In December 2016, Jodi Butts, executive director of Rise Asset Development (Rise), sat at her desk pondering whether to take a more aggressive, strategic, and proactive approach to scaling the organization throughout Canada. While an aggressive expansion would ensure that Rise would serve many more people with mental health issues, it required a significant increase in resources and carried many risks to the viability of the organization. Located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Rise offered microcredit loans, training, and mentorship to people experiencing mental health and related poverty issues. The organization encouraged entrepreneurship among its clients to ease their transition from isolation and poverty to productive work and self-sufficiency. Rise currently operated in four cities in the Province of Ontario: Toronto, Ottawa, London, and Kingston.
In early November 2014, Chris Green, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Family Care Canada (Family Care), was preparing for the upcoming board meeting, where Chris would consult with the board about a difficult operating decision. For the past 24 years, Family Care had run a national awareness campaign to reduce violence in Canadian communities. In 2014, the advertising agency hired by Family Care proposed a new approach to the campaign to broaden its reach to young men and women. However, the largest local chapter of Family Care was uncomfortable with this new approach. As a leader, Chris felt torn. It was essential to respond to the beliefs and opinions of the chapters, but at the same time, it was necessary to ensure relevance of the organization with the next generation of men and women. How should Chris lead the volunteers, staff, chapters, and board through this decision? Many students struggle with the concept that they may hold unconscious beliefs inconsistent with their conscious, rational beliefs or assume that implicit bias is something that is experienced by other people, but not themselves. Using a written case and video content, this case is designed to reveal these contradictions to students, encouraging them to reflect on their own beliefs and behaviours. The written case provides information about the organization and the decision to be made, providing context for students to assess Chris Green's leadership. The video provides a closer look at Chris' personal approach to leadership, to allow each student to evaluate Chris as a leader.
This case explores an ambiguous, public incident of a mature student touching a younger Professor, which created the perception of a hostile work environment for the Professor and for some students in her class. The ambiguous nature of the contact itself, uncertainty about organizational processes, potential career and reputation outcomes, and the impact on the learning environment in her classroom are all considered by the professor as she tries to decide whether to make a formal complaint, attempt to resolve the issue informally, or ignore it. This case does not address sexual harassment from a legal or regulatory perspective, but rather considers the role of perception and attribution in defining harassment, the social and psychological impact of sexual harassment on individuals, and the reasons that sexual harassment incidents continue to occur.
In early June 2013, the executive director of Art Feeds, which provided therapeutic art and creative education to school children to help them achieve mental and emotional well-being, needed to make a recommendation to her board about whether to expand the current operations in Joplin, Missouri, to Moore, Oklahoma, after a devastating tornado in Moore. She needed to determine whether the organization had the resources required to expand successfully. If the executive director recommended expansion, she also needed to recommend the method that Art Feeds should use, i.e., disseminating the Art Feeds concept, using an affiliation model, or branching.
In early June 2013, the executive director of Art Feeds, which provided therapeutic art and creative education to school children to help them achieve mental and emotional well-being, needed to make a recommendation to her board about whether to expand the current operations in Joplin, Missouri, to Moore, Oklahoma, after a devastating tornado in Moore. She needed to determine whether the organization had the resources required to expand successfully. If the executive director recommended expansion, she also needed to recommend the method that Art Feeds should use, i.e., disseminating the Art Feeds concept, using an affiliation model, or branching.
Tania Kay, Marketing Manager at Consumer & Food Products Corporation of Canada (ConFood), had just returned from a marketing department team-building retreat that had been a miserable experience. The retreat had involved a surprise scavenger hunt through the woods of cottage country in central Ontario, complete with tree climbing, rock climbing, canoeing, and a five-kilometer (three mile) hike. Given her physical limitations she had been unable to participate in most of the retreat's activities. The facilitator-led debriefing session had also been humiliating and demoralizing since her exclusion either went unnoticed by her peers and session leaders or, worse, was blamed on her. Tania debated whether or not to bring up her experience at the marketing retreat with her boss, Marianne Renfrew. Tania worried that making an issue of it would expose a previously hidden disability and therefore result in people stereotyping her, thereby perceiving her as incapable, negative, incompetent, or a whiner.
