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Student Spreadsheet for product 9B21M008.

This case describes the rise of Sarah Breedlove, who later called herself Madam C.J. Walker, from the cotton fields of Louisiana to the head of a successful, nationwide beauty company providing opportunity and hair care products to Black women. The case describes how Breedlove started her business, recruited sales agents, and built a strong customer base across the United States. Students will learn how Sarah Breedlove navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.

In 2018, Marsh USA Inc. (Marsh), an insurance company based in New York, launched an innovative pandemic insurance product called PathogenRX. However, until the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there was no demand for the product. During the pandemic, some US businesses attempted to claim benefits for business interruption losses from their insurers but were denied because their policies did not cover pandemic losses. Unlike other catastrophic events, pandemics seemed to be uninsurable. In May 2020, industry experts estimated that US small businesses could lose up to US$431 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marsh’s chief executive officer wrote a letter to the United States Congress and president requesting that a state-backed pandemic insurance plan be developed to help cover extremely high potential claim amounts. The federal government could act as a reinsurer and prevent the US insurance industry from collapsing due to increasing claims from US businesses. However, there were several lingering questions: What challenges could be faced in selling pandemic insurance and how could these be resolved? Was it preferable to partner with a government or a private reinsurance partner? How could pandemic insurance modelling be improved to better forecast potential premiums and claims?

In May 2020, Scenic Floral Inc. (Scenic), a Beamsville, Ontario start-up that sourced fresh cut flowers from Colombian farms and the Niagara Peninsula, was aggressively looking to expand the business. The company’s Mother’s Day sales had started out very slowly in 2020 as the floral industry in Canada and worldwide began to recover from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While a flurry of last-minute orders from Scenic’s two largest customers meant sales for the holiday had been strong overall, the company’s manager and partners knew they would have to strike a careful balance in growing their business—continuing to focus on their main customers while considering whether to expand the current product line, add retail customers, perform processing services, serve as a sub-supplier, export to the United States, or launch into e-commerce. Capacity constraints meant they might need to make trade-offs between growing the core business and appropriately timing new opportunities. With so many opportunities available, how could they maintain their existing customers while planting the seeds for growth when the timing was right?

The Sydney Opera House, an iconic architectural landmark and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site, was officially opened in 1973. The project cost AU$102 million and took 14 years to complete—AU$95 million and 10 years more than originally estimated. The challenges with the construction of the opera house included a brilliant and visionary architect who lacked project management experience, team collapse due to misalignment, bureaucratic and political issues that hindered work, and a rush to begin construction without proper planning. What could have been done at crucial crossroads to facilitate the project? What could today’s project managers learn for future construction?

In April 2020, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, announced an alliance with social media giant Facebook Inc. (Facebook). This was the biggest foreign direct investment for a technology firm in India. The association between Jio and Facebook offered both firms many opportunities, and the strengths and core competencies of the two organizations promised to create value for Indian consumers and businesses by meeting their technology needs. However, the differences in the two organizations in terms of culture, expertise, business models, and management styles would need to be dealt with effectively to create the desired synergy. How could Jio ensure a co-operative and complementary partnership (despite their differences with Facebook) in order to succeed and set a precedent for future international alliances?

This note, written to accompany "The NBA, China, and Social Media: What Are the Rules of the Game?" (UVA-E-0459) but useful in tandem with other cases, charts the history of freedom of speech in the United States. The US Constitution did not originally include the Bill of Rights (which contains the 1st through 10th Amendments), but after more than 200 years of legal and philosophical shifts, expression rights receive legal protection on a tiered system, with political speech enjoying the least abridgment, commercial and sexually explicit expression subject to some government censorship, and obscenity and fighting words enjoying no protection. This note focuses on political speech, summed up in the 1st Amendment: "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." This protection had its challenges over the years, with the most notable blow being the 1798 Sedition Act, which criminalized any questioning of the authority or laws of the US President or Congress. (Congress eventually allowed this act to expire), as well as some 20th century cases (for example, Schenck v. United States, 1919). The note touches on John Stuart Mill's 1859 On Liberty, which made philosophical arguments for the value of free expression that would come to undergird liberal legal interpretations of the 1st Amendment some hundred years later, as well as the repeated infringements of constitutional rights, including free expression during the US Civil War, the Espionage Act of 1917, and the Sedition Act of 1918, and other attempts to suppress free speech. Also referenced is theorist Alexander Meiklejohn, who, in 1949, outlined a highly influential philosophy on the limits of free expression.

This case describes the rise of Walt Disney, founder of the worldwide entertainment company. The case describes how Disney, as a young artist, created memorable figures such as Mickey Mouse and went on to produce Academy-award-winning films and build the world's most popular theme park. Students will learn how Walt Disney navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.

