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In market-leading firms, software development is often undertaken by in-house teams to address specific information systems (IS) needs — in part because nothing that fits specific needs is commercially available. These projects often end up taking longer than planned and exceeding ever-growing budgets.<br><br>In this case, in-house software development of an information system for Canadian Shield Insurance was finally nearing completion (over budget and behind schedule), and the beta-testing phase and some initial training sessions had begun. Not all the first impressions were positive, so when the director became aware of a recently introduced commercial offering that seemed like a very attractive alternative, he faced a dilemma: should he abandon the developed project, which amounted to five years of work and over $1 million, for a different system that might be a better option? The protagonist in the case had done a preliminary functional comparison of the in-house information system and the commercial offering, and he recognized that the new alternative might hold some significant advantages for the firm. The potential negative implications for his career and the careers of the people he worked alongside during the development project caused him to think about whether or not he should be informing others within the firm about the commercial alternative and, if he did, what position he should take.

This case series outlines the strategic choices facing Jean-Michel Gires, Total E&P France’s (TEPF) vice president of sustainable development, in designing and implementing a community engagement strategy. Case (A) begins with the approval of a pilot carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at TEPF’s Lacq facility in France, and outlines the strategic context for the community engagement process. Case (B) is positioned three years later.<br><br>The case includes a range of issues impacting the decision-making context, including the role of CCS in mitigating climate change; an outline of CCS technology; TEPF’s climate change strategy; the history of TEPF’s operations in the Lacq gas field, and interactions with local communities; the E.U. climate change regulatory environment (including carbon pricing and CCS); and CCS regulatory uncertainty in France.

This case is a supplement to Total’s Carbon Capture and Storage Project at LACQ (A).

On December 22, 2010, the chief executive officer of Al Hilal Bank in the United Arab Emirates was preparing to address a group of international banking executives who were interested in understanding what decisions had contributed to Al Hilal’s success thus far, and what challenges the bank would face in 2011 and beyond. In two and a half years, Al Hilal had developed a respected and fast-growing Islamic bank. The Al Hilal team had combined a foundation of strong corporate governance practices, a strong risk management framework, and an innovative customer service culture. As proof of its success, it had become profitable in the third quarter of 2009, and profits were rising rapidly.

In July 2008, the vice chairman of General Electric (GE) was considering whether GE should re-enter the wind power market in India. Financial incentives had been announced by the government of India for wind farm operators who generated power through wind energy. These incentives might encourage market development so that GE could leverage the technological strength of its wind-powered turbines. However, as recently as 2005, GE Energy had pulled out of the Indian market after a frustrating stint in the country. The vice chairman needed to weigh the pros and cons of re-entering India and make a decision. There was reason for caution, however, from GE’s perspective. India was a complex market in which to operate, and the wind energy market was still developing. To be successful, GE would need to build a local supply chain and compete with the speed of delivery of Suzlon, the formidable domestic competitor. Should GE re-enter India?

This note was prepared as a practical guide for strategic analysis and action. The intent is to introduce students to the breadth of material in strategic management and to enable students to apply strategic analysis in a decision-making process. This note uses the perspective of a general manager in approaching strategic issues.

This note was prepared as a practical guide for strategic analysis and action. The intent is to introduce students to the breadth of material in strategic management and to enable students to apply strategic analysis in a decision-making process. The point of view we take on strategic issues is that of a general manager.

In July 2008, the vice chairman, General Electric (GE), and president and chief executive officer (CEO), GE Energy Infrastructure, was mulling over whether GE should re-enter the windpower market in India. Financial incentives had been announced by the Government of India for wind farm operators who generated power through wind energy. These incentives might encourage market development so that GE could leverage the technological strength of its wind-powered turbines. However, as recently as 2005, GE Energy had pulled out of the Indian market after a frustrating stint in the country. The vice chairman needed to weigh the pros and cons of re-entering India and make a decision. There was reason for caution, however, from GE's point of view. India was a complex market in which to operate, and the wind energy market was still developing. To be successful, GE would need to build a local supply chain and compete with Suzlon's (the major domestic competitor) speed of delivery. Suzlon's was a formidable player. Should GE re-enter India?

This case describes how Cold Stone Creamery created a business model for a premium customized ice cream experience. It describes the company’s value proposition, growth strategy, and competitors, and poses the question of whether the company could continue to attract new franchisees.

On the night of April 20, 2010, a series of explosions rocked the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Gas in the Macondo well had surged upward unexpectedly, causing a mix of drilling mud and seawater to spew uncontrollably into the air, much like a volcanic eruption. Eleven crew members died during the explosion. The nation mourned their loss, and people watched as BP struggled to contain the environmental damage. Millions of barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico in the weeks that followed. The federal government relied on BP to manage the accident’s aftermath, in part because government officials lacked the expertise required to stop the spill. Meanwhile, BP downplayed its responsibility for the failure. As the firm failed repeatedly to stop the spill, the public became angry. This industrial disaster became the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.<br><br>The case provides a detailed description of the events leading up to this catastrophe. Readers examine the key decisions that BP and its partners made as they drilled this well. They discover the alternative choices that could have been made and learn about the disagreements that took place (as well as those that failed to surface). Moreover, the case provides an opportunity to examine how BP’s history and organizational culture shaped the way those decisions were made. The case describes how Tony Hayward and his predecessor, John Browne, led the firm and shaped the culture during the past two decades. In addition, the case explains how the regulatory environment and political forces shaped decision-making in the oil industry. The case concludes by examining the aftermath of the accident, particularly BP’s public relations miscues as it tried to manage the crisis.

