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The managing director of a health services company wonders how she should deal with an underperforming subsidiary. Even with a new president and intense effort, the results were exactly the same as the previous year, substantially below average.

A family-owned brick manufacturer has built an export business to Japan and other Asian markets from zero to 10 per cent of its volume in seven years. The case examines the company's export strategy and organization in light of the recent Asian economic crisis and the reasons for their competitive success both in Australia and Asia. The managing director is raising the question of whether it is time to change their regional export strategy and organizational structure.

The assistant brand manager for Procter & Gamble's Scope brand in Canada has been working since May with the brand manager to refine the brand's market position. They are concerned about whether they have chosen the correct target for the brand, and what their fall advertising for Scope should communicate. A focus group session has been planned for the next two weeks. They are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to uncover key consumer insights but want to ensure that they are asking the right questions. They have to make specific decisions regarding the fall advertising campaign no later than the beginning of August and want to ensure that the new advertisements are as successful as possible. This case can be used in a second year advertising or research methods elective, or as part of the advertising module in a first year course.

Although it continued to operate at about 7,000 surgeries per year, by late 1997 the portion of non-Canadian patients coming to Shouldice Hospital had declined to about five per cent with a corresponding change in the Hospital's economic fortunes. A marketing consultant has developed a marketing plan for the hospital. Students have to analyse the economic, political and technological changes that have occurred since 1983, evaluate the marketing plan and decide how the hospital should proceed. This case is intended to follow the 1983 Harvard case, Shouldice Hospital Limited (9-683-068).

This note provides an overview of business valuation techniques. The discounted cash flow method is described in a simple six-step process. A numerical example is also provided. Other valuation methods are briefly discussed, including the price-earnings approach, break-up value, and an acquisition premium approach. This note is ideally suited for an executive audience. (A more in-depth note in this area can be found in A Note on Mergers and Acquisitions and Valuation, case number 9A95B023.)

Up-In-Smoke is an inventory valuation exercise using the periodic method. Completed in two steps, students are first required to value the total goods available for sale by considering items such as duty, taxes, returns, discount terms, FOB, and purchase prices. Once completed, various methods to value the inventory ending balance can be applied and compared, namely FIFO, LIFO and the weighted-average-cost method.

Exotic Adventures Inc. operates expedition-style voyages in various locations around the globe, including the Amazon River basin. In early 1998, Exotic Adventures began marketing a low-water season voyage up the Amazon to take place in October. By August, 99 passengers had booked passage with Exotic Adventures. However, in early September the company began receiving messages from their agents in Brazil advising that water levels were unusually low. The company must decide whether to cancel the voyage now (and refund payments received) or to continue it with the risk of subsequent higher costs.

An English major at Baruch College, New York, is considering opening an English language center which would offer a variety of English as a Second Language and/or English courses targeted mainly at foreigners coming to New York. She has already done some research and identified a few potential market segments, some aspects of the strategies used by the competition, and elements in the U.S. immigration policy which might threaten her project. She needs to decide if her business idea is feasible. If she decides to go ahead with her project, she has to develop a strategy and a detailed implementation plan before she can open her school.

The management team must determine how to get the buy-in of the majority of its employees to ensure the success of the SAP (Systems, Applications and Products) project. The implementation of SAP would cause enterprise-wide change, replacing the current sales and distribution, human resources, finance/IS and materials management legacy systems. It would radically redefine how people, processes and technology would come together to drive the company's strategy.

Homegrocer is a new Internet-based grocery store that is experiencing slow market penetration because the business concept entails fundamentally changing individual grocery shopping behavior. The owner is wondering what it takes to attract new customers and then convert them into repeat customers. Other issues include lack of management IT experience, anticipated hyper-growth, investment decisions needed in a quickly changing industry and funding in the future.

Canada's largest privately owned department store, The T. Eaton Company Limited, founded in 1869, had recently emerged from bankruptcy protection and was now planning to raise $175 million through an initial public offering (IPO). Investment bankers must determine the appropriate share price and consider the appropriateness of the timing for the issue. The case describes North American retail industry trends and the bankruptcy protection process, and provides a detailed discussion of the IPO process and valuation considerations. Detailed comparables are provided for such firms as Federated, Nordstrom's and Dillard. The case provides an opportunity to apply a number of valuation techniques including discounted cash flow, price-to-earnings multiples and enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiples.

