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A summer intern in the Supplier Development department at XS Inc. is participating in a two-day Value Stream Mapping (VSM) event at SysInteg. This is his first chance to put his knowledge of lean principles and tools into practice working with a key supplier. As this is XS's first time sponsoring an improvement initiative led by a third party, it was under tight scrutiny by the XS corporate-level senior management. XS saw this as an opportunity to deploy external lean experts as some members of senior management were skeptical about the lack of oversight on milestones, performance management, or (supplier) resource allocation; however the intern is concerned that a poor performance at SysInteg would affect his chances for future employment at XS. After today's event at SysInteg, he is expected to establish a communication plan and identify stakeholders for each future VSM event.

Right Media considers systems and policies to make sure that ads are only shown on web sites where they are appropriate, and vice versa. Setting standards is particularly challenging given the large and growing marketplace, the numerous participants, their diverse requirements, and the dynamics of policy enforcement when market participants are competing intensely.

The case discusses the current US and international accounting guidance regarding the disclosure of contingent and environmental liabilities, including FAS 5 and IAS 37. It then addresses the role of socially responsible investors and other factors that gave rise to the FASB revisiting its guidance. The case details the proposed new guidance and includes perspectives from various constituent groups (financial statement preparers and users) on its pros and cons. The case concludes with an example of existing guidance in practice using Novartis AG. It includes Novartis' financial and other quantitative disclosures regarding environmental liabilities, and its liability from a dumpsite in Bonfol, Switzerland, in particular.

Shane Immelman, founding CEO of the Lapdesk Company of South Africa, is facing a number of challenges in taking Lapdesk from South Africa and into the rest of the African continent. How should the African strategy be different from that of South Africa? What is the appropriate structure?

In 2006, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation joined together to form a new organization, AGRA, to tackle the historic challenge of increasing agricultural production in Africa. Launched with much fanfare and led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as chairman of the board, AGRA sought to help millions of African farmers and their families achieve food security and lift themselves out of poverty. By 2008, AGRA had assembled a strong leadership team and had funded numerous small projects ranging from seed development to education. However, it needed to secure additional funding from public and private donors, gain the cooperation of governments, and catalyze private markets to achieve its goals.

In 2005, the government of India enacted the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act in order to attract investment, generate export revenues, and create manufacturing jobs. However, several planned projects faced difficulties in acquiring land for setting up the SEZ. In December 2007, the government introduced a new piece of legislation, which proposed to extend the power of eminent domain to allow the government to acquire land for SEZs. Was this the right response to the land acquisition problems of private firms? Was the SEZ strategy the right one for India's economic growth?

A New York-based hedge fund must decide whether to invest in TravelCenters of America (TA), a recent spin-off from a U.S.-based real estate investment trust. The case confronts students with the question: To what extent is this spin-off opportunity attractive from a value-investing standpoint? Historically, spin-offs have been attractive investments because of supply-demand dynamics associated with their investor base. The case is an opportunity to ask whether the same dynamics will operate for TA.

The case discusses two important themes within the context of the oil and gas industry. First, it sheds light on the context of the oil and gas industry in India, the prospects and potential pitfalls, and paints a broad-brush picture of the key players currently operating in the market. Second, it discusses the theme of transformation of India's largest national oil company (NOC), the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). While the industry structure discussion dwells on the business performance drivers in the exploration and production segment, as well as the refining and marketing segment, the transformation discussion focuses largely on the challenges facing leaders who are attempting to infuse state-owned companies with market discipline.

In 20 years, Sunny Verghese had built Singapore-based Olam International from a small Nigerian export company into a $5 billion global leader in agricultural commodities with a core competence in Africa. Olam's growth had come by pursuing product and geographic adjacencies and its 'farm gate to factory gate' approach had been extended to 14 agricultural products, including cashews, sesame, cocoa, and coffee. In mid-October 2008, Olam's stock price declined to $1 a share from a high of $3.71 in early 2007 as part of the global economic crisis. Verghese had to decide whether to change the firm's strategy based on the new economic environment.

This case presents excerpts from the speeches of observers to the 2008 financial crisis, including former and current central bankers, a private banker, and a Nobel-prize winning economist. They present different interpretations of the causes of the financial crisis, and make proposals about how a similar crisis might be stopped in the future. The goal of the case is to provide students with alternative perspectives and broad historical data so that they can evaluate both causes of and responses to the crisis.

Examines Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, Wal-Mart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the largest generator of revenues. Its international operation seems poised to become the next growth driver for the company as it marches toward the trillion dollar sales mark. But problems are starting to surface even as the company is winning recognition as the number one company in the Fortune 500--unions keep pressuring Its minimum-wage employees and allegations of gender discrimination are alleged.

In 13 years, Bruce Taylor had built Taylor Fresh Foods into a $1 billion company and the top supplier of salads to the U.S. food service industry and to supermarket deli departments. In 2008, he was convinced that the time was right to make a big push in the fresh food area to satisfy consumers that were demanding more convenient, natural, good-tasting, and locally-grown foods. Bruce needed an action plan to make Taylor Fresh the industry leader before his competition woke up to the opportunity that lay before them all.

