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Abhi Shah ('06) co-founding CEO of Clutch Group in the US and Bangalore, must decide whether to risk a law suit by recruiting an entire legal services team from a large US corporation. His decision and how he implements it will have a dramatic impact on the legal process outsourcing startup.

The case follows Rose Hanna and her three business partners (Richard Hanna, Bob Francis and Faye Francis) as they launch and grow a scientific instrument company, MicroSample. It covers the idea discovery stage, their decision to work together as a team, and their approach to bootstrapping the company. The case then highlights some of the complexities involved in managing a new and growing business. Specifically, the founders go through a lengthy process trying to find a licensing partner, only to then discover that the economics make much more sense for them to remain independent and sell directly to customers. Finally, the case covers the interpersonal dynamics and relationships of the four founders (two married couples) and some resulting problems and issues.

At Merrimack Tractors and Mowers in 2008, product manufacturing costs are increasing faster than competitors' costs, and as a result earnings are likely to fall below those reported in 2007. The company president and the company controller have discussed this problem, and the controller has mentioned that if the company changed from LIFO to FIFO it might be possible to maintain earnings growth in 2008. He prepares a memo to the president explaining how inventory flow assumptions work and provides pro-forma income statements that show that, for one product (reel mower units), adopting FIFO would allow Merrimack to report higher income in 2008 than it did in 2007, but higher income taxes would have to be paid.

Ginger Graham, CEO of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, joined the company with the expectation of taking the company's signature drug, Symlin, to market. However, unforeseen regulatory challenges have put the approval process in jeopardy. At the same time the company has a second drug, Byetta, in its pipeline. Graham must decide how to manage the company's limited resources while also finalizing another deal that has huge future potential. Graham knows that Amylin's immediate success depends on its ability to commercialize its products but its long-term success depends on replenishing its pipeline. Can the company do it all successfully?

Proteus is a healthcare start-up that has developed technology to embed electronics for computing and sensing in existing medical devices and drugs. The technology could potentially change the basis of competition in the pharmaceutical industry. The company is currently considering a number of licensing and business development deals and must choose which one(s) to pursue.

This case describes the evolution of a fast growing Indian energy firm. It illustrates both leadership change as Hema is evolving as a leader, as well as how organization Architecture (culture, systems, incentives and human resources) is evolving. The case highlights a set of decisions Hema makes to build the firm.

The Dell story is well-known in the business world: a young Michael Dell, while attending the University of Texas in Austin, founds a computer sales company that eventually revolutionizes the industry. The case puts students in the position of a senior executive at Dell who is preparing for an investor relations meeting. As the senior executive reviews information on his company, he wonders how best to convey to skeptical investors that Dell's strategy will return the company to growth. In examining the Dell story, students learn about how Dell built up a set of competitive advantages that seemed unassailable until the early 2000s. The second part of the case illustrates the impermanence of competitive advantages - it describes how Dell is attempting to remake itself after falling behind its competitors.

This case covers Terry Leahy's career at Tesco, the UK-based retailer, and especially the ten years since he became CEO in 1997. Tesco has come a long way since the early 1990s, when it was playing second fiddle to Sainsbury's. It now has a 30% share of the UK groceries market, almost as big as its two closest competitors, Sainsbury's and the Wal-Mart-backed Asda, put together. It has used its solid domestic base to develop its international operations, culminating with the launch of a chain of convenience stores on Wal-Mart's home turf in late 2007. The case looks at the leader who has overseen this remarkable progress, Terry Leahy. It traces his rise from council house kid to Britain's most admired business leader (five times running) and adviser to the British prime minister. His success is all the more surprising given his low-key style and lack of charisma. We look at the other factors - such as ambition, passion and personal example - that have contributed to his rise, effectiveness and longevity as a leader. Learning Objectives: This case allows instructors to examine Terry Leahy's leadership through three lenses: in terms of the desirable personal traits of an effective leader; the main competencies required; and the critical roles played by the leader. These three perspectives are complementary and allow participants to get a full appreciation of the challenge of leadership - covering how leaders need to be, what they need to know, and what they need to do. The case also allows exploration of other issues, related to learning, surrounding oneself, time allocation and maintaining one's edge over time.

