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Raises a variety of issues associated with a program evaluation: conflicting data, the role of upfront targets, the importance of models of causality, and the appropriate time frame. It also has a political dimension. The available data are somewhat conflicting. Some performance measures suggest that considerable improvements took place since the introduction of the program, but it is not clear that the program is the cause of these changes. There also is the question of whether the resources devoted to the program could be used better elsewhere.

Addresses the use of a balanced scorecard (BSC) in a public school setting. Raises questions of who the customer is, what BSC elements are most appropriate, and how success can be measured for the different elements. Also addresses the issue of cooperation among the affected parties, such as teachers and parents.

Concerns a budgeting system that is unresponsive to senior management's needs. Several changes are needed to align the system with the organization's new strategy. The case can be taught on either a technical or a conceptual level (or both), depending on the instructor's interests and his or her goals for the course.

A complex case with many issues. Students must prepare a managerially oriented flow chart that will show key decision points, which students can then be analyzed, using data in the case, to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the program.

Anti-corruption web platform "ipaidabribe.com" leverages the transparency and anonymity of the Internet to encourage private citizens in India who have been the victims of corruption to self-report details of bribes paid, including the bribe amount, the name of the corrupt official, and services rendered. The ipaidabribe.com portal then aggregates these data to create maps and charts of corrupt activities across Indian cities. The theory is that such data will build awareness and shame, raising the cost of corruption. But after initial successes-buoyed by visibility generated from mass street protests against corruption in 2011-traffic to the website has slowed. The question before spouses, ex-bankers, and ipaidabribe.com co-founders Ramesh and Swati Ramanathan is how to generate and sustain interest in the web platform so that they have real impact on retail corruption in India. Possible solutions discussed include teaming up with local governments and police, focusing attention on one or two Indian cities, and franchising ipaidabribe.com internationally to create more visibility.

A chief of medicine is attempting to determine the cost of the diagnoses of patients who are treated in her department. Three different cost systems are being evaluated.

This case provides students with an opportunity to think about a management control system that focuses on cost drivers and that has established clinical departments as profit centers.

This case describes a "bundled pricing" approach to managed care contracting. Bundled pricing is a contracting strategy whereby a hospital and its physicians share the risk of a fixed price contract. The case raises questions about managed care pricing strategies and hospital-physician relationships. Students must analyze the financial implications of the hospital's contracting strategy and propose an approach that provides appropriate incentives for physicians while minimizing the hospital's risk.

An introductory breakeven case designed for students with no prior experience with breakeven analysis. The purposes of the case are: (1) to teach the concept and techniques or breakeven analysis, (2) to clarify the difference among fixed, variable, and step-function costs, and (3) to demonstrate the relationship of costs and revenue to volume.

A very comprehensive case that requires students to define the organization's strategy, understand its structure, and then determine how a responsibility center network has been overlaid on it. There is a poor programming process at work, which has led the organization in some unusual directions, a budgeting process that emphasizes revenues and ignores expense, and a reporting process that does not fit well with the organizational structure or the network of responsibility centers. In short, a mess.

A rather complex case that calls for a report that gives providers a breakdown of why they are (or are not) achieving their budgeted levels of performance. Students knowledge of variance analysis is tested here by requiring them to understand and then restructure a confusing variance analysis prepared by the business manager.

A case on capital budgeting as a component of an organization's strategic planning. The case is designed for students to use their financial skills in calculating net present values, internal rates of return and in deriving appropriate discount rates. The fundamental objective, however, is not mechanical, but to assess the various components and characteristics of capital budgeting systems as to how well they fit with the specific needs of an organization.

This case requires a differential cost analysis that introduces students to several important matters. It demonstrates the difference between various types of direct and indirect costs. The cost center report for the Dialysis Unit contains fixed, variable and step-function costs, and students must identify which is which. Overhead costs are presented in the stepdown analysis and their relationship to direct costs and a breakeven analysis must be resolved.

This case is focused principally on a chief of pathology's attempt to justify an additional technician for the pathology lab. The question of how he justifies this, however, is somewhat of a red herring, since by looking at the process he follows in attempting to prepare the data necessary for such a justification, students will become aware of the control structure, both of the hospital and in the Department of Pathology, as well as the budgetary process used by the hospital. They thus have the opportunity to put the management control structure into its broader organizational context.

A growing home health agency is experiencing cash flow problems. Students must prepare a cash worksheet and a SCF and compare the results to the accrual statements, which show an operating surplus.

This case concerns a department of gastroenterology within a department of medicine that is attempting to build its budget. The chair of medicine has asked the GI division head to give him a business plan, and the business plan is presented in the case. The chief must decide how credible the business plan is. To fully understand what is going on, the budget-building (and business plan) effort must be taken down to the individual provider level.

The CEO of a bicycle manufacturing company is considering outsourcing the production of one of the company's lines to a low-cost manufacturer. Students must analyze the relevant costs and strategic implications.

A middle manager has an attractive new product proposal that is expected to make a lot of money. However, senior management is rejecting it. Students must analyze the proposal and determine whether it is as good as presented and, if so, how to present it.

A multi-product company has a dysfunctional management control system. The system had gone into effect 18 months ago, and this year had become fully operational. The CEO was questioning its utility,

The CEO of an electric utility company is considering requesting a rate increase. At issue is the cost of the various services that the company provides and how overhead is to be allocated fairly to them.