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The case describes the challenges faced by Immunovaccine (IMV), a small biotechnology company founded in Halifax, Canada. The company has seen early success in the effectiveness of its technology in animal health and is looking for ways to exploit the potential of its technology more broadly, particularly in human health. The company's challenges are presented in the context of the evolving relationship between the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The case describes the various issues the company faces around 2008, shortly after the new president and CEO has taken over. It then provides details on strategy formulation and execution under the new CEO.

A senior manager at IBM Canada Ltd. is trying to determine how best to implement strategy developed at the global level. The Business Transformation Executive, Sales & Distribution, IBM Canada Ltd., is responsible for introducing, maintaining and retiring software programs to support IBM Canada's business needs. In October 2009, the senior manager is trying to assess if the customer relationship management (CRM) developed locally should continue to be supported or if the planned switchover to a global standard CRM should continue as scheduled. The case is intended for students to discuss the challenges of implementing global IT strategy at the local or country unit level.

The case illustrates the intriguing development path of a famous design entrepreneur in Hong Kong, who was not trained formally as a designer but managed to build an entrepreneurial career out of his hobby of collecting designer toys. This case is suitable for teaching MBA and senior undergraduate students about resources acquisition at the startup, development and expansion stages in an entrepreneurship course. It can also be utilized in product development and innovation management courses for business, engineering and design school students.

This case describes how two Hong Kong product designers chose their respective paths and achieved design excellence and celebrity status. The case is suitable for teaching MBA and senior undergraduate students the value of design entrepreneurship in professional services. It is useful for courses in entrepreneurship and innovation management in business and engineering schools. Human resources management or organizational behaviour classes may also use this case for discussion on career paths. Given the design context, it will be very informative for students or executives from the design industry.

The case describes the situation facing Vancity in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, in an environment where monetary policy was being used to stimulate the economy. The immediate decision facing the CEO was whether to raise interest rates on loans to make up for falling interest income. With close to zero per cent interest rates being advocated by the Bank of Canada, the spread between deposit and loan rates had narrowed to unprecedented levels. The situation was complicated for Vancity by its structure as a member-owned cooperative and its strategy of community engagement, as well as by its need to get members to sign consent to the rate change.

In late 2009, the principal of the Lake Eola Charter School (LECS) in downtown Orlando, Florida completed a course on nonprofit branding at the Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center at a local college. She was energized and ready to apply the information she had learned to evaluate the school's competitive position and to determine its level of mission fulfillment and progress toward goals. Well-suited for running a school, with a doctorate in education administration, the principal had taken the class to shore up her understanding of planning for and managing a nonprofit organization (NPO). In her mind, the key lesson was the need for an environmental analysis to better understand the school's internal environment and external competitors in order to improve the position of the school vis-a-vis the community's educational needs. She employed an MBA intern to help her develop tools for an internal and external environmental scan. The intern had just wrapped up the data collection and analysis. The principal was ready to use the summer down time to make changes for the 2010 academic year, if only she knew how to proceed.<br><br>This case is suitable for marketing strategy courses. The detailed treatment of environmental analysis could also make the case useful in business policy and strategy courses. Instructors will find the case particularly well-suited for classes on marketing, strategy and management in the area of public administration and nonprofit organizations.

The president of Taino Construction has to make several strategic decisions that can guide the firm during very difficult times for the construction industry - globally and locally. He is trying to find ways to capitalize on the company's innovations and international advantages. At the same time, he is trying to adapt the company to the needs of the local market, which requires smaller volumes and simpler products. In order to do this, management must assess the level of risk inherent in the company's portfolio of innovations by estimating the potential of the markets for these products, determining how to strategically position the products in the markets and making a sober assessment of the company's financial strength.<br><br>The case can be used in a marketing strategy course. The objectives of the case are 1) to allow students an opportunity to analyze a company's innovation portfolio and, more specifically, the level of risk inherent in market opportunities 2) to explore how innovative international strategies can help a company survive adverse local market conditions, though it may add to the overall risk of the innovation portfolio of the company 3) to showcase a company committed to green products, allowing for a discussion on sustainability in the construction industry, as well as on how what is considered a green product by some stakeholders is not considered a green product by others 4) to showcase the complexity of the relationship between a company's clients/competitors/partners and the way in which government initiative can offer opportunities and challenges to a company 5) to offer an opportunity to conduct financial performance analysis.

Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) is a nonprofit fair trade retail organization with a store located in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the store's opening and first two years of operations (2002-2004), Karen, the chair of the board of directors, and Cheryl, the store manager, struggle to develop a customer-focused plan to ensure sales increases for their unique operation. Marketing issues ranging from store location selection to inventory selection and promotion are presented. In addition to covering an alternative method of doing business - nonprofit enterprise - the case provides a platform for customer relationship management (CRM) implementation in a small, nonprofit environment.

