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The case outlines the conflicting ethical demands on a Danish pharmaceuticals company, Novo Nordisk, that is operating globally and is aspiring to high standards of corporate social responsibility. A recent report alleges that multinational pharmaceutical companies routinely conduct trials in developing countries under alleged unethical conditions. The company's director reflects on how to respond to a request from a journalist for an interview. This triggers a discussion on the appropriate ethical principles and how to communicate them. As a company emphasizing corporate responsibility, the interaction with the media presents both opportunities and risks to Novo Nordisk. The case focuses on clinical trials that are required to attain regulatory approval in, for example, Europe and North America, and that are conducted at multiple sites around the world, including many emerging economies. Novo Nordisk has implemented numerous procedures to protect its various stakeholders, yet will this satisfy journalists and non-governmental organizations, and how should the company communicate with these stakeholders?

Kathy Engle was one of four executive directors of the LEADER Project (LEADER), an MBA student-run volunteer organization associated with The Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. LEADER's objective was to contribute to international development by teaching introductory business and decision-making skills in a free market economy to institutions in emerging economies. In March, 2002, Engle had to quickly decide a course of action for LEADER: Whether the LEADER Project should maintain the status quo of working in the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU) or instead focus its energies on expansion into a new country outside the FSU with a transition economy. If expansion was considered, Engle needed to determine which new emerging economy should be selected and how to manage the transition into a new country beginning in two months' time. Engle had gathered a considerable amount of information about Cuba that led her to believe it may be an appropriate target for expansion, but the information was both positive and negative.

We care deeply about what other people think of us, and as a result, 'mattering maps' exert a powerful influence on our behavior. In principle, there is a mattering map for each person, each social environment and for society as a whole, and because each person typically belongs to more than one social group--workplace, family, friends-these groups and the mattering maps that apply to them often overlap. Mattering maps may be a source of misery for some, but given the realities of human nature, they cannot be avoided. The authors show that in the end, they enable both the greatest accomplishments of the human race when we compete to outdo one-another in things that are constructive, and our greatest follies when we compete over activities that are wasteful or destructive.

Accountability has become a major buzzword of late, cited to be at the core of market meltdowns and revivals and one of the basic buildings blocks of successful businesses. As a result, it has become a topic of investigation by a large coterie of consultants, social scientists and practitioners. Break the riddle of accountability, the thinking goes, and you will have solved one of the biggest issues in modern business. The author argues that most of the proposed approaches focus too narrowly on tasks, responsibilities, personal attributes and measurement systems - all of which are important aspects of accountability, but overlook its three most important features: its relationality, reflexivity and relativity. He explains that accountability is relational in that it involves a promise or commitment from me to you; it is reflexive in that it says something about me and about our relationship that I have to internalize and accept; and it is relative to a set of background assumptions and a background audience - made up of those who can witness my commitment to you and those who cannot, but could. Keeping promises and accounting for their breaches in credible, genuine and authentic ways is what makes organizations work, societies thrive, and cultures promulgate themselves into the future. The commitment path described by the author can thus be seen as an 'audit trail' for the journey of promising, a way of assigning responsibility in the face of ambiguity, mendacity and subterfuge.

Though the overall toy market is declining, LEGO's revenues and profits are climbing - largely because the company revamped its innovation efforts to align with strategy.

Founded in 1987, Naxos had become the world's largest classical music label. It had reached this lofty position by being an innovative cost leader. The company's chairman, Klaus Heymann, had been quick to take advantage of a drop in the manufacturing price of CDs and the fall of the iron curtain. Recording with artists and orchestras in eastern Europe and paying musicians one-time fees instead of royalties, Naxos had developed a unique and effective business model. The company had also been a first mover in the web-based distribution of music. Having exhibited a knack for making the right move at the right time, what should Naxos do to sustain its success in the decade to come? This case was used in the Second McKinsey/HSBC Business Case Competition.

