個案總覽

In August 2018, the founder of Speak-On, was finalizing plans for his company’s first year of operations. Speak-On was a learning tool used in classrooms to help students improve their communication and public speaking skills. Having worked on developing a prototype all summer with financing from the Government of Ontario, the founder needed to understand the cash needs for his company. He planned to project a cash budget for fiscal year 2018 and do a sensitivity analysis on his projections to determine the amount of additional financing needed. Did Speak-On require external financing, and would the line of credit support the cash needed?

In May 2017 in Chennai, India, the chairman of Celebrity Fashions doubted whether the company could last until the end of the year. Venkatesh Rajagopal had found that the company, a readymade garment manufacturing and exporter he founded in 1989, was hitting hard times financially. It had been dealing with declining revenues for the past five years, and its losses had tripled between 2014-16. A slowdown in factory plant processes in 2006 and the value of the rupee against the dollar, as well as wage arrears, contributed to the financial problem. Rajagopal's son, Vidyuth, had recently joined the company after moving roles both within Celebrity and its sister company, Indian Terrain, and at organizations elsewhere. In 2017, as joint managing director, he was convinced he would be able to turn the company around. Vidyuth, along with the independent director Venky appointed, identified the problems. There were communication gaps on the factory floor, and this caused lags in the shipments of garments and pushed up costs of production. The financial problems had confused some employees, and others were not aware of it at all. The leadership team was not communicating effectively. Would Celebrity be able to cut operational costs, and would Vidyuth be able to get the buy-in from his team to transform the company, and protect his family business?

In May 2017 in Chennai, India, the chairman of Celebrity Fashions doubted whether the company could last until the end of the year. Venkatesh Rajagopal had found that the company, a readymade garment manufacturing and exporter he founded in 1989, was hitting hard times financially. It had been dealing with declining revenues for the past five years, and its losses had tripled between 2014-16. A slowdown in factory plant processes in 2006 and the value of the rupee against the dollar, as well as wage arrears, contributed to the financial problem. Rajagopal's son, Vidyuth, had recently joined the company after moving roles both within Celebrity and its sister company, Indian Terrain, and at organizations elsewhere. In 2017, as joint managing director, he was convinced he would be able to turn the company around. Vidyuth, along with the independent director Venky appointed, identified the problems. There were communication gaps on the factory floor, and this caused lags in the shipments of garments and pushed up costs of production. The financial problems had confused some employees, and others were not aware of it at all. The leadership team was not communicating effectively. Would Celebrity be able to cut operational costs, and would Vidyuth be able to get the buy-in from his team to transform the company, and protect his family business?

Health Services Software (HSS) was a software company specializing in software for hospitals. Founded by a health care team with first-hand knowledge of the issues facing hospitals, HSS had first mover advantage. At the onset of HSS’s operations, hospitals had capital funding that allowed them to acquire the software with five-year licensing agreements. Five years later in 2016, as the licences were expiring, the hospitals no longer had the capital funding and could not afford a large cash outlay from their operating budgets for a new five-year licence. In light of the change in funding options for the hospitals, HSS was considering whether to move to an annual-subscription-based software. But before the team could establish the prices for the software, they needed to better understand the company’s cost structure. HSS hired a consultant to conduct the costing exercise.

Spreadsheet for product 8B19B001.

Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B19B001.

Jarrid Tingle and Henri Pierre-Jacques had spent the summer between their first and second years of their Harvard Business School MBA program fund raising for their start-up venture capital (VC) firm, Harlem Capital Partners. Harlem Capital was founded upon the principle that addressing the VC funding gap for minorities and women-who received only 3% of total VC funding-could produce superior returns. Tingle and Pierre-Jacques were passionate about the mission of Harlem Capital to change the face of entrepreneurship. However, despite generating significant media attention, Harlem Capital had only raised a few million dollars over the summer, not nearly enough for the fund to be financially viable as a career path for Tingle and Pierre-Jacques. Should Tingle and Pierre-Jacques commit to Harlem Capital despite the serious roadblocks on their path? Or should they capitalize on their pre-MBA private equity experience and attempt to be impactful through a more traditional career post-MBA graduation?

Case B describes Tingle and Pierre-Jacques' decision to commit fully to Harlem Capital as their post-graduation job. The case explores the results of their fundraising efforts, new strategic partnerships and how they plan to "build the market" in order to achieve future, sustained success in building funds comprised of diverse entrepreneurs.

Spreadsheet to case UV7656

The chief financial officer (CFO) of the Richard Ivey School of Business (Ivey) is reflecting on the state of the school. Ivey's MBA program was just beginning its inaugural year in the new 12-month format at the Spencer Leadership Centre (Spencer), and all signs pointed to a successful start. However, it was becoming obvious to the CFO that the Executive Education programs at Ivey would face some serious capacity constraints, given the resulting reduction in available space in the building. The CFO was considering the need for a $7 million expansion to Spencer to ensure that Ivey would be able to continue its number one position in the executive education market in Canada.

This case describes how Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqalmal, a Dubai-based online comparison aggregator of banking and insurance products launched her business in 2011 and rapidly grew it over next couple of years. However, by 2017, the Mauritian entrepreneur observed the emergence of other aggregators in the market and wanted to be ready for the price war that could ensue. To date, Musa had grown Souqalmal's business by focusing on driving positive unit economics and had refrained from entering a price war. However, she wondered whether she now needed to switch gears and focus on defending her market share by counter discounting. Souqalmal had almost run through the $1.5 million it had raised in seed and series A fundraising from U.K.-based Hummingbird Ventures and angel investors, and was seeking to raise $10 million in a series B round later in the year to fuel geographic growth and team expansion. Musa imminently needed to prepare a forecast for prospective investors, which would be dependent on the retaliation strategy she chose. What should Musa do?

