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Mustika Ratu is a leading Indonesian manufacturer of health and beauty products and traditional herbal supplements that began as a modest enterprise and had grown to become one of Indonesia's most successful consumer products companies. However, in May 1998, in response to the social, political and economic chaos Indonesia was experiencing (sparked by the Asian financial crisis of 1997), the capital erupted in a sea of violence. The rioting affected almost every business operating in Indonesia. Mustika Ratu's managing director must decide whether to design and implement a new strategic marketing plan in light of the external environment and a potential decline in revenue growth or to remain true to the strategies that had garnered success in the past. The case will help students appreciate the importance of remaining true to a successful strategy, yet flexible enough to respond to the realities of the external environment, especially during times of crisis, when managers will be most tempted to deviate from their strategy. It also will help students understand how opportunities can arise from crisis, including fast-tracking international expansion plans, better positioning current products or launching new product lines, making acquisitions, or investing in capital intensive projects in times when inputs can be procured at a lower cost.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER -Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>The newly hired director of human resources for a large golf and country club near Beijing, China has just presented her human resources plan to the company founder. At issue is whether this plan - in terms of recruiting, training and development, rewards and benefits - was directionally correct and implementable.

The vice-president of an American logistics services provider considers establishing this service in Mexico where the logistics market is controlled by the banks and is very underdeveloped. He must decide whether to establish a greenfield operation or enter a joint venture. Issues of target segments and positioning also needed resolution.

Citibank Argentina faces a number of questions on how to develop its future strategy in its credit card business. Citibank is the most successful foreign bank in Argentina and is number one in the country's credit card business. To defend its position as leader, Citibank has to maintain its role as driver of the business, since aggressive competition from American Express and others can be expected. However, intensifying competition involves increasing pressure on margins, and the need to tap new (and less secure) market segments to achieve the growth target.

After almost 30 years with an electric supplies company, an international manager feels that it was time to look for new opportunities outside the company. This case is a supplement to the (A) case, 9A99C030.

The CEO of Wilson Industries, a U.S. firm, is concerned about the performance of a joint venture between Wilson Industries and a Japanese firm, Morota Manufacturing. He wants the joint venture president to make some changes to improve financial performance. However, the president is unsure of what action to take because the Japanese partner, Morota, is satisfied with the performance and is considering expansion plans.

The co-directors of a student initiative to teach management fundamentals in several states of the former Soviet Union and in Russia, were having a rather heated argument in one of the partner's school office. The co-directors must decide how best to resolve the conflict.

The co-directors of a student initiative to teach management fundamentals in several states of the former Soviet Union and in Russia were having a rather heated argument in one of the partner's school office regarding planned activities. The co-directors must decide how best to resolve the conflict. The Leader Project - Canada (A) case, (9B00C002), presents one director's views, and this supplement presents the other director's sentiments. These cases lend themselves naturally to role plays.

The co-directors of a student initiative to teach management fundamentals in several states of the former Soviet Union and in Russia, were having a rather heated argument in one of the partner's school office. The co-directors must decide how best to resolve the conflict.

The co-directors of a student initiative to teach management fundamentals in several states of the former Soviet Union and in Russia were having a rather heated argument in one of the partner's school office regarding planned activities. The co-directors must decide how best to resolve the conflict. The Leader Project - Canada (A) case, (900C02), presents one director's views, and this supplement presents the other director's sentiments. These cases lend themselves naturally to role plays.

In this first case of a three-case series, Procter & Gamble's strategy for a new shampoo product is outlined. The product is successfully developed and introduced to the Taiwan market. In the series' two subsequent cases, planning for the introduction of this product in Canada (9A99A039) and in the Philippines (9B00A010) is examined.

The new CEO of Compaq Computer, the world's second largest computer company, is facing some difficult decisions about how to combat the increasing threat posed by Dell Computer Corporation. The case describes the strategic moves made by Compaq in the late 1990s under the leadership of a previous CEO who was dismissed by Compaq's board earlier in the year. It also describes in some detail the history of Dell Computer and the evolution of the Dell Direct model. Compaq's new CEO faces some major issues, one of which is the resolution of the channel issues, particularly in the commercial personal computing segment. It is clear he faces some very tough strategic and marketing choices. The power of information technology and standards that have allowed Dell to build a powerful ecosystem with its customers, suppliers and complementers are illustrated in this powerful teaching case. With the support of these other players, Dell has been able to topple one of the great companies of the late 20th century from its leadership position. It also illustrates how difficult it is for a market leader to effectively respond to such a challenge.

