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Jennifer and Philip Raiser, a sibling partnership who inherited a real estate management and ownership company from their father, ponder the strategic and financial challenges facing their family business. Reviews the history of the business and asks what the best strategic direction is for the business. Considers implications for the business and family and what role tradition should play.

By 2003, Rupert Murdoch and his team had built an impressive global sports regime within News Corp., while transforming the industry with innovative strategies, implementation, and technologies. Murdoch had used FOX's acquisition of the National Football League (NFL) rights in 1993 to launch an attack on the entrenched Big Three broadcasters--CBS, ABC, and NBC. On the cable side of the business, FOX had identified a gap in the market where unbranded and ungrouped regional sports networks aired local team games. FOX believed in the increasing regional emphasis of America and set out to bring the regional networks together. Despite these successful moves, Murdoch was aware of the ever-changing nature of the sports industry and knew that many key decisions lay ahead.

The import-export trading industry had long been one of the leading industries in Hong Kong. The sector, with about 500,000 people working for 100,000 companies, accounted for roughly 20% of Hong Kong's employment and GDP in 2002. However, in the early 2000s, the industry was under challenge as there were signs that the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions of mainland China might eventually threaten Hong Kong's position as a major trading center. Could Hong Kong's multitude of small trading companies continue to thrive? What were their major competitive advantages? And how substantial would these advantages be? Serves as an overview of an important industry sector in Hong Kong that is dominated by SMEs and presents important strategic issues at a time of economic changes.

Describes a situation confronting the management of a highly successful venture capital firm in April 2002. The industry has changed materially since it raised a $1.2 billion dollar fund, and the partners must decide whether to scale back the size of the fund.

Alessio Alessi, head of distribution at family-run Alessi S.p.A., is facing price and brand confusion among customers and is considering reorganizing Alessi's worldwide network of distributors. By describing the challenges facing Alessi, an internationally acclaimed design and manufacturing company of household objects for the table and kitchen, the case examines consumer marketing and distribution in general, as applied in the niche market of highly designed household goods for an Italian design factory. Includes color exhibits.

It was five minutes before show time, and only 15 people had wandered into the conference room to hear Lancaster-Webb CEO Will Somerset introduce the company's latest line of surgical gloves. More important, sales prospect Samuel Taylor, medical director of the Houston Clinic, had failed to show. Will walked out of the ballroom to steady his nerves and noticed a spillover crowd down the hall. He made a "What's up?" gesture to Judy Chen, Lancaster-Webb's communications chief. She came over to him. "It's Glove Girl. You know, the blogger," Judy said, as if this explained anything. "I think she may have stolen your crowd." "Who is she?" Will asked. Glove Girl was a factory worker at Lancaster-Webb, whose always outspoken, often informative postings on her web log had developed quite a following. Will was new to the world of blogging, but he quickly learned about its power in a briefing with his staff. After Glove Girl had raved about Lancaster-Webb's older SteriTouch disposable gloves, orders had surged. More recently, though, Glove Girl had questioned the Houston Clinic's business practices, posting damaging information at her site about its rate of cesarean deliveries--to Sam Taylor's consternation. This fictional case study considers the question of whether a highly credible, but sometimes inaccurate and often indiscreet, online diarist is more of a liability than an asset to her employer. What, if anything, should Will do about Glove Girl? In R0309A and R0309Z, four commentators--David Weinberger, author of Small Pieces Loosely Joined; Pamela Samuelson, a professor of law and information management at the University of California, Berkeley; Ray Ozzie, CEO and chairman of Groove Networks; and Erin Motameni, vice-president of human resources at EMC--offer expert advice.

It was five minutes before show time, and only 15 people had wandered into the conference room to hear Lancaster-Webb CEO Will Somerset introduce the company's latest line of surgical gloves. More important, sales prospect Samuel Taylor, medical director of the Houston Clinic, had failed to show. Will walked out of the ballroom to steady his nerves and noticed a spillover crowd down the hall. He made a "What's up?" gesture to Judy Chen, Lancaster-Webb's communications chief. She came over to him. "It's Glove Girl. You know, the blogger," Judy said, as if this explained anything. "I think she may have stolen your crowd." "Who is she?" Will asked. Glove Girl was a factory worker at Lancaster-Webb, whose always outspoken, often informative postings on her web log had developed quite a following. Will was new to the world of blogging, but he quickly learned about its power in a briefing with his staff. After Glove Girl had raved about Lancaster-Webb's older SteriTouch disposable gloves, orders had surged. More recently, though, Glove Girl had questioned the Houston Clinic's business practices, posting damaging information at her site about its rate of cesarean deliveries--to Sam Taylor's consternation. This fictional case study considers the question of whether a highly credible, but sometimes inaccurate and often indiscreet, online diarist is more of a liability than an asset to her employer. What, if anything, should Will do about Glove Girl? In R0309A and R0309Z, four commentators--David Weinberger, author of Small Pieces Loosely Joined; Pamela Samuelson, a professor of law and information management at the University of California, Berkeley; Ray Ozzie, CEO and chairman of Groove Networks; and Erin Motameni, vice-president of human resources at EMC--offer expert advice.