"In November 2006, 200 German policemen and prosecutors raided 30 offices and homes of Siemens managers to investigate allegations of embezzlement at Siemens' fixed-line phone unit. In the wake of internal investigations started at the end of 2006, Siemens finally admitted to having identified dubious payments amounting to €1.3 billion from the years 1999 to 2006. As a result, Siemens replaced all but one of its managing board members. At the end of July 2008, a former sales manager at Siemens' telecoms division, was convicted for his role in setting up the slush funds used to win contracts. The same day, the supervisory board approved the recommendations a well-known law firm to sue almost all executive committee members in charge between 2003 and 2006. Learning objectives: To introduce students to the issues surrounding corruption in international business."

Tata Motors is one of the crown jewels of the Tata Group, India's premier industrial house. In Fiscal Year 2008 the company sold 585,649 vehicles and had a turnover of INR 335 billion (Indian rupees) (US$8.4 billion), making it the largest automobile company in India. Tata Motors had ambitious plans to double the number of vehicles that it sold in a mere five years by maintaining its lead in the booming Indian market and by establishing a greater global presence. The case describes Tata Motors' journey to becoming a global contender. It traces the company's business portfolio and strategy, its dramatic turnaround in 2000-2002, its strengthened position in India in both commercial vehicles and passenger cars, as well as its diversification into international markets through greenfield ventures, as well as acquisitions and alliances - notably the Jaguar LandRover purchase in 2008. In January 2008, Tata Motors unveiled the Tata Nano, priced at INR 100,000 or one lakh ($2,500), the cheapest car in the world. By entering two of the fastest growing areas of the automotive industry (the premium and small car segments), Tata Motors company was firmly on the path to becoming a global contender. Learning objectives: The case has the following objectives: 1) Introduce students to Tata Motors - an emerging global player in the auto industry from India; 2) Understand and critique the company's domestic strategy to date (including the launch of the Nano); 3) Review its international strategy to date (including its acquisition of Jaguar and LandRover; 4) Discuss how the company's Managing Director should address the challenges facing the company.

Green Dot was a charter management organization (CMO) based in Los Angeles, California (L.A.), a city that housed the second-largest school district in the country. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) was known for its largely ethnic student population (75 percent Hispanic and 11 percent African American) and multiple challenges ranging from poor performance to violence to low graduation rates. High school graduation rates in the district were only 45 percent (compared to 68 percent nationally), with Hispanic students graduating at a rate of only 39 percent. Gary Orfield of the Harvard Civil Rights Project called the city's high schools "dropout factories." By 2008, Green Dot had opened 12 charter high schools in some of the highest-need areas of L.A., hoping to demonstrate "that public schools can do a far better job of educating students if schools are operated more effectively." Founder, Steve Barr and his team had their own ideas about the tipping point and its metrics, which were both quantitative (e.g., 10 percent market share of schools within LAUSD) and qualitative, in terms of gains in political influence. As Barr and his Green Dot team worked towards opening of new school, Locke in the fall of 2008, Barr was both nervous and optimistic. He knew the future of Los Angeles students, parents, and their communities depended on the success of his team. He wondered if his new transformation strategy was the optimal strategy. He also wondered if his thinking about the tipping point would give him and his team the best chance for success.

Rising food prices threatened an unprecedented number of people around the world with malnutrition or starvation in 2008. The new Executive Director of the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP)--the world's largest food relief agency-- must not only address this challenge but also must rethink the WFP's strategy in the rapidly-changing world of humanitarian assistance.

For several months, founder-CEO Evan Williams has felt trapped, unable to control Odeo and its strategic direction. He longs for the "simple" days of Blogger, the previous venture he had co-founded. Although his Blogger experiences had included a major blow-up with his co-founder that had resulted in legal proceedings, a brush with near-bankruptcy, and the laying off of his entire team, Williams has become even more disillusioned with his current venture, Odeo. Odeo, a podcasting pioneer, had debuted almost two years before and had gotten off to a very strong start, with a high-profile debut at a prominent industry conference, coverage on the front page of the New York Times' Business section, and the raising of a large round of financing from a top-tier venture capital firm. His attempts to find an acquirer have failed, layoffs have begun, and he is now facing a meeting with an increasingly hostile board of directors. At that meeting, he is very tempted to resign so he can move on to his next project and regain the thrill of being an entrepreneur.

