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Service Corporation International, the world's largest funeral consolidator, has just made a formal takeover bid for the Loewen Group, its key competitor. The offer is approximately 50 per cent above the price at which Loewen Group stock traded 30 days ago. Should Loewen Group fight the takeover, or should it accept it? This case helps students understand how to evaluate a company's strategy relative to its external environment and internal capabilities.

Starbucks is faced with the issue of how it should leverage its core competencies against various opportunities for growth, including introducing its coffee in McDonalds, pursuing further expansion of its retail operations, and leveraging the brand into other product areas. The case is written so that students need to first identify where Starbucks' competencies lie along the value chain, and then assess how well those competencies can be leveraged across the various alternatives. Also provides an opportunity for students to assess what is driving growth in this company. Starbucks has a tremendous appetite for cash since all its stores are corporate, and investors are betting that it will be able to continue its phenomenal growth so it needs to walk a fine line between leveraging its brand to achieve growth and not eroding it in the process.

Starbucks is faced with the issue of how it should leverage its core competencies against various opportunities for growth, including introducing its coffee in McDonald’s, pursuing further expansion of its retail operations, and leveraging the brand into other product areas. The case is written so that students need to first identify where Starbucks competencies lie along the value chain, and assess how well those competencies can be leveraged across the various alternatives. It also provides an opportunity for students to assess what is driving growth in this company. Starbucks has a tremendous appetite for cash since all its stores are corporate, and investors are betting that it will be able to continue its phenomenal growth, so it needs to walk a fine line between leveraging its brand to achieve growth while not eroding it in the process. This is an exciting case that quickly captures the attention of students.

Service Corp. International, the world's largest funeral consolidator, has just made a formal takeover bid for The Loewen Group, its key competitor. The offer is approximately 50% above the price at which The Loewen Group stock traded 30 days ago. Should The Loewen Group fight the takeover, or should it accept it? This case helps students understand how to evaluate a company's strategy relative to its external environment and internal capabilities.

This case allows students to experience a day as Sanjiv Yajnik, a new market manager, as he manages a continuous flow of decisions within the context of operating and strategy objectives and severe time constraints. The case series illustrates the day-to-day reality of strategy implementation. The (A) case is Sanjiv's schedule for the day; the (B) and (C) cases are collections of e-mail messages and phone calls requiring his attention. (A 19-minute video can be purchased with the case, Taco Bell: A Day in the Life - Video.)

A new market manager must make numerous decisions within the context of operating and strategy objectives. The manager must deal with a number of e-mail and telephone messages. This case supplements Taco Bell: A Day in the Life (A).

A new market manager must make numerous decisions within the context of operating and strategy objectives. The manager must deal with a number of e-mail and telephone messages. This case supplements Taco Bell: A Day in the Life (A).

This case describes the visioning process at Xerox Canada. The chairman, CEO and president of Xerox Canada has been meeting with her leadership team since eight o'clock in the morning to craft the organization's new vision statement. Three and a half hours into the meeting the team hits a road block. With 30 minutes left in the session, the CEO must decide whether and how to proceed. (A three-minute video can be purchased with the case, video 7A95M015.

The new editor of the London Free Press (LFP) was appointed in November, 1987, with a mandate to make changes. Like most other North American daily newspapers, the LFP had been gradually losing readership, and its share of advertising revenues in the community was shrinking. Despite its ability to remain profitable, the new editor thought that it was not living up to its potential, especially since it was the only daily newspaper in London. He feared that there were ominous signs of continuing decline in market share, which could only mean still lower profits in the future. He had been hired from the Toronto Star and put in charge of LFP's newsroom and editorial department to do whatever was necessary to reverse this trend. Now, in 1991, he wondered if it would be possible to stop the slow decline of the newspaper, or if its shrinkage was an inevitable consequence of broader trends in the information industry and Canadian society. A follow-up case (9A95M017) is available.

This case is designed for in-class distribution to build on the London Free Press (A) case, 9A95M016. It presents information about an organizational change proposal involving the reorganization of the editorial department into cross-functional work groups which is designed to support the locally-responsive strategy of the London Free Press. The new cluster form of organization meets resistance from many who question not only whether it is a viable option, but also whether anything needed to be done at all. McLeod must decide whether, and how to proceed.

