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The Diamonds Foods, Inc. case describes the major accounting blow up at the company in late 2011 that was triggered by a report by Off Wall Street, a prominent short selling research firm. Diamond Foods, a high flying growth company in 2011, grew from a walnut farmers' cooperative in 2005 into a branded snack foods manufacturer on the strength of a series of acquisitions. The accounting scandal that involved improper accounting for walnut purchases led to Diamond dropping its high profile acquisition of Pringles, an SEC and DOJ investigation, departure of the CEO and CFO, and the grounding of a high flying growth company. The case describes the history and growth of the company, the investigative and analytical work conducted by OWS and allows students to understand implications of the growth strategy for financial performance and valuation. Additionally, the case highlights the role of corporate boards and audit committees in managing strategic and financial reporting risks.

The soup division at Brannigan Foods contributes over 40% of the firm's revenue. The general manager is concerned that the soup industry is declining and that the soup division shows declining profits and market share, especially among the important baby boomer segment. Hoping to reverse these trends, he asks four key managers to review a consultant's analysis of the soup industry and recommend a turnaround strategy. Each manager presents a different plan, from investing in core market segments and products to acquiring new product lines and customers. Students must perform a quantitative analysis of each proposal while considering the feasibility and risks associated with each option before making a final recommendation.

An aftermarket brake component manufacturer, VC Brakes, is bought out by a global automotive parts corporation after the 2008 financial crisis. Unlike its previous parent company, the new owner attempts to change VC Brakes' autocratic management style and finger-pointing culture with a Total Quality Management (TQM) program. Andrew Ryan is a senior manager at VC Brakes. With the guidance of a strong mentor and a reputation as a successful change agent, he is selected as a TQM site instructor. His initial excitement turns to concern when organizational challenges cause the quality initiative to falter. A subsequent restructuring puts Ryan on the wrong side of politics, and he must decide whether to leave VC Brakes or stay with the losing initiative.

In 2012, two years after a major restructuring project had begun at German skin care producer Beiersdorf, the process was still ongoing. The new chief executive officer (CEO) inherited several challenges from his predecessor, including the difficult implementation of the new transnational strategy, opposition from employees and the work council, and ineffective market-entry strategies (especially in China). Strong competitors and a slow rate of economic recovery in Beiersdorf's main markets provided additional complexity. Questions remained about how the new CEO should address the ongoing challenges facing the company.

The sole proprietor of a small cake-baking and cake-decorating business needs to make some decisions regarding the company's future. The company's growth has brought new challenges including possible space constraints. The desire to improve profitability and to take the business to the next level leads the owner to consider increasing prices and the development of a new advertising strategy.

Robert Davidson, pricing manager for Tupelo Medical, was concerned about the variability in price paid for its top-selling product, the Micron 8 Series blood pressure monitoring system. Using historical transaction data, Davidson must determine the appropriate price floor. Setting a price too high risked the loss of a large number of customers, putting the company at substantial risk due to the importance of the product. Setting a price too low would impact Davidson's ability to meet the stated objective of increasing margins by 3 percent. He wondered what the optimal price floor would be and what the expected profits would be for that new price floor. Additionally, the company's business varied considerably by geographic region, account size and account type. As a result, he needed to consider whether it made sense to set a single price floor or whether he could improve profits by allowing some variability in the price floor by customer segment.

Madison Ayer, Honey Care Africa (HCA) CEO, is looking to scale the business to generate more benefits for Kenyan small-holder farmers. He is seeking a better assessment of HCA's impacts on farmer families, especially children age 8 and under, to attract investors for the expansion. Ayer is also attempting to reduce side-selling by building stronger relationships with farmer families and perhaps hiring brokers. Students are asked to identify opportunities to generate greater impact and enhance the enterprise's value proposition.

The founders of Zaggora reflected back on a tumultuous year-and-a-half in which they had generated, from just $40,000 in personal savings, a multi-million dollar sportswear enterprise selling Hotpants to women. These were hotpants not of the 1960s hipster variety, but instead the first sportswear product of the new brand Zaggora that was made with a specially developed multi-ply fabric technology that heated up during a workout. While the founders had faced several challenges including averting bankruptcy, now they faced an equally difficult time ahead. Should they grow the enterprise by continuing with their current bootstrapped online approach, or attempt to get their product into retail stores? Should they continue to self-finance and keep control, or cede some control by taking on venture capital funding?

Samsung Electronics had experienced a series of quality-related problems, including the recall of one of its LCD TV models. Unfortunately for quality director Kevin Sarni, there was no single root cause behind these problems: Samsung's supply chain management, product design, and testing/quality assurance functions all played a role. Sarni regularly worked with quantitative data from Samsung's customer complaint database, but recently he had been shown comments about Samsung products posted on the website ConsumerAffairs.com. The number and emotional tone of the website postings concerned him; he worried these kinds of complaints might touch off a social media-fueled public relations firestorm that would make his job more difficult. He wanted to analyze this feedback, but had no experience with qualitative data. An internal Six Sigma Black Belt consultant suggested he start by creating an affinity diagram and use that to create a Pareto chart to determine which issues to address first. Once Sarni completed the unfamiliar diagrams he had still another task ahead of him: examining the results to see if they justified taking short-term action to address the quality problems raised in the complaints.

This case profiles the launch and growth of Tough Mudder, a startup founded by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone in the mud run/adventure challenge space. Dean, an avid triathlete and marathoner, found these solitary endurance events boring, and wanted to come up with a new concept that would bond teams of people together to complete an athletic event that would test not only their physical strengths, but their will, determination and mental grit as well. The case chronicles the meteoric rise of Tough Mudder within the rapidly growing adventure race industry. As Tough Mudder looked ahead to 2013, it faced numerous opportunities and challenges, not the least of which was a move to host events internationally. The company also faced fierce competition and was constantly having to innovate in order to stay at the head of the pack. Finally, rapid growth meant scaling challenges within the organization that would need to be addressed if the company was going to maintain the high level of operational excellence that was so critical to the success of its events.