In October 2015, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tender Greens faced his most difficult decision yet: should the company continue to pay a premium price for sustainably sourced beef, or should it switch to conventionally raised beef to boost profit margins and improve the company's prospects for national growth? Tender Greens, a thriving fast-casual restaurant chain in California, was ready to expand its operation to the East Coast with backing by equity investors. As the expansion plans grew closer, the CEO began to address the foreseeable supply chain issues that his company would face with the next level of expansion. The company had faced sustainably raised beef supply shortages before, but this time the CEO had more stakeholders to satisfy. He faced a dilemma, one that required him to weigh competing stakeholder interests, the company's stated values, and significant financial implications to arrive at the best long-term outcome for the company. What would be the best way for the company to achieve scale while maintaining a commitment to food that was local, sustainable, and affordable?

The chief executive officer of Ruaha Farm (T) Ltd (Ruaha Farm), in Iringa, Tanzania, established his honey business, in 2012. The company's business model relied on the engagement and empowerment of neighbouring communities of low-income beekeepers, creating mutually beneficial relationships with local beekeeping communities in the Iringa region. The business model was unique, asset-light, and scalable. In contrast with an integrated business model in beekeeping, where a company typically owned all assets (land, beehives, processing machinery, and routes to market), Ruaha Farm not only commercialized the honey from its own farms but also reached out to all beekeepers in the region to support them in the production and collection of their honey. By 2019, amid the challenges of managing the company's relationship with the beekeeper communities, the chief executive officer had to consider how to increase Ruaha Farm's annual production volume from 10 to 100 tons in five years.

This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication.

This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication. Part II: Business Communication Tips for Success, Section 1, "General Business Communication." In this section, the author offers a variety of tips, along with related applications of and stories about those tips, that readers can use to make their own business communications more effective.

This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication. Part II: Business Communication Tips for Success, Section 2, "Writing." In this section, the author offers additional tips, applications, and stories for readers to use to make their writing more effective and persuasive.

This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication. Part II: Business Communication Tips for Success, Section 3, "Presenting and Speaking." In this section, the author offers tips, applications, and stories for readers to use to make their presentations more effective and persuasive.

This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication. Part II: Business Communication Tips for Success, Section 4, "Interpersonal Business Communication." In this section, the author offers tips, applications, and stories for readers to use to make their interpersonal business communications more effective and persuasive.

Mihir is the head of the Disaster Management Department for the fictional coastal state of Udan, in South India. He receives a weather bulletin from the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) about "Ichko," a cyclone that has suddenly changed course and is set to make landfall in the southernmost district of Iramuk in the next 24 hours. Mihir's department typically received early warning of such events, making it possible to mobilize the oficial machinery to mitigate the damage caused by the cyclone through a series of measures before, during and after the cyclone. In this case, with very little time on hand, Mihir has to work with Kiran, the district collector of Iramuk, to handle the complex crisis that threatens loss of life and widespread damage. The situation is complicated by the urgent need to alert a large number of fishermen who are at sea and beyond the reach of any communication channels. On the ground, other issues at the community and political level are making for an explosive situation: What if the fishermen lose their lives, and the government is seen as not having done enough?

In February 2020, the president of South African Chefs Association was exploring ways to ensure a sustained revenue stream for the association, which relied primarily on membership fees for survival. As a non-profit organization, South African Chefs Association had a rich history of representing chefs, enabling them to compete on the international stage, supporting their training and education, and providing members with networking opportunities and a community. The association faced several challenges; most notably, it needed to find an innovative solution to sustainable growth in terms of both membership and revenue numbers and the value created for members. The association's president needed to establish a sense of relevance and community for its members through a range of strategic partnerships and innovative value contributions, ensure its leadership reflected the racial makeup of the country, and reconsider its structure and purpose.

This case describes the rise of Cassius Clay, who later called himself Muhammad Ali, from the poor streets of Louisville, Kentucky to international fame. The case describes how Ali won a gold medal in the Olympics, three heavyweight boxing titles, and became a role model for millions. Students will learn how Muhammad Ali navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.

In January 2019, one of the founding members and current board members of Londvolota, a South African trust formed by General Electric South Africa (GESA) in 2015, faced a challenge. Londvolota needed to improve the establishment and growth of entrepreneurial South African businesses as part of GESA's development of local suppliers, which aimed to enable the best of these businesses to supply the global GE network. The initiative represented a major contribution to supporting the South African economy; however, the board was considering updating its criteria for selecting the businesses for development. How should the organization adjust its criteria to avoid failures and increase the initiative's success rate?

In 2020, the Indonesian bank PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk (BTPN) had to make a decision regarding a digital transformation strategy for its future. BTPN had started as a small bank that focused on pensioners, but became known for its innovation after a private equity partner bought a stake in 2008. Initially innovating successfully in microfinance, BTPN decided to go digital by creating an in-house start-up in 2015 called Jenius, thereby leapfrogging to become one of the forerunners in Indonesian digital consumer banking. The COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated digital financial services, and BTPN had to decide how to scale Jenius to transform the company. Was the in-house start-up model the best choice after all, or would the large incumbent banks digitalize faster?