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Explores the journey of aggressive learning and capability building in the operations of a major Korean Shipbuilder. While DSHM had once used its superior learning capability to topple its Japanese competition, it now faced the potential for a similar attack from new Chinese competitors. Without outsourcing some of its work to China, DSHM would become uncompetitive. However, in outsourcing the work, some skills would necessarily have to be transferred, potentially teaching the future competition and providing them with a platform to attack DSHM's core markets.

Multiple delays of the Airbus A380 have shocked analysts and investors alike. What are the causes of these delays and how should investors respond to the signals they may be sending about the company's outlook?

These instructional materials are positioned to be a useful means for reviewing certain aspects of financial reporting. They are purposeful, yet a bit playful; discussion-oriented, yet focused on the important dimensions of the financial reporting world. In particular, the six tasks presented pertain to: The nature of the different sets of books companies keep in order to comply with external financial reporting requirements, income tax laws, and internal operating decision-making needs; Seven recurring components of a typical corporate annual report; Foundational accounting concepts; Perspectives of various constituencies regarding the financial reporting standards-making process; The issue undergirding the adoption of international financial reporting standards; Highlight several contemporary, hot-button financial reporting issues.

Frustrated by not being able to find a pair of red cowboy boots in her size, a Florida woman, who works as a bookkeeper, and her out-of-work husband decide to open their own business. Although the store manages to earn a small profit, early sales returns dampen the couple's enthusiasm. Now they need to plan for the year ahead. Students are given a balance sheet and income statement for 2006, and are asked to prepare a forecasted balance sheet and income statement for 2007.

In mid-January 2008, Merrill Lynch announced a $6.6 billion mandatory convertible-preferred share issuance, much of which was placed privately with the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the Korean Investment Corporation (KIC), and the Mizuho Corporate Bank. The case is set amid the subprime-mortgage crisis, which plagued banks and depleted their capital. It focuses on the decision of John Thain to issue capital and place it with sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in an effort to stabilize the company and put it on the road of growth and profitability again. The case describes the various types and origins of SWFs, their orientation, and their recent intensive investment activity in the global financial-services sector. The case also discusses the transparency of SWFs and their role in the global financial system as liquidity-providing long-term players. Finally, Merrill Lynch's decision to issue the specific financial instrument to replenish its capital (mandatory convertible-preferred) and its terms are analyzed.

Antrix is the marketing arm of the Indian government space agency. The company slowly established a track record for technical capability in the manufacture and launch of satellites, apart from supplying remote sensing data from its own satellites, for international clients. Seeing opportunities in the global commercial space industry, the company decided to set market share goals to pursue the segments of satellite manufacturing, satellite services and launch services globally. However, as a government-owned company that relies on a network of other government agencies for its manufacturing and services, it is not clear that the company has either picked its segments and goals carefully, or whether it has the organizational capabilities to deliver on its ambitions. The Managing Director is faced with the challenge of aligning organizational capabilities to take advantage of global opportunities.

On January 11, 2006, residents of New Orleans's Broadmoor neighborhood, which still bore the deep scars left by Hurricane Katrina, were shocked by the headlines in The Times-Picayune. The Urban Planning Committee of a mayoral commission charged with developing a reconstruction plan for the hurricane-ravaged city had proposed giving hard-hit neighborhoods like Broadmoor four months to prove that they were still viable and, hence, worth rebuilding. Worse still, the paper had printed a composite map, drawn from the committee's report, which showed six green dots indicating low-lying areas that could be turned into parks and "greenspace." One of those green dots covered Broadmoor. Incensed at what they viewed as a betrayal by their own city government, Broadmoor residents who had returned to salvage their flood-damaged homes began to consider how to save their neighborhood from the bulldozers. Their efforts quickly coalesced around the Broadmoor Improvement Association-a venerable neighborhood organization-and a determination to create their own plan for recovery. A core group of residents-many of whom had never met each other and none of whom had ever worked on a redevelopment plan-would take the lead in organizing the planning process for the still-scattered community.

