個案總覽

On December 19, 2002, the board of directors of the Saskatchewan Power Corporation (SaskPower) was contemplating the approval of the company’s 2003 foreign exchange strategy to manage long-term currency risk exposure in the utility’s U.S. dollar debt. SaskPower had borrowed extensively in the early 1990s, with maturities ranging from 10 to 30 years. The U.S. dollar exchange rate against the Canadian dollar had since increased, thereby increasing the effective burden of the debt and reducing the utility’s net income. A change in accounting practices implemented in 2001 required SaskPower to recognize as a gain or a loss in the current year any translation differences in the value of its outstanding U.S. dollar debt resulting from fluctuations in the exchange rate during the year. This policy change led to a significant reduction in net income in 2001, followed by a significant increase during the first eight months of 2002. The volatility in earnings had complicated the task of setting rates for electricity and had proved politically difficult to justify. In late 2002, SaskPower had to decide whether and how to hedge its currency exposure in outstanding U.S. dollar debt.

Hygiene and You, an Indian entrepreneurial venture, retailed sustainable menstrual products such as menstrual cups and cloth pads. In December 2017, the business was not making profits because of slow growth and increasing competition in the sustainable menstrual product industry. Menstruation was a taboo topic in India and associated with deep-seated socio-cultural beliefs that severely inhibited marketing communication. In India, 88 per cent of menstruating women still used unhygienic menstrual products, and the Indian government actively promoted disposable sanitary napkins to encourage women to shift to a hygienic alternative. The company’s founder had to decide on expansion strategies to make the business profitable while passionately advocating sustainable menstruation practices.

In 2012, in the small mountain town of Boone, North Carolina, an entrepreneur launched a premier coffee shop called Local Lion. Boone was both a home to a state university and a popular tourist destination and Local Lion provided a unique coffee experience. This experience included responsibly grown coffee, homemade doughnuts, and locally made artwork and jewellery; however, customers were heading to the recently opened outlet of the global coffee chain Starbucks. The Local Lions owner wondered what he could do to preserve his business and retain his current customer loyalty. What options should he explore?

In March 2017, a training manager at IndCo, a large Indian manufacturing conglomerate, faced a pressing problem. She had been asked by one of IndCo’s general managers to design and implement a customized training program on strategic thinking for his departmental team. Because she had prior commitments and had never conducted a training module on this topic before, the training manager sought to outsource the program to an external expert–a professor from a reputable business school. Although this arrangement seemed promising, the professor’s training proposal presented certain challenges, including cost and availability. The training manager needed to assess whether the proposal met IndCo’s requirements, and whether she had made the right decision in outsourcing this task. She had to choose her next steps very carefully to avoid displeasing any of the involved parties, while also satisfying IndCo’s budget constraints and ensuring the ultimate delivery of a high-quality training program.

「國立歷史博物館」（以下簡稱史博館），為國民政府來台後成立的第一個公立博物館，發展迄今六十餘年；身為一個公立博物館，史博館的使命隨著文化政策的發展、政府賦予的任務以及激烈的環境不停地轉變。在1999年，行政院通過了「國家典藏數位化計畫」，將國內重要文物典藏機構之文化物件數位化，史博館即為計畫的主要參與機構之一；到了2011年，政府通過了「文化創意產業發展法」，在政府的推動之下，各個博物館致力於發展文創商品，讓觀眾除了到館參觀之外，也可以透過文創商品欣賞文物，甚至能為博物館創造營收。然而，對於一個國立機構而言，如何透過文創商品的開發，向觀眾及消費者建構品牌，已成為各個博物館的挑戰。 由於台灣本土針對文創產品及博物館營運的個案不多見，而文化組織在營運上及品牌建構上與一般企業有著相當大的差異。因此，本個案在教學設計上，期待能讓學員理解博物館如何進行創新、如何透過授權的方式開發文創商品、如何透過文創商品進行品牌建構，以及面臨決策點時的考量因素。

Founded in 2012 in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, Dalian Venture Workshop Technology Service Co., Ltd. (Venture Workshop) was a business incubator that provided early stage start-ups with incubation and investment services. In 2014, China identified Venture Workshop as a “state-level technology business incubator.” By 2017, Venture Workshop had become the largest incubator in Northeast China. However, behind its prosperity, it had faced years of losses. Since its establishment in 2012, its only source of income was the fees it charged for renting office space to start-ups. Its standard rates were far lower than market prices, which made it difficult for Venture Workshop to generate sufficient income. In February 2018, the chairman of Venture Workshop needed to increase Venture Workshop's income and avoid subsequent years of losses. What was the best strategy to pursue?

