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In the late afternoon of a hot day in July, 2001, an accident beneath the streets of Baltimore threatened to turn into a disaster. A freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed and caught fire inside a tunnel that ran beneath one of the city's main streets. Not only did the tunnel accident block the major north-south train route for the eastern United States, it also released clouds of possibly toxic vapors into downtown streets. Incredibly, the first accident was followed by a second one-a break in a major water main, in exactly the same area, into which cascaded hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. It was a combination which a city official would call "everyone's worst nightmare." This case describes-blow-by-blow and meeting-by-meeting-the public emergency response to the tunnel fire and its aftermath. It details how a dozen different jurisdictions-including city, state and federal agencies-had to find ways to coordinate their response in the absence of established procedures for dealing with a situation which had never been specifically contemplated. Among the themes explored in this crisis management case is the role of the local chief executive (Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley), the conflicts and cooperation amongst agencies (including and especially fire and public works), and, more broadly, the question of how a series of crucial tactical decisions must be made in the absence of complete information (such as the level of toxic hazard). HKS Case Number 1769.0.

The deal of the year in 2002, was the acquisition of Dresdner Bank by Allianz. Written from the perspectives of Allianz's CEO, Henning Schulte-Noelle, before and after the deal and a regional manager implementing the concept of a full-line financial service provider. Presents the original question facing Schulte-Noelle: "Should Allianz acquire Dresdner?"

Supplements the (A) case.

Examines the acquisition of Dresdner Bank by Allianz--the deal of the year in 2002. Examines some of the challenges posed by the turnaround of Dresdner as seen by Michael Diekmann, the new CEO of Allianz. In working with Dresdner, Allianz needed to figure out what it meat to be a fully integrated financial service provider. Focuses on the development of the product line, the question of branding, the investment bank, and the organization.

Supplements the (A) case.

In December 2003, Parmalat SpA collapsed into unexpected bankruptcy. Its off-balance sheet debts were later revealed to total 14.3 billion euros, and it was discovered that it had allegedly been falsifying its accounts and profits for a period of over 10 years. Details the history of the company and Calisto Tanzi, the entrepreneur who founded it. Also describes the development to date of Parmalat's "Extraordinary Administration," the restructuring of the company under the Italian equivalent of Chapter 11 insolvency. Looks at how Parmalat disguised its financial problems for so long. Also explores: (1) when and why Parmalat's financial problems started; (2) how much Parmalat's strategy contributed to its problems; (3) the impact of changing external environments (political and economic) on Parmalat's problems; (4) the effect of Parmalat's history and origins as a family company on the way it managed its problems; (5) how such large accounting mis-statements could be perpetrated; (6) how those mis-statements could go undetected by investors, bankers, and regulators; and (7) what red flags and warning signals could have alerted outsiders to Parmalat's problems.

This is a case about organizational architecture impacting the diffusion of process technologies. The objective is to help students to devise ways to lessen the impact on the organizational benefits of the multidivisional corporation under the context of knowledge creation and transfer.

Information systems projects that experience substantial cost and time overruns are common in organizations today. Given their pervasiveness and significant consequences, it's important to understand how to manage runaway projects effectively. To identify specific actions that should be employed as part of a recovery strategy, this article reports on a survey of seasoned information systems consultants. According to these experts, developing a recovery plan, refining the scope of the troubled project, and re-evaluating the leadership of the project team are the most important actions that must be pursued in a comprehensive recovery effort. These and other recommendations by the experts are framed within a crisis management perspective to highlight their potential relevance and impact.

After reporting a restatement, firms are motivated to improve their market credibility and enhance their information environment. One potential management strategy is to reach for "lightning rods," receiving substantial media attention: accounting changes associated with increased conservatism and transparency. Such an opportunity is provided in today's market in the form of stock options and variable-interest entities--kin to special-purpose entities, which evoked attention as a consequence of their role in the Enron debacle. Firms sending these high-profile accounting signals are rewarded. An "event-study" approach quantifies the boost in market-adjusted return experienced by the portfolio of firms when they send their signal. This evidence that signaling adds value for stockholders has implications for both policy setters and market participants. Considers from a corroborative and motivation perspective the quality of earnings monitoring analyses and governance "worst boards" listings.

At some point in its development, every industry can be considered a growth industry, based on the apparent superiority of its product. But in case after case, industries have fallen under the shadow of mismanagement. What usually gets emphasized is selling, not marketing. This is a mistake, since selling focuses on the needs of the seller, while marketing concentrates on the needs of the buyer. In this widely quoted and anthologized article, first published in 1980, Theodore Levitt argues that "the history of every dead and dying 'growth' industry shows a self-deceiving cycle of bountiful expansion and undetected decay." But, as he illustrates, memories are short. The railroads serve as an example of an industry whose failure to grow is due to a limited market view. Those behind the railroads are in trouble not because the need for passenger transportation has declined or even because that need has been filled by cars, airplanes, and other modes of transport. Rather, the industry is failing because those behind it assumed they were in the railroad business rather than the transportation business. They were railroad oriented instead of transportation oriented, product oriented instead of customer oriented. For companies to ensure continued evolution, they must define their industries broadly to take advantage of growth opportunities. They must ascertain and act on their customers' needs and desires, not bank on the presumed longevity of their products. In short, the best way for a firm to be lucky is to make its own luck. An organization must learn to think of itself not as producing goods or services but as doing the things that will make people want to do business with it. And in every case, the chief executive is responsible for creating an environment that reflects this mission.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Many companies have supply chains that are global. They start with the sourcing of components and raw materials from around the world, then move their basic manufacturing to low-cost locations overseas. But few organizations have innovation processes that are equally global. That is, rarely do businesses have innovation activities that integrate distinctive knowledge from around the world as effectively as global supply chains integrate far-flung sources of raw materials, labor, component, and services. But some companies--Nokia, Airbus, SAP, and Starbucks, among them--have managed to assemble an integrated "innovation chain" that is truly global. They have been able to implement a process for innovating that transcends local clusters and national boundaries, becoming what the authors call "metanational innovators." This process requires three steps: prospecting (finding relevant pockets of knowledge from around the world), assessing (deciding on the optimal "footprint" for a particular innovation), and mobilizing (using cost-effective mechanisms to move distant knowledge without degrading it). When done properly, metanational innovation can provide companies with a powerful new source of competitive advantage: more and higher value innovation at a lower cost.

