個案總覽

In October 2021, the fictional vice president of supply chain sustainability at Tesla is working on finding the best way to achieve Tesla's goal of 100% recycling for the batteries in its electric vehicles (EVs) as they reach their end of life. A major challenge in this effort is that the current global capacity for lithium-ion recycling is in a nascent stage. Although the immediate need is relatively low since almost all batteries in present-day EVs have a lot of life left, by 2030 there is a forecasted need for about 1.2 million pounds of batteries to be recycled each year. Also by 2030, the first two million Tesla vehicles will be between 10 and 18 years old, meaning that hundreds of thousands of those are likely to have left the road and required decommissioning. Further complications are the general need for lithium-ion batteries to be recycled due to their high content of toxic and heavy metals; the fact that some substances in the batteries are conflict minerals; and the requirements and expectations for Tesla regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance and investing. The case introduces students to the history of EVs, the components of EV batteries and the battery supply chain, the process for EV battery recycling, and a general overview of ESG, as well as how it applies to Tesla.

Founded in November 2014 and based in Shanghai, NIO designed, jointly manufactured, and sold premium "smart" EVs. Its mission was to "shape a joyful lifestyle by offering high-performance smart electric vehicles and being the best user enterprise. At NIO Day 2021, Founder William Li shared plans for the company to expand to 25 different countries and regions by 2025, including the automobile juggernaut nation of Germany. Would users in other markets and cultures embrace his user enterprise and high-touch model? NIO faced tough competition ahead in the race for EV supremacy.

In April 2020, the head of the corporate social investments (CSI) division of Investec South Africa (Investec SA), was working to ensure that Investec SA CSI could continue to create opportunities for young people to become active economic participants in society while it also salvaged the school year for students already enrolled in its flagship education program, Promaths. To save the school year, he would have to shift the entire curriculum online, and this presented both an opportunity and a dilemma: How could he harness the crisis of the pandemic to scale up the Promaths program and reach more learners by using quality and affordable program delivery? How could he adapt quickly to make a greater impact with the online Promaths program? He knew that this had to happen fast, but he also saw this as an opportunity to amplify the reach and impact of the Promaths program.

The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, faced a unique challenge in the manufacture and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to its major stakeholders. SII had COVID-19 vaccine manufacture and supply commitments to COVAX, a joint initiative ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries and a transfer technology (licensing) agreement with AstraZeneca PLC to supply its COVID-19 vaccine. However, a sudden surge of COVID-19 cases in India during the second wave of the pandemic sharply increased demand for COVID-19 vaccines in the country, forcing the government of India to temporarily ban the export of vaccines from India. At the same time, a ban imposed by the United States on the export of critical raw materials and components used for vaccine manufacturing threatened to bring the vaccine production process at SII to a halt. SII's chief executive officer had to now juggle meeting domestic demand within India and fulfilling SII's international supply commitments. Failing to deliver on the commitments would not only spell legal trouble but also pose long-term reputational and business risks for his company. He had few options to navigate the situation.

This case set considers the acquisition of American jewelry icon Tiffany & Co. (Tiffany) by French luxury goods manufacturer LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH). While this case can effectively be taught in isolation in a traditional case format, it is designed to be taught in tandem with the B case, "LVMH: The Tiffany Acquisition" (UVA-F-2013) in a merger negotiation format where students work in small groups, taking the perspective of either the acquirer or the target to negotiate the terms of a merger. Set in 2019, the cases invite students to consider the strong revenue-generating and operational-efficiency gains that LVMH and Tiffany share by combining the two businesses. Each of the cases provides a different perspective on the deal, including variation in the pro forma financial forecasts. Through the experience, students are challenged to realize the merger gains by completing a deal in an environment of uncertainty in valuation methodology and ambiguity in negotiation strategy. The negotiation is supported by a multimedia application that facilitates student distribution of the case materials, collection of the negotiation results, and the creation of custom slides for the student debrief. The merger negotiation format is most effectively taught over two class sessions. The cases are designed to be discussed late in an introductory MBA finance course or an advanced undergraduate corporate finance class. Especially when used in the negotiation format, the cases serve as an effective capstone experience in a corporate finance curriculum.

The chief financial officer (CFO) of AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AngloGold Ashanti), one of the world's largest gold mining companies, had for one year served as the company's interim chief executive officer (CEO). In the summer of 2021, she accepted an invitation to speak at a luncheon for young female business leaders in the mining industry prior to learning of the unsuccessful outcome of her attempt to secure the permanent CEO position. The company had just announced that a man and seasoned CEO from Colombia would be assuming the role. She now found herself struggling with how to best position her message of inspiration to the young leaders, given the personal impact of the outcome of the CEO search. As a values-based leader, she acknowledged the importance of delivering a message of hope to the aspiring leaders, as well as the importance of honouring her own values. The outcome of her application for the permanent CEO position had also left her with the decision of whether to stay with or leave the organization.

