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This case deals with a joint venture in microinsurance in India between a leading global insurer, Allianz SE, and an Indian conglomerate, the Bajaj Group - part of a broader commercial centure in the Indian life and nonlife insurance sector. The Bajaj-Allianz joint venture is, in turn, engaged in joint ventures in the microinsurance sector with NGOs (notably CARE) and a leading microfinance institution, SKS, both designed to recuce the cost of microinsurance distribution and expand the size of the insurance pool. The case discusses the microinsurance industry and its role in improving the lives of the poor, problems of microinsurance underwriting and distribution, and the role of microinsurance in the strategies of the various parties involved.

In 2007, Shai Agassi raised $200 million to launch Better Place. By deploying a network of charge spots, switch stations and systems that optimised the use of electric vehicles (EV), the company had the potential to become a major player in the transport industry. To succeed, however, it had to overcome major implementation challenges, among them the need to achieve a minimum level of standardisation for the interface between vehicles and the recharging grid, and the continuous need to finance its market expansion.

Throughout 2008 and into early 2009, the executive team of World Communications Corporation (WCC) became deeply involved in the examination of whether it should invest in a large production and distribution operation into Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian economy has grown dramatically, thanks to rising oil prices and export revenues during 2008. In early 2009, Seth Thomas, the CEO of WCC, was faced with three potential alternatives. The first one was to risk building a manufacturing plant and distribution center in Saudi Arabia, and strengthen the company's competitive position abroad. The second alternative was to expand plant capacity at home and continue to export, as the company had done so successfully for years. The third alternative was to wait and delay both decisions because of the uncertainties caused by the global financial and economic crises in 2008. Whether Saudi Arabia could manage its economy to avoid the worldwide recession was an open debate, but preliminary data were encouraging. The case examines government regulations and treatment of foreign investment and the level of education of the labor force and educational system to support the growth of local executives and managers.

Hong Kong-based Li & Fung Group was a trading company renowned for skillful management of its supply chain. The bulk of its business came from the trading of soft goods, which comprised garments and apparel, with the remainder consisting of hard goods such as furniture, fireworks and promotional items. Its major market was the US, followed by Europe, which contributed about one-quarter of its turnover. With the global economic downturn in 2009 following the collapse of the American housing and credit markets, and with the fashion industry expected to be severely affected, how could Li & Fung continue to grow its business and achieve the target of doubling its turnover to US$20 billion for the period 2008-2010?

Through its uniquely proactive approach to medical malpractice risk management, the Risk Management Foundation has decreased claims-and premiums-for the Harvard hospitals it insures. The RMF is the captive medico-legal insurer of the Harvard medical institutions and affiliated physicians. Over the last two decades, through a combination of active legal defense and medical error prevention, The RMF has successfully controlled the medico-legal costs of physicians practicing at the Harvard teaching hospitals; consequently, its insured physicians pay notably lower premiums than similar specialists outside the Harvard system. The RMF's success has been due, in large part, to the close working relationships it has cultivated with the insured physicians and hospitals. However, as the hospitals expand their networks into Boston's suburbs, new, less tightly affiliated doctors whose medico-legal risk is higher than those practicing at the hospitals are coming under RMF's umbrella. This case describes The RMF's approach to risk management and the challenges its managers face in accommodating these new physicians.

Suntech, a Chinese manufacturer of photovoltaic cells and solar panels, is the third largest solar company in the world. About 90 percent of its sales have been in Europe-especially Germany and Spain. But with its new "pluto" technology, and with new governmental subsidies in China, Japan and the USA, Suntech is shifting its focus-first to the USA, and then to China and Japan. And it has recently moved down-stream in the USA, into systems integration and independent power. The case reviews the structure of competition in solar power, and evaluates Suntech's new strategy.

This case describes a critical inflection point in the growth of an international development "mentor capitalist" nonprofit, Endeavor. As Endeavor aims to scale its high-impact entrepreneurship model globally, founder Linda Rottenberg must determine what success looks like for the organization and which growth option will most effectively take Endeavor in that direction. The case begins with a panel of business leaders selecting a new class of Jordanian entrepreneurs to join the ranks of Endeavor's prestigious portfolio. Their decision forces them to wrestle with the questions: "What is high impact entrepreneurship, and how will it contribute to the economic development of a country like Jordan?"

eBay considers adjustments to the structure and rules of its affiliate marketing program, eBay Partner Network (ePN). In particular, eBay reevaluates affiliate compensation structure, the role of bonuses for especially productive affiliates, and the overall rationale for outsourcing online marketing efforts to independent affiliates. The case presents the history and development of ePN, ePN's importance to eBay, and the mechanics of online affiliate marketing.

A retail chain specializing in industrial equipment and supplies to commercial contractors is a victim of commercial crime, which has placed the business on the brink of financial collapse. A regional accounting firm has been contracted to investigate the nature of the crimes and make recommendations on what should be done. This case provides students with an introduction to the topics of commercial crime, forensic accounting, bankruptcy and financial statement analysis.

A graduate of a business school must consider two options available to him with similar salary packages. The first is to accept an offer to start as an assistant marketing manager with a consumer packaged goods firm, the other is a consulting assignment with a small tool & die firm. The case provides students the opportunity to value different benefits based on their risk tolerance and career aspirations.

