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The Penfolds case is designed to help students think through brand positioning and brand portfolio questions. Penfolds, one of the world's best known brands of wine, is performing poorly and a new management team needs to quickly reverse the business trends. To do so, the new management team needs to answer key questions, such as: What is Penfolds' positioning? Has the brand extended too far? Can Penfolds successfully play in all price segments of the wine industry? What is the best way to grow the brand going forward?

The case describes the joint venture negotiation between Mr. Hartmut Holgebretsen, vice president of sales at Euroland Motors, in the English-speaking country of Norland, and Mr. Wu Chang, deputy president at Munchao Motors Import (MMI) in Munchao. It serves as information for a negotiation exercise. The negotiation takes place after the agreement on an initial letter of intent. However, MMI wanted to reopen a few issues before signing a final contract on the import of gas and diesel engines. The case contains "General information" that is available to both negotiation parties. In separate case supplements, Supplement (A): "Negotiation brief for Euroland Motors" and Supplement (B): "Negotiation brief for MMI," the two parties receive confidential information that is exclusively for them and should not be made available to the other party before the negotiation exercise. The case combines three levels of discussion: a) business issues, b) cross-cultural issues, and c) ethical issues (especially "dirty" negotiation tricks, intellectual property rights, confidential information, and corruption).

In late summer 2005, Hurricane Katrina - the worst natural disaster in U.S. history - wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast, causing massive loss of life and property damage. (Just a few weeks later, Hurricane Rita would inflict even more suffering across much of the same area.) The evacuation of special needs individuals (e.g., the institutionalized, those with medical conditions, people without access to cars, etc.) from New Orleans was especially problematic, not simply in getting people out of the city but also in tracking who had gone where, letting their families know what had happened to them, caring for them properly in receiving areas, and repatriating them to their homes and loved ones.

In 2006, Norway's Ministry of Finance announced it would exclude Wal-Mart Stores Inc. from its government pension fund, citing the company's "serious/systematic violations of human rights and labor rights." Norway's fund, one of the largest sovereign pension funds, owned more than 6 million Wal-Mart shares at the time, as well as 8 million shares of Wal-Mart de Mexico, all of which it divested. This case teaches students about the complex issues raised by socially responsible investing, such as the merits of taking an activist approach, the responsibility of corporations for actions of its suppliers, and the difficulties of obtaining cost-efficient information.

Baria Planning Solutions (BPS) is a consulting firm that specializes in using spend analysis to help companies identify savings through reduced procurement costs and improved supplier performance. Management is concerned about the disappointing performance of the sales team in attaining new clients and renewing existing ones. The Sales directors feel they do not get the help they need from Sales Support to close new deals, while the Sales Support directors believe they could provide better support by organizing into industry-specific divisions. The consulting industry is becoming increasingly competitive and inefficiencies in the sales process at BPS may interfere with the company's ability to win new business. The recently hired director of North American Sales Support must analyze the current process flow for Sales Support and identify the problems facing the sales organization. The president of the company has asked her to present a proposal for improving the performance of the entire group.

InterfaceRAISE is a sustainability management consulting firm created to leverage the capabilities of its parent company Interface Inc., a carpet manufacturer recognized as a global leader in corporate environmental sustainability. This case illustrates the challenges of turning an internal capability into a client‐facing revenue stream. This is made especially difficult by the fact that the parent company is a manufacturing firm and InterfaceRAISE is a professional services firm (consulting). InterfaceRAISE is not being staffed by a traditional consulting firm model, relying instead on the part‐time availability of employees in the parent company. At the time of the case, InterfaceRAISE was grappling to identify the appropriate business model for the type of consulting firm it wants to be, to determine what its client portfolio should look like, and to set its pricing structure. InterfaceRAISE needed to decide how to accelerate its growth while better achieving its three objectives: improving its clients' sustainability performance, enhancing its parent company's brand image and sales, and increasing operating profits.

