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Cases
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-006  Length: 4pages
This is a short profile of the company 23andMe. It provides a brief overview of the landmark events that paved the way to the company's founding, the company's goals, obstacles faced by companies in the genomics industry (especially as it relates to regulations and licenses), and its recent challenges. This pro...
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-833  Length: 12pages
This case study is an in-depth analysis of 24/7 Customer, a business process outsourcing company that exemplifies many of the tenets that can be found in the book The New Age of Innovation, by professors CK Prahalad and MS Krishnan. 24/7 Customer has managed to harness the power of predictive analytics to provide value...
by Susan Ashford, George Siedel
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-866  Length: 5pages
This case is a cautionary tale about the consequences of cheating in business school. It is ideal for new business students. A Difficult Course (A) details the circumstances that led to the main character's slip in judgement, and asks students how to proceed.
by Susan Ashford, George Siedel
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-868  Length: 2pages
This case is a cautionary tale about the consequences of cheating in business school. It is ideal for new business students. A Difficult Course (A) details the circumstances that led to the main character's slip in judgement, and asks students how to ...
by Scott A. Moore, Suresh Malladi
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 04/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-236  Length: 10pages
This profile describes PatientsLikeMe, an online healthcare database that provides resources for people with different health ailments, free of charge. The company was founded on the motto of "patients helping patients live better every day", which has led the company to continue expanding its database and develop bett...
by Greg Miller, Hal D. White
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 06/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-182  Length: 3pages
Offering good practice for students just learning accounting, this exercise presents A&E Shirts LLC, a budding retail company that is balancing its books for its first month of business operations. The exercise is designed to introduce students to basic accounting principles as well as different accounting documents in...
by Kelly Janiga Ramirez
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 09/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-890  Length: 4pages
This profile highlights the work of the Acumen Fund, a nonprofit social venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problem of global poverty.
by Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-768  Length: 20pages
Some of the greatest organizational challenges for social ventures serving the base of the pyramid are recruiting and retaining high quality talent. Acumen Fund, a philanthropic venture capital firm, is trying to find ways to supports its portfolio of social ventures in the area of talent management. This case specific...
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-592  Length: 23pages
Acumen Fund is global philanthropic venture capital fund that seeks to prove that small amounts of philanthropic capital, combined with large doses of business acumen, can build thriving enterprises that serve vast numbers of the poor at the base of the pyramid. In recent years, the organization has expanded its work i...
by Gautam Kaul
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-788  Length: 28pages
Acumen Fund is a social venture capital fund that primarily supports ventures that deliver goods and services to the poor. This support involves using a variety of financial vehicles, such as debt and equity, to develop sustainable and scalable social ventures. In this case, Acumen Fund is performing a due diligence on...
by Gautam Kaul
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-872  Length: 6pages
This case is a follow-on to the case, "Acumen Fund: Valuing a Social Venture" (#1428788). This case modifies some of the assumptions in the original case and challenges students to use real options to value the ambulance venture. The original case is needed to understand this case.
by Cristel Russell
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 03/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-771  Length: 22pages
This note on the $6 billion advertainment industry outlines how product placement, product integration and branded entertainment help advertisers reach consumers at a time when consumers increasingly avoid traditional mass-advertising efforts. It offers a detailed description of advertainment and how it works, includin...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-593  Length: 31pages
Airbus and Boeing have been involved in a bruising battle for global aircraft sales. Throughout the 2000s, the aircraft industry had lurched from crisis to crisis—with first one rival innovating and inching ahead, then the other responding and retaking the lead. Airbus had experienced a rough 2007, with a competitive o...
by M.S. Krishnan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-100  Length: 20pages
Jim Bush, Executive Vice President of American Express World Service, was confronted with a challenge in the mid 2000s: After working for Amex for 24 years, he began to worry that the company was focusing too much on cost reduction. Customer service was eroding as the company strove to stay competitive during hard econ...
by Christie L. Nordhielm
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-661  Length: 11pages
AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation) is an NGO working on health-related issues in Africa; the Guardian is one of the largest newspapers in the UK. As a part of expanding its coverage on development, the Guardian formed a partnership with AMREF to work on development issues in Katine, a village in eastern Ug...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-002  Length: 6pages
This note is an adaptation for classroom use of Chapter 2 of "The Services Shift" by R.E. Kennedy (2009). It introduces students to Michael Porter's 1985 value chain approach to strategically analyzing firms, which says that a firm is a system of interconnected activities with both physical and information linkages. ...
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-155  Length: 30pages
In India, Iodine Deficiency Disorder hinders the growth and intellectual development of 70 million people, with twenty percent of the population at risk. Yet up to fifty percent of the iodine in iodized salt can be lost during storage, transportation, and Indian cooking. Using world-class technology, Hindustan Lever Lt...
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-887  Length: 0minutes
We created a video of an interview with Anne Ladky to supplement the central learning objectives of the case. The video is approximately 18 minutes long and includes Anne’s responses to the following questions: - How did you come up with your energy approach to leadership? - Why is energy important to Women Employed? -...
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-851  Length: 14pages
Leaders of political advocacy organizations are faced with the challenge of motivating their employees past frequent obstacles, shortcomings, and failures. Anne Ladky, the Executive Director of a non-profit political advocacy organization called Women Employed, developed a leadership style to help her employees tackle ...
by Paul Clyde, Bharath Krishna Sankar
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 08/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-253  Length: 14pages
Aparajitha is a company that has thrived in the booming economic climate of India. Due to the network of contacts and bank of knowledge it has developed, Aparajitha will be difficult for larger multinationals to supplant. This case illustrates organizational relationships inside and outside the firm; relationships that...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-776  Length: 22pages
The Aramex case study presents the complex situation facing Fadi Ghandour, a Jordan-based entrepreneur who started Aramex, an express and logistics company that was the first Arab-based firm to list on a U.S. stock exchange. Aramex has grown from a small regional player to taking on global giants such as FedEx and DHL,...
by Paul Clyde
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-586  Length: 12pages
Aravind, a network of hospitals in India, is the largest provider of eye care in the world. Aravind performs approximately 270,000 surgeries per year and serves over 2 million patients. Aravind's leadership has set the goal of one million surgeries and 100 hospitals by 2015. This case asks students to evaluate Arav...
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-044  Length: 8pages
This is an ethics case about a dilemma facing Augusta Richards, professor of business at the Boston University School of Management. She has been informed by an international colleague in her field that one of her papers has been plagiarized and published in the Basic Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research. The perpetra...
