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A couple has to decide whether to continue renting a townhouse or buy the one next door. Allows for a discussion of net present value, internal rate of return, and the costs and benefits of homeownership.

Melissa Howland, founder of an investment firm, must choose between two competing investments, which differ in size, maturity, and rate of return.

In early 2003, CEO Ben Verwaayen and Chief Broadband Officer Alison Ritchie of BT Plc. are trying to transform the former British Telecom from a stodgy telephone company into a 21st century broadband company. Their efforts to focus the firm on broadband issues within the UK are being thwarted by a reluctant management team. Discusses the problems Verwaayen and Ritchie face in forging a social revolution within BT and illustrates the challenges of cross line of business innovation.

On a recent visit to Australia, Anna Amphlett and Andrew Ferris observed Australians consuming large numbers of meat pies, the national food of Australia. Believing that Americans would also enjoy consuming meat pies, they developed plans to sell authentic Australian meat pies-Aussie Pies-from a store at Seattle, Washington's Pike Place Market. Amphlett and Ferris obtained information on the costs of making a meat pie and operating a store at Pike Place Market. Market research provided estimates of how much consumers might pay for a meat pie, given competition from traditional U.S. fast food, such as hamburgers and hot-dogs.

Covers inter-firm, IT-enabled supply chain collaboration and focuses on supplier-manufacturer collaboration. To assess collaboration from a holistic point of view, the case describes the distinct role played by the various parties involved in the collaborative effort: the manufacturer and its supply base, as well as a consulting firm, a supply chain process outsourcing company, and a software provider. Centers on the two latter companies--World Wide Technology (WWT), a $2 billion supply chain process outsourcing company based in St. Louis, and ClearOrbit, a rapidly growing software company based in Austin, Texas. Presents the story of a world-class automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) whose purchasing operations for maintenance, repair, and operations material had grown complex, costly, and error prone. In mid-2004, WWT, along with a consulting firm, proposed an outsourcing program to the OEM: the consulting firm would perform strategic sourcing and WWT would manage the entire fulfillment cycle. A critical feature of this program was that it would be collaborative. Early on in the program, however, it became apparent to WWT that delivering on the collaborative requirements of the program demanded the aid of specialized technological capabilities. WWT decided to partner with ClearOrbit, a company that had recently developed an Internet-based solution for companies to manage POs, deliveries, and invoices with a supply base regardless of size and technological resources available at each supplier. Describes the challenges of design, implementation, and growth of the program.

SAP seeks growth in the small- and medium-sized enterprise market. To do so, it has created a platform strategy with SAP Netweaver. What are the advantages and challenges for an incumbent entering a new market? What are the benefits and challenges of implementing a platform strategy?

GE believes its ability to develop management talent is a core competency that represents a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Traces the development of a 25-year-old MBA named Jeff Immelt, who 18 years later is named as CEO of GE, arguably the biggest and most complex corporate leadership job in the world, and how he frames and implements his priorities for GE. Describes the processes that guided Immelt's own developments and the strategic changes Immelt adopts in his first year as CEO, when he pulls hard on the sophisticated human resource levers his predecessors left him. Immelt questions whether the changes in place will foster the development of the next generation of GE growth leaders.

Describes a set of financing issues confronting a rapidly growing company that uses "Word of Mouth" marketing techniques in promoting research, new products, or services. The company proposes to set the terms for a new round of venture capital it needs and to have venture capitalists bid for the right to invest on those terms by proving that they can add value to BzzAgent, Inc.

Describes the company's year-long efforts to transition from a medical device company selling products to physicians for use with patients suffering chronic end-stage disease, to a medical technology company providing life-long solutions for people with chronic diseases. With the new vision setting direction, the CEO calls for business plans to implement that vision. Enables readers to analyze the business plan and make recommendations for funding.

In 2002, Population Services International (PSI) was committed to curbing the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in India. Sanjay Chaganti, program director of HIV/AIDS at PSI India, has to decide on the best communication strategy to achieve this goal. Up to this date most efforts consisted of on-the-ground efforts by PSI personnel, but Chaganti was considering shifting a significant portion of funds to a provocative mass media advertising campaign. The campaign would feature a fictional character-Balbir Pasha. At one extreme the campaign would impact that target population and lift barriers to safe sex practices. At the other extreme the campaign could be controversial, ineffective, and squander precious resources.

Involves the copyright issues associated with Bram Cohen's revolutionary program BitTorrent, which makes it possible to transfer very large files, such as movies, at a high speed over the Internet. The program, which is available for free over the Internet, is used for peer-to-peer sharing of movies and music and for the legitimate distribution of licensed software, including games. Discusses Warner Bros.' online distribution strategy as well as the negotiations between BitTorrent and the Movie Picture Association of America and Warner Bros. that ultimately led to Warner Bros.' agreement to make BitTorrent its first authorized peer-to-peer film distributor.