This case examines the "Family Business Constitution" created by Dawu Group's founder, Sun Dawu. It was the only such system in China to date. The system made it possible for the group to survive near-fatal challenges. The case starts with challenges Sun Dawu encountered: a salary-rise request from a recently elected board member; some managers' doubts about the constitution system; and the suspicion of external experts and journalists of the group's elections. The case examines the history of Dawu Group, the "Family Business Constitution" system and the approach Sun Dawu took to address the succession issue. One of the issues the family business owner faced was whether it was possible to solve the internal challenges and external doubts about family business succession and governance and, if so, how.<br><br>Objectives: 1) To illustrate how a Chinese family business owner has sought a proper corporate governance and management mechanism 2) To help students understand the hybrid institutional infrastructures of the "Family Business Constitution" and the challenges during the implementation, especially the cross-generational succession issue in the specific Chinese context 3) This case is suitable for core and elective courses in business management, strategy, sustainability, corporate governance and human resource management, and elective courses in family business management, Chinese business management and entrepreneurship.

The Morrison Company develops and manufactures radio frequency identification tags (RFID) known as "smart labels" for the retail and pharmaceutical industries. RFID technology is a fast-growing and increasingly competitive industry. Sales have risen dramatically over the past year and production levels have had to increase to meet monthly and quarterly shipping targets. However, the increase has exacerbated existing manufacturing problems and has led to increased shipping delays and inadequate inventory on hand. In addition, sales to pharmaceutical companies are increasing while sales to retail companies are much lower than forecast. The newly hired director of operations must address the short-term problems quickly and devise a long-term solution for improving the company's operational capabilities.

Suitable for MBA, EMBA, and GEMBA courses, this case describes the organization and structure of a small European firm providing technical solutions to the defense industry. It combines crucial issues from strategic management and organization and management. The firm was founded by Magnus Sjöland and Rune Thyselius in Stockholm, Sweden, mainly working in the Swedish defense industry but also serving civilian customers. Having received the first large international order, the firm now stood to market itself on a broader international market. An open question is what resources the firm requires to compete in a global arena that differs in many ways from its well-known Swedish defense industry. At the same time, the firm structure demands too much of the owner managers leaving them unable to offer sufficient support for each division to prosper. The case offers unique possibilities to discuss the complex interaction of market forces, the control and management of valuable resources, and organization, in particular its structure and culture.

The case describes a five-year effort (2006-2011) of distribution rationalization and consolidation at Ford. The financial crisis in the second-half of 2008 forced GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy. Having completed the distribution overhaul work by 2011, its senior managers wondered how the transformed distribution channel would meet the needs of its new product strategy developed in response to the financial crisis.

Rose Adams, the CFO of Haley-Midland, Inc., dispensed with pleasantries and started right in on her questions for Jim Sweeney, the senior vice president of human resources, and Nancy Walters, Haley-Midland's vice president and treasurer, about the brewing crisis with the company's 401(k) plan.

Fiat ended its 27-year absence in the North American automobile market when the first Cinquecento (500)-a very small, iconic Italian car that had strong sales in Europe-was delivered on March 10, 2011. The Italian automaker re-entered the market through an alliance with Chrysler, the American automaker Fiat acquired in April 2009. For Laura Soave, Chrysler Group's head of Fiat Brand North America, the first delivery marked a watershed in a journey that began 12 months before when she first took responsibility for re-launching the Fiat brand in North America. As the first product of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance, the outcome of the Cinquecento launch would indicate how the integration of operations, and in particular the sharing of technology, platforms, components, manufacturing plants, and distribution networks would drive the long-term health of both Fiat and Chrysler. This case looks at the various strategic and operational challenges Soave faced throughout the process.

This case, intended for MBA and executive education audiences, investigates whether an LLC should invest in a real estate deal. The materials provide a straightforward opportunity for applying discounted-cash-flow methods from the perspective of equity investors in the LLC. The investors know the terms of interest and principal payments on planned debt financing and have made forecasts of rental rates, occupancy, depreciation, future sale price, various expenses, and other items related to the property. The case can be used as an introduction to estimation and analysis of cash flows to the suppliers of equity. The setting provides opportunities for discussion of tax issues and risks.