The vice-president of Damark Packaging Inc. must decide whether to accept or reject a US$1-million order for shrink wrap packaging equipment. Should Damark focus on external markets for survival? Is there a 'fit' between the company's external environment, its internal resources and the preferences of its management team. Pedagogically the case explores the issue of external markets and the decision faced by many companies of how to decide on the external environment that presents the best opportunities for their organization.

This case, the first in a six-part series, describes the situation Pierre Godfroid encountered when he took over as Sabena’s CEO in 1991. At that time, Sabena was in crisis, facing imminent bankruptcy. On the strength of a restructuring plan developed by Godfroid and his staff, the Belgian government had agreed to bail out the airline in return for assurances that this would be the last time government assistance would be requested. Godfroid’s task was to transform the company into a viable private enterprise. The case provides the opportunity to evaluate the viability of Godfroid’s strategy and more generally to explore strategy formulation in a global industry. More importantly, it sets the stage for a sequence of follow-up cases (9A94M004, 9A94M005, 9A94M006, 9A94M007, 9A94M008) dealing with the implementation of the strategy. (Sabena Belgian World Airlines - Video which is broken into segments to coincide with the case series, can be purchased with the case.)

This case is the first supplement to Sabena Belgian World Airlines (A). It outlines the strategic changes implemented by Pierre Godfroid, Sabena’s CEO, and introduces Erik Weytjens, a recent graduate of an MBA program. This case outlines Weytjens’s first assignment to solve a major logistics problem in the dishwashing department. The case, along with the follow-on series of cases, provides the opportunity to: 1) make decisions and take action under realistic constraints of limited information, time, and credibility; and 2) reflect on how the pattern of actions supports or undermines strategy.

This case is a supplement to Sabena Belgian World Airlines (A). Set in autumn of 1992, it deals with the aftermath of Sabena’s first lay-offs, when aggressive workers tried to get their colleagues to join a strike. Background information is provided in case 9A94M003 and 9A94M004; subsequent related cases are 9A94M006, 9A94M007, and 9A94M008.

This case is a supplement to Sabena Belgian World Airlines (A). It deals with the backlash Weytjens faced when he demoted a sous-chef for violating company standards. Background information is provided in cases 9A94M003 and 9A94M004; subsequent related cases are 9A94M005, 9A94M007, and 9A94M008.

This case is a supplement to Sabena Belgian World Airlines (A). It describes Weytjens’s meeting with an aggressive union leader. Background information is provided in cases 9A94M003 and 9A94M004; subsequent related cases are 9A94M005, 9A94M006, and 9A94M008.

This case is a supplement to Sabena Belgian World Airlines (A). Dealing with Weytjens’s efforts to increase productivity in the spring of 1993, it offers the unique opportunity to reflect on how managers sustain their energy and commitment in the face of adversity. Background information is provided in cases 9A94M003 and 9A94M004; other related cases are 9A94M005, 9A94M006, and 9A94M007.

This case describes the situation Pierre Godfroid encountered when he took over as Sabena's CEO in 1991. At that time, Sabena was in crisis facing imminent bankruptcy. On the strength of a restructuring plan, developed by Godfroid and his staff, the Belgian government had agreed to bail out the airline in return for assurances that this would be the last time government assistance would be requested. Godfroid's task was to transform the company into a viable private enterprise. The case provides the opportunity to evaluate the viability of Godfroid's strategy and more generally to explore strategy formulation in a global industry. More importantly, it sets the stage for a sequence of follow-up cases (994M04, 994M05, 994M06, 994M07, 994M08) dealing with the implementation of the strategy. (A 43-minute video, broken into segments to coincide with the case series, can be purchased with the case, video 794M03.)

Describes the situation Pierre Godfroid encountered when he took over as Sabena's CEO in 1991. At that time, Sabena was facing imminent bankruptcy. On the strength of a restructuring plan, developed by Godfroid and his staff, the Belgian government had agreed to bail out the airline in return for assurances that this would be the last time government assistance would be requested. Godfroid's task was to transform the company into a viable private enterprise. Provides the opportunity to evaluate the viability of Godfroid's strategy. Sets the stage for a sequence of supplemental cases dealing with the implementation of the strategy.

Supplements Sabena Belgian World Airlines.