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Although real estate is the largest, or second-largest, asset for most companies, it rarely captures senior management's attention. And real estate decisions, many of which are made within business units and driven by short-term needs, don't usually reflect a company's broader strategy. Apgar presents five maxims that will help executives make the most of this critical resource. Manage the portfolio. Instead of making site-by-site analyses, executives need to cultivate an overall understanding of their holdings, including a snapshot of the company's existing footprint and a view of its future needs. Build in flexibility. Companies that prize flexibility own less and lease more. They favor space that can be subdivided and converted from one use to another, and they decrease their real estate costs by offering such workplace options as telecommuting. Cultivate intelligence. In order to connect real estate decisions to corporate strategy, executives need accurate data. And they must pay more attention to internal measures than to fluctuations in the real estate market. Team with professionals. Companies that maintain the most efficient and flexible real estate portfolios often do so by enlisting partners that offer expertise and efficiencies. Embrace sustainability. Companies of all types are transforming the buildings they use in order to reduce harmful emissions. Green buildings can cost more up front, but they deliver high returns over the long term.

Fiserv, a pioneer in electronic payments, would like to increase the number of consumers who receive bills electronically. Currently, adoption is relatively low. To help guide their efforts, Fiserv managers have done extensive customer research and have segmented the market based on customer perceptions of e-billing. Students must recommend which segments to target and why. To support their recommendations, students must calculate the likely financial costs and benefits of adoption, estimate the likely returns for targeting different segments, and make targeting and positioning recommendations based on these calculations. Because Fiserv's direct customers are billers (such as utilities and credit card companies) and its end users are individual consumers, the case allows a focus on both B2B and B2C issues.

In the decade that the chairman, president and chief operating officer of Linens 'N Things (LNT) had been leading the firm, there had been significant changes to the industry. Specifically, its main competitor was experiencing higher sales and profits with the result of increased market share. External advice was sought to identify strategies available to LNT to catch up to its competitor and a successful Guest Oriented, Locally-Driven (GOLD) pilot was launched. Due to dwindling interests and internal resistance to the initiative, however, the chairman was left to decide what to do with the roll-out. He had several options to consider: Should he maintain the current pilot, or simply shut it down? Could it be changed or altered to encourage participation? Should it be district-specific? Or perhaps issuing an executive mandate would generate involvement. The chairman knew any decision would have to consider these and other cultural and strategic issues.

A manager of Student Services at a small college was very concerned about the delays and costs of processing student registrations during the annual orientation week. She glanced at recently collected data on processing times for the six major steps that the registration process required. She wondered how the process might be improved while balancing budgetary pressures to reduce costs.

A current franchisee of Marble Slab Creamery (producer of the self-proclaimed Freshest Ice Cream on Earth) was set to open his second location in Waterloo, Ontario. In a recent phone conversation with Marble Slab's Canadian president, the contentious issue of the corporate ice-cream weighing policy had come up. The franchisee was convinced that his managerial abilities and the growth potential of the new location would result in an ultimately successful franchise; however, the president had expressed hesitation at the franchisee straying from the policy. Two questions were foremost in his mind as he weighed his options: 1) What did customers truly value in the Marble Slab service concept? 2) How would the chosen weighing policy affect the customer experience? The franchisee had hopes of owning several Marble Slab franchises, and knew that his weighing policy decision could have lasting effects on his business operations and his relationship with head office.

The owner and operator of Elizabeth's Country Wares (ECW), a decorative country housewares and ceramic pottery business based in Woodstock, Ontario, was trying to find a way to increase capacity. Because ECW was her primary occupation and source of income, the owner was eager to take advantage of the growing interest in one of her product lines from some of her primary customers - member stores of a national pharmacy chain. She was unsure whether she should purchase new equipment or outsource part or all of the production of these pieces. The owner was uncertain whether ECW could meet the forecasted demand of 3, 000 units for the coming year, and she did not want to miss out on selling more of the line. However, she also believed there was more earnings potential if she could focus her attention elsewhere in the business.

In September 2009, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Rona Inc. was reviewing the company's progress in relation to the ongoing economic recession. Rona was the largest retailer of hardlines in Canada. Rona had noticed definitive signs of slowdown in the third quarter of 2007 and had launched Strategic Plan 2008 - 2011 as a response. The two-phase program was nearing the completion of its first phase of Productivity, Efficiency and Profitability (PEP) and was gearing up for the 24 month-long Recovery Program. The Strategic Plan had been tweaked since its launch, all with a view towards strengthening the core platform. The objective of the Recovery Plan was to restore focus on growth vectors from which the company had become distracted. On the eve of commencement of the Recovery Plan, the CEO began to wonder if Rona was ready to act on increasing sales, recruiting independents, constructing new stores and pursuing acquisitions. Or was it necessary to redesign and relaunch the PEP program, thus deferring the Recovery Plan?

The case describes the situation faced by the vice-president of operations at Konkan Leaf Tobacco Development, the tobacco processing unit of XYZ Limited. This unit is in charge of procurement and processing of different varieties and grades of tobacco grown in southern India. The tobacco leaves are categorized into different varieties on the basis of quality and location of the crop. The company has two processing plants with varying processing capacities. Due to the seasonal and agricultural nature of the commodity, the company is finding it difficult to maintain efficiencies between the inflow of the tobacco and the requirement of the processing line capacity, resulting in frequent start-stop situations for the processing lines. This case enables students to develop strategies for the process management to achieve the optimum process schedule, which will result in the fewest stoppages of the process lines and optimization of both the utilization of the processing lines and the inflow patterns among the processing units.