The case sketches the story of a charismatic and ambitious young business leader who, through value-adding commercial transactions, has helped set a South African pharmaceutical company, Adcock Ingram, on a trajectory of growth. In May 2009, he faces lack of closure and an ambiguous outcome to an offer to acquire a smaller pharmaceutical company. The case demonstrates the power of relationships, where the ambitions of different parties around the negotiations table and the incentives that shape their alliances can make or break a strategic business deal. The case presents students with an opportunity to analyze an unfavourable outcome of a business deal, and build a concept of behavioural requirements of success in business transactions. The case has been designed for class discussion and analysis of factors of leadership that underpin or influence acquisitions. It focuses on the behavioural components of leadership decision-making and their effect on business results. The case can provide a platform for the discussion of motives, interpersonal skills and relationships, and business activities in acquisitions.

It was June 5, 2008 and the senior promotions coordinator was beginning to feel the pressure of managing a major sponsorship event for the Toronto Sun, a daily newspaper publication in Ontario, Canada. She had recently been hired and had received the responsibility of organizing the Toronto Sun's presence in the city's annual Caribana Parade after her colleague failed to make any progress following months of handling the assignment. With only eight weeks until parade day (August 2), she felt challenged to make the company's float a success. The Toronto Sun earned its place in the parade as the primary print media sponsor for the event. Pulling the company's float from the biggest parade event in the city would mean forfeiting valuable marketing exposure. This case was designed for use in an undergraduate or MBA operations management or introductory project management course. Developed to aid instructors in facilitating discussions of key project management concepts, the case content allows for an analytical approach to covering the basic skills in planning a project, including precedence relationships, critical path, due dates, uncertainty (PERT tasks), crashing, etc. It can be used to teach students MS Project or other project management software. It can also be used for a less analytic, more managerial discussion of project management.

The case deals with issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in the specific setting of a medium-sized enterprise (Host Europe) in the IT industry. Host Europe is the third largest webhosting company in German-speaking Europe. In recent years, the company has put substantial efforts into living up to its CSR and improving sustainability. The case presents the IT sector in Europe and Germany and highlights several industry-related issues such as green IT (especially in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and e-waste) and the digital divide. Host Europe has already implemented a couple of measures, such as building a new energy-efficient green data centre, switching to renewable energy, promoting virtualization, introducing several workplace measures, pursuing efforts to improve family friendliness, and publishing a sustainability report. However, there are still some challenges ahead and students are asked to think about further efforts of Host Europe to complete its path to becoming a responsible and sustainable medium-sized IT company.The case can either be used as an introductory case for CSR in medium-sized businesses and sustainability in the IT industry, or in advanced-level CSR and sustainability courses. As an introductory case it provides in-depth insights into a company that has already put substantial efforts into becoming a responsible and sustainable IT company. Students learn about various sustainability and CSR issues and measures in the specific context of a medium-sized enterprise. As an advanced case for CSR and sustainability, it can be used to build upon the existing knowledge of students and to ask them to come up with other ideas and a sophisticated strategy to pursue further CSR and sustainability. For example, since Host Europe is not certified according to environmental or social standards yet, students could come up with a detailed and customized plan on how to implement such a management system for the company.

In 2006, Hermann Gudmundsson (the chief executive officer [CEO] of Bilanaust, an Icelandic automotive spare parts retailer) was part of a group of partners that had purchased Esso Iceland. He had subsequently been appointed to the CEO position at Esso Iceland. The two companies were quite different: Bilanaust dealt with real-time customer needs, carried a wide range of products, and enjoyed a rising market share and profits. Esso Iceland was 12 times the size of Bilanaust, skilled at developing and executing medium- to long-term strategies, and was operating in a stagnated market. Gudmundsson evaluated the opportunities in front of him: could a successful merger be wrought from the two companies or would it be better to maintain two separate entities? He determined that a lot of work would need to be done to gain consensus around the right strategic direction for the future. Careful thought identified three areas of initial focus: 1) improving staff morale; 2) creating a sense of optimism; 3) placing effective leaders at key points in the organization.

In February 2009,the human resources associate at the Toronto office of advertising agency Ambrose & Bisaro (A&B) had just finished interviewing a candidate for one of eight summer internship positions. Due to the economic downturn, A&B anticipated a larger number of qualified applicants for these positions, especially notable in 2009 as many of their direct competitors had scaled back their internship programs. Throughout the interview, the candidate impressed the human resources associate with their demeanor, enthusiasm and extra-curricular activities; however, the candidate had no previous marketing experience. At the end of the interview the candidate revealed she had secured interviews at five competing advertising agencies and had three firm offers. Somewhat taken aback, the human resources associate realized she had to make a very quick decision: extend an offer to the candidate, or wait and interview the remaining applicants and risk losing this one?

