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The case presents the points of contention and issues facing NCsoft Corporation (NCsoft) as of 2007. As the leader in online games, NCsoft has the greatest future growth potential inside and outside of Korea. The president has a number of issues to consider: What is NCsoft's most effective plan for maintaining its top position in Korea and its competitiveness in the world market? How should the company pursue diversification of its game offerings from a small number of major games to other online game genres, such as casual games? What are the important factors NCsoft needs to consider to achieve globalization as a basis for building a global online game development and publishing company? What should be NCsoft's response to the diversified connection channels and game platforms and the rise of a ubiquitous computing environment? How should the negative perceptions and side effects of playing online games be dealt with? In addition, how should NCsoft prepare to compete with other industries that are expected to become competitors with digital-content online games?

A recently hired U.S.-trained sales account manager at Medical Equipment Inc. (Medical Equipment) returned to his office after meeting with the head of the cardiology department at a specialist hospital and research center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He had worked very hard to secure his first sale of US$725,000 for healthcare equipment, but was disheartened when the head of cardiology told him that the hospital's purchasing director intended to give the order to Medical Equipment's main competitor. The competition's sales representative and the purchasing director had known each other for 10 years and the head cardiologist implied that there might be side payments involved. The sales account manager knew Medical Equipment's product was superior and wondered how he could secure the order without having a history with the purchasing director or without engaging in practices he found ethically questionable.

Multinationals are active in different countries. This note explores why this is the case and how multinationals can be competitive in these foreign environments. At the same time, the note discusses recent trends in foreign direct investment (FDI).

This case, which outlines the product recall, is a supplement to Mattel and the Toy Recalls (A).

The CEO of a strategy consulting firm must decide which of the firm's functions, if any, to move to India. In particular, he wonders whether business research--currently conducted by highly paid consultants in developed countries--can be conducted more efficiently and effectively from an Indian research center.

On July 30, 2007 the senior executive team of Mattel under the leadership of Bob Eckert, chief executive officer, received reports that the surface paint on the Sarge Cars, made in China, contained lead in excess of U.S. federal regulations. It was certainly not good news for Mattel, which was about to recall 967,000 other Chinese-made children's character toys because of excess lead in the paint. Not surprisingly, the decision ahead was not only about whether to recall the Sarge Cars and other toys that might be unsafe, but also how to deal with the recall situation. The (A) case details the events leading up to the recall and highlights the difficulties a multinational enterprise faces in managing global operations. Use with Ivey case 9B08M011, Mattel and the Toy Recalls (B).

On November 8, 2001, the entrepreneurial owner of Flex Industries, a leading Indian firm in the flexible packaging industry, was accused of bribing the central excise commissioner in a case of evasion of excise duties. Excise duty is levied under the federal structure of the Indian taxation system on the production and manufacture of goods. Excise duty liability arises immediately on the movement of goods from the plant gate. Evasion of excise duty is a cognizable offence and carries severe penalties that can adversely affect the management of the company. The owner of Flex Industries, was an experienced professional recognized for his important contribution in revolutionizing the flexible packaging industry in India. However, the incident dented his long-standing record. Meanwhile, other controversies surfaced while the case was under disposition in the courts. The ensuing period gave an impression that there were other suspect events related to its governance that Flex Industries could have done without. However, the final verdict announced by the courts found the owner not guilty. The events were significant in the evolution of Flex Industries, which was strongly positioned in the flexible packaging industry. However, the market reaction to the news of the arrest of Flex Industries' owner was very different from the news of his exoneration. This case demonstrates the impact of market disciplining forces and the premium stockholder's place on good governance.

After a Danish newspaper publishes cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, consumers across the Middle East decide to boycott Danish goods. Arla Foods (Arla) is one of Europe's largest dairy companies. Suddenly, it finds itself caught in the middle of a crisis that appears to be beyond its control. Prior to the boycott, the Middle East was Arla's fastest growing region and represented an important component of the company's long-term growth strategy. As the largest Danish company in the region, it stands to lose up to $550 million in annual revenues. Students are asked to take the role of the communication director for Arla, who, along with other members of the newly formed Crisis and Communication Group, must decide on a course of action to deal with the crisis. The case addresses a variety of topics, including culture and religion, international management, risk management, crisis communications, and managing in a boycott situation. It also creates an opportunity to discuss doing business in the Middle East and management in an Islamic context.

The communications director of Arla Foods is hoping the decision to denounce to the cartoons will bring an end to the boycott. Instead, it brings complaints from Danish women's groups. This is a supplement to Arla Foods and the Cartoon Crisis (A), Ivey product 9B08M005.

Just as Arla Foods has re-established its reputation in the Middle East, another provocative cartoon is released in a Swedish paper and the communications director of Arla Foods must decide how the company will respond. This is a supplement to Arla Foods and the Cartoon Crisis (A), Ivey product 9B08M005.