This B case, which accompanies "Hudson's Seafood Corporation (A)" (UVA-OM-0875), is ideal for use in service- and operations-management business courses. It presents the business decision made by an owner who has considered which option to focus on for each of his two restaurants: a distinctive service package or reshaping one restaurant around the market currently being successfully served by its sister restaurant. A teaching note (UVA-OM-0875TN) that includes video from the era when the A case was written is available to support both cases in this set.

This case describes the relief supply chain in the initial 72 hours following a large-scale natural disaster. Taking the earthquake in Armenia as an example, we use the Fritz Institute Framework, published in 2005, to draw a parallel between two response systems: the Colombian government response and the National Society of the Red Cross, part of the Red Cross Movement based in Geneva.

Through its uniquely proactive approach to medical malpractice risk management, the Risk Management Foundation has decreased claims-and premiums-for the Harvard hospitals it insures. The RMF is the captive medico-legal insurer of the Harvard medical institutions and affiliated physicians. Over the last two decades, through a combination of active legal defense and medical error prevention, The RMF has successfully controlled the medico-legal costs of physicians practicing at the Harvard teaching hospitals; consequently, its insured physicians pay notably lower premiums than similar specialists outside the Harvard system. The RMF's success has been due, in large part, to the close working relationships it has cultivated with the insured physicians and hospitals. However, as the hospitals expand their networks into Boston's suburbs, new, less tightly affiliated doctors whose medico-legal risk is higher than those practicing at the hospitals are coming under RMF's umbrella. This case describes The RMF's approach to risk management and the challenges its managers face in accommodating these new physicians.

eBay considers adjustments to the structure and rules of its affiliate marketing program, eBay Partner Network (ePN). In particular, eBay reevaluates affiliate compensation structure, the role of bonuses for especially productive affiliates, and the overall rationale for outsourcing online marketing efforts to independent affiliates. The case presents the history and development of ePN, ePN's importance to eBay, and the mechanics of online affiliate marketing.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Describes Autodesk's engagement in Integrated Project Delivery-a new model of risk management, inter-firm teamwork, and multi-objective (aesthetic, cost, and sustainability) optimization in building projects. In 2008, Autodesk, Inc. the world's largest design software company, decided to engage in Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) for the design and construction of its new Architecture, Engineering and Construction Solutions (AECS) Group headquarters, near Boston. Under IPD, the project's architect, builder, and client (Autodesk) entered a contractual agreement to share all project risks and profits. During the project, however, Autodesk was unsatisfied with the design progress, and asked the project team to introduce a three-story atrium in the headquarters' design. Logistically, it was not a good time to make changes as the team had already made significant design progress. The team was also working under a tight budget and delivery deadline. However, the aesthetics would appear to be greatly improved by changing the design. The project's architect and builder had to decide whether accommodating the atrium into the current schedule and work sequencing was an acceptable risk.

Describes Autodesk's engagement in Integrated Project Delivery-a new model of risk management, inter-firm teamwork, and multi-objective (aesthetic, cost, and sustainability) optimization in building projects. In 2008, Autodesk, Inc. the world's largest design software company, decided to engage in Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) for the design and construction of its new Architecture, Engineering and Construction Solutions (AECS) Group headquarters, near Boston. Under IPD, the project's architect, builder, and client (Autodesk) entered a contractual agreement to share all project risks and profits. During the project, however, Autodesk was unsatisfied with the design progress, and asked the project team to introduce a three-story atrium in the headquarters' design. Logistically, it was not a good time to make changes as the team had already made significant design progress. The team was also working under a tight budget and delivery deadline. However, the aesthetics would appear to be greatly improved by changing the design. The project's architect and builder had to decide whether accommodating the atrium into the current schedule and work sequencing was an acceptable risk.

Describes Autodesk's engagement in Integrated Project Delivery-a new model of risk management, inter-firm teamwork, and multi-objective (aesthetic, cost, and sustainability) optimization in building projects. In 2008, Autodesk, Inc. the world's largest design software company, decided to engage in Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) for the design and construction of its new Architecture, Engineering and Construction Solutions (AECS) Group headquarters, near Boston. Under IPD, the project's architect, builder, and client (Autodesk) entered a contractual agreement to share all project risks and profits. During the project, however, Autodesk was unsatisfied with the design progress, and asked the project team to introduce a three-story atrium in the headquarters' design. Logistically, it was not a good time to make changes as the team had already made significant design progress. The team was also working under a tight budget and delivery deadline. However, the aesthetics would appear to be greatly improved by changing the design. The project's architect and builder had to decide whether accommodating the atrium into the current schedule and work sequencing was an acceptable risk.

Two MBA students involved in a week-long kaizen event at a manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic must increase productivity and reduce gross inventory despite an uncooperative work group. Lean manufacturing principles are analyzed in the context of a deadline-driven process.

In September 2009, Brian Lee purchased a computer game developed by a major company and, like other customers, he was experiencing difficulty running it. The source of the problems was a highly restrictive system of digital rights management (DRM), which, while more or less universally disliked, was causing serious technical problems for a minority of users. Lee began to share his experience on the company's message board and was engaging in a debate about online piracy with a company representative. He was curious about piracy in the file-sharing age and wondered why it would be wrong to download a pirated version of the game with the DRM circumvented. The case deals with an issue which resonates with students. Although the context is simple, the problem is complex, thus giving instructors wide latitude on how to teach the case. It is suitable for modules or courses focused on ethics, service operations, intellectual property rights and information technology.