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-045  Length: 2pages
This is the second part of the three-part case, Augusta Richards: Responding to Plagiarism. Richards has made the first step toward rectifying the plagiarism of her work, and part (B) describes the reaction of Chris Beta, the esteemed professor in her field who was one of the authors of the plagiarized text.
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-046  Length: 8pages
This is the third part of the three-part case, Augusta Richards: Responding to Plagiarism. In part (C), Richards has made the second step toward rectifying the plagiarism of her work. Part (C) describes the reaction of Terry Alpha, the first author of the plagiarized text, and how Richards and the perpetrating authors ...
by William Lovejoy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-131  Length: 7pages
The case describes the frustrating experiences of Alice Reinhart who is hired by Autoprime as a production foreman to help their Ohio manufacturing plant transition to Just-in-Time (JIT) production. More than just a process improvement problem, the case asks students to consider all aspects of change management includi...
by Kathleen Sutcliffe
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-779  Length: 8pages
This case presents students with a crisis at the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad Museum. The museum, which was established alongside the first railroad in the United States, had a long and varied history of prominence and recent irrelevancy. A new director, Courtney Wilson, took over management of the museum in 2000,...
by Kathleen Sutcliffe
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-780  Length: 6pages
This case presents students with a crisis at the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad Museum. The museum, which was established alongside the first railroad in the United States, had a long and varied history of prominence and recent irrelevancy. A new director, Courtney Wilson, took over management of the museum in 2000,...
by Kathleen Sutcliffe
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-819  Length: 0minutes
This two-part video shows Courtney Wilson, Executive Director of the B&O Railroad Museum, describing his immediate reaction to the museum’s 2003 roof collapse and his ongoing efforts to get the museum back on track. The first part of the video, Wilson’s Course of Action, runs 7:00 minutes, and the second part, Resilien...
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-852  Length: 4pages
This is the first of a three-part case that describes the reaction and attitudes demonstrated by B. Joseph White upon hearing that he was not chosen to be president of the University of Michigan in May of 2002. Joe White responded to this news resiliently by helping the University make a smooth transition to a new pres...
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-858  Length: 4pages
This is the second of a three-part case that describes the reaction and attitudes demonstrated by B. Joseph White upon hearing that he was not chosen to be president of the University of Michigan in May of 2002. Joe White responded to this news resiliently by helping the University make a smooth transition to a new pre...
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-859  Length: 4pages
This is the final addition to a three-part case that describes the reaction and attitudes demonstrated by B. Joseph White upon hearing that he was not chosen to be president of the University of Michigan in May of 2002. Joe White responded to this news resiliently by helping the University make a smooth transition to a...
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-886  Length: 0minutes
The video contributes to a three-part case which describes the reaction and attitudes demonstrated by B. Joseph White upon hearing that he was not chosen to be president of the University of Michigan in May of 2002. Joe White responded to this news resiliently by helping the University make a smooth transition to a new...
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-026  Length: 5pages
This is a concise profile of Bell Labs. It describes the company's history, its roles as a fundamental research organization as well as an innovation engine for Alcatel-Lucent, and its unique in-house R&D culture. This profile is intended to be taught in conjunction with the InnoCentive profile in order to compare ...
by Andrew Hoffman, Arie Jongejan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-946  Length: 26pages
With partnerships and developments in nations across the globe, Better Place seemed poised to succeed in the burgeoning electric vehicle market. Yet Better Place’s proposition relied on a revolutionary shift in the automobile industry. Would the company witness the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the near f...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 12/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-935  Length: 8pages
The so-called New International Economics (alternatively, Strategic Trade Theory) explores situations where markets economic conditions depart from standard conditions – because of market power, economies of scale, externalities, etc. Economists have shown that it is theoretically possible for government intervention t...
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan, Sheel Mohnot
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-428-834  Length: 16pages
India's wireless giant Bharti Airtel (Airtel) exemplifies many of the tenets set forth in the book The New Age of Innovation by CK Prahalad and MS Krishnan. Divided into two segments, Case (A) asks students to analyze the Indian environment and Airtel's capabilities in order to determine strategies for growth. ...
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan, Sheel Mohnot
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-428-864  Length: 12pages
This case study on India's wireless giant Bharti Airtel (Airtel) is the second of two cases on the company that show how the firm exemplifies many of the tenets set forth in the book The New Age of Innovation by CK Prahalad and MS Krishnan. Case B presents the students with the varied strategies that Airtel has purs...
by Michael Jensen
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-594  Length: 17pages
Sony and Toshiba, the developers of the high definition DVD format Blu-ray and HD DVD, respectively, were in a high profile standard war for the next generation video format. Both had formed alliances in order to drive greater and faster market acceptance. After six years of battling, however, Sony prevailed. This case...
by Ravi Anupindi
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-787  Length: 26pages
Boeing originally was scheduled to deliver the Dreamliner to airline customers in mid-2008. However, after five announced delays over two years, the company was forced to postpone the first test flight. One driver for the delay was an industry-wide shortage of aerospace fasteners, the hardware that held the aircraft to...
by Tom Lyon
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-727  Length: 11pages
Teaching Note available to Registered Educators This case describes the situation facing BP America's President Bob Malone in late 2007. Malone could not understand where they had gone wrong while attempting to expand the refining capacity at their Whiting, Indiana plant. They had followed all the rules set ...
by Tom Lyon
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 12/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-736  Length: 4pages
This mini-case is a follow-up to the BP and the Whiting Refinery Case (A), which describes the situation facing BP America's President Bob Malone in late 2007. Malone could not understand where they had gone wrong while attempting to expand the refining capacity at their Whiting, Indiana plant. They had followed al...
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-229  Length: 28pages
British Petroleum (BP), one of the world’s largest oil companies, had spent over $200 million rebranding itself as environmentally responsible, with the tagline “Beyond Petroleum.” However, after the catastrophic 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, the company’s name seemed to be permanently tarnished. Through a deep dive i...
by Rajeev Batra
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-725  Length: 24pages
This case study teaches students about the concept of nation branding through a real-world project that has been designed to understand and affect the public's perceptions of the nation of Israel. The case presents students with the concept of nation branding, and then tells the story of a cross-section of prominent U....
by Rajeev Batra
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-823  Length: 5pages
This short case provides an update to the Branding Israel Case A, which was focused on understanding and affecting public perception of Israel. Case B presents students with information regarding the Israeli government's formal adoption of the branding project and its initial work in implementing branding concepts....
by Rajeev Batra
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-830  Length: 0minutes
This video is only available to registered educators for use in the classroom. The Branding Israel video complements the Branding Israel Cases A & B. It consists of two short clips that are available to educators for classroom use only. The videos are actual recorded segments from the Insight Research Group’s fo...
by Lynn Wooten
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-753  Length: 8pages
This short case is one of the eight in a series of cases written for the Next Great Companies in Michigan project, which profiles great places to work in Michigan. Bronson Healthcare, a community-owned, non-profit health care system located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has a unique culture which recognizes and rewards its e...