In May 2013, the director of transitional and community programs at Women’s Community House (WCH) must decide whether to renew the retail lease on WCH’s used-clothing boutique, Mine101. This social enterprise was launched to generate income for WCH’s children’s programming, but lost money in its first two years of operations. The decision to renew the lease begs a larger question: Should Women’s Community House continue to operate Mine101? The director must conduct an analysis of the performance of Mine101 and recommend whether or not to continue operating the social enterprise.
In May 2013, the director of transitional and community programs at Women's Community House (WCH) must decide whether to renew the retail lease on WCH's used-clothing boutique, Mine101. This social enterprise was launched to generate income for WCH's children's programming, but lost money in its first two years of operations. The decision to renew the lease begs a larger question: Should Women's Community House continue to operate Mine101? The director must conduct an analysis of the performance of Mine101 and recommend whether or not to continue operating the social enterprise.
In May 2013, the founder and executive director of the St. John the Compassionate Mission, a faith-based, non-profit social service organization located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, needs to plan for his retirement. He has been the driving force behind the organization for the past 27 years, and it reflects his vision that meaningful work helps people get off welfare, attaining dignity and a sense of personal value in the process. To that end, the Mission provides opportunities for everyone in the community to work through employment in one of its two social enterprises — a thrift store and a bakery — or through volunteer opportunities. Because its organizational culture emphasizes collaboration and consultation not only with its staff leadership council and board of directors but also with all members of the community, its decision making has been fluid and in response to perceived needs rather than forward planning. Now he needs to ensure an effective succession that protects the organization's culture, values and beliefs and ensures the safety of a vulnerable population.
In May 2013, the founder and executive director of the St. John the Compassionate Mission, a faith-based, non-profit social service organization located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, needs to plan for his retirement. He has been the driving force behind the organization for the past 27 years, and it reflects his vision that meaningful work helps people get off welfare, attaining dignity and a sense of personal value in the process. To that end, the Mission provides opportunities for everyone in the community to work through employment in one of its two social enterprises - a thrift store and a bakery - or through volunteer opportunities. Because its organizational culture emphasizes collaboration and consultation not only with its staff leadership council and board of directors but also with all members of the community, its decision making has been fluid and in response to perceived needs rather than forward planning. Now he needs to ensure an effective succession that protects the organization's culture, values and beliefs and ensures the safety of a vulnerable population.
Since the 2010 earthquake, the executive director of the Foundation for International Development Assistance (FIDA) had been managing exploding demand for economic development from Haitians, the international development community and from individual Canadians. While there was a lot of money available for earthquake relief and micro-finance, far less was available for sustainable long-term economic development. FIDA needed an additional $2 million over the next three years to support projects that had been approved by both FIDA and its Haitian partner, productive cooperatives Haiti (pcH). FIDA needed to find investors who understood and supported the unique vision, principles and methods of FIDA/pcH.
In December 2008, Erica Mills and her husband, Craig, were making plans. They had recently decided to start a family within the next 12 months and were now making decisions about how to manage their careers as they were about to take this momentous step. Erica had started Warm Fuzz Cards, a Toronto-based greeting card company, just over two years ago in 2006. The business was growing slowly but profitably. Craig was employed as a human resources executive at a large company. He was very supportive of Erica's business. In fact, he believed that the business could grow much more quickly. Erica, on the other hand, liked her slow growth strategy. However, she was not sure that she could manage the business as it was currently structured and raise a family at the same time. They were going to have to decide what to do soon. They would need time to decide how fast to grow, develop a plan, raise money, and possibly hire staff, all before they started their family. This case provides students with an example of an entrepreneurial start-up and an understanding of: 1) the decision of how fast to grow 2) the decision of how much and where to invest in a growing business 3) how management skills, knowledge and preferences can impact decision-making in entrepreneurial/family business ventures 4) how important cash management is in the early stage of growth 5) how various stages in the development of a new venture will dictate the need for the detailed financial tracking and management of a business. This case is appropriate for a 75-minute introductory entrepreneurship class.
Late in the afternoon on January 20, 2006, one of the owners of The Health Nut hung up the phone. Her account manager had just called to tell her that the bank was not going to extend any further credit to her small retail natural health products (NHP) store located in Grand Bend, Ontario. She and her life and business partner had owned The Health Nut since May 2003. While they had successfully grown sales, the business was not generating enough cash to sustain itself and provide the partners with adequate compensation. As a result, the business relied heavily on borrowing from the bank. Now that the bank was no longer a source of financing, the owners had a major problem on their hands. What should they do now? Something was going to have to change. They had about four weeks left before the business ran out of cash. The students will learn: 1. The role of emotion in decision making. 2. The nature and importance of due diligence. 3. When to let go of the business. 4. The importance of having enough working capital. 5. The dangers of over reliance on debt. 6. The challenges of cash flow management.
