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DoubleClick, Inc., with global headquarters in New York City and over 30 offices around the world, was a leading provider of comprehensive Internet advertising solutions for marketers and web publishers. It combined technology, media, and data expertise to centralize planning, execution, control, tracking, and reporting for online media companies. DoubleClick was able to track Internet users' surfing habits (but not the surfers' identities), allowing it to personalize ads for specific market groups. When DoubleClick announced it was merging with Abacus Direct, a direct marketing company with a database of consumer names, addresses, and retail purchasing habits of 90% of American households, it raised many privacy-related questions and concerns. Several Internet privacy activists had filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission after being informed by media sources that DoubleClick had the ability to divulge a person's identity by merging the databases of the two companies and matching the information in "cookies" with a surfer's profile. The president was confident that its internal practices were sound, but he wondered whether they would placate advertising clients afraid of consumer backlash, the concerns of Internet surfers, and the company's investors.

WaveRider Communications, Inc., a Toronto-based company, had a mission to become the leader in global wireless technology by developing, selling, and supporting products that enabled wireless Internet service providers. It recently launched its "Last Mile Solution," offering Internet service providers the opportunity to provide wireless Internet access at broadband speeds in the unlicensed 2.4 gigahertz spectrum. The wireless Internet access industry was relatively untapped, and WaveRider's vice president of marketing wondered whether the company, as it started its growth phase, should seek an alliance with a competing technology company. To determine the feasibility of this idea, he needed to classify the competition, review the customer barriers, and evaluate which technology was the best fit.

Blinds To Go (BTG), a Montreal-headquartered producer of made-to-order window coverings, had made the decision to enter the Florida market by opening eight retail stores. As a result of this decision, the senior vice-president (SVP) of operations for BTG was faced with the dilemma of deciding if and when an assembly plant should be built to support these and future Florida retail stores. The most recent plant, built in Lakewood, New Jersey, had experienced operational problems during its startup, resulting in the eventual replacement of most of the supervisory staff and a significant portion of the plant employees. This led to additional start-up costs and customer service problems. Faced with this expansion into Florida, the SVP set about devising an operating plan that would achieve the goals of the Florida expansion without the growing pains of past efforts. As the stores were to be opened in six months, a plan would have to be finalized soon.

SalesDriver.com (SalesDriver) was a Boston-based e-commerce application service provider that provided a turnkey solution for sales managers to manage their sales contests online. It had just achieved its 1,000th user mark and had the opportunity to snag software giant Lorimer Development Corp. (Lorimer) as a new client. The solution Lorimer had requested would alter SalesDriver's current product by including functionality that other users might not need. The general manager had to evaluate the economies of scale by keeping one product for all users and the economies of scope by tailoring the product for individual customers. Developing the added function as a one-off would take significantly less development time than adding the function to the site and making it available to all customers. He had to decide which approach was best in the long run.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) had implemented word recognition software, Assentor, in its U.S. brokerage arm to ensure its employees were not acting inappropriately in their dealings with customers and to protect company systems from viruses. This software scanned e-mails for flagged business words and archived the e-mails in a central database. The manager of compliance at CIBC's head office in Toronto, found that the decision to implement the Assentor software was much easier than deciding what to do in the event the software found something improper. Issues related to company ethics and employee privacy were raised. Acknowledging that occasional personal e-mails would be sent and received, he wondered what the legal ramifications would be if a manager found out about a private situation because Assentor had found a flagged word in a personal e-mail. He felt that clear communication with and upfront understanding from employees would help prevent negative impressions of this process so he had to determine the best way to inform employees about the e-mail scanning while enforcing CIBC's e-mail policy.

OP4.com, an Internet portal for teenagers, had just celebrated six months of existence. The co-founders of OP4.com knew that the internal culture had to reflect the identity of its Web site, so they wanted to cultivate a savvy, hip staff. They used unique methods to evaluate a prospect's fit into the company and some unorthodox training and feedback systems. With profitability being the next key step, they had to determine how to maintain this culture through the next stage of growth; one which would result in the creation of business units and formal reporting structures for staff.

Procter & Gamble reorganized its operations and created Global Business Units with Market Development Organizations (MDO) to augment the brand strategy work. This reorganization supported changes in culture that included reasonable risk taking. The marketing director of Procter & Gamble Canada was evaluating the potential success of launching a new product, Febreze, by using volume analysis resources available to her. The results indicated that Febreze would be a relatively small business opportunity, but the model could not take into account the various new MDO marketing tools that were not yet available. To justify the cost of launching the product, revenues would have to be significantly more than the volume model predicted. While trying to adjust to the new culture, she had to evaluate the risks associated with launching the product not knowing if the new tools would generate the additional volumes needed, and the risk of losing the competitive edge if she postponed the launch. A 30-minute video, product 7B00M005, is also available. The second case in this series, Procter & Gamble Canada (B): The Canadian MDO (product 9B00M006) discusses the strategy behind the changes and the implications to the Canadian group.

