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In October 2008, the manager of client services at Duckworth Asset Management Inc. (Duckworth), an investment firm headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland, was preparing for a briefing with Duckworth's vice-president of investments. The vice-president had been fielding several phone calls in the past few weeks, all from clients concerned about the significant drop in global financial markets. Since its June 2008 peak, Canada's S&P/TSX had dropped 33 per cent - one of the fastest market corrections in history. One client in particular - the Canadian Swimming Scholarship Foundation (CSSF) - had asked for a meeting with the vice-president regarding alternative investments. The CSSF had heard from another foundation that market neutral strategies could help them manage the volatility they were experiencing with their current holdings. The vice-president had asked the client-services manager to prepare a recommendation on how to best explain events in the current market, the concept of investment risk and if a market neutral strategy could help reduce total portfolio vulnerability.

In October 2008, the senior vice-president for product and business development at IA Clarington (IAC), a life and health insurance company, was preparing for a meeting with the president of IAC. The topic of discussion would be IAC's Target Click Fund, a mutual fund with an options-based guarantee structure targeted towards investors who were looking for growth along with capital preservation. The vice-president had been asked to render his opinion of whether he thought that the fund's scheduled rebalancing date should be accelerated in order to take advantage of a historic decline in global equity markets. The vice-president had to consider several pieces of information in making his recommendation, including that fact that his main competitors would be quick to take advantage of any misguided recommendation. He wondered if the markets had truly hit bottom, and how/if he could time the rebalancing to the lowest point. Also, the investment philosophy behind IAC and click funds encouraged investors to remain invested during turbulent times: what would changing the rebalancing date indicate to those investors?

The investment manager at Prairie Ventures Limited, a Saskatchewan based venture capital firm, is examining the merits of financing a management buyout of Crestline Coach, a manufacturer of ambulances and distributor of buses. Students must design a term sheet and create an appropriate financing package. Students are provided with an Excel model to assist in their analysis.

The president and chief executive officer of a fractional aircraft ownership company based in London, Ontario, must devise a growth strategy and marketing plan for OurPLANE's upcoming year since there is an opportunity to purchase several more aircraft at deeply discounted prices. Students are asked to (1) perform a thorough company size-up, (2) complete an industry analysis of the fractional aircraft ownership industry, (3) analyze competition, (4) complete a consumer analysis, (5) calculate the company's margins and profitability, (6) use the external and internal analyses to develop a growth strategy and (7) analyze the company's marketing strategy.

A current franchisee of Marble Slab Creamery (producer of the self-proclaimed Freshest Ice Cream on Earth) was set to open his second location in Waterloo, Ontario. In a recent phone conversation with Marble Slab's Canadian president, the contentious issue of the corporate ice-cream weighing policy had come up. The franchisee was convinced that his managerial abilities and the growth potential of the new location would result in an ultimately successful franchise; however, the president had expressed hesitation at the franchisee straying from the policy. Two questions were foremost in his mind as he weighed his options: 1) What did customers truly value in the Marble Slab service concept? 2) How would the chosen weighing policy affect the customer experience? The franchisee had hopes of owning several Marble Slab franchises, and knew that his weighing policy decision could have lasting effects on his business operations and his relationship with head office.

The owner and operator of Elizabeth's Country Wares (ECW), a decorative country housewares and ceramic pottery business based in Woodstock, Ontario, was trying to find a way to increase capacity. Because ECW was her primary occupation and source of income, the owner was eager to take advantage of the growing interest in one of her product lines from some of her primary customers - member stores of a national pharmacy chain. She was unsure whether she should purchase new equipment or outsource part or all of the production of these pieces. The owner was uncertain whether ECW could meet the forecasted demand of 3, 000 units for the coming year, and she did not want to miss out on selling more of the line. However, she also believed there was more earnings potential if she could focus her attention elsewhere in the business.

Teleco Inc. (Teleco), an established telecom conglomerate with a significant position in the Canadian wireless business, had engaged M2 to plan its digital media spending strategy for the upcoming quarter. The vice-president at M2 would have to help Teleco decide on the ideal investment strategy for its $1.5 million digital media advertising budget and wondered how this would affect M2's strategic recommendations.