Brazilian meat packer JBS surprised many in the U.S. beef industry when it acquired Swift & Co.--a company more than five times its size--in 2007, then moved to acquire the U.S.'s fourth and fifth largest beef producers in 2008. The new JBS Swift slashed costs and restructured, turning around a quarterly loss of $99 million to a gain of $140 million within 6 months. JBS aimed to position itself to supply beef markets around the world, but it faced a perfect storm of rising feed and fuel prices, a global credit crisis and industry analysts skeptical about the company's debt load.

The Turkish financial sector has been developing rapidly and often unpredictably, offering an ideal backdrop to carry out an industry analysis in the dynamic environment of an emerging market. Akbank, one of the leading private Turkish banks, has been successful in taking advantage of the new opportunities that appeared in the credit card sector as a result of post-crisis restructuring of the financial services industry in the early 2000s. Launched in late 2001, Akbank's Axess credit card quickly gained a significant market share of 15 per cent and was popular with both customers and merchants. At the same time, the attractive margins in this sector have sparked many local and foreign competitor entries. Setting a sustainable strategy for the next few years is complicated by the change in the political, macro-economic and competitive environment. The new government leading the country since 2002 has improved overall stability in Turkey, which created both opportunities and threats for Akbank's business. The opportunities included an improved banking system and increasing customer disposable income, while the market for credit cards was not yet saturated. However, threats may come from unpredictable actions that banking authorities could implement and increasing competition from both local and international players. The dynamic nature of the banking industry in an emerging market provides a comprehensive case to anchor a discussion about developing flexible strategy in a changing environment. The purpose of the Akbank case is to help students develop environmental analysis skills. It is designed to be used in a strategy course at an undergraduate or graduate level. Additionally, it may be used in a marketing course to illustrate issues related to loyalty programs or in an international business course to illustrate the impact of environmental uncertainty on managerial decision-making.

Could a small, employee-owned company meet its ambitious growth goals without compromising its high-involvement culture? LightWorks Optics, based in Orange County, California, made highly sophisticated optical components for defense aeronautics, space exploration, and commercial applications. Early in its history, LightWorks had set up an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, under which employees gradually built up equity in the closely held firm. In 2007, the three founders indicated that they hoped to sell their shares to the ESOP trust in a leveraged buyout in 2012. In order for that to happen, the company needed to improve its revenue and profitability significantly; that, in turn, would require that it bring in more contracts, especially ones requiring high-volume production. But, LightWorks had to pay attention to its core capabilities and what it could, and could not, do effectively. Moreover, the company prided itself on its culture of ownership-one in which all employees had a stake in the business and a voice in its decisions. Could the president, Dan Barber, and his top management team reach a consensus on how to expand production without losing the benefits of a culture of ownership?

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., the hybrid corn company division of Dupont, has engaged with PEACE (People's Action for Creative Education) to serve the base of the pyramid markets in India. The partnership between Pioneer and PEACE allows Pioneer to distribute its quality seeds to village farmers through PEACE. This is an example of a for-profit/non-profit partnership serving BoP markets. The case provides an inside look at the impact of the Pioneer/PEACE partnership through interviews with Indian farmers using Pioneer's engineered seeds. It also sheds light on the advantages and limitations of the venture's efforts to reduce production and transactional constraints of the Indian farmers.

General Manager Luke Kolville, of the Los Angeles Spartans, struggles with the best approach to negotiate a long-term contract for his star quarterback. The agent for Washington is relatively new to the industry and has his sights set particularly high. Kolville needs to weigh a number of effects this negotiation will have on the player, his teammates, and the long-term prospects of the team.

ViniBrasil is a small wine venture in Brazil started by a top Portuguese wine company, Dao Sul. ViniBrasil grows its grapes in a novel environment (close to the equator) using innovative management practices such as controlled irrigation and year-round harvesting. ViniBrasil 'Rio Sol' wines, which have received several awards, are sold mainly in Brazil where per capita wine consumption is low and there is strong competition from inexpensive imports. Dao Sul must decide how to expand the Brazilian market and also if there is international potential for the new Brazilian wines.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of West Lake Furnishings Ltd. (West Lake) has been given a proposal from one of his top three wholesale customers: lower the price of a line of signature lamps from $69.99 to $29.99 in exchange for five times the unit sales. The decision point of the case focuses on whether the CEO should or should not take the offer, and answering the question requires a close examination of West Lake's business strategy and its industry. The West Lake case is a short, comprehensive case that is useful for time-pressured situations like case competitions or exams. It can also be used to introduce the Five Forces, or give an overview/review of the entire strategic analysis process.

In September 2003, British Petroleum (BP) formed a 50/50 international joint venture (JV) company, TNK-BP, with a group of Russian investors: Alfa Group, Access Industries and Renova (AAR). This JV was established as a result of the merger of Russian oil companies TNK and Sidanko, owned by AAR, with the majority of BP's Russian oil assets. On May 26, 2008, TNK-BP's chief executive officer, Robert Dudley, told Vedomosti, Russia's leading business daily, about a conflict between British and Russian shareholders. During this dispute, AAR declared that BP treated TNK-BP as its subsidiary and not as a JV. Also, the Russian shareholders criticized the JV's leadership of the company's expansion strategy and climate. As the conflict escalated, BP's leadership needed to decide whether to walk away or continue its participation in the JV.