When Donald Trump announced his run for president in 2015, he placed immigration front and center in his campaign. He promised to drastically expand U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and build a border wall between the United States and Mexico. Immigration quickly became a critical and divisive issue in the 2016 presidential campaign. This case places students in the role of a fictional partner at McKinsey & Co. who must determine whether to pursue a multimillion-dollar contract extension with ICE. The potential extension comes in the weeks after Trump began pursuing a "zero-tolerance" border policy, which led to the separation of almost 3,000 children from their families in the span of a few weeks. The policies resulted in an international outcry, making the question of the contract extension controversial, even before a prominent New York Times article drew attention to McKinsey's previous questionable work with another country's government. The protagonist must weigh public perception, potential profits, staff morale, McKinsey's reputation among its other clients, and her own career advancement as she decides whether to extend the contract.

In late 2021, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach and Chairman and former CEO Ajaypal "Ajay" Banga considered how Mastercard could best position itself for continued success in the years to come. Since Mastercard's initial public offering in 2006, the company had grown and transformed, driven in part by a core strategy of "Grow-Diversify-Build" and vision of a "World Beyond Cash." During Banga's recent tenure as CEO, Mastercard had invested in creating a strong culture, recruiting top talent, driving innovation, partnering with would-be competitors, and launching new services. Now, with Miebach at the helm as Mastercard's CEO, the payments landscape was experiencing increasing democratization of the banking system, the rise of blockchain and cryptocurrency, and increasing nationalism, among other shifts. Miebach and Banga needed to identify the most pressing threats and opportunities in the ever-evolving payments landscape and determine how to take advantage of them. As they looked ahead, they asked themselves: Was Mastercard well positioned for the next 10 years?

The case is about Ashok Kumar Pandey, the principal of Ahlcon International School (AIS) in Delhi. The school was established in 2001. Pandey joined the school as its principal in 2003 and held the position until 2019. This period coincided with the rapid expansion of the school in terms of infrastructure and student enrolment, as well as in terms of accolades and awards. The school became well known for Pandey's academic leadership and various initiatives to support and encourage teacher development. Pandey had asked for teachers' feedback on various activities the school had undertaken for their overall development. After analysing the feedback, Pandey contemplated what the best way to move forward was.

Pigeonly was launched in 2012 as an affordable technology provider serving the incarcerated population. Growing out of his own 5-year experience as an inmate, Founder Frederick Hutson created a business model, launch plan, and corporate mission statement: to create easy, affordable mail and telephone services to better connect the 2.3 million people incarcerated in America to their loved ones. A for-profit company with a social mission, Pigeonly overcame the complexities of dealing with the US prison system and grew quickly: by 2015, its operations supported on average two million minutes of phone time and 250,000 photos sent every month. In 2016 Hutson learned that its key photo supplier was going out of business. This case provides students with data on the US prison population, the cost of available communications services, and details about Pigeonly's own business model and asks them to consider how Hutson should respond to its operational crisis.

Located in southwest China, Bosai Minerals Group Co., Ltd. (Bosai) has been engaged mainly in the bauxite and manganese business since 1997, and by 2010, it had successfully completed acquisitions of three large overseas mining companies. By incorporating the traditionally mild and inclusive neo-Confucianism into its management philosophy, Bosai's overseas branches had successfully integrated themselves into local communities and cultures. In March 2016, shortly before the acquisition of Guyana Manganese Inc., the board of directors was debating how to deal with employees of the acquired company. Newer directors proposed laying off inefficient local employees and granting incentives through an improved performance appraisal mechanism. This proposal was fiercely opposed by directors who had been on the board longer. Bosai's chair and managing director had to decide how to proceed, ensuring a smooth transition and sustainable development of the subsidiary.

This case explores the economic, cultural, and environmental implications of the creation of the Kraken, the National Hockey League's (NHL) newest expansion team in Seattle, Washington. It follows the responsibilities and decisions facing brothers Tod and Tim Leiweke, the former Kraken's CEO, and the latter a founder of the Oak View Group, a development and investment company for sports and entertainment that owned and redeveloped the Kraken's arena. Newly tasked by Amazon with making the Kraken's new home, Climate Pledge Arena, go carbon neutral, the Leiwekes faced their greatest challenges yet: achieving what no other sports arena had accomplished in sustainability, controlling the costs of doing so to ensure continued profitability, and maintaining their reputations as competent leaders in managing national sports teams and venues. The case presents the increasing focus on sustainability by national sports leagues and the NHL in particular. With Seattle as the setting for this bold endeavor to be carbon neutral, the case describes the financial commitments and early outcomes involved in achieving it, and the long-term reporting requirements to which the Leiweke brothers were bound to ultimately demonstrate their success.

In 2017, Tim Kleinebenne, managing director of Unilever Ethiopia, and Buks Akinseye, senior global sustainability manager in Unilever's Rotterdam headquarters, had collaborated to develop and launch a Shakti initiative, creating a last-mile distribution channel that targeted rural Ethiopia. While serving rural Ethiopia presented Unilever with a substantial market opportunity and the promise of achieving greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in its business strategy, the rollout had proved challenging. To facilitate the initiative, Unilever Ethiopia's search for a partner had led to Kidame Mart, a local social enterprise founded by Shani Senbetta. With funding from Unilever, Senbetta and her team recruited economically vulnerable women in rural Ethiopia to be Shakti entrepreneurs and provided them a basket of goods to sell locally. This basket included mainly Unilever products, along with a few non-competing items from other companies. But, creating demand for Unilever products and in rural markets was difficult.