The founder of Sushilicious, a new sushi restaurant in California, is wondering how to make his second year in the business even more successful. His objective is to grow the current base for his restaurant with a limited marketing budget. The founder has had success building his first restaurant using a combination of social media tools and now wonders how he can build upon his current marketing strategy. Furthermore, should he franchise the Sushilicious concept, open a second restaurant, or focus entirely on the first location?

Since 1988, Nouveau Event Planning has been operating the largest wedding expo in Windsor, Canada, an event called the Wedding Extravaganza. In 2001, the Wedding Odyssey became the second wedding expo in Windsor, and started to pose a significant threat to the Wedding Extravaganza. Now in 2011, the owner of Nouveau Event Planning must make strategic decisions involving pricing, customer retention, and selection of an appropriate target market. She must also determine the best course of action for the exhibition through analysis of the competitive landscape and future potential of the wedding industry.

On July 6, 2011, the communication director for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) in Toronto, Ontario, was faced with a challenging situation. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had just released an online article that focused on the 2011 CCS budget and how the CCS allocated millions of dollars each year. The article provided details on how the proportion of donation money that the CCS spent on cancer research each year had decreased from 40 per cent in 2000 to under 22 per cent in 2011. With the CBC report circulating in both television and online media, public speculation into the CCS’s financial management of public donations was starting to grow. It was clear that the CCS communication team would need to respond. A communication strategy would need to be developed for the CCS to follow, along with a press release to be posted the next day on the CCS website.

No abstract available.

This note is an introduction to simulation in Excel and VBA. The note demonstrates different ways of doing simulation in Excel and Excel VBA with examples. The concepts used and explained in the note are random number, probability distributions, data tables, loops and arrays, histograms and descriptive statistics.

On Wednesday, July 6th, 2011, the communication director, for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), in Toronto, Ontario, was faced with a challenging situation. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had just released an online article that focused on the 2011 CCS budget, more specifically how the CCS allocated millions of dollars each year. Furthermore, the CBC article provided details on how the proportion of donation money the CCS spent on cancer research each year had decreased from 40 per cent in 2000 to under 22 per cent in 2011. With the CBC report circulating in both television and online media, public speculation into CCS's financial management of public donations was starting to grow. It was clear that the CCS communication team would need to respond. A communication strategy would need to be developed for the CCS to follow moving forward, along with a press release to be posted the next day on the CCS website.

Bannari Amman Group (BAG) was one of the largest industrial conglomerates in South India with manufacturing, trading, distribution and financing corporations in the group. This group had the legacy of conducting business ventures over the past 40 years. Starting as a group of related and unrelated businesses in a purely family-owned entity, now the group had three publicly listed companies and over 15 family-owned businesses in its fold. Following the tradition that the eldest in the family headed the group, the group performed under the leadership of the chairman. The chairman of BAG had a day long meeting with the unit heads of BAG on January 6, 2011 to review whether the business heads were capable of handling their units by themselves, what was the appropriate method of hand holding for the new generation of entrepreneurs and how would the unit heads act to optimize performance of their units. He observed that the business group's units emerged as independent entities, but the businesses were complementing each other to a certain extent. This was especially true for the logistics. Due to this, the group's businesses enjoyed an inherent advantage. As he looked at the challenges that the units would come across under new leadership in the forthcoming years, he was also aware of the need to develop the vision across the spectrum of units big and small, flagship companies and the smaller stragglers. The chairman looked for processes to keep the group synergies in place and identify the businesses that could be strengthened over time.

Palm Inc. was the "founder" of an entire industry. In the mid nineties, the firm had developed the first hand-held which could be marketed successfully. They became the uncontested leaders within the young and extremely dynamic industry within short time - both with regard to hardware as well as software. By 2010, however, Palm was not in a good shape. The new product, a top-notch smartphone was not very successful and there were even signs of Palm's bankruptcy on the horizon. But how could it have come this far? Palm had been the leader in the market of handheld computers with high market share and profitability, and a brand name recognition level many other firms could only dream of. So what had happened to Palm?

Palm Inc. was the “founder” of an entire industry. In the mid-1990s, the firm developed the first successful hand-held on the market. It became the uncontested leader within the young and extremely dynamic industry within a short time, both with regard to hardware as well as software. By 2010, however, Palm was not in good shape. The new product, a top-notch smart phone, was not very successful and there were signs of Palm’s bankruptcy on the horizon. Palm had been the leader in the market of hand-held computers with high market share and profitability, and a brand name recognition level of which many other firms could only dream. What had happened to Palm?