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This case describes the organizational and strategic challenges of outsourcing research and development (R&D) activities from Denmark to China. Nokia Denmark was founded in 1996 as a subsidiary of the Nokia Corporation and contained the largest Nokia R&D unit, concentrating on the development of mobile phones, outside Finland. In 2007, Nokia Denmark received instructions from corporate headquarters to drastically increase the number of mobile phones developed. Motivated by the need to alleviate pressure on its in-house capacity, Nokia Denmark outsourced certain product development projects to the Taiwanese company Foxconn in a joint R&D (JRD) setup. Foxconn, one of the world’s largest electronic component manufacturers, which was also developing products for many of Nokia’s competitors, was given the responsibility of developing and testing selected standardized and less complex mobile phones. However, by 2010 Foxconn had become a central figure in Nokia Denmark’s product development process with responsibility for increasingly complex projects. <br><br>Given the growing importance of Foxconn for Nokia Denmark, the rising pressure from the corporate headquarters, and the competitive market environment, Nokia Demark thus faced the question of how to proceed with the JRD. Three alternatives were outlined for the future of Nokia Denmark’s JRD with Foxconn: the management could decide on scaling up, phasing out, or continuing the status quo.

Manager feedback sheet for product 9B11C024, 9B11C025, 9B11C026, 9B11C027, 9B11C028, 9B11C029 and 9B11C030.

A recent MBA graduate has just received a one-year business assignment as a business development and marketing advisor to work with the Vietnam Handicraft Initiative (VHI), a vocational training and employment center for people with disabilities, located in Central Vietnam. Her job is to assist the VHI to increase its productivity, become sustainable and strengthen the capacity of the organization through improved business and marketing plans. Within the first four weeks of her arrival, she needs to detail her assessment of the VHI and provide key recommendations and focused work objectives for the remaining 11 months of her placement. She expects that the many cultural differences encountered along the way will provide a real challenge in accurately assessing the VHI and developing a detailed work plan.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Euro-Mediterranean Managerial Practices and Issues, European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>The case describes an innovative business model offering wine and a French cultural experience to North Americans. Students are given an opportunity to learn about the challenges of reviving a 1,000-year-old chateau, farmhouse, and vineyard while building a viable wine export and travel experience business. The case refers to a 15-minute online video that includes an interview with the entrepreneur, pictures of the Montlaur estate, and excerpts about Guédelon Castle, a medieval construction project.

A major U.S. rent-to-own company continues to grow in the recession, opening its 1000th store. The CEO, the son of the chain's founder, is wondering whether it's time to take the company global and tap into underserved foreign markets. The company's international track record has been mixed: It successfully expanded into Canada a few years back, but was forced to close a store in Puerto Rico after only a year. The more risk-averse CFO advises against overseas expansion, citing the bad experience in Puerto Rico and the untapped potential in the U.S. market. But the CEO is concerned about the increasingly tight regulatory environment. The entire rent-to-own industry is coming under attack by consumer advocates and politicians in the wake of the recession. The CEO turns to his father for advice: Should the company take a risk and open stores in Mexico or focus on expanding their domestic presence? The author of this case is Michael Chu, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School and a Managing Director of the IGNIA Fund, an impact investing venture capital firm based in Monterrey, Mexico. This fictional case study features commentary by experts Carlos Danel and Robert C. Loudermilk Jr.

A major U.S. rent-to-own company continues to grow in the recession, opening its 1000th store. The CEO, the son of the chain's founder, is wondering whether it's time to take the company global and tap into underserved foreign markets. The company's international track record has been mixed: It successfully expanded into Canada a few years back, but was forced to close a store in Puerto Rico after only a year. The more risk-averse CFO advises against overseas expansion, citing the bad experience in Puerto Rico and the untapped potential in the U.S. market. But the CEO is concerned about the increasingly tight regulatory environment. The entire rent-to-own industry is coming under attack by consumer advocates and politicians in the wake of the recession. The CEO turns to his father for advice: Should the company take a risk and open stores in Mexico or focus on expanding their domestic presence? The author of this case is Michael Chu, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School and a Managing Director of the IGNIA Fund, an impact investing venture capital firm based in Monterrey, Mexico.

A major U.S. rent-to-own company continues to grow in the recession, opening its 1000th store. The CEO, the son of the chain's founder, is wondering whether it's time to take the company global and tap into underserved foreign markets. The company's international track record has been mixed: It successfully expanded into Canada a few years back, but was forced to close a store in Puerto Rico after only a year. The more risk-averse CFO advises against overseas expansion, citing the bad experience in Puerto Rico and the untapped potential in the U.S. market. But the CEO is concerned about the increasingly tight regulatory environment. The entire rent-to-own industry is coming under attack by consumer advocates and politicians in the wake of the recession. The CEO turns to his father for advice: Should the company take a risk and open stores in Mexico or focus on expanding their domestic presence? The author of this case is Michael Chu, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School and a Managing Director of the IGNIA Fund, an impact investing venture capital firm based in Monterrey, Mexico. This fictional case study features commentary by experts Carlos Danel and Robert C. Loudermilk Jr.

