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The chairman of Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co. Ltd. was pleased with his company's financial results for the first half of 2018. Two years earlier, the organization's subsidiary, Fuyao Glass America Inc., had completed the construction of the largest auto glass manufacturing facility in the world, which was located in Moraine, Ohio. Its revenues in the first half of 2018 had surged 27 per cent compared with the previous year, while groupwide revenues of the organization had grown 16 per cent. Fuyao Glass America Inc. had converted its loss of ¥65 million into a profit of ¥48 million. With deteriorating relations between the governments of China and the United States (U.S.) indicating an uncertain future, some social pundits were criticizing the organization for deserting China by investing overseas. The chairman remained defiant and confident in his strategy, but how would the company's U.S. expansion and global strategy be affected by recent developments in the relationship between China and the United States?

Mark Seidman at the Federal Trade Commission is evaluating a proposed merger between two health care entities and competing market leaders in southwest Virginia. The rural region is characterized by poverty, unemployment, and poor population health indicators relative to the rest of the state. The merger would form a virtual monopoly, normally prohibited by federal consumer protection laws, but the two companies assert that it would allow them to remain profitable and to continue to offer health care services in the region. In the B case, Marissa Levine, the Virginia Commissioner of Health, considers reports for and against the merger as she decides whether to issue a waiver to allow it. The optional C case describes the consequences of these decisions. The case set includes excerpts from public filings, which provide rich insight into the reasoning behind each entity's opinion. This case set explores the differences in and conflicts among the interests of for-profit health care systems, of rural, low-income residents, and of federal, state, and local governments. It allows students to engage in an in-depth discussion of the sometimes emotional issue of rural healthcare. It is suitable for students in a classes spanning health care management, nonprofit management, public policy, governance, ethics, and the social sector.

In this B case, the follow-up to UV7854, Marissa Levine, the Virginia Commissioner of Health, considers reports for and against the merger of two health care entities in rural Virginia, as she decides whether to issue a waiver to allow it. This case set explores the differences in and conflicts among the interests of for-profit health care systems, of rural, low-income residents, and of federal, state, and local governments. It allows students to engage in an in-depth discussion of the sometimes emotional issue of rural healthcare. It is suitable for students in a classes spanning health care management, nonprofit management, public policy, governance, ethics, and the social sector.

This optional C case follows UV7854 and UV7856, and describes the results of decisions on whether to allow a merger of two health care entities in rural Virginia. This case set explores the differences in and conflicts among the interests of for-profit health care systems, of rural, low-income residents, and of federal, state, and local governments. It allows students to engage in an in-depth discussion of the sometimes emotional issue of rural healthcare. It is suitable for students in a classes spanning health care management, nonprofit management, public policy, governance, ethics, and the social sector.

Unilever subsidiary Dove soap became a "brand with a purpose" and created shared value when the company decided to launch a Campaign for Real Beauty to combat the artificial media-driven stereotype of female beauty that causes appearance anxiety in women and girls around the world. From as young as 6 years of age, girls develop concerns about their body image that affect their self-confidence, relationships, health and careers. Through research and evidence-based practices, Dove developed a global campaign including advertisements, school curricula, online resources, public events, policy advocacy, and training sessions that reached more than 35 million girls and women across 140 countries. Rigorous evaluations demonstrated positive impact in self-esteem and body image while driving a decade of consecutive sales growth for Dove, ultimately becoming Unilever's biggest brand. Yet the challenge of deciding how to allocate funds between advertising the product and conducting educational programs to deliver social impact remained. The company also faced criticism about other Unilever brands, such as Axe or Fair & Lovely, that contradicted the Dove campaign.

In January 2016, the three partners of CampusHash Technologies LLP (CampusHash), an Indian start-up focused on conducting software training programs, had to make some pressing strategic decisions. CampusHash's revenues had not grown as expected and the partners had to decide whether to continue with the existing business model or choose to pivot. While pivoting could potentially lead to a significant improvement in CampusHash's performance, it could also lead to wide-spread organizational change and disruption, risking the survival of the start-up. Despite their constrained resources, the partners had to decide whether to pivot or not in the next two weeks, when they would present a business plan to angel investors to raise much-required funding.

The international demand for rhinoceros (rhino) horns was driving the species to near extinction. But an international ban on trading the horns made it lucrative to illegally kill rhinos for their horns, which were traded on the black market. One hotly debated idea to curb rhino poaching was to legalize the trade of farmed rhino horns, which could be sustainably obtained without killing the animal. The founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of a non-governmental organization (NGO), Helping Rhinos, opposed legalizing the trade of rhino horns, as had other NGOs. He wondered, though, whether he and his organization should reconsider that position. Legalizing the sale of sustainable rhino horns could counter the black-market demand and protect the remaining, endangered rhinos. At the next board meeting, the founder and CEO needed to recommend whether the organization should continue to oppose legalization or change its approach and advocate for multi-nation legalization. But first he needed to consider the perspectives of the various stakeholders and which decision would be in the best interest of the rhinos. How should he and the NGO proceed?

