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In 2014, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a large, government-owned, global, Fortune 500 petroleum refining and marketing company in India, was facing a variety of issues around its audit process. The internal audit department had been facing delays in completion of audits and compliance of recommendations. The executive director and head of the Internal Audit (IA) department believed that performance problems were due to the organization of the department. Changes were needed to the processes, technology, and structure of the department, and he wanted his team to find solutions to put some fundamental changes in place. What changes should be made to IA's processes, staffing, and structure so the company could complete more audits and comply with the recommendations?

Pradeep Gupta founded Axis My India (AMI) as a printing and publishing company in 1998. In 2013, AMI expanded into consumer research and election forecasting. Although a relatively unknown entity, AMI predicted several election results accurately. Gupta describes AMI's rigorous process of research, primary data collection from each constituency, quality checking of data by auditors and data analysis. AMI partnered with India Today Group to broadcast its forecasts for post-poll studies. For pre-poll studies and market research, its clients now included political parties and corporates. In 2019, as the Haryana state elections were drawing to a close, Gupta found that his team's prediction for the election result was distinctly different from all other pollsters. Puzzled by this, he had asked for one more day to verify his data. As Gupta reviewed his team's analysis (which had been confirmed by another round of interviews during the last 24 hours), he considered whether he should publish these numbers or revise them just enough to avoid controversy.

How many police officer positions to fund? In August 2020, the question facing St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, which might have seemed routine to another mayor at another time in another place, was anything but. A pandemic had rendered the city some $19-$34 million short for 2021. Advocates across the country (and nearby) had pointed to a likely pool for budget cuts: police departments. The May 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in neighboring Minneapolis by a police officer there, had sparked calls nationwide to "defund the police" and pushback to those calls. What would St. Paul's mayor do? For Carter, the question was about much more than shifting money. He had swept into office in 2018 promising equity. He had spoken from experience about what it felt like to be pulled over by police because he was Black. He had committed to, and then undertaken with his police chief, use of force reforms in 2018. He had monitored closely an increase in neighborhood shootings and homicides in 2019 and declared that public safety must be "our first and highest ambition upon which all other dreams must be built." Carter wanted nothing short of a new public safety framework that would include-but be much more expansive than-simply responding to emergencies, and that would be rooted in community. "I see a clear vision of the future," said Carter, "but transitioning to get there is an open question."

The spring 2014 acquisition of U.S. alcoholic spirits maker Beam Inc. by Japan's Suntory Holdings vaulted Suntory from 15th to third-largest international spirits company in the world. Yet Suntory had borrowed nearly the entire $16 billion purchase price, and relied on Beam to fund repayment of that debt. In October 2014, Takeshi Niinami became Suntory's president and CEO, the first outsider to run the family business since its 1899 founding. Niinami immediately faced governance issues-not least relating to his relationship with Beam CEO Matt Shattock-and sought to enhance Beam's production quality and consumer focus without alienating either Beam management and staff or the family that had placed their trust in him to run Suntory.

Chef Joan Roca, sommelier Josep Roca and pastry chef Jordi Roca were three brothers based in Girona, Spain whose complementary skills, collective ability, and relentless drive for innovation had brought worldwide fame and awards to their restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca. In 2020, their innovation skills were tested as they strategized ways to manage their restaurant and a growing list of other projects in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Soon after closing the 2019 merger of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and Dignity Health to create CommonSpirit Health, Lloyd Dean and Kevin Lofton--jointly appointed to the role of CEO--must make several operational and strategic decisions related to the integration of the legacy organizations. As the second-largest, non-profit hospital system in the United States, CommonSpirit Health was focused on improving population health and increasing the value of the care it delivered to patients. To achieve these objectives, Dean and Lofton needed to make decisions about the extent to which key activities, such as branding and electronic health records, would be consolidated for all of CommonSpirit Health or allowed to remain as parallel functions attached to the legacy organizations. The case allows for a discussion of issues associated with the process and governance of post-merger integration in complex service organizations, with a particular emphasis on such topics in the context of the health care industry.

This case describes the increasing investment by private equity (PE) firms in patient care and other healthcare services. The case focuses on investments in physician staffing firms and roll-up strategy investments in physician practice management (PPM). Included in the case is discussion of the practice of surprise billing, i.e., when staffing firms and insurance companies fail to reach agreement on adequate reimbursement for physician services, resulting in patients' being responsible for paying the entire bill. The case includes material on the debate over whether surprise billing is part of a deliberate strategy on the part of the staffing companies and their PE owners. The case also includes discussion of PE firms' fiduciary duty to generate returns for their LPs and how that might affect the cost of care to patients and insurers.

In 2013, Nokia sold its Device and Services business to Microsoft for €5.4 billion. For decades Nokia had led the telecommunications (telecom) industry in handsets and networking. By the late 2000s, however, Nokia's position as market leader in mobile devices was threatened by competition from new lower-cost Asian manufacturers. Apple's 2007 release of its iPhone established an entire new category-the smartphone-immediately popular with users. What were Nokia's missteps over the years? What should Nokia have done differently?

