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The management of Neiman Marcus, a highly successful luxury goods retailer, is considering ways to grow the business and continue to return in excess of 15% on capital. Among the options on the table is a jewelry store concept called The Galleries.

Lisa Frankenberg, co-founder of the Prague Post, is faced with several business and professional decisions. The English-language paper she founded is under pressure from competition and a Czech Republic recession. She must decide how to return the paper to profitability. Similarly, Frankenberg must decide whether to come back to the United States to start a consulting job.

Jack Welch and the Corporate Executive Council of General Electric are faced with a decision about whether and how to implement a six-sigma quality-improvement effort in the context of many other initiatives already undertaken at GE in recent years.

Apax, a private equity firm, has an opportunity to invest in a travel-related print-materials distribution business in Germany. Infox is typical of many buyout opportunities. One of the founders seeks to exit the business, and recently hired managers will have to assume an increased level of responsibility. To make its investment decision, Apax has to value the company and secure debt financing. In this context Apax has to assess not only the growth opportunities for Infox but also whether remaining management is up to the job.

Designed for use with "Room for Dessert" to show the changes between creating the initial business plans and starting to serve customers. Conforti and Moore have to both manage the business and deliver service to customers on a day-to-day basis in the initial location of what will, they hope, be a chain.

The fourth in a five-part series about Bell Atlantic Corp.'s technology-in-education partnership with the Union City, New Jersey school system. Describes Bell Atlantic's planning, implementing, supporting, and assessing elements of the partnership, with special attention to the issues involved in making the partnership succeed and meeting the technology objectives of both partners. Video 9-399-501 is a short version of the case series and may be used in conjunction with it.

Absolute Sensors is a new spin-off from a scientific consulting firm. Collins and his team must address issues such as: what market(s) to target, how and from whom to raise money, and to what extent they should engage in manufacturing their products.

The assistant brand manager for Procter & Gamble's Scope brand in Canada has been working since May with the brand manager to refine the brand's market position. They are concerned about whether they have chosen the correct target for the brand, and what their fall advertising for Scope should communicate. A focus group session has been planned for the next two weeks. They are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to uncover key consumer insights but want to ensure that they are asking the right questions. They have to make specific decisions regarding the fall advertising campaign no later than the beginning of August and want to ensure that the new advertisements are as successful as possible. This case can be used in a second-year advertising or research methods elective, or as part of the advertising module in a first-year course.

The CEO of a semiconductor equipment manufacturer is assessing the financial forecasts and financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Continued rapid growth will create substantial financing pressures, especially if profitability fails to recover and/or if a major, unexpected economic downturn occurs.

The third in a five-part series about Bell Atlantic Corp.'s technology-in-education partnership with the Union City, New Jersey school system. Describes Bell Atlantic's efforts to identify an appropriate site for testing emerging telecommunications technology and its eventual decision to approach the Union City School System as a potential technology in education partner. Video 9-399-501 is a short version of the case series and may be used in conjunction with it.

Holt Lunsford was intrigued by the packet of papers that lay in front of him. The papers comprised a brochure that Lonestar Bank had put together in an effort to sell the Shady Trail Distribution Center in Dallas, Texas. Shady Hill was a five-year-old, 120,000-square-foot distribution warehouse facility located on the west side of Dallas. Lonestar was asking $4 million for the property. It was September 2003 and the Dallas real estate market was plateauing and the capital markets were in disarray. Lunsford had convinced 11 friends to put up $100,000 each in addition to his own $100,000 to acquire one or two troubled properties. Lunsford decided to focus on warehouse properties due to their relatively small size, their strong historical performance, and his relevant experience. He wondered whether Shady Trail would make a good investment.