The president, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of RepeatSeat wanted his company to be the first to enable mobile ticketing by targeting consumers at movie theatres. But the company's U.K.-based mobile solutions partner had not yet perfected a way to send bar codes wirelessly over the code division multiple access (CDMA) network. The CEO is faced with whether the company should continue to stay the course with its U.K. partner, rely on a local Calgary, Alberta firm's technology or seek to build the solution by itself.

The president, chief executive officer (CEO) and director of Sofame Technologies Inc. (Sofame) is trying to boost sales at his firm. Sofame is trying to figure out why, with proven environmentally friendly technology, it is unable to achieve rapid rates of growth. The purpose of the case is to exhibit the issues and challenges in selling new technology and to highlight key elements of entrepreneurship, such as sales strategy and managing the sales cycle.

In September 2009, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Rona Inc. was reviewing the company's progress in relation to the ongoing economic recession. Rona was the largest retailer of hardlines in Canada. Rona had noticed definitive signs of slowdown in the third quarter of 2007 and had launched Strategic Plan 2008 - 2011 as a response. The two-phase program was nearing the completion of its first phase of Productivity, Efficiency and Profitability (PEP) and was gearing up for the 24 month-long Recovery Program. The Strategic Plan had been tweaked since its launch, all with a view towards strengthening the core platform. The objective of the Recovery Plan was to restore focus on growth vectors from which the company had become distracted. On the eve of commencement of the Recovery Plan, the CEO began to wonder if Rona was ready to act on increasing sales, recruiting independents, constructing new stores and pursuing acquisitions. Or was it necessary to redesign and relaunch the PEP program, thus deferring the Recovery Plan?

The case describes the situation faced by the vice-president of operations at Konkan Leaf Tobacco Development, the tobacco processing unit of XYZ Limited. This unit is in charge of procurement and processing of different varieties and grades of tobacco grown in southern India. The tobacco leaves are categorized into different varieties on the basis of quality and location of the crop. The company has two processing plants with varying processing capacities. Due to the seasonal and agricultural nature of the commodity, the company is finding it difficult to maintain efficiencies between the inflow of the tobacco and the requirement of the processing line capacity, resulting in frequent start-stop situations for the processing lines. This case enables students to develop strategies for the process management to achieve the optimum process schedule, which will result in the fewest stoppages of the process lines and optimization of both the utilization of the processing lines and the inflow patterns among the processing units.

Jeff and Debra Moore are the founders of Just Us!, a fair trade coffee cooperative, retailer and wholesaler. Just Us!’s mission is to actively promote fair trade and its benefits for producers in developing countries. The Moores have maintained a strong commitment to educating consumers while building strong brand identity and upholding constant growth. To support the main distribution channel in grocery stores, management opened four cafés (two each in Wolfville and Halifax) and distributed products on university campuses. Just Us!’s overall sales continued to grow, but sales were leveling off. In addition, the prevailing economic climate in Canada and increasing competition were worrying the founders. Recently, the Moores hired a new marketing director who was required to incorporate unique knowledge of fair trade practices, ethical purchasing and social entrepreneurship, combine it with typical growth-driven marketing decisions and ultimately propose a marketing plan that would consolidate coffee shop operations.

In March of 2001, the president of Sy.Med Development, Inc. (Sy.Med), a small health-care software firm, was concerned about his company's sales performance in the year-to-date. Nine units were projected, but only three had been sold. As a result, Sy.Med was 66 per cent below the president's unit forecast, 210 per cent below his net income forecast, and had lost $40,000. The president wondered whether a change to the base price of the software was necessary to boost sales. The case introduces the concept of value pricing, that is, pricing on the basis of value received by customers, not pricing on the basis of the cost of providing the product or service. The concept of value pricing at Sy.Med requires the simultaneous consideration of customer segments and sales force allocation in a high-tech setting. With careful calculation, students can determine the benefit to a particular customer of using the OneApp software. Some sensitivity analysis is required because not all practice sizes are equivalent, nor do they face the same labour costs. Although the pricing decision is the focus of the case, strategy (e.g. relating to customer selection, strategic focus) and sales force issues are inextricably linked to this decision. After the class discussion is complete, students should understand that pricing decisions cannot be made in isolation; the strategy and structure of the market must be considered. The case works well in the core MBA marketing course to introduce the concept of value pricing, and equally well in a course focused on pricing to emphasize the interrelations among organizational issues, the competitive market and the pricing decision. The case can also be used in an orientation program or as an introductory case to help train students in the art of preparing a quantitative case analysis.