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-019  Length: 6pages
This mini-case describes Build a Bear, an interactive store where customers can make their own teddy bears. In 2007, Build a Bear was the 10th largest toy retailer in the United States. One of the greatest challenges the company faces, in these tough economic times, is to convince the public that Build-a-Bear workshop ...
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2006  Product ID#: 1-428-611  Length: 22pages
The Mountain Institute works to improve environmental conditions and the quality of life for local communities in mountainous regions throughout the world. TMI is exploring options for its patented technology for compressed earth blocks. Relative to other technologies serving this market, TMI believes that its compres...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-784  Length: 7pages
Surprisingly, the dominant competitor that eventually surfaces in many industries does not garner its sustainable competitive advantage through the expected paths of either technological or product innovation, on the one hand, or dominant spending to buy market share, on the other. Rather, the winners in surprising num...
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 12/2012  Product ID#: 1-428-916  Length: 24pages
How do you convince American parents living in the Midwest to hire tutors from India? How do you convince them to hire a tutor that they and their children will never meet in person? Can you build a personal connection between students and tutors when they are separated by thousands of miles and come from vastly differ...
by Robert J. Dolan, Scott A. Moore, Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Reference  Publication Date: 08/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-167  Length: 500pages
The course Business Thought & Action™ is a robust introduction to business for undergraduate students. It is a holistic start to their business education experience and provides context for business as a whole, rather than each functional area, such as marketing, finance, and operations. Students learn about the broad ...
by Robert J. Dolan, Robert E. Kennedy, Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 08/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-187  Length: 78pages
This module reviews a wide variety of companies and markets and presents an analytical tool kit for evaluating them. It takes a step back from standard business education, allowing students to ask questions they typically do not have time in the curriculum for, such as:
  • Why do companies even exist? What does a ...
by Robert J. Dolan, Robert E. Kennedy, Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 08/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-188  Length: 90pages
Module 2 of the Business Thought & Action™ course is entrepreneurial-themed, analyzing the essentials of starting and running a business. Companies are examined in-depth to illustrate that the same business principles apply to all companies, whether startups or multinational corporations. Students learn to apply analyt...
by Robert J. Dolan, Scott A. Moore, Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 08/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-189  Length: 100pages
The third module of the Business Thought & Action™ course is especially innovative, focusing entirely on business failure. The module analyzes real-life businesses that have experienced turmoil, such as Kodak and Snapple, and examines how they have responded to the stress. The module examines several types of stress--i...
by Robert E. Kennedy, Robert J. Dolan, Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 08/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-190  Length: 140pages
This fourth module of the Business Thought & Action™ provides course an introduction to international business. As the global economy expands and more economic growth is projected to occur overseas, business leaders must have the ability to make decisions with a global mindset. This module provides students with tools ...
by Robert J. Dolan, Robert E. Kennedy, Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 08/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-191  Length: 22pages
This fifth module Business Thought & Action™ course challenges students to think to the way that business can be used to create a positive social environmental impact. Since students in this course are typically early undergraduate business students, this module is powerful in its ability to influence students’ decisio...
by Robert J. Dolan, Robert E. Kennedy, Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 08/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-192  Length: 2pages
This final one-session module is less comprehensive than other Business Thought & Action™ modules, though it is critical for bringing together the closing points of the course. This module encourages students to take charge of their lives and their learning, and focuses on preparing students to be effective leaders of ...
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-995  Length: 5pages
This case introduces students to the different market-making mechanisms. It distinguishes the ways in which buyers and sellers interact (posted price, negotiation, horizontal interaction), provides daily examples of each kind, and compares their advantages and disadvantages. This case is included in Module 1 of the...
by Valerie Myers
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-200  Length: 22pages
This case details the career development of an individual who is guided by a "calling", a term that has been diluted over the years, but carries significant meaning. Told from the perspective of Joseph, this inter-faith story elucidates the original meaning of calling as an ethical construct, rather than just a vocatio...
by William Lovejoy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 05/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-082  Length: 8pages
Production capacity can be defined as the maximum rate at which a productive system can convert inputs into outputs. Capacity is typically measured as output per unit of time, that is, as a throughput rate (e.g., tons per hour). Measuring capacity is simplest for a single machine making a single standard product. Most ...
by Izak Duenyas
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-724  Length: 12pages
This case explores the capacity management challenges facing the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at St. Mary's Hospital. Recent increases in the number of patients have led to a demand for beds that exceeds the supply, especially at certain times of the week. This has resulted in a number of problems, including increa...
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-645  Length: 24pages
CARE is an international, humanitarian, non-governmental organization (NGO) composed of twelve member countries that manage field operations in over seventy countries offices around the world, reaching more than fifty million poor people. In 2005, CARE started a pilot initiative in Central America to access whether its...
by Ted London
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-839  Length: 1minutes
This video accompanies the case CARE: Making Markets Work. The video is an interview with Laté Lawson, CARE’s Director of Economic Development and part of the organization’s senior leadership team. In the video, Lawson discusses how CARE expects its market-based approach to poverty alleviation to evolve in the next thr...
by James Walsh
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-770  Length: 22pages
This case study focuses on the Caring Company scheme, one of the most prominent Corporate Social Responsibility programs in Hong Kong. The case was built off of first-hand field research and it follows the leaders of The Hong Kong Council of Social Service through their years building the Caring Company program, discus...
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-148  Length: 24pages
In fifty years, Casas Bahia has grown from one man selling blankets and bed linens door-to-door to the largest retail chain in Brazil, offering electronics, appliances, and furniture. With its emphasis on serving the poor customer, its low prices, and credit determined by payment history rather than formal income (70% ...
by Lynn Wooten
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-754  Length: 6pages
This short case is one of the eight in a series of cases written for the Next Great Companies in Michigan project, which profiles great places to work in Michigan. Cascade Engineering is a Michigan-based firm that develops and manufactures injection molded products for the automotive, solid waste and industrial markets...
by Greg Miller, Hal D. White
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 09/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-179  Length: 6pages
This case is a critical introduction, for business students, to the significance of cash flow statements. First students evaluate the cash flow statements of four “mystery” companies and recommend one for an acquisition. After making a recommendation in class, students are given more information, namely risk assessment...