In August 2019, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The first major storm of protest followed the surprise election of Donald Trump as President of the United States on November 8, 2016; many put the blame at the door of fake news stories served up on Facebook's Trending News Feed. Zuckerberg dismissed these claims as "crazy," asserting that Facebook was a technology company, not a media company. In 2017, it was revealed that a Russian intelligence team had purchased 3,000 political ads on Facebook in an attempt to influence the 2016 US Presidential Election. Then, in March 2018, the public learned that Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy, had used 87 million Facebook profiles obtained from scraping the site to affect the election. As a result, Zuckerberg was called to Congress to testify. In early 2019, Facebook announced the company was to merge its Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms and share data, but that this data would be more secure. The claim was greeted with much skepticism. To explain the move, Zuckerberg published a blog post, changing the company's mission from making the world more open to achieving privacy-focused communications on its platform. Meanwhile, Facebook continued to struggle with fake news while expanding its service offering. In June 2019, it announced it was to launch Libra, a new global cryptocurrency for its 2.5 billion users around the world. There was little doubt of the scale of Zuckerberg's ambitions.

Apache Corporation had survived and excelled more than 50 years in one of the world's most challenging industries, the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. And it had done so in its own way, with a unique set of skills that allowed it to be one of the industry's lowest cost producers. But in 2019 its fortunes were clearly on the decline. Following the 2008 financial crisis most of the major oil and gas firms enjoyed an extended period of growth and profitability. But not Apache. The company's financial results and share price had been sliding for years. Beginning in 2015 the company undertook a change in direction, exiting most of its major international projects to focus on U.S. operations, specifically the Permian Basin. A major discovery in the Permian of West Texas in 2016, Alpine High, was expected to be the turning point. But three years later the company's performance continued to slide. Investors wanted to know what was next.

The legendary Harvard Business School Professor and disruptive innovation expert discusses the ideas in his latest book, The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty. He introduces the concept of 'market-creating innovations', which create new markets for people for whom either no products existed or existing products were unaffordable or inaccessible for a variety of reasons. These innovations transform complicated and expensive products into ones that are so much more affordable and accessible that many more people are able to buy and use them-and can transform communities. In the end, he shows that if you stay focused on serving 'non-consumers' with affordable solutions, opportunity will be vast.

New innovations today are likely to be more advantageous to college graduates than those who didn't finish high school. In an excerpt from their book, Innovation + Equality: How to Create a Future That Is More Star Trek Than Terminator, the authors argue that new technologies can worsen inequality, which in turn can create a backlash against innovation. To make sure the innovation engine keeps humming, it is vital to ensure that the fruits of growth are available to all.

The author argues that The best way for any organizaton to detect, define and share customer insights is hiding in plain sight: Your own employees can help you create an insight-driven organization. He shows how canvassing the thoughts, fears and experiences of customers with your own managers and employees has three key advantages: The 'researcher' knows the subject matter; he/she can be more creative than an outsider about designing the experience; and you can save untold market research budget dollars. In the end, he shows that in an era of Big Data, 'big qualitative insights' remain a powerful competitive weapon.

If it hasn't happened yet, it is only a matter of time before your organization has a 'cyber incident'. The FBI estimates that a cyber incident will occur every 14 seconds this year, ranging from minor, accidental disclosures of sensitive information to a major theft of data and other valuable assets by criminals, state-sponsored actors, or terrorists. The authors show that cyber threats are the result of three interrelated characteristics: those who engage in cyber attacks, or the Threat Actors; the value they expect to extract from the Targets they attack; and the 'Attack Vectors' they will use to attack your organization. Understanding how these three elements interact is critical for every modern leader.

When it comes to problem-solving, the questions we ask often undermine our desire to uncover novel insights. The author describes 'quicksand questions' and the four traps they get us into. He then presents his 'Unstuck Minds Compass', which asks four questions of the individual encountering a complex challenge: Do you want information about the big picture (contextual inquiry) or data about the nature of the problem (critical inquiry)? Should you seek out the perspectives of others (collaborative inquiry) or start by questioning the assumptions behind the framing of the challenge (creative inquiry)? In the end, he shows that diversifying our approach to complex problems by embracing these four types of inquiry can help us become more adaptable and less likely to get stuck.

