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Impulsesoft Private Ltd (IS) was a Bangalore-based information technology that was engaged in developing Bluetooth (BT) middleware. The founders had wanted to build a software product out of India that targeted a global market. This desire was verbalized as an idea “to build a Sony or HP (Hewlett-Packard) out of India” and “build a world-class products company.” In its infancy, IS undertook different kinds of development projects for third parties and considered several other options until it discovered BT middleware as an area of focus. The company eventually became profitable, with 52 employees by 2005 and a branch office in Silicon Valley. Impulsesoft’s BT software was in 50 per cent of all BT stereo headphones being shipped at the time. The market for BT-embedded accessories grew rapidly, but chip manufacturers began to incorporate BT features in their chips and gave away the technology for free, and the long-term outlook for IS deteriorated. There were also doubts about the scalability of a technology licensing business model. At this juncture, the president and CEO of Impulsesoft received a proposal from the CEO of TEN Technology, a customer of IS and a $20 million company, suggesting a merger of the two companies. The CEO of Impulsesoft needed to make a decision.

This technical note, based on the more comprehensive note, "Eliciting and Evaluating Expert Forecasts" (UVA-QA-0734), provides a streamlined presentation of Brier and log scores as tools for assessing forecasting records among a pool of experts. The note is designed to be used in conjunction with a forecasting exercise.

During the summer of 1998, Bob Aston and his partners, all bankers, spent many days discussing their plans to start a bank in southeastern Virginia, United States. Deregulation was transforming the banking industry. In Virginia, mergers and acquisitions in the industry had led to the emergence of large banks that had headquarters in other states. Aston felt that banking as he knew it was disappearing. However, before they could start a bank, Aston and his partners faced many questions and decisions: How would they raise the capital? Who would the bank serve? How would they compete with the larger banks that had emerged due to the deregulation? <br><br><br><br>The decisions they made at the founding had a lasting effect on TowneBank. This became evident a decade later as financial institutions around the country experienced a severe crisis that was triggered by exposure to risky mortgages, while TowneBank remained relatively unscathed. However, the management team had to consider several issues as the crisis unfolded. Should they accept the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds that the U.S. Treasury had offered to banks (even those that were unlikely to fail and were adequately capitalized)? How could they ensure TowneBank’s growth? Should they acquire distressed banks in the local market?

This case concerns an executive who must estimate the demand for Kodak Express outlets in various developing countries based on socioeconomic and demographic data about the countries. The case requires students to think about how to transform data on a national scale (GDP per capita, population, income distribution) into a form that is meaningful for a managerial decision -- the number of outlets that could be supported by a country's market demographics. In this instance, doing so can be accomplished effectively through modeling on a spreadsheet.<br><br>The purposes of the case are to show the relation between national statistics and company decisions and to give students training in conceptualizing a problem and modeling the analysis on a spreadsheet. The analyst is required to estimate the potential market demand for Kodak Express.

Margaret Linnane had just arrived home from a funders’ meeting where she had been asked questions that nearly challenged the very purpose of her nonprofit organization, Rollins College Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Center (PNLC). She had been unprepared for the tough questions the funders had asked and she knew that she would need to be much better prepared for the next meeting in one month. She needed answers to the funders’ questions in four short weeks, so Linnane and the PNLC staff put other efforts on hold while they worked intensely to prepare. They gathered all the documents on the PNLC’s mission, vision, and strategic plan. They needed to determine what information to compile to convince the funders that the PNLC’s services (such as networking among established chief executive officers and foundation directors, and introducing newcomers to the nonprofit community) contributed to the professionalization of nonprofit leaders and organizations while addressing critical community issues — even if such services had not yet generated any revenue. What outcome measures were appropriate for assessing the success of non-income-generating activities such as networking? To start to search for answers to such questions, Linnane decided to review PNLC’s performance from the last two years and build a strategy for 2011-2012. Time was of the essence because without the support of funders, PNLC would be hard-pressed to continue offering its well-established networking activities.

Marco Polo Marine (MPM) Ltd was a medium-sized Singaporean shipping company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange that was involved in regional shipping and shipbuilding. The company was part of a larger Indonesian family business group, and had been built from scratch by the CEO. MPM had started off providing barges to transport sand and mining products, initially for the group’s mining operations, but increasingly for third parties. It subsequently entered the shipbuilding industry by establishing a shipyard in Batam, Indonesia, an island near Singapore. As a next step to grow the company, the CEO intended to become an international player in the much more sophisticated offshore marine services sector, but he had yet to decide what strategy to take to achieve it. The case allows students to analyze a global industry and present recommendations to the CEO for positioning the company within this industry. MPM is an example of an aspiring emerging market multinational, and the case discusses the challenges such companies face in catching up with more advanced incumbents in global industries. In order to penetrate the offshore marine services sector, decisions were required as to what types of vessels to build or buy, which countries to target, and how to enter this market given financial constraints and limited technical expertise.

