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The technical director of Laboratorio de Analisis Argentina is responsible for ensuring that an average of 5,000 samples are processed daily. The samples have three sources: samples collected on-premises, samples sent from the organization's other 40 labs and samples sent from external labs. In one week the technical director has to give her boss a recommendation about dealing with the lab's capacity problems.

This case describes the history of a non-traditional business group, Semco, starting from the 1980s, when Ricardo Semler assumed responsibility for the company and triggered a genuine revolution in terms of management practices. Since then, Semco's workforce has grown from 90 to 2,500 employees and its annual turnover climbed from US$4 million to US$160 million in 2001. The secret for transforming a conventional workplace into an unconventional hive was given: giving up control.

ENVIE and ACTIF are two French social enterprises that aim at creating employment opportunities for long-term unemployed people through refurbishing and selling used goods. Both organizations are regarded as successes in their field, as both their economic and social performances are superior to the averages of other organizations in the field, yet ENVIE scaled much further than ACTIF. The case describes how they were founded as well as how each of them grew from one local site to a national network. Their respective scale-up strategies are illustrated at length, emphasizing how each of them designed a new organizational structure, selected new sites, hired new site entrepreneurs, raised start-up funds, developed partnerships and built systems and capacity.

ENVIE and ACTIF are two French social enterprises that aim at creating employment opportunities for long-term unemployed people through refurbishing and selling used goods. Both organizations are regarded as successes in their field, as both their economic and social performances are superior to the averages of other organizations in the field, yet ENVIE scaled much further than ACTIF. The case describes how they were founded as well as how each of them grew from one local site to a national network. Their respective scale-up strategies are illustrated at length, emphasizing how each of them designed a new organizational structure, selected new sites, hired new site entrepreneurs, raised start-up funds, developed partnerships and built systems and capacity.

As Ron Sege, president and CEO of Tropos Networks, walked through the halls of the firm's offices, he realized that the space they had moved into only about a year ago was already becoming too small. The company, based in Sunnyvale, California, was founded in late 2000 to provide wireless broadband access. By 2005, the company was primarily focused on supplying metro-scale wireless fidelity (Wi Fi) mesh networking products and services. Tropos began shipping products in September 2003, and by December 2005 the company had over 300 customers and 60 resellers in 29 countries. Accordingly, the company's head count grew from 65 in 2004 to 103 in 2005 and was expected to reach 150 by the end of 2006.

Jeremy Moon, CEO of Icebreaker, maker of merino-fiber activewear, thinks about the strengths and weaknesses of staying focused on his rapidly expanding U.S. and European markets vs. broadening his attack to include China. If he enters China, should he continue his current strategy of pushing the technical merits of the merino fabric, or should he go the inherently subjective fashion route, given that the technical apparel market in China is virtually nonexistent.

An entrepreneur has received additional information on the Cartridge World franchising concept - a store focused on the refilling of printer cartridges. The idea for Cartridge World began in Australia in 1988 and has grown to almost 200 locations in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The entrepreneur must look at the market opportunity in Canada and decide whether he should apply for the country's master franchise, a single franchise, or abandon the concept altogether. Students will evaluate a franchise concept based on market opportunity and the franchise contract.

Set in November 2005, the case examines a company that has been extremely successful in several product categories in its own domestic market and is defending its market position against intense competition from powerful multinational corporations, emerging domestic rivals and newer low-cost alternatives. The multinational corporations include some of the world's most sophisticated marketing companies. The case may be used independently or with the supplement Splash Corporation (B): International Expansion, product 9B06A015.

The Splash Corporation (A) case, product 9B06A014 focuses on the domestic Philippine market, particularly the competitive dynamics in the existing product lines of skin care and hair care. The Splash Corporation (B) case focuses on international expansion and the introduction of a new line of nutraceutical products. Both cases are set between late 2005 and early 2006 but deal with very different issues.

Star Leather Product Co., Ltd. is a privately-owned shoemaking company with more than 1,000 staff and a factory of 8,800 square metres. It developed from a family-based shoemaking workshop and has expanded to the international market within six years. The quick expansion of this company was mainly a consequence of the blossoming of the shoemaking industry in China. With increasing competition and a saturated market, problems of management and quality-control have arisen. The founder and general manager of the company was actively seeking help from consultants.

