個案總覽

After going public in 1992, Starbucks' strong balance sheet and double-digit growth made it a hot growth stock. The Starbucks vision was coffee culture as community, the Third Place between work and home, where friends shared the experience and exotic language of gourmet coffee. Its growth was fueled by rapid expansion in the number of stores both in the United States and in foreign markets, the addition of drive-through service, its own music label that promoted and sold CDs in stores and other add-on sales, including pastries and sandwiches. In an amazingly short time, Starbucks became a wildly successful global brand. But in 2007, Starbucks' performance slipped; the company reported its first-ever decline in customer visits to U.S. stores, which led to a 50 per cent drop in its share price. In January 2008, the board ousted CEO Jim Donald and brought back Howard Schultz - Starbucks' visionary leader and CEO from 1987 to 2000 and current chairman and chief global strategist - to re-take the helm. Starbucks' growth strategies have been widely reported and analyzed, but rarely with an eye to their impact on the brand. This case offers a compelling example of how "non-brand" managerial decisions - such as store locations, licensing arrangements and drive-through service - can make sense on financial criteria at one point in time, yet erode brand positioning and equity in the longer term. Examining the growth decisions made in the United States provides a rich context in which to examine both the promise and drawback of further foreign expansion.

Yieldex Founder, Doug Cosman, is faced with the decision to sell his young software start-up for $4 million or to hire a CEO (Tom Shields) and pursue Series A venture capital financing. His angel investors and CEO candidate Tom Shields believe he should reject the offer and focus on building the company into a bigger enterprise. Cosman is attracted to the financial rewards offered by the potential acquirer.

John Dean and Danny Lui began raising their first fund as Startup Capital Ventures (SCV), a small venture capital firm in 2005. They made a soft commitment to invest 15-20% of their first $25MM fund in China. They made their first Chinese investment in 2005 in Zero2IPO, a Beijing-based market research firm that tracked Mainland china private equity and venture capital markets. The investment has gone well so far, but the venture capital market is changing rapidly. Dean and Lui need to decide whether to continue investing in China, and if so, they must develop a new strategy. This case examines the challenges of venture capital investment in China, given increased competition for deals, significant regulation changes and a rising preference for local teams versus foreign VCs.

Bear Stearns & Co. burned through nearly all of its $18 billion in cash reserves during the week of March 10, 2008, and an unprecedented provision of liquidity support from the Federal Reserve on Friday March 13 was insufficient to reverse the decline in Bear's condition. Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and New York Fed President Timothy Geithner were intent on limiting the impact of Bear's problems on the wider financial system. James "Jamie" Dimon, Morgan's Chairman and CEO, was in frequent contact with these regulators over the weekend of March 14-16, negotiating possible scenarios for the rescue of Bear, without which Bear would be forced it to seek bankruptcy protection when markets opened on Monday. Late on Sunday afternoon, March 16, Bear's board accepted Morgan's offer to purchase Bear for $2 per share, an offer that would not have been made without significant government assistance. There was hope that the Bear rescue would help avert the far-reaching spread of damage into the larger financial world that many policymakers viewed as likely to follow the failure of a major investment bank. This case examines a seminal event in the financial and economic crisis that began in the summer of 2007, and provides background for better understanding the full scope of the crisis as it was revealed during the summer and fall of 2008. It was written to address two sets of issues. First, it provides the opportunity to understand the corporate finance issues of capital and liquidity, and of firm valuation. Second, the case allows for the exploration of aspects of a firm's internal and external governance, as well as the challenges of navigating through a crisis when faced with compelling pressures from competing stakeholders.

The strategy of Citibank (China) Co. Ltd ("Citi") in China has evolved as the business environment has changed. Since the start of its operations in China in 1902, the global banking giant has preferred opening offices as branches (when allowed by the government) rather than subsidiaries. In 2001, China announced that it would join the World Trade Organization and would undertake a series of measures to open up its banking sector. By this time, Citi had realized that the pace of its growth in China had been very slow. Consequently, the bank reviewed its strategy and decided to enter the market as an embedded, or genuinely local, bank. Citi's July 2008 agreement with China Unionpay ("CUP"), China's only national bankcard association, allows Citi's debit cardholders to enjoy the convenience of access to CUP's vast network in China. The agreement is the latest milestone in the bank's strategy to establish its presence in the emerging and rapidly growing China market through a series of strategic alliances. Why has CitiUnionpay changed its strategy and started entering such co-operative alliances? What are the risks and advantages associated with using such co-operative strategies?

