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The president of Loblaw Companies Limited must decide what to do in response to the rumoured introduction of Wal-Mart's SuperCenters (combining grocery and non-food items) in Canada. The potential launch of SuperCenters in Canada was seen by observers as a threat to Loblaw, the market leader in Canadian grocery. Wal-Mart is a vigorous competitor, and the Every Day Low Prices strategy of Wal-Mart's SuperCenters could wean away traffic from Loblaw's various banners.

The Walkerton tragedy, an E.coli outbreak that resulted in seven deaths and 2,300 people sick, was unprecedented in Canada. The medical officer of health for Grey-Bruce was told that a number of people in the Walkerton area had developed serious illness. E.coli was confirmed and the medical officer suspected contaminated water as a source of the problem. However, the public utilities commission had assured him that the water was fine. Still he had a bad feeling that Walkerton was the verge of a very serious outbreak. He wondered what his next step should be in the complex situation he faced; he did not have much data to act on. Supplements We Have a Terrible Tragedy Here (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F), products 9B05C023, 9B05C024, 9B05C025, 9B05C026 and 9B05C027, follow the events as they take place.

Hewlett-Packard hired a new chief executive officer in 1999 to lead them into the future. The company, despite a strong legacy of success, had been faltering since the late 1990s, with slow sales growth and declining profitability. Industry observers felt that HP was not responding appropriately to competitive threats in its server, printer and personal computer markets. Industry conditions were also worsening, suggesting hard times ahead. The CEO felt a dramatic move was required to improve HP's position in the market. An attempt to expand HP's IT services business through the acquisition of PriceWaterhouseCoopers was unsuccessful. The CEO was considering a merger between HP and Compaq. With the help of four role plays supplements, 9B04M085 - Hewlett-Packard: Sun Microsystems in 2001, 9B04M086 - Hewlett-Packard: Dell in 2001, 9B04M087 - Hewlett-Packard: IBM in 2001 and 9B04M088 - Hewlett-Packard: Lexmark in 2001, student groups take on the roles of competitors in various segments and plan their competitive strategy while Hewlett-Packard is dealing with the merger. The supplement 9B04M084 - Hewlett-Packard in 2004 concludes the Hewlett-Packard in 2001 case series.

For General Motors (GM), the year 2004 brought a wide variety of new challenges that added to an already complex business environment. The industry structure was changing quickly. Demand and supply projections for motor vehicles had promised substantial increases in sales and profits, but suddenly the optimism faded. China's new membership in the World Trade Organization created expectations of a level playing field for foreign investors, but - at least in the short run - major barriers remained. Government intervention persisted, particularly the requirement of a joint venture partner, competition from government-owned assembly firms, and arbitrary rules such as sector-specific credit restrictions. Violation of intellectual property, with the copying of foreign automobile designs and false-branding of parts, was an ongoing threat. Also, inflation was increasing and the government was unsure whether and how to use monetary and fiscal policies. The government had purposely kept the renminbi undervalued for many years. Pressure was building for the government to change its foreign exchange rate policy, but a higher renminbi would suddenly decrease GM China's international competitiveness.

Biovail was a large international pharmaceutical company with reported revenues of $788 million. Banc of America has issued a research report which indicates that Biovail Corporation's financial statements raised a number of issues that warrant caution for investors, and as a result, Biovail's stock was given a sell rating by Banc of America. A member of Biovail's audit committee is preparing for an upcoming audit meeting and considers the implications of this report for the company and for the audit committee.

An undergraduate business student has finished his first term of study and is pursuing numerous summer job opportunities. He is interested in the field of investment banking and is aware this area requires a strong skill set for financial analysis. A friend, who had worked in investment banking, helps him to prepare for these interviews by providing an exercise where he must match the financial data with its respective industry.

The Zambian government embarked on a divesture of its mining industry in 1992. However, by July of 2004, 67 per cent of the mining assets were still in government hands and the government is still looking for equity partners. This case can be used as a basis for discussing political and country risk analysis, international negotiations, feasibility study analysis, managing strategic failure, and ethical and social responsibility issues.

Amway is a large manufacturer of household products that uses the direct selling approach. The company was established in the late 1940s and over the years, still using direct selling, branched into the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan. With this global success it expanded further, into the Chinese market. However, the company must look at its strategy after the Chinese government implements regulations on the direct marketing business model. The supplement Amway in China (B): Adopting to a Changing Environment, product 9B04M036, looks at how the company responds to the changing social and political environment.

An entrepreneur comes up with a great idea for a new business that would service what he calls the time-starved segment. Using Wal-Mart as the warehouse, eBay as his storefront and the U.S. Postal Service as the distributor, he would pick-up and deliver products to businesses, conserving staff resources. He must think of as many opportunities as possible and determine any barriers that may occur. The purpose of the case is to get students to generate ideas. Students will be quick to criticize and analyze the ideas presented, but few will focus on presenting new ideas.

Google is a very popular Internet search engine firm. The company has just announced the launch of Gmail, a free, Web-based e-mail service that allows users up to one gigabyte of storage capacity, more than 100 times that offered by other free services from competitors. In return for free e-mail, Gmail would scan its users' e-mail with the goal of delivering targeted ads. Immediately, privacy groups denounced Google's plans.