The green belt specialist at the Cintas Torlake facility near Toronto had four days before he was to present his recommendations to the executive steering committee (ESC) for correcting the capacity problem in the mat department, which was causing product shortages and negatively affecting customer satisfaction. The case provides data that students can use to analyze the processes used at the company for cleaning and replacing mats for its approximately 5,000 customers. The case provides students with the opportunity to develop their process and capacity analysis skills and to explore six sigma methodology.

In March 2010, the owner of Anita Norris Model Management (ANMM) was trying to discern a strategic direction to best serve the growth of her company. Its quick growth in the past two years was due to the owners' efforts to pursue any revenue stream opportunity that presented itself. The owner was concerned that this pace was unsustainable in the long run and would in fact stretch the business too thinly. Currently, the business's revenue stemmed from four main areas: modeling workshops, signing and booking models, model development and speaking fees. The owner wanted to develop a future business strategy that would allow her to focus the business and spend the majority of her time on developing and managing her models. To do this she had to carefully analyze the strengths and weaknesses of her company within the context of her competitors and the industry as a whole.

In August 2008, there was a large propane explosion at a propane facility located in Toronto, Ontario and the resulting media coverage was nothing short of extensive. Within 24 hours of the explosion, media coverage shifted from developments at the site to the responsibilities of the Technical Safety and Standards Authority (TSSA). The TSSA was a not-for-profit corporation that was responsible for the delivery of regulatory services and ensuring technical safety in a number of areas. It currently fell under the supervision of the Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services (the Ministry), although it had been separated from the government since 1996. By the fourth day of the crisis, the TSSA was perceived to be underperforming and had lost all credibility with the media and public. Opposition parties were calling for the TSSA to be brought back in-house. The Ministry was under criticism for actions of this arm's-length body, and was determined to deliver a media statement that would accurately capture the nuances of this politically sensitive event, thus showing leadership without taking ownership.

The chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Vancouver's Ondine Biopharma Corporation (Ondine) - a biotechnology firm specializing in the developing of medical devices - was faced with a strategic dilemma. Her publicly listed firm had developed a product that appeared to address an unmet need in the dental profession. She gathered her team to discuss whether management's efforts should be focused on maximizing returns from its new product by developing a new capability (building a direct sales force) or by capitalizing on its current expertise in photodynamic disinfection (PDD) technology to develop a host of new applications (navigating the complex regulatory approval process). Ondine did not have the financial resources to pursue both strategies, so had to choose one path and execute it well.

Eveline Charles, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of EvelineCharles (a chain of upscale salon and spas focused in western Canada) was planning the next growth phase of her company. It was currently well positioned for growth: it had nine locations, a 26,000-square foot training facility, a warehouse and its own line of over 1,800 different spa and salon products. Despite these advantages, EvelineCharles was a small company and the CEO needed to be selective in her chosen growth strategy. She was trying to determine whether franchising her stores made more sense than relying on either organic growth or product distribution.

In late 2007, the CEO of British Columbia-based Bradley Smoker Inc. was considering a potential licensing opportunity with Beam Global Spirits & Wine, owner of the Jim Beam brand of bourbon drinks. Bradley Smoker was a small Canadian manufacturer of food-smoking machines and bisquettes, which it sold through a variety of retail channels around the world. The current opportunity would see Jim Beam-branded bisquettes produced from wooden barrels used in the production of Jim Beam bourbon. The CEO was excited by the possibility of co-branding his product with a well-recognized global brand, but was also intimidated about the negotiations and legal aspects of such an agreement. As head of a fast-growing company with many current projects, the CEO wondered if such a deal made sense.

In May 2008, the president of Montreal-based retailer of designer furniture store, Mobilia, was reviewing her workload. Mobilia's growth had required she to spend increasing amounts of her time in operations, finance and human resources and significantly less time on sourcing and purchasing. With a doubling of her direct reports in recent years, and recognizing that external hires would soon be necessary to support Mobilia's growth, she wondered if the organization might be best served by hiring an operations manager. A successful operations manager would need to be experienced, flexible and demonstrate a willingness to work in a family-owned enterprise; however, she also was cognizant of the costs to be incurred if the initiative stalled. She wondered what factors to consider when deciding whether outside help was needed or whether efficiencies could still be reached with her current team in place.