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Modine Manufacturing operates primarily in a single product category consisting of the manufacture and sale of heat transfer equipment. A major customer announced the cancellation of an agreement with Modine to develop a key engine component, which was needed by automotive companies in order to make their engines comply with new emissions guidelines set to take effect in several years. However, the expectation that the government would relax emissions guidelines was believed to have led to the cancellation of the project. Would other customers do the same? Considerable resources were spent on this project, causing projects that would be handled by the new product development area to be developed outside of this unit. The vice-president of technical services must analyse the company's new product strategy to determine its effectiveness in developing new products and what model the company should use for product development.

This note discusses the impact of immigration on attitudes and government policy in Western Europe's three largest countries, Spain, France and Germany. It also examines how the histories and political structures of these countries have influenced immigration policy and the integration of immigrant populations. Finally, it predicts the impact that immigration policy will have on employment and productivity in what some observers have dubbed Fortress Europe.

A group of international business majors from a large Boston-area university traveled to Spain, France and Germany for a yearlong period of study and work. Some of the students described their initial impressions and reactions to living and studying in another country and functioning in another language. Topics discussed include adapting to life in Europe (including language, pace of life, personal space, smoking, local food, sexual norms, personal appearance, and government and bureaucracy), being away from family and friends during the holiday seasons, academics (including differences in learning and teaching styles), and language. The objective of the case is to help undergraduate students who will be living, studying, and working in another country to prepare for their experience. Supplement cases, The European Experience (B), product 9B02C032, discusses the students finishing their academic term and preparing for their work placement and The European Experience (C), product 9B02C033, follows the experience of one student on his co-op work assignment.

After completing their exchange semester, the American students felt that they had gone beyond being mere tourists. However, for most, the reality of spending a term in Europe had turned out very different from their expectations. This supplement to the European Experience (A) case, product 9B02C031 continues the discussion as students finished their academic term and prepare for their work placements. This case is the second part of a case series used to help prepare North American undergraduate business students for international exchange programs. See also European Experience (C), product 9B02C033.

Follows the experience of an American exchange student studying in Spain, as he embarks on a co-op work assignment with a major international manufacturing company. This supplement is the third part of a case series that is used to help prepare North American undergraduate business students for international exchange programs. Supplement to The European Experience (A), product 9B02C031, and European Experience (B), product 9B02C031.

A student at a large Boston-area university would soon be completing a dual degree in Management Information Systems and Business Administration. She is the oldest child and only member of a Japanese family that spoke English and was learning to represent the family business, Kashiwa Tubing, with its international accounts. It was planned that she would eventually assume leadership of the company. During her studies she became a believer in the potential and reach of the Internet. She immediately set up a Web site for the company. Within six months, the Web site generated its first major sale, a $2.5 million order from Saudi Arabia. Recently, she had begun to negotiate a multi-million dollar deal with a Taiwanese firm. The company's Japanese headquarters recently forwarded an inquiry from Nigeria. The inquiry was from a member of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, proposed a business transaction that would, if successful, represent the largest single Internet order in the history of Kashiwa Tubing. Believing in personally meeting with customers and building long lasting ties, her father suggests that she should meet with this customer, even if that meant traveling to Nigeria.

Follows the experience of an American exchange student studying in Spain, as he embarks on a co-op work assignment with a major international manufacturing company. This supplement is the third part of a case series that is used to help prepare North American undergraduate business students for international exchange programs. Supplement to The European Experience (A), product 9B02C031, and European Experience (B), product 9B02C031.

After completing their exchange semester, the American students felt that they had gone beyond being mere tourists. However, for most, the reality of spending a term in Europe had turned out very different from their expectations. This supplement to the European Experience (A) case, product 9B02C031 continues the discussion as students finished their academic term and prepare for their work placements. This case is the second part of a case series used to help prepare North American undergraduate business students for international exchange programs. See also European Experience (C), product 9B02C033.

