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961 Beer was founded in 2006 under political and economic adverse conditions in Lebanon. One of the first craft beer companies in the Middle East, it has developed from a home brewer into a hip Lebanese brand. To attract its target set of customers — highly educated, middle-class city-dwellers — the company has opened a pub in a popular entertainment area of Beirut where it offers free samples of its beers and encourages customers to taste and ask questions about the brewery process. It also addresses the needs of consumers with a strong interest in locally produced goods and caters to the local palate. However, the company faces competition from a long-entrenched brewery that has been bought by a major international beer conglomerate. Now, in February 2009, 961 Beer is selling beyond its capacity limits. The founder is confident about the business but has to decide on a strategy for the future. Should he consolidate or should he grow? What kind of strategy will allow the company to expand and to increase its customer base without compromising on quality and the values that make 961 Beer what it is?

While internationalization may present growth opportunities for Canadian small businesses, the challenges involved can be daunting. In August 2013 the founder and president of Maynooth Natural Granite was trying to decide whether he should expand his small business internationally. He was satisfied that he was able to turn his gravel pit into a well-recognized supplier of washed decorative rock in Ontario. However, the president was concerned that his success could be short-lived, as Ontario had a saturated gardening market. As he explored new international opportunities he must decide whether he would be able to replicate his success in the new markets while balancing the responsibilities of his Canadian business interests and his family life.

In January 2014, the chief executive officer of AutoTherm, a small smart-thermostat design company located in Toronto, Canada, was considering the company’s future in light of the uncertainties and fast changing dynamics of the industry. As an incumbent and small engineering firm, AutoTherm’s plans to sell its first product, B133, through partnership with a large electronics company had not been quite successful. Given the dire state of the company’s financial resources, how can AutoTherm be rescued and go forward?

In 2013, the minister of state for tourism in India is contemplating the future of the “Incredible India” campaign. Started in 2002, the campaign had succeeded in turning India into a high-end tourist destination, as a result bringing about a growth of 16 per cent in the number of foreign visitors. Originally focused on landscape and culture, the campaign evolved to embrace such concepts as spiritual, medical, adventure, film and sports tourism on a year-round basis. In 2007, the campaign was extended to the international arena with participation in events in Berlin, Cannes, London and New York. In 2012, the culmination of over a decade of effort resulted in three awards at the World Travel Awards. Now, in 2013, uncertainties have multiplied. India has gained more familiarity among and acceptance from foreign tourists of diverse backgrounds, who now expect more differentiation in the choices available. To lure them, the tourism departments of several Indian states and union territories have begun to adopt their own advertising campaigns. Can Indian tourism, which is based on a unified branding approach, sustain its growth in the long run? Is it more advantageous to change to a system in which different tourism products and regions are branded distinctly?

On January 28, 2009, the president and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada is considering the impact of the minister of finance’s announcement in his recent 2009 budget that the bank would offer a new financial product to help auto and heavy equipment dealers suffering through the global financial and economic crisis. A wholly owned Government of Canada Crown corporation, the bank’s mandate is to help create and develop Canadian businesses through financing, subordinate financing, venture capital and consulting services, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. It is expected both to complement private-sector financial institutions and to earn a rate of return on common equity greater than or equal to the government’s average long-term cost of capital. Taken by surprise due to budget secrecy, the president has spent the last two days in conversations with his staff, senior government officials and his board chair. He needs a plan to quickly launch this new and completely unfamiliar line of business while navigating the complex governance and stakeholder environment that BDC faces.

The case describes the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, two national carriers. The due diligence predicted both airlines would survive and prosper amidst fierce global and domestic competition by leveraging combined assets and capital more efficiently and by building a stronger sustainable business. However, the merged entity suffered huge financial losses year after year, raising doubts about Air India’s continued existence. The case highlights various reasons for the merger failure as argued by the media, analysts and experts.

The case describes the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, two national carriers. The due diligence predicted both airlines would survive and prosper amidst fierce global and domestic competition by leveraging combined assets and capital more efficiently and by building a stronger sustainable business. However, the merged entity suffered huge financial losses year after year, raising doubts about Air India's continued existence. The case highlights various reasons for the merger failure as argued by the media, analysts and experts.

On January 28, 2009, the president and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada is considering the impact of the minister of finance's announcement in his recent 2009 budget that the bank would offer a new financial product to help auto and heavy equipment dealers suffering through the global financial and economic crisis. A wholly owned Government of Canada Crown corporation, the bank's mandate is to help create and develop Canadian businesses through financing, subordinate financing, venture capital and consulting services, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. It is expected both to complement private-sector financial institutions and to earn a rate of return on common equity greater than or equal to the government's average long-term cost of capital. Taken by surprise due to budget secrecy, the president has spent the last two days in conversations with his staff, senior government officials and his board chair. He needs a plan to quickly launch this new and completely unfamiliar line of business while navigating the complex governance and stakeholder environment that BDC faces.

