個案總覽

The Centro de Gestion Hospitalaria (Hospital Management Center), a nonprofit organization created in Colombia in 1992 "to promote and lead health management transformation in order to contribute to the overall development of the sector," registered a loss of about $91,000 in 2001. Top management needed a strategy to put an end to operating losses and ensure its survival. To trigger alternative courses of action, the case provides information on the organization's background, activities, and achievements in its 10 years of existence; its structure and daily operation; and its associations with several companies. Outlines the center's main features to provide the necessary background for strategic decisions on how to tackle its operating losses and how to keep providing the training, consulting, research, and informational products needed by industry players. Covers up to mid-2002, and discussions may close with the developments that took place when the new government took office in August of that year.

A regional director of a consulting firm must decide how to compete for a major consulting contract. Appshop can take a level payment contract, a lower level payment with a prospective bonus given high performance, or bid on an RFP where a significant reward is given contingent on the client's savings. The case can be used to introduce Monte Carlo simulation modeling and to build skills in structuring a decision tree in a spreadsheet. It affords an opportunity to simulate alternative risk profiles and to discuss their comparative advantages.

Examines the dynamic relationship between two complementors: Intel and Microsoft. Set in 1995, the case asks how Intel and Microsoft should solve a serious division between the two companies that threatens the health of the PC industry.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Describes the collaboration between Junior Achievement Argentina and Coca-Cola Argentina and the development and implementation process of a customized educational program focused on environmental issues implemented at schools by Junior Achievement Argentina. Junior Achievement Argentina is exploring the possibility of exporting the program to other countries to generate additional revenues, but there is an exclusivity agreement with Coca-Cola Argentina for program delivery. Allows for the analysis of collaborations between NGOs and private companies, where "customized" educational projects help to meet the companies' strategic needs. Also, describes the joint work process involved, while tackling the "ownership" issues that crop up in programs developed and financed by a single company, and explores how to balance the needs and interests of private companies and NGOs.

McKinsey is an international consulting company that operates in 43 countries. Fundacion Compromiso is an nonprofit entity that provides training, counseling, and technical assistance to improve the management and impact of other nonprofit entities of Argentina. A third organization, Ashoka Association, supports social entrepreneurs and has a global alliance with McKinsey. Ashoka's intermediation is responsible for a cooperation program through which McKinsey applies its central skills to provide technical assistance to Fundacion Compromiso. The objectives of this activity are to evaluate one of Fundacion Compromiso's most important programs and establish a long-term growth strategy for this nonprofit entity. However, following the technical assistance work developed by McKinsey is a dramatic change in Argentina's social, political, and economic situations, which limit the agreed-on strategic plan, forcing Fundacion Compromiso to reconsider its growth strategy.

In 1999, Richard Townsend, M.D. was the newly appointed executive director (CEO) of the Liberty Medical Foundation (LMF). Townsend was responsible for both the Liberty Medical Group (LMG), a large, 3,000 physician multispecialty medical group that provided health care to two million subscribers, and the Liberty Medical Plan (LMP), a nonprofit insurance company. This was his first official meeting as CEO with the board of directors and a critical one. In it, he would formally present to the board his strategy for the struggling LMF. Townsend believed that Liberty faced a stark strategic choice: either dramatically lower its rates through cost cutting to become a cost leader once again or to differentiate itself by building a reputation for both quality and service. The first option would require them to re-establish a price advantage by reducing the cost structure by 10% to 15%. This tact would almost certainly entail layoffs and salary reductions. The second option would be to raise rates and rely on a service, access, and quality strategy.

Sustainable Conservation (SusCon) is an environmental nonprofit in San Francisco that works collaboratively with the private and public sectors to achieve positive environmental change. The organization forms partnerships with industry and government agencies to devise solutions to environmental problems that are both economically viable and environmentally beneficial. After 10 years of work focusing exclusively on California, the organization is considering expanding its reach outside the state as a step toward national expansion. The case explores SusCon's approach to environmental improvement and juxtaposes it to the most common strategies used by other conservation organizations. It also uses one of the organization's most successful projects, the dairy initiative, as an example of how the organization operates. The case touches on the issues and challenges that nonprofit organizations need to consider when determining whether and how to [go to scale.]

Supplements the (A) case.

The American Chamber of Commerce of Nicaragua (AmCham) developed through its education committee, a School Sponsorship Program. The objective was to encourage its members, mostly private businesses, to help improve national education through the support of needy educational institutions. The collaboration was voluntary, depending on the initiative of the people involved and the time and resources available within each participating firm. As the program progressed, the committee faced the option of becoming independent from AmCham and transforming itself into a nongovernmental institution. In this way, the support of the educational centers would increase through the raising of international funds, while easing sponsors' efforts at the same time.