Good Hands Healthcare is a large nursing home provider with more than 400 facilities across the United States. This case series looks at the governance issues facing the board of a firm with declining performance set within the eldercare industry. The (A) case revolves around whether to replace the chief executive officer, who founded and built the firm, due to poor performance. The supplements, Governance Challenges at Good Hands Healthcare (B), (C) and (D), products 9B04M020, 9B04M021 and 9B04M022, discuss the replacement decision, the selection decision and the change in strategy brought on by the new CEO.

In May 1996, two world renowned climbers, along with some of their clients and guides, perished on Mount Everest in the mountain's deadliest tragedy to date. The accounts of survivors imply that biased decision making contributed to the tragedy. Did a decision lead to this tragedy or was it an unfortunate mountaineering accident? The case provides the opportunity to explore decision biases such as framing, escalation of commitment, anchoring, and over confidence and the issues of leadership style, group behaviour, team management and communication.

Biovail Corporation, a large pharmaceutical company, recently had its stock downgraded by a well known pharmaceutical analyst and a number of other analysts were also scrutinizing the company. The outcome was not favorable, as Biovail's acquisition methods were labeled as unethical and their accounting practices were questioned. An investor with the company must decide if she will continue to invest in a company that has been identified with low ethical standards. The supplement Biovail Corporation (B), product 9B04N008 discusses the investor's decision, and some information that caused her to reconsider that decision.

Enron enjoyed a reputation as one of the best managed and highest performing companies of the new economy. In addition to the popular press, a number of leading academics joined in the parade of admirers. Author Gary Hamel featured Enron as one of the leading revolutionaries in his popular book on radical innovation. Another article cited the company's remarkable ability to embrace uncertainty in a highly dynamic competitive environment. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling recognized that in order to support the evolution from asset-heavy energy provider to a knowledge-dependent trading company, they would have to align Enron's human resources management policies and practices with their strategy.

Kobe Steel Ltd. started as a large manufacturer of steel products and has diversified into other sectors including iron, aluminum and copper products, engineering, machinery and electronic information. Headquartered in Japan, it established overseas laboratories that were given technology-based missions to assist with the diversification away from the company's core business. One such laboratory, the Electronic Materials Center (EMC) located in North Carolina, evolved from a research oriented focus to a product development focus. The center's major products were expected to launch EMC in a profitable business venture and help spear head Kobe Steel's diversification effort. However, the organization context and economic environment in which Kobe Steel was attempting this were extremely complex. This included multicultural issues, emerging markets, technologies new to the company and even natural disaster. The supplement Kobe Steel USA, Electronic Materials Center: The Commercialization of New Technologies (B), product 9B04M018 looks at the issues faced in a consulting situation.

Audible Inc. is one of the largest providers of audio content, such as books, magazines and newspapers. The company has a large library of hours of content, strong alliances with partners including Microsoft, Amazon and Random House, and a growing customer base, but the company has lost money since it began. The chief executive officer and chief financial officer must decide how to raise funds to keep the company going, while maintaining its partner and customer relationships.

CNS is a small biotech company. The founder of the company is deciding if it's worth applying for phase I approval that will allow the company to continue its research. He must determine the value of the research. Using the traditional DCF valuation method, he is not sure if this captures all of the value of the research and must decide if either the Black-Scholes or binomial model would more accurately determine the value.

Canada's tobacco manufacturers all faced similar marketing challenges: a decrease in the proportion of population who smoke, a growing list of government restrictions on promotional opportunities and increases in taxation on tobacco products. Despite the variety of packaging formats, the 10 most popular brands, produced by the three leading manufacturers, had been priced identically. When the number two manufacturer re-introduced one of its products as a discounted brand, the marketing executives at the rival companies needed to decide on their response. The supplement to this case, Cigarette Wars (B), product 9B04M010 discusses the response of the other two leading tobacco manufacturers.

Rogers Communications Inc.'s interest in acquiring Videotron caused the chief executive officer at Quebecor Inc. to consider purchasing the company as well. Quebecor was a large international printing, publishing and media company and this acquisition would make the company the third largest cable TV company in Canada. The acquisition had a number of considerations: it would require CRTC approval, Videotron did not earn the same level of return on assets and sales as Quebecor's other lines of business, there were questions about the quality of Videotron's management, the purchase would limit cash flow affecting the growth and development of new products and services and countering Rogers offer could led to a bidding war. Did the company want to go down this road?

Daimler-Benz AG, a large automobile manufacturer in Europe and the Chrysler Corporation, one of the Big Three auto makers in North America have merged to create DaimlerChrysler. On the surface, everything seemed to be going as planned. In reality, all was not well. Organizational changes, conflicting information, and doubts about the future structure of the company resulted in the departure of numerous Chrysler employees, including many mid-level managers and engineers. While initially amalgamated into Daimler, the Chrysler Group ended up as one of three separate automotive divisions. In 2001, DaimlerChrysler recorded a $1.2 billion loss in operating profit (before one-time effects). Estimates for 2002 called for a break-even result, but the company was facing a $9 billion lawsuit filed by the fifth largest shareholder, who claimed that Daimler had deceived investors by touting the venture as a merger of equals.