In 2003, the $654 million American Heart Association (AHA) approached Cone, Inc. (a brand and communications agency) to develop a corporate sponsorship strategy that would raise $75 million over three years. Within 12 months, the AHA launched the highly successful Go Red For Women campaign to help women understand their risk for heart disease. But Go Red became more than a fundraising vehicle. It energized the AHA and its 22 million volunteers, and potentially sparked a long-term movement focused on women and their prevention of heart disease. Traces the development of the relationship between Cone and the AHA and the development of the Go Red For Women campaign. Challenges students to assess the success of Go Red and its impact on the AHA and its goals. Concludes by summarizing three of the AHA's other health initiatives and questions the appropriate role for the AHA and cause marketing.

Patrimonio Hoy, a program targeting the housing needs of low-income families launched by CEMEX, a major Mexican corporation and a leading global cement company, has gone from a market research project to a highly visible initiative in 22 cities and has earned public recognition. The president of Cemex North America must decide whether it is corporate social responsibility or a new business line. In the process, it allows analysis of the Patrimonio Hoy program versus the traditional alternatives from the perspectives of both the end-user and of the corporation.

This case illustrates the process and challenges of designing a new product and then making it a reality. It examines a myriad of product development, manufacturing and launch challenges confronting entrepreneurs with resource constraints. It does this from two perspectives: that of a product designer and that of an entrepreneur and business owner. Thus, the issues are both creative and practical.

Studies an entrepreneurial venture in Mexico City. The protagonists, two MBAs from HBS, started a pawn shop chain funded from their private equity office after finishing business school. This is timed at a point where the protagonists have to decide how to grow the pawn shop chain in order to compete with other Mexican and U.S. pawn shop chains that are growing aggressively in the country. Central is the decision of how to finance growth. Different growth alternatives are explored, each entailing different funding needs and exit strategies. The setting in Mexico illustrates the differences in entrepreneurship in Latin America or other developing regions compared to the United States. The difference lies in the difficulty of finding institutional funding. As a result, most of the funding has to come from "angel investors".

Since 2004, Philip Yea, the first outsider ever to lead 3i Group, one of Europe's largest publicly listed private equity firms, has been trying to help the far flung organization become more of a streamlined partnership even as it functions around the globe. As he considers 3i's performance through the first quarter of 2006 (3i's fiscal year 2006), he must balance his satisfaction at the firm's results and progress in the recent buoyant market with the question of whether the firm's people, strategy, and goals are sufficiently aligned that it can survive and prosper in the coming market correction.

On October 3, 2005, Washington Mutual acquired Providian Financial Corporation, the ninth-largest credit card issuer in the U.S., for $6.5 billion. At the time, Providian had approximately 10 million customer relationships and a balance of $18.6 billion. For some observers, the transaction was merely the end of another chapter in the history of the fast consolidating credit card market. For Providian CEO Joseph Saunders, it was vindication of four years' hard work in turning around a company that many thought was close to bankruptcy.

Looks at the development of the competitive actions between Airbus and Boeing from 1992 to 2006. Begins with the question of whether Airbus and Boeing should collaborate on the development of a VLCT (Very Large Commercial Transport) or whether Airbus should develop their own. The case series moves through to the events thereafter of Airbus' decision to pursue the A380 and Boeing's decision relating to developing a stretch 747.

Looks at the multinational company, Philips Electronics, which is headquartered in the Netherlands, as an example of a company with a two-tiered board. The company is governed by both a supervisory board and a board of management. Examines the role, dynamic, and best practices of each of the two boards. Additionally, the case examines the relationship between the two boards and the key factors in determining that relationship.

The case describes Shell's evolution within the context of sensitive human rights issues related to oil exploration and exploitation in Nigeria. Given that much of the revenue from Nigerian oil resources was being "siphoned" off by corrupt state governors, the case focuses on issues relevant to government transparency and corruption. It describes Shell's involvement in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and its collaboration with the Nigerian Government to instigate a more transparent reporting on oil revenues. However, since two senior Shell executives involved in EITI and negotiations with the government are about to retire from the company, the prospect of briefing their successors on the complexity of the Nigerian situation brings a number of questions that still remain to be answered "to the table". Learning objective: Participants learn about the invasive nature of corruption and its effect on human rights, but more specifically about the role of a multinational versus the role of the government when trying to deal with such issues. Participants will also learn a great deal about the complexity of sustainability issues for corporations, particularly human rights, issues. There is also learning about the scope and limits of corporate responsibility, and the difficulties that all players face in tough market conditions and a on a "non-level playing field". Participants can develop new insights on ways of operating responsibly, creating valuable partnerships and interacting in a global, but socially responsible, context.