On January 11, 2006, residents of New Orleans's Broadmoor neighborhood, which still bore the deep scars left by Hurricane Katrina, were shocked by the headlines in The Times-Picayune. The Urban Planning Committee of a mayoral commission charged with developing a reconstruction plan for the hurricane-ravaged city had proposed giving hard-hit neighborhoods like Broadmoor four months to prove that they were still viable and, hence, worth rebuilding. Worse still, the paper had printed a composite map, drawn from the committee's report, which showed six green dots indicating low-lying areas that could be turned into parks and "greenspace." One of those green dots covered Broadmoor. Incensed at what they viewed as a betrayal by their own city government, Broadmoor residents who had returned to salvage their flood-damaged homes began to consider how to save their neighborhood from the bulldozers. Their efforts quickly coalesced around the Broadmoor Improvement Association-a venerable neighborhood organization-and a determination to create their own plan for recovery. A core group of residents-many of whom had never met each other and none of whom had ever worked on a redevelopment plan-would take the lead in organizing the planning process for the still-scattered community.

The growing globalization of many industries has led many U.S.-based companies to open facilities overseas. In the process, researchers have counseled U.S. companies to adopt many local customs and policies to increase their probability of success in these new locations. During this same time period, many foreign-owned companies have moved into the United States and either purchased existing facilities or started new operations. The purpose of this case is to investigate how a non-American company (Toivonen) has adapted to the U.S. environment. It assesses the role of the parent company culture in the day-to-day operations of the American subsidiary.

After years of rapid growth and stock price appreciation, New Century Financial Corporation, one of the largest subprime loan originators in the U.S., reported accounting problems in early 2007. The resulting liquidity crisis forced the company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to the Bankruptcy Examiner assigned to investigate New Century, the company's troubles "were an early contributer to the subprime meltdown" which fueled a financial crisis in the U.S. and beyond. The case study examines New Century's business model and accounting practices and focuses on the role of management, audit committee, and external auditors in the problems at New Century based on the findings of the Bankruptcy Examiner.

This field-based case describes the approach and decisions used by Harris Corporation's vice president of supply chain management and operations to establish a set of financial benchmarks. It requires students to use those benchmarks to decide what areas need focus to potentially raise the company's financial results and elevate its financial performance through specific actions within its supply-chain group.

This case outlines the dilemma of V. Raja, president and CEO of GE Healthcare India, when the company's ultrasound machines were implicated in many cases of prenatal sex determination. Even in the 21st century, Indian society favored males and many in India saw females as a burden on their families. Studies had shown that fewer and fewer girls were being born, with potentially catastrophic results for future Indian society. The reason: Many women were relying on ultrasound machines to determine the gender of their fetus and, if it were a girl, having abortions. Raja knew that GE Healthcare and ultrasound machines were providing much better medical care for Indians, particularly those in rural communities, and that the company was following all the rules and regulations to prevent this type of abuse. But he also understood the social issues that were involved. Ultrasound machine sales had enormous potential to help maintain GE's market-leading position in India. But should the company step back from its aggressive sales strategy? How could Raja and the company alleviate the growing discontent among critics and the media against the practice of prenatal sex determination testing using GE's ultrasound machines? What additional efforts did GE need to make to prove its intentions of promoting prenatal care? What other efforts should the company make to stop the illicit prenatal gender determination and resulting abortions? How could he protect the as yet untarnished image of GE as a responsible corporation going forward?

In 2006, Merrill Lynch became the lead book runner for a $5 billion convertible bond issue for MoGen, Inc., which was the single-largest convertible bond issuance in history. Merrill Lynch's Equity Derivatives Group needed to convince MoGen's management of the best coupon rate and conversion premium for MoGen and the potential investors in the issue. This pricing decision requires students understand the concept of valuing a convertible as the sum of a straight bond plus the conversion option. Valuing the conversion option as a call option requires the estimation of the Black-Scholes model, with the volatility being a particularly challenging input. The case is designed for students who already have a basic knowledge of bond valuation and option-pricing principles and works well with undergraduate, MBA, and executive education audiences. The instructor may choose to teach the case in one class period or two.

