個案總覽

Describes Singulus, the compact disk metallizer business of Leybold AG, a large German company, which has been put up for sale. In April 1995, buyout firm Schroder Ventures has to decide whether to acquire the business. The investment decision is complicated by a number of factors, including Singulus' assets, which at this stage consist primarily of intellectual property and a customer list.

The city manager's office in Charlotte, North Carolina, is attempting to align and focus the city's programs and operating departments. City managers, working collaboratively with the elected mayor and city council, have identified five strategic themes to make Charlotte the number one city in which to live and work. The themes are community safety, transportation, strong neighborhoods, economic development, and cost-effective government. The city managers, however, find it difficult to get the individual city operating departments to orient their efforts to these five strategic themes. They use the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard to develop objectives for the five strategic themes. Once developed, each operating department then has been asked to develop departmental balanced scorecards to communicate and focus their local objectives toward accomplishing the city's strategic priorities. The case describes the development and use of the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system.

Explores the National Hockey League's participation in the 1998 Winter Olympics, for which a "winter break" was taken from the regular schedule. The benefits and risks associated with the NHL's Olympic participation are one specific focus. In addition, the case address fan development and league growth, including franchise expansion to the U.S. Sun Belt, the role of national television for the NHL, and the impact of Grassroots Programs.

Describes an innovating start-up company with a disruptive technology to the large, expensive echocardiography machines that leading cardiologists use to create images of heart functions for diagnostic purposes. Ecton's machine is small, cheap, portable, and can't create images as clear as those that large, expensive instruments can make. The entrepreneur is searching for a market for his product, and wonders whether he should sell out or try to build a successful commercial organization.

Homegrocer is a new Internet-based grocery store that is experiencing slow market penetration because the business concept entails fundamentally changing individual grocery shopping behavior. The owner is wondering what it takes to attract new customers and then convert them into repeat customers. Other issues include lack of management IT experience, anticipated hyper-growth, investment decisions needed in a quickly changing industry, and funding in the future.

Mondex is a "smart card" application that can be used as a payment mechanism--much like cash, or debit/credit cards--to pay for small, everyday items. This case describes the development and implementation of the Mondex stored-value payment system. The Mondex Canada consortium includes the major Canadian financial institutions, led by Royal Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Mondex has been undergoing a lengthy trial in the city of Guelph, Ontario. The director of marketing for Mondex Canada is faced with a rather large implementation challenge: planning and managing the roll-out of Mondex to the rest of the country.

The merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz produced genomic-based synergies for health care, agribusiness, and nutritional supplements. How to build on the strength of the individual divisions and provide synergies that would continue Novartis' leadership role is the question facing the company.

Describes the emergence and growth of i2 Technologies and the supply chain planning software industry. In December 1998, i2's market capitalization was in excess of $2 billion; the supply chain planning software industry had annual sales of approximately $1 billion and was expected to grow at 57% annually. By describing i2's products and the process that the company followed to sell and implement its software at companies, the case provides students with the background needed to understand why i2 was successful. This understanding enables students to address issues like what i2 should do in the future, and whether new competition such as SAP poses a substantial threat to i2's future success.

Xerox has established a process to spin out technologies it develops that do not fit with its current business needs. To structure these "spinouts," a number of issues arise on how to treat people and intellectual property. PlaceWare is the first technology to go through this process.

A leading Mexican agribusiness firm wants to expand in the United States and other locations. How to do so in a manner that utilizes the strengths of the company?

Palliser is a large, successful family-owned furniture manufacturer in Manitoba, Canada, that must respond to the increasingly global nature of its business. Its current business strategy, a product of international trade liberalization, is clearly centered on exports to the United States. However, management perceives risks and limitations to growth with its current product/market position and must decide whether and how to change. Management is faced with a foreign entry mode decision in Mexico and/or China. This case is suitable for a course on international management, international marketing, or strategic management.

The managing partner of a relatively new consulting firm is concerned because training costs at the firm's new training center are higher than expected. Analysis of actual costs compared to those expected is required. In addition, he is considering capitalizing some training costs for later amortization. A management control system for the center is also a priority.

Following a major financial crisis, the South Korean government attempted to revive the Korea Stock Exchange to spur equity investment in Korean companies. This case describes the reforms undertaken so far and the challenges that lay ahead.

An online wedding resource company is seeking an equity investment to grow the business.

New United Motors Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) is a joint venture between General Motors (GM) and Toyota. Begun in 1983, NUMMI continues to be one of the most efficient of U.S. manufacturing plants and produces automobiles that are at the top of the quality ratings. The case describes how Jamie Hresko, an experienced GM manager, spent several weeks at NUMMI as an operator working on the assembly line. Uses background data and Jamie's experience to illustrate how the NUMMI system operates. Designed to explore how the alignment of HR practices can produce extraordinary results in a manufacturing facility. Challenges the reader to explain why NUMMI is so successful and whether this approach can be used in other settings.

This case demonstrates how the international capital markets were used to obtain financing for the expansion of limited access highways in Mexico. Structured as a Rule 144A transaction, the offering securitized the future Mexican Peso-denominated toll revenues of two toll roads to support US dollar denominated securities. From the sponsor's point of view, the deal provided a means to remove indebtedness from its balance sheet while retaining control of the assets. Investors purchased high-yield securities supported by two toll roads with an operating history (and no construction risk). The drastic devaluation of the peso in December 1994 more than doubled the liability in US dollars and offers an opportunity to consider the ability of the Trust to continue to support the notes. This case allows students to focus on the financing of private infrastructure investments through the capital markets. It is designed to teach students about the risks that are customary in cross-border project financing arrangements, where lenders have limited or no recourse to the project sponsors. By looking at the financing structure devised for this transaction, students can see how specific provisions trap revenues in the Trust and protect the interests of investors. HKS Case Number 1485.0

As Levi-Strauss implemented its custom-fitted jeans offering, the traditional value chain for clothing manufacturing and retailing was transformed. This case allows students to explore the subtleties of this transformation and the management implications.

In July 1999, the Australian Wheat Board (AWB), a statutory national and international grain marketing organization, would become grower-owned. As a private corporation, the AWB would no longer receive government borrowing guarantees and would have to rely on its own capital base for investments. Along with a new structure, the AWB's wheat export monopoly was in jeopardy as domestic and international grain traders called for open competition. The case describes CEO Murray Roger's challenges in navigating the AWB into a new era.

Trilogy is a rapidly growing company that is taking a highly unusual approach to capturing an enterprise software market (the "selling chain") that is also the target of much larger competitors. The case offers students an opportunity to assess the company's methods, which the company sees as necessary to satisfy extremely ambitious goals but that some may consider chaotic and unwise.

Five years short of retirement, Alvarez is an experienced but uneducated mechanic working for a Venezuelan manufacturer of aluminum building products. In the A case, new North American management is concerned about Alvarez's grumbling and egocentric behavior and is pondering the impact of firing him. In the B case (UVA-OB-0661), management decides to fire Alvarez at a high cost. In the C case (UVA-OB-0662), Alvarez dies of a heart attack soon after being fired, adding poignancy to the decision to fire him. This case series provides an excellent opportunity to explore self-concepts, methods of personal mastery, cross-cultural management, and issues of managing personal change.