In early 2012, Investindustrial, a European private equity group, publicly announced their intention to sell their 76.7% stake in Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A., an iconic Italian producer of sport performance motorcycles. The decision followed a six-year turnaround during which Ducati returned to profitability and significantly expanded its product line. Investindustrial's team had the following exit alternatives: 1) a trade sale to an automotive buyer; 2) a secondary buyout, partial or complete, by a financial investor; 3) a relisting in Hong Kong. Each option had its pros and cons, but all required a careful valuation of Ducati to maximize the investors' return on their flagship investment.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited, India's largest car manufacturer and the only company in that country to have crossed the 10 million sales mark, was struggling with labour problems in one of its manufacturing units. As a result, it was rapidly losing its market share to competitors and its position as market leader was at stake. The strike not only damaged property at the plant and caused one death and hundreds of injuries, it also heavily impacted revenue and market share as customers and dealers dealt with the negative publicity and the shortage of production that resulted in long wait times for the company's most popular models. The company must come up with a strategy to deal with its vulnerability in light of production cuts, demanding customers, disgruntled dealers and charged-up competitors.

Chris Summers, VP of Supply Chain Management at the oil field services company Elevalt, is engaged in an analysis of his globally dispersed distribution centers (DCs). He must evaluate Elevalt's network of DCs throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to see whether it would be beneficial to consolidate the current network of six DCs to a single centralized DC in either Europe or Africa. Before this decision can be made, he must first optimize the current operation, which appears to suffer from inefficient inventory management. The inefficient inventory management also seems to be driving additional transportation costs. Summers must consider the benefits and risks associated with consolidating Elevalt's DCs while still maintaining his focus on the needs of Elevalt's customers.

This case centers on SC Johnson's CEO, H. Fisk Johnson, and his decision on how to move forward with Greenlist™ after the settlement of two lawsuits. SC Johnson developed the ingredient improvement process Greenlist™ to reduce the negative environmental impacts of its products by substituting less harmful ingredients wherever possible. Significant environmental improvements were made in many of the company's products, such as Windex®, and the company developed a Greenlist™ label to demonstrate to consumers that a product had been improved by the process. In 2008 and 2009, two lawsuits were filed accusing SC Johnson of deceptively marketing its products as "green", as the Greenlist™ label led consumers to believe the products had been certified by an objective third party. The lawsuits were settled and the company was forced to remove the label. The case raises a discussion about green labeling, the nature of environmental certification, and the value of internal sustainability initiatives.

NEA was established in 1977 and it subsequently morphed into one of the largest venture capital firms in the world. Despite its size and significance, some other firms established during the same era such as Kleiner-Perkins and Sequoia (both were established in 1972), are arguably better-known. No venture firm, however, can parallel NEA in terms of its scale and its commitment to organizational and operational innovation. From early on the founders predicted that NEA would grow in size and significance, but the challenges associated with achieving these goals were formidable. How could NEA scale and generate favorable returns from a large capital base for its Limited Partners (LPs)? How could General Partners (GPs) be integrated and incentivized? How could the bi-coastal structure be sustained over the long run?

Wayne Ferrari has bridged the gap between being an independent entrepreneur and a "professional manager." After selling his business to a Private Equity (PE) firm, Ferrari takes on the role of CEO and with their support implements a roll-up strategy to attain growth through acquisition in the mechanical controls distribution industry. Ferrari received support from the PE firm in negotiating and financing acquisitions but faced the challenging task of integrating them into the core business. Getting all the operations on a common IT platform proves more challenging than he expected. Developing an organization that supports a new strategy of application support for their customer base requires a change in culture and an evolving leadership challenge for the business. The most immediate challenge is to implement a "pricing" model to be used with all customers that takes into consideration a variety of customer specific characteristics to set optimal pricing for quotations. On "go live" day, the sales force "is up in arms" requesting that their "special customer deals" be sheltered from this new system. The case outlines a brief history of the business, the changes over the last six years and details on the challenges Ferrari faces as iAutomation continues to expand.

As this case opens, iconic toymaker LEGO stands on the brink of bankruptcy. Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, LEGO's young and newly appointed CEO, must size up changes in the toy industry, learn from the company's recent moves, and craft a strategy that will put LEGO back on track.

Louis Vuitton, the flagship group within Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), had contributed to the stellar growth of the group in 2010 and 2011. But, there were clouds on the horizon. Was the recent growth sustainable? What steps should Louis Vuitton take to address upcoming challenges? This case takes the student through the challenges a global company faces as it tries to grow a business that is based on one of the most valued high-end brands in the world. The case reveals the fundamental strategic tension between what a firm needs to do, given the competitive environment; what it can do, given its resources and organization; and what leaders want to do, given their fundamental motivations and beliefs, which shape the way they see the issues.

"The chief executive of a small yarn-production company in India must resolve an unexpected cash shortage. The task for the student is to evaluate the causes of this shortage (using a completed "base-case" forecast given in the case) and assess the usefulness of various possible remedies suggested by managers. The company is unable to liquidate a seasonal working-capital loan for the requisite 30 days each year, a difficulty arising from two classic causes: secular growth of the company and declining profitability. Possible remedies include reducing inventory through more efficient transportation and warehousing, reducing credit terms to customers, switching from seasonal to level production, improving profitability, decreasing dividends, and reducing sales growth."