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2003  Product ID#: 1-429-149  Length: 18pages
The third largest cement manufacturer in the world, CEMEX decided it needed to move from selling materials to selling solutions. With low fixed prices, materials on credit, pre-costed housing designs, and even supervised construction services for Mexicans working abroad, CEMEX makes housing affordable and possible for ...
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-202  Length: 22pages
This case continues the story from the revised 2006 case study "CEMEX's Patrimonio Hoy: At the Tipping Point?" This case describes CEMEX's Patrimonio Hoy in 2012, which is a startup initiative designed to help low-income customers ...
by Ted London
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 09/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-205  Length: 0minutes
This video is a companion to the case study Patrimonio Hoy , which explores the sales, distribution, and savings program of CEMEX intended to serve Mexico’s large self-construction housing market. CEMEX is currently the world's third lar...
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2012  Product ID#: 1-428-606  Length: 25pages
This case sets the stage for the 2012 case study "Constructing a Base-of-the-Pyramid Business in a Multinational Corporation: CEMEX’s Patrimonio Hoy Looks to Grow." This revised 2006 case study explores Patrimonio Hoy in 2006, the sales...
by John Branch
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-582  Length: 13pages
The Chery Automobile case focuses on the Chinese company, which, in 2007, was the fourth largest automotive company in China. Chery was growing at enormous speed, and was already exporting to over 50 countries, primarily in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Chery was determined to enter the coveted U.S. and Western E...
by Jacob Park, Rick Bunch
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-876  Length: 36pages
In September 2009, Chinese President Hu declared that China would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide it emits by a notable margin by 2020 and work to develop a green economy. At the same time, the Chairman of the largest telecom company in China (China Mobile) was awaiting the release of his company’s third CSR repor...
by William K Hall
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-879  Length: 18pages
In 2009, Chrysler, one of the oldest and most storied American automotive companies, entered and exited bankruptcy with the support of the U.S. government. Upon leaving bankruptcy, Chrysler formed a global alliance with Fiat, which was owned by Fiat Group, the United Automotive Workers (UAW), and the U.S./Canadian gove...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-013  Length: 11pages
This case tells the story of Circuit City (formerly known as Wards). It describes the company's rise to prominence as the leading consumer electronics retailer in the United States. It goes on to describe Best Buy's entry into the industry, Circuit City's reactions to the competition, and the events that le...
by Ravi Anupindi
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2012  Product ID#: 1-428-881  Length: 32pages
Cisco's story will expose students to supply chain risk management (SCRM). Cisco's simulation of a flu outbreak in Asia will leave students with a better understanding of how to utilize SCRM programs.
by Ravi Anupindi
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-284  Length: 16pages
Tohoku was not the first earthquake to impact Cisco’s operations in Japan. The company’s business continuity plan (BCP) and its SCRM capability was developed for exactly this type of incident. James Steele, program director of Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM), started placing calls to his team. They would have to qu...
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-087  Length: 26pages
~~Finalist and 3rd Place winner in the 2011 Oikos Casewriting Competition~~ In early 2008, Clorox released a new line of environmentally friendly cleaning products called GreenWorks. The product line was the first new brand released by Clorox in 20 years. Following the success of smaller firms such as Seventh Generatio...
by Andrew Hoffman, Sarah Howie, Grace Augustine
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-098  Length: 22pages
How do you maintain relationships with companies that serve a majority of people, but upset an outspoken minority? Winner of the 2011 Oikos Casewriting Competition, this case explores a tenuous relationship that existed in 2006 between the University of Michigan, a student activist group pushing for environmental refor...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-786  Length: 4pages
The vast majority of all viable new inventions or business ideas never make it to market. Innovations developed by corporations, in particular, appear to fail to reach their potential. This note examines the reasons corporations fail to commercialize their innovations, and offers an alternative perspective that paints ...
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2007  Product ID#: 1-428-608  Length: 22pages
Grameen Telecom’s Village Phone is a program that is focused on bringing cellular service to people in rural villages in Bangladesh. In 2006, Grameen’s Village Phone initiative had an installed base of more than 233,000 village phones across 50,000 villages in the country, and annual revenues of approximately US$93 mil...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-641  Length: 16pages
This note focuses on corruption in international business. It defines corruption, outlines the international laws governing bribery and corruption, and includes caselets that challenge students to put themselves in the shoes of high-profile decision makers who need to balance the ethical, legal, and practical nature of...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 04/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-644  Length: 16pages
This note focuses on corruption in international business. It defines corruption, outlines the international laws governing bribery and corruption, and discusses the different actors and tactics to combat corruption. This note can be used with its counterpart, Corruption in International Business (A).
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-853  Length: 8pages
Jobs are typically designed by managers for employees. The concept of “job crafting” captures the ways in which employees change these job designs to align with their motives, strengths, and passions. Many employees leave their passions at home. This case describes how four teachers, who all have a passion for an occup...
by Izak Duenyas
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-837  Length: 4pages
You and your roommate are launching a calligraphy business out of your two-bedroom apartment. Will this business be profitable? That is the question students evaluate with “Creative Calligraphy Invitations (CCI).” CCI creates one-of-a-kind handwritten invitations, which are in high demand for weddings, holidays, partie...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-663  Length: 5pages
This quiz accompanies the conceptual note, Cross-Border Project Valuation. It is designed to help students strengthen their ability in calculating project discount rates, selecting the right currency, and analyzing project specific risk factors. Registered educators will be able to access the answer sheet. This is one ...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 12/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-649  Length: 17pages
Managers face a number of challenges when using traditional valuation approaches to value projects in an emerging market. It is important, therefore, that managers not only be aware of, but also account for these challenges. This note is divided into the following three sections: 1. A review of the traditional app...
by Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, John Branch
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 10/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-583  Length: 9pages
Globalization has significantly changed the environment for doing business. However, despite the decreasing importance of borders, individuals and communities are increasingly embracing their distinctive and unique cultures. This note gives students the baseline for developing cultural intelligence. It presents the...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-048  Length: 12pages
GM, Ford, and Chrysler, the “Big Three” of the U.S. automotive industry, dominated automobile output in the 1950s. Domestically, the Big Three had no competitors. Sixty years later, foreign nameplates had more than half the sales in the U.S. market. This note explores the Big Three’s decline over the last half a centur...