Broad Air Conditioning, a Chinese company with a proactive environmental attitude, suffers from deteriorating financial results. The company founder and CEO must decide whether to start producing electricity-powered air conditioners to improve its financial results easily or stick to its ideal and only manufacture machines powered by heat. Focuses on corporate social responsibility by discussing the relationship between company benefits and environmental protection--especially in developing countries.

Good Hands Healthcare is a large nursing home provider with more than 400 facilities across the United States. This case series looks at the governance issues facing the board of a firm with declining performance set within the eldercare industry. The (A) case revolves around whether to replace the chief executive officer, who founded and built the firm, due to poor performance. The supplements, Governance Challenges at Good Hands Healthcare (B), (C) and (D), products 9B04M020, 9B04M021 and 9B04M022, discuss the replacement decision, the selection decision and the change in strategy brought on by the new CEO.

The part owner of Rynard Farms needed to determine what changes, if any, to make in the farm's overall strategy to ensure its profitability and keep up with the demands of the industry and his family. Rynard Farms had been passed down from generation to generation for more than 130 years and focused on producing beef cattle and some cash crops. However, this tradition of successful farming faced an aging ownership and a lack of strategic direction.

Three engineering students consider the direction they should take with their award-winning design project, the Golf Swing Analyzer. Media attention to their project indicated that the idea had the potential to become a successful business venture. The students were unsure whether to manufacture and market the device themselves or sell the design to an interested party.

Broad Air Conditioning is a Chinese company with a proactive environmental attitude, but suffering from deteriorating financial results. The company founder and chief executive officer must decide whether to start producing electricity powered air conditioners to improve its financial results easily or stick to its ideal and only manufacture machines powered by heat. The major theme of this case is to understand corporate social responsibility, by discussing how an enterprise can find a way to harmonize the relationship between benefitting the company and protecting the environment, especially in developing countries.

Gorenje D.D. is a kitchen appliance manufacturer located in the small town of Velenje, in Slovenia, a newly independent country that separated from Yugoslavia in 1991. Simultaneous with gaining independence, Slovenia also underwent a change from the unique market socialism that had characterized socialist Yugoslavia, to free enterprise capitalism. Furthermore, manufacturing firms in Slovenia had produced largely for the Yugoslav market, while after independence they were forced to compete in the wider European market. The company faces new challenges and key decisions in corporate culture, human resources and competitive strategy to face a turbulent environment.

In a world of increasingly fluid boundaries, public and private managers often face ethical challenges that cross familiar geographical and cultural lines. This disguised case recounts the experience of a chemical engineer from Brazil who crosses gender lines to forge a successful career in the masculine world of the Latin American petrochemical industry. The central focus of the case is a project to construct a pipeline in Ecuador to carry crude oil from Indian territories in the Amazon to a delivery point on the Pacific coast. Because of her business acumen and skill in working with representatives of a multinational consortium, the protagonist becomes a project leader for her company-taking on managerial responsibilities even while being denied a managerial title. Her work goes well, until she decides to visit one of the Indian communities whose way of life is being disrupted by the pipeline project. The dramatic encounter with tribal members-including the ritual drinking of traditional chicha-produces a crisis of conscience that leads her to wonder whether her professional ambitions require willful indifference to the plight of indigenous cultures. HKS Case Number 1764.0

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is one of Canada's foremost orchestras with considerable international exposure. The orchestra has just celebrated its 80th birthday but was in a situation that could result in its downfall. The relationship with the landlord was less than ideal and the renegotiation of the musician's' contract could put a strain on the organization's finances. The orchestra's board of directors brought in a consultant to provide recommendations on how to address these issues. The board, pleased with the recommendations and the outcome, is offering the consultant the position of chair of the board. The consultant must decide whether to accept this role or to continue with his consultant's position.

Endius Inc. is a start-up company entering the medical products market. Endius has developed a design and a working prototype for a new and promising endoscopic surgical instrument--steerable surgical forceps. Endius recently hired a new president, Tom Davison, who is determined to move Endius from the research and development phase into product commercialization and launch. To do so, he needs to achieve two related objectives: complete development of a technically and financially viable product and secure funding to address the cash burn typical of a start-up firm. Davison is seriously considering two product development alternatives: developing the steerable forceps using an in-house staff or partnering with an outside product development consultancy that he used previously.