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A management scientist was asked by the president of a gas production company to develop a model for allocating the gas supplied to the Petro Pipe Lines Corporation gas plant among the various suppliers, according to the terms of the gas supply contracts. The intent of the model was to minimize the penalties imposed at the end of each month on the gas suppliers as a result of daily differences between production (supply) and nomination (demand) for each contract. (A Microsoft Excel data file is available for use with this case, product 7A98E038.)

Management at PCB Manufacturing, Inc. was concerned that a significant number of faulty printed circuit boards were reaching their customers. Should the testing system be changed so that the number of bad boards being shipped decreases? (A Microsoft Excel model is available for use with this case, product 7A98E043.)

Canada-based Oxford Learning Centres (OLC) entered into a licensing agreement with U.S.-based Childtime Learning Centers (Childtime) where Childtime would operate OLC supplemental education programs in their facilities. In less than six months, Childtime decided to make an offer to purchase OLC. OLC's CEO must decide how to approach the impending negotiations. The case describes the North American supplement education industry, valuation considerations and private firm purchase negotiations. Detailed comparables are provided for such firms as Sylvan Learning Systems and Corporate Family Solutions. The case provides an opportunity to apply a number of valuation techniques including discounted cash flow, and multiples based on comparable firms and transactions.

Executives of a telecommunications corporation are wondering what they can learn from an experience to develop managers to run expanding Latin American operations. The corporation signed a letter of intent to purchase control of a leading telecommunications provider in Mexico with 2,300 employees. Senior executives knew that one of their most pressing issues would be finding the right people to manage their Latin American operations. The 14 managers sent to Mexico to manage the corporation were double the number then being prepared for that type of assignment. The executives must consider the issues encountered by this team of expatriates and their families as they try to adapt to life in Mexico.

Alpha Gearing Systems Shanghai Co., Ltd. (Alpha Shanghai), a joint-venture between Alpha Gearing Systems of Illinois, USA (a large producer of gearing products), and Kai Li Machine Systems (one of China's largest manufacturers of gearing systems for mopeds and motorcycles), had invested several millions of dollars in tooling in the hope of winning a major contract. The general manager of Alpha Shanghai had made the decision that the next round of negotiations would either significantly advance, or sever, the relationship between Alpha Shanghai and San Yu Mopeds, a large Chinese moped producer, and a customer which Alpha Shanghai had hoped would become one of its largest. The case decision revolves around Alpha Shanghai's senior management perspectives, strategy and assumptions which affected the negotiating process, and specifically how their communication patterns were affected by their experience and culture.

The partners of the newly formed Info-Tech venture are in the process of formulating their company's marketing strategy. They have spent over a year developing their company's product - a six-page, bi-weekly news service delivered to subscribers via e-mail that summarizes recent advancements in the computer technology industry. They must now decide on how to price and promote the service.

The president of Canadian-based Pacific Western Brewing Co. Ltd. is preparing a Japan market entry strategy for the company's newly developed organic beer. Although she has considerable experience in Japan, several factors are at play which make this product entry particularly challenging. First, the product is unlike any other in the market. Second, Japanese consumer behaviour is undergoing a revolution. Third, the company's last product launch in Japan failed. Therefore, there is a higher than normal level of risk associated with the product launch.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>The regional HR manager of a multinational conglomerate that operates in over 100 countries had to make decisions regarding the evacuation of its senior management from a politically unstable country. In particular, the firm's expatriate and ethnic Chinese managers and their families faced considerable risk. The HR manager is charged with executing corporate policies and plans. Some of the challenges to consider relate to the development and initial execution of the evacuation plan. These challenges are heightened by a decentralized decision-making process entrenched in the firm's structure and culture, as well inconsistent information from numerous sources in the field operations. Moreover, the issue of which employees to evacuate poses a moral dilemma for the decision-maker. Specifically, he must decide what criteria - rank, ethnicity, tenure - should dictate whether an employee and/or his or her family is offered assistance, and of what sort.

In 1998, Metropolitan Life's first vice president of Interactive Commerce faced a plethora of opportunities, challenges, and decisions in charting MetLife's strategy for e-commerce. He wanted to move quickly into transacting Web-based commerce, but he had to consider executive support, infrastructure requirements, possibly disenfranchising the sales force, fast-moving competitors, and the frenzied rate of technology change. The case covers almost all e-commerce start-up issues, but from the perspective of a large, established bricks and mortar business. (A 19-minute video is available for purchase with this case.)

DuPont had spent six years helping licensee manufacturers to develop the domestic market for non-stick cookware. While DuPont Teflon brand coating held 80 per cent of the non-stick market, the non-stick market overall represented 2 per cent of the domestic cookware market. Moreover, the amount of money spent on developing the non-stick market exceeded the revenue that DuPont received in the Chinese market. If DuPont decided to take a different role in the market, it faced many obstacles that required significant additional investment. It appeared that the domestic market offered tremendous opportunity, but it would require new efforts, skills, distribution channels and patience. The case examines the issues around leadership and product development that DuPont considered in their decision to go from licensing the manufacture of non-stick coating technology in China, to introducing a wholly owned brand of non-stick cookware.

