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This case deals with supplier difficulties faced by WildChina - a travel service provider in China. WildChina is a classic case of a company that is trying to bring a local, within-country product to a market outside the country (in this case, travelers to China from around the world). In doing so, startups have to build competences to deal with local suppliers and global customers. The case describes the operations of WildChina, providing detailed information on how they evaluated suppliers to determine their appropriateness, given WildChina's customers. The decision in the case revolves around what the founder should do when faced with a supplier who is trying to bypass WildChina to reach customers directly - a common problem faced by intermediaries.

This case summarizes some of the challenges - managerial and technical - associated with transitioning to an activity-based costing (ABC) model. The primary objective of this case is to introduce the student to the rationale and mechanics behind the ABC accounting approach and to explore the untoward consequences of using traditional accounting methods.

With $2.5 billion system-wide revenues, Aaron's, a major rent-to-own supplier to the US base of the pyramid, continues to grow in the recession, but CEO R.C. Loudermilk, Jr. wonders how long the company can sustain the fast growth rate of its past. Founded in 1955, and publicly-listed since 1982, Aaron's success has paralleled the emergence of the rent-to-own industry as a major channel for the lower income US population to access durable household goods. In this space, Aaron has only one other large national rival, Rent-A-Center. As he faces Aaron's future growth, Loudermilk must consider continuing with the basic business model, follow his competitor into expanding the product line, or tap into underserved foreign markets. At the same time, the entire rent-to-own industry in the US is coming under attack by consumer advocates and politicians as the nation continues to battle a deep economic crisis.

In December 2007, Korean conglomerate Doosan acquired a portfolio of industrial portable power equipment from U.S. company Ingersoll Rand. The acquisitions, the largest ever done by a Korean company outside of Korea, were part of Doosan's strategy to become a global, full-line manufacturer and marketer of construction equipment. With market-leading products under the company's parent brand name throughout Asia, Doosan's senior management expected to re-brand the acquired products using the Doosan name. Stefan Brosick, Director of Global Product Strategy and an Ingersoll Rand veteran, wondered whether Doosan would benefit from an immediate re-branding or if other branding strategies might be more effective. Many key questions needed to be answered before the December 2008 long-range plan presentation: What effect might changing the brand name, built over 135 years, have on these products' market positions? In addition to the name, what other branding elements carried equity in the construction market? How would end users and distributors react to brand changes? How could negative reactions be minimized? And if Brosick proposed a phased brand transformation plan, how could he best position this strategy to senior management? Learning objectives: The case illustrates the strategic role of branding in business-to-business markets, the pressures managers encounter when facing new corporate brand mandates, and analyses needed to formulate and evaluate alternative branding strategies.

Appropriate for courses in operations design and performance management. Owners and employees of this company spent considerable effort developing a unique, extremely successful high-performance work place culture based on trust and a decentralized structure and little direct supervision from middle and upper management. Now management wants to consider blending a Lean or Six Sigma program into their work-place culture. A Business Process Improvement Team evaluates four different system designs for launching Lean-Six Sigma. The three-part case series follows the team's investigations, selection criteria development, assessments, and final decision. Students are asked to consider the pros and cons of the alternatives of the team, prepare a recommendation for the senior managers and then critique their choice against the team's recommendation. There is a teaching note (OM-1393TN) available.

This short case is intended as a vehicle instructors can use to introduce cases to a management or leadership class and to start a discussion about what organizational effectiveness looks like. The case reviews the experiences of two different managers of top English soccer teams. Students must use the information provided to advise the boards of these teams about whether the two managers deserve to be sacked. Information in the first part of the case provides information about team performance (wins and losses), manager popularity, and other factors that influence perspectives on effectiveness. The second part of the case shows decisions about who was actually sacked, which may surprise some. The two parts together allow for an interesting discussion about what organizational effectiveness is really about. HKS Case Number 1933.0

The CEO of the company set up to manage a British government effort to promote the venture capital industry considers the progress made to date, as well as how the program can be adjusted.

The founders of B Lab are on a mission to create a new sector of the economy, and are specifically focused on a three objectives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations (B=Benefit) that legally expand their corporate responsibilities to include consideration of diverse stakeholder interests, 2) advancing the public policies necessary to create a new corporate form called a Benefit Corporation, and 3) creating an investment rating system to help drive institutional investment to the emerging asset class of "impact investments." The case considers the challenges associated with achieving each one of these objectives, let alone all three at the same time. Is B Lab's tripartite strategy its secret sauce or its albatross?

Apple initially recognized revenue associated with its iPhone product using subscription accounting. However, in 2008, the company started providing non-GAAP supplemental numbers where substantially all of the revenue was recognized upfront. Market participants' reactions to the disclosure were mixed. Was Apple "right" in arguing that subscription accounting was inadequate for the iPhone?

Liza Davis, an upscale women's fashion retailer, is reeling from worldwide recession and lower demand. Should the company target the fast growing bargain hunter segment or hold the line on price discounts to preserve its brand image? Customer profitability calculations show that the bargain hunting customer loses money--does that mean the company should ignore this customer in favor of full-price shoppers?

In February 2010, Jane Mendillo, CEO of Harvard Management Company, was reflecting on the list of issues facing Harvard University's endowment in preparation for the upcoming board meeting. The recent financial crisis had vividly highlighted several key issues including the adequacy of short-term liquidity, the effectiveness of portfolio risk management, and the balance of internal and external managers.

Mary Erdoes, the CEO of JP Morgan's Asset Management business, and three colleagues provide insights into risk management issues faced by the firm's Private Bank during the financial crisis in 2008-2009. The case provides perspective on the philosophy with which they approach risk management, issues of greatest concern, tools and processes used in practice, the benefits and limitations of quantitative models and balance between the use of models and exercising judgment, and lessons learned from the crisis about risk management.

