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Harry Lev was reviewing the recent sales reports for Bamberger's Department Store in an effort to assess whether or not the newly implemented Wednesday evening late openings had had a positive overall effect on sales. He was under some pressure to demonstrate that the sales during the extended hours were more than covering the added cost to the store of the late opening, since he had been instrumental in initiating this change despite strong employee resistance. If he could not clearly show a financial benefit, he could expect pressure to discontinue the experiment. (A Microsoft Excel data file is available for use with this case, product 7A99E006.)

Arriving in greater numbers to poverty-ridden cities throughout Latin America, international executives, by their increased visibility, become targets. Newspapers have been filled with stories of kidnappings, abduction and robbery of foreign business people. However, in many respects, Latin America posed no greater danger than the United States, and with proper preparation, risks can be managed. This note briefly presents the current security risks, and actions that can be taken by international firms and individuals to reduce these risks. Comparative statistics are also provided.

An investment advisor for National Securities Inc. had just met with a high-net-worth client to discuss equity investment opportunities in various industries or sectors. Her task was to help the client understand the importance of industry analysis as part of the stock selection process. In particular, she wanted to demonstrate how various industries were related to overall economic performance, as well as various industry life cycle stages. This case allows students to assess a particular industry, the auto parts industry, in order to categorize both the type and life cycle stage. This case is the first in a series of three cases that focus on a variety of stock investment decisions. (See 9A99N007 and 9A99N009.)

In 1999, an investment advisor for National Securities Inc. had just met with a client who was looking for some interesting stocks to add to his portfolio of investments. He wanted to understand how to analyze a particular company's financial statements and project earnings, and a target share price. This case allows students to assess a particular company's financial statements in order to determine, based on the Dupont method, the drivers behind internal growth. The price-earnings valuation method is also presented. This case is the second in a series of three cases that focus on a variety of stock investment decisions. (See 9A99N006 and 9A99N009.)

An investment advisor for National Securities Inc. was preparing to meet with a client. Based on the advisor's recommendation, the client had previously added an auto parts company to his portfolio of stock investments. Now, as he became more sophisticated, the client wanted to understand the potential benefits and risks of trading call options and put options. This case is the third in a series of three cases that focus on a variety of stock investment decisions. (See 9A99N006 AND 9A99N007.)

The head of a bank's Mexico Team must consider her options when confronted with the task of aiding in the arrest of one of her clients. She had just returned from Switzerland, where Swiss narcotics agents were encouraging her to lay a trap for the wife of one of her clients, the brother of a former Mexican president, who had been arrested in Mexico a few months earlier on charges of murder, illegal enrichment, and laundering money for the Mexican drug cartel. As she pondered her options, the fate of one of her former employees, who had recently been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for managing the account of a convicted money launderer, provided food for thought. She must consider extraterritoriality, bank secrecy laws, and professional ethics in international private banking.

Executives of a telecommunications corporation are wondering what they can learn from an experience to develop managers to run expanding Latin American operations. The corporation signed a letter of intent to purchase control of a leading telecommunications provider in Mexico with 2,300 employees. Senior executives knew that one of their most pressing issues would be finding the right people to manage their Latin American operations. The 14 managers sent to Mexico to manage the corporation were double the number then being prepared for that type of assignment. The executives must consider the issues encountered by this team of expatriates and their families as they try to adapt to life in Mexico.

Alpha Gearing Systems Shanghai Co., Ltd. (Alpha Shanghai), a joint-venture between Alpha Gearing Systems of Illinois, USA (a large producer of gearing products), and Kai Li Machine Systems (one of China's largest manufacturers of gearing systems for mopeds and motorcycles), had invested several millions of dollars in tooling in the hope of winning a major contract. The general manager of Alpha Shanghai had made the decision that the next round of negotiations would either significantly advance, or sever, the relationship between Alpha Shanghai and San Yu Mopeds, a large Chinese moped producer, and a customer which Alpha Shanghai had hoped would become one of its largest. The case decision revolves around Alpha Shanghai's senior management perspectives, strategy and assumptions which affected the negotiating process, and specifically how their communication patterns were affected by their experience and culture.

The president of Canadian-based Pacific Western Brewing Co. Ltd. is preparing a Japan market entry strategy for the company's newly developed organic beer. Although she has considerable experience in Japan, several factors are at play which make this product entry particularly challenging. First, the product is unlike any other in the market. Second, Japanese consumer behaviour is undergoing a revolution. Third, the company's last product launch in Japan failed. Therefore, there is a higher than normal level of risk associated with the product launch.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>The regional HR manager of a multinational conglomerate that operates in over 100 countries had to make decisions regarding the evacuation of its senior management from a politically unstable country. In particular, the firm's expatriate and ethnic Chinese managers and their families faced considerable risk. The HR manager is charged with executing corporate policies and plans. Some of the challenges to consider relate to the development and initial execution of the evacuation plan. These challenges are heightened by a decentralized decision-making process entrenched in the firm's structure and culture, as well inconsistent information from numerous sources in the field operations. Moreover, the issue of which employees to evacuate poses a moral dilemma for the decision-maker. Specifically, he must decide what criteria - rank, ethnicity, tenure - should dictate whether an employee and/or his or her family is offered assistance, and of what sort.

