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The three-part China Aviation Oil (CAO) case series documents the overseas adventure-the rise, fall and subsequent restructuring and rebuilding-of a leading Chinese state-owned enterprise over the last ten or so years. The case is designed to address in an integrative manner issues commonly faced by (1) the increasing number of Chinese executives now playing in the international arena and (2) Western executives who have experience of working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives, or who would like to do so - either in China or their own marketplace. There have been many cases of multinationals going to China, where cultural differences have been blamed for things that did not work, for things that were not understood, or even for frustrations when working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives. However, the real questions are: Are we aware of other differences, e.g. financial and legal? Do we understand them and, perhaps more importantly, how we can work with them? The case series describes the first overseas restructuring of a state-owned Chinese company. As such, it provides participants with a totally different angle for looking at the dilemma of working with China: How to make things work outside China from a Chinese perspective. Learning objectives: The case series has been designed to enable participants to gain a clear understanding of some broad issues, including: 1) The strategic considerations for a Chinese company wishing to expand overseas, and the key success factors. 2) The fact that many of the factors contributing to failure are similar and equally applicable to different business contexts - even though the types of failure might differ. 3) The need to be open-minded - the "rules of the game" are different inside and outside China. 4) The need for increased awareness and a better understanding of the differences - financial, legal, cultural and even moral. 5) The need to work with the differences rather than avoiding them.

The three-part China Aviation Oil (CAO) case series documents the overseas adventure - the rise, fall and subsequent restructuring and rebuilding - of a leading Chinese state-owned enterprise over the last ten or so years. The case is designed to address in an integrative manner issues commonly faced by (1) the increasing number of Chinese executives now playing in the international arena and (2) Western executives who have experience of working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives, or who would like to do so - either in China or their own marketplace. There have been many cases of multinationals going to China, where cultural differences have been blamed for things that did not work, for things that were not understood, or even for frustrations when working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives. However, the real questions are: Are we aware of other differences, e.g. financial and legal? Do we understand them and, perhaps more importantly, how we can work with them? The case series describes the first overseas restructuring of a state-owned Chinese company. As such, it provides participants with a totally different angle for looking at the dilemma of working with China: How to make things work outside China from a Chinese perspective. Learning objectives: The case series has been designed to enable participants to gain a clear understanding of some broad issues, including: 1) The strategic considerations for a Chinese company wishing to expand overseas, and the key success factors. 2) The fact that many of the factors contributing to failure are similar and equally applicable to different business contexts - even though the types of failure might differ. 3) The need to be open-minded - the "rules of the game" are different inside and outside China. 4) The need for increased awareness and a better understanding of the differences - financial, legal, cultural and even moral. 5) The need to work with the differences rather than avoiding them.

Scientific advances have begun to give doctors the power to customize therapy for individuals. However, adoption of this approach has progressed slowly and unevenly because the trial-and-error treatment model still governs how the health care system develops, regulates, pays for, and delivers therapies. Aspinall, the president of Genzyme Genetics, and Hamermesh, chair of a Harvard Business School initiative to improve leadership in health care organizations, discuss the barriers to personalized medicine and suggest ways to overcome them. The blockbuster model for developing drugs, the authors point out, is still what most major pharmaceutical companies follow, even though its days are numbered. What the industry must embrace in its place is a business model based on a larger portfolio of targeted--and therefore more effective and profitable--treatments, not a limited palette of one-size-fits-all drugs. The current regulatory environment overemphasizes large-scale clinical trials of broad-based therapies. Instead, the focus should be on enrolling subpopulations, based on diagnostic testing, in trials of targeted drug treatments and on monitoring and assessing effectiveness after drugs are approved. A dysfunctional payment system complicates matters by rewarding providers for performance of procedures rather than for accurate diagnosis and effective prevention. Aspinall and Hamermesh call for coordinating regulation and reimbursement so that incentives are provided for the right outcomes. Finally, the authors urge changing physicians' habits through education about genomics, diagnostic testing, and targeted therapies. They say that medical schools and physician organizations must become committed advocates of personalized medicine so that patients and the medical industry can get all the benefits it offers.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Most of the economy is made up of firms that were created well before the advent of e-business. Yet most e-business research has focused on "pure-play" companies that were created specifically to take advantage of the Web. The authors created an e-business planning process that can be used both to examine an established company's existing operations and to identify promising new business opportunities. The planning process has four steps. The first is to identify potential e-business initiatives according to whether they create business value or reduce costs. The second step is to analyze the functional scope of each project using an architecture of e-business processes. The third step, analyzing the sustainability of each initiative's benefits, is particularly important in the e-business context because Internet interactions are susceptible to being copied by competitors. Finally, prioritizing among e-business projects depends on how they fit with other information technology elements. The authors explore ways in which e-business can create opportunities for completely new products and markets, including adding information features, selling information as a product, and finding new markets. The authors detail how their e-business planning process was used at a mature global company. A company task force considered two major projects. The e-business planning process sharpened the definition of the projects, outlined the technical requirements and other resource needs, and confirmed the sustainability of both projects.

