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In January 2009, Pfizer announced its acquisition of Wyeth in a cash and stock deal valued at $68 billion. This deal represented the first mega-acquisition since the world economic crisis, which began in September 2008. Jeff Kindler knew that the last acquisition (Pharmacia in 2003) had not gone as planned. Was Pfizer prepared for the Wyeth acquisition? Would it solve some of Pfizer's pressing problems or create new ones?

The integration of Wyeth began soon after the acquisition was announced in April 2009. Linked to the integration were a series of organizational structural changes. Jeff Kindler wondered whether the acquisition and all the organizational changes linked to it would be enough to generate real long-term success.

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In 2009 Brandeis University was coping with a budget deficit brought on by the global financial crisis, prompting its president and board of trustees to announce the closing of the Rose Art Museum and the sale of its $350 million collection. The news came as an unwelcome surprise to the museum's director and board of overseers, as well as to students and faculty, with many objecting to the lack of transparency in the decision-making process.

This case addresses the theme of crisis leadership in a multinational enterprise in order to help students internalize the critical challenges of a multinational company in an emerging market. In August 2007, a routine product feedback and defect analysis process identified a defective batch of batteries supplied by a Japanese vendor. India happened to be the recipient of the largest proportion of the defective batch. Nokia’s corporate communications team, based in Finland, in cooperation with the Indian team, responded with a customary global product advisory. Instructions were made available on the Internet for customers to diagnose a defective battery and get a free replacement. Nokia was shocked to see the antagonistic response from the Indian press to the product advisory and the ensuing mayhem that spread quickly through the country. The head of Nokia India and his team had to act swiftly to preserve the company’s hard-earned reputation and market share. Case (A) is set as a midnight strategy session at Nokia’s Indian headquarters to chart out the way forward. A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (B) is a short version of what actually happened: how Nokia and the team responded to the crisis and and used the situation to create new organizational capabilities.

This case is a supplement to A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A).

Mexico went through a major political transition in 2000, when Vicente Fox was elected President. Change was in the air throughout the country, and especially in government entities. One such entity was NAFINSA, the national development bank that had a stellar history in the first half of the twentieth century building the Mexican stock exchange and financing public projects. Its more recent history was less impressive, with charges of political influence, inefficiency and major problems in leadership. Fox had special plans for NAFINSA, however, wanting it to be a preeminent player in stimulating small and medium-sized business. He hired Mario Laborin, previously responsible for successful management of a private sector bank in Mexico, to turn NAFINSA around and advance this new policy mandate. The case, in two parts, centers on the approach Laborin and his team took to address this challenge. It intends to provoke discussion about the role of strategic management in complex contexts, the way different technical interventions can be used to facilitate change, and the question about where money should come from to facilitate change processes. HKS Case Number 1918.0

Mexico went through a major political transition in 2000, when Vicente Fox was elected President. Change was in the air throughout the country, and especially in government entities. One such entity was NAFINSA, the national development bank that had a stellar history in the first half of the twentieth century building the Mexican stock exchange and financing public projects. Its more recent history was less impressive, with charges of political influence, inefficiency and major problems in leadership. Fox had special plans for NAFINSA, however, wanting it to be a preeminent player in stimulating small and medium-sized business. He hired Mario Laborin, previously responsible for successful management of a private sector bank in Mexico, to turn NAFINSA around and advance this new policy mandate. The case, in two parts, centers on the approach Laborin and his team took to address this challenge. It intends to provoke discussion about the role of strategic management in complex contexts, the way different technical interventions can be used to facilitate change, and the question about where money should come from to facilitate change processes. HKS Case Number 1919.0

Various mergers and acquisitions in the Indian information technology (IT) sector had resulted in the newly formed Mahindra Satyam (Mahindra) and the recently appointed chief compliance officer (CCO) was to develop a corporate governance structure that would address and repair previous mismanagement of the company. The CCO also functioned as the chief operating officer (COO) with profit centre responsibility for business verticals. His largest task as the CCO was to restore trust in the company and solidify its future among various stakeholders by bringing back integrity and transparency to the business. The CCO had to consider several criteria: What should his priorities be? What processes could be developed that would ensure corporate governance? What were the metrics with which the company could track the progress in corporate governance?

