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It was a subsidiary of China Construction Bank Corporation, one of China's top four banks. The asset management industry in China had always been quick to leverage technological change to gain an advantage. Since the debut of robo-advisors in 2015 in the Chinese market, this change was coming even faster. As a rising star in the area of financial technology (FinTech), robo-advisors applied automated algorithms to realize investment goals for clients in a cost-and time-efficient method. Between 2016and 2018, not only FinTech startups in China rushed to launch robo-advisor platforms, but also renowned internet companies like Alibaba and traditional financial institutions like big banks, asset management companies, or security firms in China began to introduce robo-advisory services into their existing business. Artificial intelligence had brought both opportunities and challenges to traditional investment managers. Mr. Sun and his management team needed to analyze the characteristics of the Chinese market and the pros and cons for launching robo-advisory services, and decide CCB Principal's strategy going forward. Should they start offering robo-advisors as a core service? The case reviews the origin and development of robo-advisors in the US, Europe, and Asian markets, and introduces the unique features of the asset management market in China. Thinking from the perspective of a chairman of one of the top asset management companies in China, students are expected to look into the characteristics of domestic Chinese investors (mentality, investment goals, level of sophistication, etc.) and the Chinese market (political and regulatory environment, technological application, product development, etc.), analyze the advantages and constraints for the development of robo-advisors in China, and come up with a suitable business model for CCB Principal's future strategies.

Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan are widely regarded as two of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. Both led their teams to championships, and both were named MVP and All-Star multiple times. But Bryant, the "Black Mamba," and Duncan, the "Big Fundamental," had very different styles of play and ways of interacting with their teammates, coaches, and fans. This case offers an overview of these two champions' careers and allows a lively conversation about star performers, leadership, key leader behaviors, how those behaviors relate to effectiveness, and the role of charisma in the leadership process. Importantly, students do not need to know anything at all about basketball to be on equal footing with those who are basketball fans, because the case exhibits provide evidence for quantitative comparisons, and the case text describes qualitative information that facilitates discussion.

In 2013, three friends from college came together to found Zenatix, an Indian energy data analytics company. Based on Internet-of-things technology, the team built WattMan, a hardware-based product that could monitor the usage and performance of electrical assets such as air conditioners and refrigerators. It saved energy costs by suggesting corrective action. Zenatix faced challenges in identifying the right target market for WattMan and matching the product features to its clients' needs. By 2016, it had made two shifts in target markets and Zenatix had to convince investors of the potential of its latest target market, especially after adding a new control feature in WattMan III. With funds running low, this was a make-or-break situation for Zenatix.

Founded in 1989, Orpea Group (Orpea) was a French nursing care company that had successfully expanded into 10 European countries with a network of about 700 facilities. In early 2016, Orpea opened its first establishment in Asia in the Chinese city of Nanjing. Seeing an increased demand for elderly care in China, the Nanjing government encouraged the company. However, Orpea was facing several challenges, including cultural and legal differences between China and Europe, as well as competition with local companies. Orpea needed to determine how best to test the company's Nanjing facility in the Chinese market and whether or not to pursue further expansion in China.

In 2017, Chinese clothing manufacturer Qingdao Kutesmart Co. Ltd. (Kutesmart) had been transformed into a customer-to-manufacturer platform company, where customers could order individualized products directly from the makers over the Internet. Since 2000, Kutesmart had been upgrading its information system as its business strategy evolved, and the company had become a widely known, successful case study of mass-customization-based manufacturing in China. However, as the company leaped forward into the age of digitization and globalization, its founder faced a number of questions: How could Kutesmart extract more value from its data resources and technology? The company was assessing and pursuing a platform strategy; could this strategy help Kutesmart take its business to the next level? What were the opportunities and challenges?

In March 2019, two senior managers attending an executive education program had been assigned the task of applying their learnings from readings in order to estimate the costs of capital for Walmart Inc. (Walmart). They also needed to discuss why the cost of capital was such an important topic. The managers had with them background information, including a recent Walmart balance sheet and income statement; a U.S. Department of Treasury yield curve; Walmart's earnings, dividend, and stock price information; historical U.S. capital market returns; interest rates; and a detailed description of a long-term Walmart bond. Based on this information, the managers needed to estimate Walmart's cost of capital and be sure they understood why this mattered.

This case describes the journey of a Chinese snack food company, LYFEN, as it developed supply-chain processes and capabilities to compete successfully in a highly competitive market. It provides detailed information about LYFEN's quality-control processes and supply-chain management practices. A particularly interesting aspect of the case is the challenges faced by the company to deliver on customer expectations for food safety and the associated implications for brand image. The question of concern for the company president was how she could keep up with a quickly expanding market while ensuring quality through supply-chain management.

In January 2019, a second-year master of business administration student has come up with an idea for a new venture: sourcing products from her social contacts, using Instagram to direct traffic to her company website, and utilizing the postal service to deliver goods. Does a viable business opportunity really exist, or are there too many unknowns?

Henry Franklin works at Sunshine O.J. (Sunshine), a three-year-old, fast-growing organic orange juice manufacturer near Charleston, South Carolina. Before his employment at Sunshine, Franklin worked for about two decades in his family's business, Franklin's Hardware. Franklin learned a great deal during his time in the hardware business and hopes to use some of his insights to help Sunshine, which has been struggling to become profitable. This A case introduces inventory generally and highlights differences between "last in, first out" (LIFO) and "first in, first out" (FIFO) accounting. Franklin's manager asks him to prepare a LIFO/FIFO analysis for Sunshine based on real data so that he can present it in a management meeting.