The vice-president marketing (VP) for iMPath Networks, a leading provider of managed video networks for surveillance and enterprise applications, is presented with an offer to take over as CEO of the firm. It was October 2001 and iMPath was in poor shape after growth in expenses outpaced sales growth from 1999 to 2000 when the firm pursued aggressive growth targets in international markets while increasing the number of employees. Unfortunately for the firm, the dotcom bubble burst in 2000 and along with it, hopes of rapid expansion. Faced with an essentially insolvent entity, iMPath's venture capital backers decided to extend the VP an offer to save the firm.

Dr. David Cechetto, a University of Western Ontario (UWO) medical professor, left Rwanda after a distressing week. Having seen first-hand the impact of the 1994 genocide and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Cechetto committed himself to accept the request from UWO and the Rector of the National University of Rwanda to direct a project to help rebuild Rwanda's health sector. As he was flying back to London, Ontario, he began to prepare a proposal for funding to be submitted within six months. His first decision was who his Rwandan partner or partners should be in this project.

Prashant Lakhera, senior analyst at Credit Rating Agency Limited (CRA), has been working with Deepak Ghosh, project manager of the Construction Development Board, on a report that needs to be submitted within the next few days. Because Ghosh had been acting inappropriately in front of clients, Lakhera and Gagan Vedi, the other analyst working on the report, were concerned about how this might damage the image of CRA. Shortly before the report was due, Lakhera asked Ghosh for his contribution to the report. Ghosh indicated that he did not care and he walked away from the team. Now Lakhera had to decide what to do about the urgent deadline for the report.

The Mormon Church focuses on self-reliance and being prepared for emergencies. Part of their program encourages each member of the Church to have a reserve food supply on hand at all times. Given U.S. and global food stock levels, is the Church program a good model for the country?

Eu Yan Sang International was an Asia-based traditional chinese medicine (TCM) provider. The company was established in the late 1890s and had been in operations for over 100 years. By 2007, it was managed by a combination of fourth-generation descendents and professional managers. The first section of this case examines the dramatic rise and fall of the Eu family business empire over several generations, and illustrates the complex interplay of preserving family values, managing personal egos, and reviving a 100-year-old business using modern management techniques. The second section discusses Eu Yan Sang's growth in the 1990s as it transitioned from a purely family-run business to one which had to balance preserving traditional values and meeting the expectations of a modern day corporation. The last section discusses Richard Eu's, fourth generation CEO of the company, considerations in succession planning as the business prepared for a new generation of leadership.

Presents data on opportunities to conserve energy in buildings, which account for about a third of all energy use. Encourages readers to think about the impediments to energy efficiency in the buildings sector and the ways in which entrepreneurs can profitably surmount the obstacles.

Sherry Lansing, head of a Hollywood studio, left to start a foundation. Describes the issues in her transition.

Describes the transition issues for General Kennedy after she left the army and tried to apply her leadership to social causes.

Describes how Gerry House made the transition from head of a large school district to leader of a small nonprofit.

Describes how a former public official became an advocate who started a nonprofit organization after losing her campaign for governor.

Describes the post-career leadership issues for former General and Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Describes how New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg took his leadership skills from the business world to the challenges of government.

Well known actor Paul Newman started a business to give profits to charity. Summarizes his experience in making the transition from one kind of leadership to another.

Lee Iacocca, a successful CEO of an auto company, devoted himself after retirement to several social causes. Describes issues in the transition.

Identifies the challenges for experienced leaders who transition from their primary income-earning careers to a next phase of public service or social-purpose work, based on interviews and published sources.

The Home Depot case is a great story. It's about entrepreneurship, growth, CEO leadership, and the dramatic impact, good and bad, a CEO can have on a company's growth culture, strategy, and performance. Home Depot had faced market growth challenges for the last seven years as it tried in numerous ways to reignite its growth engine. The case explores the growth strategies of CEOs Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, and Blank's successor Bob Nardelli, a former GE executive. After examining Home Depot's growth history, the case challenges students to devise a growth strategy for the company under a new CEO.