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This supplement to Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (A), product # 908M64, looks at the two years post-acquisition and examines a major risk which, as it unfolded, brought the viability of the business model into question.

This supplement to Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (A), product # 9B08M064, looks at the two years post-acquisition and examines a major risk which, as it unfolded, brought the viability of the business model into question.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (Dr. Reddy's), a large pharmaceutical company in India, is trying to acquire the fourth largest generics manufacturer in Germany. Dr. Reddy's quoted $570 million in a competitive bidding situation. The company's chief negotiator is getting ready to close the deal if selected. Students will examine the issues for the chief negotiator, such as: is the price right, is the fit strategic, will the acquisition add value, how can the synergies be fully exploited and how should management proceed with the integration. The (A) case is positioned just before the acquisition and hints at the possible risks. The supplement case, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (B), product # 9B08M065, is positioned two years post-acquisition and examines a major risk which, as it unfolded, brought the viability of the business model into question.

As of mid-2008, Regio's sole shareholder, chairman and president is leading his team through a strategy refreshing process. Regio, an Estonian company established in 1989 as a map-maker, is now involved in four principal business activities: location-based services for mobile phones, geographical information systems (GIS) software development, the creation of geospatial data and the production of maps. The company's current revenues are about 5 million euro dollars and the president is wondering what he can do to propel the company to new heights of 40 million euro dollar to 50 million euro dollars in revenues by 2015.

The case deals with a scam that has been run out of Nigeria since 1990. In it, foreign companies are approached for their assistance in facilitating an international transfer of funds in order to receive a very large but unearned commission. In the case, a Hong Kong-based manager who is travelling to Nigeria is unaware that he is walking into a situation where his company is about to be cheated. The objective of the case is to raise the issue of ethics in the conduct of international business. A follow-up case (908M39) is available.

En route to Nigeria the decision maker learns that he is walking into a scam and must decide whether to show up for the scheduled meetings or to return home immediately. The case illustrates ways of being drawn into unethical situations, and the severe implications for both the individual and organization if they do participate. This (B) case can be distributed part way through the class (with undergraduates) or at the same time as the (A) case with more experienced students.

The case deals with a scam that has been run out of Nigeria since 1990. In it, foreign companies are approached for their assistance in facilitating an international transfer of funds in order to receive a very large but unearned commission. In the case, a Hong Kong-based manager who is travelling to Nigeria is unaware that he is walking into a situation where his company is about to be cheated. The objective of the case is to raise the issue of ethics in the conduct of international business. A follow-up case (9B08M039) is available.

En route to Nigeria the decision maker learns that he is walking into a scam and must decide whether to show up for the scheduled meetings or to return home immediately. The case illustrates ways of being drawn into unethical situations, and the severe implications for both the individual and organization if they do participate. This (B) case can be distributed part way through the class (with undergraduates) or at the same time as the (A) case(9B08M038) with more experienced students.

On December 1999, Schibsted, Norway's largest media company, launched a free daily newspaper, 20 Minutes simultaneously in Zurich, Switzerland, and Cologne, Germany. As of February 2000, the launch of 20 Minutes in Zurich had been considered a success, whereas the Cologne launch had been fraught with difficulty. Schibsted had been caught up in a lawsuit filed by two prominent German publishers. The Cologne edition had been shut down for five weeks. After an appeal, Schibsted had been granted approval to restart distribution. Now the question was: Should Schibsted launch 20 Minutes in Cologne again? This is a supplemental case to "Schibsted (A): Should We Launch '20 Minutes'?"

The executive vice-president of newspapers for Schibsted was about to meet with his colleagues to discuss the company's plan to release an internally developed free daily newspaper concept called 20 Minutes. Over the past couple of years, Schibsted's executive team had kept a watchful eye on the free newspaper industry, which was enjoying tremendous popularity. Earlier in the year, Schibsted had launched Avis 1, a free paper with direct delivery to homes in Oslo, Norway. Looking to expand beyond their home country of Norway, Schibsted's executives had developed a proposal to simultaneously launch 20 Minutes in Zurich, Switzerland, and Cologne, Germany. The executive vice-president of newspapers and his colleagues were scheduled to present this recommendation to Schibsted's board of directors within a month. They were in the midst of preparing a financial and strategic analysis, since they were certain the board of directors would ask some tough questions. The supplemental case Schibsted (B): Should We Start Up 20 Minutes Cologne Again?, product #9B07M020 describes the events folllowing.

The executive vice-president of newspapers for Schibsted was about to meet with his colleagues to discuss the company's plan to release an internally developed free daily newspaper concept called 20 Minutes. Over the past couple of years, Schibsted's executive team had kept a watchful eye on the free newspaper industry, which was enjoying tremendous popularity. Earlier in the year, Schibsted had launched Avis 1, a free paper with direct delivery to homes in Oslo, Norway. Looking to expand beyond their home country of Norway, Schibsted's executives had developed a proposal to simultaneously launch 20 Minutes in Zurich, Switzerland, and Cologne, Germany. The executive vice-president of newspapers and his colleagues were scheduled to present this recommendation to Schibsted's board of directors within a month. They were in the midst of preparing a financial and strategic analysis, since they were certain the board of directors would ask some tough questions. The supplemental case Schibsted (B): Should We Start Up "20 Minutes Cologne" Again?, describes the events folllowing.

