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The president and founder of a Toronto, Ontario transportation company considers his future and that of the family-owned company in the face of major changes in the for-hire trucking industry. After 50 years in the trucking industry, the president considers simplifying operations and expanding the business or, alternatively, stepping down as president and passing control to a successor.

Global Health Partner was founded in 2006 as a privately owned health care provider in Sweden serving both public and private paying patients. In contrast to most providers in the country, GHP organized around specific service lines where it saw the potential to provide the most value. This case details the GHP approach to both Spine Care and Obesity Care demonstrating the power of specialization for quality improvement as a basis for competitive advantage. Students will examine the organization of integrated multidisciplinary care, the impact of volume on learning and efficiency , and the importance of demonstrating quality through outcomes reporting. The case also provides a window into the Swedish Health Care System.

After the successful Apollo series NASA formulated a new vision for the space program, incorporating a space station and guaranteeing routine access to space via a reusable space shuttle. In 1986, the space shuttle design included two solid-rocket launchers which required the use of O-rings to seal the joints. After each launch the launchers were retrieved, inspected and possibly reused is they did not display evidence of O-ring distress. The space shuttle Challenger had flown 9 successful missions into space and was gearing up for its tenth with great fanfare due to NASA's successful public relations program, "The Teacher in Space Program". The evening prior to the January 28, 1986 launch saw representatives from the Kennedy Space Centre, the Marshall Space Flight Centre and contractor Morton Thiokol participate in a 3-hour teleconference to discuss if the predicted low temperatures would have any effect on the expected performance of the O-rings. In addition to the statistical analysis of the historical O-ring failure, the stakeholders needed to communicate their results in the appropriate flow of information.

An analyst at IGM Financial (IGM) is asked to make a presentation outlining the final details of the proposed acquisition of Saxon Financial (Saxon). The analysis was to include the strategic rationale for the acquisition, an estimate of the proposed offering price for Saxon and whether or not the acquisition would be accretive to earnings per share of IGM. To complete the assignment the analyst had to calculate a preliminary valuation range based on several different valuation methodologies.

This case series is designed to illustrate the specificities of competition in poor and developing economies and, more specifically, competition at the Base of the Pyramid. It is composed of four documents: two company cases, a country note, and an industry note. The company cases describe the competitive dynamics between two international telecom companies, Orange and MTN, in the Cameroonian telecom market. Each company case begins with a brief history of the company, followed by a description of the company's global strategy and of its entry into Cameroon. It goes on to describe the competitive dynamics in Cameroon from the company's perspective, and, particularly, the moves and counter-moves undertaken by each competitor to gain market share. Finally, the case describes the company's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, globally and in Cameroon. The case series also includes two background notes. The first note describes the evolution and the basic technical characteristics of the cell phone industry. The second note provides an introduction to the geography, history, and economy of Cameroon, with a particular focus on the socio-economic conditions of the country's population. Taken together, this case series allows a discussion of competition at the Base of the Pyramid, including both business and ethical aspects.

This case series is designed to illustrate the specificities of competition in poor and developing economies and, more specifically, competition at the Base of the Pyramid. It is composed of four documents: two company cases, a country note, and an industry note. The company cases describe the competitive dynamics between two international telecom companies, Orange and MTN, in the Cameroonian telecom market. Each company case begins with a brief history of the company, followed by a description of the company's global strategy and of its entry into Cameroon. It goes on to describe the competitive dynamics in Cameroon from the company's perspective, and, particularly, the moves and counter-moves undertaken by each competitor to gain market share. Finally, the case describes the company's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, globally and in Cameroon. The case series also includes two background notes. The first note describes the evolution and the basic technical characteristics of the cell phone industry. The second note provides an introduction to the geography, history, and economy of Cameroon, with a particular focus on the socio-economic conditions of the country's population. Taken together, this case series allows a discussion of competition at the Base of the Pyramid, including both business and ethical aspects.

