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The founder of the Access to Medicine Foundation, based in the Netherlands, had a goal to research and publish a biannual, global survey of pharmaceutical companies and their rankings, in terms of their effects in providing needed medicines to people in developing countries. When the first two iterations of the Access to Medicine Index (ATMI) were published in 2008 and 2010 (see case A), the most prominent challenges were engaging stakeholders-government, pharmaceutical firms, nonprofit organizations, investors, and others-and securing funding to support ongoing research and analyses. In 2016, the founder was preparing for the ATMI's fifth iteration (see case B, W17013), and he had a three-point focus: to improve engagement with pharmaceutical companies in an effort to increase the effect of the ATMI on companies' practices; to incorporate the views of patients into the ATMI; and to engage with governments and regulators in the developing countries, where citizens were in need of access to medicines.

Supplement to case W17012.

The founder of the Access to Medicine Foundation, based in the Netherlands, had a goal to research and publish a biannual, global survey of pharmaceutical companies and their rankings, in terms of their effects in providing needed medicines to people in developing countries. When the first two iterations of the Access to Medicine Index (ATMI) were published in 2008 and 2010 (see case A), the most prominent challenges were engaging stakeholders—government, pharmaceutical firms, nonprofit organizations, investors, and others—and securing funding to support ongoing research and analyses. <br>In 2016, the founder was preparing for the ATMI’s fifth iteration (see case B, 9B17M011), and he had a three-point focus: to improve engagement with pharmaceutical companies in an effort to increase the effect of the ATMI on companies’ practices; to incorporate the views of patients into the ATMI; and to engage with governments and regulators in the developing countries, where citizens were in need of access to medicines.

Supplement for product 9B17M010.

In 2011, a health care director at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) asked one of her managers to review two candidates for promotion to a front-line coordinator position. The manager was tasked with the job of choosing between two promising candidates who were quite different from each other. He had to carefully review the qualifications of the two candidates and determine which one would be better suited to the role. Use with supplement 9B16C050.

Supplement for 9B16C049.

In 2012, a former crown attorney for Canada’s Department of Justice started Timeless Herbal Care, a company that was intended to capitalize on Jamaica’s deregulation of marijuana for medical purposes. The entrepreneur and his family relied on their ties to Jamaica and his legal expertise to create a legislative framework for Jamaica’s medical marijuana industry to meet international standards. Concurrently, Canada was readying legislation to allow qualified individuals to purchase and use medical marijuana. As one of about a dozen Health Canada-authorized licensed producers of the product, the new venture was entering uncharted space where legal and business issues would likely emerge within the next few years. The entrepreneur needed a strategy to combat the misconceptions about the use of marijuana for medical purposes and concerns regarding the importation of Jamaican marijuana product into Canada.

In 2011, a health care director at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) asked one of her managers to review two candidates for promotion to a front-line coordinator position. The manager was tasked with the job of choosing between two promising candidates who were quite different from each other. He had to carefully review the qualifications of the two candidates and determine which one would be better suited to the role. Use with supplement.

Supplement to case W16823.

In 2012, a former crown attorney for Canada's Department of Justice started Timeless Herbal Care, a company that was intended to capitalize on Jamaica's deregulation of marijuana for medical purposes. The entrepreneur and his family relied on their ties to Jamaica and his legal expertise to create a legislative framework for Jamaica's medical marijuana industry to meet international standards. Concurrently, Canada was readying legislation to allow qualified individuals to purchase and use medical marijuana. As one of about a dozen Health Canada-authorized licensed producers of the product, the new venture was entering uncharted space where legal and business issues would likely emerge within the next few years. The entrepreneur needed a strategy to combat the misconceptions about the use of marijuana for medical purposes and concerns regarding the importation of Jamaican marijuana product into Canada.

Student spreadsheet for case W16425.

In April 2016, a large U.S. proprietary trading group in New York, with a significant fixed-income portfolio, was debating what discount rate to use to value the group's interest-rate swap portfolio. The counterparties to these swaps were major banks, and the deals were collateralized. Criticisms about the use of the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) as a benchmark for valuing these swaps were circulating, and there were reports that LIBOR was being manipulated. There was talk about an alternative, nearly "risk-free" reference rate that could potentially be launched during 2016. Was it time for the trading group to substitute some of its maturing LIBOR-based interest-rate swaps with overnight index swaps.

In April 2016, a large U.S. proprietary trading group in New York, with a significant fixed-income portfolio, was debating what discount rate to use to value the group’s interest-rate swap portfolio. The counterparties to these swaps were major banks, and the deals were collateralized. Criticisms about the use of the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) as a benchmark for valuing these swaps were circulating, and there were reports that LIBOR was being manipulated. There was talk about an alternative, nearly “risk-free” reference rate that could potentially be launched during 2016. Was it time for the trading group to substitute some of its maturing LIBOR-based interest-rate swaps with overnight index swaps?

In September 2006, the general manager at Norwood Waterworks (Norwood) was faced with a difficult situation. Since his original employer, EMCO Corporation (Emco), acquired Norwood, he had been tasked with trying to turn around the new acquisition. Like Emco, Norwood was a distributor of building products and equipment in the waterworks industry. The company had three locations, all in Alberta. However, the general manager soon discovered that Norwood was suffering due to a poor organizational culture. Employees were unmotivated, overpaid, and complacent. He needed to communicate-clearly and effectively-that the Emco culture was here to stay, and that the Norwood employees needed to find a way to change the way they operated.

In early 2016, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Pennycook Power Boats was approached by the CEO of a competitor, who was interested in purchasing Pennycook Power Boats and asked to see the company's audited financial statements. The CEO of Pennycook Power Boats faced a dilemma: he wanted to engage in a meaningful discussion about a possible sale but also needed to protect his firm's business interests.

Supplement to case W16625.

Supplement to case W16607.

In 2012, the French government was faced with the challenge of setting the standards for socially responsible investment funds. A broader issue was the set of roles and responsibilities that regulators needed to take to ensure the best interest of society and the retail market. Retail consumers were different from institutional clients because they were numerous, they may not have had access to the same information available to more sophisticated investors, and because their thoughts on the financial markets were most likely to be based on what they had read and heard in the news. The government had to decide how to go about creating standards that could be applied to socially responsible investment funds. Also see supplement 9B16N017.

Supplement for product 9B16N016.

Several private startups, including Planetary Resources, SpaceX, and Deep Space Industries, had initiated plans to mine minerals in space. The ventures looked promising: an asteroid one kilometre in diameter contained, potentially, $20 trillion worth of industrial and precious metals. Governments had become involved in space exploration as well, with interests that ranged from projecting military power in space to claiming resources. The current legal framework surrounding space exploration was vague, but the United Nations Treaties and Principles on Outer Space recognized extraterrestrial resources as the “common heritage of humankind.” What should a privately funded venture company consider when developing a strategy for space exploration and mining? What would be the concerns of a senior government official or a representative from a global organization such as the United Nations? Are the concerns different for different countries? Optional supplement, 9B16M054, is available.