Spreadsheet supplement for case 119028.

Plant management at Pasta Serafina, a pasta producer in the south of Italy, is struggling to contain employee absenteeism. While the misbehavior is concentrated in a minority of the workers, its effects impact not only the plant's performance, but also the climate and work environment. Embedded in institutional and legal environment that allows very little room for corrective action, and already dealing with persistent low margins, management decides to address the issue by asking the employees themselves to find a solution to the problem. The case exposes students to managerial challenges associated with curbing moral hazard and changing the company culture in a setting where standard legal and contractual tools, such as firing workers for performance or using incentives to influence behaviors, are not available.

The case complements Pasta Serafina (A) by describing the aftermath of a town hall meeting in which management had publicly denounced the absenteeism problem and challenged the employees to find a solution. In spite of the initial mistrust against management, the fear of an imminent plant closure coupled with the relief associated with finally being able to be heard by management, pushes the employees to act to contain the problem themselves. Within a short time, absenteeism hits record lows. Management, however, is left wondering about the sustainability of the new culture.

This case uses an array of carefully selected and excerpted revenue recognition related information contained in Salesforce.com's January 31, 2019, 10-K. Maria, the fictional protagonist, is seeking to understand those disclosures as part of her preparation for an upcoming job interview with the company. As such, she is relying on those disclosures to provide insights as to the company's main product/service lines, the events that signal when and how much revenue the company has earned (i.e., the essence of its business model), along with the related official generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) criteria pertinent to the valuing and timing of recorded revenues.

In December 2017, the managing director (MD) of Macmet Engineering Limited (Macmet), an engineering firm located in Kolkata, India, was preparing for an upcoming negotiation with a client a who had submitted a project proposal for the supply and installation of a water filtration system. The MD wanted to conduct an in-depth cost analysis to determine a competitive bid to win the project. Typically, pricing decisions were made using the full-cost method; however, the MD wanted to consider the current industry and competitive landscape in addition to an analysis of Macmet's corporate capabilities to see if direct costing made more sense for this project. He also wanted to calculate the project's absorption cost. Using the cost analysis alongside the qualitative analysis, the MD wanted to submit a bid in the next two weeks to win the project.

In December 2017, the managing director (MD) of Macmet Engineering Limited (Macmet), an engineering firm located in Kolkata, India, was preparing for an upcoming negotiation with a client a who had submitted a project proposal for the supply and installation of a water filtration system. The MD wanted to conduct an in-depth cost analysis to determine a competitive bid to win the project. Typically, pricing decisions were made using the full-cost method; however, the MD wanted to consider the current industry and competitive landscape in addition to an analysis of Macmet’s corporate capabilities to see if direct costing made more sense for this project. He also wanted to calculate the project’s absorption cost. Using the cost analysis alongside the qualitative analysis, the MD wanted to submit a bid in the next two weeks to win the project.

This case describes the growth of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) under the leadership of Leonard Glenn Francis. GDMA provided ship husbanding and logistical support services to the United States Navy when Navy ships visited various ports in Southeast Asia. The case details the role of ship husbanding in U.S. Navy operations and the contracting process for procuring ship husbanding services. In order to help win contracts, Francis developed relationships with an extensive network of U.S. Navy officers, often by treating them to lavish meals and luxury accommodations during port visits. He used this network of contacts to acquire confidential information about U.S. Navy ship operations and port visits, giving GDMA an advantage in bidding for contracts. The case relates how Francis and GDMA came under investigation for these tactics and allows for discussion of whether these tactics were potentially illegal and/or unethical. The (A) case concludes with Francis' arrest by U.S. authorities. The (B) case describes the aftermath of Francis' arrest, including the prosecution and sentencing of his co-conspirators and the termination of U.S. Navy contracts with GDMA. The (B) case further describes a U.S. Navy audit of contracting practices and changes implemented to prevent future unethical or corrupt contracting as had occurred on a widespread basis between GDMA and the U.S. Navy. This case supports a discussion of internal control practices to contain risk of fraud and misconduct.

Supplemental to case 120036 This case describes the growth of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) under the leadership of Leonard Glenn Francis. GDMA provided ship husbanding and logistical support services to the United States Navy when Navy ships visited various ports in Southeast Asia. The case details the role of ship husbanding in U.S. Navy operations and the contracting process for procuring ship husbanding services. In order to help win contracts, Francis developed relationships with an extensive network of U.S. Navy officers, often by treating them to lavish meals and luxury accommodations during port visits. He used this network of contacts to acquire confidential information about U.S. Navy ship operations and port visits, giving GDMA an advantage in bidding for contracts. The case relates how Francis and GDMA came under investigation for these tactics and allows for discussion of whether these tactics were potentially illegal and/or unethical. The (A) case concludes with Francis' arrest by U.S. authorities. The (B) case describes the aftermath of Francis' arrest, including the prosecution and sentencing of his co-conspirators and the termination of U.S. Navy contracts with GDMA. The (B) case further describes a U.S. Navy audit of contracting practices and changes implemented to prevent future unethical or corrupt contracting as had occurred on a widespread basis between GDMA and the U.S. Navy. This case supports a discussion of internal control practices to contain risk of fraud and misconduct.