The regional HR manager of a multinational conglomerate faces increasing pressure to evacuate management as the crisis intensifies in the politically unstable country. Concurrently, it becomes increasingly clear that individual managers are making evacuation plans independent of central control, making implementation of a prearranged plan very difficult. The decision to evacuate ethnic Chinese managers and family members is made, and the offer of assistance is extended to all employees. Further logistical challenges in the evacuation plan become more problematic by increased pressure felt by the decision-maker due to the deteriorating situation in the country, as well as an increased sense of desperation among managers both in the country and those abroad with families present. Making matters even more difficult for the decision-maker is the loss of communication with his evacuation team, insufficient cash available to the evacuees, mounting costs to the firm, and an inability to clarify exit documentation requirements of evacuation employees and their families. This is a supplement to the A case, 9A99C001.

The decision-maker responsible for evacuating company managers and their families from a crisis situation now faces a political hot-potato due to second-guessing from superiors, peers and subordinates as a result of decisions he made during the evacuation. The employees who were scheduled for evacuation had dispersed and had unilaterally planned their exit itineraries, resulting in the company incurring a $75,000 bill to facilitate the evacuation of a group of employees from another company. Despite the organizational and logistical challenges, all expatriates and their families were safely evacuated. The teaching objectives of this supplement to the A (9A99C001) and B (9A99C002) cases are to expose students to the politics during the post-crisis review of decisions made during those stressful and ambiguous times.

The partners of the newly formed Info-Tech venture are in the process of formulating their company's marketing strategy. They have spent over a year developing their company's product - a six-page, bi-weekly news service delivered to subscribers via e-mail that summarizes recent advancements in the computer technology industry. They must now decide on how to price and promote the service.

In 1998, Metropolitan Life's first vice president of Interactive Commerce faced a plethora of opportunities, challenges, and decisions in charting MetLife's strategy for e-commerce. He wanted to move quickly into transacting Web-based commerce, but he had to consider executive support, infrastructure requirements, possibly disenfranchising the sales force, fast-moving competitors, and the frenzied rate of technology change. The case covers almost all e-commerce start-up issues, but from the perspective of a large, established bricks and mortar business. (A 19-minute video is available for purchase with this case.)

DuPont had spent six years helping licensee manufacturers to develop the domestic market for non-stick cookware. While DuPont Teflon brand coating held 80 per cent of the non-stick market, the non-stick market overall represented 2 per cent of the domestic cookware market. Moreover, the amount of money spent on developing the non-stick market exceeded the revenue that DuPont received in the Chinese market. If DuPont decided to take a different role in the market, it faced many obstacles that required significant additional investment. It appeared that the domestic market offered tremendous opportunity, but it would require new efforts, skills, distribution channels and patience. The case examines the issues around leadership and product development that DuPont considered in their decision to go from licensing the manufacture of non-stick coating technology in China, to introducing a wholly owned brand of non-stick cookware.

Through acquisitions and innovative management, Moscow Joint Stock Commercial Bank Vozrozhdeniye (V.Bank), had grown to be one of the largest banks in Russia. In a market with many competitors of varying strength and reliability in an unstable business environment, V.Bank was attempting to become a true commercial bank, fashioned after the operations of western banks. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had undertaken a World Bank contract to assist V.Bank in this process. However, in October 1998, as the Russian economy grew worse, management of V.Bank wondered if it would be able to survive the crisis, let alone continue towards its goal of transforming its operations into those that were competitive with the western banks. This case is appropriate for courses where the goal is to provide students with the ability to understand and forecast broad economic forces and incorporate this information into a decision-making process. The student is forced to make strategic decisions in a situation of uncertainty and instability, and in crisis mode, in an emerging market. Issues that need to be resolved include privatization, economic and monetary policy, IMF and World Bank intervention, societal stability, and government regulation.

A former consultant explains the reasons for his decision to leave a successful position in a prominent consulting company. As a result of stress on his family and personal life, and a growing dissatisfaction with certain aspects of his job (see James Reed, case number 9A95C025), he describes how he came to a decision to make a significant career transition. The role of self-assessment and the analysis of fit with potential opportunities is described as it pertains to this decision.

The senior vice president of one of the world's leading producers of premium wine and head of a joint venture, faces a series of quality problems with the brand. At the same time, he has the unprecedented task of building a state of the art winery in less than 10 months or he risks losing the entire harvest. This case is intended to be used in conjunction with the Robert Mondavi Corporation: Caliterra (B) case, number 9A99C005, and the (C) case, number 9A99C006.

A new independent management staff was hired and most, including the new general manager, came from outside the wine industry. The new managers are having a difficult time trying to convince their parent to accept their judgement. Marketing is an area where significant differences in opinion began to arise. This case is a supplement to Robert Mondavi Corporation: Caliterra (A), case number 9A99C004.

Differences of opinion continue between Caliterra and Mondavi's marketing team. Caliterra's managers believed that Americans simply did not understand the difference between images of Chile and other Latin American countries. From their perspective, communications developed in California did not conform to the Caliterra vision, to be the quality and image leader in the super premium Chilean wine category. This case is a supplement to Robert Mondavi Corporation: Caliterra (A), case number 9A99C004.