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In March 2013, SIC Insurance Company Limited (SIC), a Ghanaian insurance company, appointed its first female chief executive officer, Doris Awo Nkani. Under her tenure, SIC issued a credit guarantee bond to ITAL Construct International in favour of Ivory Finance for a six-month period. However, ITAL Construct International defaulted on the loan, and Ivory Finance called on SIC to redeem its credit guarantee bond. Due to the failure of SIC and ITAL Construct International to honour their obligations, Ivory Finance proceeded to court in November 2013. Over a year later, in November 2014, the parties agreed on an amount to be paid to Ivory Finance through a consent judgment. This event culminated in the board considering in February 2015 whether to retain or fire its chief executive officer. How had this situation occurred? Should the board of directors have taken action earlier? How could the company ensure that a similar situation would not recur in the future?

In 2017, Equuleus Car Sharing Inc. (ECS) was a relatively new player in the rental car industry, with annual revenues approaching US$100 million. ECS had experienced significant growth since its founding in 2014 due to its focus on low prices and a mix of high-demand vehicle types-specifically, minivans, sport utility vehicles, sedans, and economy cars. ECS management wished to examine the opportunity to purchase new vehicles through financing versus the traditional method of paying cash for dramatically expanding the fleet size. The goal was to develop a fleet purchasing strategy that maximized the present value of net income.

Kamaths Ourtimes Ice Creams Pvt. Ltd., a company located in Mumbai, India, manufactured and distributed ice cream under the brand Natural Ice Cream. The company specialized in using natural flavours in its products, a fact that helped it carve a niche for itself among health-conscious customers. In April 2017, after witnessing great demand for its ice cream across the country, the company's board of directors asked the director of operations to draft a plan to expand manufacturing capacity. As his first step towards this expansion, the director wanted to study the current operations and address any inefficiencies. One aspect that caught his attention was the recent delay in product delivery. Based on his experience, he did not see the company's capacity to fulfill current orders as the reason for delays. Therefore, he decided that the problem was related to the process flow. He would have to find ways to streamline the process to reduce or eliminate all delays in delivery.

Asyraf and Nasrul, two young trainees of SMRT Corporation Limited (SMRT), a multi-modal public transport operator in Singapore, were killed on the tracks near the Pasir Ris MRT station on 22 March 2016. They were part of a 15-member team led by an assistant engineer. The team had walked in single file on the maintenance walkway beside the track towards the device that had registered a warning for a signalling fault. At 11:08 am, a train entering the Pasir Ris station from the opposite direction of the work party hit the two trainees who were second and third in the line behind the assistant engineer. Despite applying the breaks, the train captain could not stop the train in time. Meanwhile, the assistant engineer and the rest of the team had jumped to safety upon noticing the oncoming train. No other injuries were reported. The accident impacted organisational morale and reputation, which was already affected by the falling rail reliability and increasing public criticism. Preliminary investigations revealed non-compliance with safety protocol as the cause of the accident, and this exacerbated the situation. The crisis management team sprang into action to mitigate the impact and support the Next of Kin (NoK) of the deceased. In the days following the accident, Desmond Kuek (DK), the President and Group CEO of SMRT, worked to restore confidence and clarity among the employees, besides comforting and supporting the NoK. While DK's energy was focused on promoting a culture of compliance with safety protocol and driving organisational change, his decision to terminate the assistant engineer and the train captain for breach of safety protocols was met with criticism from some factions of the public and employees.

The case shows how the protagonist needs to work on two fronts: 1) with the European innovation team & 2) with the local trade team to ensure the best fit with customers, consumers and shoppers. Throughout the case, different questions arise: the name Pringles ""Tortilla"", the communication model, the distribution strategy, pricing and promotional strategy. Should all of this be together or separate from Pringles potato chips?