This case series is designed to illustrate the specificities of competition in poor and developing economies and, more specifically, competition at the Base of the Pyramid. It is composed of four documents: two company cases, a country note, and an industry note. The company cases describe the competitive dynamics between two international telecom companies, Orange and MTN, in the Cameroonian telecom market. Each company case begins with a brief history of the company, followed by a description of the company's global strategy and of its entry into Cameroon. It goes on to describe the competitive dynamics in Cameroon from the company's perspective, and, particularly, the moves and counter-moves undertaken by each competitor to gain market share. Finally, the case describes the company's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, globally and in Cameroon. The case series also includes two background notes. The first note describes the evolution and the basic technical characteristics of the cell phone industry. The second note provides an introduction to the geography, history, and economy of Cameroon, with a particular focus on the socio-economic conditions of the country's population. Taken together, this case series allows a discussion of competition at the Base of the Pyramid, including both business and ethical aspects.

In estimating depreciation for accounting purposes, Delta Air Lines has changed its assumptions about aircraft lifespan and residual values four times in the last thirty years or so. In the most recent changes, Delta adopted fair value accounting as part of its "fresh start" emergence from bankruptcy. Each of these policy changes has affected future asset values as well as present and future income. Students should organize their case analysis around three types of questions: (1) the estimated life cycle of commercial passenger airplanes; (2) the uses of financial reports, including the purpose of depreciation in reporting on assets and periodic income; and (3) alternative procedures for reporting asset book values and income that might better serve users of financial reports.

The case deals with how Shoppers Stop, a home-grown Indian retailer of branded apparel and accessories closely identified with the adult segment of customers for a decade and a half since inception, looked at the growing segment of the youth population. Against the backdrop of an aging demographic, particularly among countries in North America and Europe, India had an advantage of a largely young population. Thirty-five per cent of Indian were under 15 years of age and 70 per cent under 35 years of age - a profile likely to remain so for the next two decades. Topics of discussion include: Is there a risk for an adult company in targeting the young? Is there a risk in not targeting the young? Is there a business opportunity in the youth segment? What should Shoppers Stop do if it were to seize the opportunity? What is the addressable segment? Is a change in strategy required now or will tweaking the current strategy do?

In June 2008, the president and owner of Canada Goose Inc. (Canada Goose), a producer of luxury sport jackets, was contemplating the future of his company. Despite recent years' steady growth in both his company and the industry in general, the president believed that a significant opportunity existed for Canada Goose to further cement itself as a market leader for this industry. The president was intrigued by two separate offers from national retailers in Canada. Both were in the form of long-term contracts; in the past Canada Goose had used such contracts to maintain successful relationships with its many distributors. The offers were lucrative; however, the president needed to consider whether the offers aligned with the company's current marketing strategy. Agreeing to stock its product through a national chain would be a departure from its current method of distribution through independently-owned regional retailers. Accepting either of the offers would not only potentially price these retailers out of the market but could also lead to the devaluation of the brand.

As Brazil's energetic but fractious democracy emerged in the 1990s, the Ethos Institute launched a movement for corporate social responsibility (CSR) that, it hoped, would both cajole the private sector to manage its own operations responsibly-for example, eschewing racism and protecting the environment-and lead Brazil to a more just, sustainable society. By 2007 Ethos had transformed CSR into a prominent national movement, which had even helped strengthen enforcement of some laws such as the prohibition of child labor. Two cases tell Ethos' story. The first (A) case describes the social context-the Brazilian private sector's ambiguous legacy of genuine community conscience yet collaboration with authoritarian regimes-and poses questions about how Ethos' leaders shaped their relations with business. How could they best strengthen the idea that business had moral obligations to society? How could they marshal influence to secure compliance with CSR norms? How should they define corporate social responsibility? HKS Case Number 1879.0

Implementing a sustainability strategy requires firms to consider economic, strategic, environmental, and community perspectives. Suitable for MBA, undergraduate, and executive learners, this sustainability case covers innovation, intrapreneurship, and strategy. A technical note entitled, "Corporate Greenhouse Accounting: Carbon Footprint Analysis" (UV2027) is an effective complement. Frito-Lay's Arizona facility pilots a program to take its snack chip manufacturing off the grid. Decision makers discuss operating, financial, marketing, and corporate strategy as the facility calculates its carbon footprint, converts to non-fossil-fuel energy sources, and stops relying on the scarce local water supply.

