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As a startup in the online sales incentives industry, SalesDriver had a unique product to offer: online sales contests. From its early stages, SalesDriver had a great product, e-tailer relationships and initial customers who were pleased with the service. What SalesDriver needed was personnel. SalesDriver's two co-founders were facing several challenges. They were both young and making their first independent leap into the dot-com industry. With limited funding and no hiring experience, they needed to put together a staff for their company and wanted to do so within a two-week time frame. Their first need was to hire a vice-president of sales, but their candidate of preference had 15 other job offers on his plate, so time was of the essence. How much should they offer? What incentives should they include? What kind of fit would they have as a working team and would they even have enough time to assess that fit? The two friends and business partners were faced with the difficult challenge of working out a winning offer that would persuade the right person to accept a position in their very young company.

Cloverdale Paint Inc. is a family-owned paint manufacturer. Company sales have been falling and the logistics manager was looking at several options that would meet the company's long-term growth objectives. Two opportunities - private label development or dealer network expansion - seemed promising. He must determine if one or both alternatives will resolve the company's declining sales, and if so, whether the company has enough capital to pursue one or both ventures.

An orphanage and foster care home for young children in Guyana was staffed by women who were paid a small monthly stipend. The facility was in poor physical state, the 54-hour workweek was exhausting and absenteeism was rampant. The new director tried to turn the facility around by repairing the building, improving the working conditions and seeking staff input. On the country's national holiday, however, none of the staff reported for work. The director considered her options: resignation, asking for additional resources, giving the staff more responsibility or disciplining the staff. Supplement case Red Cross Children's Home: Building Capabilities in Guyana (B), product 9B02C047 describes the actions taken by the director and their outcome. In supplemental case Red Cross Children's Home: Building Capabilities in Guyana (C), product 9B02C048, the former director visits the children's home after an absence of nearly two years and reflects on her management efforts. A 22 minute video is available, product 7B02C042 and a PowerPoint slide presentation, product 5B02C42.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is one of the 10 largest full-service financial institutions in North America. Its human resources department wanted to reinvent HR service delivery and increase automation and self-service operations. A number of options were being considered, including continuing with the status quo while undertaking patchwork operations, developing new HR capabilities in-house, outsourcing the development of HR capabilities, and exploring the opportunity to outsource entire functions. Each option presents benefits and challenges, and the senior lead on the project must begin to develop a business case to go forward. The supplemental case CIBC: Outsourcing the Human Resources Department (B), product 9B02C063 discusses the human resources outsourcing agreement.

In the early 2000s, the new director of logistics at Holt Renfrew, a high-end retailer of men's and women's fashions, has been asked to prepare a detailed plan for dealing with the company's $40 million warehoused inventory and its chronic stock out problems. Given the opportunity to prove how logistics can benefit the company's profit margin, the director prepares a three-fold strategy: improve the physical layout and process flow in the distribution center, upgrade the distribution systems and business processes, and re-allocate human resources. His challenge is augmented by the need to receive merchandise from international suppliers and distribute it quickly to compete in the fast-paced fashion industry.

A venture capital firm needs to allocate $50 million in capital. Due to the firm's below-average performance and the currently sluggish financial market, a strategic allocation of this capital is critical to the firm's survival. The chief executive officer turns to his senior management team for advice. One team leader identifies firms for follow-on investments, a second team leader recommends new investments and the third team leader proposes a buy-out opportunity. The chief executive officer must decide whether the restrictions on the number of new investments is too limiting, whether due diligence is required on additional new companies and what the impact will be on the firm's return if a balanced portfolio is maintained. (Data and Solver model are available, products 7B02E012 and 5B02E12.)

VanCity has been Canada's biggest success story in the field of community banking. The board of directors must consider whether the credit union should venture into mezzanine financing, a competitive industry in which the organization has no prior experience. The proposal is favored by a board member who feels that the credit union can re-invent itself in the marketplace by following this route. The decision is troublesome because even if it makes economic sense there is an issue of whether it will achieve organizational fit with VanCity's overall culture and employee orientation.

Selkirk Group is a family-owned brick manufacturer which has built an export business to Japan and other Asian markets from zero to 10% of its volume in seven years. The managing director of the company raises the question of whether it is time to change their regional export strategy and organizational structure in light of the Asian economic crisis and the reasons for their competitive success in both Australia and Asia.

Vivosonic is a start-up biomedical company that needs to raise $565,000 to continue research and development of its biomedical devices. The executive director of a venture capital firm feels Vivosonic's technology is sound but the costs for the company would be high. He must decide whether or not to invest in the company and determine what the best terms and conditions are for the deal.