Red Lobster, a 40-year-old chain of seafood restaurants, has just completed some market research revealing an opportunity to shift their target customer segment. The chain is in the final stages of a 10-year plan of rejuvenation under CEO Kim Lopdrup. When he took over as CEO in 2004 the chain was closing restaurants and suffering declining same store sales and declining customer satisfaction. But in 2010, even in a recession, the fortunes of the chain are improving. A recently commissioned market research study has revealed, unexpectedly, that 25% of Red Lobster's customers are "experientials," people coming for a "good evening out" rather than Red Lobster's traditional core customer who came because of a craving for seafood. Should this news cause Lopdrup to do anything differently?

In 2010 Glenn Dubin reflected upon the enduring organization and culture he and co-founder Henry Swieca had infused into Highbridge Capital Management over the course of almost two decades. Since the firm's launch in 1992, New York-based Highbridge had grown to become a diversified investment platform comprising hedge funds, traditional asset management products, and credit and equity investments with longer-term holding periods. The company employed more than 315 people at offices in New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo, and managed $21 billion for prominent institutional investors, public and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations and family offices. Highbridge was known by many on Wall Street as a "benchmark," largely due to the firm's investment performance and to the diversity and dynamism of the organization. Investors had come to rely on Highbridge's consistent returns and attention to risk management. The firm comprised a group of gifted, committed professionals as a result of Dubin's longtime focus on talent, nurturing a culture of collaboration, building a sophisticated risk management and technology platform, and maintaining a robust operating infrastructure. In 2009, J.P. Morgan completed its purchase of Highbridge-a strategic partnership the two organizations began in 2004 when J.P. Morgan Asset Management purchased a majority interest in the firm. In 2010, Dubin described his desired impact on the increasingly complex and sophisticated organization: "I hope that my legacy will be a bigger and more diversified Highbridge-but one that has the same culture and core principles of excellence, staffed with individuals with high integrity and an interest in successful collaboration. This is the only way I know to ensure that our initial goal of creating an organization that can outlive its founders will be achieved."

Trade between China and Africa was estimated to have quadrupled between 2000 and 2008, with China becoming Africa's third-largest trading partner and second-largest export destination. Trade relationships between China and Africa were mainly concentrated in three areas: primary resources from Africa to China; cheap manufactured goods and FDI from China to Africa, including new investment opportunities such as land acquisition; and outsourcing of farm production, particularly of staples and biofuels. It was estimated that by 2009, 1 million Chinese farmers were working in Africa. Africa had large extensions of fertile land available, although the lack of infrastructure (not only for farming activities themselves but also for transport) and political factors such as land ownership, corruption and governance were serious issues. This case discusses China's growing businesses with Africa and the risks that these can entail, particularly for Chinese state-owned enterprises.

Windward Investment Management has experienced rapid growth in assets under management in just ten years, from under $30 million at year end 1999 to $3.6 billion in 2010. Windward is one of the leading firms in the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) industry that seeks to value for its investors through asset diversification and active macro-level investing. The firm implements its proprietary investment model by trading exclusively exchange traded funds (ETF). Windward is considering a range of future growth opportunities and how to finance those opportunities, including raising external capital. The case focuses on the decision of what opportunities Windward should consider and on the valuation of the firm if it decides to raise external capital.

A fast-growing retailer is facing two different leasing options for its stores. In choosing between the two options, management is considering the potential impact of the two options on the company's financial statements, in light of the proposed new accounting standard for leases.

Company pursues ways to reduce its debt to equity ratio by resorting to off balance sheet debt transactions.

Since emerging from decades of conflict in 2002, Angola has been growing at a scorching double-digit rate, led by its oil industry. But the nation remains beset with seemingly intractable problems: immense inequality, low life expectancy, a non-diversified economy, and constant grumblings of corruption. The global financial crisis and subsequent fall in state oil revenue drives a loan-seeking Angola towards either the IMF, who demand extensive reforms, or the Chinese, who seek to take a direct stake in the nation's recovery. The case explores the dynamics of post-conflict recovery as well as the challenges associated with a reliance on oil wealth, including the resource curse and Dutch disease.

This case illustrates how Dow Chemical acquired and integrated Wolff Walsrode, a German specialty chemicals firm that was part of the Bayer Group. This acquisition, combined with Dow's existing cellulosics unit, helped it create a new specialty business with a forecasted $1.1 billion in annual sales and strengthen its footprint in Central and Eastern Europe. The main challenge in this case concerns the complexities of acquisition integration, which are demanding in spite of Dow's extensive experience and track record. Dow is confronted with various integration challenges and faces several decisions concerning the degree and speed of integration of Wolff Walsrode and one of its units, Probis. The decisions pit considerations of rapid cost synergy capture via leveraging global systems platforms against process technology transfer and accommodating different customers and their requirements. Along with providing a review of the importance of a multitude of codified implementation templates and tacit integration mechanisms, this case illustrates how Dow's M&A integration personnel prove their worth by ensuring Wolff's successful integration. The case confronts students with the complexities and uncertainties of cross-border acquisition integration (e.g. speed, level of integration) and the way in which a renowned serial acquirer like Dow manages a medium-sized integration. Moreover, it presents the inherent complexities involved in decision-making in the context of acquisition programs. Lastly, it underlines the pros and cons of mergers and acquisition (M&A) experience, how to appropriately use M&A experience, and the role deliberate learning mechanisms contained in Dow's M&A methodology (the M&A Technology Center) play in improving the success rate of integrating acquisitions.