A group of international business majors from a large Boston-area university traveled to Spain, France and Germany for a yearlong period of study and work. Some of the students described their initial impressions and reactions to living and studying in another country and functioning in another language. Topics discussed include adapting to life in Europe (including language, pace of life, personal space, smoking, local food, sexual norms, personal appearance, and government and bureaucracy), being away from family and friends during the holiday seasons, academics (including differences in learning and teaching styles), and language. The objective of the case is to help undergraduate students who will be living, studying, and working in another country to prepare for their experience. Supplement cases, The European Experience (B), product 9B02C032, discusses the students finishing their academic term and preparing for their work placement and The European Experience (C), product 9B02C033, follows the experience of one student on his co-op work assignment.

Blue Ridge Spain was a joint venture established between a well-known American fast food chain and an old guard family-run agricultural company that was seeking to diversify in the wake of Spain's entry into the European Union. The European Regional director of the company has been dealt an unexpected professional blow. After several years of fostering a successful joint venture, the regional director is stunned to find out that the new owners of Blue Ridge want out of the arrangement. In spite of the fact that this particular joint venture has been profitable since its inception and the company has experienced brisk growth during that time, the new owners are determined to end the partnership. The regional director is left examining how he is to respond to a request that he feels is not only detrimental to his company, but also contrary to his principles. He questions the ethics of secretly undermining the joint venture in order to achieve the upper hand in buyout negotiations. As a Greek, the importance of personal relationships and social contracts only adds to his dilemma.

Monsanto, one of the world's largest producers of commodity chemicals, had decided to focus its operations on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The first shipment of genetically modified soybeans arrived in Europe in November of 1996. Genetic engineering promised to reduce the use of pesticides and curtail world hunger. Therefore, Monsanto was dismayed at the powerful opposition that developed over the next few years. A series of food safety concerns, the foremost being mad cow disease, only added to consumer skepticism. The company must examine its strategy and the relationships with key stakeholders (including governments, farmers, industry groups, environmentalists, grocers and consumers). The (A) case provides background on Monsanto, their corporate strategies and the climate in which they introduced genetically modified products in the United States and Europe. The supplement Monsanto (B), product 9B02A008, focuses on the roles of government and other regulatory bodies in the acceptance of genetically modified products.

This supplement to Monsanto Europe (A), product 9B02A007 discusses the non-acceptance to genetically modified products showing up in the poor performance of Monsanto's agricultural division, affecting its successful divisions and the survival of the company. In order to win back its respectable standing in the marketplace, Monsanto must develop new strategies to educate consumers and influence political decision makers in order to gain greater acceptance of its products.

Although British Airways had been lagging behind other carriers in the region, in the opinion of the new general manager for Latin America, the company had the potential to be the leading European airline in Latin America. He believed the market had all the characteristics in which British Airways had traditionally been most strong. However, after six months of visiting all the offices in the region, he began to feel that some key country managers were not supporting the changes necessary to move the company ahead. Head Office in London was also skeptical. Latin American is breaking even, so there is no real need to solve the problem, was one typical response. This case deals with efforts to implement major organizational change in a short period of time.

Seeing an opportunity, the general manager for Latin America promised London an unprecedented one-year revenue increase of 44 per cent, provided that sufficient resources were allocated to the region. The early results of his efforts to transform the company's Latin American operations are discussed. This case is a supplement to the British Airways: Latin America (A) case, 9A99C015.

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.

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.

The senior vice president of the Robert Mondavi Corp. (one of the world's leading producers of premium wine) and head of Mondavi's Chilean joint venture, faces a series of quality problems with the Caliterra brand. At the same time, he has the unprecedented task of building a state of the art winery in Chile in less than 10 months or losing the entire harvest. The case traces the process of entering into a joint venture with Vina Errazuriz, a much smaller, but well respected, Chilean company, and presents the cross-cultural communication challenges faced by the joint venture partners. Communication and trust are central issues in the case.

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.

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.

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.