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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.

Resina is a global manufacturer of resins and surfacing solutions headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, and has three production facilities and 12 sales offices in China. The head of Asia Pacific for Resina needs to decide what should be done about Beijing and Guangdong. Should Beijing remain in operation, be shut down, or moved to another area where demand for liquid bulk resins is stronger. Similar options exist in Guangdong. In aiming towards profitable operations, he needs to consider the buoyancy of local demand, Resina's partner in Beijing, local and foreign competitors and appropriate managers in each operation.

In 2003, 3M initiated contact with Yunnan Baiyao Group Co., Ltd. (YB) to discuss potential cooperation opportunities in the area of transdermal pharmaceutical products. YB's, namesake, of one of its main products, Yunnan Baiyao, was a household brand in China for its unique traditional herbal medicines. In recent years, the company had been engaged in a series of corporate reforms and product/market diversification strategies to respond to the change in the Chinese pharmaceutical industry and competition at a global level. By 2003, YB was already a vertically integrated, product-diversified group company with an ambition to become an international player. The proposed cooperation with 3M was attractive to YB, not only as an opportunity for domestic product diversification, but also for international diversification. YB had been attempting to internationalize its products and an overseas department had been established in 2002 specifically for this purpose. On the other hand, YB had also been considering another option for some time, namely, whether to extend its brand to toothpaste and other healthcare products. YB had to make decisions about which of the two options to pursue and whether it was feasible to pursue both.

A 23-year-old sales executive for a multinational office furniture and supply company was thinking of leaving the company over a dispute regarding her compensation. After doing some cost analysis on the feasibility of starting a recruiting agency, the young entrepreneur decided it was worth trying. One year later, the company had experienced a successful and profitable first year. This follow-up to the (A) case, 9A99B033, provides the opportunity to compare estimates with actual financial performance.

Cushy Armchair, based in Hong Kong, is a leader in the global armchair business, controlling fully autonomous business groups in 17 countries. Cabletronica has recently acquired the company and has sent one of their own senior personnel to restructure operations and integrate the company with another of their furniture divisions outside of the country. Acting as a consultant, the founder of Cushy is approached regarding a communication on a change in policy, but the new head of the company decides to use the parent company's standard method and now must manage with the results change can have on a cross cultural, multinational business.

Gino SA was a major European-based manufacturer of burner units that are sold in China through exclusive contracts with three distributors. As a result, the three Chinese distributors have significant bargaining power with Gino. A leading boiler manufacturer, who is currently purchasing through a distributor, has approached Gino to receive OEM treatment (a further discount by purchasing the burners direct from the manufacturer, in return for a commitment to purchase a percentage of their burners from Gino). In deciding whether or not to pursue the company's first direct OEM relationship, the marketing manager must consider the impact of his decision on the distributors, the competition and the company's corporate management.

A village leader must reallocate farmland and decides to hold a competition among the three most capable farmers in the village. The contract to the farmland will be awarded to the farmer with the best performance in the growing season. The growing season is over and the village leader must review the farmers' capital structure, capacity, and leasing costs, and make his decision.

AIG is an American insurance company. A trade dispute between the United States and the European Union threatens to block the accession of China to the World Trade Organization, and AIG plays a role - it is the only foreign firm to own fully-controlled subsidiaries in China. The disagreement concerns what will happen to these existing subsidiaries, as well as potential new ones that AIG might seek to establish in China in the future. What are the issues from the perspective of each of the stakeholders and what options are available that will resolve this dispute?

The Wahaha Hangzhou Group Co. Ltd. is one of China's largest soft-drink producers. One of the company's products, Future Cola, was launched a few years ago to compete with Coca Cola and PepsiCo and has made significant progress in the soft-drink markets that were developed by these cola giants. The issue now is to maintain the momentum of growth in the face of major competition from the giant multinationals, and to achieve its goal of dominant market share.

Shanghai COS Software Ltd. designs and develops smart card operating systems. The company's marketing manager must decide the best basis for segmenting the burgeoning market for smart cards for wireless devices in China. She has excellent data on this duopoly market, the segments and their buying criteria. In fact, she already has received significant orders for low-end cards from each of the two large customers. However, she and the senior management team must decide on a market positioning for this young high-tech start up. She must select one of the two major customers whose size, structure and procedures are quite different. She must also decide whether the company should market low margin/high volume or high margin/low volume products. Both products seem to have a very short life expectancy in the face of rapidly changing customer expectations. The investors in the company want it to achieve profitability fairly quickly and still adopt sustainable positioning in the marketplace.

