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Examines Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, Wal-Mart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the largest generator of revenues. Its international operation seems poised to become the next growth driver for the company as it marches toward the trillion dollar sales mark. But problems are starting to surface even as the company is winning recognition as the number one company in the Fortune 500--unions keep pressuring its minimum-wage employees and allegations of gender discrimination are alleged. Teaching purpose: To introduce students to creating a competitive advantage.

McDonald's, one of the world's strongest and most recognizable brands, intends to extend its world's best quick service restaurant experience brand into the hotel industry by launching a hotel in Illinois. An industry observer examines the hotel venture's positioning options and the McDonald's brand extension into a different product class.

Omega Air Charters is an air transportation company that provides service to the global mining industry. The company has negotiated a contract with a group of European mining companies that requires Omega Air to provide air service in Azerbaijan - once part of the former Soviet Union. Based on the agreement made with the country, the company must staff the operation with Azerbaijan pilots and engineers who resent a western corporation operating western aircraft in their country. The executive vice-president must resolve this issue and gain the trust of the pilots and engineers if this project is to succeed.

Logitech is an international company that designs and manufactures computer peripheral products. The retail pointing devices unit director is thinking about the development of the next generation of his device, the Logitech io Digital Pen. The digital pen is about to be launched in less than two months, and he is still unsure which features were valuable to potential users, who these potential users were and for which applications the digital pen could be used.

This is a supplement to Maple Leaf Foods (A): Leading Six Sigma Change, product 9B01C032. The vice-president Six Sigma discusses the experience the company has gone through now that Six Sigma is a year into implementation. Some issues that he is grappling with include managing excessive demand for Six Sigma Black Belts, managing Black Belts as an organization and working to keep Six Sigma top of mind for managers as other business-related programs (or campaigns) emerge.

At WestJet, a regional airline service, the director of public relations and communications is wondering how best to manage journalist inquiries in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. In the past, journalists were used to candid communication from WestJet and are expecting the same treatment this time around. Should the extraordinary circumstances presented necessitate a change in communications strategy?

Harlequin Enterprises is a well-known publisher of series romantic fiction and is facing threats to its leading position as the world's largest romance publisher. This threat comes from the growing popularity of single title women's fiction novels. While Harlequin was the dominant and very profitable producer of series of romance novels, research indicated that many customers were reading as many single-title romance and women's fiction books as series romances. Facing a steady loss of share in a growing total women's fiction market, Harlequin convened a task force to study the possibility of re-launching a single title women's fiction program. (A video is available, product 7B03M007, that features four senior managers discussing the challenges the company faced.)

Research in Motion is an integrated wireless solutions provider. The director of strategic alliances is excited about completing his first major acquisition for the company. His presentation to senior managers was a success and the company has agreed to go ahead with the acquisition. He must meet with the chief executive officer to have the letter of intent signed and present the offer to Slangsoft. The supplement Research in Motion: Slangsoft in the Jerusalem Post (B), product 9B03M010 highlights a change of events that could affect the acquisition. A video is also available, product 7B03M009.

In this supplement to Research in Motion: The Acquisition of Slangsoft (A), product 9B03M009, the director of strategic alliances is preparing to send off the letter of intent to his president for his signature and discovers some disturbing information written about Slangsoft.

Henry Birks & Sons, Inc. (Birks) is a large fine jewellery retail chain. The president and chief executive officer has spent several years streamlining the Canadian operations and building his management team in anticipation of an expansion. Its parent company, Iniziative Regaluxe, is looking for a return on its $65 million investment in Birks. This return will come about only if Birks proceeds with an initial public offering, or is bought out by a major competitor. Although the chief executive officer believes that expansion in the United States is the only way to find growth, this strategy is called into question when environment factors are examined. He must decide if expansion into the United States is the answer.

Supplements the (A) case.

Maple Leaf Foods is a leading global food processing company with operations in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. The CEO and vice-president of Six Sigma (an approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process) embarks on a revolutionary journey in this previously change-resistant multinational food business to upgrade the firm's leadership capabilities. The project was rolled out to three of the 10 independent operating companies, and he must analyze the launch to determine whether it is on track and what can be done differently or better.

Harlequin Enterprise, a well-known publisher of series romantic fiction, is facing threats to its leading position as the world's largest romance publisher, posed by the growing popularity of single-title, women's fiction novels. Harlequin was the dominant and very profitable producer of series romance novels, but research indicates that many customers are reading as many single-title romance and women's fiction books as series romances. Facing a steady loss of share in a growing total women's fiction market, Harlequin convened a task force to study the possibility of relaunching a single-title, women's fiction program.

Rudolph Giuliani was the mayor of New York City during the events of September 11, 2001, and became world renowned for his leadership. Outlined is a description of his background, his first few years in office, the troubles he faced in his last year in office and the sudden shift in his popularity post-September 11, 2001.

Logitech is an international company that designs and manufactures computer peripheral products. The retail pointing devices unit director is thinking about the development of the next generation of his device, the Logitech io digital pen. With less than two months until launch time, the director is still unsure which features are valuable to potential users, who these potential users are, and for which applications the digital pen can be used.

McDonald's, one of the world's strongest and most recognizable brands, intends to extend its "world's best quick service restaurant experience" brand into the hotel industry by launching a hotel in Illinois. An industry observer examines the hotel venture's positioning options and the McDonald's brand extension into a different product class.

As a startup in the online sales incentives industry, SalesDriver had a unique product to offer: online sales contests. From its early stages, SalesDriver had a great product, e-tailer relationships and initial customers who were pleased with the service. What SalesDriver needed was personnel. SalesDriver's two co-founders were facing several challenges. They were both young and making their first independent leap into the dot-com industry. With limited funding and no hiring experience, they needed to put together a staff for their company and wanted to do so within a two-week time frame. Their first need was to hire a vice-president of sales, but their candidate of preference had 15 other job offers on his plate, so time was of the essence. How much should they offer? What incentives should they include? What kind of fit would they have as a working team and would they even have enough time to assess that fit? The two friends and business partners were faced with the difficult challenge of working out a winning offer that would persuade the right person to accept a position in their very young company.

The head of salaried personnel at a large automotive manufacturer is faced with the unenviable task of implementing head count reductions. Several options are available including voluntary leave of absence, contract position reductions and early retirement packages. She must decide the best method to carry out the reductions and how to keep the targeted reductions fair to all employees at the company. Supplemental case Janet Michaels at American Car, product 9B02C054 discusses her decision.

Canadian Tire is a large retailer of automotive, hardware and houseware products. As part of the company's marketing strategy, the executive director of corporate affairs is reviewing four social marketing programs and must decide which program the company will adopt. She must analyse each of the social marketing programs and assess how the program will contribute to the company's competitive position. She also needs to convince the company's independent associate dealers to adopt and implement the chosen program.

Telus is a major telecommunications company. The vice-president of strategic integration is faced with the choice of bidding for near bankrupt PSINet Canada, an internet protocol company, or waiting and picking up the firm's physical assets. He must determine the value that should be placed on PSINet Canada's employees. To Telus, the acquisition of the company adds complementary product to its telecommunication portfolio. The anticipated price for PSINet Canada is judged low compared to the value of its physical network, but perhaps substantial value in the company can be retained by simply retaining already trained personnel. Supplements to the case, Telus: The Acquisition of PSINet Canada (B) and (C), products 9B02C026 and 9B02C027 discuss how the purchase should be presented to the PSINet Canada employees and the challenges the vice-president of strategic integration faces.