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CEO Aaron Feuerstein of Malden Mills decided to pay idled workers after a massive fire at his mill in 1995. Focuses on the decisions made post-fire and the rebuilding process and eventual bankruptcy of the company. Also outlines creditors' struggle to decide whether to lend Feuerstein additional funds to enable him to regain control of the company after emerging from bankruptcy.

Seattle's theatre industry had a rich, 38-year history of producing top-quality plays and musicals. In a typical year, the theatres collectively sold over 1 million tickets and pumped over $8 million into the local economy. Historically, the five major theatre companies--Seattle Repertory Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, The Empty Space Theatre, Intiman Theatre, and Seattle Children's Theatre--each had a clearly defined mission statement and unique artistic focus. However, by the close of the 2001 season, the theatres' strategic and artistic identities had blurred as each company pursed growth. Some attributed theatregoers' and donors' waning interest and declining support to this homogenization in addition to the slumping U.S. economy. Others argued that there was too much capacity in the industry and that to survive, the stronger theatres had to expand their niches and even drive smaller, weaker players out of business. The vibrant Seattle theatre industry appeared to face monumental challenges to remain both critically acclaimed and financially sound.

HiJinx is formulating its financial policy after a failed IPO. Options include landlord financing of its expansion, though with the knowledge that its real estate strategy may be compromised.

During a weekend social event, a company president learns of an attractive investment tenuously connected to his firm's line of business. Is this a corporate opportunity?

Vincor International Inc. was Canada's largest wine company and North America's fourth largest in 2002. The company had decided to internationalize and, as the first step, had entered the United States through two acquisitions. The company's CEO felt that to be among the top 10 wineries in the world, Vincor needed to look beyond the region. To this end, he was considering the acquisition of an Australian company, Goundrey Wines. He must analyze the strategic rationale for the acquisition of Goundrey as well as probe questions of strategic fit and value.

Irving Tanning, one of the few remaining U.S. leather tanneries, has successfully emerged from bankruptcy. The CEO is now looking at strategic options for the future of Irving.

Can 7-Eleven United States replicate the successful experience of 7-Eleven Japan in selling fresh foods through convenience stores? Describes the Japanese system and shows the steps the company is taking to try to achieve the same success in the United States.

Dragon's Teeth Vineyards (DTV) is a South African wine producer that is considering whether to use genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its wine-making process. GMOs promise to lower the costs of wine production significantly through increased yields and reduced processing times as well as significantly improve the quality of the final product via the use of GM yeasts in fermentation. However, the market acceptance of GMOs is unclear, due to perceived health risks and reactions from traditional "old world" producers who believe the beauty of wine lies in its craft, dependence on local soil and climate, and inherent variability.

Describes political and economic forces that influenced the development of an all-digital, high-definition television (HDTV) standard in the United States between 1986 and 1996. Outlines the stakes for various government and industry participants in the standard-setting process. Contrasts the market-led approach used in developing U.S. HDTV standards to the government-led processes employed in Japan and Europe, where billions of dollars were invested in R&D but the resulting analog standards were soon abandoned. Concludes with a series of unresolved policy issues facing U.S. regulators in 1996, for example, whether to intervene to resolve technical disputes between the broadcasting and computer industries, whether to mandate or simply authorize use of an HDTV standard, and whether to set specific deadlines for broadcasters' deployment of HDTV technology.

The head of SysCom's test equipment division is concerned about how to answer employee and customer questions concerning the possible sale or liquidation of the division. The consequences of alternative approaches (full transparency vs. strong optimism and reassurance) for the various parties differ substantially. Also involves important legal, regulatory, and reporting requirements.

This case discusses the issues facing a relatively new and small equity hedge fund as it attempts to expand its investor base.

Maverick Capital, a $7 billion hedge fund, faced a number of long-term strategic questions, particularly the issue of growth. With all of its assets invested with one strategy, Maverick was already managing more capital in a dedicated approach than any hedge fund in the world. How much growth could Maverick sustain? If Maverick should grow, how should it do so, and how would this choice affect Maverick's investment approach? Should Maverick take bigger positions in companies? Should it add more stocks to the portfolio? Was it time to reconsider Maverick's net long exposure to the market?

Loctite Corp., a large industrial adhesives company, has implemented the five principles of lean management on its customer service operation. A recent merger of the customer engineering service operation with the dispensing equipment operation has the vice-president of technical service and application engineering looking at applying the lean principles on the equipment operations. The company initially considered equipment a secondary product line, needed only to augment its service offering in support of the core product--industrial adhesives. In addition, most of Loctite's equipment manufacturing activities were outsourced, so suppliers played a key role in lean transformation. The vice-president must prepare a plan to implement the principles of lean management while meeting the goals set out by the president of the company.

Henry Hephaestus founded Hephaestus, Inc. in 1895. Its first product was a tapered roller bearing for use with horse-drawn wagons and carriages. It reduced friction on the axle and reduced the force necessary to move a heavy load, thereby enabling one horse to do the work of the two. Although there were more than 30 European and American patents on tapered roller bearings, dating back to 1802, Hephaestus, Inc. designed an innovative technique for keeping the rollers in alignment, which was patented in the United States in 1898. The founder's son and daughter, Will and Ginny, took over the firm in 1899 after their father retired. His final admonition was, "Don't set your name to anything you will ever have cause to be ashamed of." Faced with a severe cash crunch in 2001, Hephaestus, Inc. did a private placement of preferred stock to HBS Investors and GSB Investments, two private equity firms. By early 2003, Hephaestus, Inc. had become a significant supplier of roller bearings and other machinery parts for use in automobiles, aircraft engines, and prosthetic medical devices. Cash remained tight, and both HBS Investors and GSB Investments wanted to sell Hephaestus, Inc. so they could cash out their stock.