The CEO of the Sandvik Group is reviewing the initiatives he implemented to increase the synergies between the six disparate businesses of the Sandvik Group. Specific measures taken by Sandvik's management to increase the level of synergy between the businesses are outlined. In search for synergy, management has experienced many problems and challenges. The main challenge is how to avoid a re-centralization of power while at the same time encouraging employees to act with regard to both their business and the group. The case closes with the CEO wondering how further changes could be made to expand and sustain the search and exploitation of synergies within the Sandvik group. This case can be used as an advanced corporate strategy case, to illustrate concepts such as diversification, synergies, and parenting advantage. It can also be used as a management of change case by putting emphasis on the actions the CEO can take to achieve his stated goals. A follow-up case (9A98M013) is available.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER -Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Grey China is a subsidiary of Grey Advertising, based in New York. Established in 1917, Grey Advertising offered a variety of marketing and corporate services through its 377 branches in 88 countries, which employed 10,000 people. The case provides an overview of how an advertising agency functions, as well as illustrating timely advertising industry issues such as specialization and globalization. The CEO of Grey China must decide whether or not to launch an interactive services department to capitalize on the potential for a first mover advantage. Many marketing managers in Hong Kong and China were unaware of how interactive marketing could be integrated into their marketing communications programs. Grey China had the daunting task of building primary market demand for interactive marketing communications.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Second place winner of the MDC of Hong Kong Case Writer of the Year Award</strong></p><br>The senior market associate of Trojan Technologies reflected on the water shortages anticipated in developing countries created by their explosive economic growth. Trojan sold water disinfecting equipment, and the senior market associate's job was to find new areas for growth. China was particularly intriguing because it had as much water as Canada, but 40 times the population, and its economic boom would further stress current water resources. Trojan had set growth hurdles of 30 per cent per year, and it needed new markets to reach that objective. The task in new market development was to determine if Trojan should enter China, and if so, when, where and how. The associate knew little of China: how decisions were made for water disinfecting equipment, whether Trojan's patents would be protected, and what level of resources would be required. The vice-president of new business development wanted to see recommendations within the month.

Hutchison Whampoa was considering strategies for its long-term capital structure. The HK$35 billion Hong Kong-based conglomerate had ambitious growth plans in multiple business sectors in different geographies. Traditionally, like many of its domestic peers, Hutchison had relied entirely on short to medium-term bank loans. Its demand for long-term financing, attractive rates in other capital markets (especially the U.S.) and concern about a more diversified investor base had led Hutchison to explore other financing options. In particular, the company was debating the benefits of a Yankee Bond Offering. At the time, Hutchison had already approached Moody's and Standard & Poor's for a bond rating.

Although British Airways had been lagging behind other carriers in the region, in the opinion of the new general manager for Latin America, the company had the potential to be the leading European airline in Latin America. He believed the market had all the characteristics in which British Airways had traditionally been most strong. However, after six months of visiting all the offices in the region, he began to feel that some key country managers were not supporting the changes necessary to move the company ahead. Head Office in London was also skeptical. Latin American is breaking even, so there is no real need to solve the problem, was one typical response. This case deals with efforts to implement major organizational change in a short period of time.

Seeing an opportunity, the general manager for Latin America promised London an unprecedented one-year revenue increase of 44 per cent, provided that sufficient resources were allocated to the region. The early results of his efforts to transform the company's Latin American operations are discussed. This case is a supplement to the British Airways: Latin America (A) case, 9A99C015.

The president must determine how to increase business development at the feedmill. The challenge facing him is to have the feedmill's managers adopt attitudes and behaviours that are consistent with a market driven enterprise. This is no easy task considering that the feedmill is a former state-owned enterprise which did not strive to achieve independent profitability.

Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), one of the world's leading semiconductor foundries, has grown dramatically in 16 years. UMC pursued a strategy of vertical disintegration as part of the chairman's vision of turning UMC into a pure-play foundry. This case discusses the major technological and competitive forces affecting the industry and looks at UMC's restructuring through the eyes of the chairman. The case provides enough detail to engage the class in a discussion of the merits of UMC's vertical disintegration strategy and the possible pitfalls of this approach going forward.