It was five minutes before show time, and only 15 people had wandered into the conference room to hear Lancaster-Webb CEO Will Somerset introduce the company's latest line of surgical gloves. More important, sales prospect Samuel Taylor, medical director of the Houston Clinic, had failed to show. Will walked out of the ballroom to steady his nerves and noticed a spillover crowd down the hall. He made a "What's up?" gesture to Judy Chen, Lancaster-Webb's communications chief. She came over to him. "It's Glove Girl. You know, the blogger," Judy said, as if this explained anything. "I think she may have stolen your crowd." "Who is she?" Will asked. Glove Girl was a factory worker at Lancaster-Webb, whose always outspoken, often informative postings on her web log had developed quite a following. Will was new to the world of blogging, but he quickly learned about its power in a briefing with his staff. After Glove Girl had raved about Lancaster-Webb's older SteriTouch disposable gloves, orders had surged. More recently, though, Glove Girl had questioned the Houston Clinic's business practices, posting damaging information at her site about its rate of cesarean deliveries--to Sam Taylor's consternation. This fictional case study considers the question of whether a highly credible, but sometimes inaccurate and often indiscreet, online diarist is more of a liability than an asset to her employer. What, if anything, should Will do about Glove Girl? In R0309A and R0309Z, four commentators--David Weinberger, author of Small Pieces Loosely Joined; Pamela Samuelson, a professor of law and information management at the University of California, Berkeley; Ray Ozzie, CEO and chairman of Groove Networks; and Erin Motameni, vice-president of human resources at EMC--offer expert advice.

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.

The Twenty-First Century Leaders Program was launched by a group of business leaders from the Presidential Forum of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota. Ten business leaders and private schools agreed on a common objective: to improve the quality of education in Colombia. Today, 187 public and private schools have allied with 109 businesses in nine cities to strengthen schools as organizations and to benefit more than 100,000 children. The project helps schools to adopt better administrative practices and, since 2001, it has led national forums on the topics of quality in school administration to highlight the experience of schools that have experienced the greatest progress. Besides the topics related to quality, the project is also directed toward policy planning and implementation. Highlights the role played by Meals de Colombia, a frozen foods manufacturer and retailer that has led the program since its beginning.

Many health care innovations appear successful; but fail. This is the first case in the Innovating Health Care course that investigates how to create successful health care innovations. It is part of the first module in the course. This module focuses on how to evaluate whether an innovation is likely to be successful. It introduces an analytic framework that asks the students to classify the type of innovation and its alignment with the Six Factors in the environment that determine success or failure. The specific case focuses on an innovative weight loss program that carries no known risks and appears to be clinically worthwhile; yet, success has proved elusive. The case describes the other treatments for morbid obesity-ranging from drugs and surgery to digital apps-and asks what the program's innovator, Dr. Fallon, can learn from their success or failure in ameliorating morbid obesity. While the market for weight loss regimens was large, consumer-facing firms such as Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers and the digital app Noom had checkered success. Other business models, such as centers for bariatric surgery, diet drugs, and counseling by physicians and nutritionists were also not universally successful. What could Dr. Fallon learn that would help him to widely disseminate his innovation? A small clinical trial provided the accountability that Dr. Fallon's plan caused weight loss and improved heart disease and even reversed diabetes; some insurers were paying for it; and Dr. Fallon's books were best sellers. This case has an accompanying teaching note with PowerPoint slides that instructors can use for virtual teaching.

In mid-2003, as the 10-year anniversary of Harvard Business School's Social Enterprise Initiative approached, the group's faculty and staff decided to analyze its past performance and to formulate its future strategy.

Delineates how a for-profit health services business was created. Focuses on sources of financing, the impact of Medicare reimbursement, and Stark laws against fraud and abuse.

Considers the lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of apartheid against multinationals who operated in South Africa prior to 1994. Reviews the debates about divestment from and sanctions against South Africa from the 1950s. Includes case studies of companies that divested--Eastman Kodak and IBM--and stayed--Royal Dutch/Shell and Johnson & Johnson. Concludes with evidence on the use of the Alien Tort Clains Act against corporations in other international contexts.

This case provides students the opportunity to practice variance analysis for an annual operating plan using flexible budgeting skills. First, a static budget is flexed to account for changes in product volume. Then, actual results are compared to the flexed budget and analyzed for product price, efficiency, and other variances. In addition, the case allows for discussion as to how flexible budgets can be used for management decision making, and how various compensation structures can affect financial results.

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.

The Wahaha Hangzhou Group Co. Ltd. is one of China's largest soft drink producers. One of the company's products, Future Cola, was launched a few years ago to compete with Coca Cola and PepsiCo and has made significant progress in the soft drink markets that were developed by these cola giants. The issue now is to maintain the momentum of growth in the face of major competition from the giant multinationals and to achieve its goal of dominant market share.

Describes the intricate parts of an early real estate deal from the standpoint of the developer including feasibility analysis, market choice, acquisition of land, project development, design and construction issues, investment returns, and equity financing issues. Thirty-two-year-old Dr. Philipp von Wilmowsky is director of Hungarian operations for ECE Projektmanagement, a German real estate development conglomerate. He has been working for two years on the development of a 30,300 square-meter (m2), 75 million Eurodollar shopping project located in the city of Gyor, Hungary. Allows students to analyze the viability and attractiveness of the project and perform calculations on project returns (including co-investor returns), cost analysis, sensitivity analysis, composition of leasing revenues, and loan structuring.

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.

This case examines the April 2002 decision of JetBlue management to price the initial public offering of JetBlue stock during one of the worst periods in airline history. The case outlines JetBlue's innovative strategy and the associated strong financial performance over its initial two years. Students are invited to value the stock and take a position on whether the current $22-$24 per share filing range is appropriate. The case is designed to showcase corporate valuation using discounted cash flow and peer-company market multiples. The epilogue details the 67% first-day rise in JetBlue stock from the $27 offer price. With such a backdrop, students are exposed to one of the well-known finance anomalies--the IPO underpricing phenomenon--and are invited to critically discuss various proposed explanations.