Rogers Communication's new president and chief executive officer (CEO) contemplated the future growth opportunities of the company that he now controlled. The CEO was taking the reins of Rogers at a high point - it was a force to be reckoned with in all areas of the telecommunications sector including wireless, television, internet telephone and landline telephone. However, competition in the industry was also at an all-time high and innovations were abounding. The CEO knew that in order to successfully develop Rogers' strategic direction for the future, he would have to make a number of tradeoffs that would require a strong understanding of the competitive landscape and the future of the industry. The case provides the following questions: (1) Can Rogers afford to be a leader in all four product areas: wireless, television, internet and landline telephone? (2) Should Rogers maintain the industry trend toward offering quadruple plays? (3) Where should it be willing to lead and where should it be willing to lag behind competitors? (4) Should Rogers think about its future as four (or less) distinct businesses or as one company? (5) Should Rogers think about entering markets in which it does not currently have a strong presence? (6) How do ancillary businesses such as media fit into Rogers' future? (7) How much financial flexibility does Rogers have for enacting any future strategies? In making these tradeoffs, Rogers will have to explore its resource strengths and weaknesses: this will allow it to gain an in-depth understanding of its competitive advantage. Understanding its competitive advantage will help Rogers make decisions concerning future resource investments that will allow it to lead the industry. No matter which tradeoffs Rogers considers making, the results must help Rogers continue to outperform its competitors by maintaining net margins in the 20 per cent and greater range.

This case describes a health care town hall meeting that was derailed by vocal protesters. The case was designed for a very specific teaching purpose: to discuss a variety of alternatives to the tried and true town hall meeting format which, the sponsoring professor believes, is not only quite vulnerable to disruption, but is not a terribly effective or democratic way to involve the public in local decision making, to begin with. Underlying the case is a belief that those who organize public engagements should be deliberate about: 1) the purposes of a public meeting: what a public meeting aims to do 2) the strategy of recruiting participants: who participates 3) the organization of discussion and decision making 4) the extent to which conclusions of the meeting will influence policy or public action The case itself provides a lively starting point for the conversation by describing how a modest Tampa meeting about local health care was overtaken by opponents of national health care reform. The case also provides as context background about the decision by Democrats in 2009 to sponsor health care town hall meetings across the country, in an effort to boost public support for health reform-an effort that was subverted when the meetings became the target of large, vocal, anti-health reform protests. HKS Case Number 1939.0

In August of 2007, the mayor of Bogota, Luis Eduardo Garzón had to decide whether to proceed with plans to build a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line in Avenida Séptima, one of the most important transportation corridors in the Colombian capital. The proposed line would be an extension of Bogotá's BRT system, called TransMilenio, which had opened in 2000 as the first BRT system to be built in a large metropolis. TransMilenio's modest construction cost, high capacity and excellent quality of service had attracted the attention of urban transportation planners around the world and the system soon became one of the most acclaimed and imitated transportation innovations of its time. But the performance of TransMilenio had deteriorated somewhat over time, as the system expanded. And the latest proposed addition on Avenida Septima posed special technical and political challenges. Elections were only a few months away and by law Garzón could not run for immediate reelection, but the candidate from his party was campaigning on a platform of building a metro instead of expanding the BRT system. Should Mayor Garzón try to lock the city into expanding the BRT by awarding contracts to build Avenida Séptima or leave the decision for his successor?

Dental Associates of Northern Virginia is one of the largest dental networks in northern Virginia. In this series of two cases, the head administrator is caught between staying abreast with new technology by investing in innovative all-porcelain crown-making machines and holding steadfast to a laggard strategy of wait and see. This choice also aligns with the head administrator making a larger decision of whether to enhance the core competency of his network by developing a complete in-house laboratory or continuing to rely on an expensive, but reliable, outside laboratory for all-porcelain restorations. Together the two cases in the series are rich in concepts dealing with cost, timeliness, quality and flexibility as students are forced to see an operations problem from both patient and doctor perspectives. The cases also consider the ever-changing world of technology and how it impacts a doctor's practice along with an entire network of offices.

Grolsch reassesses its international strategy in light of the company's recent acquisition by SABMiller, the world's second-largest brewer. Grolsch was the 21st-largest global beer brand, sold 51.5 percent of its volume in international markets, and exported to 70 countries. However, its poor profitability in international markets--four countries alone accounting for two-thirds of foreign sales--and churn of markets and distribution partners raised concerns about the company's international strategy and execution. Grolsch's 60 years of history in foreign markets provide a rich backdrop to introduce a range of international strategy topics, including performance assessment, rationale for expansion, market selection, and choice of entry mode.

Mittal Steel's remarkable rise to the top of the steel industry spearheaded a wave of cross-border consolidation that aimed to fundamentally change the industry's competitive and geographic structure. This case provides the opportunity to examine how Lakshmi Mittal built his company's position via international acquisitions, to assess the logic of global integration in the steel industry, and to think through how Mittal can continue adding value to its acquired operations on an ongoing basis (i.e., post-turnaround) as a global steel company.