Cisco Systems has plenty of experience developing new technology internally; it has also proved adept at growing its product offerings through targeted acquisitions of tech start-ups. Not too long ago, the company began running an internal innovation competition, offering cash rewards for the best new product ideas. After a few years, though, Cisco sought to reach beyond its walls to see what sorts of ideas - and different perspectives - the wider world had to offer. In late 2007, it announced the I-Prize competition. The goal was to build a new billion-dollar Cisco business around the winning idea to emerge from among many outside contributions. The contest called for an idea that would align with Cisco's strategy and take advantage of its leadership position in internet technology. A total of more than 2,500 people from 104 countries registered on the I-Prize website and submitted more than 1,200 ideas. After a challenging, nearly year-long process of winnowing and evaluation, an in-house judging panel chose an idea for creating a "smart" electricity grid - a natural fit with Cisco's competencies and long-term strategy. In this article, I-Prize impresario Jouret, chief technology officer of Cisco's Emerging Technologies Group, describes the experience of dealing with the unexpected complexities - and labor-intensiveness - of crowdsourcing: "The misconception about crowdsourcing is that merely by turning on a website and putting up a reward, in no time you'll have recipes for cold fusion by the bucket load. That's not what happens."

Plantar S.A. is a pig iron producer based in Brazil working toward an integrated supply chain producing 100% green pig iron. The company is gradually converting the coke fed into the blast furnaces from fossil to green (i.e., coal produced from renewable biomass). The company owns large eucalyptus plantations in Brazil, and was the first in Brazil to obtain the approval to trade Kyoto Protocol carbon credits. At the time of the case, both internationally and locally, the process and the technical methodologies were yet insufficiently defined. The World Bank saw Plantar as an opportunity to consolidate the process and showcase the Kyoto Protocol. The Plantar project was a success from a strictly financial viewpoint. In addition, it put the organization on the path of significant transformation, and new growth opportunities.

The European Recycling Platform was the only pan-European recycling organization created in response to the European Union's groundbreaking directive to promote recycling of electronic waste. Braun, Electrolux, Hewlett-Packard and Sony established ERP in 2002 as an alternative to the monopolistic e-waste takeback systems then existing in several European countries. ERP was based on the principle of producer responsibility, in which manufacturers are financially responsible for managing the end-of-life phase of their goods. By late 2007, ERP operated in eight countries. It had achieved significant market share and stimulated competition in European e-waste recycling. In November 2007, ERP's board was meeting to evaluate whether the company should greatly expand its scope. Should ERP start handling new product categories such as discarded batteries and packaging? Should it expand to more countries? If so, which countries? If it expanded, could ERP handle the additional business complexity while preserving its low-cost, outsourced model? The case looks at an organization at the forefront of efforts to address the world's growing e-waste crisis. It highlights the importance of managing the end-of-life phase of products. Students will evaluate recycling as a business and market opportunity. They will assess the industry and market changes sparked by Europe's e-waste directive.

Gilead Sciences launched Truvada, a combination pill incorporating Gilead's individual antiviral drugs, Viread and Emtriva, in the U.S. in 2004. This involved gaining FDA approval, setting a national price, and negotiating reimbursement levels with private and public insurers. While these activities had been resource intensive, their completion meant that Gilead was able to sell Truvada, a combination HIV/AIDS therapy, across the entire United States, approximately 50 percent of the worldwide market. The remaining 50% of Truvada's potential commercial success, however, would be pursued in Europe. Europe presented a more complex environment for reimbursement than the U.S. for three reasons. First, the reimbursement process differed in each European country as to required submissions and approaches to pricing. Second, the average time between the beginning and end of reimbursement negotiations was highly variable across European countries. Third, the local office for Gilead in each European country had its own estimate as to the likely length of negotiations and level of reimbursed price for Truvada, making it challenging to devise and communicate a consolidated strategy across the organization. Gilead needed to determine the order by which it would pursue reimbursement approval for Truvada in Germany, France and Spain. Germany's regulatory authority used a "free pricing" approach. In France and Spain, the government health ministers often (though not always) referenced neighboring markets' prices for a given product in order to determine the product's domestic reimbursable amount. . The approach Gilead decided upon would not only determine the future for Truvada in Europe but also would have a significant impact on the company's future financial health.

Two inexperienced, but strongly committed, entrepreneurs face the hassles of a new venture: exporting dough from Puerto Rico to cities in the United States with large numbers of Puerto Rican immigrants who are longing nostalgically for their beloved pan sobao (bread made with vegetable shortening). With thousands of Puerto Ricans living in and/or moving to the United States and after several incidents of fraud by partners of the entrepreneurs, they are thinking about how to take advantage of what seems to be an opportunity for doing business outside their Caribbean home. These entrepreneurs are confronting several challenges: 1) Preparing to detect opportunities and to get personally involved in a demanding export business 2) Differentiating and positioning the brand in a crowded market. Is a nostalgic feeling enough of a motivator to engage customers with the brand? 3) Deciding whether institution is a substitute for market data and feasibility determination.