The pharmaceutical industry was under siege, with regular price rollbacks and the powerful advance of generics frequently making news headlines. Many of the industry's leading companies, including Novartis, were cutting their sales forces, while sales representatives who still had jobs felt increasingly disengaged. David Epstein, the head of Novartis's Pharmaceuticals division, bucked the trend. He introduced a strategic initiative that aimed to fundamentally transform Novartis' selling model. Epstein committed to an aspirational goal of equipping 80% of the company's field forces worldwide with the latest iPad technology by the end of 2012, in just 15 months. A few months later, he set his teams an even more ambitious challenge: to equip 100% of the sales force by the end of 2013, which meant rolling out 25,000 new devices across the globe within a two-year period. Novartis was about to embark on a digital transformation journey, with the ultimate goal of providing the right drug to the right patient at the right time.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER -John Molson MBA Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>GREENoneTEC, the global market leader in manufacturing flat plate solar thermal collectors, was facing new challenges: the potential market entry of Chinese low-cost competitors and a substitution threat from photovoltaics. The company’s founder and chief executive officer had developed GREENoneTEC from a garage start-up to the industry’s leading firm; however, GREENoneTEC’s research and development, production, quality, sales and distribution strategies, and diversification into other segments of the solar market would all have to be considered from new angles. How could GREENoneTEC create and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage in this changing and difficult environment?

GREENoneTEC, the global market leader in manufacturing flat plate solar thermal collectors, was facing new challenges: the potential market entry of Chinese low-cost competitors and a substitution threat from photovoltaics. The company's founder and chief executive officer had developed GREENoneTEC from a garage start-up to the industry's leading firm; however, GREENoneTEC's research and development, production, quality, sales and distribution strategies, and diversification into other segments of the solar market would all have to be considered from new angles. How could GREENoneTEC create and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage in this changing and difficult environment?

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. (Jos. A. Bank), a men's apparel retail chain, made a bid to acquire its industry rival, the Men's Wearhouse. The Men's Wearhouse not only rebuffed the bid but turned around and made a counter bid to acquire Jos. A. Bank. Initially, Jos. A. Bank merely rejected the offer as inadequate but subsequently made an offer to buy Eddie Bauer, a chain selling outdoor apparel, to make itself an unattractive target for the Men's Wearhouse. Surrounding this takeover drama were a host of other actors, including Beacon Light Capital, a hedge fund that called for significant governance changes at Jos. A. Bank, and a second hedge fund, Eminence Capital, that owned stock in both Jos. A. Bank and the Men's Wearhouse, and had filed a lawsuit against Jos. A. Bank to push for the deal to go through. The chairman of Jos. A. Bank's board was faced with a critical decision regarding the acquisition offer from the Men's Wearhouse and his own company's offer to buy Eddie Bauer.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. (Jos. A. Bank), a men’s apparel retail chain, made a bid to acquire its industry rival, the Men’s Wearhouse. The Men’s Wearhouse not only rebuffed the bid but turned around and made a counter bid to acquire Jos. A. Bank. Initially, Jos. A. Bank merely rejected the offer as inadequate but subsequently made an offer to buy Eddie Bauer, a chain selling outdoor apparel, to make itself an unattractive target for the Men’s Wearhouse. Surrounding this takeover drama were a host of other actors, including Beacon Light Capital, a hedge fund that called for significant governance changes at Jos. A. Bank, and a second hedge fund, Eminence Capital, that owned stock in both Jos. A. Bank and the Men’s Wearhouse, and had filed a lawsuit against Jos. A. Bank to push for the deal to go through. The chairman of Jos. A. Bank’s board was faced with a critical decision regarding the acquisition offer from the Men’s Wearhouse and his own company’s offer to buy Eddie Bauer.

The general manager of an engineering solutions department at Robert Bosch Engineering India, a subsidiary of a major German supplier of automotive components, must expand his department from captive to non-captive (i.e., non-Bosch) business and grow rapidly. He believes that non-linear growth is feasible if he leverages competencies and talent built over the years within his division. He faces complex strategy execution challenges, including challenges related to funding, sales and marketing and the existing captive-oriented culture, in shifting from a captive to non-captive mode of business for growth. The automotive ecosystem, within India and abroad, is rapidly changing with its focus on high technology and offers opportunities while also posing threats. At the same time, senior management's expectations for the general manager are high. He must decide whether to focus more on the development of non-linear products/services or on captive jobs in order to meet his firm's revenue goal. He could also adopt a hybrid approach.