The case reviews the main facts related to the merger process of three financial institutions — Bancolombia, Conavi, and Corfinsura — in Colombia in 2005 and 2006. The merger decision emerges from directors and senior executives foreseeing a major upcoming market transformation, including adjustment in industry regulation, improvement in international competence, and consolidation of main players, and their response in order to adapt to the new economic conditions. Considering the fact that the success rate of merger processes is not above 30 per cent, the sustained financial results achieved by Bancolombia from the very beginning of the integration process are robust indicators that invite exploration into what was done and how it was done.

A final-year student at a business school estimated the net present value (NPV) of his proposed business plan — a tourism and transport business in India — using three different methods and encountered different valuation results. He approached the professor who had taught him valuation concepts in a finance course and wanted to know the reasons for the difference.

This role-play case involves a series of sessions in which the student (and each member of his or her team) will play the role of Benjamin Cheung, the vice president of HCM Asia Private Limited, a financial services firm based in Hong Kong. Cheung has an open-door policy where any manager can drop by to see him, on their own initiative, to ask for ideas, guidance, or a decision on an issue. He has only six minutes to see each manager in this informal coaching session since he has to leave for another important meeting at head office. Cheung knows the key details of each manager’s background and development needs, but does not know in advance what the manager’s specific concerns are. It will be necessary for Cheung to explore the manager’s concerns through active listening, asking questions, and summarizing. Each of the manager roles is typical of those you might meet in an Asian organization, such as a highly skilled, technically focused leader who defaults to top-down management, an associate who lacks self-confidence and avoids confrontation at all cost, an ambitious associate who wants an international assignment but struggles with his current workload, and a detail-oriented leader who focuses on processes while losing sight of the big picture.

This is role play #1 (Chen Jia Wei) for Coaching for Performance Management: Asia Edition (#9B11C024).

This is role play #2 (Robert Woo) for Coaching for Performance Management: Asia Edition (#9B11C024).

This is role play #3 (Pauline Zhu) for Coaching for Performance Management: Asia Edition (#9B11C024).

This is role play #4 (Steven Leung) for Coaching for Performance Management: Asia Edition (#9B11C024).

This is role play #5 (James Beringer) for Coaching for Performance Management: Asia Edition (#9B11C024).

This is role play #6 (Kelly Tan) for Coaching for Performance Management: Asia Edition (#9B11C024).

The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) had been in existence for 35 years and up until recently had grown organically by taking on new projects as they arose. While this had had the advantage of the EWT maintaining its relevance, the EWT had lost focus as a result. A new fundraising strategy was developed in 2008 before the impact of the financial credit crisis and the resulting economic downturn. The downturn affected the amount of funds the EWT received and as such, it was struggling to continue with all its initiatives and projects. Fortunately, the pressure on companies to invest in social responsibility initiatives continued to grow. The CEO of the EWT was contemplating whether or not to change the EWT’s fundraising strategy by making it more liberal in its policy of accepting corporate donations in light of the economic downturn caused by the international credit crisis.

This case is about the multinational company ABB’s development of a sustainability strategy, and its dilemmas in supplying hydropower dam projects. Adam Roscoe, head of sustainability at ABB Group, had to evaluate the content and business consequences of a letter written by the non-governmental organization (NGO) International Rivers. The letter discussed the alleged violations of sustainability criteria when building the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos. Roscoe needed to assess what implications the letter had for ABB, which had a large stake in the outcomes of the project. Such a letter from a prominent NGO might affect ABB’s policies and practices in sustainability. <br><br>The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank had great interest in seeing the project’s success, as it would supply rural areas of Laos and Thailand with electricity, bring in a large source of revenue that would be used in poverty-reduction programs for Laos and, lastly, provide a non-carbon-based energy source. ABB also had to consider the position of its stakeholders including customers, investors, media, and NGOs. If ABB was associated with a dam project that did not comply with international regulations, this could lead to negative publicity and potential loss of business. <br><br>Roscoe thus faced two interweaved questions: Would International Rivers’ letter pose a reputation risk for ABB? What would this example mean for ABB’s sustainability criteria and objectives and would this need to be acknowledged and, if so, how?

This case describes the execution of an urban public transportation project through a public private partnership (PPP). Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was a corporate body created by the Indian government and the government of National Capital Territory of Delhi for implementing a mass rapid transit system (MRTS) in Delhi. DMRC successfully completed phase I of the MRTS in 2006 and the government mandated that DMRC implement phase II of the MRTS project. The Japanese Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) provided soft loans for both phases of the project. Meanwhile, the city of Delhi got the mandate to host the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010. As part of the preparations for these games, linking New Delhi Railway Station with Indira Gandhi International Airport through a metro system — Airport Express Metro Link (AEML) — became necessary for easing traffic congestion in the city. The timeline available for the AEML project was less than three years. At the same time, JBIC financial assistance was not available for this project. <br><br><br><br>Dr. Sreedharan, managing director of DMRC, was thus facing the challenges of project financing and its timely delivery. In the past in India, the PPP model of infrastructure development had emerged as dominant. The case discusses various options available to DMRC for project financing and timely completion of the AEML project under the PPP mode.

In recent years, incidents of piracy have increased dramatically off the coast of the failed state of Somalia. In this case, a group of 14 pirates have hijacked a cargo ship full of machinery, but have yet to make any demands. They hold hostage a multinational crew of 20 (whose captain and two officers are American), the ship, and the cargo. The chief operating officer of an international shipping company must choose among alternative strategies to get the crew, cargo, and ship back safely with as little cost as possible.