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The managing director of investment banking for Kaupthing Bank hf (Kaupthing) was considering what he would need to do if he accepted a new appointment as chief executive officer of Kaupthing's latest acquisition, U.K.-based investment bank Singer & Friedlander Group plc (Singer). He would have to deal with the fact that the two merging companies had very different cultures, the possibility that some employees may leave as a result of the change and take their clients with them, the fact that he did not know whether there were good managers at Singer who could be ready to be promoted to top management in upcoming years, and many other issues that would have to be addressed.

Pay Zone Consulting is a small, highly specialized global consulting group providing information management solutions for the exploration and production sector of the oil and gas industry. The company operates entirely virtually with consultants and software developers in different parts of the world. The principals are considering growth options but are intent on preserving the quality of life provided by their virtual business model. The case examines the communication technologies employed by the principals in support of their virtual teamwork and describes the administrative information technology infrastructure that enables the firm to operate with no administrative staff or office. The case also discusses the organizational and personal factors underlying the company’s ability to operate successfully virtually.

The product planning manager for BMW Group Canada (BMW) wondered how to revive the once-promising BMW Individual program. Despite a strong start when the BMW Individual Collection (IC) was launched in 2002, and significant growth in total BMW sales over the past three years, IC sales had declined substantially. At the corporate level, no specific measures had been taken to ensure a constant focus on the Individual program. At the customer level, BMW retailers were putting forth little effort, likely because they had no additional incentive to push a program that appealed only to a very small portion of their customer base. The product planning manager wondered how he could revive the BMW Individual program in Canada and give it the attention it deserved.

In 2007, the marketing director for Cineplex Entertainment is trying to decide whether or not to proceed with a loyalty program that would provide incentives for customers to see more movies and events, and spend more on concessions. An important by-product would be the collection of detailed customer buying data. She has crafted four possible combinations of rewards and received proposals from three suppliers with experience in managing customer data banks. She must decide the structure and richness of the program, the supplier, the likely response rate to determine financial feasibility, and whether to launch regionally or nationally.

A newly appointed operations manager was expected to provide his expertise in the planning, launch and ongoing operations for three corporately-owned Part King stores, the first of which was scheduled to open in December 2005. The operations manager wondered if moving to a corporate model made sense at all or whether it was better to retain the franchise structure that was already in place. He was particularly concerned about how best to motivate the managers of a corporate-owned store given that they did not share in its ownership. Were there some components of the control system that was currently in place in the franchise store model that would also be appropriate for the corporate-owned store model that was in the works? Were there some components of the existing control system that needed improvements as well?

The case explains the ordeal of the newly appointed manager of planning and reporting at Connectco, an outbound call centre in Ontario, Canada, who suspected wrong-doing early on at work. After his fears were confirmed, he was very uncomfortable with the situation he found himself in. However, he had to make a choice about how he would respond. This case also portrays, among other things, how young professionals find themselves in situations that create moral distress when they are aware of unethical conduct but feel constrained from taking action to correct it.

Robert's Center of Performing Arts (RCPA), founded and owned by Robert Gernburd, was a music school. In addition to individual instrument lessons and group lessons in music theory and music history, the RCPA sold second-hand pianos. It was difficult to find a supplier of used pianos but after a great deal of research, Gernburd found a supplier in Japan. Recently, an invoice containing supplier information had been temporarily misplaced. Since then, Gernburd had learned that his in-house piano tuner had been selling pianos without his knowledge. Gernburd was unsure how to proceed.

Shortly after the acquisition of Corus in 2007, Tata Steel Limited entered the international markets with a convertible bond offering (CARS) that had distinct features. The offering of US$875 million was the first of its kind from India. The successful issuance reflected investor confidence in the country and the company. This case covers a full analysis of the CARS with a scope that spans valuation, structuring of the financing instrument to suit the issuer's strategic imperatives and investment analysis.

It had been four years since the chief of the Waterloo Regional Police Services (WRPS) met with the board to discuss critical next steps regarding vendor management for the Common Information Management System (CIMS) project. CIMS was an information systems project originally involving the WRPS and seven other police organizations. Since then, considerably more resources had been invested into the CIMS project by all stakeholders involved. The relationship with the current vendor, ITG, was growing less productive and the chief knew it was time to reassess the project to determine the best next steps toward successful project implementation. It was September 2005 and the chief found himself preparing for an important board meeting to discuss the fate of the CIMS project.

An intern at SC Johnson requested a meeting to discuss a new initiative he wanted to pursue after analyzing coupons for SC Johnson's Glade brand. The intern had identified a large variance in coupon redemption rates and coupon return metrics, and wanted to discuss the possibility of developing a better way to plan coupon promotions.

Air Miles, the largest third party loyalty program in Canada, has more than nine million subscribers. Competition in the loyalty card market is heating up with the entry of Aeroplan and myriad proprietary loyalty programs launched by retailers and other brands, and Air Miles seeks to tighten its relationship with customers. Paradoxically, for a data-driven company focused on influencing consumers individually, Air Miles opts to develop and launch a mass advertising campaign to reconnect with consumers, and just as importantly, to re-energize internally.