Anne Shea, assistant vice president at the Curators' Fund (The Fund), is responsible for investing roughly $80 million in real-estate assets. Less than three years ago, Anne invested $40 million into a commingled fund run by AMB Institutional Realty Advisors, Inc., a leading pension fund advisor and asset manager. She had been pleased with The Fund's relationship with AMB; investing with AMB provided a cost-effective, value-added means for The Fund to directly own property. Recently, AMB proposed to consolidate all the properties under its management into a REIT and to take the new REIT public. Anne faces a decision: consent to the roll-up by exchanging her shares in the commingled fund for shares in the REIT, or sever ties with AMB by liquidating her position in the commingled fund at a price equal to the fair market value of the assets before the roll-up and public offering. In addition to the focus on REITs, qualitative issues in the case include the prevalence of conflicts-of-interest in most aspects of the highly fragmented real estate industry. The mechanics of a consolidation, the valuation of a management business, and the concept of "franchise value" are also addressed.

After highlighting some key developments in the banking history of the United States, the case illustrates the Banking Panic of 1933 and the way in which Franklin D. Roosevelt dealt with it at the beginning of his presidency. Describes the main components of banking reform bills that members of Congress proposed in April 1933. Deposit insurance figured prominently in these bills, and the case summarizes the contemporary debate surrounding this proposed insurance.

In September 1997, John Hansen called together his board to debate an interesting choice that his company had to make. Hansen--the CEO of Metapath Software, a provider of software and services to wireless carriers--had two offers to describe. The first was an offer to be acquired by CellTech Communications, a wireless products company which had only recently gone public. Under the terms of the deal, Metapath's shareholders would at closing receive common stock in CellTech valued at $115 million. CellTech at that time had a market capitalization of approximately $260 million. The second offer was from a consortium of investors led by Robertson & Stephens Omega Fund and Technology Crossover Ventures to buy $11.75 million of stock at a $76 million pre-money valuation. The terms of the preferred stock the funds were proposing to buy were much stricter than the terms of the stock owned by existing shareholders.

On October 23, 1998, Bud Lake leafed through his files on property markets in Asia. Lake was responsible for real-estate investments at an aggressive and eclectic investment fund with total assets of $1.5 billion--up from $400 million at its start in 1994. As the fund grew, Lake found himself scrambling to deploy his allotted 25% into real estate. For several months, he had been finding it difficult to buy U.S. properties. Recently, Lake had invested $30 million in a European "vulture fund," his first foray outside of the U.S. property market. Now Lake was taking a hard look at Asia, just as the lure of collapsing property values and $600 to $800 billion of troubled real-estate loans in the region was leading to unprecedented interest by U.S. real-estate firms. In a moment, he would hear a presentation from Jack Wong and Jason Biller, young entrepreneurs who were looking for a $25 million investment to get their new fund, Asia Property Ltd., off the ground. In addition, Lake has explored other options, such as buying the stock of a publicly traded Asian real-estate company.

Briefly describes six historical currency crises. Presents actual data on 11 disguised countries and asks students to consider which is most likely to experience a crisis.

In this fictional case study by HBR Senior Editor Sarah Cliffe, a merger that looked like a marriage made in heaven to those at corporate headquarters is feeling like an infernal union to those on the ground. The merger is between Synergon Capital, a U.S. financial-services behemoth, and Beauchamp, Becker & Company, a venerable British financial-services company with strong profits and an extraordinarily loyal client base of wealthy individuals. Beauchamp also boasts a strong group of senior managers led by Julian Mansfield, a highly cultured and beloved patriarch who personifies all that's good about the company. Synergon isn't accustomed to acquiring such companies. It usually encircles a poorly managed turnaround candidate and then, once the deal is done, drops a neutron bomb on it, leaving file cabinets and contracts but no people. Before acquiring Beauchamp, Synergon's macho men offered loud assurances that they would leave the tradition-bound company alone--provided, of course, that Beauchamp met the ambitious target numbers and showed sufficient enthusiasm for cross-selling Synergon's products to its wealthy clients. In charge of making the acquisition work is Nick Cunningham, one of Synergon's more thoughtful executives. Nick, who was against the deal from the start, is the face and voice of Synergon for Julian Mansfield. And Mansfield, in his restrained way, is angry at the constant flow of bureaucratic forms, at the rude demands for instant information, at the peremptory changes. He's even dropping broad hints at retirement. Nick has already been warned: if Mansfield goes, you go. In 99103 and 99103Z, Bill Paul, J. Brad McGee, Jill Greenthal, Dale Matschullat, Daniel Vasella, and Albert J. Viscio advise Nick on how to save his job by bringing peace and prosperity to the feuding couple.