The case is set immediately following a catastrophic fire that destroyed the Triumph Motorcycle Company’s manufacturing facility in England. After having gone out of business in the 1980s, the company was resurrected by British entrepreneur John Bloor and, at the time of the fire, was in its tenth year of renewed operations. The decision facing Bloor and his team after the fire was to either rebuild and resume their strategy as before or consider whether another course of action might be worthwhile. <br><br>Students are challenged to identify and articulate Triumph’s strategy during its renaissance and evaluate whether other alternatives might be more appropriate. This mirrors the assignment given to McKinsey and Company when it was engaged to help Triumph during its post-fire recovery. The case provides information about Triumph’s history, as well as a current picture of the motorcycle industry.

Jorge Tarasuk, VP of Operations and Supply Chain for PepsiCo South America Foods, and his team had worked for 10 years to realize their dream of creating an agro research center in Peru that could provide more productive and healthier varieties of potatoes for the Frito-Lay businesses in PepsiCo's tropical regions, including Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Thailand, and Vietnam, where much of its future growth would come. They were denied several times but kept the idea alive through other projects until conditions presented themselves. But now that they had secured initial funding for the center, the hard work would begin.

This case addresses the theme of crisis leadership in a multinational enterprise in a powerful way, to help students internalize the critical challenges of a multinational company in an emerging market. In August 2007, a routine product feedback and defect analysis process identified a defective batch of batteries supplied by a Japanese vendor, Matsushita. India happened to be the recipient of the largest proportion of the defective batch. Nokia's corporate communications team, based in Finland, in cooperation with the Indian team, responded with a customary global product advisory. Instructions were made available on the Internet for customers to diagnose a defective battery and get a free replacement. Nokia was shocked to see the antagonistic response from the Indian press to the product advisory and the ensuing mayhem that spread quickly through the country. The head of Nokia India, and his team, had to act swiftly to preserve the company's hard-earned reputation and market share.<br><br>Case A is set as a midnight strategy session at Nokia's Indian headquarters to chart out the way forward. Case B is a short version of what actually happened: how Nokia and the team successfully steered the organization through the crisis and not only survived but used the situation it to create new organizational capabilities.

On April 4, 2007, talk show host Don Imus, while chatting with his sidekicks on his morning radio program, referred to the Rutgers women's basketball team-which had lost a college championship game the previous evening-as "nappy-headed hos." This was not the first time that Imus and the regulars on his show-which was nationally syndicated by CBS Radio and simulcast on MSNBC-had ed racial and sexual innuendo into their early morning banter. "Imus in the Morning" had long been a show that alternated serious conversation with prominent politicians and journalists with crass locker-room humor and gibes directed at homosexuals, blacks, Jews, and other ethnic minorities, most of them figures in sports, entertainment, or politics. In the past, Imus had weathered occasional protests against his insulting brand of humor, but this time would be different. His remark about the Rutgers team was picked up by a liberal media watchdog group and posted, with an accompanying video clip, on its website and, later, on YouTube. Almost immediately, there was an outcry from black organizations and leaders, and calls for Imus to be fired. An apology by Imus did nothing to quiet critics, as other groups and individuals began to clamor for him to be taken off the air. Media coverage, spotty at first, expanded as protest grew more vocal. In a little over a week, the controversy came to a head. With advertisers bailing out and critics unappeased by apologies and a two-week suspension, NBC, and CBS abruptly canceled the long-running show. HKS Case Number 1920.0

This case addresses the theme of crisis leadership in a multinational enterprise in a powerful way, to help students internalize the critical challenges of a multinational company in an emerging market. In August 2007, a routine product feedback and defect analysis process identified a defective batch of batteries supplied by a Japanese vendor, Matsushita. India happened to be the recipient of the largest proportion of the defective batch. Nokia's corporate communications team, based in Finland, in cooperation with the Indian team, responded with a customary global product advisory. Instructions were made available on the Internet for customers to diagnose a defective battery and get a free replacement. Nokia was shocked to see the antagonistic response from the Indian press to the product advisory and the ensuing mayhem that spread quickly through the country. The head of Nokia India and his team had to act swiftly to preserve the company's hard-earned reputation and market share.Case A is set at a midnight strategy session at Nokia's Indian headquarters to chart the way forward. Case B is a short version of what actually happened: how Nokia and the team successfully steered the organization through the crisis and not only survived but also used the situation to create new organizational capabilities.

