Windmill Microlending, was established in 2004 by a group of community activists who saw the need to help Canadian newcomers restart their careers. The organization offered microloans to help pay the costs of reaccreditation and training. The organization’s first chief executive officer was hired in February 2017, and by September 2017, she had formulated a new vision for the organization that would address three goals: growing the number of clients and the number of loans, increasing clients’ success and their job placements, and maintaining the loan repayment rate. She also needed to address whether Windmill Microlending should expand into other cities and provinces and how to diversify the organization’s funding sources and revenue streams to generate more operating revenue and loan capital to support the required growth. She needed to present her vision and strategy at the next board meeting and ensure the board was onside.

Windmill Microlending, was established in 2004 by a group of community activists who saw the need to help Canadian newcomers restart their careers. The organization offered microloans to help pay the costs of reaccreditation and training. The organization's first chief executive officer was hired in February 2017, and by September 2017, she had formulated a new vision for the organization that would address three goals: growing the number of clients and the number of loans, increasing clients' success and their job placements, and maintaining the loan repayment rate. She also needed to address whether Windmill Microlending should expand into other cities and provinces and how to diversify the organization's funding sources and revenue streams to generate more operating revenue and loan capital to support the required growth. She needed to present her vision and strategy at the next board meeting and ensure the board was onside.

The case raises issues around sales force deployment and management issues in the SaaS industry. Specifically, VTS sells a software product to the real estate industry, and has designed a Go_to_Market strategy for what the founders perceive to be the unique characteristics of that industry, and the way in which those factors contribute to the importance of referrals to VTS's sales. In the case, the founders are considering changing some aspects of their strategy including: sales force compensation, where a change from a team-based incentive comp system to a ore individualistic system is under consideration; sales force specialization where specialization by account size or stage of the selling / buying process is under consideration; and, sales management roles & responsibilities, where a change in the role of senior management from quota-carrying sales rep AND sales team leader to simply team leader, with no quota, is being considered.

The case tells the story of a product manager within Intuit who develops an idea for a new product that spans two of the company's existing business units-professional tax software, sold to accountants, and the consumer focused TurboTax product. The new product -TurboTax Personal Pro-connects consumers with professional accountants online, allowing them to have their taxes prepared by a professional. The cycle of product development transpires within the larger, corporate context of Intuit, where founder Scott Cook has been attempting to transform the enterprise into a leaner, more innovative company. The case describes in detail the lean startup methods used by the new product team, and how their attempts bump up against the existing, entrenched systems and processes of the larger enterprise.

The case focuses on a European private equity form - Ardian - and the process it uses to sell one of its portfolio companies, and the decisions around that sale. Key issues include the choice of an auction or acceptance of a pre-emptive bid, and the role of the portfolio company's management in the process. The case explores the kinds of influence company management can, and should, have in the sale process. The case also explores issues at the PE firm level, including the fact that the firm has recently been spun off out of its large parent financial services firm, and how the GP entity was valued during that spin-out.

A proposed private-public partnership (P3) involves a Calgary-based private enterprise, Alta Injection Molding (Alta), the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and the government of Canada. Alta has been chosen to collaborate with SAIT because it developed a unique way to generate revenue throughout its value chain. Alta’s strategy towards fostering innovation revolves around a seven-step approach to turnkey innovation. In this P3, Alta would have access to the equipment, while SAIT students would gain exposure to the plastic manufacturing processes and have the opportunity to be connected to company leaders or distribution channels through Alta’s large network. Considering the parties involved in this P3, significant differences exist in terms of mindsets, goals and concerns. The president of Alta is wondering whether to participate in the P3, and, if he does, what steps he should take to ensure his business remains viable while not impeding SAIT or the government’s goals.

The case focuses on issues involved in managing the direct multilevel marketing sales consultants who sell R+F skin care products. The company is trying to better manage the inconsistent and highly variable recruitment behavior of the sales force i.e., the degree to which existing consultants recruit new consultants. The company utilizes a range of periodic incentives for recruitment, but hopes to build a system of salesforce compensation and management that relies more on intrinsic rewards and less on these periodic incentive programs. The case forces students to address principles of compensation system design, as well as more fundamental issues around what they believe motivates this "volunteer" (i.e., non-employee) sales force.

In 2005, the vice-president of Lundbeck, a Danish based pharmaceutical firm, needed to decide what to do with one of his most promising subsidiaries, Lundbeck Korea. Over its short lifetime, under the leadership of the country manager and the Asia regional manager, the subsidiary had grown well beyond the original goals set for it. The vice-president wanted to create a reporting structure and management mix that would balance the local demands that Lundbeck Korea required for growth with Lundbeck's overall strategy of specialization, speed, integration and results. The case also traces Lundbeck's internationalization efforts in Asia over the past 20 years. The company had grown from pure licensing arrangements to establishing its own country level subsidiaries. This case introduces the dynamic tensions between taking advantage of local management expertise and executing a corporate strategy developed for an entire global group. In addition, it illustrates the importance, but difficulties, of being sensitive to local management goals, while promoting a global corporate culture.