Timbercreek Investments Inc. is a small investment company that specializes in the management and acquisition of income-producing real estate. For an upcoming directors meeting, the director of acquisitions must make a recommendation on the financial needs of the company for the fiscal year. With considerable growth over the past two years, the company would need additional funds to pay for the increase in operating expenses. He must analyse the company's financial statement and decide whether the company should obtain a bank loan, ask the partners to contribute further equity or approach investors.

Tinplate Company of India is a leading manufacturer of tin packaging for food and beverage products and batteries. Changes in government policy on importing materials, new types of packaging products and customer dissatisfaction present challenges for the company. The company must decide whether to continue with its current market strategy, determine how it can compete with foreign companies or determine if they are missing other strategic opportunities based on organizational buying behaviours.

Canadian Tire is a large retailer of automotive, hardware and houseware products. As part of the company's marketing strategy, the executive director of corporate affairs is reviewing four social marketing programs and must decide which program the company will adopt. She must analyse each of the social marketing programs and assess how the program will contribute to the company's competitive position. She also needs to convince the company's independent associate dealers to adopt and implement the chosen program.

Weihai-Daewoo Electronics Co., Ltd., a joint venture between a Chinese company and Daewoo Electronics Co., Ltd., of Korea, is one of the leading colour monitor manufacturers in China. The company has the opportunity to secure new business through an open bidding process. However, the price asked for is lower than Weihai-Daewoo's cost of production using the full-cost method. The company needs the business and the chief executive officer believes that a long-term relationship could be profitable. He must decide whether to accept the order and examine the company's cost calculation system.

Sinopec Corporation is one of the largest integrated petroleum and petrochemical companies in China. The director of finance of the Pingyuan Oilfield Company of Sinopec must discuss with head office the division's production budget. He must do a breakeven analysis and consider the tradeoff for different accounting alternatives to determine how he will meet head office's proposed profit target and what strategy should be used for development.

Palmyra Trading Company imports commodities from Europe and Asia for sale in the Syrian wholesale market. The vice-president has been advised that the company is still in contention in a tender bid, but has been asked to submit a new bid at a lower cost. The vice-president is aware that a competitor was in the same situation. The vice-president must determine the range of bids the company could make to secure the contract and perform a sensitivity analysis to determine his options under various assumptions about the actions of competitors in the bidding process. A simple model can be constructed to analyze the bidding problem and determine the bid range.

Telus is a major telecommunications company. The vice-president of strategic integration is faced with the choice of bidding for near bankrupt PSINet Canada, an internet protocol company, or waiting and picking up the firm's physical assets. He must determine the value that should be placed on PSINet Canada's employees. To Telus, the acquisition of the company adds complementary product to its telecommunication portfolio. The anticipated price for PSINet Canada is judged low compared to the value of its physical network, but perhaps substantial value in the company can be retained by simply retaining already trained personnel. Supplements to the case, Telus: The Acquisition of PSINet Canada (B) and (C), products 9B02C026 and 9B02C027 discuss how the purchase should be presented to the PSINet Canada employees and the challenges the vice-president of strategic integration faces.

The chair of the compensation committee of Bezner Bonder Lambert & Murphy LLP, a law firm, was trying to decide on appropriate compensation levels for the firm's 70 partners. The committee would first deal with a sample of six partners. He is also concerned about the firm's compensation system, which had changed eight years ago from one based solely on seniority to one based significantly on merit. He must decide how to recognize and reward the different contributions individuals make while ensuring that the complete range of necessary activities are performed.

Canada's Cleaners Inc. is a dry cleaning company. The owner is considering selling a piece of shirt-pressing equipment and investing in one of three available machines. The current machine's quality is no longer meeting the company's standards and most likely will only last for another three years. He must do a cost and benefit analysis to determine which machine he should purchase.

During a short vacation, the owner of Rae and Jerry's Steak House read a book on family businesses that prompted him to think of succession planning for his own company. His daughters, ages 21 and 17, were not yet ready to take over the business and he was not sure that they would be interested in doing so. He would also like to reduce the number of hours he spends at the restaurant to spend more time with his wife. He must assess his options and develop a reasonable plan of action.

Electrosteel Castings Limited, based in India, had been the largest domestic manufacturer of iron pipes for over four decades. Although it had achieved solid growth in recent years, the market was under increasing pressure as overall growth slowed and new competitors entered the market. The chief executive officer believed that international expansion was critical to future growth and would also provide additional currency for further investment in new process technologies. After extensive study, management had narrowed the options to Europe (France) or Southeast Asia (Vietnam). Given limited resources, Electrosteel could only enter one market, either with a new marketing office or a new manufacturing plant. Building an overseas plant was particularly attractive, as it would effectively translate into Electrosteel being considered a local competitor in that market, reducing costs and improving customer service. In recent weeks, the need for a decision had increased significantly, as management had become aware of foreign competitors investigating similar international expansion options. (A video highlighting the manufacturing process of the iron pipes is available, product 7B02D016.)