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The executive director of an independent charitable foundation is thinking about whether to hedge his foundation's U.S. dollar exposure given the large swings in the Canadian dollar-U.S. dollar exchange rate. For the past four years, the weakening U.S. dollar has contributed to underperformance in the foundation's portfolio relative to its peers.

The founder of organicKidz is trying to create a plan to grow her start-up manufacturing firm. Calgary-based organicKidz is a manufacturer of stainless steel baby bottles and is sold in more than five countries. The founder's challenge is how to convey the superior benefits of her product and manage her retail channels given her limited resources. The setting of the case is at the September 2009 juvenile products tradeshow in the United States where organicKidz has to make a few key decisions about product promotion. All the key buyers from the retail organizations the founder is targeting will be at the show. In particular, the buyer from Costco, a large warehouse club chain, is interested in carrying her bottles and the founder wonders how she should respond.

L'Oreal S.A. is in the process of implementing a global diversity strategy. The firm's Europe diversity director is working with various country units to roll out the strategy. The director faces obstacles such as cultural differences between countries and, generally, low awareness of the benefits a diversity strategy can bring.

Spreadsheet for product 9B05B006.

Spreadsheet for product 9B05B018.

Spreadsheet for product 9B05N023.

Spreadsheet for product 9B06B030.

A senior manager at IBM Canada Ltd. is trying to determine how best to implement strategy developed at the global level. The Business Transformation Executive, Sales & Distribution, IBM Canada Ltd., is responsible for introducing, maintaining and retiring software programs to support IBM Canada's business needs. In October 2009, the senior manager is trying to assess if the customer relationship management (CRM) developed locally should continue to be supported or if the planned switchover to a global standard CRM should continue as scheduled. The case is intended for students to discuss the challenges of implementing global IT strategy at the local or country unit level.

Spreadsheet for product 9B06N020.

Spreadsheet for product 9B10B001.

Matchstick Inc. (A) case introduces students to how brands are starting to put in place non-traditional advertising, such as word-of-mouth campaigns. The founder of Toronto-based Matchstick Inc. is working on a campaign for the Ketel One vodka brand. Ketel One, managed by Diageo, a global beverage firm, is trying to increase its awareness and sales in the Canadian market. Ketel One's brand manager has turned to Matchstick to generate awareness among its elusive target audience.

This is a supplement to Matchstick Inc. (A), product 9B10A019. The cases introduces students to how brands are starting to put in place non-traditional advertising, such as word-of-mouth campaigns. The founder of Toronto-based Matchstick Inc. is working on a campaign for the Ketel One vodka brand. Ketel One, managed by Diageo, a global beverage firm, is trying to increase its awareness and sales in the Canadian market. Ketel One's brand manager has turned to Matchstick to generate awareness among its elusive target audience.

In 2006, Hermann Gudmundsson (the chief executive officer [CEO] of Bilanaust, an Icelandic automotive spare parts retailer) was part of a group of partners that had purchased Esso Iceland. He had subsequently been appointed to the CEO position at Esso Iceland. The two companies were quite different: Bilanaust dealt with real-time customer needs, carried a wide range of products, and enjoyed a rising market share and profits. Esso Iceland was 12 times the size of Bilanaust, skilled at developing and executing medium- to long-term strategies, and was operating in a stagnated market. Gudmundsson evaluated the opportunities in front of him: could a successful merger be wrought from the two companies or would it be better to maintain two separate entities? He determined that a lot of work would need to be done to gain consensus around the right strategic direction for the future. Careful thought identified three areas of initial focus: 1) improving staff morale; 2) creating a sense of optimism; 3) placing effective leaders at key points in the organization.

Hermann Gudmundsson, the new chief executive officer (CEO) of both Esso Iceland (provider of fuel and lubricants) and Bilanaust (an automotive spare parts retailer) was starting to develop an organizational strategy to carry the two firms forward for the next few years. His overriding concern was to create value for themselves and the customers they served, and Gudmundsson considered several methods to achieve that goal: should each company be led and managed on a stand-alone basis, or would a formal merger bring the hoped-for synergies? He determined that the best approach would be to capture an accurate picture of the talent existing in both organizations but was unsure of the best method to sort, rank and evaluate the talent existing in each of Esso Iceland and Bilanaust. Ultimately, he wanted to create a list of objectives for the evaluation program and methods to implement the findings.