In December 2008, in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Rosetree Capital Management was evaluating the purchase of a pool of U.S. residential mortgages. The firm had formed an investment vehicle to acquire troubled residential mortgages from banks and other motivated sellers. The idea was to purchase mortgage loans at a discount and to work with individual borrowers to restructure their debts. Performing mortgages could then potentially be resold in the secondary market. The case provides cash flow projections in various economic scenarios that are revealing of the economics of troubled mortgages and home foreclosure. Rosetree needed to decide whether and how much to bid for the loans.

This case examines the proposed purchase by Paul Capital Partners of a limited partnership (LP) interest in a private equity fund. Paul Capital has a fund dedicated to buying these "secondary" LP interests. The case is intended as a vehicle for discussing the secondary LP market as well as the valuation of LP interests.

In January 2004, the chairman of the India-based Tata Group, announced that the Tata Group would focus its efforts on international expansion to become globally competitive. This largely domestic vehicle manufacturing firm subsequently acquired a leading established South Korean firm, Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company (DCVC). This case focuses on the background of the firms and the acquisition, and the bidding and acquisition process. It provides information on the interests of the acquirer and target, and how both came to see the value in the acquisition. The Tata Group acquisition presents an uncommon situation of how an Indian firm acquired a firm in South Korea while overcoming a series of cultural and other barriers. An analysis of this case provides the basis for determining what criteria should be considered to guide a successful acquisition. A companion case to Tata Motors' Integration of Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company, #908M95.

In January 2004, the chairman of the India-based Tata Group, announced that the Tata Group would focus its efforts on international expansion to become globally competitive. This largely domestic vehicle manufacturing firm subsequently acquired a leading established South Korean firm, Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company (DCVC). This case complements the case "Tata Motors' Acquisition of Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company, #9B08M094. Commencing from the successful completion of the acquisition of DCVC, this case details the strategic, organizational and operational changes implemented to integrate the two firms. The value of this case is twofold: 1) it demonstrates how firms can effectively integrate an acquired firm, particularly in terms of the wide range of strategic and tactical actions; and 2) it provides an example of a firm that takes an unorthodox approach to integration. Students have an opportunity to evaluate the factors that determine the success of a post-acquisition integration.

This case is meant to be used in conjunction with the extant "Cola Wars" case studies. It outlines the global positions of Pepsi and Coca-Cola as of 2008 in the soft drink market, and then provides an overview of their competitive situations in three markets: Mexico, China, and India. The case raises the issue of whether any or all of these markets are a) structurally attractive for soft drink firms, and b) if so, how can Pepsi best "catch-up" with Coca-Cola in a given market.     

The case examines one of the most significant infrastructure projects in southeastern Europe during a time when the legal and financial environment for project financing was in its infancy (early to mid-1990s). Athens needed a ring road to support its bid to host the 2004 Olympic Games. The road was technically-as well as logistically-complex, involving 33 municipalities and construction that involved a major metropolitan area (Athens) populated by more than 3.5 million inhabitants. The case examines the economics of the project, how private-public partnerships (PPP) are structured, and the broader field of infrastructure finance.

McDonald's, the world-famous American fast food franchisor, entered mainland China in 1990, when Chinese franchise law did not even exist. In this once-closed country whose market only opened up to foreign investors in 1978, McDonald's had to adapt to an unfamiliar and rapidly changing environment. Not only was food culture in China vastly different from that in the West, but food culture, lifestyles and legal structure were altering as a result of surging economic growth and massive urbanization. Competition was also intensifying as local and foreign restaurants sought to capitalize on China's increasing affluence. As the growing middle class demanded higher standards from these companies, McDonald's local business practices in terms of food healthiness, employee welfare and other socio-environmental issues were put under close scrutiny in China. While the nation's booming economy provided environmental conditions suitable for fast-food culture, the environment also posed challenges to the survival of fast-food operators in the country. Would McDonald's be able to sustain its momentum as China transformed into a developed nation?