WebEx Communications, founded in 1996 by Min Zhu and Subrah Iyar, was an Internet-based, carrier-class communications services provider of web conferences and meetings. WebEx's online, real-time, interactive, multimedia communications services allowed its customers to communicate via voice conferencing, video conferencing, and data communication. With data communication, using just a standard web browser, multiple users could share and remotely control software applications and desktops, share and edit documents and presentations, remotely browse the web together, chat live, write on whiteboards, record and play back sessions, and transfer files. The company's services improved the efficiency of many activities: meetings, sales, marketing, training, customer support, etc. The company's early performance was impressive, but analysts had recently pointed out that the revenue growth rate was slowing. WebEx was considering a number of strategies to boost sales: expand the product line vertically to target specific end-user groups like health care or finance; increase partnering agreements with resellers; focus more on enterprise customers, which had the potential for hub-and-spoke acquisition of additional customers; or expand internationally (international sales accounted for about 4% of revenues in 2002). Also, Min and Subrah had to consider the repercussions of some recent news. On January 21, 2003, Microsoft announced it was acquiring PlaceWare, WebEx's most significant competitor.

Chief Technology Officer Barry Golding is meeting with Mathews & Co.'s department heads to ask for another round of investment so he can begin implementing customer relationship management software at the menswear chain. For months, he has been the CRM project's cheerleader, and it is Barry whose reputation is at stake. He quickly loses control of the meeting. One department head is disappointed that so few of her wish list items are in Barry's latest plan. Another is sour on the project now that he's discovered he won't get any payback for two years. The CEO, who has given the project his blessing, isn't present to back up Barry. Barry can't see what he could have done to keep the department heads on his side. But a friend later tells him about what she calls the "blue sky paradox:" You have to get people to dream big to sell a project, but by doing that you set them up to be disappointed. What can Barry do to save the project? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0312A and R0312Z, are Nathaniel Leonard, the supply chain director of Goodyear's Engineered Products business; Andrew McAfee, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School; Barry J. Gilway, the executive vice-president of Zurich North America Services; and John Freeland, the managing partner of Accenture's CRM practice.

Chief Technology Officer Barry Golding is meeting with Mathews & Co.'s department heads to ask for another round of investment so he can begin implementing customer relationship management software at the menswear chain. For months, he has been the CRM project's cheerleader, and it is Barry whose reputation is at stake. He quickly loses control of the meeting. One department head is disappointed that so few of her wish list items are in Barry's latest plan. Another is sour on the project now that he's discovered he won't get any payback for two years. The CEO, who has given the project his blessing, isn't present to back up Barry. Barry can't see what he could have done to keep the department heads on his side. But a friend later tells him about what she calls the "blue sky paradox:" You have to get people to dream big to sell a project, but by doing that you set them up to be disappointed. What can Barry do to save the project? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0312A and R0312Z, are Nathaniel Leonard, the supply chain director of Goodyear's Engineered Products business; Andrew McAfee, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School; Barry J. Gilway, the executive vice-president of Zurich North America Services; and John Freeland, the managing partner of Accenture's CRM practice.

Chief Technology Officer Barry Golding is meeting with Mathews & Co.'s department heads to ask for another round of investment so he can begin implementing customer relationship management software at the menswear chain. For months, he has been the CRM project's cheerleader, and it is Barry whose reputation is at stake. He quickly loses control of the meeting. One department head is disappointed that so few of her wish list items are in Barry's latest plan. Another is sour on the project now that he's discovered he won't get any payback for two years. The CEO, who has given the project his blessing, isn't present to back up Barry. Barry can't see what he could have done to keep the department heads on his side. But a friend later tells him about what she calls the "blue sky paradox:" You have to get people to dream big to sell a project, but by doing that you set them up to be disappointed. What can Barry do to save the project? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0312A and R0312Z, are Nathaniel Leonard, the supply chain director of Goodyear's Engineered Products business; Andrew McAfee, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School; Barry J. Gilway, the executive vice-president of Zurich North America Services; and John Freeland, the managing partner of Accenture's CRM practice.

The vice-president of rehabilitation and support at a hospital must decide if the request from a department to automate and track the dispatch of porters within the hospital is the best solution. He is aware that this area has been experiencing problems, however, he is not sure he has enough information to make the decision and instructs the manager of the department to provide a cost-benefit analysis and alternatives.

Describes Flextronics' evolution from providing outsourced manufacturing services for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the electronics industry to developing entire unbranded products for purchase by OEMs. In 2001, Flextronics began a development program that yielded several unbranded cell phones that--even by the admission of several OEMs--delivered performance comparable to that of branded products at a significantly lower cost. Nonetheless, as of early 2003, no major OEM had yet agreed to purchase any of these phones from Flextronics. As chairman and CEO of Flextronics, Michael Marks must decide how aggressively to pursue full product development.