On September 15, 2014, the chief executive officer and the vice-president of the start-up Phenicoptere Ltd. were heading home to Poland. They were returning from a meeting with Armelle S.A. in Marseille, France about selling their innovative product—a makeup-removal glove called GLOV, in Armelle S.A.’s global retail chain. “Isn’t it exciting?” asked the chief executive officer, how often does such a small firm get a chance to talk to the buyers of a global retail chain?” The vice-president of the company was not so enthusiastic. “It’s great we could talk to them,” she said. “But I’m not sure if this partnership is such a good idea. And I don’t only mean the exclusivity terms. There is also something else. We can’t afford to wait another year to start selling internationally.” The two entrepreneurs sat back and wondered whether partnering with Armelle S.A. was the best way to take Phenicoptere Ltd. global.

本個案旨在探討企業間跨境併購的各階段策略思維與作法，由併購動機開始，逐步就併購對象選擇、併購中的財務規劃實務、併購後各項價值活動的整合等主題進行討論。傳統產業在面對轉型升級時，一方面需要配合嚴峻的上下游條件進行策略調整；另一方面，也需要整合各方資源，強化組織彈性應變能力，方有可能由「夕陽」產業逐漸轉型成功。本個案以台灣的傳統紡織業為例，說明一家小型紡織廠為了升級轉型，透過「以小併大」而採取的各項管理作為，分別探討領導人在策略規劃與執行、資源連結與槓桿，以及組織設計與重整等各項議題上的策略作法。

Anhui LIGOO New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (LIGOO) had survived and made developments in the field of battery management systems (BMS) in the changing environment of new energy vehicles (NEVs), amid policy adjustment in China. Established in 2010, LIGOO had achieved a respectable market share and acquired a reputation as possessing excellent BMS technology in the electric vehicle industry. However, due to a cold market in the industry and weak reception for these vehicles, LIGOO’s performance began to decline. The company made its first transformation, applying BMS technology to the communications and coal mining industries, enabling LIGOO’s survival and ability to improve BMS technology when many other BMS technology companies were going bankrupt. In 2013 and 2014, the Chinese government began to enhance its support for the NEV industry, prompting LIGOO’s chief executive officer to consider whether LIGOO should continue its existing business in the communications and coal mining industries or rejoin the NEV industry.

Meridian Credit Union (Meridian) was a financial co-operative (i.e. credit union) in Ontario, Canada. In its effort to shift from being a niche to a mainstream market player in the financial-services sector, Meridian attempted to challenge the oligopoly of Canada’s big banks. It tried to do this through a responsible, consumer-centric business strategy that aimed to address many of the problems with the financial sector in Canada and around the world. Owned by its customers, Meridian represented a marked counterpoint to the traditional shareholder-owned bank in Canada at a time of increased awareness about the conflict between consumer and shareholder objectives. In March 2018, Meridian’s executive team was reflecting on the credit union’s recent growth and the changes that had resulted. As they considered where Meridian should go next, they faced a series of questions: Should the credit union become more focused? Should it expand and diversify its service offerings? What were the risks of these strategies? What were the opportunities and threats of financial technology? Were there other growth options Meridian should consider in light of these trends?

Kiessling Spedition (Kiessling) was an international operating forwarder in Regenstauf (Eastern Bavaria), Germany, and a member of a large in-night express network. In April 2017, the company faced the problem of losing one of its major consigners. The consigner was a large wholesaler of automotive parts for the utility sector and had been feeding high volumes into Kiessling’s in-night system. This cancellation caused the volume and use of most of Kiessling’s in-night tours to drop significantly, by as much as 40 per cent in volume and 26 per cent in stops. Since the distribution costs were almost fully fixed, the contribution margin of all affected tours decreased. In order to adapt the Kiessling in-night operations to overcome this turmoil, the operations manager and his team needed to choose among several alternatives, and then make a plan to implement the solution quickly.

Kamaths Ourtimes Ice Creams Pvt. Ltd., a company located in Mumbai, India, manufactured and distributed ice cream under the brand Natural Ice Cream. The company specialized in using natural flavours in its products, a fact that helped it carve a niche for itself among health-conscious customers. In April 2017, after witnessing great demand for its ice cream across the country, the company’s board of directors asked the director of operations to draft a plan to expand manufacturing capacity. As his first step towards this expansion, the director wanted to study the current operations and address any inefficiencies. One aspect that caught his attention was the recent delay in product delivery. Based on his experience, he did not see the company’s capacity to fulfill current orders as the reason for delays. Therefore, he decided that the problem was related to the process flow. He would have to find ways to streamline the process to reduce or eliminate all delays in delivery.