Eight years ago, Malnight, Buche, and Dhanaraj launched a study of high growth in companies, looking at three strategies known to drive it: creating new markets, serving broader stakeholder needs, and rewriting the rules of the game. To their surprise, they discovered a fourth driver they hadn't considered at all: purpose. Companies have long been building purpose into what they do, but usually it's seen as an add-on--as a way to, say, give back to the community. The high-growth companies in the study, in contrast, had made purpose central to their strategies, using it to redefine playing fields and reshape value propositions. The purpose of Mars Petcare, for instance--a better world for pets--guided its expansion from pet food into the larger ecosystem of pet health. The purpose of Securitas--contributing to a safer society--led the firm to redesign its offering to include not just physical guards but electronic services and predictive solutions. This article explains how executives can develop and implement a purpose at their organizations. It also describes the benefits they're quite likely to see once they do: a more unified organization, more-motivated stakeholders, broader impact, and more profitable growth.

In many contexts, the firm is no longer an independent strategic actor. Its success depends on collaboration with other firms in a designed ecosystem spanning multiple sectors. In these cases, traditional strategy frameworks are of little help. Instead, the author says, companies should focus on five questions: (1) Can you help other firms create value? Success is as much about helping other firms innovate as it is about innovating yourself. (2) What role should you play? You don't necessarily need to be the chief architect of your ecosystem; sometimes you're better off sharing the role or being a complementor. (3) What should the terms be? There are two key governance choices: who can access the ecosystem, and how exclusively attached your partners must be. (4) Can your organization adapt? Customers' needs and complementors' desire and ability to collaborate can shift dramatically, requiring changes in your allocation of resources. (5) How many ecosystems should you manage? Some successful orchestrators head up multiple ecosystems--each covering a different part of the business, and each leading to a different path for expansion.

This Overview case summarizes the story and development of the LKK food and health products company, from its origins as a small provider of oyster sauce, to a thriving multinational firm in the early 21st Century. Since 1980 it had grown from a small specialist provider of oyster sauce with just 25 employees to a large multinational firm offering a wide range of food brands and health products. There was a particular focus on governance reform, ownership strategies, and the values and disciplines needed for long-term resilience. A challenge of passing on ownership to members of the fifth generation, a group of 14 cousins, was being met at the time of writing. Reforms of the early 21st Century to strengthen family relationships, governance and strategy were proving successful. There was also a strong humanitarian emphasis, with the establishment of enlightened or 'autopilot' leadership, placing collective need ahead of individual ego, and establishment of the Happiness Index, measured internally at the company, and the subject of a centre the family funded at Harvard University. The family faced new challenges. It was considering the establishment of a separate Owners Board - a function that had been carried out in effect by the Family Council. The case summarizes four previous case studies, the (A), (B), (C) and (D) cases, dating from 2002.

In October 2017, Experian, one of the "Big Three" consumer credit reporting agencies in the United Kingdom made an offer to acquire ClearScore for a total consideration of £293 million. Founded by Justin Basini, Dan Cobley, and Nigel Morris in 2014, ClearScore was the UK's first company to offer consumers full credit reports and scores for free. ClearScore had accumulated over 5 million customers since its launch on July 15, 2015, and was growing rapidly. In the final quarter of 2017, it was set to reach break-even and deliver £27 million in revenues for the year. Was this the time to sell?

In October 2018, LIU Chang (Angela), chairman of Beijing-based New Hope Liuhe (NHL), was considering the strategy of the firm. With $9 billion in sales and a presence in nearly 20 countries, NHL was China's largest animal feed producer and a major pork and poultry producer and processor. The firm also marketed a range of food products to consumers. This case describes NHL's entrepreneurial beginnings, growth, and recent efforts to transform from a feed producer into an integrated agri-food company with an active presence throughout the chicken, duck, and pig value chains. Considerable context is provided on the structure and evolution of these livestock industries in China, the food processing industry, and important issues such as food safety. This background is helpful in enabling students to assess NHL's evolution in scale and scope and consider what (if any) changes should be made to the firm's strategy in the context of this critically important market.

This case describes Walmart's omnichannel strategy in 2018 as it battled Amazon for online retail market share. The case discusses Walmart's early forays into online retail, as well as its 2018 strategy, which aimed to integrate Walmart's enormous brick and mortar footprint with its growing ecommerce business, e.g., through merchandise and grocery delivery and order online, pickup in store options. Walmart's strategy also included the acquistion of Jet.com (in 2016) as well as the acquistion of a number of other specialty eretailers (e.g., Shoes.com, Moosejaw, Bare Necessities) and digitally-native vertical brands that developed their own products and sold them directly to consumers, such as ModCloth, Bonobos, and Eloquii. In addition to building its online marketplace, Walmart hoped to leverage its existing assets, such as its massive network of retail stores and thriving grocery business, in the fight against Amazon. The case poses the question: Could Walmart successfully compete against Amazon and other online retailers in areas such as grocery delivery, product selection, shipping costs, and delivery times?