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The largely privately funded $3.7 billion Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project represented the single largest foreign direct investment ever made in Sub-Saharan Africa at the time of its approval by the World Bank in June 2000. This case provides descriptive data about the project, its sponsors, the countries involved (particularly Chad), and the views of some of the project's critics. It is designed to allow the student to gain a modest, but balanced, view of the process of dealing with large natural resource projects in emerging economies.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is one of the classic stores in American business. This case, which focuses on the emergence and development of the firm between the mid-1960s and 1990, allows the student to derive a relatively clear understanding of how Sam Walton et al. were able to grow the firm from a single location to one with 1,525 stores and $26 billion sales.

Operational budgets usually consist of a projected income statement and a series of supporting statements, such as budgeted sales, production costs and levels, and selling expenses. Budgets play five roles. Three are major roles: planning, motivation, and evaluation. Two are minor: coordination and education. The different roles budgets play in companies prompt three conflicts: planning versus motivation, motivation versus evaluation, and planning versus evaluation. Managerial techniques defuse conflicts inherent in an operational budget's major roles. Six techniques used to reduce the three areas of conflict are: general managers' judgment, a tight-ship policy, contingency planning, differentiation among the levels of the organization as to where managers will be evaluated on the basis of revised or ex post facto budgets, rolling budgets, and regular submission of revised forecasts.

The case involving Universal Data Corp. illustrates transfer pricing methods employed by many companies to maximize profits. The European subsidiary of Universal Data Corp. engages in "creative transfer pricing" when it ships computer hardware from the United States and Europe to Brussels at different prices for the same machine. This procedure can cause problems with local custom authorities and create hostility toward the MNC in the host country. Four executives discuss the major issues involved in transfer pricing: 1) profit maximization versus profit satisfaction; 2) centralization versus decentralization of the subsidiary; 3) one set of books for the company versus multiple sets; and 4) the letter of the law versus its intent.

Deals with a transfer pricing problem in a complex, international situation. A broad range of issues are present in the case, or are needed for a thorough case analysis. Such issues include: relevant costs; the appropriateness of profit centers; the appropriateness of decentralization; international funds transfers; and the measurement of integrated profit.

Serves two roles: first, provides a reasonably comprehensive description of an ongoing budgeting and reporting system for the international operations of a large American company. Second, allows the student to focus on and critically analyze a series of specific complaints about the system which have been voiced by the management of two of the firm's foreign subsidiaries.

Designed to serve two roles: first, it provides a reasonably comprehensive description of an ongoing capital budgeting system for the international operations of a large American company. Second, it allows the student to focus upon and critically analyze a series of specific complaints about the system which have been voiced by the management of two of the firm's foreign subsidiaries.

Focuses on a relevant cost decision. Which costs are relevant for the decision? How should they be taken into account?

Deals primarily with the basic issue of revenue recognition. Homex was recognizing revenue from its modular units prior to the date on which an actual sale had taken place. In addition, there are some interesting issues dealing with the allocation of profit between divisions, the capitalization of expenses, and the meaning of 'working capital' in a specific setting.