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In January 2000, four major Danish companies launch an online B2B marketplace. The alliance process forces each to consider its capabilities, strategy and compatibility with other partners. Their venture quickly encounters unforeseen obstacles and opportunities, including a chance to develop the world's first B2G (business to government) marketplace. Simultaneously, similar alliances launch competing Nordic marketplaces, threatening the venture's expansion, if not its survival.

The Bertelsmann-owned French book club, France Loisirs, has successfully operated a subscription-based business model delivering a remarkably high profit margin. Considering rising economic pressure and a declining member base, the case introduces the club's basic business principles and summarizes strategic options for sustainability and further growth from a top management perspective.

The Bertelsmann-owned French book club, France Loisirs, has successfully operated a subscription-based business model delivering a remarkably high profit margin. Considering rising economic pressure and a declining member base, the case introduces the club's basic business principles and summarizes strategic options for sustainability and further growth from a top management perspective.

Data Services provides flexible, scalable data processing and information storage to the fast food industry. Sales have grown steadily, but the company has operated at a loss since its founding five years ago. Data Services management is enthusiastic about the company's prospects. The chief executive of Armistead, the insurance company that owns Data Services, is under pressure from corporate officers to slough off the subsidiary. A business analysis is done not only to help the CEO decide whether to continue investment in Data Services, but also to determine if the company is well-managed. Information includes the day-to-day operations of Data Services, its sales process, profit and loss statement, revenue and expense analysis, and cost allocations.

Frontier Adventure Racing is a relatively young company that is facing some significant financial issues. The company president, owner and organizer of Canada's most well-recognized series of adventure races (Raid the North), is passionate and knowledgeable about the sport of adventure racing. Also, as the captain of Canada's top adventure racing team, his profile has loaned credibility to his own company and has heightened media coverage of its races. The company has great products, a solid international reputation among adventure racers and good name recognition in the field. Even so, the company is up against some serious financial hurdles, having made little or no profit four years in a row. The Sports Network and The Outdoor Life Network have offered two hours of television coverage for the company's next race and half of the ad spots during the show if Frontier Adventure Racing is willing to pay the production costs. This kind of coverage would boost the company's visibility, but where could the company come up with the funding? Already faced with the problem of finding new sponsors, a bill for sponsorship, and a need for TV production costs over and above the normal cash requirements, the president knows the situation is difficult at best, and wonders what possible options are available to him.

The costs of global warming are enormous. The increase in concentration of greenhouse gases, as a result of growth in industrial activities worldwide, is directly related to the increased frequency of natural disasters. United Nations has estimated that the effects of global warming (namely natural disasters, loss of land due to rising sea levels and damages to fishing stocks, agriculture and water supplies) could cost over US$300 billion annually. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement setting out legally-binding levels of greenhouse gas emissions for 160 participating nations. The signatory nations approved the principles of the treaty, leaving the operation and enforcement details to be determined. While the intent of the protocol, to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions to the benefit of all countries, is honorable, the impacts of the Kyoto Protocol are difficult to predict and will affect its stakeholder groups (the insurance industry, developed and developing nations, signatory and non-signatory countries, existing and potential industries) differently. Implementation issues, alternate approaches, the challenges of global environmental problems and possible solutions are discussed. The response of governments and businesses to global environmental issues, in general, and to the Kyoto Protocol, in particular, will determine the strengths and weaknesses of this global initiative.

Western Area Youth Services is a children's mental health centre and non-profit organization. Recently the board of directors spent a great deal of time discussing the implications of a significant potential liability for staff salaries. A merger was identified as a possible solution and the executive director of the centre was instructed by the board to begin the process of seeking a possible merger partner for the agency. She wonders how she might initiate the process on behalf of the board and what she should look for in a potential partner. She also wonders how a merger might benefit the agency at this point in time.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. The word of the hour is "uncertainty"; it permeates all of modern life and business. Uncertainty so strongly affects companies' project management, for example, that three project management experts decided to study companies that successfully embrace it. The authors acknowledge the challenges of increased complexity, the shrinking of development cycles, and the inadequacy of traditional risk management in shifting markets. But they observe that, counterintuitively, projects conducted in such environments often have high returns. The secret is a willingness to redefine everything in midcourse on the basis of the predominant type of uncertainty. Arnoud De Meyer, Christoph H. Loch, and Michael T. Pich, professors of technology management at INSEAD Singapore, observed 16 major projects in a variety of industries. Using interviews and research on project documentation, they identify four major uncertainty categories. In variation, the project plan is detailed and stable, but project schedules and budgets drift from their projected values. Foreseen uncertainty is characterized by identifiable and understandable influences that the team cannot be sure will occur. Unforeseen uncertainty and chaos are the hardest categories to address because they require a balance between planning and learning. Projects featuring unforeseen uncertainty or chaos are common when the technology is in upheaval or when research, not development, is the main goal. At such times, a project may have successful results that are completely unexpected. Companies must learn to ascertain what kind of uncertainty is likely to dominate a project. For those that do, the authors reveal the best mix of tools and techniques to select when managing each type.