This case covers the initial public offering (IPO) of the Siemens subsidiary Healthineers. The March 2018 offering of the health care technology firm was heavily anticipated on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and was Germany's largest IPO in more than 20 years. Healthineers was one of Siemens' most successful businesses, and its management board had a keen interest in its long-term success and in the valuation that financial markets would place on the company. The case allows students to learn about the IPO process, understand Siemens' strategic rationale, and estimate the value of Healthineers.

This case examines the transformation of the University of Virginia Health System (UVAHS) into a leader of operational excellence focused on both patient outcomes and health care team members' well-being with its signature quality improvement and safety program, Be Safe. The case provides opportunities for class discussions in several areas, including managing organizational change, understanding senior leadership in launching and implementing a major operational transformation, and applying Lean principles and methods in health care operations. It also exposes students to issues currently facing the health care industry, particularly from an academic hospital standpoint. It concentrates on the improvement activities led by Dr. Tracey Hoke, chief of quality and performance improvement for UVAHS, during the first two years of the Be Safe initiative to lay the foundation for future success in all aspects of patient care.

Tessa Lyons was a rising star at Facebook. She had been the project manager in charge of news feed integrity for a little over a year, stationed at the front lines in the battle against misinformation and "fake news." However, in early 2019, she faced an ethical dilemma that could define her tenure at the company and perhaps her career: whether to ban Alex Jones and the content from his platform, Infowars, from the Facebook news feed.

It was March 2019, and Fermin Diez, Deputy CEO of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), ran the Sun Ray scheme that had been launched in 2014 to mitigate manpower issues due to pay disparity and lack of career progression in the social service sector. Singapore's heretofore prosperity did not result in an even distribution of wealth, and with the changing demographics, Social Service Agencies (SSAs) required assistance in identifying and improving various programmes to support vulnerable groups. The government had recently announced plans to provide more support with the goal of building a more caring and compassionate society. NCSS had administered several leadership programmes to develop human capital and support organisations in the sector to strengthen the local social service ecosystem. However, the previous leadership programmes introduced experienced limited success due to low participation rates and the heavy workloads of staff in the social service sector. The newer Sun Ray scheme would instead centrally hire potential social service leaders under the NCSS payroll and second them out to SSAs. In return, the SSAs were required to pay a subsidised secondment fee to NCSS. This way, individual SSAs would benefit from good leaders at subsidised salaries while the impact of each Sun Rayz would not be limited to any particular SSA. Diez knew that the scheme had been successful, but sought to make improvements.

Stanley Cirano owns two retail shopping centers in suburban Chicago. With interest rates near all-time lows in late 2015, Cirano believed it was an opportune time to consider the debt financing of his properties. Although the properties were similar in many respects, the lenders willing to lend against each property were offering noticeably different terms. Cirano had to consider not only the interest rate and size of each potential loan but also the differing fees, potential prepayment penalties, and variations in recourse to make the best decision for each property.

This short case provides an update to Elon Musk's strategy and tactical moves with Tesla, Solar City, and SpaceX from 2016-2019.

Launched in 2014, Amazon's Echo and Echo Dot smart speakers led the category's rapid adoption by households and enabled the penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistants into the everyday lives of millions of people. By 2019, Alexa the virtual brains behind Amazon's smart speakers was able to play music, create reminders, get weather reports, control lights and other home appliances, shop, and do much more in response to voice commands. Amazon had developed significant new capabilities for Alexa, developed an entire ecosysgtem around it, expanded Alexa's user base to more than 100 million users, and made significant progress in monetizing its digital voice assistant. However, Alexa's progress also created new challenges for Amazon, its Alexa-enabled customers, and society at large. Amazon needed to identify and address these challenges in order to encourage continued consumer acceptance and preclude detrimental government or regulatory action.

In 2015, Mauricio Macri became President of Argentina and declared solving the energy crisis as one of his top priorities. When Macri's administration attempted to raise utility tariffs, however, it faced loud protests from citizens. In search of solutions to growing shortages, the government seized on Argentina's still largely untapped, but potentially vast renewable energy sector and created an ambitious program called RenovAr (renew in Spanish). By 2016, the country's share of renewable energy stood at less than 2 percent of the power mix. RenovAr's goal was to raise that percentage to 20 percent by 2025. More renewable energy in the electric system was a welcome improvement, but seamlessly integrating renewables into electricity grids had proven challenging in many countries. Argentina's cash-strapped wholesale electricity market, which for the better part of two decades had seen few upgrades, would have to contend with a host of expected and unexpected bottlenecks.

Since its establishment in 1973, LUXOR SA had come to occupy a strong position in the international market. However, important changes were occurring in the international computer market which the company had to take into account. Increased market pressure and a more demanding clientele was drastically changing the role of salespeople; instead of selling ready-made products, they began working with the clients, identifying their specific product needs as well as advising them on appropriate market strategies. Salespeople had to have higher technical and scientific competences, financial and marketing knowledge, and negotiation skills. It seemed evident that LUXOR SA needed to design a program that would prepare and help people progressively handle organization and market changes. In late 2003, the new CEO decided that a structural reorganization and policy revision would be necessary to maintain a viable position in the global market. Keeping in mind the external changes in the business, LUXOR SA intended to take the steps needed to become an innovative, trend-setting, marketing-driven organization.