The executive vice-president of newspapers for Schibsted was about to meet with his colleagues to discuss the company's plan to release an internally developed free daily newspaper concept called 20 Minutes. Over the past couple of years, Schibsted's executive team had kept a watchful eye on the free newspaper industry, which was enjoying tremendous popularity. Earlier in the year, Schibsted had launched Avis 1, a free paper with direct delivery to homes in Oslo, Norway. Looking to expand beyond their home country of Norway, Schibsted's executives had developed a proposal to simultaneously launch 20 Minutes in Zurich, Switzerland, and Cologne, Germany. The executive vice-president of newspapers and his colleagues were scheduled to present this recommendation to Schibsted's board of directors within a month. They were in the midst of preparing a financial and strategic analysis, since they were certain the board of directors would ask some tough questions. The supplemental case Schibsted (B): Should We Start Up 20 Minutes Cologne Again?, product #9B07M020 describes the events folllowing.

The case examines how the best practices of two banks were organized and managed to provide financial services to a small niche of foreign customers in the mining, tourism and construction sectors in Tanzania. The two banks claimed to be similar in many ways. They both were from countries whose economies were run broadly on neo-liberal lines, in that there was little state intervention in either economy, however, differences existed with respect to how they managed their operations. The case is ideally suited to illustrate the on-going tension and different types of best practices in cross-market integration. It provides opportunities to explore the challenges faced by multinational company banks in managing global workforces, the evolution of the banking sector, and the influence of technology in shaping work in organizations.

A summer employee at NoVeggie Inc. (NoVeggie) of Toronto, Ontario, was analyzing the viability of changing delivery companies. NoVeggie's largest client, Select Grocers (Select), had recently decided to introduce NoVeggie's products to a new group of Select's grocery stores in Ontario. Although this move would increase sales, it was also expected to increase delivery costs. Now the summer employee is trying to determine the actual delivery costs in order to assess whether the increase in sales would be beneficial, or whether changes in the delivery system were necessary.

The newly appointed executive director of the Office of Alliance Management (OAM) at Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) was returning to his office after his first meeting with his supervisor, the senior vice-president of Corporate Strategy and Business Development (CSBD). The executive director had been promoted to the position just a week earlier, and now the senior vice-president has asked him to conduct a complete review of the OAM strategy. The senior vice-president made it clear that it was fine to leave the strategy as it currently existed, or to change it radically if the situation warranted. Now the executive director must decide what Lilly should do to build and maintain its leadership in alliance capability.

This case is designed to examine the issue of corporate social responsibility in a small firm. The key issue is how a small organization can maintain its strong social responsibility philosophy when (a) the organization is growing, (b) the environment in which the organization exists is extremely competitive, and (c) the entrepreneurial visionary who started the firm is getting ready to step down. The case describes the dilemma the owner of White Dog Cafe has regarding the transition of current management to the new management team and the development of the White Dog Cafe's social responsibility philosophy, the challenges that other socially responsible organizations have had as they have grown, and the strategies that the company has used to successfully keep its philosophies and goals at the forefront of its business operations.

The president of Asian Paints Ltd., India's largest paint manufacturer, was wondering how he could improve the way the company's International Business division was managing its team of 120 global managers. The company had operations throughout Asia in various locations such as China, Singapore and Thailand; throughout Africa in countries such as Oman, Egypt and Mauritius; and in the Americas in Jamaica. The team of global management was critical to the success of the company's globalization endeavour, which was expected to gather momentum once the ongoing consolidation was complete. The president must decide how to structure the management of this global team.

Dave House and partner Paula Puddy developed and taught preparation workshops for the Professional Engineering Professional Practice Examination. The exam preparation offerings include two-day workshops, a distance learning self-study course and a published book of answers to previous exam questions. All activities are offered jointly by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and Puddy's training firm, Vantage Professional Development (Vantage). House must propose a clear strategy of each of the offerings and make recommendations to Puddy about the future of the relationship between Vantage and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers. The case deals with strategic choices for product and market development in a small entrepreneurial firm, and it allows students to carry out an extensive financial analysis gaining an appreciation for the trade-offs involved in a joint venture.

This case chronicles the creation and transformation of a Singaporean joint venture, Eagle Services Asia (ESA). It describes some early start-up problems, including a forced shutdown by the Civilian Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). The resulting shakeup of the ESA management team provides a fresh start and an opportunity to reinvigorate the company using lean management principles. Managerial decisions play a key role in ESA's success, together with the discipline and training of the workforce. Students will gain an understanding of cultural difficulties associated with international joint ventures, and learn fundamental aspects of lean management including how to create and sustain a lean culture. The case also provides insight into the worldwide aircraft engine business, the engine overhaul process and cultural barriers that may arise when managing operations in foreign countries.

The vice-president marketing (VP) for iMPath Networks, a leading provider of managed video networks for surveillance and enterprise applications, is presented with an offer to take over as CEO of the firm. It was October 2001 and iMPath was in poor shape after growth in expenses outpaced sales growth from 1999 to 2000 when the firm pursued aggressive growth targets in international markets while increasing the number of employees. Unfortunately for the firm, the dotcom bubble burst in 2000 and along with it, hopes of rapid expansion. Faced with an essentially insolvent entity, iMPath's venture capital backers decided to extend the VP an offer to save the firm.