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Introduces Khalid Awan, co-founder of TCS, an entrepreneurial air-express company in Pakistan. Awan has succeeded in building a sizeable company despite serious obstacles, including pressure from the public postal system, an environment prone to corruption, and a nonexistent market for venture capital. The firm largely followed an organic financing strategy and made extensive use of leasing contracts. However, in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, Awan is now faced with a number of questions regarding further expansion of the firm. The tragic events of September 11 will most likely put pressure on the firm's revenues and create considerable uncertainty. Awan is also starting to think about diversification of his personal wealth, which is concentrated almost entirely in TCS. Decisions on all these issues will impact the firm's future financing policies and growth.

Describes the development of ShareNet, an innovative knowledge management system used by a division of Siemens. ShareNet attempts to capture the knowledge and experience of Siemen's many dispersed sales and marketing units around the globe, making it available to all. ShareNet has to date been funded as a corporate initiative, free to all who use it. But as the telecommunications market has collapsed, the group that runs it is under increasing pressure to cut costs. As a result, it is considering charging users who subscribe to the tool in the belief that these users will willingly pay for it. This relies, however, on being able to demonstrate that the tool/system has a positive return on investment--a notoriously difficult task.

Reviews the competition between stock markets, specifically the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, as it plays out both in the United States and internationally. The competition between the two exchanges is interesting because of technological developments and the globalization of capital markets.

Official data that suggest economic inequality has been mounting in the United States on various dimensions since 1979. Many causes of such inequality have been postulated: technological change, globalization, demographic factors, and changes in public policy (notably changes in taxation during the Reagan presidency). Whether rising inequality is even a cause for concern is an open question. Some dimensions of inequality may be of concern, whereas other dimensions may be viewed as less problematic. To the extent that rising inequality is seen as a social problem that needs to be addressed, various policy proposals have been advocated.

This disguised case is a vehicle for discussion of the financial situation facing the management of a US public (nonprofit) television station. "WBLT" is a Midwestern station which has matured from simply broadcasting programs produced elsewhere to the production and distribution (with a related income stream) of its own programming. The case tells the story of the station's evolution and provides, in the form of exhibits, detailed information about its financial situation. HKS Case Number 1675.0

Jeremy Hicks, Zagante Systems' lead programmer, walks into the office at eight o'clock on a Sunday night and does a double take when he spots his boss, Melanie. She's equally surprised to find she isn't alone. Before leaving for the evening, Melanie pays Jeremy a visit, only to discover that he isn't hard at work on Zagante's new product--he's programming a game for another company. The next day over lunch, Melanie confronts Jeremy and lets him know that he needs to stay focused on Zagante's new software. Jeremy insists that he's fully engaged in it. So Melanie agrees to keep the moonlighting under wraps so long as it doesn't interfere with Jeremy's job. Frustrated with Jeremy, yet anxious to keep such a talented employee, Melanie turns to Jill Darby, Zagante's HR director, for guidance. Jill has both good and bad news. The bad news is that the company has no moonlighting policy. The good news is that Jill can arrange for Jeremy to receive a low-interest loan. But when Melanie tells Jeremy about the loan, he doesn't go for it. He's not just freelancing for the money, it turns out; he's downright enjoying the work and doesn't appreciate his boss butting in to his private business. How should Melanie handle this moonlighting issue? In R0211A and R0211Z, commentators Bill Jensen, author of Work 2.0: Rewriting the Contract; attorney Barry LePatner; economics professors Jean Kimmel and Karen Conway; and HR director Sandra Davis offer advice in this fictional case study.

Jeremy Hicks, Zagante Systems' lead programmer, walks into the office at eight o'clock on a Sunday night and does a double take when he spots his boss, Melanie. She's equally surprised to find she isn't alone. Before leaving for the evening, Melanie pays Jeremy a visit, only to discover that he isn't hard at work on Zagante's new product--he's programming a game for another company. The next day over lunch, Melanie confronts Jeremy and lets him know that he needs to stay focused on Zagante's new software. Jeremy insists that he's fully engaged in it. So Melanie agrees to keep the moonlighting under wraps so long as it doesn't interfere with Jeremy's job. Frustrated with Jeremy, yet anxious to keep such a talented employee, Melanie turns to Jill Darby, Zagante's HR director, for guidance. Jill has both good and bad news. The bad news is that the company has no moonlighting policy. The good news is that Jill can arrange for Jeremy to receive a low-interest loan. But when Melanie tells Jeremy about the loan, he doesn't go for it. He's not just freelancing for the money, it turns out; he's downright enjoying the work and doesn't appreciate his boss butting in to his private business. How should Melanie handle this moonlighting issue? In R0211A and R0211Z, commentators Bill Jensen, author of Work 2.0: Rewriting the Contract; attorney Barry LePatner; economics professors Jean Kimmel and Karen Conway; and HR director Sandra Davis offer advice on this fictional case study.