This undisguised case is appropriate for graduate-level organizational behavior, strategy, and leadership courses. Readers will be put in the shoes of a seasoned change agent hired to transform a publicly owned company on the brink of bankruptcy. With a 50% attrition rate, low employee morale, stock market delisting notice, failed ERP system, bank default, new credit facility search, forbearance agreements, and a going-concern opinion, the new CEO faced a significant crisis. The A case describes the situation and raises questions about the firm's viability when James Leto becomes CEO. Several key leaders in the organization push to move the company's core competency away from the reseller business toward an enterprise solutions and services business.

Brad Powell, the newly hired senior leader of a Christian church, must lead the organization to reverse a three-decade decline and return to fulfilling its mission. Brad spent the first six months assessing the situation, building relationships, and reiterating the longstanding mission of the organization. Now, with an understanding of its history, an intimate knowledge of the immediate challenges, and a clear vision of what the organization should become, Brad is considering his strategy and next steps. As the leader of a nonprofit organization resourced by members and volunteers, Brad must lead change that produces results without compromising the mission. The B case summarizes Brad's actions and the results.

Alara Agri, based in Bursa, Turkey, is one of the world's foremost cherry and fig producers. The president and chief executive officer (CEO) was concerned about a recurring capacity problem at the end of the process where cherries were packed. On some of the plant's conveyor belts, piles of cherries of one size waited to be packed while other belts had too few cherries to keep workers busy, and thus delayed order fulfillment. Diverting excess cherries from a busy line to an underutilized line was not an option as cherries were sorted by size. One solution the CEO had considered was to build another processing line at a cost of US$2 million, although he thought a better solution may be achieved by changing the process or reconfiguring the flow of the machine. The CEO wondered how best to improve capacity with the equipment they already had. To aid in his decision, he examined corporate data with regards to revenues and production figures, incoming cherries received in tonnes, expected size distribution of cherries, and the plant layout and packaging options.

Shane Eten is passionate about being an entrepreneur and finds an opportunity in managing food waste; a Clean Technology startup. Shane develops a plan for an anaerobic digester that will convert grocery store food waste into energy and organic fertilizer. The case explores Shane's entrepreneurial journey, from working in a high tech startup, a low tech candle maker, an MBA student to gaining recognition in business plan competitions for the anaerobic digester. At the point in time of the case, Shane needs to raise some capital to develop a prototype and prove his concept. Shane struggles in identifying sources for the $250,000 he needs to launch his dream. Although Shane has garnered lots of interest from potential investors during his success in business plan competitions, his venture is too early and the capital needed is too small for venture capitalists. He could seek angel capital, but how can he identify these "hidden" angels? Friends and family are a possibility, but Shane isn't sure that his contacts have enough capital available for him. Besides, he would like to preserve as much ownership as possible at this point in time, because he recognizes that he'll need to raise more capital to build out the company if the prototype is successful. This is a good case to explore alternative sources of capital.

For over 25 years, Cristobal Colon, La Fageda's founder and president, had managed this cooperative that primarily produced yogurts and dairy puddings and employed a large share of La Garrotxa's mentally challenged population. Colón had been able to position these yogurts made in a small town far from Barcelona's commercial hub right next to Danone products, the undisputed dairy sector leader in Spain, on supermarket and hypermarket shelves. La Fageda had accomplished this feat by producing a quality yogurt that consumers viewed as a farm product: natural and wholesome. By late 2007, Colón's overriding concern was how to keep La Fageda's yogurts in distribution circuits. On the one hand, large food multinationals had ever-increasing leverage with retailers; on the other hand, some leading chains were prioritizing their own brands. Colón wondered if La Fageda could maintain its competitive positioning while upholding its founding spirit. For him, it was paramount to preserve the jobs that enabled La Fageda to ensure social and labor integration for people with mental disabilities.