Riku Nakamura relocated six years ago with his family from Tokyo to San Mateo, California, to spearhead the launch of Kenko USA, the first foreign subsidiary of a Japanese cracker company. However, Kenko USA hasn't taken off as hoped, and his family is ready to return home. Riku now ponders which course to recommend to Kenko's executive team: a lucrative private-label deal that would quickly drive revenue growth or a new branded marketing push that would better position the division for the long term. This fictional case study by Elie Ofek feature expert commentary by Tetsuya Fujisaki and Carlos Canals.

Riku Nakamura relocated six years ago with his family from Tokyo to San Mateo, California, to spearhead the launch of Kenko USA, the first foreign subsidiary of a Japanese cracker company. However, Kenko USA hasn't taken off as hoped, and his family is ready to return home. Riku now ponders which course to recommend to Kenko's executive team: a lucrative private-label deal that would quickly drive revenue growth or a new branded marketing push that would better position the division for the long term. This fictional case study by Elie Ofek feature expert commentary by Tetsuya Fujisaki and Carlos Canals.

Riku Nakamura relocated six years ago with his family from Tokyo to San Mateo, California, to spearhead the launch of Kenko USA, the first foreign subsidiary of a Japanese cracker company. However, Kenko USA hasn't taken off as hoped, and his family is ready to return home. Riku now ponders which course to recommend to Kenko's executive team: a lucrative private-label deal that would quickly drive revenue growth or a new branded marketing push that would better position the division for the long term. This fictional case study by Elie Ofek feature expert commentary by Tetsuya Fujisaki and Carlos Canals.

The case describes how Dollar Shave Club proved to be a disruptive force in the shaving industry, one dominated by Gillette for over a Century. It did so without a single patent to its name, and with a direct-to-consumer subscription and a content-based customer engagement model that was new to the shaving industry, but not to consumer products at large (e.g., Nespresso and Red Bull, respectively). The case demonstrates the disruptive power of a digital platform model, and highlights how new marketing capabilities can disrupt traditional channels. It challenges P&G owned Gillette to formulate a strategic response in light of Unilever's threat to acquire the upstart business. The case provides online links to a rich set of free videos that include a CEO interview, competitive advertising, and analyst commentary.

The U.S. choice to go to war with Iraq, beginning in March 2003, was enormously consequential. This two-part case, developed for an HKS course called "Power Shifts: Understanding Global Change Through History," goes back in time to trace the evolution of American policy toward Iraq prior to 9/11, and the shift in thinking that led to war with Iraq during the administration of George W. Bush. The two parts of the case cover different parts of the chronology. While each could be used on its own, they are intended for use together. The (A) case, subtitled "The United States & Iraq, 1980 to 2002," briefly summarizes US policy toward Iraq after World War II, in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, and during the Persian Gulf War. It describes the frustrations inherent in the "aggressive containment" approach in the decade following. The case describes Bush Administration thinking about Iraq before 9/11, and the shift in thinking after that attack, including tensions within the Administration. The case ends in September 2002, with a tense battle between Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell over what President Bush should say about Iraq in his upcoming September 12 address to the United Nations. The (B) case, subtitled "The Road to War, September 2002 to March 2003," begins with the President's address to the UN, and continues with the Administration's efforts to persuade the U.S. Congress and the United Nations that Iraq was manufacturing WMD, the simultaneous pursuit of a diplomacy track while preparing for war, and negotiations with a critical U.S. ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The case ends with President George W. Bush's ultimatum to Saddam Hussein-that he and his sons leave Iraq within 48 hours, or face war with the United States. Case number 2130.0

PromenAid Inc., located in Montreal, Canada, and founded in 2010, was a producer of satin-anodized modular handrails for mobility-impaired customers. The company had begun experiencing significant growth in sales in 2016. Further, the projections of the vice-president of Commercial Operations suggested explosive growth between 2017 and 2020. However, he was concerned about demand stimulation, positioning and differentiation, and choosing channels of distribution. In addition, he was concerned about the potential effect of growth on cash flow and the organizational structure. Changes had to be made to ensure the company's potential growth.

