Former Trader Joe's President Doug Rauch developed an innovative idea to address the challenge of food insecurity, food waste, and nutrition. His concept was a new retail grocery model, offering nutritious affordable food to a food insecure population in the inner city using excess inventory. His path was not an easy one, but by April 2015, Rauch was celebrating the upcoming launch of his Boston pilot and flagship store, Daily Table. Daily Table would be able to test its operating model and impact, better understand its customer base, and establish community partnerships. After further expansion to other sites in Boston, Daily Table planned to expand nationally. But there were questions about whether acceptance by one community would transfer to others and what could Rauch do to prepare himself and his team.
This case centers around the Air Products' hostile takeover attempt of Airgas in 2010. Air Products argued that its offer of a 38% premium is generous given Airgas' poor performance, which Air Products attributed to underperforming and entrenched managers at Airgas. On the other hand, Airgas' management argued that the company's recent struggles are cyclical and that Air Products' offer grossly undervalues Airgas' long-run potential. How might Airgas' management credibly communicate its conviction to shareholders? Should Airgas shareholders side with Air Products and accept a certain short term return, or should they side with Airgas' management and accept an uncertain but potentially higher long-term outcome? How should the Airgas board balance its responsibilities to short-term versus long-term shareholders?
The Ethics Advisory Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) provides training and support for member Chartered Accountants to help them deal with difficult professional situations. Members can seek help through through call centers and in person meetings with accounting experts in the field to discuss how to best handle difficult situations. In addition, the Ethics Advisory Committee meets regularly to identify new issues that raise questions for professional standards. This case examines professional standards for ICAEW Chartered Accountants and a number of challenging ethical situations that members have faced.
Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of Mittal Steel, a UK-based company with Indian roots, took advantage of a weakened Arcelor that had successfully won a bidding war for Canadian steel company Dofasco, with an unsolicited bid to buy the company. Mittal's plans for acquiring Arcelor were initially thwarted by concerted opposition from Arcelor's board and several European governments. To Mittal's further surprise, on May 26, Arcelor orchestrated a merger with the Russian steelmaker Severstal. Although the proposed merger did not offer Arcelor shareholders as much value as Mittal's deal, Arcelor had structured the deal in such a way that it did not require shareholders' approval. Mittal wondered how he should respond to the Severstal deal. Did it make sense to continue pursuing Arcelor or should he look for other ways to expand his steel empire?
In spring 2007, Alcoa CEO Alain Belda was concerned about the company's market position in light of increased competition from developing markets. China's recent entry into the aluminum market was affecting both supply and demand. Furthermore, downstream and upstream product was coming on-line from other parts of the world, including Russia. As a result, Alcoa had lost its historical market dominance and stock premium. Belda was convinced that for Alcoa to regain its leadership position, the company would have to increase efficiencies by expanding its scale, diversification and reach. The acquisition of a large competitor presented the best opportunity to achieve this goal and, as a result, he was particularly intrigued by Canadian rival, Alcan, because its assets would complement Alcoa's portfolio and enhance its reach. Further, Alcan had sold off non-aluminum assets, essentially making it a pure play in aluminum. That and its access to relatively cheap Canadian hydro power made it an even more intriguing acquisition opportunity for Alcoa. However, another major competitor, Rio Tinto, was also interested in Alcan; the company was in play.
In spring 2007, Alcoa CEO Alain Belda was concerned about the company's market position in light of increased competition from developing markets. China's recent entry into the aluminum market was affecting both supply and demand. Furthermore, downstream and upstream product was coming on-line from other parts of the world, including Russia. As a result, Alcoa had lost its historical market dominance and stock premium. Belda was convinced that for Alcoa to regain its leadership position, the company would have to increase efficiencies by expanding its scale, diversification and reach. The acquisition of a large competitor presented the best opportunity to achieve this goal and, as a result, he was particularly intrigued by Canadian rival, Alcan because its assets would complement Alcoa's portfolio and enhance its reach. Further, Alcan had sold off non-aluminum assets, essentially making it a pure play in aluminum. That and its access to relatively cheap Canadian hydro power made it an even more intriguing acquisition opportunity for Alcoa. However, another major competitor, Rio Tinto, was also interested in Alcan; the company was in play.
This case is about how the Boston Consulting Group has approached innovation from its founding to the present day. It discusses the role of the firm's talent market and client market in developing these innovations.
The case relates to understanding and comparing the performance of two leading retail companies-Ahold and Tesco. The case introduces the tools of Dupont and Modified Dupont Decomposition. While performance as measured by return on equity has been similar for the two companies, Ahold has had significantly better stock market performance compared to Tesco. Ahold also has a significant amount of cash on its balance sheet leading to low levels of net debt. The case requires students to analyze performance using Modified Dupont Decomposition techniques to assess if firm performance is resulting from operating profitability or from financial leverage and then suggest strategies to improve performance. To perform the modified Dupont Decomposition, students learn how to reformat and condense the balance sheet and income statement to separately measure profitability arising from operating activities and financing activities. Students also see how excess cash holdings can depress profitability and what factors should drive the appropriate level of leverage for a company.
On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs tragically died of cancer. The recently retired CEO of Apple Inc. was a legend: he had changed Apple from a company near bankruptcy to one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. Moreover, he had revolutionized several industries in the process, including music, phones, and computer tablets. The 'Apple Inc. in 2012' case explores Steve Jobs' successes and the challenges facing his successor, Tim Cook. Could Cook continue to revitalize the Macintosh? With iPod sales declining for four straight years, would Cook be able to continue the iPhone's dominance of smartphones in the face of growing competition from companies such as Google and Samsung? Would Apple's newest creation, the iPad, continue to dominate the tablet market, or would the new competitors, ranging from Amazon to Samsung, steal, share and drive down profits? And could Apple thrive with Tim Cook rather than Steve Jobs at the helm?
The a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (B) case updates company changes since the (A) case. Key updates include leadership and management appointments and organizational changes.
This case is about the establishment, growth, and direction of the Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park ("Zhangjiang Park"), which is located in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. Considered to be one of the most competitive hi-tech industry clusters in China, the combined business strategy of Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development Co., Ltd. ("Zhangjiang Hi-Tech"), a key operator of Zhangjiang Park, included real estate development, hi-tech investment, and integrated services. As of the time of the case, members of the Board of Directors of Zhangjiang Hi-Tech were faced with open questions such as how Zhangjiang Park would be able to maintain its sustainable competitiveness in comparison with other hi-tech and industrial parks in China. Board members were also concerned with how Zhangjiang Hi-Tech would be able to meet the needs of both capital market and regional development.