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This case revisits the events in late 2013 that gave rise to what was at the time the largest breach of confidential data in history. Indeed, on December 19, 2013, Target announced that its computer network had been infiltrated by cybercriminals who stole 40 million debit and credit card numbers as well as the personal information of some 70 million additional customers. The case presents the cybercriminals' activities leading up to the breach, details of the commission of the theft, the measures that Target had put in place to deter such attacks, its ill-fated response during the attack and, finally, the impact of the breach on Target as well as on the retail industry as a whole.

The National Football League (NFL) is one of the most lucrative professional sports leagues in the world. A multi-billion dollar enterprise with millions of fans filling stadiums or riveted to their screens on game day, the NFL and its teams have, over the years, been led by strong personalities who have built up an empire that is the envy of managers in every other professional sport. The result of a merger between two leagues, the NFL has experienced phenomenal growth since its founding in 1920. Its business model has evolved significantly over the years. One of its distinguishing features is its revenue-sharing model, which favours parity by distributing revenue generated by the League evenly among its teams. Despite its commercial and financial success, however, the NFL has had to pay particular attention to its brand image, which has often been tarnished by incidents related to player conduct off the field, as well as to issues related to the protection and health of players. The encounter between a successful business model and the management of the various crises that have marked the contemporary history of the NFL makes this organization a fascinating subject of study for anyone interested in management.

The president of a commercial development company needed to secure investor financing to develop a retail plaza. He must analyze the development's costs and benefits in order to convince investors to finance the project. The president wanted to create value while reducing risk for both the company and the investor group when deciding whether to move forward with this opportunity. He had a week to perform his qualitative analysis.

In 2015, almost 60 years after being introduced to the market, the Barbie doll was one of the world's most iconic toys. However, both the industry landscape and consumer preferences were changing, and Barbie was yet again in the spotlight as consumers criticized the toy for providing a narrow and unrealistic vision of how women should look, how they should dress, and the careers they should pursue. Sales and public perception of the doll were both on the downswing. Was there a place for the Barbie doll in 2015, or was this the end of the line for the iconic doll? What could Mattel, the company behind Barbie, do to turn things around?

Electrolux's valuation team was trying to finish its valuation of GE Appliances in August 2014. The GE Appliance valuation team was working out of Electrolux's corporate headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Its task was to complete both a valuation and suggested final offer for GE's appliance unit. The team's challenge was in separating the value of GE's appliance unit from its value to Electrolux, for the two were quite different. GE knew this, and would be building that differential into its asking price. At the same time, GE's new industrial strategy, to move away from consumer products and financial services, left no place for appliances in its corporate future.

The case examines the financial and operational causes of business failure associated with Setco Automotive Ltd. an auto-clutch manufacturing company located in India and then proceeds to identify the key turn around factors which eventually led to Setco becoming the largest producer of clutches for medium and heavy vehicles in India. The case allows the participants to understand and evaluate the financial impact of turn around factors on the company's profitability and survivability and in also determining the optimal capital structure for a struggling company.

Four teams across the world are furiously designing, building, testing, and learning to sail a boat that would be one of a kind, in order to win the 2013 America's Cup. Choosing the best development path was a challenge as the teams had less than three years to prepare, and each decision would affect the performance of the boat as well as the duration of the sailors' training. The case traces the dilemma faced by the favorite, ORACLE TEAM USA (OTUSA), as rumors grew that the challenger was pursuing a revolutionary technology that would enable its six-ton boat to literally fly above waves. With only a year left before the Cup, should OTUSA keep refining its current technology called "skimming", or should it pivot towards "foiling" (flying)? At this stage foiling could be a red herring, and even if it was not, the limits of the performance of a foiling boat would remain a mystery for some time. The case explores the dilemma of managing innovation in an uncertain environment, where the decision would be sanctioned a year later by a win or a loss.

The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. This case follows Bob Nease, Chief Scientist at Express Scripts, as he considers methods to promote home delivery of prescription drugs by mail-a process proven to lower prescription fill error rates, increase cost savings, and improve medication adherence.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Boeing and Airbus, the leading manufacturers of large aircraft, were locked in a battle for market share that drove down prices for their new planes. At about the same time, the two industry heavyweights began developing new aircraft families to address the future market needs they each projected. Aircraft take many years to develop, so by the time the new planes made their inaugural flights, significant changes had occurred in the global environment. First, emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere were growing rapidly, spawning immediate and long-term demand for more aircraft. At the same time, changes to the market for air travel had created opportunities for new products. These opportunities had not gone unnoticed by potential new entrants, which were positioning themselves to compete against the market leaders. In October 2007, the Airbus superjumbo A380 made its first flight. The A380 carried more passengers than any other plane in history and had been touted as a solution to increased congestion at global mega-hub airports. Four years later the Boeing 787, a smaller long-range aircraft, was launched to service secondary cities in a point-to-point network. The case provides students with an opportunity to analyze the profit potential of the global aircraft manufacturing industry in 2002 and in 2011. Students can also identify the actions of participants that weakened or intensified the pressure on profits within the industry.

In 2014, as large investments poured into the e-commerce space in India, there was a general expectation that the online retail (e-tail) industry was heading toward a consolidation that would squeeze out smaller players. While e-tailers in India focused on following a marketplace model and developing a brand for their online market platforms, fashion2go created a product brand that targeted a very specific segment of young customers. Fashion2go was therefore faced with the challenge of demonstrating to its investors that its strategy was capable of ensuring long-term business viability and sustainability. Without further investments, fashion2go could not expect to continue building its brand and its operations, both of which were critical for the company's planned aggressive growth.

In early 2015, the chief information officer at Lumière Business Solutions (Lumière) was reflecting on the impact of technology on the company's business performance. Lumière had been using cloud technology to provide clients and employees 24/7 access to project progress and documentation. Clients appreciated the fact that, despite being a small firm, Lumière was as competitive and quick to respond as any other big market-research company. What were the factors that had made this adoption easy? How much of the firm's efficiency could be attributed to the cloud? So far, most of Lumière's applications on the cloud had been sourced from Google Marketplace, but with other players like Microsoft getting into cloud technology aggressively, should Lumière start to explore these new offerings as well? Given the trade-offs that Lumière had made while choosing the cloud, would this technology continue to pay off in the future?

iQmetrix, a company founded in 1999, developed and sold point-of-sale (POS) software using the software-as-a-service model. Two iQmetrix enterprise account managers were discussing strategies for closing a software subscription deal with a large customer who asked for significant customization to be completed before the deal could be signed. The customization appeared to be critical for the customer, and the account managers thought the added functionality might be valuable for the rest of the company's customer base. iQmetrix's product was specialized for use by mobile wireless retailers, and the company was the current market leader with approximately 60 per cent of the POS market in Canada and the United States. The company's executives now needed to make a decision. Should iQmetrix commit to the customer's request for significant customization?

In October 2015, five years had passed since John Trautwein's oldest son, Will, had taken his own life. Trautwein, a former Major League Baseball player, was now president and chief operating officer of an information technology solutions company, and president and co-founder of the Will to Live Foundation. He had started the Will to Live foundation to save lives and honour his son, but was concerned about developing a long-term strategy and suitable performance metrics for the organization. He also wanted to identify a suitable balance between his work, his foundation, and his family. Since 2010, Trautwein had delivered many presentations and speeches to schools, teams, coaches, and religious groups in order to spread the message that teen suicide was a national epidemic and that people needed to talk openly and candidly about it. Yet he knew that he could not continue to devote this much time to only one aspect of his life. How could Trautwein grow the foundation while prioritizing his family and his own well-being?