Through acquisitions and innovative management, Moscow Joint Stock Commercial Bank Vozrozhdeniye (V.Bank), had grown to be one of the largest banks in Russia. In a market with many competitors of varying strength and reliability in an unstable business environment, V.Bank was attempting to become a true commercial bank, fashioned after the operations of western banks. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had undertaken a World Bank contract to assist V.Bank in this process. However, in October 1998, as the Russian economy grew worse, management of V.Bank wondered if it would be able to survive the crisis, let alone continue towards its goal of transforming its operations into those that were competitive with the western banks. This case is appropriate for courses where the goal is to provide students with the ability to understand and forecast broad economic forces and incorporate this information into a decision-making process. The student is forced to make strategic decisions in a situation of uncertainty and instability, and in crisis mode, in an emerging market. Issues that need to be resolved include privatization, economic and monetary policy, IMF and World Bank intervention, societal stability, and government regulation.

The senior vice president of one of the world's leading producers of premium wine and head of a joint venture, faces a series of quality problems with the brand. At the same time, he has the unprecedented task of building a state of the art winery in less than 10 months or he risks losing the entire harvest. This case is intended to be used in conjunction with the Robert Mondavi Corporation: Caliterra (B) case, number 9A99C005, and the (C) case, number 9A99C006.

A family-owned brick manufacturer has built an export business to Japan and other Asian markets from zero to 10 per cent of its volume in seven years. The case examines the company's export strategy and organization in light of the recent Asian economic crisis and the reasons for their competitive success both in Australia and Asia. The managing director is raising the question of whether it is time to change their regional export strategy and organizational structure.

The assistant brand manager for Procter & Gamble's Scope brand in Canada has been working since May with the brand manager to refine the brand's market position. They are concerned about whether they have chosen the correct target for the brand, and what their fall advertising for Scope should communicate. A focus group session has been planned for the next two weeks. They are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to uncover key consumer insights but want to ensure that they are asking the right questions. They have to make specific decisions regarding the fall advertising campaign no later than the beginning of August and want to ensure that the new advertisements are as successful as possible. This case can be used in a second year advertising or research methods elective, or as part of the advertising module in a first year course.

Although it continued to operate at about 7,000 surgeries per year, by late 1997 the portion of non-Canadian patients coming to Shouldice Hospital had declined to about five per cent with a corresponding change in the Hospital's economic fortunes. A marketing consultant has developed a marketing plan for the hospital. Students have to analyse the economic, political and technological changes that have occurred since 1983, evaluate the marketing plan and decide how the hospital should proceed. This case is intended to follow the 1983 Harvard case, Shouldice Hospital Limited (9-683-068).

Exotic Adventures Inc. operates expedition-style voyages in various locations around the globe, including the Amazon River basin. In early 1998, Exotic Adventures began marketing a low-water season voyage up the Amazon to take place in October. By August, 99 passengers had booked passage with Exotic Adventures. However, in early September the company began receiving messages from their agents in Brazil advising that water levels were unusually low. The company must decide whether to cancel the voyage now (and refund payments received) or to continue it with the risk of subsequent higher costs.

An English major at Baruch College, New York, is considering opening an English language center which would offer a variety of English as a Second Language and/or English courses targeted mainly at foreigners coming to New York. She has already done some research and identified a few potential market segments, some aspects of the strategies used by the competition, and elements in the U.S. immigration policy which might threaten her project. She needs to decide if her business idea is feasible. If she decides to go ahead with her project, she has to develop a strategy and a detailed implementation plan before she can open her school.

The management team must determine how to get the buy-in of the majority of its employees to ensure the success of the SAP (Systems, Applications and Products) project. The implementation of SAP would cause enterprise-wide change, replacing the current sales and distribution, human resources, finance/IS and materials management legacy systems. It would radically redefine how people, processes and technology would come together to drive the company's strategy.

Homegrocer is a new Internet-based grocery store that is experiencing slow market penetration because the business concept entails fundamentally changing individual grocery shopping behavior. The owner is wondering what it takes to attract new customers and then convert them into repeat customers. Other issues include lack of management IT experience, anticipated hyper-growth, investment decisions needed in a quickly changing industry and funding in the future.

Canada's largest privately owned department store, The T. Eaton Company Limited, founded in 1869, had recently emerged from bankruptcy protection and was now planning to raise $175 million through an initial public offering (IPO). Investment bankers must determine the appropriate share price and consider the appropriateness of the timing for the issue. The case describes North American retail industry trends and the bankruptcy protection process, and provides a detailed discussion of the IPO process and valuation considerations. Detailed comparables are provided for such firms as Federated, Nordstrom's and Dillard. The case provides an opportunity to apply a number of valuation techniques including discounted cash flow, price-to-earnings multiples and enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiples.