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Ireka Construction Berhad is a small Chinese family business in Malaysia founded in 1967. The company's primary business was earthmoving for the mining industry, factory sites and housing lots, and has expanded its business into civil and structural engineering projects, building and construction, and hotel and property development. In 1992 it became a public company. This case illustrates the process of going from a private to a public company and discusses change management processes.

Grupo Garantia was a spectacularly successful conglomerate group in Brazil. Observers commonly called its founder The Midas King - all he touched seemingly turned to gold. The group encompasses four main businesses: Brazil's biggest investment bank; one of Brazil's largest retail chains; one of the world's largest breweries; and an equity investment company. The collection of six cases (including an appendix on Brazil's socio-politics) examines the fortunes of each of the businesses and of the corporation during the period of Brazil's globalization. Students must decide how to shape the future of the group's businesses, which global competition has variously boosted or ravaged. The Grupo's fate is also in question given the stabilization of Brazil's economy and the need to structure corporations according to the new circumstances faced by an economy more integrated into the world economy.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Tsingtao Brewery Co, Ltd, the best-known Chinese beer producer in the world, had been surpassed in market share by Yanjing Beer in the mid-1990s due to its inefficient operations. From 1994 to 2002, Tsingtao Brewery acquired over 47 small and medium-sized companies and regained its dominant position in the beer industry. However, this resulted in many problems including increased levels of bureaucracy, lack of integration of corporate cultures of the acquired companies, lack of brand focus, low profitability and other problems resulting from the rapid expansion. In July 2001, the General Manager Peng Zuoyi suddenly died of a heart attack. Jin Zhiguo, his successor, believes he should change the company business strategy from 'growing large to become powerful' to 'growing powerful to become large', which focuses on post-acquisition integration.

In just 15 years, founder Huang Guangyu had turned Gome Home Appliance Co. Ltd. into the largest home appliance retail chain in China in terms of sales. However, the company faces several internal and external challenges. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Gome to attract qualified employees, to obtain capital for its continued growth and to ignore its competitors. To respond to these challenges and the changing environment of the industry, Gome's once retired leader, returned as the company's General Manager and has implemented a major reorganization.

Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd. had several problems due to its aggressive expansion from 1994 to 2002. This case reviews a number of initiatives which were implemented in order to address these problems. The initiatives include: downsizing, process re-engineering using ERP, redesigning of the incentive system, organizational restructuring, forming a strategic partnership with Anheuser Busch, integrating the culture and values of the company, and building a learning organization. This is a supplement to Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd. (A), product 9B05M063.

An upscale ecolodge in southern Nicaragua hopes to achieve a 53 per cent occupancy rate within three years of opening, and has hired a management company to prepare a marketing strategy. Despite its proximity to Costa Rica and its focus on providing a unique luxury vacation retreat for one of the fastest growing segments in the travel industry - the ecotourist - the hotel faces numerous hurdles. The greatest challenge is to overcome Nicaragua's negative reputation, based on its recent history of political and social unrest, still fresh in the minds of tourists. The hotel must also operate within the country's rural infrastructure, characterized by interruptions in the power supply, poorly maintained roads and below-standard sanitation. Additionally, Nicaragua does not have a pool of skilled employees to work in the high-end service industry. The effects of these factors on the hotel's market positioning and market penetration rate are addressed in the preparation of the marketing strategy.

The founder and chief executive officer of Global Source Healthcare was struggling with how to allocate sales resources among acquiring new accounts, penetrating existing accounts and up-selling existing accounts. Global Source Healthcare provided domestic and international staffing services to healthcare facilities. The company had been operational for a year and growth had been considerably slower than expected. What made this decision especially important was that the healthcare staffing market was experiencing a substantial downturn. Consolidation was occurring in the industry. Given the limited sales and financial resources of the company, this decision was critical to ensure the very survival of Global Source. Other issues that may be raised include understanding the sales strategy in the business and marketing strategy, motivating a sales force in a difficult, limited-resource environment, and understanding the trade-off between the length of the sales cycle and the size of the potential account.

Boots Group PLC, one of the best known and respected retail names in the United Kingdom, provided health and beauty products and advice that enhanced personal well being. The marketing manager at Boots was planning his sales promotion strategy for a line of professional hair-care products. The professional hair-care line consisted primarily of shampoos, conditioners and styling products (gels, wax, mousse, etc.) developed in collaboration with United Kingdom's top celebrity hairdressers. The marketing manager's challenge was to select one of three promotional alternatives - get three for the price of two, receive a gift with purchase or an on-pack coupon - for the Christmas season. He realized that the alternative he selected would have both immediate effects on costs and sales, but also long-term implications for the brands involved. His primary objective was to drive sales volumes and trade-up consumers from lower-value brands, while retaining or building brand equity.

An entrepreneur was contemplating leaving his job at Goldman Sachs to start Global Source Healthcare, a healthcare outsourcing company focused on international nurse recruitment. He had researched the healthcare staffing market extensively, written a business plan and raised some funding. While this appeared to be an excellent opportunity, there were some very real risks that had to be considered. His greatest concern was the limited amount of funding at his disposal. Since international recruitment required a considerable amount of working capital, the lack of funding brought the long-term feasibility of the business into question. Students will learn about screening the business venture in terms of the entrepreneur, the resources and the opportunity; determining the strategic direction of the company and balancing the long-term vision with short-term cash flow needs; assessing different business models to determine which is the best fit for the company; and the importance of executing the business plan and selected strategy.

Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (CCU), the leading player in the beer and beverage business in Chile ,is evaluating the feasibility of entering the Pisco (hard liquor from special grapes) business in Chile. The market is very competitive and divided between two very large traditional cooperatives. These two companies, with their broad brand portfolios, control over 90% of the market. In recent years, the Chilean market has started to change. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated and are opening up to new lifestyle beverages. The retail industry is going through a process of fast transformation with the appearance of new formats (e.g., Internet, kiosks, and hypermarkets) and consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. CCU is a powerful player in the beverage industry. It has strong brands, channel access, and merchandising power.

Sun Life Financial is a large insurance conglomerate with $14.7 billion in annual revenues. The vice-president for China must formulate an approach for his company's entrance into China. Sun Life has achieved two important milestones: the right to apply for license and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for Joint Venture with China Everbright, a local securities company. The financial vice-president must consider strategic options for entry and choose a city in which to focus his efforts in getting a license. In doing so, he needs to consider Sun Life's overall priorities, strategic direction and how he will sell the concept to senior management in Canada. Intended for use in an introduction to international business course, the case includes assessing internal capabilities against an environmental scan, formulating strategy and making operational decisions relating to city selection. It also introduces the idea of joint venture management and government relations.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Oikos Sustainability Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Icelandic New Energy Company, a research and development consortium based in Reykjavik, Iceland, is considering what future direction to take. The two-person team has met their first major goal - the installation of the world's first commercial hydrogen filling station and the coordination of a public transport test project involving the operation of three hydrogen fuelled city buses. The company was founded with the overall objective of investigating the potential for eventually replacing the use of fossil fuels in Iceland with hydrogen-based fuels and creating the first hydrogen society in the world. Working towards the goal of self-sufficiency from fossil fuels, Icelandic New Energy Co was set up in 1999 by the consortium Vistorka and three major partners each contributing a part to the testing - Royal Dutch Shell (the refueling station), Norsk Hydro (the electrolysis technology to make the hydrogen) and DaimlerChrysler (fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen fuel). The shareholder agreement was established with the company's start in 1999 and is set to expire in 2005. With all of the major activities being outsourced and contracted, the team wondered how they could keep the company as a going concern and contribute to Iceland's transition to a hydrogen economy - a feat that could take more than 15 years.

For General Motors (GM), the year 2004 brought a wide variety of new challenges that added to an already complex business environment. The industry structure was changing quickly. Demand and supply projections for motor vehicles had promised substantial increases in sales and profits, but suddenly the optimism faded. China's new membership in the World Trade Organization created expectations of a level playing field for foreign investors, but - at least in the short run - major barriers remained. Government intervention persisted, particularly the requirement of a joint venture partner, competition from government-owned assembly firms, and arbitrary rules such as sector-specific credit restrictions. Violation of intellectual property, with the copying of foreign automobile designs and false-branding of parts, was an ongoing threat. Also, inflation was increasing and the government was unsure whether and how to use monetary and fiscal policies. The government had purposely kept the renminbi undervalued for many years. Pressure was building for the government to change its foreign exchange rate policy, but a higher renminbi would suddenly decrease GM China's international competitiveness.

The newly appointed division head must examine organizational or communication problems within a division of a billion dollar semiconductor manufacturer. The manager made a decision, which an employee emotionally responded to, creating the potential for conflict within the department. Cross-cultural issues come into play given that the manager, although originally from China, was educated and gathered extensive experience in the West and was thus considered an expatriate by his employees. The manager must also examine the effect of organizational culture on an employee's behavior.

Alpha Gearing Systems Shanghai Co., Ltd. (Alpha Shanghai), a joint-venture between Alpha Gearing Systems of Illinois, USA (a large producer of gearing products), and Kai Li Machine Systems (one of China's largest manufacturers of gearing systems for mopeds and motorcycles), had invested several millions of dollars in tooling in the hope of winning a major contract. The general manager of Alpha Shanghai had made the decision that the next round of negotiations would either significantly advance, or sever, the relationship between Alpha Shanghai and San Yu Mopeds, a large Chinese moped producer, and a customer which Alpha Shanghai had hoped would become one of its largest. The case decision revolves around Alpha Shanghai's senior management perspectives, strategy and assumptions which affected the negotiating process, and specifically how their communication patterns were effected by their experience and culture.

It had been almost a decade since the first article surfaced in the media alleging that factories sub-contracted by Nike in China and Indonesia were forcing workers to work long hours for low pay, and for physically and verbally abusive managers. The article was the seed of a media campaign that created a public relations nightmare for the company. A financial crisis in Asia and intense competition in the domestic market contributed to a decline in Nike's revenue and market share after three years of record performance. Though no direct correlation could be proven between the consumer's negative perceptions of Nike and the company's decline in market share and stock, it certainly did not help in their efforts to establish themselves as the global leader in a hotly competitive industry. A linear overview of the adverse publicity that Nike received, and the perspectives of Nike senior management, demonstrates to students the importance and elements of the timely development of an effective media and consumer relations campaign.