Sante Fe Relocation Services was a premium provider of relocation services based in Hong Kong. Founded in 1980, the company had built a reputation as a reliable, high-quality packer and mover of household goods. By 2000, the company also offered a full range of relocation support services including visa and immigration applications, home searching and cultural and language training. Santa Fe relocated expatriates and their families between Asian countries and between Asia and other regions. The company had its own staff and assets in Asia and managed its international operations through a network of partners. In 2005, the chief operating officer faced three key challenges: differentiating and positioning the brand in a crowded and often price-driven market; incorporating an expanded service line under the original brand and gaining market recognition for those additional services; and managing the brand across the Asian region with an effective balance of standardization versus local adaptation.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Dark Side Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>This case examines how the Tanzania government intends to address a pressing deterioration in the infrastructure and services of Dar es Salaam's Water and Sewage Authority. The decision process unfolds in the spring of 2002, on the heels of the Cochabamba uprising in Bolivia and an increasing dispute over the involvement of the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank in other water development projects in Ghana, Mauritania and South Africa. At that time, the World Bank was already sponsoring similar projects in Angola, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Rwanda Sao Tome and Senegal, despite some vocal local opposition. This multi-part case series is ideally suited for core or elective courses in strategy and sustainability to illustrate the types of ongoing tensions and divergent decision angles that influence the formation and performance of public-private partnerships and managing in a global context. It also provides a rich and graphic account of the special threats and opportunities in the water sector - a wealth of complementary teaching resources can also stimulate larger debates by juxtaposing the case decision with a broader crisis of confidence in for-profit solutions to water and sewage provision in Africa and in Latin America.

This is a supplement to City Water Tanzania (A): Water Partnerships for Dar es Salaam, product #9B07M025. It details the terms of the lease contract with an international operator, Biwater, and discusses the alternatives that were considered and discarded, the bidding process, and the roles and motivations of the parties. The key questions revolve around a) the adequacy of the decision, b) the responsibility for the next steps and c) the milestones and metrics to gauge the success of the privatization.

This is a supplement to City Water Tanzania (A): Water Partnerships for Dar es Salaam, product #9B07M025 and is a two-part role-play. In this part (A) role-play, students take the position of Edward Lowassa, Tanzania's Minister of Water.

This is a supplement to City Water Tanzania (A): Water Partnerships for Dar es Salaam, product #9B07M025 and is a two-part role-play. In this part (B) role-play, students take the position of Cliff Stone, Biwater's former director of sales for Africa and now chief executive officer of City Water's management.

This is a supplement to City Water Tanzania (A): Water Partnerships for Dar es Salaam, product #9B07M025. This case summarizes the decision of the negotiation: the break up of City Water Tanzania and its aftermath, including litigation and forgone opportunities to meet the needs of the local residents.

The chief executive officer and the marketing director of Saku Olletehase AS of Estonia must decide on the company's product portfolio plan. Saku enjoyed market leadership in Estonia with its brand Saku Originaal; however, the strength in market share has weakened in recent years due to increasing competition and greater marketing acumen from other domestic producers. While domestic beer sales have fallen, the company has experienced increases in other product lines such as alcoholic long drinks, cider and non-alcoholic beverages, which compliment its existing agreement to sell Pepsi and 7Up. For the last three years, the company has had the exclusive right to resell three well-known international beer brands (Guinness, Kilkenny and Carlsberg) in Estonia. With so many options and finite marketing resources, the company needs to decide where to focus its effort.

Shanghai Jahwa is the largest domestically owned Chinese manufacturer of cosmetics and personal care products. In recent years, it has been part of a booming market with growth rates of 35 per cent per year. This spectacular growth rate has attracted and been fuelled by the entry of major multinationals, including Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Shiseido, Kao, and others. The marketing challenge for Shanghai Jahwa is to carve out viable and defensible positions in the marketplace, in the face of competition from some of the most powerful global players in the industry. The case illustrates management issues with respect to extending a very successful brand of Chinese eau-de-toilette named into the shower cream product category. Unilever already has a strong and established shower cream on the market under its well-known Lux brand. In addition, other international players are entering in the market. The case calls for the development of a brand strategy, taking into consideration market position, brand extension, and competitive issues. A follow-up case (9A98A024) is available.

Shanghai Jahwa is the largest domestically-owned Chinese manufacturer of cosmetics and personal care products. The (A) case, 9A98A023, illustrates management issues with respect to extending a very successful brand of Chinese eau-de-toilette named into the shower cream product category. This case provides an update of the market; specifically, the new competitive situation faced by Jahwa in the shower cream market in 1996.

South African Breweries (SAB) was the only profitable international brewer in the crowded and hyper-competitive beer market in China. SAB's keen understanding of emerging market environments allowed it to develop a unique strategy for the Chinese market. This resulted in large market shares in each of the provinces in which it was present. However, SAB and its joint venture partner, China Resources Enterprise, only served five per cent of China's immense population. The managing director was faced with decisions: how to expand to other markets where SAB's approach would be replicated, how SAB could expand its successful business model to new markets, and what would happen when it ran head-to-head with a global giant or a well-positioned local competitor.