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The Chevron Corporation and Occidental Petroleum entered into a bidding competition in April 2019 for ownership and control of Anadarko Petroleum. Both companies wished to expand their acreage and reserves in the Permian Basin, the core assets of Anadarko, and the largest oil producing region in the world. Although Anadarko first announced that it was accepting Chevron's offer, Occidental quickly publicized its own offer which it argued was superior. After revising its offer to increase the cash component, Anadarko accepted Occidental's offer. Anadarko stockholders had to vote on August 8 to accept or reject the sale of their company to Occidental Petroleum.

This case provides an inside glimpse of an inter-organizational crisis as it unfolds. On January 25, 1990 at approximately 9:35 p.m. eastern standard time, Avianca flight 052 crashed into a hillside in a wooded residential area of Cove Neck, New York. Seventy-three of the 158 people on board died, including all of the flight crew, as well as five flight attendants. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the primary cause of the accident was fuel exhaustion. No one will ever understand the full range of causes that led to this accident. Like many crises, the fate of Avianca Airlines flight 052 was stirred by a deadly layering of intricate problems. Perhaps the most tragic among them relate directly to cross-cultural differences, as cues of the crisis were missed, mishandled and lost in translation. Urgencies that were slighted caused known and practiced signal detection and crisis responses to go awry. An exceptional feature of this case is that the evidence on which it rests puts the reader on the scene as the crisis unfolds.Verbatim cockpit dialogue, captured in black box recordings during the last hour before the accident, exposes the lethal impact of unreconciled diversities among languages, jargon, beliefs, values and habits. Relatively common flight problems flare to crisis proportion when individuals who could have averted or fixed them miss signals of impending doom. Accomplished leaders and operators are blindsided by their parochial interpretations of vocabulary and intent, which add fatal obstacles to crisis management efforts.

In June 2018 Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG), the iconic American manufacturer of motorcycles-hogs as they were affectionately referred to - announced that it would shift some United States-based production to a foreign country. Harley explained it had little choice if it was to remain competitive in foreign markets, specifically, Europe. The EU (EU) had the previous month announced an increase in the import duty imposed on Harley-Davidson motorcycle manufactured in the U.S. in retaliation to President Donald Trump's imposition of increased tariffs on European steel and aluminum. But Harley's problems went much deeper than simply European import duties. Harley was suffering from a decade-long slump in sales and profitability. Would shifting production out of the U.S. be the appropriate solution?

The Hilti Corporation was founded by Martin Hilti in 1941 in Liechtenstein, Germany. From its inception, Hilti set the highest standards of peoples' practices, innovation, quality and governance. The values of the company; Team, Commitment, Integrity and Courage, defined by Martin, remained unchanged over the years, even though the company leadership transitioned from Martin to his son Michael to the non-family Chairman Baschera and later Fisher. Continuity was given a lot of importance at Hilti. In 2017, the family trust and the board of directors of the Hilti corporation, both had non-family leaders. Michael Hilti, the Lifetime Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors, was happy that the transition of leadership had happened smoothly and as planned. He was keen to identify and correct possible areas of weaknesses existing or that might emerge in future. He knew that he didn't have a long time to further institutionalize the family and business.

This case analyses the evolution of Tencent, now (in early 2019) one of the top 10 listed companies in the world. The case focuses on WeChat, the social networking and lifestyle app created in 2010 and now (in 2019) with more than one billion users. It describes the emergence and growth of WeChat and how it came to dominate large parts of daily life in China; it also provides insight into how WeChat operates and the current strategic challenges facing WeChat. Unlike some case studies on Tencent and WeChat, this case is based on in-depth interviews with executives in the company and in particular Allen Zhang, the founder of WeChat. It therefore provides an in-depth understanding of how WeChat works internally, and it allows the instructor to draw out some general points about innovation in today's mobile-first digital economy.

In 2018, Magrabi was the leading retailer of eyeglasses, sunglasses, and other optical products in the Middle East, and it was embarking on a major shift in strategy, transitioning from a brand focused on clinical expertise to a brand that combined technical excellence with a luxury retail experience for customers. This case provides an opportunity to discuss the company's plans for executing its strategy, especially when it comes to recruiting the right people and setting them up for success.