This case presents the decisions facing the managing director/executive director of PacificLink iMedia (PacificLink), more than 10 years after he founded the company. The company had experienced periods of growth and decline since its founding and was facing a period of uncertain growth given the turmoil in world markets in 2009, following several years of strong growth and expansion. The director anticipated that the company could continue to grow into new geographic or product markets, or perhaps become fundamentally altered in its governance structure and financial resource base, through an initial public offering. The case involves analysis of these alternatives for growth. It can be used to teach about sources of competitive advantage and evaluations of growth alternatives. See also the first and third cases in the three-part series, 9B00M024 and 9B16M202.

MAN B&W Diesel (MBD), a subsidiary of MAN AG, had become very successful by having its large two-stroke diesel engines produced under licence in Asia. The success had led it to the position of world leader in ship engines, with world market shares between 70 and 80 per cent. The relationship between MBD and the licensees was characterized by both parties leveraging each other’s competencies. It was critical for MBD to access new knowledge in order to optimize products from the producing licensees. Similarly, the licensees leveraged access to the design specifications of the engines as well as expert knowledge and service offerings from MBD. Despite MBD’s success with the licence business model during recent years, new developments had triggered some concerns over the model’s long-term sustainability and feasibility, particularly with regard to competitors and intellectual property rights in China. Hence, the main challenge facing MBD was how to future-proof and perhaps adjust its business model to secure more control of critical knowledge and the licensees without jeopardizing the productive and lucrative licensee relationships.

The international affairs manager was responsible for developing and implementing an alliance strategy for System@tic Paris Region, a pôle de compétitivé (industry cluster) based in the Paris Region, France. The critical point was that, although inter-clusteral alliances had become essential to the success of a cluster - and the firms within them, many of the world's most prestigious clusters were highly sought after and, as a result, increasingly unavailable as alliance partners. Given limited time and resources, the result appeared to be an emerging race for partners in which clusters competed with each other to establish a productive and viable inter-clusteral alliance network. Within the next two weeks, the manager's goal was to establish the outline of a plan to develop an inter-clusteral alliance network that was both achievable and productive for his cluster member firms.

Otoyol Motor Company, a large commercial vehicle manufacturer, is on the verge of being liquidated by its shareholders. Despite all efforts to maintain its competitive position, the company has been caught in a downward spiral. Erosion of its first mover advantages, shifts in industry core competencies and changes in consumer preferences have depreciated the company's value proposition and deteriorated its market share. Utilizing empirical data, this case illustrates the evolution of the commercial vehicle industry in Turkey, changes in industry conditions, and competitive strategies employed by the incumbent and its Japanese rivals in various life cycle stages. Puppy dog ploy, market penetration, product strategy, long term market share acquisition stratagems employed by challengers, and the incumbent's counter moves are chronicled.

Suitable for undergraduate, graduate, and executive education programs, this version of the K2 story provides the full version of the story based on sequential dates. Written as a replacement for the much-used Greenland Case (UVA-OB-0581) this undisguised case can be taught in a similar manner. Chris Warner led a team of experienced mountain climbers on an expedition to reach the summit of K2-the second highest in the world. After failing to succeed on their first two attempts, Warner and his team brought together other teams representing eight different countries hoping to work together for success. Their story is an account full of examples where a leadership point of view was taken or not taken. The successes and failures of the expedition's approach is bursting with real world examples and offers an exciting framework to house theoretical concepts about team building and leadership.

Genzyme, a global biotechnology company, launches a program to develop therapies for neglected diseases, (e.g. malaria, TB), giving away the intellectual property. This case focuses on the decision of which diseases, which partnerships, and which markets should management decide to fund. But the bigger issue is how this program developed under the umbrella role Genzyme's corporate social responsibility fits into its global competitive strategy.

The case contrasts the tradition-bound Old World wine industry with the market-oriented New World producers, the battle for the US market, the most desirable export target in 2009 due to its large, fast-growing, high-priced market segments. The case allows analysis of the way in which newcomers can change the rules of competitive engagement in a global industry. It also poses the question of how incumbents can respond, especially when constrained by regulation, tradition, and different capabilities than those demanded by changing consumer tastes and market structures.

A major sports sponsor must decide on new, renewal, or withdrawal from significant relations with teams/leagues/events, using a distinctive approach to assessment.

This note explains the need and importance of quality function deployment (QFD), a customer-driven quality-planning tool that translates customers' needs into appropriate technical requirements of the product or service. The note addresses methodology and implementation as applied to a certain product or service, the product in this situation being credit cards.