Bp's green re-branding efforts began officially with the unveiling of its new bp Helios mark, named after the Greek sun god. The new logo did away with 70 years of corporate branding, replacing the bp shield, long associated in consumers' minds with the strength of British imperialism. The Helios mark cost US$7 million to develop and was forecast to cost the company another US$100 million a year to integrate into marketing and operations over the next two years. At the logo's unveiling, the company's chief executive officer directed attention to the company's recent purchase of the solar energy company Solarex, an acquisition that made bp the world's largest solar energy company. The unveiling of the Helios logo was a formalization of a re-branding strategy that had begun to emerge the year before with the CEO's announcement that 200 new bp sites around the world would be powered in part by solar energy, through solar panels placed on the roofs of gas pumps, and his commitment to reducing bp's own carbon dioxide emissions by 10 per cent by the year 2010. From the start, however, environmental groups heaped scorn on bp's green re-branding. Greenpeace gave the company its Greenhouse Greenwash Award, given to the largest "corporate climate culprit" on earth.

A group of four friends, all married men and in their late 20s, meet for coffee in a major city. One of the men has received a job application from a young woman he considers to be a stellar candidate for his job opening. The discussion turns into a debate about the feasibility of hiring young women for professional and managerial positions, given that they become pregnant and go on maternity leave.

From 2001 to 2003, Singapore International Airlines (SIA) faced triple disasters: the 9/11 terrorist attacks, SARS epidemic and the Iraq war, which forced it to reduce capacity, reform and restructure its wages. Having managed costs like a tight ship, SIA found it difficult to negotiate wage restructuring and retrenchments with its unions. Operating in a rigid regulatory and business environment, the SIA management found it challenging to tweak the seniority-based wage system, and migrate to a more flexible and competitive compensation structure. With lower yield, high-cost branding and intense competition from the full-service global and low-cost carriers, the SIA management explored ways to balance its strategic elements, attain flexibility and sustain wage and cost competitiveness to earn double-digit returns for its shareholders.

In 2003, SIA faced difficulty in the negotiation of wage restructuring and retrenchments with its unions. The SIA management contemplated tweaking the Seniority-based Wage System and moving to a more flexible and competitive compensation structure.

This case series explores the leadership story of director Mark O'Neill as he oversees a major innovation initiative at Kelvingrove, Scotland's most visited museum. The A case describes his background, philosophy, and the actions he takes over a period of more than a decade to win the support of both staff and funders for the innovation. The B case examines the reaction of the public and art critics. O'Neill arrives at Kelvingrove to find an institution in turmoil after a series of dramatic changes that have alienated visitors and funders alike. Utilizing an innovative style of management that he describes as "maze behavior," he succeeds in moving the traditionally discipline-bound, curator-dominated museum into a cross-disciplinary, visitor-oriented experience. He does this by engaging the curators in creating exhibits based on stories rather than professional classification schemes such as paintings, geology, etc., using an approach that includes a deep understanding of his audience and the imaginative use of forms. He also gains the community's political and funding support to accomplish his goals.

In September 2008, Andrew Ferris, an analyst with Papillion Capital LLC, was asked to evaluate Heartland Payment Systems, Inc.'s shares for possible inclusion in Papillion's Growth Service equity fund. Heartland, a provider of bank card payment services, had aggressively acquired new merchant accounts with an expanding direct sales force after its initial public offering (IPO) in 2005. It focused its expansion plans on restaurants, brick-and-mortar retailers, convenience and liquor stores, automotive sales, repair shops and gas stations, professional service providers, and lodging establishments. In January 2008, Heartland's management revised downwards its forecasted EPS guidance for 2008. The company compensated its sales force solely though commissions, based upon the performance of their merchant accounts. Avondale Partners noted that Heartland paid approximately 92 percent of the company's estimated gross profits generated from merchants' accounts, which resulted in little free cash flow during the initial year of a merchant's contract. Avondale questioned the company's policy of capitalizing and amortizing signing bonuses and monthly residuals, instead of expensing them immediately. In early 2008, Morgan Keegan & Co., an investment firm, maintained its price target for Heartland of $26-$29 per share.

Founded in 1999, Root Capital had loaned $150 million to nearly 250 small and growing businesses, mainly in Latin America. In 2009, as the organization launched a five-year, $55 million capital campaign, it had to determine a strategic path going forward in keeping with its goal of achieving financial sustainability by 2013.

The vice president of sales learns that the most profitable 1% of the division's customers generate 100% of profits, and that two of the division's largest customers lose 50% of profits. The division has just finished a project to install a time-driven activity-based cost system that traces costs directly to the processes used to produce, sell and deliver a wide variety of stainless steel sinks to a diverse customer base. Given the division's high variety of products and customers (which includes wholesalers, retailers, contractors, and distributors), the VP of sales wanted a much more accurate cost system so that he could conduct difficult but fact-based negotiations with customers. The case describes the design and implementation of the new cost and profit measurement system. It documents acceptance and decisions made by managers after seeing the enormous dispersion of profits among their products and customers.

Describes Autodesk's engagement in Integrated Project Delivery-a new model of risk management, inter-firm teamwork, and multi-objective (aesthetic, cost, and sustainability) optimization in building projects. In 2008, Autodesk, Inc. the world's largest design software company, decided to engage in Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) for the design and construction of its new Architecture, Engineering and Construction Solutions (AECS) Group headquarters, near Boston. Under IPD, the project's architect, builder, and client (Autodesk) entered a contractual agreement to share all project risks and profits. During the project, however, Autodesk was unsatisfied with the design progress, and asked the project team to introduce a three-story atrium in the headquarters' design. Logistically, it was not a good time to make changes as the team had already made significant design progress. The team was also working under a tight budget and delivery deadline. However, the aesthetics would appear to be greatly improved by changing the design. The project's architect and builder had to decide whether accommodating the atrium into the current schedule and work sequencing was an acceptable risk.

A senior accountant at Bristol-Myers Squibb has to assess the appropriateness of revenue recognition as the company has dramatically altered its relationships with its channel customers. The decision maker has to determine not only appropriateness but the right approach to deal with senior management on the issue.