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Michael Stevens was examining his blue chip stock portfolio and the market outlook for the next six months. He was wondering if he could use some options strategies - buying individual stock puts, writing individual stock calls, writing index calls, or buying index puts - to protect his paper profits and perhaps even improve his return.

The managing partner of the a new enterprise group faces a sensitive meeting with the Hong Kong native senior accountant who has indicated that he is likely to resign. A serious misunderstanding, partially involving cultural differences, has evolved over his temporary assignment to an audit, when he wants to specialize in tax. The views of a number of other partners and managers involved in the situation are included. Confusion arises over conflicting signals from the senior accountant about his willingness to take on the audit assignment. A companion case, Bob Chen, describes the situation from the senior accountant's point of view. The pair of cases are designed for use in a role play.

A senior accountant in a large accounting firm, is on the verge of resigning. He faces a sensitive meeting with the managing partner of the new venture practice. A native of Hong Kong, the senior accountant has been given a temporary assignment to audit when he wants to specialize in tax. A serious misunderstanding, partially involving cultural differences, has evolved over this assignment. A companion case, David Shorter, describes the situation from the managing partner's point of view. The pair of cases are designed for use in a role play.

A large, open pit, iron ore mine is plagued with crusher delays. The case describes the situation, provides relevant capacities and costs, and gives statistical data on the frequency and duration of crusher stoppages. The manager has to choose between holding trucks idle during crusher delays, reassigning the truck-shovel teams to waste removal, or to dump ore at an ore stockpile.

A student about to complete his MBA is considering purchasing a franchise in The Body Shop Canada chain of specialty stores. He has discussed the opportunities with company officials and drawn up pro forma financial statements. He now has to evaluate the opportunity and his fit with the organization. Despite the financial projections, would he be happy as a franchisee and would The Body Shop Canada be happy with him? Unlike many franchising cases, this case asks the student to take the role of the potential franchisee rather than that of the franchisor.

A hospital financial systems implementation project has run into some difficulties. The decision maker must analyze the complex situation and develop an attainable action plan for the remainder of the project. The case explores various facets of Information Systems project management, focusing on the human factors that are important in any project management situation.

Prince Edward Island Preserve Co. is a producer and marketer of specialty food products. The company president is contemplating future expansion. Two cities were of particular interest: Toronto and Tokyo. At issue was whether consumers in both markets should be pursued, and if so, how. The choices available for achieving further growth included mail order, distributors, and company controlled stores. The case helps students watch existing resources and capabilities with potential growth opportunities.

A process engineer for General Motors Truck Assembly Plant in Oshawa was considering the introduction of new technology onto the main assembly line. He believed that an overhead hoist could be used to eliminate one job in a four-person group. The case leads into a discussion on the criteria used in evaluating proposals for new technology as well as the impact of these changes on the employees.

Custom Car Care is an owner-operated company that does custom detailing and cleaning of cars on a part-time basis. The owner would like to quit his current part-time grocery store job and run his business full-time, but he is unsure if it will be profitable enough. He needs to prepare a break-even analysis and a complete marketing plan for the business.

This note provides a series of steps used in the preparation of pro-forma income statements and balance sheets, using the aging of accounts and a plug for cash requirements. A simple example is used for illustration.

Steelway Building Systems manufactures steel buildings. The owner and president, faces tougher American competition and realizes the need for better technology. He has three options for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of his flange and connector plate production process. He must decide which option is best and implement the solution soon so he does not lose ground to encroaching U.S. competition in these tough economic times.

Kimberly-Clark's and Procter & Gamble (P&G) are fierce competitors in the diaper industry. The competitive struggle involves a broad range of issues including: rapid product development, international threats and opportunities, diversification options and public pressure over environmental concerns. In particular, Kimberly-Clark must decide on a response to P&G's most recent product introduction. This case provides an excellent in depth view at the dynamic of competition.

As they approached their strategic session, TransAlta's senior executives confronted a changing business environment. The company's goal had always been to provide reliable electric service to their customers at the lowest possible cost. Now a new variable was entering the picture: the environment and the question of sustainable development. The release of the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by Harlem Brundtland, gave credibility to the concept of sustainable development and has elevated environmental issues on the international agenda. How would this impact the company's business strategy and competitive advantage?

By mid-1988, Aldus Corporation was the market share leader in the global desktop publishing market. Top management was faced with the decision of whether to split Aldus's product family into two distinct product lines. Each product line would be targeted at different segments of the market: the business market and the creative graphics professional market.

In early 1989, with growing concern among Canadians about the impending solid waste problem, Grad Schnurr, the brand manager for Downy fabric softener, was considering the launch of a more environmentally friendly form of packaging. These Enviro-Paks would reduce the amount of plastic used in a standard 3L package by 85%, resulting in a 15% saving in total manufacturing costs. Although a similar type of packaging had already been introduced in Europe, the Enviro-Paks would be the first of their kind in North America. Because of this, Grad Schnurr faced many strategic issues and had to make decisions relating to the pricing, promotion and national launch of the paks.

Minnova Lac Shortt mine faces an important capital budgeting decision. A discounted cashflow analysis of a $19 million investment to deepen the existing mine by 300 metres is required. Given the high levels of uncertainty and flux in the external environment (e.g., U.S. exchange rate, price of gold, head grade of ore, recovery percentage, etc), managers need to conduct a sensitivity analysis. Qualitatively, Minnova's mining strategy weighs heavily on the decision because the quantitative analysis results in a slightly negative net present value.

The vice-president finance for a Canadian manufacturer has to decide how best to refinance a Swiss franc loan that is about to mature. The case involves consideration of interest rate risk and foreign exchange risk. The case is designed to introduce students to borrowing in international markets. It gives students an idea of the many opportunities to borrow internationally. By examining the cost of the previous loan, students should gain an appreciation of how changes in exchange rates can affect the cost of a loan.

The focus of the case is on the privatization of Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Corporation by way of an initial public offering. It is written from the perspective of an investment banker, Wood Gundy, who has been requested to submit a proposal to the privatization steering committee. All aspects of a deal are present; valuation, distribution, corporate governance, security design, ownership restrictions, domestic/global, institutional/retail, etc.

Unicorp Canada has announced a tender offer for Union Enterprises Ltd. Unicorp management must devise a strategy subsequent to the hostile takeover offer. The case illustrates the full range of actions, from political to scorched earth, available to a target in defending itself in a hostile situation. (This is a sequel to Unicorp Tender for Union Enterprises (A), case 9A90B034.)

A positive covenant on a $200 MM floating rate loan required Columbia River Pulp (CRP) to hedge a minimum of $100 MM for at least three years at a maximum rate of 12 percent. The alternatives included interest rate SWAPs, CAPs and COLLARs. What is the optimal hedging structure? Should CRP hedge all of its floating rate debt, or only the amount required under the loan agreement? (This case can be used with two related cases bearing the same name, 9A95B034 and 9A90B036. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet is available for use with this case, product 7A90B037.)