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-670  Length: 14pages
Long-time environment and recycling supporter Julie Lewis thought that she had struck green gold when she partnered with Nike and Avia executives to create Deja Shoe, an environmental footwear company. Lewis and her executive team successfully raised startup funding and used it to build an environmentally-sound and app...
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-671  Length: 5pages
Deja Shoe (B) provides a follow-up to the scenario presented in Deja Shoe (A). Part B follows Lewis and her team through Deja Shoe's product launch across mainstream and green retailers nationwide. It discusses initial quality and sourcing issues, which present the team with lackluster sales and financing challenges.
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-017  Length: 8pages
This mini-case details the history of Dell and its made-to-order production system. From a simple computer assembly and delivery company, Dell grew to dominate the PC industry by leveraging information and focusing on efficiency throughout the supply chain. However, changes in consumer tastes and supplier cost structur...
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-031  Length: 12pages
The purpose of this note is to provide some insight about the change from analog to digital, the increasing penetration of digital technologies in our lives, the increasing performance of that technology, and the effects of this digitization. It begins with an examination of the analog world and is followed by an analy...
by Lynn Wooten
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-755  Length: 7pages
This short case is one of the eight in a series of cases written for the Next Great Companies in Michigan project, which profiles great places to work in Michigan. Dow Corning emerged from nine years of Chapter 11 bankruptcy to become one of the strongest companies in Michigan. Recovering from the scandal with silicon ...
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-153  Length: 37pages
By providing growth capital to local entrepreneurs, E+Co helps deliver alternative energy solutions to people around the world. In Nicaragua, where nearly fifty percent of the population is "off the grid," E+Co's investment in solar energy provider Tecnosol means people can have refrigeration, lights, running water...
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-150  Length: 33pages
In setting up rural farmer-entrepreneurs with Internet access, and using modern technology to accurately weigh farmers crops (and paying them promptly), ITC's eChoupal system is transforming India's agricultural supply chain, reducing systemic corruption and giving farmers both better prices for their crops and...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-001  Length: 10pages
This note is intended to provide insights into variation across firms and industries. It reviews the various types of variation among firms--variations in revenues, profits, size, employment, capital intensity, output per worker, profitability etc. Data tables, timelines and reports are provided as support. This note i...
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-151  Length: 51pages
Partnering with business to deliver government services electronically is fundamentally altering the relationship between government and citizens in Andhra Pradesh, the fifth-largest state in India. Government processes are more transparent; bribes paid to officials to facilitate transactions through a bureaucratic, pa...
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-152  Length: 9pages
EID Parry provides local entrepeneurs the technological backing to run Internet kiosks in rural villages. EID Parry has also created its own Internet portal to support farmers with access to fertilizers and tools, education and crop disease diagnosis, and a direct market for their crops of rice and sugarcane.
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-917  Length: 19pages
Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) is a pioneer and leader in emergency management in India. The EMRI ecosystem integrates resources such as ambulances, EMTs, call center operators, physicians, a network of hospitals, and IT systems with cutting-edge research to save lives. EMRI has been extremely succe...
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-058  Length: 20pages
In 1999, Enron was the #1 company in innovation and quality of management. Less than two years later, it filed for bankruptcy in one of the most portent fraud cases of the decade. The story of Enron’s rise and fall tells a lot about manipulation of accounting and regulatory standards and about the disregard of ethics a...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Reference  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-194  Length: 52pages
This dictionary provides comprehensive definitions for over 450 business terms. It was designed to be used in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course and for people interested in starting their own business.
by James D. Price
Product Type: Course  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-199  Length: 200pages
This course is a practical guide to starting a new business. From the initial business idea to the launch, students are introduced to the realities of entrepreneurship and the misconceptions surrounding it. The course includes useful models, frameworks, practical advice, and guidelines that provide students with a soli...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-213  Length: 10pages
This course is a practical guide to starting a new business. From the initial business idea to the launch, students are introduced to the realities of entrepreneurship and the misconceptions surrounding it. The course includes useful models, frameworks, practical advice, and guidelines that provide students with a soli...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-195  Length: 88pages
This is the first of four modules in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation course that was developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. This module provides an overview of entrepreneurship, explains how startups work, and provides career guidance for students who are interested in an entr...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-207  Length: 134pages
This PowerPoint slide deck PDF was designed for the 1st module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course titled Evaluating Entrepreneurial Career Options and Startup Opportunities.
by James D. Price
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-196  Length: 36pages
This is the second of four modules in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation course that was developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. This module focuses on the financial aspect of planning, launching, and growing a new business. This module can be used with modules 1, 3, and 4. Excel ...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-208  Length: 45pages
This PowerPoint slide deck PDF was designed for the 2nd module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course titled Understanding Startup Finances and Capital Requirements.
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-211  Length: 2pages
This Excel spreadsheet was designed for the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course. It contains a 5-year financial projection of a hypothetical company. Students can use this spreadsheet to value a company's cash flow over time.
by James D. Price
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-197  Length: 44pages
This is the third of four modules in the New Venture Creation course that was developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. The goal of this module is to introduce students to the elements of a strong business plan including the executive summary, the venture presentation, and the elevator pitc...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-209  Length: 60pages
This PowerPoint slide deck PDF was designed for the 3rd module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course titled Developing and Presenting Your Startup Business Plan.
by James D. Price
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-198  Length: 32pages
This is the fourth and final module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation course that was developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. This module provides continues to deliver practical guidance to help students launch their new ventures conceived at the beginning of the course in Mod...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-210  Length: 104pages
This PowerPoint slide deck PDF was designed for the 4th and final module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course titled Launching and Managing a Startup Enterprise.
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-212  Length: 2pages
This Excel spreadsheet was designed for the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course. The spreadsheet illustrates the Venture Quotient for a hypothetical company. Students can use this spreadsheet to comprehend the Venture Quotient tool for analyzing projected company risk.
