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Explores the numerous initiatives Children's Hospital and Clinics has undertaken to improve patient safety since the late 1990s--from the perspective of 2007. The case thus updates the A case by revisiting the hospital to find out what happened as a result of the ambitious change program launched over eight years earlier. It elaborates the ways in which Children's COO Julie Morath seeks to continue to improve hospital operations by involving nurses, physicians and even patients' families in an ongoing organizational learning process. The 2-case series is particularly distinctive in tracking an organizational change initiative for almost a decade and, as such, uncovers and promotes discussion of the important, granular details of change leadership in a messy, knowledge-based organization.

Supplement to Air Deccan (A): Changing the Face of Indian Aviation, product #907A01. By November 2005 Air Deccan, India's first low cost airline, had been in business for two years. During this time, the airline had grown rapidly, adding both planes and passengers at breakneck speed. Using low fares as its central strength, it had caused huge, unconventional changes in the Indian domestic airline industry. Not satisfied, however, the founder and chief executive officer wondered how to adapt to the future and sustain Air Deccan's tremendous initial success. The case can be used to engage students in the following issues: the entry and positioning of a new brand in a somewhat oligopolistic industry; targeting low income and under-served segments; low-cost, low-price strategies; entrepreneurial start-ups in emerging markets and marketing strategy in high growth SMEs.

The organizers of a music festival may use video from the Friday concert to create a DVD to sell to those who come to the Saturday concert. Attendance on Saturday is uncertain, as is the percentage of those who attend on Saturday who will buy the DVD. Is this a good project? If so, what number of DVDs should be burned early Saturday morning and offered for sale at that evening's performance? By that time, Friday attendance is known, as well as whether it rained on Friday, and there is a forecast for whether it will rain on Saturday. Historical information on these variables may help us predict Saturday attendance using multiple regression; together with the results of a marketing survey, such analysis will help us make better purchasing decisions. This case series (see also the A case, UV0840) can be used to illuminate a multitude of concepts that are covered in basic decision-analysis courses. The series starts by examining the role of uncertainty in decision making, proceeds through the estimation of probability distributions from sample data with multiple regression, culminates in the development of a full decision model, and ends with a qualitative and quantitative analysis (with a tornado diagram) of how to add value and reduce risk. Key pitfalls for students are failing to recognize both limits on sales (supply and demand), incomplete reasoning in the determination of the attendance probability distribution, and oversimplifying the full forecast model (i.e., averaging the Saturday rain/no Saturday rain outcomes, rather than incorporating the uncertainty explicitly into the simulation).

This supplement to Employee Engagement at Modern Appliances Inc. (A), product # 907C35 features the chief executive officer talking about the need for engagement and the process that Modern Appliances used.

Supplement to Air Deccan (A): Changing the Face of Indian Aviation, product #9B07A001. By November 2005 Air Deccan, India's first low cost airline, had been in business for two years. During this time, the airline had grown rapidly, adding both planes and passengers at breakneck speed. Using low fares as its central strength, it had caused huge, unconventional changes in the Indian domestic airline industry. Not satisfied, however, the founder and chief executive officer wondered how to adapt to the future and sustain Air Deccan's tremendous initial success.

An abstract is not available for this product.

An abstract is not available for this product.

An abstract is not available for this product.

An abstract is not available for this product.

As Hurricane Katrina roared towards the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts on August 28, 2005, the public sector-ranging from local law enforcement to the Federal Emergency Management Agency-feverishly prepared for what was expected to be a devastating hit. At the same time, the private sector was undergoing its own exhaustive preparations. At its Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters, giant retailer Wal-Mart had already launched a comprehensive emergency response that included stocking stores in the storm zone with special merchandise; stationing teams to evaluate stores as soon as the hurricane passed; and gathering representatives of all major functional areas in a centralized emergency operations center in order to find displaced employees, re-open stores, and help stricken communities. After Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic flooding that overwhelmed the government's response, though, Wal-Mart found itself playing a larger role than it had anticipated. The following chaotic weeks raised important questions about whether the public sector could take full advantage of the retailer's strengths and capabilities, and whether it was ready to accept a larger role for Wal-Mart and other companies in responding to national emergencies. The case should be useful for those interested in emergency preparedness; inter-agency collaborations; public-private partnerships; and organizational behavior. Revised September 2008. HKS Case Number 1876.1

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This supplement to Sensible Life Products (A), product #907M57, introduces a fifth opportunity in the form of a joint venture with a major product development firm. The deal involves Sensible Life Products cooperating in further developing the Benefect product into a consumer focused hand sanitizer product.

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An abstract is not available for this product.

Reviews the recognition of goodwill impairment taken by AOL Time Warner following the adoption of SFAS 142--Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.

Supplements the (A) case.

Aussie Pies, Inc. was established in Seattle, Washington in 2005 after Anna Amphlett and Andrew Ferris discovered Aussie meat pies on a vacation to Australia. The meat pie, a hand-sized pot pie made with pastry and filled with minced (ground) beef and gravy, is consumed as a takeaway food snack in Australia. To obtain financing from Bank of America, the company's business plan initially forecasted sales of a little over one million dollars in 2006, the first year of operations. But with an aggressive sales and marketing campaign, sales reached $6 million in 2006. Although sales greatly exceeded their expectations, Amphlett and Ferris were disappointed that net income in the first year was only $786,000 and that the company had cash on hand of just $200,000 at the end of 2006.

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Supplements the (A) case.