This note summarizes the four major changes affecting corporate governance that were made by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. These changes relate to: advisory notes by shareholders, refinements to board structure, non-disclosure on compensation and tightening up of certain enforcement provisions.

Tommy Li was a designer and brand consultant renowned for his black humour and bold visual impact. With business spanning Hong Kong, China, Macau, Japan and Italy, he was one of the few Hong Kong designers to have entered the international market. In his ten years of experience as a design staff member, Li learned that "getting the right client is the key to a successful design consultancy business." Therefore, Li set up his own company to have full freedom in choosing his own clients, and his "choosing clients strategically" philosophy brought him great success. Consequently, he became a famous Hong Kong designer and brand consultant with reputable local and overseas clients. With international firms many times bigger than Li's firm entering China, Li saw mounting competitive pressure. Was Li's stardom an adequate defence against firms composed of multidisciplinary teams equipped with innovation-driven design thinking and processes? Was scale a critical issue in staying competitive? Was proximity to the market an important advantage?<br><br>The brand consulting industry also faced intense competition from international business consultancies, advertising and public relations agencies. Each camp used a different approach to target the same group of brand-conscious clients. Could Li cope with these challenges?<br><br>The case was developed to teach designers and design entrepreneurs. It is also suitable for MBA and other executive classes on entrepreneurship and creative business. This case is intended to achieve the following objectives: 1) study how strategic thinking guided Li to develop his design business despite changing market conditions 2) understand how path dependence and dynamic capabilities explain Li's success and challenges in a changing business environment 3) discuss the best approach to grow a design business - building methodology and processes or becoming a star in new markets.

AWARD WINNING CASE: Adjudged best case at the ISB Case Competition 2010 held in partnership with the Richard Ivey School of Business and the Association of Indian Management Schools and sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. BASIX was a microfinance company with livelihood promotion as its key agenda. It had a strong presence in the poverty-ridden state of Jharkhand, India, where marginal farmers were struggling to make ends meet. In 2005, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd (Pepsi) entered an agreement with BASIX for promoting contract farming of potatoes in Jharkhand. As per the agreement, Pepsi was to supply seeds and get an assured supply of chip-grade quality potatoes. BASIX was to provide micro-finance to the farmers and render training and consultancy for package of practices (POP). Farmers were to get assured buyback of the produce and also an opportunity to learn modern farming practices. The collaboration was successful in the first year and the project witnessed a very high growth in the second year. The second year results, however, were not as encouraging as the first year. The case is poised at this juncture, where the project manager has to present his view on how to move ahead with the agreement.

This case explores value-driven strategy formulation and implementation by bringing to the fore issues of ethics, responsible leadership, social intiatives in emerging markets, and the global-local tensions in corporate social responsibility. It examines how Bayer CropScience addressed the issue of child labor in its cotton seed supply chain in rural India between 2002 and 2008. Bayer had been operating in India for more than a century. In December 2002, the Bayer Group completed the acquisition of India-based Aventis CropScience. Bayer CropScience first learned about the occurrence and prevalence of child labor in its newly acquired India-based cotton seed operations a few months post-acquisition, in April 2003. The Aventis acquisition had brought onboard a well-known Indian company, Proagro, which already had operations in the cotton seed production and marketing - a new segment of the supply chain for Bayer. Child labor was widespread in cotton seed production — a traditional practice taken for granted not only by Indian farmers but also by several hundred Indian companies then accounting for approximately 90 per cent of the market share. The (A) case focuses on Bayer’s decision whether, when, and how to launch a self-run program that would take direct responsibility for tracking and eradicating child labor in rural India.

This supplement to Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor focuses on Bayer’s formulation of a value-driven strategy with three pillars: communication, implementation, and education.