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-587  Length: 8pages
After a firm has decided to internationalize, it must select the entry mode and the organizational and contractual arrangements that help the firm bring its products and services to the foreign market. This note presents a typology of the different modes, outlining the different strategies that companies can follow whe...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-802  Length: 3pages
The Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M) makes more than 40,000 products, ranging from sandpaper to optical films. But how does 3M introduce products to new markets? This mini-case examines 3M's Entry Mode strategy of using Direct and Indirect Exporting to internationalize. This case is included in M...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-807  Length: 3pages
Emerging economies are attractive from a business standpoint, but political, economic, and cultural differences pose challenges to many foreign firms who choose to operate overseas. This mini-case examines the obstacles faced by the Occidental Petroleum Corporation when it entered China in the early 1980s. This cas...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-806  Length: 3pages
Starbucks was founded in 1971 by three coffee aficionados. Thirty years later, it was the leading coffee roaster and retailer in the United States and had set its sights on overseas expansion. This mini case examines Starbucks' entry mode strategy in two markets, Japan and the United Kingdom. This case is inclu...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-804  Length: 3pages
Super 8 was founded in 1974 with one modest model in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Thirty years later, the Super 8 motel chain was preparing for overseas expansion in China. This mini-case examines the franchising strategy that brought Super 8 to China. This case is included in Module 4 of the course Business Thought & A...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-803  Length: 3pages
Twenty years after its television debut, the animated series 'The Simpsons' is still going strong. This mini-case profiles the Fox Broadcasting Company's success with merchandise licensing, an area that has proved to be an unexpected cash cow. This case is included in Module 4 of the course Business Tho...
by Christie L. Nordhielm
Product Type: Simulation  Publication Date: 03/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-108  Length: 16pages
Shelley Peterson, newly-promoted General Manager of the Endosurgery Medical Devices Division, is striving for greater profitability in the bariatric surgical device market. Her team has presented her with investment options that will help Peterson attain her goals for the division.

Peterson has a $30 million...
by Christie L. Nordhielm
Product Type: Simulation  Publication Date: 03/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-107  Length: 16pages
Shelley Peterson, newly-promoted General Manager of the Endosurgery Medical Devices Division, is striving for greater profitability in the bariatric surgical device market. Her team has presented her with investment options that will help Peterson attain her goals for the division.

Peterson has a $30 million...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 03/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-662  Length: 4pages
This multiple choice quiz accompanies the conceptual note, Understanding Exchange Rates. This quiz is designed to help students strengthen their ability in calculating exchange rates, measuring appreciation and depreciation, and analyzing how exchange rates affect a firm’s competitive position. This is one of five exch...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 03/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-700  Length: 4pages
This multiple choice quiz accompanies the conceptual note, Understanding Exchange Rates. This quiz is designed to help students strengthen their ability in calculating exchange rates, measuring appreciation and depreciation, and analyzing how exchange rates affect a firm’s competitive position. This is one of five exch...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 03/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-701  Length: 4pages
This multiple choice quiz accompanies the conceptual note, Understanding Exchange Rates. This quiz is designed to help students strengthen their ability in calculating exchange rates, measuring appreciation and depreciation, and analyzing how exchange rates affect a firm’s competitive position. This is one of five exch...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 03/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-702  Length: 4pages
This multiple choice quiz accompanies the conceptual note, Understanding Exchange Rates. This quiz is designed to help students strengthen their ability in calculating exchange rates, measuring appreciation and depreciation, and analyzing how exchange rates affect a firm’s competitive position. This is one of five exch...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 03/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-703  Length: 4pages
This multiple choice quiz accompanies the conceptual note, Understanding Exchange Rates. This quiz is designed to help students strengthen their ability in calculating exchange rates, measuring appreciation and depreciation, and analyzing how exchange rates affect a firm’s competitive position. This is one of five exch...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-003  Length: 4pages
This mini-case provides a concise description of Ford's early history, highlighting milestones like the debut of the Model T, the use of labor specialization, the first moving assembly line, the famous "$5 a day" plan for employee motivation, etc. The mini-case focuses on the challenges that Henry Ford faced (timin...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 12/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-827  Length: 10pages
This technical note briefly introduces the reader to various Foreign Direct Investment related concepts and firm-level considerations. As discussed throughout the paper, a decision to participate in FDI can occur for various reasons. Some multinationals are motivated to invest abroad in order to sell to new markets. Ot...
by Scott DeRue
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-112  Length: 14pages
TMG has a very common problem. Its employees are experiencing a serious breakdown in motivation. Team members feel they work harder than anyone else, but are faced with scathing performance reviews. Students analyze how motivation collapsed and what TMG’s leadership can do to improve.
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-595  Length: 22pages
Genpact, founded in 1999 by GE, is a mostly Indian offshore provider of business services and technology solutions to large multinational organizations and other clients around the world. In January 2005, GE sold a majority stake in the operation to capitalize on the value created and to develop a global, diversified c...
by Tom Porter
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-144  Length: 12pages
Genesis BioSystems is a venture-backed start-up that has developed a potentially revolutionary alternative to in-vitro fertilization. Before bringing the product to market, Genesis must achieve several key milestones, including the FDA’s approval. The product’s most recent tests were disappointing, but perhaps human em...
by John Branch
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-596  Length: 12pages
Giving Tree International is a non-profit founded in 2006 by six friends in Los Angeles, California, who had the desire to use their professional expertise to start for-profit ventures that addressed a social end in the developing world. This case explores the entry into the English as a second language (ESL) training ...
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-007  Length: 8pages
This case details the history of Zantac, one of Glaxo’s most successful products, from inception to deterioration when faced by the rise of generics. In doing so, the mini-case describes the main players, trends and obstacles dominating the pharmaceutical industry today. This case is included in Module 1 of the cou...
by Robert E. Kennedy, Aneel Karnani
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 07/2011  Product ID#: 1-428-941  Length: 11pages
Rapid economic growth in India, China, and other developing nations in the late 20th and early 21st centuries led to the emergence of a new global middle class. These billions of potential consumers captured the imagination of multinational firms, who saw more than a billion consumers with evolving tastes. This group c...
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-612  Length: 11pages
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., the hybrid corn company division of Dupont, has engaged with PEACE (People’s Action for Creative Education) to serve the base of the pyramid markets in India. The partnership between Pioneer and PEACE allows Pioneer to distribute its quality seeds to village farmers through PEACE. T...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-060  Length: 4pages
This mini-case examines General Motors’(GM) expansion to emerging markets in the 90s and 2000s, in part due to declining sales in local markets, and also due to the emerging middle class in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC countries). The end of this mini-case mentions the specific example of GM China, highlightin...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-061  Length: 4pages
eBay, the world’s leading e-commerce company, expanded to 39 markets starting in 1998. The company’s international markets now make up approximately 54% of the company’s revenues. eBay expanded and went global through acquisitions of local companies abroad and companies that offered similar services (Skype, PayPal, Stu...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-062  Length: 4pages
Infosys is a leading Indian information technology services firm, offering a range of consulting and software services to multinationals worldwide. This mini-case describes how Infosys is trying to mitigate the impact of the recession in the U.S. (home to the majority of its customers) on its business. It goes on to hi...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-063  Length: 5pages
Driven by lower costs and shorter waiting times, medical tourism is growing as a major industry in developing countries. This mini-case focuses on Apollo Hospitals, a healthcare company in India who has been successful at attracting foreign clients and capital. It begins by providing background about the medical touris...
by Robert E. Kennedy, Kelly Janiga Ramirez
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-064  Length: 4pages
This mini-case describes the Brazilian company Embraer’s push into the global defense aircraft market against American Boeing and the Canadian Bombardier. While Embraer’s size-customization and innovation strategy paid off in international markets, the company still faced fierce competition and resistance in switching ...
by Robert E. Kennedy, Kelly Janiga Ramirez
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-065  Length: 4pages
Haier is one of China’s largest companies and a major competitor in the home appliances international market. Focused on low-priced innovative technology that is customized to local needs, Haier’s international presence and product offerings have been steadily growing. This case can be taught in conjunction with the no...
by Robert E. Kennedy, Kelly Janiga Ramirez
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-066  Length: 4pages
Attracted to the large population and rising middle class, MTV sought to do in India what it had done in many countries before: customize its channel offerings to match the country’s culture, even if it meant devising a number of individual channels. This mini-case discusses the challenges that MTV undertook with this ...
by Amitabh Sinha
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-084  Length: 17pages
Grainger is a distributor of MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) equipment, based in the US. Most revenues were from the US in 2008, but Grainger was positioning itself to expand its limited global presence. Grainger was increasing the volume of private-label products, which offer higher margins and meet price po...
by Scott A. Moore, Suresh Malladi
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-235  Length: 20pages
Ratan Tata, CEO of Tata Motors, wants to introduce the world's cheapest car, priced at $2,500, for the common Indian - the car is the Tata Nano and has been accordingly dubbed the "People's Car". But the introduction of the Nano has been ridden with difficulties. Coupled with poor sales and a recent crisis wher...
by Thomas C. Kinnear
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-929  Length: 24pages
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-040  Length: 4pages
This ethics mini-case describes a dilemma faced by Hank Thaler, the CEO of a hypothetical financial services company, Big Bucks Inc. Hank brought success to Big Bucks and its shareholders by fostering an open atmosphere in the company. He sought his employees’ opinions in respect to major decisions, and he vowed to t...
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-041  Length: 4pages
This mini-case follows up Hank Thaler (A). It describes the decision made by the CEO of hypothetical Big Bucks Inc., Hank Thaler, about whether or not to inform his employees of the secret sale of the company. Hank’s reasoning behind his decision as well as its consequences are explained. The case also challenges stude...
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-043  Length: 3pages
This is going to be your first Harley-Davidson! You can't wait! For the past two years, you've been riding a beat-up 1981 Honda with a 750-cubic-centimeter engine that you bought for $450. All the while, you have been dreaming of owning your very own “hog.” Now is the time. Your bank account now has $12,000. Yo...
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-085  Length: 4pages
This is going to be your last Harley-Davidson! You've had enough. You’re tired of the oil stain in your garage and the joke about why it’s there: “How do you know when your Harley needs oil? When it stops leaking!” You bought this Low Rider Custom new in 1989, before the whole Harley craze. So, you were able to pic...
by Amy Wrzesniewski, Jane Dutton
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-883  Length: 17minutes
The video case of Candice Billups, hospital custodian, is designed to enrich conversation and analysis of core topics in organizational behavior or management courses. The video is intended to be used in conjunction with the teaching note that accompanies it. Some possible uses of the video case include: 1. An anal...
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-855  Length: 14pages
The Heart of Reuters (Parts A and B) describes the responses of Reuters America to the incidents of 9/11/2001. The Heart of Reuters Part A describes the range of adaptive responses to the events of 9/11, and invites the question, "What is it about the culture, structure, and strategy of Reuters that explains the organi...
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-860  Length: 4pages
The Heart of Reuters (Parts A and B) describes the responses of Reuters America to the incidents of 9/11/2001. The Heart of Reuters-Part B describes the range of the impact of Reuters' responses to 9/11 on employees. The Heart of Reuters is ideal for a discussion of leadership and change, crisis management, resilie...
by William Lovejoy
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-132  Length: 3pages
This case uses the example of a hospital operating room to teach students how to make decisions based on a quantitative operational analysis. Students are asked to consider issues with capacity and variability, and choose a future action that the hospital must take in order to remedy its delay and waiting problems.
by Ted London
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 01/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-765  Length: 0minutes
This video accompanies the case "Hindustan Lever at the Base of the Pyramid: Growth for the 21st Century." It is an interview with Vijay Sharma, the head of HLL’s Shakti program, and is conducted by Professor Ted London of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan. The interview is divided into two s...
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-604  Length: 20pages
Hindustan Lever Limited, principally owned by Unilever, operates Shakti, a program which aims to extend the reach of HLL’s products to the 742 million rural consumers in 637,000 villages in India. Critical questions the program faces: Will Shakti and the BoP markets it targets deliver to HLL much-needed long term growt...
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-947  Length: 22pages
Are “wide-scale distribution” and “sustainability” mutually exclusive? This case explores this question through the examples of Honest Tea, one of the fast growing companies in the Ready-To-Drink market, and Coca-Cola. Honest Tea faces a challenging decision: whether or not to sell part of its business to Coca-Cola. H...
by Susan Ashford
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-278  Length: 4pages
This case is a cautionary tale about the consequences of cheating in business school. It is ideal for new business students. Honor Code (A) details the circumstances that led to the main character's slip in judgment, and asks students how to proceed. Honor...
by Susan Ashford
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-281  Length: 4pages
This case is a cautionary tale about the consequences of cheating in business school. It is ideal for new business students. Honor Code (A) details the circumstances that led to the main character's slip in judgment, and asks students how to proceed. ...
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-874  Length: 11pages
This note introduces students to the concept of capitalization tables. It defines capital requirements for startup business, helps students create capitalization tables, and provides guidance on how to plan several rounds of financing to fund a startup business.
by GlobaLens
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 05/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-140  Length: 22pages
This note is available FREE of CHARGE; click the product preview pdf and access the complete document. If you use this note in your teaching and provide copies to students, please purchase the appropriate number of permissions. This note outlines the structure of a business case, and includes the basics of style, objec...