In September 2016, the owner of Posana Integrative Wellness, a new start-up business in Calgary, Alberta, had to plan her marketing strategy for expansion. She was planning to transform her part-time consulting services into a full-time integrated health and wellness centre. Her target market was health-conscious consumers who were open to pursuing a natural and holistic lifestyle—primarily women aged 35–65 with disposable income. She wanted to find new and innovative marketing ideas. She also needed a detailed marketing plan for her brick-and-mortar expansion in time for the planned September 2017 opening.

Since its founding in 2011, Art With Impact (AWI) had one precise goal—to enable young people in Canada and the United States to talk about mental health issues through art and media. The foundation enjoyed great success. However, like many other charities and non-profit organizations, AWI was struggling with the challenge of raising adequate funding. In 2017, AWI was looking ahead and wanted to design a sophisticated social media to attract numerous smaller donors. Was there an ideal strategy to achieve high levels of funding and high numbers of donors? Or would it be best to focus solely on raising the number of donors to build a database, collect data, and refine a strategy to collect more funding from AWI’s donors in the future?

It was July 2017 when the co-founders of Fitpass Business Ventures Private Ltd. (Fitpass), an online platform providing passes to fitness establishments in the Delhi–National Capital Region, were reflecting on the need for continuous innovation to stay relevant to their users. Launched in June 2015, the company intended to satisfy the unmet market need for flexible workout options at an affordable price for fitness-conscious Indian youth. The company’s application, FITPASS, had been downloaded 100,000 times, and the company had gained 60,000 registered users and created a partner network of 1,500 fitness establishments in the region. Generating 100 per cent growth in month-on-month revenue, the company was among the leading platforms in this region. However, the online marketplace was becoming crowded with look-alike competitors, and the founders faced some tough questions: How could the company sustain its position in the current market? Was the company ready to move into other similar markets using the current business model and innovative capabilities?

In the summer of 2017, after completing his third year of business school, a student was eager to apply his newly developed business and technology skill sets at his father’s company during his four-month summer position. His father’s business, Custom Closet Contractors, designed and manufactured custom home organization solutions for home builders and individual clients. In the past year, the successful company’s sales growth had slowed, while expenses as a percentage of sales had increased. The company had experienced operational problems leading to higher expenses, and the student had found that part of the problem was the lack of data organization, which led to miscommunication between the front office and the production staff. To solve the problem, he proposed to design a centralized database and set to work trying to understand the business processes in order to design a data model.

In September 2015, Bartos Stainless Limited, an Indian steel-producing company that emerged as a strong brand in the mid-2000s, was facing a series of internal and external challenges: challenges from frequent changes at the chief-executive-officer level, fluctuating metal prices, the global slowdown of the steel industry, increasing competition from imports, and diminished investor confidence. The managing director needed to address these challenges and manage the risks of his business model, while maintaining profits.

In 2013, two entrepreneurs founded Magic Markers, a whiteboard animation company in Bogotá, Colombia, with the mission of gracefully explaining complex issues to interested audiences. The (A) case describes how the company experienced unanticipated growth after one of its videos went viral. The two founders faced several challenges and needed to quickly learn how to manage their growing business. Human resources issues proved to be particularly trying and difficult to manage. In late 2017, an investor presented Magic Markers with an investment offer, which the owners needed to evaluate carefully. The (B) case focuses on social media reactions to content posted by the company.

The senior director of supply chain management for Colberts Inc. (Colberts) had made tremendous strides. She had been among a select few senior directors chosen to lead an initiative to integrate a new supply chain management system. Although a costly investment, the new information technology infrastructure had helped increase operational efficiency at the store level. While the initiative had initially not received support from everyone at Colberts, the director was now receiving congratulations as the benefits of the new system had become apparent. She was invited to meet with the chief operating officer to discuss a possible promotion to vice-president of Technology Operations. She thought things were going well until the system began to deteriorate that morning. She needed to address the short-term replenishment issue and the longer-term information system issues.

In April 2017, a third year student at Western University was contemplating launching a new business, Backyard Pub. The company would rent inflatable pubs and party supplies to individuals planning outdoor summer gatherings across Southwestern Ontario. This start-up enthusiast needed to evaluate his product offering and marketing strategy in addition to projecting the new venture’s financial performance for the first three years of operations. Was there a market for this product? What target demographic would buy into this product? Where was the best place to market Backyard Pub?