A senior manager in a U.S. manufacturing firm must make a recommendation about whether 57 labour intensive jobs should be moved from the existing California plant to a new facility in a Mexican maquiladora. If the Mexican opportunity is pursued, decisions are also required regarding the entry mode (subcontracting, shelter operator or wholly-owned subsidiary) and location (border or interior).

VanCity has been Canada's biggest success story in the field of community banking. The board of directors must consider whether the credit union should venture into mezzanine financing, a competitive industry in which the organization has no prior experience. The proposal is favored by a board member who feels that the credit union can re-invent itself in the marketplace by following this route. The decision is troublesome because even if it makes economic sense there is an issue of whether it will achieve organizational fit with VanCity's overall culture and employee orientation.

Selkirk Group is a family-owned brick manufacturer which has built an export business to Japan and other Asian markets from zero to 10% of its volume in seven years. The managing director of the company raises the question of whether it is time to change their regional export strategy and organizational structure in light of the Asian economic crisis and the reasons for their competitive success in both Australia and Asia.

ING Direct's strategy of focusing on simple products, low cost operations, aggressive pricing and advertising, has enabled it to be highly successful and profitable even though its flagship product the savings account is a low margin product. The case explores how ING Direct's strategy has enabled it to achieve its successful market position. The teaching objectives for this case are to illustrate how companies can successfully enter 'mature markets' and still succeed in carving out a successful position to achieve profitability. The case also illustrates how a corporate can be successful by maintaining consistency between its strategy and operations.

In the Second Edition of Portfolio Management for New Products, published and distributed by Perseus Books, Professors Cooper, Edgett, and Kleinschmidt (all of McMaster University) present a rigorous and practical approach to managing a company's product portfolio as you would a financial portfolio - by investing for maximum long-term growth. Numerous mini-cases illuminate key themes. This is a useful book for practitioners and educators alike. Chapter 4, "Portfolio Management Methods: Seeking the Right Balance of Projects," is the second of three chapters that examine the methods that leading corporations employ to manage their new product project portfolios and allocate their R&D resources. Chapter 4 looks at approaches used to achieve a balanced portfolio; the authors pay special attention to the use of bubble diagrams as a tool in evaluating balance.

Avion is interested in a new valve to manage the highly volatile phenol in its production process. Avion and Orion strike a deal for Orion to try to produce these valves. There are time, engineering, and software constraints that make the valve-redesign project a risky endeavor. The A case uses the basic decision tree that has been used in an introductory case in decision analysis to the core material for an exam. The A case is a rewrite of two earlier cases (QA-0480 and QA-0481). In those cases, the key issues were scheduling of the projects, and in this case, the scheduling is fixed and the issues are less calculation-intensive and more interesting. Also in the A case, there are two options: one the students usually see and one they don't. This case also has a real option embedded in the problem around which an entire class can be built. Followed by the B case, QA-0603.

Extreme CCTV, a start-up company that specializes in closed circuit television equipment, is looking at purchasing one of it distribution partners, Derwent Systems Ltd - a leading European manufacturer of infrared illuminators. The two companies have been successful in promoting the others products in their respective markets, now Derwent's founder wants to retire. Without Derwent's founder, Extreme CCTV will lose the ability to sell complementary Derwent products in North America and will have to look for another way to distribute its products in the European market. The president and founder of Extreme CCTV has to decide whether or not he should proceed with the purchase of Derwent Systems Ltd. and how he would manage both companies while preparing for an initial public offer.

AIG is an American insurance company. A trade dispute between the United States and the European Union threatens to block the accession of China to the World Trade Organization, and AIG plays a role - it is the only foreign firm to own fully-controlled subsidiaries in China. The disagreement concerns what will happen to these existing subsidiaries, as well as potential new ones that AIG might seek to establish in China in the future. What are the issues from the perspective of each of the stakeholders and what options are available that will resolve this dispute?

Paul Nicholson, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) Executive Director, announced that he would retire at the end of the 2012 season, after a 32-year tenure at OSF. His successor, only the third in 77 years of existence, would take over during the final year of the 2009-2013 Long Range Plan, creating great uncertainty as well as great opportunity. OSF is an arts organization that defies trends. It achieves high artistic quality, attendance, and financial stability, despite presenting challenging, classical material 280 miles from the nearest urban center. However, it is also a company whose core strengths-rotating repertory, longevity in staff-can also work against innovation. To determine focus, OSF goes through a strategic planning process every five years, often bringing about large-scale change. This case describes the planning process for the 2009-13 Oregon Shakespeare Festival Long Range Plan. It explores challenges around innovation and leadership transitions that the executive team faced, and how OSF moved forward despite a strategic plan that was lacking. As the final year of the plan approaches, OSF must determine what it wants in and hire a new Executive Director, a major milestone for the organization, while simultaneously designing the next long range plan.

Encourages analysis of the implementation of a large technical infrastructure and process transformation project within a university setting. Enables an instructor to teach change management, leadership, and technical project management skills.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.