NFC was a state-owned company listed on the China stock exchange. It had operations in Zambia, Iran and Kazakhstan before entering into Mongolia. Most of the prior projects were turn-key operations. Mongolia was the first country in which it had an international joint venture (IJV). The joint venture (JV) agreement was signed in 1998. Due to many delays, it was not until 2005 that it finally started operating. In mid-2007, the Mongolian parliament notified the JV that its 5-year 0 per cent and 5-year 50 per cent of income tax term (starting from 2005) had been cancelled. Not only would it need to pay full tax starting from 2007, it had to pay the exempted tax amount from 2005 and 2006. Inside the JV, the union desired another pay raise despite the fact that salaries had been increased 10 per cent just six months ago. Outside the JV, local shipping companies threatened to block the factory gate if the JV did not sign a shipping contract with them on their terms.

The case describes the Indian business environment and the enormous opportunities and challenges presented by rural markets as they expand rapidly. It focuses on the innovative business model deployed by ITC to engage the rural population in multiple ways and create a platform for procuring commodities and providing a range of goods and services to the bottom of the pyramid in rural India. It gives students the opportunity to evaluate the future of ITC's rural business.

An analyst at an investment firm is considering an investment in Carmanah Technologies Corporation (Carmanah). Carmanah is a fast-growing player in the high-powered alternative energy products. Since 2007, when the new chief executive officer (CEO) took over, a turnaround effort has been in place at Carmanah. At $0.91 per share, Carmanah's shares were trading at just 23 per cent of their value in mid-2007. The analyst is scheduled to make a recommendation on Carmanah to his managing director in two days. He needs to get to work valuing the company on the basis of the information he has gathered.

The executive committee of SaskTel had recently approved a proposal to launch its LifeState health monitoring system to the Canadian marketplace. The company's senior director of marketing must develop a marketing plan, including distribution and promotion, for the proposed product launch in six months' time. She will have to make decisions quickly in order to present a proposal to the executive committee within two weeks.

The chief leasing officer (CLO) of Arthur Hill & Company was preparing Sunrise Atrium (a commercial property currently in the company's portfolio) for sale. Currently, many of the tenants of the building had signed long-term leases that still had time to run but were significantly below market rates. The CLO believed that the majority of potential buyers of Sunrise Atrium would use the cap rate method of valuation, which made the future net operating income (NOI) a key component of the valuation and hence the sale price. To improve the value of the building, the CLO was considering offering a rent holiday to selected tenants as a way of raising some leases to market rates. To determine if it made business sense, the CLO identified the key success factors to be the choice of tenants eligible for the holiday and the duration of the holiday. His goal was to develop a lease reconfiguration plan that would add value to investors.

Virgin Group (Virgin) has been eyeing the Canadian banking industry for several years as a new potential investment opportunity. Not unlike the Canadian mobile phone industry (which they entered in 2005), the banking industry is seen as a prime target. Customers have become trapped by high fees, poor customer service, and limited product choice and Virgin can shake things up. The decision being contemplated is whether Virgin Money should enter the Canadian banking industry.

Beck Taxi is Toronto's leading cab brokerage. In May 2009, the company's chief executive officer (CEO) is wondering whether the company could change the radio fee for the limited duration of summer, usually a lean season for the cab trade. The fee, paid by drivers for the dispatch service connecting them to customers in waiting, has not been increased in over a decade. That is enough reason to go for a straight upward revision on a permanent basis. The CEO is also considering introducing a variable component to pricing - a novelty in the cab trade. There are several forces at stake in the trade and any decision by Beck Taxi, as the market leader, will shake it up. Status quo is therefore an option in its own right for the CEO. The case provides the background against which the CEO will have to make a call on pricing Beck's service.