By December 2006, Hermann Gudmundsson (the chief executive officer of both Esso Iceland and Bilanaust) had spent the past 10 months evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of both organizations, and determined that the best approach going forward would be to, consider creating a new organization with a new structure and a new brand name. He weighed the advantages, disadvantages and costs of either retaining two separate companies and their associated brand-image, or merging into one new organization. Gudmundsson was facing resistance from both the board of directors and three different advertising agencies to forgo the Esso brand; but with an ultimate mandate to increase shareholder value he needed to figure out the best method, from a branding perspective, to achieve that objective.

In December 2006, Hermann Gudmundsson (the chief executive officer of both Esso Iceland and Bilanaust) announced to employees of both companies that a merger was to occur. Various workshops were held to involve employees in the developing structure of the new organization, resulting in a tenable logistics strategy and increased trust between members of the different organizations. By April 2007, Gudmundsson and his team had merged the two organizations, created a new company name and designed a new logo. On the official launch day, over 800 employees were expected to be in attendance as Gudmundsson unveiled the new brand. Gudmundsson wanted to deliver a memorable speech that captured all the excitement and conveyed the right message of the brand going forward - but was unsure of what issues to address in the speech and concepts he should emphasize to create the right first impression.

By the end of 2007, Hermann Gudmundsson (the chief executive officer of N1) created from the merger between Esso Iceland and Bilanaust) was focused on building trust within his organization. By involving employees in decision-making, N1 had received valuable suggestions on effective business operations. But Gudmundsson had noted a lack of chemistry between employees of the two former firms, and thought that a stumbling block to better relations was the separate clubs or societies for Esso Iceland and Bilanaust employees. After human resources was unable to find a satisfactory resolution, Gudmundsson reluctantly stepped in to render his opinion on how to resolve the issue.

By October 2008, the merger of Esso Iceland and Bilanaust into the new company N1 was considered a success. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was on its way to doubling in three years, and cross-selling was gaining traction. But N1's plans were under threat of derailing due to a looming currency crisis. In October 2008, the Icelandic banking sector collapsed. Gudmundsson called upon his team to determine what internal and external changes needed to be made to remain viable and productive now that they were without access to commercial credit.

In August 2008, there was a large propane explosion at a propane facility located in Toronto, Ontario and the resulting media coverage was nothing short of extensive. Within 24 hours of the explosion, media coverage shifted from developments at the site to the responsibilities of the Technical Safety and Standards Authority (TSSA). The TSSA was a not-for-profit corporation that was responsible for the delivery of regulatory services and ensuring technical safety in a number of areas. It currently fell under the supervision of the Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services (the Ministry), although it had been separated from the government since 1996. By the fourth day of the crisis, the TSSA was perceived to be underperforming and had lost all credibility with the media and public. Opposition parties were calling for the TSSA to be brought back in-house. The Ministry was under criticism for actions of this arm's-length body, and was determined to deliver a media statement that would accurately capture the nuances of this politically sensitive event, thus showing leadership without taking ownership.

In August 2008, there was a large explosion at a propane facility located in Toronto, Ontario. The Technical Safety and Standards Authority (TSSA) was a not-for-profit corporation that was responsible for the delivery of regulatory services and ensuring technical safety, and fell under the supervision of the Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services (the Ministry). By day four of the crisis, the TSSA was perceived to be underperforming and the minister was called to deliver a statement. He decided neither to support nor reject the TSSA but instead called for the TSSA to audit all propane facilities in Ontario. The audits revealed that many of the facilities had minor compliance issues. The reporting of these results, combined with intense public scrutiny of the event, again called TSSA's credibility into question. Faced with TSSA's damaged reputation, the minister evaluated three actions: 1) change TSSA's leadership; 2) bring TSSA back into the government; or 3) perform an organizational review.