This case is an excellent illustration of offline/online integration. Office Depot used its supply chain, systems integration, and existing offline channel strengths to overcome competitive online threats from pure Internet players and other office-products-category players. Students get to consider the critical strategic options for overall strategy, pricing, product line, promotion, and business integration.

Michael Pirron was a health care services consultant who had always dreamed of starting a "Nonprofit Competitive Business" with a social mission. In 2006, he launched Impact Makers, a new hybrid entity that crossed the nonprofit/for-profit lines. Although it was a small business like many others (paying competitive salaries, bidding for work, providing professional services at market prices), Impact Makers had several unique components: It would contribute strategic consulting, and all profits, to charitable community organizations; there was no stock and equity ownership; it had a volunteer board of directors and its financial information was open to the public. The first two years saw some successes and some setbacks. Impact Makers faced the challenges of growth: how to get more customers, more revenue, and a more predictable revenue stream. How would Impact Makers raise investment capital with its unique organizational structure? And how would the company survive?

This case is about the strategic-sourcing process: leading a major acquisition program with an unprecedented schedule and an unprepared industrial base. Soldiers in Iraq are dying in increasing numbers from improvised explosive devices planted in roads by insurgents. Up-armored Humvees offer little to no protection. Specialty vehicles with v-shaped bottoms to deflect blasts had been developed in South Africa and Rhodesia in the 1970s. The MRAP Vehicle Joint Program Office's mission was to procure up to 20,000 of these commercial off-the-shelf vehicles and get them to Iraq within 30 months. Yet U.S. production is fewer than 10 vehicles per month because not enough tires, ballistics-grade steel, and other raw materials are available. The daunting task: to undertake the fastest vehicle procurement since the Jeep in World War II, ramping up the industrial base, and overcoming the bureaucratic logjam in Department of Defense procedures.

Grace Vineyard was a rare family-owned, private winery in China that was set on establishing itself as a world-renowned, quality vintner. Judy Leissner, the second generation company leader was at a crossroads in how she wanted to grow the business that her father founded in 1997. Their wines were rapidly growing a strong following and had won international awards. How could the company capitalize on this success? Should Grace expand its operations to multiple Chinese provinces? Should Grace continue as a premium boutique winery serving a growing but ultimately limited niche market in China, or should it seek to make a mark internationally? Or should Grace respond to buy-out offers?

A German expatriate had moved to China in 2005 to take up a merchandising position at the Wal-Mart China headquarters in Shenzen. By 2008 he had been promoted to the new position of senior director for sustainability for Wal-Mart China (retail) and Global Procurement. His new position required that he lead the rapidly-approaching inaugural Wal-Mart Sustainability Summit. The senior director must ensure that Wal-Mart China's five Strategic Value Networks (SVNs), which were tasked with leading sustainability change within the organization, continued to engage stakeholders by implementing innovative solutions that not only cut costs but also lead to more sustainable operations. The case describes Wal-Mart China's operations (including purchasing, distribution and retail) in the context of the company's desire to improve sustainability in a manner appropriate to China. The immediate issue is to identify opportunities to improve the sustainability of Wal-Mart China's distribution systems and retail operations.

The owner of an indoor beach volleyball and rock climbing recreational facility in London, Ontario, is considering expanding by adding a rooftop patio and outdoor beach volleyball court. Students are asked to perform a business size-up and to analyze the expansion qualitatively. Students are required to list all the cash flows associated with the expansion and classify them as relevant (cash, future and different), recurring or one-time costs. Once this is completed, students are to perform a differential analysis, with sensitivity analysis, where necessary, to determine the return on investment and to establish the payback period. Finally, students are to make a decision about going ahead with the expansion.

This case describes the efforts of Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, to improve liquidity in money markets during the subprime crisis. The case explains the four main new tools for monetary policy (or quantitative easing) the Federal Reserve has used between 2007 and 2009: the Term Auction Facility (TAF), the Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF), the Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF), and the Asset Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (AMLF).

