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Molson Canada produced Molson Canadian, Canada's best selling beer. Canadian's previous advertising campaign The Rant had been incredibly popular making it one of the most successful ads for Molson in a long time, and winning numerous international and domestic advertising awards. The marketing team for Molson Canadian had to find the theme for the next advertising campaign, and must decide whether to move towards more traditional beer advertising or maintain the non-traditional them of The Rant. (A 9-minute VHS video is available, product 7B01A025 containing Molson's and Labatt's advertisements.)

With revenues of over US$1 billion, UPS Logistics Group was a wholly owned subsidiary of United Parcel Service, which offered a full range of supply chain services in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. UPS Logistics was responsible for distribution in Eastern Canada for the Canadian Pharmaceutical Distribution Network, an association of pharmaceutical manufacturers that jointly distribute products to hospital pharmacies. Members of this association are unhappy with the current performance of the supply chain, and have asked UPS Logistics' general manager for operations to establish a set of key performance indicators for the network's distribution operations. The general manager must determine how the logistics would be measured before setting specific improvement targets.

Textron Ltd. is a family-owned manufacturer of cotton and sponge fabricated items. The company wants to expand its business with an offshore manufacturing enterprise that will fit with the company's policy of caring for their employees and providing quality products. The company is looking at two options: a guaranteed outsourcing purchase agreement or a joint venture. After several meetings with offshore alliance candidates the vice-president of the company must analyse the cross-cultural differences to established corporate guidelines of global ethics and social responsibility that the company can use in their negotiations with a foreign manufacturing firm.

As Canada's largest direct online grocer, Grocery Gateway provided home delivery to approximately 125,000 customers in the Greater Toronto area, which covered a territory of approximately 3,200 square kilometres. Grocery Gateway's management staff was concerned that the company had been met only 67 per cent of its target of making four deliveries per hour. Consequently, the vice-president of industrial engineering and operations had been asked to make some recommendations aimed at improving delivery operations. These recommendations would be presented at Grocery Gateway's next weekly management meeting. There are a number of options that were worth considering. The vice-president's job was to pinpoint those options and assess how each one might affect the company's existing operation. The final choice would have to reflect and maintain Grocery Gateway's focus on low cost and high service.

iVillage.com was a successful Web site that served as a point of entry to numerous sites (or channels) targeted to a female audience. With a solid strategic vision and a network structure that provided consistency and control of the customer experience, the founders were rewarded by the site's favorable online presence. The company's business strategy relied on creating revenue through sponsorship and advertising. As the marketing industry had identified women as their single largest target category, iVillage.com had little difficulty in successfully pursuing innovative sponsorships and creative advertising. The pursuit for women's buying power also meant, however, that iVillage.com faced competition -- for both audience numbers and advertising dollars -- from numerous online and offline businesses. More women were accessing information online, driving the demand for more sophisticated Web sites. At the same time, iVillage.com needed to capture the audience that was currently offline and those who were about to move online. The founders must determine how to proceed in the face of increased competition, and how to achieve profitability.

Nanjing Chuangqi is a small auto parts manufacturing firm. The general manager of the company is deciding whether the company should integrate its product line from existing universal joint and steering shaft to steering column and whether the major processes involved should be outsourced or made internally. Using breakeven and net present value analysis, he must consider the impact on the company and the auto industry when China joins the World Trade Organization and import tariff barriers are removed.

Optical Recording Corporation (ORC) secured the rights to a technology known as digital optical audio recording. During the time it took to negotiate the final transfer of the technology ownership, it was rumored that some major electronics manufacturers were developing compact disc (CD) players that recorded digital optical audio signals. A patent lawyer advised ORC that the compact disc players and compact discs recently released by these companies might be infringing the claims of ORC's newly acquired patents. Based on this information, the company proceeded to successfully negotiate licensing agreements with the two largest CD manufacturers, Sony of Japan, and Philips of the Netherlands The third largest manufacturer, WEA Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., maintained a position of non-infringement and invalid patents. With the U.S. patent expiry date looming, ORC decided to sue Time Warner for patent infringement. When the defense counsel presented testimony that questioned the integrity of the licensing agreement, ORC's president realized that the entire licensing program was in jeopardy and must decide whether he should accept a settlement or proceed with the lawsuit.

United Grain Growers Limited is a grain handling and marketing business with elevator storage capacity in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia. The head of investment at Scotia Capital Markets must make a recommendation to his client regarding the fairness of a hostile offer to purchase the shares of United Grain Growers. He must consider a number of issues such as determining the value of the company using discounted cash flow analysis, value synergies for the company if it were combined with a number of alternative suitors, analyse the potential gains to a merger and analyse data on comparable firms and transactions allowing for a traditional ratio-based valuation of the company. There is a case supplement (product 9B00N021) that describes the outcome of this bid.

EuroGame is a multinational interactive games company. The company is considering making its products available through the newly developed interactive television market. A consultant to the company has been asked by the Internet Director to advise whether Eurogame should invest in this new market and if so, determine how the firm could leverage these capabilities and with whom it should partner with.

Mediagrif Interactive Technologies operates vertical business-to-business e-commerce marketplaces. The chief executive officer must decide whether to go forward with a previously delayed initial public offering. He must consider the effect of changing market conditions and how to value the company in order to determine the price range that would be used.

Hutchison Whampoa Limited is a holding company based in Hong Kong with its core business interests in property development, retail and manufacturing, telecommunications and finance and investment. The deputy managing director must assess the company's corporate strategy. She must consider how the corporate office adds value to the underlying business and review the business portfolio and its considerable geographic scope. It is unlikely Hutchison Whampoa can be a global player in all of its businesses, so she must determine which of the businesses can be global, regional or local.

Two MBA students decide to launch an e-commerce, Internet-based business selling interactive games. Currently the video game market focused on personal computer-based platforms with only one offering Internet access. Over the next few months they would have a number of challenges, not only would the need to build the programming for the site, they must develop a business plan and marketing strategy that would compete with the strong personal computer-based video game market. The supplement, GamesEDGE.com (B), product 9B00A034 outlines the results after the launch of the business.

The director of development at a large law firm and two other members of a selection committee will be interviewing three candidates for an articling position at the firm. The director must decide what questions to ask of the three law students applying, keeping in mind what questions she could not ask of the candidates. Through role play, students are given the opportunity to develop interview questions and interview the candidates.

Ebao is a year-old Web-based technology company whose founders believe that their e-insurance programs and products have the potential to improve the overall efficiency of China's traditional insurance industry. In its first year of operation, Ebao has grown into a 70-person organization with offices in Shanghai and Beijing, and almost all the major insurance companies in China have signed up with the company's Web site and are using its e-insurance applications. Ebao's chief executive officer and founder has a long list of challenges to confront in the coming year. The company needs to strengthen its market position in the face of rapidly growing competition and to sustain its rapid growth in a year full of market downturns. As well, Ebao's management team has targeted to achieve break-even by the end of the current year. The company's chief executive officer must determine a concrete business strategy that will lead Ebao onto the next stage of success. His challenge is to build competitive advantage in the new Internet industry and in an emerging market.

Blue Titanium is a strategy boutique that provides consulting to senior management and specializes in competitive intelligence. The founder of the company is fine-tuning his strategic plan and has to decide whether the selection of the company's Web server software and hardware should be decided as part of the company's strategy or to leave the selection to the chief technology officer.

NRG Investments is a venture capital group whose current area of investment interest lies in Internet startups that specialize in information personalization software and infrastructure software. The director of NRG Investments is in the process of researching two very similar business plans in an effort to determine which idea, if either, merits NRG's $500,000 venture capital financing package. Management representatives from each of the two companies, ConciergeConnectInc. and Hotel Services Online, have already met with NRG Investments to provide the details of their Internet business plans. Both companies provide software packages that would interconnect concierges in high-traffic hotels, condominiums and offices with a wide variety of service providers (e.g., travel services, restaurants, ticket purchases, etc.). Both sets of entrepreneurs have been identified by NRG as being capable managers. The director's decision will therefore be based on her assessment of the products, market attractiveness, technology, revenue models, potential partnerships, possible exit strategies and company values.

The partners of CompleteScript.com, an Internet-based automated prescription filling service, have to decide whether to continue developing their innovative service themselves, to escalate the project with the help of venture capital or to sell the business. One of the partners knew they would need to create a solid plan with a clear strategy and cost structure to prepare for any of the options.

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Board is a nine member board appointed to administer the well-established Ontario Teachers' pension plan. At one time, there were concerns that the plans value of liabilities was exceeding the value of assets. Through the board's investment strategy, the plan turn itself around and now had a surplus. The board needed to consider the best investment options for this surplus to reduce the risk of surplus loss. One option is investment in timberland - land with the potential to grow commercial tree crops. The board's director of research and economics is preparing an analysis of the pros and cons of investing in timberland and must recommend whether the board should consider such an investment.

Nintendo Co. Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the retail video game industry. In 1998 the color version of Nintendo Game Boy would be launched simultaneously in North America and Europe and would be one of Nintendo's most important launches. The president of Nintendo, Canada must develop a marketing plan that would generate the most profit.

Komandor SA is a subsidiary of a Polish holding company that manufactures sliding doors and closet organizer systems. The company president and his Canadian counterpart must decide on a transfer pricing policy for consulting services and associated components shipped between the two countries. Polish tax regulations seem unclear and arbitrary and the tax auditor has disallowed the consulting fees. The two presidents must decide whether allocating the consulting fee to product overhead will solve the problem.