Describes the evolution of the alliance between Corporacion de Ayuda para el Nino Quemado (Corporation for the Aid of Burned Children, or COANIQUEM) and ESSO-Chile (ESSO), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil International and one of the major fuel distributors of the country. This alliance involves a long-term relationship that becomes increasingly important for both partners. Addresses issues of long-term collaboration in the context of a multinational organization that does not espouse a policy of establishing formal alliances with nonprofit institutions. COANIQUEM has gained standing and recognition in the community, and a stable partnership has emerged between the two successful organizations. However, the decision to build an international center for the rehabilitation of burned children might challenge the long-standing relationship, which can jeopardize the financial health of COANIQUEM. Explores the opportunities and risks entailed in the strategic decision to expand and the challenges this decision entails for the future of the alliance. Can address the role of charismatic leadership and trust-building in the creation and growth of nonprofits.

Charts the strategic shifts in the go-to-market strategy of Oracle Corp., with thousands of go-to-market partners of varying sizes and business models--many of which were also its fiercest competitors. In the past, Oracle's own salesforce had played a dominant role in its go-to-market strategy; however, the new millennium brought changing market dynamics and, thus, partnerships were becoming increasingly important to Oracle's success. Oracle was forced to consider how to reinvent its partnership strategy.

Visa was the world's leading payment brand and its vision was to be "The World's Best Way to Pay." Visa attributed an important part of its success to high-profile sponsorships such as its Olympic Games sponsorship. Visa also sponsored numerous events such as the Rugby World Cup, Best of Broadway, the Toronto Film Festival, NASCAR, the NFL, the Visa Triple Crown, and the Paralympics, and has an international alliance with The Walt Disney Co. In the fall of 2002, Visa announced its decision to extend its Olympic Games sponsorship through 2012. Thomas Shepard, Visa's executive vice president of international marketing, partnerships, and sponsorship, played a key role in convincing Visa's six regional boards and its international board to allow Visa to extend its Olympics and Paralympics sponsorship. In the summer of 2003, Shepard and his team gathered at Visa's international headquarters located in San Mateo, California, to reflect on the impact and lessons of its past sponsorship activities. Specifically, they discussed the current corporate strategy and refinement of the existing sponsorship strategy. They looked at greater involvement in the field of entertainment and, as an outgrowth of the strategy, selecting and working with new partners such as The Walt Disney Co. (2002); how to evaluate the effectiveness of Visa's existing sponsorships; and how to apply lessons from its existing and past sponsorships to current and future ones.

Founded in March 2000 at the height of the dot-com bubble, Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) was one of 90 online marketplaces in the health care industry. The company's founders were among the largest suppliers in the industry, including Johnson & Johnson, GE Medical, Abbot, Baxter, and Medtronic. Becton-Dickinson, Braun, Guidant, Tyco, Siemens, C.R. Bard, and other key suppliers joined shortly after the company was founded. At the time of the case (spring 2003), GHX was the largest of the three remaining online health care marketplaces and ownership had expanded to include the leading players across all parts of the value chain, including health care providers and managed care organizations. Group purchasing organizations, distributors, and company executives must address key strategic issues, including integrating its latest merger, achieving profitability, defining a fair pricing strategy, and determining the pace of global expansion.

A local Philippine toothpaste manufacturer, Lamoiyan Corp., faces the challenge of staying competitive against entrenched multinational giants. The company has managed to capture, at its peak, 20% of the Philippine toothpaste market and has become the number three Philippine toothpaste producer, after Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever. However, as competition will soon intensify in the region as a result of decreasing trade barriers, Cecilio Petro, president of Lamoiyan Corp., needs to decide how to grow his company and keep it competitive. Going public, expanding channel penetration, developing new products, and expanding internationally are all strategies Pedro considers, but each move is costly and time consuming. Pedro, an optimistic, dedicated entrepreneur, must assess the best way to ensure Lamoiyan's future success.

AlarmForce Industries Inc. is a developer and sales provider of home security systems with offices throughout Canada. Since the company's inception, it had become one of the leaders in the Canadian home security market and had established a reputation for being a technological innovator in the industry. The president and CEO of the company must decide whether to launch its new product, AlarmFog, which the president believed represented the future of the home security market. This case focuses on past strategic decisions the company made in differentiating itself in a mature market.

In the summer of 2000, Stephen King, a well-known American author of "horror" novels, created a nightmare for the publishing industry: he launched an internet-downloadable novel, perhaps the first by a celebrity author, without the involvement of his traditional print-publisher, Simon & Schuster. In his own words, King asserted that this was an effort to "become big-publishing's worst nightmare." This case examines the value-chain of the traditional book publishing industry, and considers how and where King's effort poses a challenge for existing organizational actors in this industry. The case also looks at other digital initiatives that represent possible rethinking of the way that the traditional book publishing industry works, and invites the reader to consider both changes to the competitive terrain as well as the potential for appropriate strategic responses.