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Six months into the operation of the energy management business, GE Energy Management Initiative has lost a bid for a large contract. Its general manager learns that the division to which it reports is getting out of the energy management business because of a questionable strategic fit within the division, and a lack of results. The general manager wonders how to proceed. (This is a sequel to GE Energy Management Initiative (A).)

This case, the first in a six-part series, describes the situation Pierre Godfroid encountered when he took over as Sabena’s CEO in 1991. At that time, Sabena was in crisis, facing imminent bankruptcy. On the strength of a restructuring plan developed by Godfroid and his staff, the Belgian government had agreed to bail out the airline in return for assurances that this would be the last time government assistance would be requested. Godfroid’s task was to transform the company into a viable private enterprise. The case provides the opportunity to evaluate the viability of Godfroid’s strategy and more generally to explore strategy formulation in a global industry. More importantly, it sets the stage for a sequence of follow-up cases (9A94M004, 9A94M005, 9A94M006, 9A94M007, 9A94M008) dealing with the implementation of the strategy. (Sabena Belgian World Airlines - Video which is broken into segments to coincide with the case series, can be purchased with the case.)

A Montreal animated film producer and distributor requires an infusion of capital to finance its growth. The film industry can be a high risk industry and finding investors is difficult. Two venture capital companies are approached to allow the business to grow. It is now time to negotiate the deal.

This note examines an industry that is losing its competitive advantages due to globalization. Suitable for use in a section of an international strategy/business policy course which introduces the topic of industry analysis.

The case addresses some basic personal financial planning issues that a couple with children may encounter. Specifically addressed are the taxation of different components of employment income, the trade-off between paying down a mortgage and investing in an RRSP and the creation of a RESP to save for a child's education.

The president of Image Processing Systems has plans to expand but is facing the challenge of obtaining financing. After considering and rejecting the use of venture capital, he is actively considering a proposal put forward by McDermid, St. Lawrence, Chisholm; a mid-sized Canadian investment company. The proposal involves a private placement of equity followed by an IPO.

There is a very personal and dramatic confrontation between the chairman and the CEO of the board of directors. This circumstance will offer the students the opportunity to analyze corporate governance and the authority and accountability issues that arise when role descriptions are unclear. The case also examines the escalation of conflict and resolution alternatives.

Royal Trustco presents a chronology of some of the key decision points in the history of the firm (the parent firm of Royal Trust) from 1980 to 1992. To clarify the concept of corporate governance, a number of interesting discussion questions are presented: How did Royal Trustco get to the point where the directors had to sell the company to save it? Why did this happen? Was it appropriate for Royal Trustco directors to keep paying dividends given the problems the company faced? Were there any signs that the company's actions might lead to problems in the future? Could the problems have been prevented? Why might the board not have believed the CEO's assessment of the situation? What are a director's legal obligations in the operation of a firm? What can a director be held responsible for? If you had been a director of the company, would you have resigned at any point in time? Why or why not? The case is intended to serve as the starting point for a discussion of corporate governance in Canada.

A heavy equipment manufacturing firm is considering three different levels of investment in a professional services firm that performs consulting engineering work for industrial firms. To assess the impact of the different levels of investment, financial statements need to be prepared using generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), for one year after the planned investment.

The owner and manager of the Texas Longhorn Cafe of Mississauga, Ontario, was trying to decide how to deal with an irate customer. Earlier that day she had made an elaborate birthday cake and delivered it to the restaurant in preparation for the party to celebrate her husband's 40th birthday. Inadvertently, the restaurant staff had already served it to another group. Now the customer was loudly berating the restaurant. The case is intended for a relatively short discussion concerning recovery from service failures.

Alex MacDonald, president and owner of AWC Inc., a southwestern Ontario aluminum fabrication operation, is confronted with a decision of whether to install ventilation equipment that will negatively affect the financial performance of the company, possibly forcing the company out of business. His alternative is to ignore environmental regulations and risk being charged by government authorities for contravening the law. This case provides the opportunity to discuss several environmental forces that impact business decision making.

An introduction to a series of cases with a small, international high technology company. The subsequent cases deal with marketing S-S Technologies Inc. (B) - Marketing, measurement issues S-S Technologies Inc. (C) - Measurement Issues(C), and organizational design S-S Technologies Inc. (D) - Organizational Design.

A consultant wasn't convinced that all relevant items, for example, leading and lagging indicators, were either currently being identified and measured, or would continue to be in the future. That is, he questioned whether the company was adequately following a strategic approach to measurement. At the same time, he wondered what changes were necessary to effectively implement such an approach.

A managing partner of a leading management consulting firm did not receive an anticipated promotion and is considering leaving the firm. The seven partners of the firm had recently held a Partners' meeting to discuss professional staff performance and to finalize salaries and promotions. The managing partner had been with the firm for six months and had joined the firm after working for five years in the telecommunications sector. His direct superior thought highly of him and his performance and agreed to support him at the partners' year-end meeting. However, most of the other partners did not feel that he met all of the expectations of a senior consultant. They specifically felt that he did not satisfy the total firm and RDMC participation category on the firm's performance matrix which listed the criteria for promotions within the firm.

John Meek, general manager of the Ontario Dairy Herd Improvement Corporation (Ontario DHI), has to decide what measures should be taken to reduce the membership decline of Ontario DHI. He must evaluate company information and marketing research to determine what might be the best course of action.

A manager at the Bell Institute for Professional Development, has just finished developing the Profit Orientation Seminar and is about to train individuals to deliver it to over 50,000 Bell employees. She must consider the issuers of training and development, managing change and evaluating the success of the training program.

The director of marketing of a recently acquired trust company is faced with preparing a marketing plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Historically, the trust company has not had a marketing or sales function. The director faces some major challenges: establishing marketing's role in the trust company; helping the trust company be more accepted by the bank that acquired the company; helping the trust company move from its unprofitable start-up mode to a profitable operation. She wondered how to begin.

Over seven years, the owner of a highly successful drive-through, take-out hamburger chain has built his business and knew that there was a tremendous potential for the idea. He was unsure whether to expand by opening additional company-operated stores (using retained earnings), or by establishing a franchise system. Two Excel spreadsheets are available; one for the student, product 7A94B008 and one for the instructor, product 5A94B08.

An entrepreneurial university student found himself contemplating several decisions that could drastically alter the operations of his summer business distributing household paper products and cleaning supplies in Montreal. These decisions included three ways to expand (enlarge the salesforce, target a new market and pursue a franchise program), and three ways to change the nature of the venture (launch an environmental line, distribute non-perishable foods and reduce delivery quantities). Underlying all of these was the possibility of selling the business and pursuing an opportunity with a multi-national corporation. Students have to evaluate the current strategy and operations and assess the viability of the proposed alternatives.

Fil Metaillique de Briteque Limitee (FMBL), a small Montreal company, had to decide whether or not to offer a discounted price on their most widely-sold product in order to recapture a large ex-customer. After doing a qualitative size-up of the firm and the industry, students are expected to compare the new lower price to FMBL's costs to determine if accepting the offer is in the best interest of the company. A consideration of pricing policy, strategy and profitability are central to the decision.