In early October 1931, in the midst of a global economic depression, the U.S. banking system was in crisis - - with bank suspensions running at near record levels. At the same time, the broader economy was sputtering, and U.S. gold reserves had come under severe pressure after Britain abandoned its gold standard in mid-September. As pressure continued to mount, the leaders of the Federal Reserve faced several critical decisions. Should they adjust interest rates? Was abandoning the gold standard an acceptable option? Should they lend more freely to the nation's commercial banks? Or would this only ensure the sorts of financial excess that had gotten the country into trouble in the first place? Was it time to give in to the mounting pressure, or to hold firm?

Berkshire Hathaway describes the history and strategy of one of the best known investment firms over the last forty years. The case describes the investment philosophy of Warren Buffett, its legendary chairman and CEO, the gradual diversification of its portfolio, its capital allocation strategy, compensation structure, and corporate governance approach, leading up to August 2008.

The three cases in this series trace developments in the personal computer industry from its inception through 2006, making it possible to examine the issues of collaboration and competition as the value chain in the industry evolves. The A case looks at these tensions through the lens of the relationship between two for the industries' most successful firms-Compaq and Intel. As the A case describes, by the mid-1990s, Compaq was the world's largest PC manufacturer. Compaq's computers used Microsoft software and Intel processors. Compaq was Intel's largest customer and Intel was Compaq's largest supplier. Not surprisingly, then, it caused quite a stir when executives from Compaq and Intel entered into a heated public spat at a September 1994 European technology conference. See the B case (UV1012) and C case (UV1013).

Huang Teng founded Xi'an International University (XAIU) as a private institute of higher education in 1992. Throughout its ensuing years, the school filled a niche and met the demand of students who did not test into one of China's public institutions. In 2008, it was seeking to grow by aggressively pursuing opportunities in other provinces and municipalities. Huang's plan was to franchise his university throughout China. However, in pursuing this strategy in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China's largest cities, Huang was not receiving warm responses. Local officials feared XAIU would jeopardize the survival of locally-run, private universities, and competition among private universities was heating up as institutions from the United Kingdom and Hong Kong partnered with public universities to form joint-ventured "independent colleges." Buoyed by the success of XAIU, Huang was confident that despite these setbacks, his franchise model would work. But was an alternative plan of expanding into second or third tier cities compromising too much of the groundwork that had already been laid, would it jeopardize XAIU's funding opportunities, and finally, would it hurt the academic quality and integrity XAIU had built up at home?

In 2009 a recent MBA must analyze the possible refunding of bonds issued in 2000 when interest rates were much higher. She must consider the possible consequences of repurchasing company bonds outstanding using cash that might be obtained by issuing new bonds at a lower interest rate. Students need to carry out a quantitative assignment.

The case describes a real instance where a college student, Sarah James, attends a Mexican university (INI) for the summer to develop her language and cross-cultural capabilities. At the end of a successful semester, she e-mails the director of international recruitment for the Mexican University - with a copy to her major professor back in the United States - complaining about the treatment she received from her host family. She appears to have alienated all parties involved as she makes her exodus. The reader must decide how Professor McGill should respond. McGill had been attempting to build a relationship with the administration at INI in hopes of sending more students there for cross-cultural and language training. The reader must also evaluate Sarah's complaints to determine if they are a result of her own inflexibility or whether the host family was inappropriately screened or prepared. Will the remedy be found in having better policies governing host families or in having more culturally-attuned students?

The president of a waste management and recycling company is considering expanding to another location within London, Ontario. Students are asked to assess the company's past performance to determine what had made it successful and then project financial results for the expansion along with projecting the company's fiscal year's overall financial results. Students are required to establish a strong promotion plan for the new facility, including the message to be promoted and the media to be used that would ensure the new site's success.

Dr. C.V. Chen received news that one of Lee and Li's senior assistants had found a loophole in a power of attorney from one of the firm's clients, SanDisk Corporation (SanDisk), that had allowed him to illegally sell the client's shares in a Taiwanese company and to sneak out of Taiwan with over NT$3 billion. Unfortunately, Lee and Li had no insurance to cover this embezzlement. Chen knew that the three senior partners needed to develop a plan of action to save the law firm, take care of the lawyers and other employees, maintain the reputation of the firm within Taiwan and abroad intact, do what was best for SanDisk and Lee and Li, and keep the more than 12,000 clients from deserting the firm.