratio analysis, projected statements and debt repayment are central to the case. The case requires students to draft a set of projected statements to determine the amount of required financing, assess the financial health of the company and its ability to take on more debt.

Dawson Lumber Company, experiencing rapid growth in the mid-1990s, has requested a $10.8 million working capital loan from the National Bank of Canada. This loan request is based on the assumption that Dawson's growth will continue at an increasing rate. The vice president of the bank must analyze Dawson's performance and give a reply. This case is a good vehicle to reinforce or introduce financial analysis. It synthesizes the relationship between ratio analysis and projected financial statement development. It also presents an interesting perspective in which the bank must balance risk with the effort it extended to acquire Dawson as a client.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER -Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Grey China is a subsidiary of Grey Advertising, based in New York. Established in 1917, Grey Advertising offered a variety of marketing and corporate services through its 377 branches in 88 countries, which employed 10,000 people. The case provides an overview of how an advertising agency functions, as well as illustrating timely advertising industry issues such as specialization and globalization. The CEO of Grey China must decide whether or not to launch an interactive services department to capitalize on the potential for a first mover advantage. Many marketing managers in Hong Kong and China were unaware of how interactive marketing could be integrated into their marketing communications programs. Grey China had the daunting task of building primary market demand for interactive marketing communications.

In preparation for the opening of a new canoe manufacturing shop, the owner has developed a business plan. He plans to manufacture 30 canoes per year out of a small rented shop. He has accumulated fixed and variable cost data, and now must decide what price he should charge for the canoes. He must also solidify his marketing strategy and set an advertising budget.

The new program director at an indoor soccer facility must rethink his marketing strategy if the company is to break even. This case is suitable for an introductory marketing class.

This note presents the basic statistical concepts used to describe and analyze a collection of observations. It describes the differences between empirical distributions and mathematical (or theoretical) distributions, and illustrates the shortcomings of relying on a single statistical measure to draw conclusions. The advantages and disadvantages of histograms and bar charts are also discussed.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Second place winner of the MDC of Hong Kong Case Writer of the Year Award</strong></p><br>The senior market associate of Trojan Technologies reflected on the water shortages anticipated in developing countries created by their explosive economic growth. Trojan sold water disinfecting equipment, and the senior market associate's job was to find new areas for growth. China was particularly intriguing because it had as much water as Canada, but 40 times the population, and its economic boom would further stress current water resources. Trojan had set growth hurdles of 30 per cent per year, and it needed new markets to reach that objective. The task in new market development was to determine if Trojan should enter China, and if so, when, where and how. The associate knew little of China: how decisions were made for water disinfecting equipment, whether Trojan's patents would be protected, and what level of resources would be required. The vice-president of new business development wanted to see recommendations within the month.

One of Dow Jones & Company's most respected brands, The Wall Street Journal, is threatened by Internet news providers, including their own Interactive Edition. The company is unsure whether the Interactive Edition will be a substitute or a complement to the Print Edition. The case focuses on changing industry boundaries, new technology, potential cannibalization, and a threat to the company's traditional business model. Industry analysis of both print and interactive publishing is discussed, as is resource leveraging across the two formats.

The assembly supervisor at Navistar faces a critical supply problem; one that not only affects the bottom line but more importantly the customer. This case requires a student to determine what is and is not important, to think creatively about how to use the information provided, and to formulate a recommendation with respect to solving the current supply problem. The student must review: (1) a process flow chart in detail, (2) numerical data with respect to costs and frequency of specific causes for trim shortages, and (3) a number of identified causes for the supply problem. Navistar must look at value added activities, its internal policies and practices, storage of materials, a Just-In-Time inventory system that may be too tight, and communication difficulties that arise when last minute design changes occur.

The assistant brand manager for DayQuil cold medication is under the gun to meet the deadline for a sampling experiment designed to increase DayQuil's market share. The case discusses managing timelines, identifying bottlenecks, and developing project management skills. DayQuil Sampling Operations serves to introduce students to project management issues and the decisions that have to be made, including crashing timelines and identifying parallel processes. This case can also serve as an excellent introduction to the use of Microsoft Project. DayQuil Sampling Operations is part of a three-case series about the DayQuil brand of cold medication made by Procter & Gamble. The other cases are Procter & Gamble Canada: DayQuil Brand Sampling (9A98A029) and Procter & Gamble Canada: Managing DayQuil Sampling (9A98C015).

This case provides a detailed description of Tandy Corporation's Incredible Universe stores from 1992 to 1995: layout, major departments, advertising and promotion, location, staff and customers. These very large consumer electronics stores were launched in the belief that incredible selection, entertainment and service would be a formula that customers would love; however, the unprofitable performance of the chain to date raises questions about the future of this venture.

This note describes and interprets accounting standards for future employee benefits. Adoption of these new standards must occur no later than fiscal years beginning in 2000. These accounting rules will result in greater harmonization of Canadian and U.S. accounting standards. The note details the components of pension expense and provides an illustration of a public company's note disclosure. This disclosure is used to provide an explanation of how to interpret the data that is disclosed about pensions in a company's financial statements and notes.

In 1998, ICI's research division had discovered a new use for anthraquinone and had to decide whether to accelerate research on a process to synthesize anthraquinone and develop the commercial application, or to terminate the modest R&D effort. (A Microsoft Excel model is available for use with this case, product 7A98E029.)

Hutchison Whampoa was considering strategies for its long-term capital structure. The HK$35 billion Hong Kong-based conglomerate had ambitious growth plans in multiple business sectors in different geographies. Traditionally, like many of its domestic peers, Hutchison had relied entirely on short to medium-term bank loans. Its demand for long-term financing, attractive rates in other capital markets (especially the U.S.) and concern about a more diversified investor base had led Hutchison to explore other financing options. In particular, the company was debating the benefits of a Yankee Bond Offering. At the time, Hutchison had already approached Moody's and Standard & Poor's for a bond rating.

The Works Manager at Dofasco was faced with rapidly increasing market prices for fuel oil and natural gas in the late 1990s. Anticipating that similar price increases were likely to continue for the foreseeable future, he wanted to be certain that the steel works was making the best use of its energy dollars and, in particular, that the fuels produced as by-products from plant operations were being efficiently utilized. (A Microsoft Excel model is available for use with this case, product 7A98E025.)

Northwest was a major producer of newsprint, with pulpmills in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, from which they supplied various North American markets. The assistant controller was reviewing which mill supplied which market, in an attempt to find some opportunities for cost savings, and planned to develop and use a model to investigate both the immediate newsprint allocation problem and also some longer-term strategic issues. (A Microsoft Excel model is available for use with this case, product 7A98E035.) The supplement, Northwest Newsprint, Inc. (B), product # 9B09E003 addresses the ability of price changes to mitigate supply chain issues and improve supply chain profitability.