Organization 2005, the latest initiative by Procter & Gamble (P&G) worldwide, was put in place to help double revenue growth between 2000 and 2005. The reorganization aligned the company so that planning and managing the lines of business were done on a global basis. The company's culture, its structure and how work would be done were three key items that would be impacted by the changes. The newly appointed president of P&G Canada reflected on the strategy behind the changes, the implications of the organizational change, and the message he wanted to deliver as he prepared to address the Canadian employees. A 30-minute video is also available. The first case in this series, Procter & Gamble Canada (A): The Febreze Decision (product 9B00M005) discusses the challenges faced by the marketing director of P&G Canada while launching a new product during these changes.

When Blindstogo.com, the online project of Blinds To Go (BTG), was first proposed in mid-1999 its board of directors was lukewarm to the idea. However, after six months of operation and seeing other retailers go online and the tremendous valuation being given to dot-coms, the board was encouraging BTG to devote more resources to the project. Plans were already in place to further expand their retail store network. Senior management at BTG had received sales, spending and survey results from their retail e-commerce venture. Data obtained from the web site indicated that the people who visited the site were the same people who visited the stores. The vice-chairman of BTG wanted to evaluate the results of this online venture by examining the fit of the e-commerce project within the overall business strategy, to determine where resources should be focused.

Spin Master Toys was a Canadian manufacturer of toys ready to produce its latest product, E-Charger, an electrically powered model airplane. The operations manager had to decide which supplier should design and manufacture this new product. The timeframe from design to delivery was very short, requiring an accelerated development schedule. The company had a short list of two potential companies, both located in the major toy manufacturing district of southern China, near Hong Kong. The operations manager had to develop the appropriate criteria for this decision and evaluate the two suppliers. With relatively little information and already behind schedule, the company must make its decision in the face of considerable uncertainty. The supplemental cases Spin Master Toys (B): A New E-Chargers Supplier? (product 901D02) and Spin Master (C): Keeping the E-Chargers' Wings On (product 901D03) follow the progress and the challenges of the production of the E-Charger.

A manufacturer had been selected to produce Spin Master Toys' new product, E-Charger. Two weeks into the product design process, the operations manager was concerned because the manufacturer's progress was unsatisfactory and that, as a result, Spin Master Toys would likely miss its shipping date for the product launch. His options were to push ahead with the current supplier, try to negotiate with the other company that quoted on the contract, or look for yet another supplier. He had to evaluate the options and the impact each would have on meeting the shipping date. This is the second in a three case series that follows the selection of a manufacturer and the progress of the production of a new product. The accompanying cases are Spin Master Toys (A):Finding a Manufacturer (product 901D01) and Spin Master Toys (C): Keeping the E-Chargers' Wings On (product 901D03).

A few weeks after production started on Spin Master Toys latest product, E-Chargers, an electrically powered model airplane, the operations manager had to deal with a persistent and serious quality problem; up to 30 per cent of the current production of the wings were substandard. He knew he had to do something fast. The company could not afford any more supply problems. This is the third case in a three case series that follows the selection of a manufacturer and the progress of the production of a new product. The accompanying cases are Spin Master Toys (A):Finding a Manufacturer (product 901D01) and Spin Master Toys (B): A New E-Chargers Supplier? (product 901D02).

The founders of iCraveTV had a great idea for a potentially lucrative market segment: retransmitting network broadcast television signals to Internet-connected PCs, reaching a worldwide extension market. There were several resourcing obstacles to overcome while entering the fiercely competitive broadcasting industry and building competitive advantage: obtaining rights to the programs, securing paying advertisers, retaining viewers, having sufficient cash and management expertise. Several issues remained unresolved as they moved towards the launch of iCraveTV: negotiating rights from each of the content syndicators or attempting to pay Internet royalties for the programming; and preventing U.S. users from accessing the Canadian site since iCraveTV was legally permitted to retransmit television signals already carried on Canadian cable channels, but due to differences in regulation, it might face U.S. broadcast industry objections if U.S. audiences found access to the iCraveTV signal. A supplemental case, iCraveTV.com (B): The Aftermath of the Pennsylvania Injunction, product 9B01M010, is available.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Spin Master Toys was a Canadian manufacturer of toys ready to produce its latest product, E-Charger, an electrically powered model airplane. The operations manager had to decide which supplier should design and manufacture this new product. The timeframe from design to delivery was very short, requiring an accelerated development schedule. The company had a short list of two potential companies, both located in the major toy manufacturing district of southern China, near Hong Kong. The operations manager had to develop the appropriate criteria for this decision and evaluate the two suppliers. With relatively little information and already behind schedule, the company must make its decision in the face of considerable uncertainty. The supplemental cases Spin Master Toys (B): A New E-Chargers Supplier? (product 9B01D002) and Spin Master (C): Keeping the E-Chargers' Wings On (product 9B01D003) follow the progress and the challenges of the production of the E-Charger.

