個案總覽

In the spring of 2012, the Supreme Court hears arguments and releases its decision on the constitutionality of the ACA.

In the fall of 2013, Healthcare.gov launches as an insurance exchange for consumers to buy health insurance. The launch is filled with glitches, and some worry if it will imperil the fate of the entire ACA.

In 2015, the Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications reflects on his four years leading the company and considers strategic repositioning for the future. Meanwhile, a rising leader within the organization, Marni Walden, leads change with a new, company-wide product development organization. Walden's group holds promise but must overcome cultural, structural, and technical barriers to innovating in a giant telecom. In the midst of change, executives debate the wisdom of Verizon's push into developing products and services that leverage its dominance in connectivity. Should Verizon go "above the network"?

Following a leadership crisis, the chairman of Tse Sui Luen Jewellery (TSL) had revitalized the company and now wondered which initiatives TSL should tackle next. An event showcasing TSL’s newest designs had been the latest push in her campaign to renew the family business, which was renowned for its entrepreneurial and innovative spirit. With the upcoming year promising to be a busy one, the chairman and her management team must plan and implement new strategies to capture opportunities while maintaining TSL’s core values and capitalizing on its revitalized brand.

Following a leadership crisis, the chairman of Tse Sui Luen Jewellery (TSL) had revitalized the company and now wondered which initiatives TSL should tackle next. An event showcasing TSL's newest designs had been the latest push in her campaign to renew the family business, which was renowned for its entrepreneurial and innovative spirit. With the upcoming year promising to be a busy one, the chairman and her management team must plan and implement new strategies to capture opportunities while maintaining TSL's core values and capitalizing on its revitalized brand.

In the summer of 2013, the managing director of Tata Chemicals Magadi, Africa's largest soda ash manufacturer and one of the oldest and largest export earners in Kenya, was wondering how he was going to respond to a growing number of challenges. As a producer of a commodity product, the company was vulnerable to escalating energy costs, oversupply and economic cycles. Global growth had been sluggish since the 2008 economic recession and competition was intense, especially since the emergence of Chinese producers. Magadi Township, where the company's production facility was located, was one of the poorest in the country, subject to droughts and without many of the basic public services typically provided by government such as roads, health care, electricity, water and education. To address these needs, the company migrated from a top-down, paternal, ad hoc and resource-intensive approach to a bottom-up, collaborative, holistic and resource-sharing style that focused on community capacity building and self-governance. However, the issue now is how to best balance the strong need to reduce costs while remaining committed to the sustainability of the surrounding community.

In the summer of 2013, the managing director of Tata Chemicals Magadi, Africa’s largest soda ash manufacturer and one of the oldest and largest export earners in Kenya, was wondering how he was going to respond to a growing number of challenges. As a producer of a commodity product, the company was vulnerable to escalating energy costs, oversupply and economic cycles. Global growth had been sluggish since the 2008 economic recession and competition was intense, especially since the emergence of Chinese producers. Magadi Township, where the company’s production facility was located, was one of the poorest in the country, subject to droughts and without many of the basic public services typically provided by government such as roads, health care, electricity, water and education. To address these needs, the company migrated from a top-down, paternal, ad hoc and resource-intensive approach to a bottom-up, collaborative, holistic and resource-sharing style that focused on community capacity building and self-governance. However, the issue now is how to best balance the strong need to reduce costs while remaining committed to the sustainability of the surrounding community.

NationWide Primary Healthcare Services has launched a chain of primary healthcare clinics in India with the aim of bridging the gap between fragmented general practitioner services and highly expensive, specialist hospital care. The potential need for primary care is immense, though its delivery through organized retail is a new concept in India. The case describes the organization’s initial four years’ of operation. The clinics are not doing as well as expected. The initial business model and its subsequent refinements are discussed as the company tries to balance its core logic with its strategic choices for creating, delivering and capturing value.

In August 2012, the chief executive officer of Cconma.con, an online shopping mall based in Chung-Ju, South Korea, is considering his company’s future. The company has grown substantially since it was founded in 2005 and is now preparing to further expand into Hong Kong, China or to a second location in the United States. The company’s vision, rooted in an ethic of corporate social responsibility, is to build a happy and healthy community, including employees, customers and sellers. By focusing on its customers’ basic necessities, products for a healthy life and the needs of its producers to minimize sales costs, the company has found its niche where no other online retailer has dared to venture. Its success demonstrates that it is possible to be good and profitable at the same time. Expanding to a new location will bring myriad challenges, some of which can be anticipated while others will need to be resolved on the fly. The management team needs to focus on defining the specifics of their go-to-market plan. When should they enter? With which local players should they collaborate? Will an increased marketing effort or local outreach be necessary?

An executive has just joined adult entertainment producer Private Media Group Inc. (PMG) as a strategy consultant. Despite being a highly controversial industry, adult entertainment has been credited with furthering the widespread adoption of major technologies such as the VCR, Internet and digital transmissions over hand-held devices.<br><br>In preparing for his first meeting with PMG’s president, the executive wonders if he should recommend pursuing larger productions with higher costs and higher sales versus the current mixture of large productions ($100,000 or more in production costs), medium productions ($75,000) and small productions ($5,000). He also believes there is an opportunity to increase PMG’s brand awareness through licensing. Finally, the executive knows that the adult entertainment industry is quick to adopt new technologies so he wants to prepare PMG for the inevitable demise of DVDs. See the supplement to this case, 9B15M026.