Jessica Pierce and Ashley Mound have developed an innovative product for an entrepreneurship class assignment to be presented to potential investors. They now need to determine 1) which target markets have the most potential, 2) which distribution channels to use and 3) a sales volume estimate. The purpose of the case is to teach students how to use secondary research resources from a typical library to research the nature of the market for a new product. This case is appropriate for introductory business, entrepreneurship, business planning, introductory marketing or marketing research courses. It may also be used as an assessment tool.
In December 2008, Erica Mills and her husband, Craig, were making plans. They had recently decided to start a family within the next 12 months and were now making decisions about how to manage their careers as they were about to take this momentous step. Erica had started Warm Fuzz Cards, a Toronto-based greeting card company, just over two years ago in 2006. The business was growing slowly but profitably. Craig was employed as a human resources executive at a large company. He was very supportive of Erica's business. In fact, he believed that the business could grow much more quickly. Erica, on the other hand, liked her slow growth strategy. However, she was not sure that she could manage the business as it was currently structured and raise a family at the same time. They were going to have to decide what to do soon. They would need time to decide how fast to grow, develop a plan, raise money, and possibly hire staff, all before they started their family. This case provides students with an example of an entrepreneurial start-up and an understanding of: 1) the decision of how fast to grow 2) the decision of how much and where to invest in a growing business 3) how management skills, knowledge and preferences can impact decision-making in entrepreneurial/family business ventures 4) how important cash management is in the early stage of growth 5) how various stages in the development of a new venture will dictate the need for the detailed financial tracking and management of a business. This case is appropriate for a 75-minute introductory entrepreneurship class.
The human resources manager at the Alice Saddy Association (Alice Saddy), a non-profit agency in London, Ontario, Canada, supporting people with developmental disabilities who lived independently rather than in group homes, informed the executive director that some of the support workers believed that the current organizational structure caused confusion, slowed decision making and created potential risk for the people served by Alice Saddy. The executive director agreed that there were some problems related to the structure of the organization. However, the structure reflected the mission of Alice Saddy and changes were likely to be resisted by the management team for that reason. The executive director had to decide how to proceed.
Late in the afternoon on January 20, 2006, one of the owners of The Health Nut hung up the phone. Her account manager had just called to tell her that the bank was not going to extend any further credit to her small retail natural health products (NHP) store located in Grand Bend, Ontario. She and her life and business partner had owned The Health Nut since May 2003. While they had successfully grown sales, the business was not generating enough cash to sustain itself and provide the partners with adequate compensation. As a result, the business relied heavily on borrowing from the bank. Now that the bank was no longer a source of financing, the owners had a major problem on their hands. What should they do now? Something was going to have to change. They had about four weeks left before the business ran out of cash. The students will learn: 1. The role of emotion in decision making. 2. The nature and importance of due diligence. 3. When to let go of the business. 4. The importance of having enough working capital. 5. The dangers of over reliance on debt. 6. The challenges of cash flow management.
Jessica Pierce and Ashley Mound have developed an innovative product for an entrepreneurship class assignment to be presented to potential investors. They now need to determine 1) which target markets have the most potential, 2) which distribution channels to use and 3) a sales volume estimate. The purpose of the case is to teach students how to use secondary research resources from a typical library to research the nature of the market for a new product. This case is appropriate for introductory business, entrepreneurship, business planning, introductory marketing or marketing research courses. It may also be used as an assessment tool.
The human resources manager at the Alice Saddy Association (Alice Saddy), a non-profit agency in London, Ontario, Canada, supporting people with developmental disabilities who lived independently rather than in group homes, informed the executive director that some of the support workers believed that the current organizational structure caused confusion, slowed decision making and created potential risk for the people served by Alice Saddy. The executive director agreed that there were some problems related to the structure of the organization. However, the structure reflected the mission of Alice Saddy and changes were likely to be resisted by the management team for that reason. The executive director had to decide how to proceed.