AWARD WINNING CASE - This case was one of the winning cases in the 2002 Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition. A manufacturer had been selected to produce Spin Master Toys' new product, E-Charger. Two weeks into the product design process, the operations manager was concerned because the manufacturer's progress was unsatisfactory and that, as a result, Spin Master Toys would likely miss its shipping date for the product launch. His options were to push ahead with the current supplier, try to negotiate with the other company that quoted on the contract, or look for yet another supplier. He had to evaluate the options and the impact each would have on meeting the shipping date. This is the second in a three case series that follows the selection of a manufacturer and the progress of the production of a new product. The accompanying cases are Spin Master Toys (A):Finding a Manufacturer (product 9B01D001) and Spin Master Toys (C): Keeping the E-Chargers' Wings On (product 9B01D003).

AWARD WINNING CASE - This case was one of the winning cases in the 2002 Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition. A few weeks after production started on Spin Master Toys latest product, E-Chargers, an electrically powered model airplane, the operations manager had to deal with a persistent and serious quality problem; up to 30 per cent of the current production of the wings were substandard. He knew he had to do something fast. The company could not afford any more supply problems. This is the third case in a three case series that follows the selection of a manufacturer and the progress of the production of a new product. The accompanying cases are Spin Master Toys (A):Finding a Manufacturer (product 9B01D001) and Spin Master Toys (B): A New E-Chargers Supplier? (product 9B01D002).

When Blindstogo.com, the online project of Blinds To Go (BTG), was first proposed in mid-1999 its board of directors was lukewarm to the idea. However, after six months of operation and seeing other retailers start to go online and the tremendous valuation being given to dot.coms, the board was encouraging BTG to devote more resources to the project. Plans were already in place to further expand their retail store network. Senior management at BTG had received sales, spending and survey results from their retail e-commerce venture. Data obtained from the Web site indicated that the people who visited the site were the same people that visited the stores. The vice-chairman of BTG wanted to evaluate the results of this online venture by examining the fit of the e-commerce project within the overall business strategy, to determine where resources should be focused.

The manufacturer of TotalMint mouthwash graded its television commercials internally to judge their potential effectiveness in the marketplace. New television commercials were shown to planned audiences and diagnostic data points were used to judge the commercial based on several criteria. TotalMint was able to assess the extent that a particular commercial was likely to drive sales by comparing the results of the test against a historical database of television commercials. The product manager for TotalMint received the raw data from the advertising effectiveness tests of the latest commercial and was ready to start the evaluation by categorizing the verbatim comments and the overall recall responses. Once tallied, she needed to compare the results to the two previous TotalMint commercials.

Organization 2005, the latest initiative by Procter & Gamble (P&G) worldwide, was put in place to help double revenue growth between 2000 and 2005. The reorganization aligned the company so that planning and managing the lines of business were done on a global basis. The company's culture, its structure, and how work would be done were three key items that the changes would impact. The newly appointed president of P&G Canada reflected on the strategy behind the changes, the implications of the organizational change, and the message he wanted to deliver as he prepared to address the Canadian employees.

Procter & Gamble reorganized its operations and created Global Business Units with Market Development Organizations (MDO) to augment the brand strategy work. This reorganization supported changes in culture that included reasonable risk taking. The marketing director of Procter & Gamble Canada was evaluating the potential success of launching a new product, Febreze, by using volume analysis resources available to her. The results indicated that Febreze would be a relatively small business opportunity, but the model could not take into account the various new MDO marketing tools that were not yet available. To justify the cost of launching the product, revenues would have to be significantly more than the volume model predicted. While trying to adjust to the new culture, the marketing director had to evaluate the risks associated with launching the product not knowing if the new tools would generate the additional volumes needed and the risk of losing the competitive edge if she postponed the launch.