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The president of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust had just returned to his office after meeting with Britain's Prince Charles, who was on an official visit to Mumbai. The trust was the managing organization of the dabbawallah meal delivery network. The dabbawallah's service was cited internationally by management scholars and industry executives as exemplary in supply chain and service management as well as delivery reliability. However, many observers now expressed concerns over the future viability of the dabbawallah's service given the difficulty in duplicating its delivery network elsewhere, the emergence of other lunch competitors in Mumbai, and an array of environmental changes affecting both its customers and the workforce.

D-Wave Systems is a start-up seeking to commercialize a quantum computer. Its business model is unique: as of 2003, it had very few technical resources within the firm. Instead, it financed a series of projects undertaken at universities and government labs. In return for partial funding, these organizations gave D-Wave the ownership of--or exclusive rights to--intellectual property developed in the project. Geordie Rose, CEO of D-Wave, wonders how long this model is appropriate in contrast to the alternative of centralizing the research in an in-house facility, with all the costs this would incur.

It was January and Porsche-the legendary manufacturer of performance sports cars-wished to reevaluate rate strategy. Porsche's management had always been unconcerned about opinions of the equity market, buts its currency hedging strategy was becoming something of a lighting rod for criticism. Although the currency hedging results had been positive, many experts believed that Porsche had simply been "more lucky than good." There was a growing nervousness among analysts that the company was actually speculating on currency movements, and that was not in the best interests of shareholders. Analysts were estimating that more than 40% of earnings were to come from currency hedging. Porsche's President and CEO, Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, now wished to revisit the company's exposure management strategy.

This case explores the topic of offshoring high-tech jobs several perspectives. The issues presented include determining the stock price consequences of offshoring, examining the economic consequences of the offshore job to both the transferring and receiving countries, considering the competitive consequences of not offshoring, and thinking through the challenge of investing in a career that is vulnerable to future offshoring.

A consulting firm to institutional investors recommends selling Enron Corp.'s equity short on May 6, 2001, while many sellside analysts are recommending the stock as a "buy."

A venture capitalist faces a situation in which a struggling portfolio company has found a promising vice president of sales through a recruitment agency. The candidate would be an excellent fit for another one of the investor's companies--one that is doing much better. Yet, that firm has not embarked on a formal search.

The director of the lubricants business for Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada is facing a significant challenge--overcoming customer apathy about changing motor oil. Increasing the frequency of oil changes and improving retention of its customers were critical for the financial success of the company. In response to this challenge, the director had to decide on the adoption and implementation of a major new promotional program: One-to-One. The program was designed to create closer relationships among consumers, retailers, and Pennzoil-Quaker State. Making the program work required active cooperation on the part of retail installers who performed the oil changes.

On April 26, 2003, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker opened its second retail store in the newly renovated San Francisco Ferry Building, joining a number of other prestigious artisan food and specialty retail shops at this prime location. The opening of this second store took place in the midst of the company's rapid expansion. Scharffen Berger had recently raised $4 million in its second round of funding, and it had grown at an average rate of 60% over the past five years. As the first new chocolate-making company to open its doors in the United States in the past 50 years, Scharffen Berger had achieved unprecedented success in an industry dominated by a handful of large-scale producers. Since they first set up shop in 1996, the company's two founders--John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg--gained national attention for their high-quality chocolate produced with small-scale European artisan methods. Through their dedication to quality, Scharffen Berger became a media darling and an important player in the burgeoning gourmet chocolate industry. Maintaining its carefully developed reputation for quality while expanding production capabilities was likely to be a key issue for the company as it continued to grow.

In November 2002, a California state court required the California Public Employees' Retirement Systems (CalPERS) to publicly report its returns on private-equity investments. This case examines the controversy surrounding the disclosure of private-equity returns mandated by this court decision. It includes discussions of the reaction of general and limited partners and the issues surrounding the sizable amounts of pension money invested in alternative investments. The CalPERS decision dovetailed with efforts by the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR) and the British and European Venture Capital Associations to reach greater agreement on disclosure standards in reporting the results of private-equity investments. The case details one set of standards, AIMR's Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS), which would become effective January 1, 2005. Students are asked to calculate the proposed metrics for a typical fund and assess their usefulness to a prospective investor. More broadly, the case addresses the type of information necessary to properly benchmark private-equity returns and the consequences of this type of disclosure to the industry.

