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Paul Kennedy, executive director of Fleet's Managed Asset Division, must decide whether to extend further credit to Polaroid Corp. in the fall of 2001. Polaroid's credit rating had been declining rapidly, but it was a major employer in the Boston area with many employees who were Fleet Bank customers.

On March 27, 2000, Jamie Dimon was hired as CEO to turn around Bank One. Describes the issues he faces, as he prepares to present an action plan to the board.

To distribute only after discussion of HBS case 9-804-107. Describes the decisions made by Jamie Dimon as the new CEO in July 2000 and summarizes the progress of his turnaround over the next three years.

Irving Tanning, one of the few remaining U.S. leather tanneries, has successfully emerged from bankruptcy. The CEO is now looking at strategic options for the future of Irving.

Profiles veteran investor Wilbur L. Ross, Jr.'s plan to turn around the aging steel assets of LTV, formerly America's second largest integrated steel producer. Purchasing several key assets from LTV under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, Ross is able to acquire the assets free of any pension or healthcare liabilities to retirees. Examines the challenges Ross faces as he tries to make the reborn steel company into a global player as one of the world's lowest cost producers. To accomplish this, he must negotiate a new agreement with the steelworkers' union, transform the old LTV culture, and secure long-term contracts with the right customers who could fulfill ISG's capacity requirements.

Supplements the (A) case.

Describes the operating challenges of Newport Creamery, a Rhode Island-based chain of ice cream restaurants. Profiles the company's transition from longtime family ownership to a real estate developer, the developer's expansion strategy, and the company's subsequent difficulties. The company is forced to seek Chapter 11 protection and eventually a court-appointed interim CEO spends 2 weeks evaluating whether to recommend keeping the company in Chapter 11 or converting to a Chapter 7 case. During the evaluation period, the interim CEO has to manage the company's financial crisis.

Circles, a corporate concierge company on the verge of profitability, must make a decision whether to take a D-round venture capital despite ever-changing and ever-worsening terms. A four-year-old company with several major clients, it has met its business plan projections and finds itself only a month or two away from profitability. Co-founder Janet Kraus works with her board and management team to consider alternatives to taking venture capital money. Together, they weigh the pros and cons of different types of funding and growth strategies and, ultimately, they must decide which path to pursue.

Lauri Union graduates from Harvard Business School and takes over her family's steel-corrugated roofing and siding manufacturing firm, which her mother has most recently run. The industry is mature, entry barriers to competitors are low, and the company is over 50 years old and performing poorly. This case details Union's efforts to turn the company around by changing the management team to help increase sales, streamline operations, improve customer service and employee morale, and confront a culture of low expectations and performance.A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Describes the primary elements and defining characteristics of a company's business model from the perspective of an entrepreneur. Introduces several analytic techniques and provides illustrative examples of business models to support the analytic framework presented.

Uses a decision analysis framework to analyze the value of gaming information before making a full investment in an entrepreneurial venture.

Candace Kendle and Christopher Bergen, the CEO and COO of Kendle International, Inc., are reviewing ways to finance the growth of their privately-owned company. Kendle is a contract research organization that conducts clinical drug trials for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. To compete more effectively, Kendle plans to grow through international acquisitions. It is now time to decide whether to go ahead with a full program of two European acquisitions, a large debt financing through Nationsbank, and an initial public offering to repay the debt and provide cash for future acquisitions. The falling stock prices of Kendle's competitors add pressure to the situation. Teaching purpose: To develop skills in designing and implementing an integrated financial and acquisition strategy.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 200033

Entrepreneur Doug Levine runs a fitness company with an incredibly powerful brand. His company leverages the brand to expand, both in terms of facilities and lines of business. But he may need to make significant organizational changes in order to continue the growth.

Nick Lazaris becomes Keurig's third CEO in three years, after one founder was fired and the other decided to leave the company. He inherits a company that has made several abortive attempts to launch its new coffee brewing system. Now, problems with crucial suppliers threaten the next proposed launch plan.

Chantal Cookware is a small, private company with a 15-year record of success in the design, assembly, and sale of high-end cookware. It experiences serious setbacks when consumers' tastes shift from colorful enamel-on-steel products to commercial-style cookware. Thurlow must decide how to revitalize the business and considers several alternatives, including entering a lower priced niche or repositioning the existing product line. Includes color exhibits.

Provides an introductory note to production processes and the use of flow diagram.

Deals with the use of critical path method for the construction of remote control building, which is part of a water purification system. Discusses the necessity of determining the shortest possible time in which a job could be done without spending more money. Case uses "activity on node" diagram. Based on Space Constructors Inc.

Illustration of the two main types of errors resulting from use of the economic order quantity (EOQ) as a tool in production scheduling. Designed to permit class discussion to begin with a consideration of one common type of mistake, errors in calculation of the EOQ volume resulting from use of incorrect data for the input parameters of the formula. The analysis can then shift to a more general discussion of the second type of error, the misapplication of EOQ and re-order point (ROP) techniques to a given system. Class discussion can conclude with student recommendations of alternative techniques which may be better suited to the Blanchard operation than the EOQ/ROP method.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 673033.