In January 1933, German president Paul von Hindenburg confronted the dilemma of whom to appoint as chancellor in the midst of the Great Depression, polarization of voters, civil unrest, rumors of a pending revolution or coup d'état, and public distrust of the liberal democratic regime that arose out of the government collapse after World War I. His choice would determine the survival or demise of democracy in Germany. This case set explores why an economic crisis might prompt abandonment of a constitutional democracy, as well as how authoritarian behavior by participants in a democratic government can destabilize democracy. The main task for the students is to recommend a course of action for Hindenburg that might preserve the democratic republic. This requires an appreciation of the reasons for the fragility of the German government, including the economic crisis that it faced.

As artificial intelligence (AI) evolved, it started to be applied in a wide range of industries and functions. Its use allowed for the automation of data processing and handling. Many AI functions involved the use of robotic process automation (RPA) as a tool and machine learning skills to imitate human thinking. It could lead to increased productivity, improved accuracy in data input and processing, optimized revenue, and reduced cost. When AI was used in the accounting function, it could be applied in the areas of accounts payable, accounts receivable, procurement, expense management, consolidation, and trading management, among others. The results also assisted with internal control, compliance, and auditing as well as in making more informed management decisions. Radial Tires Company (RTC) manufactured radial tires in mainland China. The company was headquartered in Hong Kong, with five manufacturing plants in Shangdong and Jiansu. In a recent meeting with the holding company, David Lee, RTC's CFO, was told that from the next financial quarter on, the holding company required that RTC provide more extensive reporting and shorten reporting time. Lee was considering the use of AI technology to achieve this. But he had no experience with using AI for accounting and neither did his contacts at other manufacturing enterprises. Lee contacted FlexSystem, RTC's existing accounting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software provider. FlexSystem would advise on the use of RPA, other AI tools, and automation processes to work with RTC's ERP and accounting software. It would also develop a proposal for RTC in which it would present a workflow using various IT solutions and describe how they could improve speed and efficiency in accounting processes, the estimated project time required and recommend key performance indicators to measure results and return on investment (ROI). Once FlexSystem completed the proposal, Lee, other department heads, and his CEO had to

Italplastic, C.A. is a Venezuelan family business that was founded in the 1970s by Italian immigrant Antonio Pietri, who had extensive experience in the plastics industry. Antonio started up his company with a business partner and a close friend and then later brought his children in to the company in different roles. The business grew into a company of 350 workers that had a turnover of some USD 7.5 million a year, and had even made small inroads in the Colombian market and in some Caribbean countries. His only male child, Alessandro, graduated from a renowned Venezuelan business school and was first integrated into the company as deputy president. In mid-2005, Antonio appointed Alessandro general manager, and he became president of the board of directors, of which his two daughters were members. Alessandro tried to make several changes and outlined a strategy that would grow the company through involvement in external markets; however, he faced opposition from his father and several employees. At the beginning of 2009, he began to question his future in the company. He repeatedly asked himself the question: Should I stay in the family business or take another path?

Cumplo S.A. is a Chilean fin-tech company based on sharing economy principles that aims to provide fair credit access and interest rates to small and medium enterprises. By 2016, Cumplo had successfully closed over 3,000 credit operations for a total of around USD 75 million, financed by over 3,500 investors. The case underlines the major issues confronted by the firm's owners concerning involving the limited transparency of personal financial data, low levels of trust in society, competitoin from traditional incumbents in banking, and the institutional voids commonly encountered by sharing economy businesses. It also also highlights debates concering B-Corporations and the the advantages and challenges of doing business with a social or environmental agenda.

In 2018, the board of directors of the German utility company E.ON SE was presented with a deal for an asset swap with a major domestic competitor, RWE AG. The deal was meant to help the competitors cope with uncertainties and challenges caused by the ongoing transformation of the utility industry in Europe. In the proposed deal, a recently created RWE-spinoff, innogy SE, would be disassembled with the assets going to E.ON. Because RWE still held a 76.8 per cent stake in innogy, the transfer meant that E.ON could gain full control over innogy's assets. In exchange, RWE would gain a minority investment in E.ON and some other assets. A deal, if approved, would be a surprise to the stock market. Should E.ON's board approve it?

The case is the fourth is a case series documenting the genesis, deal engineering, early implementation and then mounting operational challenges faced by Robin Budowski as he acquired and tried to turn around Château d'Agel, a vineyard located in the Minervois region of Languedoc, going from ideation to execution, stagnation and deep crisis. The key protagonist has to decide which plan he will present to the upcoming critical shareholders' meeting. Chateau d'Agel was acquired in 2003, for €0.8 million. After years of below par performances, sales dropped drastically in 2017 while capital expenditures exploded, generating critical financial issues. The vineyard manager was replaced and Robin took full operational control to manage the turnaround, cutting costs and investments.

