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Banks throughout New York State suspended specie payments (i.e., payments in gold and silver) in May 1837 following the collapse of several state banks, and the onset of a nationwide financial panic. Amid the chaos, the upstart Whigs were able to depose the longstanding Republican majority in the state legislature. Responding to citizen anger, as well as perennial calls for more banking capital, the Whigs drafted a novel "free banking" bill, which would override the established bank chartering mechanism and allow any association with sufficient capital the opportunity to open a bank and issue bank notes (a widely accepted form of paper money at the time). The bill also required that every note issued by a New York bank be fully backed by bonds or mortgages. if enacted, the bill seemed likely to encourage the establishment of many new banks. There was no telling what the economic impact of the bill's special bank note provisions would be. Once the bill passed the legislature, Governor Marcy had to decide whether to sign this radical proposal into law.

Can one of Hollywood's biggest flops magically turn into a Broadway hit? Xanadu, an adaptation of a 1980 Olivia Newton-John roller-disco film described by one critic as "the epic failure to end all epic failures," opened on Broadway in July 2007. Producer Rob Ahrens, the driving power behind the resurrection, anxiously awaited the verdict of audience members. Was the choice to produce Xanadu the Broadway musical the right choice?

Describes the way in which "Big Four" auditor KPMG dealt with an indictment stemming from the firm's sale of tax shelters. In 2005 Tim Flynn has been KPMG Chairman for a matter of days when he learns that the government is preparing to indict the firm on charges of selling illegal tax shelters. Flynn has to decide whether to fight the charges and risk the dissolution of his firm, or cooperate with investigators, effectively keeping the firm safe but sacrificing the tax partners involved in the shelter sales. Further, the case describes the government's prosecution of former KPMG tax partners and asks students to determine whether prosecutorial tactics during the government's investigation were warranted or represented a case of overreaching.

Describes a highly successful effort by an Indian Charity to feed poor schoolchildren at lunchtime. This provides two significant benefits. It improves nutrition for the children, and helps keep them in school since the provided meal is occasionally the only meal they will have in the day. The organization has had great success in an urban environment, but now seeks a wholly different operations strategy as it stretches out to rural India.

Alejandro Ramirez, the CEO of Cinepolis, the largest film exhibitor in Latin America, sat in the back of row of the company's flagship movie theatre in Mexico City one evening in January 2005. The company was preparing to roll out an expensive new IT platform that streamlined box office, concession stand and warehouse operations. Despite resistance from some senior managers, Cinepolis was considering a thorough (and costly) training program. Ramirez knew he and his executive team had invested wisely in new technologies and now it was time to make those investments pay off.

Until industry deregulation in 2006, Queensland Sugar ran Australia's single desk marketing system for raw sugar exports. Since deregulation, eight of the ten Queensland sugar millers have elected to continue collective marketing through QSL. However, several millers are threatening to leave the group and market on their own. Their primary objection is to QSL's board structure, which is currently divided equally between millers, growers, and independent directors. The case describes the evolution of Australia's sugar industry; the differing interests of growers, millers, and customers; and the impact of changes in global supply (e.g., the rise of Brazil as a major sugarcane and sugar producer) and demand (e.g., the increased use of sugarcane for ethanol production).

A high-ranking district administrator in India, upon taking office, is informed that his predecessor agreed to acquire a plot of land for a local jail. When he learns that the landowner is the wife of an influential local politician, he becomes suspicious and decides to inspect the property himself. Located in the middle of a forest, completely inaccessible to transport, and far from police headquarters, it becomes clear that the land acquisition is designed only to make someone rich at the district's expense. Meanwhile, the real needs of the district-to provide safe drinking water, prevent malaria, improve literacy, invest in employment programs, and wean local youth away from secessionist militancy-are slighted. The administrator decides to stall the acquisition, even while realizing that the effort may put his career, and his programs to help the district, at risk. The case recounts his escalating tactics, from bureaucratic trickery to deliberate deceit and destruction of a government document. It provides a vehicle for discussing the ethical duties of public officials confronted with systemic corruption-and possible strategies for dealing with it. HKS Case Number 1888.0

Entrepreneur Pearse Lyons had built Alltech into the fastest growing company in the global animal health industry through innovative technology, creative marketing, and strong branding. Sel-Plex, a proprietary Alltech product, had shown important health benefits for animals and humans. Although numerous branded selenium-enriched products were being sold in supermarkets around the world, the company's current business model (selling Sel-Plex as an ingredient) did not allow it to participate in the value created. Lyons and Alltech's directors must choose between three different options for Sel-Plex, which include continuing with the current strategy, partnering with animal producers, or marketing Sel-Plex directly to consumers in tablet form.

Jim Rogers, CEO of the energy company Cinergy, has led the company from the brink of bankruptcy to one of the premier energy companies through selecting a focused strategy, aligning the organization to support it, and mobilizing all the employees to implementation. The case also discusses the strategies used by Rogers to communicate the strategy, which included innovative image maps.

