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Cisco is the world's largest, and leading manufacturer and distributor of routers and switches. In order to achieve this position, it has adopted an aggressive growth strategy, acquiring companies, their employees, and new employees at a rate of 250 to 300 employees per month. The Cisco Employee Connection (CEC), a corporate intranet, is the primary means by which new employees are absorbed and acculturated. The CEC is also the principal means of interaction for the multi-functional work team approach Cisco employs. This case critically assesses this approach to scaling an organization, and the extent to which it can be maintained and transferred.

The general manager of Elliot Lake Retirement Living (ELRL), was trying to decide whether to adopt the recommendations in a student report to broaden the organization's service activities by expanding into assisted living. Although success would allow the organization to grow, failure might threaten the survival of the very town. ELRL was unique; it had been established as a not-for-profit enterprise to try to save the isolated northern Ontario town of Elliot Lake, whose almost exclusive raison d'etre was about to disappear with the impending closure of the area's last uranium mine. Its purpose was to establish the town as a retirement centre. Students have to analyze how the proposal will affect the company's ability to deliver the new service concept. The general manager was considering several options in addition to assisted living. A reasonable course of action must include a consideration of ELRL's status as a not-for-profit entity with a number of significant stakeholders.

Procter & Gamble has been in Eastern Europe for 2 1/2 years. The case outlines the problems, missed opportunities and difficulties Procter & Gamble has had in transplanting their corporate culture onto the newly liberalized economies of Eastern Europe. The case requires students to generate alternatives for Procter & Gamble's future strategy in Eastern Europe given the political, economic, societal, and technological (PEST) environment.

Procter & Gamble must determine an entry strategy for Eastern Europe. The case examines the former Soviet Bloc countries, the opportunity they provide for a business endeavor like Procter & Gamble, and the product choices Procter & Gamble has available to them. Students must examine the political, economic, societal, and technological (PEST) environment and determine if the newly liberalized economies of Eastern Europe provide appropriate investment opportunities for Procter & Gamble. Students must also determine the scope of the necessary investment, the time profile and the difficulties it may face. A follow-up case (9A97H002) is available.

The director of purchasing and financial systems at The University of Western Ontario notices that paper pulp prices are rising and realizes that both of the University's paper suppliers would like to pass along increasing costs. Moore is forced into a precarious situation when one of the suppliers unilaterally raises prices despite a fixed contract. Moore faces a range of options, from placidly accepting this increase to taking legal action. The case demonstrates issues of bargaining (including strategic signaling) and control.

The vice-president Operations of Spartan Plastics, is facing a trade-off. As an avid proponent of the Toyota production system, just in time manufacturing (JIT), ISO 9001, and continuous improvement, he has reduced setup times, batch sizes, and throughput times. On the other hand, the scrap rate has shot up. This case would be appropriate for use in a production and operations course, to introduce students to the concepts of JIT and world class manufacturing.

On February 9, 1995, the purchasing officer at Fisher & Paykel Limited in Auckland, New Zealand, was preparing for the next meeting of the evaporator pad cover team. Recent supply problems had threatened to close down the refrigerator assembly line and the purchasing officer's task was to propose a workable and cost effective solution.

The owners of the company were concerned with the rapid rate of growth facing their company. The company had revenues of $6.3 million and employed 30 highly skilled workers. These numbers were expected to double or triple in the next couple of years. To determine how well the company was structured to achieve its future goals, they hired a consultant he had worked with successfully in the past. The consultant's major role was to make recommendations as to the appropriate organizational design (culture, people, layers of management and administrative systems) in the event that the company grew from 30 to 60 or even 120 employees. Among other issues, questions regarding compensation were surfacing, and the owners wanted to address these questions as soon as possible.

A small team of Canadian managers from a large financial institution is faced with the challenges of managing a recently acquired Mexican operation. Managers must cope with a language barrier and cultural differences as they try to restructure the over-staffed Mexican financial institution. A second teaching note (5A97L01) discusses how to use this case from a cross-cultural orientation perspective.

A residence manager at a College, is faced with deciding what disciplinary measures should be taken when a majority of male residence assistants storm out of a mandatory training session. In reviewing the series of events that transpired since the beginning of her employment at the College, other problems have become apparent, including leadership, communication, structure of the organization, management of change and employee training issues. The manager must resolve these problems and come up with a plan to restore harmony within the Residence Assistants committee at the College.