In 2020, Triodos Investment Management had approximately EUR 4.9 billion in assets under its management (impact investment). Triodos motto was "Financing for change. Change Finance" and understood sustainable finance as a driving force in the transition to a more inclusive and sustainable world. Triodos took a comprehensive view of the companies following the "4P" approach: Product, People, Process, and Planet. Tesla, a clean energy company that produced electric cars, batteries and renewable energy generation, could be part of Triodos's investment. Henk Jonker, Triodos´s Senior Investment Analyst needed to evaluate Tesla's inclusion in the investment universe. He decided to pose the challenge to Clarissa Diaz, a high potential Triodos' researcher. Having in mind Tesla´s mission, "to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy," Diaz had to evaluate Tesla´s impact on people and planet. She must review the ESG data along with a financial analysis of the company. Diaz was aware that Elon Musk was a visionary promising to help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy towards a solar electric economy. Still, she was aware that Tesla and Musk were publicly involved in governance, labour, and human rights controversies. Diaz had to weigh the ESG controversial issues that merited the exclusion of Tesla. The case challenges the students to evaluate a company that do not fully meet all ESG standards and to reflect on the responsible leadership role of financial institutions.

Case (A) describes the situation facing John Davison after joining the company in December 2014 as the new CEO. A failing ERP implementation had led to serious operational issues in Singapore (its home base) and the Philippines (its biggest and most profitable market). Affected hospitals and doctors had complained directly to the Zuellig family, who owns the company. The board fired the two Co-CEOs who had been running the company and brought John in to turn it around. The company had lost ground with the ratio of operating profit to Gross Operating Revenue (GOR) dropping from 30% in 2009 to 14% in 2014. Increased competition leading to falling margins had contributed to this, as had a lack of focus on improving productivity. The company's most important clients, such as GSK, were threatening to take their business elsewhere if Zuellig Pharma did not fix its operational problems. The organization was fragmented, with a very small head office, disparate processes across the country operations, and no central leadership of key functions such as operations and quality assurance. The board had lost confidence in the leadership team which, in turn, felt that the board was interfering too much and not giving them the freedom to address the problems at hand. The company had invested in a number of businesses it saw as complementing its main distribution core, but these were sub-scale and (with one exception) loss-making. The leadership team needed to urgently develop a turnaround plan.

The COVID-19 pandemic had forced a production cut in the factory of Sercomm, one of the world's major telecom equipment producers, in China. The case explores and highlights the challenges that Chief Executive Officer James Wang faced: How could Sercomm recover and ramp up production to meet its U.S. clients' immediate demands? In the longer term, how could it manage the increasing shortage of migrant workers in China? As a supplier of hardware components to the U.S., the company was also caught in the cross-fire of U.S.-China trade tensions due to the tariffs imposed on telecom products. Should the company move its production out of China? Could adopting Artificial Intelligence in the production line be an option?

Amazon was one of the first entrants in e-commerce. Under the leadership of founder Jeff Bezos, Amazon had expanded beyond books to manufacturing and selling a wide range of products and services globally. Bezos had built a customer-centric culture that permeated all aspects of the company. As Amazon continued to grow and expand into new business areas, would it be able to maintain its culture and practices? How much of Amazon's success depended on the cult of Bezos? As the company continued to diversify beyond Bezos's immediate oversight, what could Amazon do to ensure that it stayed relentless?

How should historic social injustices be addressed? Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their descendants, including Representative Regina Goodwin of Tulsa, believe they should be addressed through reparations and have consequently continued to push the government of Tulsa to pay reparations for the massacre. In 2020, after no direct reparations and largely symbolic governmental efforts, proponents of reparations wondered if that call would finally be answered. The upcoming centennial of the massacre, the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement, and discussions within the U.S. about reparations broadly have made the issue more salient. The case guides students to consider the specific issue of reparations for the Tulsa Massacre, the idea of reparations generally, and the use of reparations to respond to the effects of slavery and racist governmental policies in the U.S. The student also considers the role of business in responding to racial justice issues. We are offering this important product free for all readers

Electrolux AB is the world's fifth-largest maker of consumer appliances. In November 2018, Electrolux launched the trial of a subscription-based business model in Sweden for the Pure i9 - a high-end robotic vacuum cleaner. Within nine months, Daniel Wentz, VP Software Products, who had spearheaded the initiative, started seeing traction in the market. Daniel was convinced that there was a much bigger opportunity for Electrolux to create value with the new hardware-as-a-service concept for small appliances. But key questions remained: How to shift the organization from a hardware-first product-push comfort zone to software-first service-pull model? How could Electrolux create more value with the hardware-as-a-service model? How to scale up the subscription-based business model? What options might be considered? What kind of investment and leadership commitment would it take to succeed?