Sekar Group (Sekar), based in Surabaya, Indonesia, started in 1966 as a small business purchasing fish and shrimp. Led by its founder Harry Susilo, Sekar grew into a large holding company with several business divisions in the global market. Sekar's achievements were closely linked to Susilo's moral leadership, which was greatly influenced by Eastern culture. As the eldest of a large family, Susilo had cared for his siblings as his own children. Some of these siblings were involved with Sekar, and the last of them was preparing to retire. Susilo, as the company's patriarch, was facing the challenge of ensuring lasting success. A new leader from the next generation needed to be chosen to assume Susilo's moral leadership and to sustain family business management and corporate ethics. Who should become the new leader and how would Susilo pass down his ethical framework to a generation largely raised with Western values?

This case series allows students to examine the dynamics of an organization-wide operating system change that was implemented over a decade from 2007 to 2017. The change was initially introduced at Fortis Healthcare Limited in a single hospital and later successfully scaled up to multiple locations. The system worked well for some years before it fell victim to gradual degeneration and defocus. At some stage in the journey of change, this degeneration and defocus was noticed, and a fresh effort was made to revive the change at different locations. Thus, the case series gives students the opportunity to examine the different stages of a change journey-the introduction of change; transferring it to multiple locations; sustaining change; possible .degeneration or defocus, leading to ritualization and loss of spirit; and the rejuvenation of change. In Implementing Fortis Operating System (A), the president of strategy and organizational development at Fortis Healthcare Limited had to decide on a plan scale up change quickly and effectively.

In January 2017, the owner of Exotic Caribbean Mountain Pride Ltd., based in Trinidad and Tobago, was trying to decide on a strategy to ensure the continued growth of her business in the face of increased competition from other local manufacturers. She wondered whether the timing was right to expand operations and enter the export market. The growing demand for her chocolate products also made her question whether she should increase her prices. The entry of her two daughters into the family business further complicated her decision-making. She wanted them to become more involved in running the business, but she was having difficulty adopting a less active role in the business.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (HMCL) was the largest two-wheeler company in India, a country with one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world. HMCL realized that a cause marketing campaign around road safety could benefit the company in two ways-it could raise issues around road safety to benefit the greater society, and it could create a unique positioning for the company. HMCL created a multi-level campaign that created visibility and worked at the ground level to create behaviour change. HMCL's multi-level cause marketing campaign reached a large section of the population, but challenges lay ahead in measuring the success of the road safety campaign. The head of corporate social responsibility at the company had to determine how to measure the success of the campaign and whether to continue it.

A businesswoman owned two franchised stores of Carpenter Tan Handicrafts Co., Ltd. (Carpenter Tan) in Panjin City, China. Carpenter Tan was a leader in the wooden crafts industry. When the first franchised store was set up in 2012, she was excited by and satisfied with Carpenter Tan's franchise model. However, after her second franchised store was set up in 2014, she felt that this franchise model was restricting her development and autonomy. In 2016, Carpenter Tan suggested that the businesswoman open a third franchised store in Panjin, where the wooden crafts market was close to saturation. The businesswoman, who had become dissatisfied with Carpenter Tan's franchise model, faced a tough choice about whether she should set up the third franchised store.

Clever, a high-growth EdTech company based in San Francisco, had grown quickly in market share (Exhibit 1-2) and headcount (Exhibit 3). As with many high-growth companies, however, early employees (many of whom had never managed people before) had been given the opportunity to manage teams, and they had done so with mixed success and consequences for both company success and employee retention. Reflecting on Clever's progress as of early 2017, co-founder and CEO Tyler Bosmeny proposed investing in developing effective managers, such that others wanted to work for them and grow under them. Premised on the belief that providing high-quality feedback was a critical function of effective managers, he launched a Radical Candor initiative, based on tech veteran Kim Scott's book "Radical Candor," that sought to develop managers by helping them master the art and science of developing others.