At-Bay was a cyber insurance startup that offered companies coverage against a wide array of cyber risks-exposure to which the firm was able to quickly assess and price on the basis of technical expertise that traditional insurance carriers lacked. In mid-2019, At-Bay was working to build underwriting revenue ahead of a Series B round of venture funding that the company hoped to receive by year's end. This required not only scaling its underwriting capacity and convincing insurance brokers to include the startup among the carriers they quoted to their corporate clients, but also ensuring that At-Bay avoided the temptation to grow revenues by taking on riskier clients than it might otherwise prefer.

In 2017, the owner of Toboggan Brewing Company (Toboggan) needed to increase production capacity for his craft beer without making a capital investment. Toboggan was a very small player in the Ontario market; however, its craft beer had significant opportunity for growth due to the owner's strong business acumen and a proven consumer demand for the product. The owner had four options for potential contracting partners. The trade-offs between his contract partners were price, experience, location, and distribution.

In its first four years, Fancam Pty Ltd. (Fancam), a high-definition, 360-degree crowd-imaging business based in Cape Town, South Africa, had enjoyed considerable growth that was driven in part by its network of resellers around the world. However, the structure and incentives of the reseller channel were becoming too difficult for the business to manage. By February 2015, Fancam's chief executive officer was considering how to fix the firm's channel management strategy. He was considering the use of reseller exclusivity agreements and wondered how to manage such agreements. He also wondered how to improve the company's multi-faceted sales incentive structure, whether to replace resellers with an in-house sales force, and what role these decisions would have on the brand positioning of his company's product.

US-based Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI), founded in 1992, was the world's largest agency dedicated to providing adoption services to abandoned children living in Chinese social welfare institutions. By 2017, CCAI had found permanent homes in the United States for more than 12,000 orphaned children and children with disabilities. However, the economic, social, legal, and political environments in China were changing. The number of abandoned children in the Chinese mainland was gradually decreasing, while the number of children with disabilities seeking a foreign adoption was constantly increasing. The founders were determined to apply their experiences, resources, and influence to charitable work, while continuing to pursue the cause of international adoptions. What should they do to help maintain CCAI's sustainable development?

In 2018, President of the United States, Donald Trump, criticized the company Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer) for increasing drug prices-which had been a strategic move by Pfizer in response to industry-wide challenges. This announcement highlighted the complex dynamics of the pharmaceutical industry and the big challenges that innovative research and development (R&D)-intensive pharmaceutical companies faced. The entire pharmaceutical industry was being challenged by issues such as decreasing global average returns on investment and increased R&D costs. In addition, the company faced increased competition from companies from other industries and from emerging-market companies. Pfizer's chief executive officer needed to determine whether or not these changes marked a turning point for the whole industry.

In January 2018, Fotile Kitchenware Co. Ltd.'s (Fotile's) sales for 2017 were announced at over ¥10 billion. Fotile had become the first kitchen appliance manufacturer in China to reach this significant milestone, despite its relatively short operational history. For years, Fotile had also been considered China's most prominent brand in the kitchenware industry, beating several internationally-reputed brands. Since the company's founding, the founder had set a differentiation strategy for this new venture to compete in the kitchen appliance industry. He had also made numerous tough decisions along the way to ensure that this strategy was persistently followed through. However, could his strategy continue to sustain Fotile's growth for the future?

In July 2016, Singapore's Minister for Transport announced that Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Ltd (SMRT) had agreed to sell its trains, tracks, and other operating assets to the government for $1 billion. SMRT would continue to operate and maintain MRT services but as an "asset light" company with the government responsible for financing the assets needed and leasing them to the company. Five months later, Temasek Holdings, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, purchased the remaining shares of SMRT and delisted the company from the Singapore stock exchange. The two 2016 reforms were just the latest developments in a several decades-long debate about how best to provide high-quality and affordable MRT services in Singapore. The current round had begun several years earlier when SMRT suffered a series of breakdowns that left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded, in some cases waiting hours in darkened tunnels until they were evacuated. A Commission of Inquiry blamed inadequate maintenance by SMRT, but the key questions were what were the underlying forces that led to the poor maintenance and breakdowns and would the creation of an asset-light, government-owned company help address them? Case number 2110.3