An investment adviser for National Securities Inc. had just met with a potential new client. His task was to help the client develop an investment policy statement and to provide advice regarding an initial asset allocation consistent with the investment policy statement. This case allows students to assess an individual's investment objectives and constraints and to determine how these factors impact on the appropriate investment mix. This is the first in a series of three cases that focus on a variety of investment decisions. (See also 9A98N030 and 9A98N031.)

An investment adviser for National Securities Inc. was meeting with a new client. Since the client had not been an active investor in equities, she had many questions for the advisor, particularly related to the notion of market efficiency. In addition, she wanted to understand the importance of different investment styles, such as growth versus value. This case is the second in a series of three cases that focus on a variety of investment decisions. (See also 9A98N029 and 9A98N031.)

An investment adviser for National Securities Inc. was meeting again with a new client. He was recommending a number of stocks for consideration as part of her investment portfolio. The client wanted to understand what the expected return and risk implications were related to investing in some of the recommended stocks. This case allows students to examine return and risk measures for both individual securities as well as portfolios. Sharpe and Treynor performance measures are also examined. This case is the third in a series of three cases that focus on a variety of investment decisions. (See also 9A98N029 and 9A98N030.)

The Mongolian Grill is a concept restaurant faced with a decision of whether to expand its capacity. The manager's objective is to optimize the restaurant's profitability without compromising the dining experience of its customers. This case is intended to introduce students to operations issues in a service environment (as opposed to a manufacturing environment). The concept of line balancing is central to the case. The case is also intended to explore capacity expansion issues and to demonstrate how expansion options can affect capacity, profitability and service quality. The case requires students to conduct a quantitative analysis of capacity and profitability while evaluating possible negative effects on service quality.

The vice president of finance was reviewing the corporation's financial situation in preparation for the forthcoming board of directors' meeting. Key items on the board's agenda included Torstar's dividend policy and share repurchase strategy, along with Torstar's ability to acquire strategic investments and to maintain capital expenditure requirements. The case focuses on the optimal utilization of excess cash flow.

The Acer Group was one of the world's largest PC and computer component manufacturers. Members of Acer's R&D management team were considering the location of a new R&D lab with a view to maximizing the effectiveness of their global R&D strategy. They must examine the strategic role the lab should take, based on country strengths in China, as well as how logistical, communication, and cross-cultural issues should be managed, taking into account the social, political and economic environment in China. The case also looks at how critical an effective intellectual property protection strategy is in the globalization of R&D strategy.

The president of Joong-Ang Development Company was concerned with the level of service quality at Yongin Farmland, the company's theme park located just south of Seoul, South Korea. Despite the service quality program he had initiated since he assumed his present position 14 months ago, service quality seemed to be less than that of its competitors. He wondered if he had made the right moves, how Farmland could achieve international service quality standards, whether it would be worth doing, and if it would really provide a sustainable competitive advantage. This case and its companion (B) case, 9A97D017, are intended for use in a service quality module of a service management course.

Shanghai Jahwa is the largest domestically owned Chinese manufacturer of cosmetics and personal care products. In recent years, it has been part of a booming market with growth rates of 35 per cent per year. This spectacular growth rate has attracted and been fuelled by the entry of major multinationals, including Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Shiseido, Kao, and others. The marketing challenge for Shanghai Jahwa is to carve out viable and defensible positions in the marketplace, in the face of competition from some of the most powerful global players in the industry. The case illustrates management issues with respect to extending a very successful brand of Chinese eau-de-toilette named into the shower cream product category. Unilever already has a strong and established shower cream on the market under its well-known Lux brand. In addition, other international players are entering in the market. The case calls for the development of a brand strategy, taking into consideration market position, brand extension, and competitive issues. A follow-up case (9A98A024) is available.

Shanghai Jahwa is the largest domestically-owned Chinese manufacturer of cosmetics and personal care products. The (A) case, 9A98A023, illustrates management issues with respect to extending a very successful brand of Chinese eau-de-toilette named into the shower cream product category. This case provides an update of the market; specifically, the new competitive situation faced by Jahwa in the shower cream market in 1996.