個案總覽

Businesses hoping to survive over the long term will have to remake themselves into better competitors at least once along the way. These efforts have gone under many banners: total quality management, reengineering, rightsizing, restructuring, cultural change, and turnarounds, to name a few. In almost every case, the goal has been to cope with a new, more challenging market by changing the way business is conducted. A few of these endeavors have been very successful. A few have been utter failures. Most fall somewhere in between, with a distinct tilt toward the lower end of the scale. John P. Kotter is renowned for his work on leading organizational change. In 1995, when this article was first published, he had just completed a ten-year study of more than 100 companies that attempted such a transformation. Here he shares the results of his observations, outlining the eight largest errors that can doom these efforts and explaining the general lessons that encourage success. Unsuccessful transitions almost always founder during at least one of the following phases: generating a sense of urgency, establishing a powerful guiding coalition, developing a vision, communicating the vision clearly and often, removing obstacles, planning for and creating short-term wins, avoiding premature declarations of victory, and embedding changes in the corporate culture. Realizing that change usually takes a long time, says Kotter, can improve the chances of success.

This case focuses on the conflict between the Hedge Funds and the Board and Management of Deutsche Börse, following Deutsche Börse's hostile offer for the London Stock Exchange. It allows participants to role play the perspectives of the Supervisory Board, led by Dr. Breuer, the CEO, Werner Seifert, the Hedge Funds (TCI, Atticus) and traditional investors (including Fidelity and Merrill Lynch).

In 1992 Joe Jackson, former manager of DuPont Motorsports for twelve years, was angling to get the paint business at Rick Hendrick's sixty-five automotive dealerships across the United States. In order to win the Hendrick car dealership paint contract, Jackson and Hendrick met to discuss the possibility of sponsoring Hendrick's new team and rookie NASCAR driver-Jeff Gordon. As a result of that meeting, DuPont signed on to be the primary sponsor. By 2006 Gordon was a NASCAR superstar, and the DuPont logo-viewed by millions-was a household brand. While this level of exposure was exciting for the company, executives at DuPont could not help but wonder if they were fully leveraging this tremendous marketing opportunity. Gordon was on fire-but was DuPont maximizing the heat? The DuPont-NASCAR case tasks students and executives with designing a creative marketing campaign to activate the NASCAR sponsorship opportunity and maximize value beyond conventional sponsorship marketing. This open-ended challenge encourages students and executives to think outside of the traditional marketing tactics typically employed by business-to-consumer (B2C) NASCAR sponsors. Additionally, the nature of DuPont creates the need to develop a multi-dimensional plan that caters to a breadth of brands. Beyond designing a new marketing campaign, a key objective of the case is to focus students and executives on designing metrics for measurement of the return on investment (ROI) into a campaign plan. As a first step, it is important to clearly articulate the campaign, business strategy, and key business objectives mapped to the strategy.

Trend Micro, an antivirus and Internet content security software provider, accidentally releases a flawed pattern file update that disables users' computers. The primary impact is on users in Japan, where 150,000 customers are affected. As the media press for answers and the stock price plummets, Eva Chen (CEO) and Akihiko Omikawa (president of Trend Micro Japan) must decide how to respond.

An abstract is not available for this product.

A major barrier for growth of large multi-business unit firms is the inability to resource the critical initiatives to win-both in terms of dollars and people. The underpinning of the challenge involves the conflict between resourcing current cash-generating legacy businesses vs. new initiatives which may not, in the short term, produce positive financial results. Most companies do not have a formal portfolio process to deal with this fundamental issue. Danaka is a fictional company based on real business experiences. The company has strong growth markets as well as markets that are commoditizing. Unfortunately, the latter represent a sizable portion of the company's business. A framework is given that establishes a matrix to analyze the Danaka businesses using their critical financial criteria-cash generation and top-line growth. Projects are divided into four categories based on how they fit into the matrix, and resource allocations are then analyzed. Students discover that the current allocation does not enable Danaka to meet its aggressive growth goals. The case incorporates an interactive spreadsheet model in which students can dynamically change the various resource allocations and see the impact on future top-line growth. The essence of the case is how to manage the resource allocation for a multi-business unit firm when present allocations will not meet future growth goals.

