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Shanghai Tang is a luxury brand that focuses on Chinese-inspired fashion, accessories, and home decoration products. In Fall 2008, amidst a growing global economic crisis, Raphael Ie Masne, executive chairman of Shanghai Tang, had to decide what to do with the recently vacant creative director position. Did Shanghai Tang need to hire a new creative director at this uncertain economic time? Or could he take on the role of the creative director himself? In addition, Ie Masne had to grapple with balancing the perennial tensions between business imperatives and the creative aspirations of his designers. How could he better manage employees who see themselves as artists?

As of November 2001, NTT DoCoMo is the only company that has been able to make money out of the mobile Internet. This case study describes how, in a very competitive industry engaged in a technology race and strong price erosion, NTT DoCoMo has been able to achieve superior performance, with its novel i-mode services. Launched in February 1999, its i-mode service was an immediate and explosive success. DoCoMo came to exceed its parent company in terms of market capitalization as well as potential for profitable growth as we enter the age of mobile Internet. This case offers a value innovation perspective to analyze the success of i-mode with a particular emphasis on the business model used to exploit the i-mode innovation of DoCoMo.

Suitable for MBA and executive learners, this case series presents an engaging narrative that prompts students to discuss entrepreneurial thinking. An entrepreneur who loves his native Swedish Lapland uses his natural gift for effectuation to ask What? What next? And What now? As his ventures evolve, students begin to ask themselves how they would master similar challenges to their own entrepreneurial plans and expectations. The case can be taught in either one or two sessions of a 90-minute MBA course or a four-hour executive education class. An effective complement is the technical note entitled, "What Makes Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial" (UV1356).

In 2002, the Bush Administration launched the Hospital Quality Initiative, which was intended to improve quality through accountability and public disclosure and to "empower consumers with quality of care information to make more informed decisions about their health care, and encourage providers and clinicians to improve the quality of health care." To achieve the Administration's goals, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced that it would develop a program to survey patients' satisfaction to determine hospital quality. When Mel Hall, the CEO of Press Ganey, a leading healthcare performance measurement and improvement company, learned of CMS's proposal, he was concerned. The Administration seemed largely unaware of the existing market for patient satisfaction surveys, a market in which Press Ganey was intimately involved. This case studies how a private healthcare performance measurement company responds a government effort to improve quality reporting and standardize hospital surveys. It highlights the private company's decisions regarding both its business strategy as well as its potential to affect public policy

A current franchisee of Marble Slab Creamery (producer of the self-proclaimed "Freshest Ice Cream on Earth") was set to open his second location in Waterloo, Ontario. In a recent phone conversation with Marble Slab's Canadian president, the contentious issue of the corporate ice-cream weighing policy had come up. The franchisee was convinced that his managerial abilities and the growth potential of the new location would result in an ultimately successful franchise; however, the president had expressed hesitation at the franchisee straying from the policy. Two questions were foremost in his mind as he weighed his options: 1) What did customers truly value in the Marble Slab service concept? 2) How would the chosen weighing policy affect the customer experience? The franchisee had hopes of owning several Marble Slab franchises, and knew that his weighing policy decision could have lasting effects on his business operations and his relationship with head office.

This is an effective case in an MBA module devoted to the accounting process and the preparation of the three basic financial statements; it is also an excellent exam case. A simple diagram of the three basic financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows) is presented and used to capture, codify, and communicate the effects of a series of typical business events. A manager must understand (1) which parts of the financial diagram are affected; (2) in what direction (i.e., increase or decrease); and (3) by what dollar amount, all the while keeping the foundational equation of Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity in balance. The case also provides students with the opportunity to prepare a simple statement of cash flows using two sequential balance sheets. Finally, it presents the opportunity for students to work backward from a balance sheet and statement of cash flows to craft the beginning of the year's balance sheet.

In September 2008, Google and its Open Handset Alliance (OHA) partner, T-Mobile, launched the first Android-enabled smartphone in the U.S. market. Android was a new, open source, operating system for the wireless industry, developed by the OHA, a group which Google brought together in November of the previous year. The introduction of an open source operating system specifically designed for mobile telecommunications had the potential to make a substantial impact on the marketplace. The case describes the mobile telecommunications industry landscape Google faced, and the incentives that the dominant search engine provider would have for initiating the Android project. The case also describes the challenges facing Google, and the Android operating system. By studying the dynamics of the wireless industry available in the case, one may consider whether Google had the potential to become a Cross Boundary Disruptor (XBD) in the wireless industry.

This case illustrates how two entrepreneurs bootstrapped their start-up, overcame the challenges that accompany growth, and built a successful business while being socially responsible.

Lonestar Graphite is a potential purchase for a middle-market private equity firm. The private equity firm must decide what to offer for an equity position in Lonestar, based on both the underlying operations of the firm and the availability of other sources of funds (largely debt) to finance a transaction. Opportunities for analysis include application of a number of valuation techniques including variations of discounted cash flow models and multiples.

In July, 2009, Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, received an e-mail. The two co-founders and joint co-CEOs and their colleagues at Orange Kimono Software were struggling with their pay system. Orange Kimono, based in the north of England, was a software company with approximately 150 employees that made products sold to businesses. This case contains the text of the e-mail which details the old and new sales compensation systems and the resulting effects on sales, representative behavior, and customer experience.

Voith Paper, one of the two big international suppliers of premium, technically complex machines for paper production, has to improve its profitability. This also affects Mr. Kohl, senior sales executive of the product division with the highest turnover. He, however, does not want to save the additional millions through cost or personnel reduction. Instead, he plans to sell the consulting services of his sales engineers and thus meet the financial target.

CFO tests company's revenue recognition practices against the recently issued SAB 101 requirements and proposes plan for adoption of SAB 101.

