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A collection of problems that introduces students to the use of discounted cash flow analysis in the valuation of fixed income securities. Students are required to estimate bond prices and yields to maturity, among other items.

A collection of problems that introduces students to the application of discounted cash flow analysis in the evaluation of capital budgeting problems.

A new service is being developed to help investor-relations managers at public companies communicate with investors over the Internet.

A senior executive of a U.S. multinational is attempting to develop a set of financial, operating, and ownership arrangements that will be acceptable to the management and employees of a major Polish company and to the Ministry of Privatization. The arrangements must also be consistent with the financial and strategic objectives of the U.S. multinational. A rewritten version of two earlier cases.

Business Week's June 1997 "Rising Star" profile of Springs Industries' president and COO, Crandall Bowles, reported that she was poised to become one of the top two or three women executives in the country. In November 1997, the company announced Bowles' appointment to the position of CEO. A priority on her agenda was to hone in on the company's information systems (IS) strategy and determine both the breadth of expenditures and the pace of innovation necessary for coming years. Springs Industries, Inc.-a $2.2 billion textile company headquartered in South Carolina,-produces home furnishings under such well-known brand names as Wamsutta and Springmaid and major licenses such as Disney, Liz at Home, and Bill Blass. Springs' customers, mega-retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target, expected suppliers to keep inventories precisely tuned to consumers' purchasing trends. Many suppliers were developing sophisticated information technology (IT) systems for analyzing mega-retailers' point of sale (POS) data. To increase profitability, Springs had to quicken the pace of its application of new technology and sources of information to marketing, customer service, and inventory management. Bowles was navigating the 110-year old company through massive change as it entered a business environment where electronic commerce and marketing were key sources of competitive differentiation.

Citibank was the first U.S. bank to establish operations in China when it opened a branch in Shanghai in 1902. From the early 1940s until 1984, Citibank was absent from China, but since 1984 it had gradually reestablished an active presence. In 1997, Citibank had reached a crossroads. It had to decide how best to participate in the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and the huge inflow of foreign direct investment. Citibank had many competitive advantages on the basis of which it had established a unique strategy that excluded joint ventures. In 1997, a wide variety of new potential services included credit cards, RMB (Chinese currency) banking, and various fee-based services. Government regulations still severely restricted the types of loans foreign banks could make, but it was expected that these regulations might soon be liberalized. How should Citibank, N.A. in China best position itself for the future?

Describes Franco Bernabe's ascent to leadership at ENI, Italy's national oil and gas company. Illustrates Bernabe's early career experiences in academia, as the chief economist at Fiat. Then describes his arrival at ENI during the early 1980s, where he became first the assistant to the CEO and then director of strategic planning. In 1992, Bernabe was unexpectedly appointed by the Italian government to head the company's privatization process. Bernabe was only 42 years old at the time. Immediately after his appointment, Bernabe dealt with many crises, including Italy's Clean Hands corruption scandals, which implicated his entire executive team. This case focuses on his first year as CEO.

Traces the development of Hewlett-Packard Co. from a small start-up company in 1938 to a world-class manufacturer of electronic instruments and computer products. Examines the challenges of starting and running a small company, including financing, human resources management, product strategy, human relations, and management succession. The creation of a unique and enduring set of values and a philosophy of running and growing a company, known as the "HP Way," is emphasized.

Describes the efforts of the new managing director of Merck's subsidiary for Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay to transform the organization and its culture. Focuses on a critical decision: whether to offer the son of a high-ranking official in the government's national health-care program a place in the company's highly selective intern program for young professionals.

An independent consultant from the United States must decide what to do when faced with his client's apparent violation of an agreement with a third party. The consultant is American, the client is a Chinese real estate developer, and the third party is a French construction company. The case traces the development and tensions in a set of relationships fraught with cross-cultural confusion. The consultant must interpret the parties' agreement and decide whether loyalty to the client or a principle of transparency takes priority.

In mid-1992, Christine Olsen, the chief financial officer (CFO) of this large CAD/CAM equipment manufacturer, must decide on the magnitude of the firm's dividend payout. A subsidiary question is whether the firm should embark on a campaign of corporate-image advertising and change its corporate name to reflect its new outlook. The case serves as an omnibus review of the many practical aspects of the dividend decision, including (1) signaling effects, (2) clientele effects, and (3) finance and investment implications of increasing dividend payout.

Wolfgang Keller, manager of the Ukrainian subsidiary of a German beer company, faces a managerial dilemma. His subordinate, Dmitri Brodsky, is a talented and experienced commercial director who is not meeting his goals expediently and often requires considerable assistance from Keller. Furthermore, Brodsky's style is causing conflict with clients, other staff members, and with Keller himself. Keller must decide the best course of action to take with this difficult employee in an environment in which the industry is rapidly changing and growing and the war for talent is strong. He must also consider what comprises an effective performance review and how his own behavior impacts Brodsky's poor performance. This case is a modernized revision of the popular case "Wolfgang Keller at Königsbräu-Hellas (A)."

An MBA graduate, 10 years out, reflects on his career path. Randy Haykin is currently running his own venture catalyst organization in the Silicon Valley.

An entrepreneurial shrimp farm in Belize is evaluating its future growth strategy in every segment of the vertical value-added food chain.

An insurance industry executive must evaluate the potential of a set of newly-offered catastrophe insurance derivatives. The background addresses the roles of traditional reinsurance and securitization efforts in providing risk transfer and risk financing in the "cat" insurance field. The benefits and difficulties involved in commoditizing a new asset class are explored as well.

American Home Products' (AHP) $9 billion hostile takeover of American Cyanamid (Cyanamid) was the largest merger-and-acquistion transaction in 1994, and made AHP the fourth largest pharmaceutical firm in the United States. At the time of AHP's offer, Cyanamid had already begun to restructure by selling its consumer products businesses, spinning off its chemicals division, and entering into asset swap negotiations with SmithKline Beecham. AHP entered the fray, at least in part, to block the asset swap deal. The case takes students inside the board room and describes the tension generated by the different views of Cyanamid management and its outside directors on the desirability of the takeover. After a tense and painful board meeting that lasted several days, the board voted unanimously to support the offer. A rewritten version of two earlier cases.

Focuses on the dilemma of a young professor at a graduate school of business. He must decide what final grade to give a student who has worked extremely hard, but he is constrained by the school's "forced curve" grading policy. Designed to explore the multiple purposes of performance measurement (motivation, evaluation, early warning) and the assumptions that underlie performance management systems.

Citibank has introduced a new, comprehensive performance-scorecard system. A regional president struggles with a tough decision: how to evaluate an outstanding branch manager who has scored poorly on an important customer satisfaction measure. This case provides a scoring sheet to be completed by the reader and an explanation of the ramifications of the decision for the business's strategy.

David Swensen, chief investment officer at Yale University, reviews the $6 billion endowment strategy, which places an unusually heavy emphasis on private equity and other illiquid securities. Changing market conditions in November 1997 cause him to rethink historically successful approaches. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

John Trani is Stanley Works' new CEO. This case describes his philosophy, communications, and actions during his first seven months in office, aiming at a major transformation of strategic postures, organizational structure, and company culture.