The general manager of an engineering solutions department at Robert Bosch Engineering India, a subsidiary of a major German supplier of automotive components, must expand his department from captive to non-captive (i.e., non-Bosch) business and grow rapidly. He believes that non-linear growth is feasible if he leverages competencies and talent built over the years within his division. He faces complex strategy execution challenges, including challenges related to funding, sales and marketing and the existing captive-oriented culture, in shifting from a captive to non-captive mode of business for growth. The automotive ecosystem, within India and abroad, is rapidly changing with its focus on high technology and offers opportunities while also posing threats. At the same time, senior management’s expectations for the general manager are high. He must decide whether to focus more on the development of non-linear products/services or on captive jobs in order to meet his firm’s revenue goal. He could also adopt a hybrid approach.

In August 2009, the newly appointed president of the Federal Development Agency for Southern Ontario, FedDev Ontario, is contemplating the task in front of him. The region’s manufacturing sector, especially the auto industry, had been hit hard by the global recession of 2008; for the first time in its history, Ontario was now a “have not” province, and the federal government was hoping that enthusiasm for this new regional development agency would not only result in the creation of more jobs but would lead to support for the Conservatives in the upcoming election. The new president knew he would need to gain the confidence of his minister and political staff while developing a three-month short-term plan to get up and running as well as a one-year longer term plan to grow the agency and develop its programs. Expectations of both program and political success were high; the new voyage on which he was embarking would be the riskiest of his career.

In 1997, the Ontario Health Services Restructuring Committee mandated the merger of four facilities that treated patients with mental health and addiction issues to create what was later named the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. This new centre, to be situated in Toronto, would provide support and clinical care to those suffering from illnesses such as schizophrenia, anxiety and mood disorders, as well as substance addictions. In 1999, the newly appointed chief executive officer and his management team have to present their recommendations to the board of trustees for implementing this complex merger. The plan will need to recognize and address significant infrastructure, strategic, organizational and stakeholder challenges. The merger will be a large change for vulnerable patient populations and their families, as well as the staff at the four merging organizations and the neighbourhoods bordering the new facility.

Tokyo Jane is an accessible fashion jewelry company that makes and markets its products as “luxury for less” by designing, importing and selling fashion jewelry pieces that look luxurious but cost only a fraction of the high-priced items that inspired them. Finished products are air-shipped to company headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark from factories in China, stocked in the head office and delivered to 400 retail partners —small fashion boutiques, big department stores and online shops — who then sell to consumers in Europe, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Canada. The two partners who founded the firm in 2005 are facing several problems: the brand definition is not well enough developed to support the next stage in the firm’s growth, certain challenges have outstripped available human resources — they have only three permanent employees and a revolving number of interns — and distribution operations and management need to be rethought as the firm rapidly increases the scale of its operations. Things come to a head in April 2013, when they are confronted by an important customer about quality issues with their products. How can they not only save their company but continue to grow?

In August 2009, the newly appointed president of the Federal Development Agency for Southern Ontario, FedDev Ontario, is contemplating the task in front of him. The region's manufacturing sector, especially the auto industry, had been hit hard by the global recession of 2008; for the first time in its history, Ontario was now a "have not" province, and the federal government was hoping that enthusiasm for this new regional development agency would not only result in the creation of more jobs but would lead to support for the Conservatives in the upcoming election. The new president knew he would need to gain the confidence of his minister and political staff while developing a three-month short-term plan to get up and running as well as a one-year longer term plan to grow the agency and develop its programs. Expectations of both program and political success were high; the new voyage on which he was embarking would be the riskiest of his career.

Tokyo Jane is an accessible fashion jewelry company that makes and markets its products as "luxury for less" by designing, importing and selling fashion jewelry pieces that look luxurious but cost only a fraction of the high-priced items that inspired them. Finished products are air-shipped to company headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark from factories in China, stocked in the head office and delivered to 400 retail partners -small fashion boutiques, big department stores and online shops - who then sell to consumers in Europe, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Canada. The two partners who founded the firm in 2005 are facing several problems: the brand definition is not well enough developed to support the next stage in the firm's growth, certain challenges have outstripped available human resources - they have only three permanent employees and a revolving number of interns - and distribution operations and management need to be rethought as the firm rapidly increases the scale of its operations. Things come to a head in April 2013, when they are confronted by an important customer about quality issues with their products. How can they not only save their company but continue to grow?