This case follows Lebanese entrepreneur, Hind Hobeika, an engineer and competitive swimmer who spends seven years trying to launch a wearable heartrate monitor and motion sensor to help swimmers track their performance while swimming. While the Beirut-based entrepreneur gained initial traction soon after founding her company Instabeat in September 2011, winning $150,000 in prize money from business plan competitions and raising $100,000 from a local venture capital firm, Hobeika soon faced a series of set-backs in trying to manufacture the product. Given the complexity of the hardware product she was trying to build, Hobeika had invested a significant amount of capital in the manufacturing design and had faced continuous delays. In addition, the product was not proving to be economically viable. By early 2016, Hobeika was out of money and had to let her team go. The business issues had also taken a toll on her personal life. However, Hobeika saw a potential path forward. The VC who had originally backed her was closing a new round of funding and was willing to discuss another potential round. More importantly, while in London, she had recently met Alex Asseily, a prominent Lebanese-British entrepreneur who encouraged her to stay the course. He suggested that she relocate to San Francisco, where he would soon be based, and offered to help her. Would it be worthwhile to leave everything behind, relocate, and rebuild the business? Hobeika had to decide: should she continue or not? If so, under what circumstances? If not, what would she do next?

The case discusses the rapid success and competitive challenges of Guangzhou Chimelong Group Co. Ltd.'s (Chimelong's) marine-based recreational theme park, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom. The theme park was one of the biggest in China and had won several awards for its size and programs, but Western players such as the Walt Disney Company were expanding into China, and several smaller marine-based theme park players were entering the market, posing the threat of imitation to Ocean Kingdom. How should the theme park compete against leading multinationals and burgeoning Chinese domestic players? Could Ocean Kingdom sustain its competitive advantage against these players?

In 2012, JD.com had emerged as the biggest business-to-consumer e-commerce retailer in China. The company's founder and chief executive officer, Qiangdong Liu, realized that he had to strengthen the company's internal management in order to sustain rapid growth. In 2011 and 2012, he recruited several chief officers, including Yu Long, who became JD.com's chief human resources officer and general counsel. Case A describes the challenges Long faced when joining the company in August 2012 and invites students to think about what her priorities should be when tackling these challenges.

Between 1998 and 2018, JD.com Inc. (JD.com) transformed from a compact disc (CD)-burner shop into a technology-driven group of service companies (JD Group) and China's largest retailer by revenue. Yu Long joined the Group in August 2012 as chief human resources (HR) officer and general counsel. Over the years, Long launched various initiatives to strengthen the HR team and improve its practices to support the Group's rapid growth and transformation. This case describes the new challenges that faced the Group's HR management committee headed by Long.

Two recent university graduates were completing a business plan in hopes of securing a government grant to assist them in coming up with the necessary funding to launch a new venture. The pair had developed an idea to launch a new food delivery mobile application. In order to complete the grant application, three years of projected cash budgets, statements of earnings, and statements of financial position would be required. It was spring, and the pair hoped to have the mobile application ready for launch in early autumn.

This case puts participants in the shoes of the directors of Barry Callebaut (BC), a cocoa-sourcing and chocolate manufacturing company. Chairman Andreas Jacobs is passionate about cocoa sustainability in West Africa - ensuring the cocoa crop (endangered by poor farming and climate change) and the farmers who grow it will survive and thrive. However, in response to a falling share price, the BC board has shifted strategy to achieve cost leadership. Moreover, customers have been unwilling to pay a premium for sustainable cocoa beans. Given the scale of the problem, the company cannot 'go it alone'. Nonetheless, when the CEO steps down in 2008, Jacobs sees an opportunity for BC to embrace sustainability and urges the board to go beyond goodwill gestures - like its earlier building of schools in Ivory Coast - and take "real action". Should the board follow his lead? What would "real action" mean?