Franchising in China is a relatively new and growing phenomenon. Among the franchising pioneers in China are the large and well-known food and beverage brands such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's. Less known, but equally important, are the non-food retailing and service industries, such as The Athlete's Foot company. This U.S. born company made early entry into China using master international franchising. As the industry continues to grow, The Athlete's Foot franchise is losing its first-mover advantage and faces increased competition from department stores and brand-specific retailers, among other challenges. The case describes franchising in China, the Athlete's Foot company, and the experiences of the Chinese master franchisee.

An entrepreneur has received additional information on the Cartridge World franchising concept--a store focused on the refilling of printer cartridges. The idea for Cartridge World began in Australia in 1988 and has grown to almost 200 locations in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The entrepreneur must look at the market opportunity in Canada and decide whether he should apply for the country's master franchise, a single franchise, or abandon the concept altogether. Evaluates a franchise concept based on market opportunity and the franchise contract.

Starts by describing a typical day in the life of Randy Hetrick, the founder and sole full-time employee of Fitness Anywhere. Hetrick starts his work day on Friday, September 10, 2004, at 6:00 a.m. By 8:30 p.m., he has accomplished a lot. However, he has only been able to get to a few items on his morning's to-do list . . . and his list is growing by the day. Chronicles the creation of Fitness Anywhere--how Hetrick developed the product as a Navy SEAL; how he put together a business plan for commercializing the product during his two years at Stanford's Graduate School of Business; and his first full year of operations, 2003/2004. In describing the first full year of operations, focuses on Hetrick's fundraising efforts, the product's development, and the three market segments that he has targeted--military, commercial health fitness, and retail. By September 2004, Hetrick surveys the major topics on his to-do list; the activities that need to be completed to generate military, commercial, and retail sales; the activities related to protecting the product's intellectual property; completing a business plan, deciding his fundraising strategy and raising capital before the company runs out of it; and hiring his core team.

Supplements the Promise: Building a Consumer Finance Company in Japan case.

After Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Public School System is faced with rebuilding from the ground up. The challenge is enormous, as is the opportunity to remake the lowest performing public school system in Louisiana and one of the lowest performing in the nation. A variety of public officials, politicians, and entrepreneurs are engaged in the rebuilding process. Also, explores the tensions that emerge as the community faces both the rebuilding task and conflicting visions of what the future should look like.

Ron Zwanziger has just started his third company, having just sold the last one for $1.3 billion to Johnson & Johnson. As part of the deal with J&J, certain assets were transferred to the new company, Inverness Medical Innovations, which, at the time of its creation, had $24 million in half-year sales, $40 million on its balance sheet, and worldwide operations. How were Zwanziger and his team going to transform these disparate assets into a company worth $7 billion in the coming seven years?

Supplements the (A) case.

Black Duck Software involves a venture-backed start-up that converted software developers' concerns about violating copyright licensing agreements or open source protocols into an opportunity to help firms use technology to better manage their compliance efforts. Requires students to wrestle with the uncertainties of copyright compliance as they decide whether Black Duck should certify that their clients' code is noninfringing. Also raises questions about which growth opportunities Black Duck should pursue.

Corporate refugees dream of running small firms. The realities of the job, though, can be humbling.

This case is about an affluent and educated woman who decided to start her own organization to support young mothers. Shortly after the birth of her first child, Karin Marques stopped working full-time and soon felt the pangs of "maternal isolation" that mothers commonly report. Finding no satisfaction in the already-existing network of Mothers' Centers, which were geared more towards childcare, Karin formulated a concept for a mothers' center that would "provide support to women before, during, and after their maternity leave." By adopting a theme of "equal opportunities for men and women" - a priority for European Union Member States and an area where the Czech nation planned to grow - Karin registered Klub K2 as a non-governmental (non-profit) organization (NGO), and hoped to access funding from foundations or the European Union. The thematic focus Karin has chosen - women's reentry to the labor market after maternity leave - is a hot-button issue, particularly in new European Union Member States. Yet as Karin's start-up costs rose, and some members of her team of instructors backed out, Karin wondered how all of the pieces would come together by the time she was ready to launch her organization.