Presents challenges facing Wal-Mart during its move into Germany. Explores the dynamics of the German retail market.

This case describes the experience of a wholly foreign-owned manufacturing company in Tianjin/China regarding the use of its ERP system in its main functional departments, purchasing, production planning, sales/distribution, and finance. The company is part of a group which is a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of mechanical devices, called gearboxes, that are needed to drive a wide range of facilities such as escalators and baggage conveyor belts in airports. It has entered China in 1995 and the Tianjin manufacturing facility has soon become a hub for the Asian market. The main challenge confronting the management team is to support the breakneck growth rate of this young company. The company's ERP system plays a crucial role in this task. However, it seems that middle managers are frequently hitting an invisible wall when trying to expand the use of the ERP system in order to cope with ever-increasing workloads and coordination tasks. This case serves to illustrate cultural issues implicated in the use of an enterprise wide information system in a medium size company operating in an emerging market economy. In addition, issues of operations management, global management, and organizational behaviour are addressed.

OfficeTiger was founded in late 1999 with an innovative approach to global outsourcing. The company's employees, located primarily in India, provided services for corporations, investment banks, and professional services firms throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Although it was hard to sell the idea to customers initially, by 2004 the company had grown considerably and was preparing for future growth, mainly by making acquisitions.

This case analyzes the problem of a university looking to reduce its private equity exposure in its endowment. The university hires Cogent Partners, a small investment bank specializing in private equity secondary trading.

Hewlett-Packard's proposed $24 billion acquisition of rival Compaq marked the largest merger in the history of the computer industry. The merger was Hewlett-Packard's response to sweeping changes impacting the technology industry. The severity of the stock market's reaction to the deal's announcement, coupled with a "slim but sufficient" 51.4% shareholder approval margin, left many wondering whether the deal was beneficial for shareholders.

A manager recounts his experience firing the person he was asked to replace and reflects on the challenges of the experience. Teaching Purpose: To role-play and reflect on tasks that entail harming other people to fulfill one's responsibility.

In 2006, all major U.S. dialysis providers were facing a daunting set of challenges. Having survived a period of intense consolidation and ever-diminishing operating margins, they were now struggling to understand what lay ahead. With more than 80% of their patients covered by Medicare's End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) program and with Medicare reimbursement barely covering costs, these providers increasingly relied on additional reimbursement for certain injectable drugs, as well as on the small percentage of patients with private insurance, for financial viability. However, both of these sources of profitability were coming under pressure. Ongoing demonstration projects by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) were opening the way for dramatic changes in the reimbursement landscape, and private payers were becoming more restrictive regarding what they would pay for and how much they would pay. These actions by CMS and private payers were sure to have far-reaching implications for patients, providers, and the ESRD program as a whole. Change was imminent and the uncertainty facing providers was creating significant challenges.

Set in Brazil during the period of telecommunication's privatization, CEO Manoel Amorim must define a sustainable strategy and build capabilities in his organization.

Presents the dilemma faced by Danville Airlines' management when one of its best pilots is found to have the inherited gene for Huntington's Disease. Although he inevitably will develop the physically and mentally debilitating disease, the pilot, who has yet to experience symptoms, does not want to step down from his position. Danville Airlines explores the complicated issues of employee rights versus public safety, employee rights to privacy, and genetic testing and its effects on employees and management.

The CEO of ING Direct (U.S.) has to decide: (1) whether and how to coordinate his organization's branding effort with its parent, ING Group, and (2) how fast to grow the business. Includes color exhibits.

Successful Silicon Valley executive, Peter Levine, finds himself at a career crossroads, trying to decide between pursuing numerous options, including being a CEO of a growth company or a venture capitalist. Explores the different qualifications and goals required of an operating vs. an investing role, and items to consider for each type of career.