In this fictional case study by HBR Senior Editor Sarah Cliffe, a merger that looked like a marriage made in heaven to those at corporate headquarters is feeling like an infernal union to those on the ground. The merger is between Synergon Capital, a U.S. financial-services behemoth, and Beauchamp, Becker & Company, a venerable British financial-services company with strong profits and an extraordinarily loyal client base of wealthy individuals. Beauchamp also boasts a strong group of senior managers led by Julian Mansfield, a highly cultured and beloved patriarch who personifies all that's good about the company. Synergon isn't accustomed to acquiring such companies. It usually encircles a poorly managed turnaround candidate and then, once the deal is done, drops a neutron bomb on it, leaving file cabinets and contracts but no people. Before acquiring Beauchamp, Synergon's macho men offered loud assurances that they would leave the tradition-bound company alone--provided, of course, that Beauchamp met the ambitious target numbers and showed sufficient enthusiasm for cross-selling Synergon's products to its wealthy clients. In charge of making the acquisition work is Nick Cunningham, one of Synergon's more thoughtful executives. Nick, who was against the deal from the start, is the face and voice of Synergon for Julian Mansfield. And Mansfield, in his restrained way, is angry at the constant flow of bureaucratic forms, at the rude demands for instant information, at the peremptory changes. He's even dropping broad hints at retirement. Nick has already been warned: if Mansfield goes, you go. In 99103 and 99103Z, Bill Paul, J. Brad McGee, Jill Greenthal, Dale Matschullat, Daniel Vasella, and Albert J. Viscio advise Nick on how to save his job by bringing peace and prosperity to the feuding couple.

In this fictional case study by HBR Senior Editor Sarah Cliffe, a merger that looked like a marriage made in heaven to those at corporate headquarters is feeling like an infernal union to those on the ground. The merger is between Synergon Capital, a U.S. financial-services behemoth, and Beauchamp, Becker & Company, a venerable British financial-services company with strong profits and an extraordinarily loyal client base of wealthy individuals. Beauchamp also boasts a strong group of senior managers led by Julian Mansfield, a highly cultured and beloved patriarch who personifies all that's good about the company. Synergon isn't accustomed to acquiring such companies. It usually encircles a poorly managed turnaround candidate and then, once the deal is done, drops a neutron bomb on it, leaving file cabinets and contracts but no people. Before acquiring Beauchamp, Synergon's macho men offered loud assurances that they would leave the tradition-bound company alone--provided, of course, that Beauchamp met the ambitious target numbers and showed sufficient enthusiasm for cross-selling Synergon's products to its wealthy clients. In charge of making the acquisition work is Nick Cunningham, one of Synergon's more thoughtful executives. Nick, who was against the deal from the start, is the face and voice of Synergon for Julian Mansfield. And Mansfield, in his restrained way, is angry at the constant flow of bureaucratic forms, at the rude demands for instant information, at the peremptory changes. He's even dropping broad hints at retirement. Nick has already been warned: if Mansfield goes, you go. In 99103 and 99103Z, Bill Paul, J. Brad McGee, Jill Greenthal, Dale Matschullat, Daniel Vasella, and Albert J. Viscio advise Nick on how to save his job by bringing peace and prosperity to the feuding couple.

It had been almost a decade since the first article surfaced in the media alleging that factories subcontracted by Nike in China and Indonesia were forcing workers to work long hours for low pay and for physically and verbally abusive managers. The article was the seed of a media campaign that created a public relations nightmare for the company. A financial crisis in Asia and intense competition in the domestic market contributed to a decline in Nike's revenue and market share after three years of record performance. Though no direct correlation could be proven between the consumer's negative perceptions of Nike and the company's decline in market share and stock, it certainly did not help in its efforts to establish itself as the global leader in a hotly competitive industry.