Jeremy Hicks, Zagante Systems' lead programmer, walks into the office at eight o'clock on a Sunday night and does a double take when he spots his boss, Melanie. She's equally surprised to find she isn't alone. Before leaving for the evening, Melanie pays Jeremy a visit, only to discover that he isn't hard at work on Zagante's new product--he's programming a game for another company. The next day over lunch, Melanie confronts Jeremy and lets him know that he needs to stay focused on Zagante's new software. Jeremy insists that he's fully engaged in it. So Melanie agrees to keep the moonlighting under wraps so long as it doesn't interfere with Jeremy's job. Frustrated with Jeremy, yet anxious to keep such a talented employee, Melanie turns to Jill Darby, Zagante's HR director, for guidance. Jill has both good and bad news. The bad news is that the company has no moonlighting policy. The good news is that Jill can arrange for Jeremy to receive a low-interest loan. But when Melanie tells Jeremy about the loan, he doesn't go for it. He's not just freelancing for the money, it turns out; he's downright enjoying the work and doesn't appreciate his boss butting in to his private business. How should Melanie handle this moonlighting issue? In R0211A and R0211Z, commentators Bill Jensen, author of Work 2.0: Rewriting the Contract; attorney Barry LePatner; economics professors Jean Kimmel and Karen Conway; and HR director Sandra Davis offer advice on this fictional case study.

Avion is interested in a new valve to manage the highly volatile phenol in its production process. Avion and Orion strike a deal for Orion to try to produce these valves. There are time, engineering, and software constraints that make the valve-redesign project a risky endeavor. The A case uses the basic decision tree that has been used in an introductory case in decision analysis to the core material for an exam. The A case is a rewrite of two earlier cases (QA-0480 and QA-0481). In those cases, the key issues were scheduling of the projects, and in this case, the scheduling is fixed and the issues are less calculation-intensive and more interesting. Also in the A case, there are two options: one the students usually see and one they don't. This case also has a real option embedded in the problem around which an entire class can be built. Followed by the B case, QA-0603.

MontGras, a medium-sized Chilean winery, has to formulate an export strategy. It has to decide whether to emphasize the U.S. or U.K. markets, which also offer different positioning and pricing proposals. It has twice failed to penetrate the U.S. market because distributor relationships fell through and is deciding between two new potential partners. In the United Kingdom, it is offered participation in a supermarket promotion that will boost volumes, but at the expense of price maintenance. Includes color exhibits.

Introduces angel investing as a concept and discusses recent developments in the industry. Angel investing has been a long-standing practice, dating back to Broadway play financiers at the turn of the 20th century and including wealthy benefactors of burgeoning business, like Laurance Rockefeller in the 1930s. Angel investing experienced high-profile success in the 1980s and memorably in the dot.com economy of the late 1990s. After the dot.com fallout in 1999 to 2000, Angel investing took hard punches and many angels retreated from active investing. The next generation of angels had different expectations, different experiences, and different practices. Focuses on the new generation of angel investors and the steps taken on both sides of the investing equation to mitigate the risks inherent in the relationship.

Describes the founding, early growth, and expansion plans of New Leaders for New Schools, a nonprofit public education venture that recruits, trains, places, and supports principals in U.S. urban school districts. This case presents the strategic, financial, and operating issues that arise as New Leaders' senior management team tries to transition their organization from a start-up two years after the creation of the company, to a mature and fully stabilized company capable of influencing national reform of school leadership practices. Focuses significantly on New Leaders' choice between two alternative ten-year growth strategies. One plan calls for New Leaders to expand aggressively by raising approximately $100 million in outside investment, opening principal recruitment and training programs across the country, and reaching millions of students through its principal corps. An alternative plan envisions New Leaders as a smaller and more focused organization that works closely with carefully selected school districts and charter school operators to demonstrate the impact on student achievement of well-designed school leadership practices.

Codex Alimentarius is a set of international food standards devised by the Codex Commission, a body within the United Nations jointly sponsored by the FAO and WHO. The purpose of the standards is to harmonize global trade in food products and agricultural commodities, protect the health of consumers, and promote fair trade practices in foods. A subset of the commission's work involved establishing international food labeling standards. The most disputed issue in food labeling dealt with the topic of genetically modified ingredients and how to treat them.

Case (A) describes how a major player in the agricultural chemicals industry struggles to transform a fragmented group of newly acquired businesses into an integrated supply chain. The case highlights the firm's operational and organizational problems from the perspective of the European supply chain manager, whose primary objective is to streamline operations and cut costs.

The critical issues facing young adults from family businesses involve balancing responsibility to family with their own career aspirations. The Love and Work case helps students recognize that there are many ways - other than full time employment - for participating in their family business. Rena-a young MBA student from a business family - discusses the deeply emotional issues she faced as she was deciding whether to return to the family firm or seek her own career outside. The case study is structured to allow students to study her conflict and dilemmas, and project their own family business career issues. The final case segment is designed to help students recognize the many forms of important participation that a family business can create, including governance, ownership, and advising. Students' understanding of Rena's emotional struggle and resolution is enhanced by the accompanying 15-minute video interview available through the dedicated case website: http://cases.insead.edu/love-and-work (copy and paste the url into a browser)

Lauri Union graduates from Harvard Business School and takes over her family's steel-corrugated roofing and siding manufacturing firm, which her mother has most recently run. The industry is mature, entry barriers to competitors are low, and the company is over 50 years old and performing poorly. This case details Union's efforts to turn the company around by changing the management team to help increase sales, streamline operations, improve customer service and employee morale, and confront a culture of low expectations and performance.A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Gazprom, the Russian natural-gas production and distribution firm that, by some measures is the largest energy company in the world, and has been very cheaply valued ever since its privatization. Reasons for this include the general uncertainty prevailing in Russian equity markets and the alleged corruption in the company, including serious asset-stripping by management. Hermitage Capital Management, a Russia-focused hedge fund run by William Browder, began investing in Gazprom in 1998, hoping that shrewd activism would increase its performance as well as its share price. This case looks at Gazprom's halting efforts at reform and discusses issues Browder must consider in deciding how to proceed.

The CEO of a two-year-old start-up must now decide whether to become a technology provider or a service agency. In a time of enormous uncertainty about the viability of various business models for Internet-delivered services and products, Collabrys has survived the burst Internet bubble by partnering with brand-name large companies and by responding to market feedback. This case traces the company from its earliest days and its original value proposition to a point at which the two very different future strategies appear feasible. Originally funded by venture capital, the company has changed key personnel, experimented with different distribution and partnering schemes, developed some sophisticated intellectual property, and raised a second round of funding.

John Crowley, CEO of Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, a start-up biotechnology firm developing an orphan drug to treat a rare lysosomal storage disorder from which his children suffer, must choose between a partnership and a buyout to have sufficient funds and support to get the drug to the market. Accompanying this dilemma are questions relating to Novazyme's clinical trial strategy, marketing, sales, production, and pricing. This case introduces students to the FDA drug approval process and government-supported financial inducements to develop drugs for small patient populations. Also provides insight into the nature of strategic relationships in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

eShip is a small Israeli start-up with a potentially exciting new concept for the residential package-delivery value chain--the Automatic Delivery Machine (ADM). Much like today's ubiquitous ATMs, ADMs would allow consumers to have parcels delivered to a nearby ADM rather than to their residences. When a package is delivered, the consumer would be contacted, given a PIN, and could retrieve the package anytime, day or night. Currently, carriers (FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service) bear huge costs for local deliveries (the so-called last-mile cost), perhaps as much as $6 billion annually. Most of this cost would disappear if packages could be delivered to ADMs rather than to residences. At the core of eShip's concept is a sophisticated information system that links all the ADMs over the Internet. This case focuses on eShip's attempt to formulate a business model to facilitate entering the U.S. market. The dilemma centers on the role that eShip should play in the value chain and with whom it should partner. Although the ADM concept potentially creates huge value, capturing some of that value is a daunting challenge, particularly in the face of the size and power of U.S. carriers.