The president of Asian Paints Ltd., India's largest paint manufacturer, was wondering how he could improve the way the company's International Business division was managing its team of 120 global managers. The company had operations throughout Asia in various locations such as China, Singapore and Thailand; throughout Africa in countries such as Oman, Egypt and Mauritius; and in the Americas in Jamaica. The team of global management was critical to the success of the company's globalization endeavour, which was expected to gather momentum once the ongoing consolidation was complete. The president must decide how to structure the management of this global team.

The vice-president marketing (VP) for iMPath Networks, a leading provider of managed video networks for surveillance and enterprise applications, is presented with an offer to take over as CEO of the firm. It was October 2001 and iMPath was in poor shape after growth in expenses outpaced sales growth from 1999 to 2000 when the firm pursued aggressive growth targets in international markets while increasing the number of employees. Unfortunately for the firm, the dotcom bubble burst in 2000 and along with it, hopes of rapid expansion. Faced with an essentially insolvent entity, iMPath's venture capital backers decided to extend the VP an offer to save the firm.

Farm Equipment Services (FES), the tractor manufacturing division of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), is considering entering the Chinese tractor industry through a joint venture with Jiangling Tractor Company (JTC), a state-owned automotive enterprise. M&M had seeded the Chinese tractor market with exports and had concluded that the most efficient and prudent way to serve the Chinese tractor market was through a joint venture with a local partner. JTC had good brand recognition and strong position in the small tractor market. However, due to the lack of interest from the parent company, Jiangling Motor Company Group, JTC was facing severe operational challenges: was over staffed, had high overhead, owed significant amounts to suppliers and dealers were fleeing the company. M&M saw an opportunity to work with a management team they were comfortable with and to leverage JTC's potential to grow in China and to export tractors as well as components. The challenge was to determine how management should proceed to restructure and integrate the joint ventures assets.

Farm Equipment Services (FES), the tractor manufacturing division of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), is considering entering the Chinese tractor industry through a joint venture with Jiangling Tractor Company (JTC), a state-owned automotive enterprise. M&M had seeded the Chinese tractor market with exports and had concluded that the most efficient and prudent way to serve the Chinese tractor market was through a joint venture with a local partner. JTC had good brand recognition and strong position in the small tractor market. However, due to the lack of interest from the parent company, Jiangling Motor Company Group, JTC faced severe operational challenges, was over-staffed, had high overhead, owed significant amounts to suppliers, and dealers were fleeing the company. M&M saw an opportunity to work with a management team they were comfortable with and to leverage JTC's potential to grow in China and to export tractors as well as components. The challenge was to determine how management should proceed to restructure and integrate the joint venture assets.

Asian Paints, recognized as one of the best managed companies in India, has recently embarked on a significant push to internationalize its activities. The president of the international division is faced with the challenge of simultaneously meeting sales volumes expected, and to contribute to the company's goal of becoming one of the top five decorative paint companies in the world.

Asian Paints Ltd. (APL), recognized as one of the best managed companies in India, has recently embarked on a significant push to internationalize its activities with the goal of becoming one of the top five decorative paint companies in the world. The president of the international division is faced with the challenge of simultaneously meeting sales volumes expectations and contributing to the company's goal.

The human resources manager for logistics and supply chain management at BAX China must consider her company's high rate of staff turnover. In her monthly report to the managing director, the turnover had reached 12 per cent in the first eight months of the year. The human resources manager must evaluate the company's current methods of dealing with turnover and consider what additional action should be taken. Logistics was a complex and rapidly growing industry, particularly in mainland China. Many multinational and domestic service providers were entering the marketing and expanding their operations; however, these companies had to respond to complex operational challenges and escalating customer demands. The resulting demand for skilled workers led to high turnover rates across the industry and at all organizational levels, and created margin pressure and other management challenges. The case offers a uniquely Chinese perspective on workforce recruitment, management and retention. The industry and the broader economy were growing rapidly. Skilled workers were in short supply because logistics was a new and developing discipline in the former command economy. Also, in the human resources manager's opinion, cultural attitudes resulted in low loyalty among the workers.

This note is part of a series entitled Strategic Alliances That Work. All the strategic analysis, negotiation, and implementation planning of a strategic alliance aims for the day the alliance can be formally launched. While much of the details depend on the specific nature of the agreement, there exist common practices that will take you far down the path of successful alliance management. These include laying a positive foundation with the right team and establishing productive linkages across both organizations. It also includes dedicated focus on building trusted relationships in the early days and structuring alliance activities for some early successes. Alliances usually define success in terms of financial returns; but when the honeymoon is over, enduring and sustainable benefits will be more easily achieved through additional emphasis on effective communications, constructive conflict resolution and continuous organizational learning - elements that support a productive relationship over time.

This note is part of a series entitled Strategic Alliances That Work. Key factors to consider during the selection process are the overall strategic fit between potential partners, the complementarities of each organization's strengths, weaknesses and operational practices, the sustainability of the relationship, consideration of how partner cultures may clash or complement one another, the degree of commitment to the partnership, and finally, the personal chemistry between both companies' management. Related cases Strategic Alliances That Work: Should You Build A Strategic Alliance?, Strategic Alliances That Work: Negotiating and Designing an Alliance and Strategic Alliances That Work: Implementing Winning Conditions, products 9B05M022, 9B05M024 and 9B05M025.