The director of human resources must contend with internal and external pressures to make changes quickly and smoothly for the new year. She had been with the company for six months. In her capacity as director of human resources, she had spent her time establishing a baseline for the division so that she could then create a departmental vision and strategy for 2000. It would be one of the most interesting challenges of her career. Since joining, she had gained an understanding of the division's future direction from its leadership team. The team was under the direction of the division's new general manager.

The president and chief executive of a hospital, is anticipating resistance to his newly-formed vision for the hospital. The exact source and reasons for the resistance are not totally clear to him. Notwithstanding the difficulty of the change he would propose, he recognizes that the conventional hospital is no longer able to respond effectively to its demands with the resource constraints caused by government funding cutbacks. With varying degrees of support from the administration, doctors, nurses, and other professionals, he has to take action to get the proposed redesign plan back on track.

A survey of the oil change consumer has been completed for Delta Oil. The student must analyze the results and report conclusions and recommendations to Delta Oil management. The case presents the actual results of an extensive consumer survey. Delta Oil (B) introduces basic analytical techniques for market research: stratified and segmented sampling, analysis of frequency distributions and cross-tabulations. The importance of sampling methods and sample size can also be addressed. A Note on Reading a Crosstab Table (9A97K002) is also available. Delta Oil Outlets (A), which challenges students to design a research study for the company, should be taught, or at least reviewed, before addressing Delta Oil (B).

The international investments program initiated in 1990 by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Canada's largest public pension fund, had created a large exposure to currency risk. Some successful tactical currency hedging activities in 1995 prompted management to pursue the possibility of a structured foreign currency hedging program. The issue before management was whether such a hedging program should be undertaken and what form it should take.

After a substantial devaluation in the value of the Mexican currency, a major automaker attempts to reduce the price it is paying to a Mexican based supplier. The supplier (Ventramex) is put in a difficult position because a large portion of its costs is based in US dollars. The company must decide how to respond to the automaker while considering options that would increase the proportion of its costs that are based in Mexican pesos.

Advanced Material Technology (AMT), a Japan-based company and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of advanced ceramic products, was considering the prospect of raising 24 billion yen ($200 million) to finance its planned capital expenditure program. AMT must consider a variety of financing sources including straight debt, convertible bonds, and bonds with warrants. Currency denomination and location of a global offering are also considered. The case also examines the economic and banking environment in Japan.

The managing director and founder of Bangkok-based Siam Canadian Foods Co., Ltd., was considering the emerging business opportunities in neighboring Burma (also known as Myanmar). Although relatively undeveloped compared to the rest of Southeast Asia, Burma had been experiencing increasing levels of foreign investment activity in recent years. Siam, who had considered entering Burma in the past but declined, needed to determine if the time was now appropriate for the company to enter the market.

In 1994, William Booth, a member of the management team of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, was asked to re-examine the diversification strategy that the $30 billion fund had been pursuing since its inception and to determine an optimal long-term asset allocation policy for the fund. After inheriting a portfolio that consisted entirely of fixed-income securities in 1990, by the end of 1993, the allocation to equity was only 20% short of a 1995 interim policy target of 66%. Booth's primary task was to determine whether the shift in asset mix should stop at 66% equity in 1995, which was above the allocation to equities for the average pension plan, or whether it should continue to some higher amount (an independent consultant recommended an 80% allocation to equity). Booth knew that a higher allocation to equities would likely increase total returns over the long-term, thereby reducing the cost of funding the plan. However, equities exhibited greater volatility than bonds and a higher allocation to equities therefore created some risk that future funding costs might rise above current levels.

The general manager must determine how to contend with a project overrun. The team had been working on their project for more than two years. In their presentation of the projected budget and schedule to the executives, the team identified a potential $1 million overspend in order to satisfy their contract. Their original budget was $3.5 million, of which $2.5 million was provided by the company. When the general manager questioned team members during the presentation about what had caused the overrun, he was amazed that the team was unable to respond.

This case concerns the development of a marketing plan for a southern Ontario dock builder, John Morrison, who is entering his second year of business. He has distribution and promotion decisions to make.