This case examines the leadership challenges associated with budget shortfalls in a young nonprofit organization. The school leader must decide how to close the budget gap and implement the decision. Case A focuses on the decision-making process and the associated communication between the school leaders and the teaching staff. The staff is dissatisfied with the decision and writes a letter of complaint to the Board of Directors. Case B focuses on the Board of Directors' reaction to the letter and the situation's resolution.

In May 2005, Steve Bollinger was about to become president and chief operating officer of Pervasis Therapeutics, a small cell therapy start-up in Cambridge, MA. If proven successful, Pervasis' product, Vascugel, could change the way vascular disease is treated and have a major impact in a large and underserved population. However, Vascugel had not yet gone into human clinical trials, and getting it to market would mean navigating the FDA approval process, as well as raising the capital necessary to finance the endeavor. It was up to Bollinger to decide on a strategy for Vascugel's clinical trials. In addition, he would have to decide how much money the company needed to raise, taking into account the interests of the company's founders and existing venture investors. Finally, while Bollinger was expected to lead the company for the next two to three years, Pervasis' board was planning to launch a search for a permanent CEO in the future.

It draws upon unique insights from some of historic key players as well as the current ones and sets up situations that can be interpreted from different roles in an organization (marketing, operations, senior management, etc.) and some of the issues they faced being the first multi-cultural Disney theme park in the world. Disneyland Resort Paris opened its gates in April 1992 amidst enormous controversy as a bastion of American cultural imperialism in Europe. By 2006 it was the most visited tourist site in Europe with over 12 million annual visitors. In spite of a difficult tourist industry in the early 2000s, Disneyland Resort Paris's attendance remained stable: 60% of its visitors were repeat visitors, and guest satisfaction was extremely high. The operation had created 43,000 jobs, invested more than €5 billion and contributed to the development of a new region. As the leaders developed their execution plans, they wondered what principles should guide them and how to interpret Disney in multicultural Europe. Guests from different parts of Europe wanted different things from a vacation: how could they keep the classic Disney magic yet successfully appeal to European consumers? After 15 years of switching between French and American leadership, the answers were still not obvious. The leaders agreed that the 2007 celebrations of its 15th anniversary should set the scene for Disney's recognition as a well established experience in the heart of Europe, and a long-term financial success. But what would it look like and what path would take them there? Learning objectives: The case was written to support two teaching objectives; the class can focus on one or both depending on time and instructor objectives. It raises issues that can be dealt with through perspectives of organizational behaviour, general management and marketing. 1. Identifying the complex role of national or ethnic cultures in multinational firms.

After a "first career" in business, HBS graduate Christopher Crane becomes CEO of a worldwide microfinance network. The organization's twin challenges are: 1) developing metrics to give it an accurate picture of its situation and impacts, and 2) generating rapid growth. Students learn how non-financial metrics are integral to Opportunity International's mission but are difficult to define and measure; tailored metrics are necessary for demonstrating success to donors and for strategic planning. Also, the organization is committed to helping as many people out of poverty as quickly as possible, but donations and repayments are not enough to fuel rapid growth; other financial tools are needed. Explores the challenges of measuring non-financial success and considers the trade-offs of continuing as a non-profit versus converting to a for-profit entity. Students will gain skills relevant to growing an organization that is mission-driven but financially constrained, and that has a complex array of international stakeholders.

As a small retailer of green energy, Selectpower was at a critical point in its growth. The chief executive officer (CEO) was developing a cohesive strategy for the firm's multiple business units. Revenues were expected to increase significantly in the coming year; however; limited resources also were forcing the CEO to make some tough decisions about two important investment opportunities: its growing wind-derived electricity business; or the nascent geothermal business. Both options offered clear environmental benefits to customers, although the strategic value and immediate financial return to Selectpower were less clear. The CEO was also not certain to what extent Selectpower's strategy should emphasize environmental objectives relative to traditional financial metrics. Finally, evolving customer expectations, fluctuating energy prices, and changing government regulations further complicated planning.

GVM Exploration Limited's (GVM) $2 million environmental assessment project at Grizzly Valley was disrupted by a road blockade set up by a small group of local First Nation people. How GVM handled this situation would not only affect the progress of the Grizzly Valley project but also other ongoing projects. The case challenges students to address an emergent situation. Students will need to think through the short-term and long-term implications of the potential project delay or legal actions. They must assess the issues, alternatives, and decision criteria before selecting the actions to be recommended. The case introduces stakeholder management and corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, the case provides a fairly inclusive scenario where a stakeholder or CSR perspective alone does not dictate strategic directions. Students will need to take into account both stakeholder and business imperatives.

Analyzes the globalization of Metro Cash & Carry, a German wholesaler, which has flourished in many foreign markets but struggled to gain traction in India. Considers Metro's experience in Russia and China to put the company's challenges in India in comparative perspective. Pays particular attention to the institutional obstacles for a multinational to tap into the opportunities offered by emerging markets.

The environmental manager at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has finally received the detailed environmental and social risk assessment of Qatargas II LNG Project. RBC was a potential participant in a syndicated loan for a project financing venture in Qatar. The project would extract and process liquid natural gas there and transport it to the United Kingdom market. RBC was among the first banks to use an environmental and social risk assessment process based on the Equator Principles that supported the principles underlying sustainable development. However, environmental non-government organizations further complicated any financing decision; they were only too quick to point out publicly any shortcomings. Moreover, it was not clear if problems might occur in monitoring and enforcing any loan covenants. Two basic questions remained: first, does the Qatargas II Project make sense to RBC as it attempts to balance economic, environmental and social performance (i.e. the triple-bottom line); and second, do the Equator Principles provide a competitive advantage?

The founder chairman and managing director wants to make Biocon, Ltd. one of the top 10 biotech firms by 2015. The company has dealt in low-risk enzymes and generic drugs for many years. In order for the company to grow, the chairman believes that Biocon must enter the riskier business of drug discovery and development. Without making large investments into new capabilities, the company cannot become a top 10 biotech firm.

Launched in early 2005, Zopa is a peer-to-peer online brokerage that couples British residents who want to lend with those who want to borrow. The company represents a new business model in the retail financial services industry, and since Zopa is not technically a bank and does not lend money itself, the capital requirements to run the business are relatively small. Compared to a traditional full service bank Zopa concentrates on only a few steps of the value chain. This case study provides an overview of the financial service industry, especially banks, in the UK in 2006 and how Zopa, a value innovator, has developed a unique position in the market through an innovative business model. Rich data especially on banking trends are given. Additional data on key players in the industry are supplied. This data will enable students to develop a good understanding of the elements of a value innovation and how technologies have the potential to shake up an established industry structure and its key players. A focus is on the concept of value innovation and sustainable competitive advantage. The case can also be used to address the topic of how incumbent firms should respond to innovative new business models.

Chip Wilson is trying to decide if he should pursue his current venture, a yoga wear retailing concept or return to being chief executive officer of Westbeach Snowboard, a firm he found two decades ago. This case is the first in a series of seven lululemon athletica cases that focus on decision-making using real-options analysis. Other cases in the series are: 9B06M037, 9B06M038, 9B06M039, 9B06M040, 9B06M041 and 9B06M042.

Chip Wilson, the founder of lululemon athletica, is thinking of wholesaling garments to achieve economies of scale. Deciding to wholesale is not an easy decision for Wilson because he has had difficulties collecting receivables in the past. To help him make his decision, he turns to real options-analysis. This case is the second in a series of lululemon athletica cases that focus on decision-making using real-options analysis. Other cases in the series are: 9B06M036, 9B06M038, 9B06M039, 9B06M040, 9B06M041 and 9B06M042.

With women's athletic wear doing extremely well, Chip Wilson, founder of lululemon athletica, is thinking about launching a menswear line to capitalize on the popularity of the lululemon brand. However, he has to weigh the costs of being distracted from his company's main concern - athletic yoga wear for women. This case is the third in a series of seven lululemon athletica cases that focus on decision-making using real-options analysis. Other products in the series are: 9B06M036, 9B06M037, 9B06M039, 9B06M040, 9B06M041 and 9B06M042.

lululemon athletica is on track to exceed $2 million in sales for 2001, a remarkable achievement considering it was founded in 1999. To achieve his targets of rapid growth, Chip Wilson, founder of lululemon athletica, is considering franchising his concept. But concerns remain, including control over branding and store-level operations. On the other hand, franchising would allow Wilson to rapidly expand and capture market share, as competitors are starting to take notice. This case is the fourth in a series of seven lululemon athletica cases that focus on decision-making using real-options analysis. Other cases in the series are: 9B06M036, 9B06M037, 9B06M038, 9B06M040, 9B06M041 and 9B06M042.