A series of caselets exploring the accounting for long-lived nonmonetary assets.

The Blackstone Group had conducted a roll-up of theme parks and attractions business in Europe. It was considering how to generate liquidity for its investors. Blackstone entered the theme parks and attractions business in Europe by acquiring a majority stake in U.K.-based Merlin Entertainment in 2005. In 2005 and 2006, Merlin Entertainment acquired two other similar businesses, LEGOLAND based in Denmark and Gardaland based in Italy. At the end of 2006, Blackstone's team was weighing its options for generating liquidity for its investors. The options were to conduct a dividend recapitalization of Merlin Entertainment or to acquire The Tussauds Group. The acquisition, if successful, would result in the second largest theme parks and attractions business in the world after Disney. The Tussauds Group was owned by another private equity firm, Dubai International Capital (DIC). Blackstone's goal was to make a minimum of 3x on its initial Merlin investment through the dividend recapitalization and at least 5x through the Tussauds acquisition. A third option arose while Blackstone was in negotiation with DIC. This was the opportunity to perform a sale-leaseback of the underlying real estate assets owned by Merlin and Tussauds. Based on the facts and financials provided, it is clear there were tradeoffs between the size of the potential returns for each option, timing, and the risks that have to be managed. What should the Blackstone team do?

The RHP was particularly attractive to treat the poor. At a treatment cost of just US$ 25 a year, the RHP was expected to make a major dent in lowering CVD-related deaths and disabilities in India. Dr. Reddy's had completed clinical trials to launch the pill in India and international clinical trials were under way to launch the pill in other markets. The company also hoped to introduce a variant of the pill for primary prevention, helping patients with a low to moderate risk of CVD avert a first heart attack or stroke. The case details the many dilemmas that the top management team of Dr. Reddy's faced in pursuing the RHP project. The active ingredients in the RHP were generic drugs; and yet, because the combination had never been offered before, the RHP had to go through clinical trials to prove its bioequivalence to each of the constituent drugs. The RHP also had to be marketed to physicians and could be sold only through a prescription. The added R&D and marketing costs had to be recouped through the price of the RHP, although this price had to be closer to generics prices. In addition, it would be hard to get a patent for the RHP. Here was a pill that was neither a new discovery drug nor a straight generic. Shaping a strategy for it was demanding and yet if the RHP could be launched successfully, there would be several other opportunities for a combination pill to treat other chronic diseases like depression and osteoarthritis. Learning objectives: The case is a good vehicle to discuss the changing landscape of the global pharmaceutical industry which is faced with the simultaneous challenge of a thinning new product pipeline and increasing pressures from government regulators and third party payers to cut costs. Projects like the RHP at Dr. Reddy's provide examples of the new business models (and the dilemmas that underlie them) that industry leaders would have to consider.

This case describes Millipore Corporation's approach to becoming a more environmentally sustainable company. As he prepared for his quarterly meeting with the CEO, the Director of Sustainability needed to develop positions on several issues. Tactically, he needed to recommend whether the company should purchase carbon offsets to help meet its aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets, and whether to continue publicly reporting its greenhouse gas emissions and strategies despite recent problems. On a more strategic level, he needed to recommend how to take the company's Sustainability Initiative to the next level and consider whether changes were needed to its organizational structure. Finally, he needed to develop a more systematic approach to prioritizing investments in various projects being proposed to improve environmental performance.

In 2009, the CEO of Alacra, a venture-backed information services firm that provides customized data primarily to financial services firms, must decide how to respond to the global economic crisis.

Maharashtra state is accepting bids to redevelop Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia. A real estate developer assesses the risks and tenders a bid. The bid conditions include providing new free housing to tens of thousands of slum dwellers. The cost of constructing the housing is anticipated to be paid for from the revenues from developing and selling market-rate housing. While the primary concerns are cost of construction, cost of capital, and revenues from sale of units, the analysis must consider many aspects of risk, including political risk, foreign exchange risk, market risk, and execution risk. Further, the discussion covers social aspects, including whether the slum should be redeveloped at all, whether it should be redeveloped by government or by the private sector, and whether to accomplish it in large chunks or in smaller increments. Additional topics that can be covered include consideration of what happens to commercial activities formerly run from slum dwellings, whether the market-rate units will indeed sell for high prices if there are tens of thousands of former slum dwellers housed nearby, and whether the slum dwellers will be allowed to resell their units or whether they must remain in them. Other issues include timing of the project, guarantees to and from the government and the private parties to mitigate risk, and whether this model, if successful, can be extended to other slums in Asia.

Three pressing challenges (equity split, extent of commitment to social responsibility, and product discoloration) confront VeeV, the world's first alcoholic beverage infused with acai berries. Brothers Courtney and Carter Reum founded VeeV in 2007 and the firm has experienced rapid growth since then. The case documents the backgrounds of the young founders, details the launch and early phase of the company, and presents three challenges the founders must address: how to split the equity of the new company, how far to go in their efforts to be a "green" and socially responsible brand; and an unexpected potential product quality issue.

This case presents the leadership challenges that Cheryl Dorsey, the president of Echoing Green, faces in early 2009. Echoing Green is a fellowship program that seeks to improve society by identifying and supporting social entrepreneurs who launch organizations to attack some of the world's most difficult problems. After turning Echoing Green around and re-building an organization almost from scratch over the last 7 years, Dorsey feels that Echoing Green is at a crossroads as it is facing much more competition. Adding to Dorsey's challenges, in late 2008 the economy is in crisis and many Echoing Green supporters are reducing or delaying their donations. In this situation, Dorsey has to decide whether, and if so, how to change Echoing Green's strategy as well as whether she is the right person to continue to lead the organization.