"The diversity lady has a label on her forehead and talks about the standard message," one senior executive at a large corporation said. "It's the same message we got 20 years ago. We do it annually but employees never get any of that. I've never had a diversity talk to my staff." Traditional diversity initiatives generally focus on specific dimensions of difference such as gender, race, sexual orientation, able-bodiedness, or religion. This material involves role-plays among a diverse group of players that encourage inclusion of a broader scope of social-identity differences such as diversity of problem-solving styles and emotional intelligence differences.

In 2007, Dr. Mark Horton took over as the head of the new California Department of Public Health (CDPH), at time when the governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, had already identified obesity as a prevention priority in his health care reform proposal. However, it was not immediately clear how the CDPH should prioritize the spending on obesity prevention, nor how it should measure and evaluate the success of its interventions. A wide range of possibilities were on the table, accompanied by strong advocates on each side.

Considers the situation facing David Barger, President and CEO of JetBlue Airways, in May 2007 as he addresses the airline's need to slow its growth rate in the response to increasing fuel costs and the effects of major operational crisis for the airline in February 2007. In 2005, JetBlue-typically viewed as a low-cost carrier (LCC)-made a move that is often considered antithetical to the LCC model. Specifically, JetBlue moved from a single aircraft type (i.e., the Airbus 320, or A320) to a fleet with two types of aircraft by adding the smaller Embraer 190, or E190. Students are initially asked to consider the impact of this decision on JetBlue's operations strategy and business model. They are then asked to consider how the reductions in aircraft capacity growth should be spread across the two plane types. This discussion hinges not only on issues of aircraft efficiency but also on those of operational focus and the ultimate competitive priorities of the airline as a whole.

In 2006, Talbots, Inc., a specialty women's retailer, purchased a competitor, J. Jill. The transaction created a large goodwill account along with accounts for trademarks and other intangible assets. Using prevailing accounting standards (Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142), Talbots determined that the goodwill was not impaired in its Fiscal Year 2007 and it was carried forward at its purchase cost. However, one year later Talbots found the goodwill impaired, along with the trademarks and some store assets acquired from J. Jill in 2006, and these impairments were deducted from revenues in Fiscal Year 2008. Case includes financial statements.

The Crescent Standard Investment Bank Limited (CSIBL) was the largest investment bank quoted on all the stock exchanges in Pakistan, so when it declared a huge loss of Rs2.1 billion (US$35.5 million) for the year December 31, 2005 the market was taken by surprise. There had been some rumors that all was not well and that the investment banking regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), had sent a team to investigate the affairs of the bank. Since the main shareholders were individuals or companies of the well-known business group known as the Crescent Group, there was enormous interest in the CSIBL affairs by financial and political circles as well. The case describes the various types of entities that were merged to form the CSIBL, principally to protect the stakeholders by creating an entity with a large capitalization. The bank had reported in its annual reports that all the internal control mechanisms for good governance stipulated by the SECP were in place and the auditors (internal and external) had reported that these were satisfactory. Yet, when subjected to an investigation, it was revealed that the internal management was involved in a variety of acts of misrepresentation and concealment. The case focuses on the weaknesses in the structure of the corporate governance regime in Pakistan. The fact remains that no amount of internal or external checks can stop the internal management from colluding to perpetuate a fraud.

To make its supply chain fit for the future, Hilti, a global player in the construction industry, is revising its current supply chain setup. In particular, the firm has identified three restructuring alternatives: (1) Low pain low gain: Keep the existing supply chain setup and pursue only minor changes. (2) Consolidate around existing structures: Increase the profitability of the existing structures and consolidate production. Closures of individual plants might be necessary. (3) Greenfield: Exploit the potential of a low-cost region and shift the entire production to new facilities in Eastern Europe. The case takes a look at the different options Hilti has and outlines the underlying strategic alternatives. Learning objectives: While discussing the case, students will specifically learn about the chances, difficulties and trade-offs between different objectives involved with supply chain reorganization.