The managing director of investment banking for Kaupthing Bank hf (Kaupthing) was considering what he would need to do if he accepted a new appointment as chief executive officer of Kaupthing's latest acquisition, U.K.-based investment bank Singer & Friedlander Group plc (Singer). He would have to deal with the fact that the two merging companies had very different cultures, the possibility that some employees may leave as a result of the change and take their clients with them, the fact that he did not know whether there were good managers at Singer who could be ready to be promoted to top management in upcoming years, and many other issues that would have to be addressed.

Pay Zone Consulting is a small, highly specialized global consulting group providing information management solutions for the exploration and production sector of the oil and gas industry. The company operates entirely virtually with consultants and software developers in different parts of the world. The principals are considering growth options but are intent on preserving the quality of life provided by their virtual business model. The case examines the communication technologies employed by the principals in support of their virtual teamwork and describes the administrative information technology infrastructure that enables the firm to operate with no administrative staff or office. The case also discusses the organizational and personal factors underlying the company’s ability to operate successfully virtually.

It's a competitor's notion of the perfect storm - low-cost and value-added provider. These authors have valuable advice to help managers weather the storm.

Mapleleaf Corporation is a mid-size player in the paper products industry. The firm has recently become aware that growing demand will soon outstrip its present production capacity. The primary objective of this case is to introduce students to the world of capacity planning and optimization.

Shortly after the acquisition of Corus in 2007, Tata Steel Limited entered the international markets with a convertible bond offering (CARS) that had distinct features. The offering of US$875 million was the first of its kind from India. The successful issuance reflected investor confidence in the country and the company. This case covers a full analysis of the CARS with a scope that spans valuation, structuring of the financing instrument to suit the issuer's strategic imperatives and investment analysis.

The executive vice-president of newspapers for Schibsted was about to meet with his colleagues to discuss the company's plan to release an internally developed free daily newspaper concept called 20 Minutes. Over the past couple of years, Schibsted's executive team had kept a watchful eye on the free newspaper industry, which was enjoying tremendous popularity. Earlier in the year, Schibsted had launched Avis 1, a free paper with direct delivery to homes in Oslo, Norway. Looking to expand beyond their home country of Norway, Schibsted's executives had developed a proposal to simultaneously launch 20 Minutes in Zurich, Switzerland, and Cologne, Germany. The executive vice-president of newspapers and his colleagues were scheduled to present this recommendation to Schibsted's board of directors within a month. They were in the midst of preparing a financial and strategic analysis, since they were certain the board of directors would ask some tough questions. The supplemental case Schibsted (B): Should We Start Up 20 Minutes Cologne Again?, product #9B07M020 describes the events folllowing.

A new investment analyst with Alpha Value Fund was working on a presentation he was to make to the fund's investment committee, recommending an investment of $50 million in Sanderson Farms. Sanderson Farms was one of the leading poultry processors in the United States. Their stock had closed that day with a share price of $22.62 on the New York Stock Exchange. Eight months ago, the stock was trading at $48 per share. However, with the threat of an epidemic outbreak of avian flu and because of the losses incurred from hurricane Katrina, the share price plummeted. The investment analyst believed that the markets were over-reacting and, based on his analysis, Sanderson Farms presented a value candidate. He knew he had to be persuasive given the fund's preference for stable business and his relative lack of experience as an analyst.

The case examines how the best practices of two banks were organized and managed to provide financial services to a small niche of foreign customers in the mining, tourism and construction sectors in Tanzania. The two banks claimed to be similar in many ways. They both were from countries whose economies were run broadly on neo-liberal lines, in that there was little state intervention in either economy, however, differences existed with respect to how they managed their operations. The case is ideally suited to illustrate the on-going tension and different types of best practices in cross-market integration. It provides opportunities to explore the challenges faced by multinational company banks in managing global workforces, the evolution of the banking sector, and the influence of technology in shaping work in organizations.

The newly appointed executive director of the Office of Alliance Management (OAM) at Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) was returning to his office after his first meeting with his supervisor, the senior vice-president of Corporate Strategy and Business Development (CSBD). The executive director had been promoted to the position just a week earlier, and now the senior vice-president has asked him to conduct a complete review of the OAM strategy. The senior vice-president made it clear that it was fine to leave the strategy as it currently existed, or to change it radically if the situation warranted. Now the executive director must decide what Lilly should do to build and maintain its leadership in alliance capability.

The president of Asian Paints Ltd., India's largest paint manufacturer, was wondering how he could improve the way the company's International Business division was managing its team of 120 global managers. The company had operations throughout Asia in various locations such as China, Singapore and Thailand; throughout Africa in countries such as Oman, Egypt and Mauritius; and in the Americas in Jamaica. The team of global management was critical to the success of the company's globalization endeavour, which was expected to gather momentum once the ongoing consolidation was complete. The president must decide how to structure the management of this global team.