Supplement to 9B15M025.

AddRec Solutions Pvt. Ltd (AddRec), a recruitment process outsourcing firm, had had a successful year in 2011 and the founder had big plans for 2012. He dreamed of three-fold growth in the next five years without adding any new branches or losing the firm’s boutique positioning. Yet he faced more than a few challenges. Competition in the sector was increasing, not only from other vendors but also from the internal human resource departments of some of AddRec’s clients. The founder’s personal charisma, relationship management abilities and direct involvement had been instrumental in AddRec’s growth thus far, but it remained to be seen whether the company, at this point in its evolution, was ready for the next growth phase. Further, his team had a set of capabilities that would need to be aligned with the growth he envisioned. Had the time come for him to distinguish between the strategic and operational roles in the organization?

AddRec Solutions Pvt. Ltd (AddRec), a recruitment process outsourcing firm, had had a successful year in 2011 and the founder had big plans for 2012. He dreamed of three-fold growth in the next five years without adding any new branches or losing the firm's boutique positioning. Yet he faced more than a few challenges. Competition in the sector was increasing, not only from other vendors but also from the internal human resource departments of some of AddRec's clients. The founder's personal charisma, relationship management abilities and direct involvement had been instrumental in AddRec's growth thus far, but it remained to be seen whether the company, at this point in its evolution, was ready for the next growth phase. Further, his team had a set of capabilities that would need to be aligned with the growth he envisioned. Had the time come for him to distinguish between the strategic and operational roles in the organization?

In August 2012, the chief executive officer of Cconma.con, an online shopping mall based in Chung-Ju, South Korea, is considering his company's future. The company has grown substantially since it was founded in 2005 and is now preparing to further expand into Hong Kong, China or to a second location in the United States. The company's vision, rooted in an ethic of corporate social responsibility, is to build a happy and healthy community, including employees, customers and sellers. By focusing on its customers' basic necessities, products for a healthy life and the needs of its producers to minimize sales costs, the company has found its niche where no other online retailer has dared to venture. Its success demonstrates that it is possible to be good and profitable at the same time. Expanding to a new location will bring myriad challenges, some of which can be anticipated while others will need to be resolved on the fly. The management team needs to focus on defining the specifics of their go-to-market plan. When should they enter? With which local players should they collaborate? Will an increased marketing effort or local outreach be necessary?

NationWide Primary Healthcare Services has launched a chain of primary healthcare clinics in India with the aim of bridging the gap between fragmented general practitioner services and highly expensive, specialist hospital care. The potential need for primary care is immense, though its delivery through organized retail is a new concept in India. The case describes the organization's initial four years' of operation. The clinics are not doing as well as expected. The initial business model and its subsequent refinements are discussed as the company tries to balance its core logic with its strategic choices for creating, delivering and capturing value.

Supplement to case W15026.

An executive has just joined adult entertainment producer Private Media Group Inc. (PMG) as a strategy consultant. Despite being a highly controversial industry, adult entertainment has been credited with furthering the widespread adoption of major technologies such as the VCR, Internet and digital transmissions over hand-held devices. In preparing for his first meeting with PMG's president, the executive wonders if he should recommend pursuing larger productions with higher costs and higher sales versus the current mixture of large productions ($100,000 or more in production costs), medium productions ($75,000) and small productions ($5,000). He also believes there is an opportunity to increase PMG's brand awareness through licensing. Finally, the executive knows that the adult entertainment industry is quick to adopt new technologies so he wants to prepare PMG for the inevitable demise of DVDs. See the supplement to this case.

Inner City Renovation (ICR) was a social enterprise established to address decaying infrastructure of inner city Winnipeg neighborhoods while providing opportunities for their residents - who would otherwise likely have been unemployed and on social assistance - to learn a trade and earn a living. ICR created 30 full-time permanent jobs and completed more than 100 construction projects in the Winnipeg area. However, its financial viability was an issue. It had lost money on operations every year and was close to the limit on its line of credit. While its most important customer had just ceased operations, which threatened the very existence of ICR, its founder was determined to keep it going.

Inner City Renovation (ICR) was a social enterprise established to address decaying infrastructure of inner city Winnipeg neighborhoods while providing opportunities for their residents — who would otherwise likely have been unemployed and on social assistance — to learn a trade and earn a living. ICR created 30 full-time permanent jobs and completed more than 100 construction projects in the Winnipeg area. However, its financial viability was an issue. It had lost money on operations every year and was close to the limit on its line of credit. While its most important customer had just ceased operations, which threatened the very existence of ICR, its founder was determined to keep it going.

This note provides an overview of the U.S. health care system as it stood in 2014, including an overview of hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, and other health care providers. It also discusses the major political actions on health care in the 20th century, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the early planning process for the Affordable Care Act at the beginning of the Obama presidency.