El Mawardy Jewelry was an Egyptian jewelry company located in Cairo, Egypt. The company was able to attract many customers due to its variety of designs, high-quality products, and competitive prices. The friendly atmosphere and customized services provided by the salespeople helped the company gain a competitive advantage. The Mawardy family was able to build on its success and open different stores across Egypt. In 2009, the financial crisis hit Egypt and many businesses were negatively affected. Faced with this challenge and a goal to go international, the Mawardy family considered different possibilities. The company had many options, but decided to focus on Qatar and the United Kingdom. It needed to decide whether it was better to expand now or later. It also needed to consider where to expand first — Qatar or the United Kingdom.

It was early 2010, and the Twitter Trio, the founders of Twitter, were faced with a changing market situation and pressures to make money. Twitter was a free service that had been operating without a viable business plan since 2006. In early 2010, Twitter was still not making enough money and it was time that Twitter showed a real return on investment. The Trio had to decide on a business model that was competitive. There was a data-mining project that could bring all the funds Twitter needed to stay in business, make profit, and compete with others. However, the founders were concerned that this project might be perceived to intrude on users’ privacy, even in a company that was founded on the basis of sharing information publicly.

A young man in India follows his passion through to near-bankruptcy. Equipped with an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, he avoids a high-paying corporate job and instead starts a stockbroking firm. After ups and downs in several businesses, he finally decides his real fulfilment will come from producing a full-length movie — Ashta Chamma, based on the Oscar Wilde play The Importance of Being Ernest. The case chronicles the various issues he faces: funding the production, choosing the director, choosing a story that will satisfy his requirement of family entertainment, casting the principal characters, and creating a team that can bring the production to the movie theatres. The case goes behind the scenes of the film world in Tollywood, the Teluga film industry in Andhra Pradesh, and highlights the pressures faced by an entrepreneur in the industry. A rare combination of creativity, professionalism, and good business sense bring about success for the entrepreneur. Part B of the case presents the outcome after the release of the movie.

This supplement to Ashta Chamma — The Biggest Small Movie Ever Made (A) presents the outcome after the movie’s release.

Established in 2006, OSSCube was an open source software development company based in North Carolina, United States, which had its India office in Noida and its development centres in Delhi, Bangalore, and Noida. OSSCube started as a software training provider and gradually emerged as an open source software development and consulting company. The marketing of OSSCube’s offerings was primarily executed by search engine optimization (SEO) initiatives. Later, OSSCube created a social media presence on a variety of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo. The primary objective of creating a presence on these social media platforms was to augment the company’s SEO initiatives. Although this strategy helped OSSCube in gaining business leads, the community manager of the firm realized that the strategy was not building the brand identity of OSSCube. Also, the prospect of having a wide presence on social media platforms to augment SEO activities created confusion in consumers’ minds regarding OSSCube’s expertise. Hence, in 2010, the manager was reviewing the social media approach with some definite objectives such as branding employees, branding OSSCube, and promoting open source software. He faced the challenge of forming an appropriate social media strategy that would address these objectives.

Many companies view financial variables independently from ecological and social variables. Is it possible to hold one's organization equally accountable for financial performance and social responsibility? This field-based case is suitable for MBA and undergraduate courses or modules in sustainability and innovation, ethics, and corporate social responsibility. For REI, an outdoor gear and apparel manufacturer, the challenge lies in how to expand sustainability awareness through consensus building across the organization and with outside collaborators. As it designs a new strategic framework for the operations footprint, the company seeks to adopt a corporate strategy on product stewardship and adapt its philanthropy strategy around sustainability objectives.

This case deals with the problems that Platmin faces as it heads toward full production at a new open-cast mine in Pilanesberg, South Africa. Platmin is in a very difficult situation that is affecting the viability of the operation. The main issue is the timing of the production — investment in mining is typically heavy in the beginning, but when the mine starts producing, payback of loans is usually substantial. Any delay in production has an exaggerated effect on the payback period and, by extension, the viability of the mine. The second major issue is the economic downturn, which has seen the price of platinum decline substantially; however, this may benefit Platmin because it is a low-cost producer, and the downturn has led to some competitors leaving the industry or “mothballing” operations that are not viable at the current platinum price. On the other hand, while Platmin is seeing a shakeup in the industry, it is experiencing pressures on its margins, and this also has an effect on its capital funding.

In 1985, the president and founder of New Deantronics (ND) launched her sales office in San Francisco, California, and then set up a factory in Taiwan in 1987. With no technical background or prior experience, the president used her system of management strategy and philosophy and built ND’s reputation as a trusted manufacturer and developer of medical devices. All of ND’s products were directly exported to large global health-care companies, including Philips Medical Systems, Johnson & Johnson, and Covidien. With the rapid increase in business, the need for expanding production capacity became increasingly urgent. Sitting in her office in early 2009, the president knew that she could no longer postpone her decision to relocate. Several options were presented to her, and the factors that influenced her decision included considerations about the supply of quality human resources, geographical convenience, the willingness of her current employees to relocate, affordability, and the possibility for future expansion. The president pondered what would be the best bet.

An executive must estimate the demand for Kodak Express outlets in various developing countries based on socioeconomic and demographic data about the countries. The case requires students to think about how to transform data on a national scale (GDP per capita, population, income distribution) into a form that is meaningful for a managerial decision — here, the number of outlets that could be supported by a country’s market demographics. In this instance, doing so can be accomplished effectively through modeling on a spreadsheet.

This case presents the challenge faced by Nokia India in 2007. Nokia had built a strong brand reputation over a ten-year period and was a market leader in Indian mobile devices. India, incidentally, was also Nokia’s second-largest market, next only to China. Suddenly, what corporate headquarters considered a routine product advisory for a defective battery resulted in panic in customers after the Indian media widely publicized the potential dangers that defective batteries could pose. Over a three-month period, Nokia India had to recall a few million batteries and replace them with new ones.<br><br>The case provides an opportunity for students to develop practical knowledge of the role of operations management in a product recall situation, particularly in an emerging market context. Product recalls are an integral part of supply chain management (SCM). Companies inevitably face a question of when, not if, a recall will be necessary. These recall situations combine the complexity of operations with the time-urgency of a mission-critical task. The case also provides a rich context to learn about the interaction of SCM, information systems and reverse logistics, and to understand the marketing, logistics, and communication challenges faced by a multinational company operating in an emerging market such as India.

Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. (OTH) was established in 1998 in Egypt and grew to become a major player in the global telecommunications market. OTH was among the largest and most diversified network operators in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Orascom Telecom Algeria (Djezzy) was launched in February 2002 and grew to become the market leader in Algeria in terms of both subscriber numbers and the quality of telecommunications services provided. Djezzy served more than 14.7 million subscribers on its network and had a 62.9 per cent market share.<br><br>Orascom wanted to further expand, and India was considered a great opportunity. In 2006, OTH agreed to acquire a 19.3 per cent stake in Hutchison to penetrate the Indian market. India was a promising market as there were strong complementary similarities between Orascom and Hutchinson Telecom. However, Orascom was not able to enter the market because it did not consider the expenses in an accurate way and ignored many factors. Now, in 2009, the treasury director of OTH was wondering what lessons in the risks of internationalization he could learn from the company’s failure in India and present difficulties in Algeria.

This case examines the family business constitution created by Dawu Group’s founder, Sun Dawu. It was the only such system in China to date, and made it possible for the group to survive near-fatal challenges. The case starts with problems Sun Dawu encountered, such as a salary-rise request from a recently elected board member; managers’ doubts about the constitution system; and the suspicion of external experts and journalists regarding the group’s elections. The case examines the history of Dawu Group, the family business constitution system, and the approach Sun Dawu took to address succession. One of the issues the family business owner faced was whether it was possible to solve the internal challenges and external doubts about family business succession and governance and, if so, how.

An entrepreneur and her father have purchased exclusive Canadian distribution rights to Nutrifusion, a new health supplement that provides servings of fruits and vegetables when added to a variety of foods. They are contemplating launching Healthy Life Group, a company to market and distribute Nutrifusion in Canada. They want to evaluate the product’s financial feasibility for the company’s first year of operations, ending December 31, 2011. If the financials look favourable and the business plan seems feasible, the father and daughter will proceed with the new venture.

Yangarra Resources Limited, a Calgary-based junior oil and gas company, had several properties throughout Alberta comprising both solely controlled and joint ventures. The president and chief executive officer (CEO) was involved in the construction of a well on the Ferrier property — a joint venture between three companies, each holding roughly one-third of the stake. As part of the joint venture, Yangarra had signed an agreement that committed Yangarra to cover all expenses proportional to its working stake of 31.875 per cent. The well had been drilled at a higher cost than expected, with many charges not yet recorded or incurred. As a result of the cost overruns, Yangarra had been asked to provide more funding to the project. In deciding whether to commit additional resources to the Ferrier well, the CEO had to consider several factors including an existing gross overriding royalty revenue (GORR) agreement, uncertainty in estimating the recoverable quantity of oil, crown royalties, and a current legal dispute.