Irene Fellner owns her family's three-star hotel in Switzerland. Facing decreasing revenues, she undertakes a conjoint analysis that suggests she should take on a brand name. She therefore considers joining the hotel chain Comfort Hotels as a franchisee. Learning objectives: This case is appropriate for teaching at MBA, EMBA or executive levels. In certain instances, it may also be taught in undergraduate courses as a means to illustrate the application of conjoint analysis. In particular, the case would be effective for market research, pricing, segmentation and hospitality courses.

When Chris Knox, a top salesperson at Specialty Fleet Services, volunteers to go after the business of Armadillo Gas & Power, he decides to try a new approach. After all, no one else from SFS has succeeded with Dale Landry, Armadillo's CFO. Knox shows up at Landry's ranch, asks to photograph his beloved bull, presents the photo as a gift to Landry's wife, and engineers several other encounters before Landry learns that Knox is anything more than a charming young man. Not long after he reveals his position at SFS, Knox wins the account. Sales VP Jeremy Silva emails the sales team, praising Knox's maneuvers. But the human resources vice president thinks that Knox breached the company's ethics code. Does Knox deserve a reprimand? Kirk O. Hanson, the executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, believes that Knox went astray not by trying to share a potential client's passion but by treating the Landrys as a means to an end - deceiving them and violating their personal space along the way. There's a big difference between deceiving competitors and deceiving customers, explain consultants Don Peppers and Martha Rogers. SFS needs to clarify this difference in its ethics code, apologize to Landry, and fire Silva, who demonstrated in hitting the "send" button that he does not understand the policies and behaviors that build shareholder value. James Borg, a business psychologist and author, argues that Knox didn't coerce Landry into buying SFS's services but instead simply got the CFO's attention and let his persuasive techniques do the rest. Whereas coercion and manipulation satisfy the needs of only one party, persuasion is about achieving a positive outcome all around - exactly what Knox accomplished. Armadillo got a superior product, and SFS won a new customer.

When Chris Knox, a top salesperson at Specialty Fleet Services, volunteers to go after the business of Armadillo Gas & Power, he decides to try a new approach. After all, no one else from SFS has succeeded with Dale Landry, Armadillo's CFO. Knox shows up at Landry's ranch, asks to photograph his beloved bull, presents the photo as a gift to Landry's wife, and engineers several other encounters before Landry learns that Knox is anything more than a charming young man. Not long after he reveals his position at SFS, Knox wins the account. Sales VP Jeremy Silva emails the sales team, praising Knox's maneuvers. But the human resources vice president thinks that Knox breached the company's ethics code. Does Knox deserve a reprimand? Four experts comment on this fictional case study in R0905B and R0905Z. Kirk O. Hanson, the executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, believes that Knox went astray not by trying to share a potential client's passion but by treating the Landrys as a means to an end - deceiving them and violating their personal space along the way. There's a big difference between deceiving competitors and deceiving customers, explain consultants Don Peppers and Martha Rogers. SFS needs to clarify this difference in its ethics code, apologize to Landry, and fire Silva, who demonstrated in hitting the "send" button that he does not understand the policies and behaviors that build shareholder value. James Borg, a business psychologist and author, argues that Knox didn't coerce Landry into buying SFS's services but instead simply got the CFO's attention and let his persuasive techniques do the rest. Whereas coercion and manipulation satisfy the needs of only one party, persuasion is about achieving a positive outcome all around - exactly what Knox accomplished. Armadillo got a superior product, and SFS won a new customer.