The case describes the scientific approach taken by the founders of Mimoto - an electric scooter-sharing company offering dockless, keyless scooters available 24/7 - to develop their business idea. After a successful launch, they must decide whether to scale up their current strategy of renting scooters to individual customers or enter a new segment - renting to businesses (moving goods rather than people).

In February 2021, political turmoil had engulfed Myanmar following a military coup under which elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was jailed after her party won a landslide victory in the elections. CEO and co-founder of Daung Capital (Daung), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Myanmar, Leon Qiu recalled the years before the coup, when inclusive finance businesses like his had just begun to flourish. Daung had offered a variety of loan products in Myanmar since its inception in 2017. Its products included short-term loans for purchasing motorbikes, short-term loans to salaried workers for purchase of everyday utility items, and educational loans to students from poorer households. In 2019, Daung had launched a new loan product for farmers. Unlike other loan products, the loan scheme for farmers did not entail regular repayments. Instead, the farmers were expected to repay the loan as a lump sum after the harvest. Careful credit risk assessment of the target customer base was a key criterion in designing a loan product for farmers. Ethical obligations and decision-making were important considerations as well. Qiu pondered over the various constraints around which the farmer loan product had been constructed and how it could be improved. How could Qiu and his team assess the credit risks associated with the farmer loan product? What strategies could they implement to control the credit risks associated with farmer loans? Could they use machine-learning algorithms to assess the credit risks? The case illustrates (1) the various challenges faced by an MFI in assessing credit risk of agricultural borrowers (mainly farmers) (2) the dynamics of the MFI sector in Myanmar (3) credit risks presented by rural lenders. The case can be used in undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education classes to teach concepts on credit risk management in microfinance for emerging markets.

In 2014, ProGlove emerged the third-place winner in Intel's "Make It Wearable Challenge". The ProGlove team of four who had met at the Technical University of Munich in Bavaria, Germany, had submitted the idea of a "smart glove," which was a barcode scanner, motion detector, and RFID reader connected to the back of an industrial-grade work glove for use in high volume manufacturing. The idea was based on observations of BMW's assembly lines, where each item had to be scanned before being assembled. The process involved finding a scanner, picking it up, scanning the component, and then putting away the scanner again. A smart glove could achieve this more quickly and ergonomically, optimising worker productivity and allowing extra steps in quality control to be included in the production. The team eventually walked away with US$250,000 prize money from the competition. A visit to the Consumer Electronics Show in the US in early 2015 made them realised there was interest in their product not only from manufacturing companies but also from the logistics and service industries. The company grew, developing a sturdy and easy-to-use smart glove with bar code scanning capabilities. Customers eagerly adopted the new glove, benefitting from the combined improvements in speed, quality and ergonomics for a relatively low up-front cost for just the scanner and glove. In 2018, the new CEO, Andreas Königs, brought the company's focus back to the software side, and launched the new "ProGlove Insight" in March 2021. ProGlove Insight combined hardware with software that was capable of analysing the glove's data and making it available to the management for advanced analytics and decision-making.

This case provides many different examples of pricing with ethical concerns that are spread across two common pricing contexts-value pricing and dynamic pricing. The examples include pharmaceutical pricing, ridesharing, dynamically priced vending machines, and more. These brief examples raise substantial issues about pricing for class discussion. Students should think about why ethical dilemmas arise in each of the examples, and if there is any underlying essence that ties together these ethical dilemmas.

In November 2020, Paul Dietrich was wrapping up his busy harvest season for the 1,100 acres of farmland he currently operated. Although the fall harvest season demanded much of Dietrich's time and attention, he simply could not ignore an investment opportunity that had been presented to him. A local farmland owner was selling a 150-acre parcel of farmland that adjoined some land parcels already owned by Dietrich. Dietrich estimated that a competitive bid would need to be at least CA$20,000 per acre and the bid would need to be made immediately. He sat down to consider both short-term and long-term impacts on his cash flows.

This short case describes how Ana L. Mamede, Hellmann's brand manager at Unilever Portugal, responds to an aggressive campaign by rival Kraft Heinz by developing a brand "purpose" for Hellman's mayonnaise focused on reducing food waste. When Heinz, the ketchup king, sought to increase its market share by offering high discounts and enhanced distribution, it threatened Hellmann's lead in Portugal and throughout Europe. Ana pushes promotional activities in the short term, which yield good results, but realises a new plan is needed for Hellman's in the long term. She considers three options: (i) further promotional activities, (ii) innovation - developing the product line by launching new products and flavours), (iii) branding and communication - enhancing the brand's identity by developing a purpose - to inspire consumers to waste less food.