Linda Jenkinson, Chairman and CEO of luxury personal services company, LesConcierges (LC), hung up the phone after checking her voicemail in July 2007. She had just received a message from Randy Haykin, an angel investor and board member who had participated in the Series C round that Jenkinson recently raised. After an initial "honeymoon period," she and Haykin had started disagreeing on internal matters, most recently about whether to hire an interim CFO while the company took time to source a permanent candidate. Jenkinson began to wonder whether Haykin had been the best choice for the board and if there was anything she could do to work with him more effectively. Unbeknownst to Jenkinson, Haykin was simultaneously considering whether his investment in LesConcierges would turn out to be the "home run" that he had originally anticipated. He also questioned how he could help solve the challenges facing the company's CEO without damaging their relationship in the process.

Late in September 2001, Hans van Tartwijk, president of Trimp & van Tartwijk Property Development (TvT) of Amsterdam, Holland, was deeply worried about the status of his largest ongoing project; the Amsterdam World Trade Center (WTC). As the discretionary developer, van Tartwijk needed to present his firm's recommendations to WTC owners and municipal stakeholders on how best to manage problems in the renovation of the 27-floor, 60,000 square meter complex. The WTC owners, two Dutch financial institutions, had hired TvT in 1995 to advise out how to best handle their property's under performance, which stood 20% empty and had prematurely aged. 1. Should the Owners sell, perform minimum upgrade or a major upgrade with construction, expansion? 2. What emphasis - commitment made to Green Technologies?

In June 2004, as the newly appointed vice-president of the meals division, Jim Murphy was facing a crisis with one of General Mills' key brands, Hamburger Helper. The metrics for this brand had universally declined with marketing margin, volume, penetration, buy rate, facings, and advertising target rating points all down. In addition, Hamburger Helper was facing an increasingly competitive environment in the dinner category with Kraft, Lipton, ConAgra and Campbell's all recently entering the market. Brainstorming by Hamburger Helper's brand management team resulted in two potential solutions: (1) to reduce production costs through the simplification of the Hamburger Helper line by reducing the complexity of the product and eliminating the less successful SKUs and (2) to re-consider the way that innovation was employed in brand development. How should Jim Murphy and his brand management team in order to turn this brand crisis around?

This case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assesses the company's knowledge-sharing tools and considers his options going Forward. Through informal knowledge marketplaces and sharing networks, Danone had helped managers connect with each other and share good practices peer-to-peer, rather than relying on traditional hierarchical lines of communication or IT repositories. From 2004 to 2007, Mougin and his team had found that 5,000 Danone managers around the world--the company conducted business in 120 countries--had shared about 640 now-documented good practices. In 2007, the strategic importance of saving time in a decentralized organization through adoption of colleagues' good practices was put to a test. Should the knowledge management tools be extended to include all employees and external partners on a regular basis? And on top of sharing good practices, could it be extended to include the creation of new solutions and processes? Would this require more formalization of processes and more tracking of results? The case illustrates Mougin's options on taking knowledge management into the future of Danone.

Students' preparations and first-class discussions focus on the key resources, factors, and relationships that could be causing the poor performance of the student-run consulting organization. Students should develop a causal-loop diagram showing the key resources, feedback relationships, and delays in the system. As a follow up assignment, sufficient information is available for the students to develop a system simulation model. Instructors can choose an alternate assignment requesting students to evaluate and utilize a simulation model developed by the authors. Systems-intervention analysis and policy testing is expected once a valid model is developed or given to the students. Instructors should contact Professor Robert D. Landel at the Darden School for free use of the model.

With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market and New York Stock Exchange, state-owned enterprise, China Netcom was mandated to meet the listing requirements of these exchanges. From this initial step, China Netcom's Chairman, Zhang Chunjiang, began a program that sought to further develop the company's corporate governance practices to meet international corporate governance standards. The company hoped that its commitment in developing a globally-accepted governance structure would help the capital markets and potential investors understand that the company was a true, modern corporation, even with the state as a majority owner.

The case illustrates the challenges of growing sustainably by tracking the 30-year journey of a quintessentially Canadian chef, environmental champion, and strong advocate of slow food, seasonality, local sourcing and artisan food production. Set in mid May 2007, the case decision has Toronto-based Jamie Kennedy pondering several expansion options for Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, a corporation with three main ventures. Jamie Kennedy Kitchens' annual revenues were more than $7 million and earnings before taxes of 6.7 per cent in an industry typically averaging 3.2 per cent were testimony of the growing appeal of organic food and wine pairings. With influential cook-books, global accolades, rave reviews by acclaimed food critics, and a fast growing base of satisfied customers, Jamie Kennedy was well positioned for growth. Yet Jamie Kennedy grappled with the implications of growth for the core pillars of his business. The case explores the trade-offs between financially profitable growth and Jamie Kennedy's determination to stay true to local sourcing and cooking with seasonal ingredients and his environmental values. The case asks students to anticipate growth alternatives and articulate their points of leverage or disconnect with Jamie Kennedy Kitchens current business model, as well as Jamie Kennedy's cuisine and personal values.

Samsung Electronics (Samsung) managing director had presented the new management philosophy for achieving leadership in a global market. The three-part strategy would prioritize quality, globalization, and multifaceted integration, in that order. After a restructuring effort, Samsung had emerged as a leader in the global electronics industry. Now, considering the new management philosophy and several other factors, the managing director faced the decision of whether Samsung should enter the Indian market.

Don Jenkins, a star event planner at a large firm, resigns to take a position at a boutique firm. However, Don may have made some mistakes when departing that could be trouble later on down the road. The case can be used to teach the business and legal aspects of employee departures and explore turnover dynamics in professional service organizations.