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-154  Length: 25pages
As the second-largest bank in India, ICICI Bank has led multiple initiatives to provide banking services at an affordable costs to the poor. ICICI has partnered with others to co-locate ATMs with rural Internet kiosks, and explore SmartCard technology to provide secure, low-cost transactions and loan management. More i...
by Kim Cameron
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-869  Length: 22pages
Positive environment in the workplace is usually assumed to be beneficial to employee morale, but not always a necessity for achieving the firm’s strategic goals. Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) is a field of study that focuses on how leaders and organizations can achieve extraordinary results while focusing ...
by Elayid Raed
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-069  Length: 8pages
The case is about Anup Noori's efforts to expand on the Microfinance model into one that targets structural poverty (i.e. asset poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to medication and water). In doing so, he travels to Sri Lanka, where he hears about Hatton National Bank (HNB), a traditional commercial bank that has ...
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-036  Length: 6pages
This is a concise profile of InnoCentive—the company that created the first online marketplace for corporate research and development (R&D). It can be used to highlight how advancements in IT have spurred changes in the ways that companies perform R&D. This profile reviews the basic structure of InnoCentive’s “Open Inn...
by Syed Abdul Samad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-092  Length: 18pages
This case is featured as part of the Next Billion/WDI 2010 Case Writing Competition. It centers around International Development Enterprise India (IDEI) and its efforts to provide low-cost irrigation techniques to farmers at the Base of the Pyramid. First, the case gives some background about farming and landholding in...
by John Branch
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-089  Length: 22pages
This 'bundle of case' include:
  1. "Irbit Motorcycle Factory"
  2. "Sussex Chainless Bicycles"
  3. "Inline Fibreglass"
  4. "Katie’s Kakes"
  5. "VOSTOK Watches"
  6. "StrongF...
by Greg Miller
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-105  Length: 6pages
Can you practice basic accounting principles through an interesting story? This case presents a budding entrepreneur, Amanda Gojko, who has started her own small business and needs to take physical inventory of her stock. Using LIFO and FIFO calculations, accounting students will learn about basic accounting principles...
by David Wright
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-912  Length: 4pages
The Iowa Speedway was constructed in 2006 by the U.S. Motorsport Entertainment Corporation. The state of the art racetrack is home to many prominent racing leagues, such as NASCAR's Nationwide Series. This mini-case is an exercise on accounting for depreciable life. Students are asked to imagine that they have to c...
by David Wright
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-913  Length: 4pages
The Iowa Speedway was constructed in 2006 by the U.S. Motorsport Entertainment Corporation. The state of the art racetrack is home to many prominent racing leagues, such as NASCAR's Nationwide Series. This mini-case is an exercise on accounting for depreciable life. Students are asked to imagine that they have to c...
by David Wright
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-914  Length: 4pages
The Iowa Speedway was constructed in 2006 by the U.S. Motorsport Entertainment Corporation. The state of the art racetrack is home to many prominent racing leagues, such as NASCAR's Nationwide Series. This mini-case is an exercise on accounting for depreciable life. Students are asked to imagine that they have to c...
by John Baker
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-097  Length: 14pages
This case is featured as part of the Next Billion/WDI 2010 Case Writing Competition. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) had just implemented a successful youth capacity-building pilot program that it was now considering scaling. By selecting unemployed youth as franchisors for successful local companies, IRC crea...
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-428-915  Length: 24pages
This case study is an in-depth analysis of ITC’s initiative to develop third-generation e-Choupals, or internet-enabled computer stations based in villages. The first e-Choupals provided information on weather, best practices, crop details, market prices, and important local news to farmers in 1999. The third generati...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 09/2003  Product ID#: 1-428-656  Length: 2pages
This mini-case is from the IT-Enabled Services Series. It is designed to be used alongside IT-Enabled Services cases (A) through (F). Case (E) describes Bechtel India Pvt. Ltd., a Bechtel subsidiary located in Gurgaon, near the outskirts of New Delhi, India. The company was established in 1994 to provide engineering, p...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 09/2003  Product ID#: 1-428-654  Length: 2pages
This mini-case is from the IT-Enabled Services Series. It is designed to be used alongside IT-Enabled Services cases (A) through (F). Case (C) outlines the history and rapid growth of General Electric Capital Services' captive operation GE Capital International Services (GECIS) which was established in 1996, in Gur...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 09/2003  Product ID#: 1-428-652  Length: 2pages
This mini-case is from the IT-Enabled Services Series. It is designed to be used alongside IT-Enabled Services cases (A) through (F). Case (A) describes Healthscribe India, an Indian-based offshore medical transcription and data management company.
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 09/2003  Product ID#: 1-428-655  Length: 3pages
This mini-case is from the IT-Enabled Services Series. It is designed to be used alongside IT-Enabled Services cases (A) through (F). Case (D) describes the history and growth of Spectramind eServices, which was the only non-captive e-services company in India offering the entire gamut of remote services, including bus...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 09/2003  Product ID#: 1-428-657  Length: 3pages
This mini-case is from the IT-Enabled Services Series. It is designed to be used alongside IT-Enabled Services cases (A) through (F). Case (F) describes Teleradiology Solutions, Inc. (TRS), an offshore teleradiology company that offers on-call interpretation of all noninvasive imaging from its headquarters in Bangalore...
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-653  Length: 2pages
This mini-case is from the IT-Enabled Services Series. It is designed to be used alongside IT-Enabled Services cases (A) through (F). Case (B) describes the history and growth of Transworks, an IT-enabled customer relationship management (CRM) company based in Mumbai, India.
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-145  Length: 21pages
With five and a half million amputees, there is an almost overwhelming need for an inexpensive artificial foot/lower limb prosthesis in India. Any solution also has to meet the needs of the Indian lifestyle - walking barefooted, squatting, and sitting cross-legged. With innovative design and use of materials, Jaipur Fo...
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-849  Length: 22pages
The Jaipur Rugs case explores how a company can benefit the poor by connecting them with global markets. Jaipur Rugs makes this connection by building and orchestrating a global supply chain on a massive scale—one focused on developing human capability and skill...
by Jane Dutton
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-854  Length: 6pages
Job designs are typically created by managers for employees. But employees are often motivated to make changes to their formal job designs to customize a more desirable experience for themselves at work. The concept of “job crafting” captures these changes. This case describes how four employees at Burt’s Bees Inc. cra...
by Paul Clyde, Rich Sheridan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-228  Length: 16pages
"Make mistakes faster". This slogan, and others like it, can be seen prominently displayed on posters throughout Menlo's office, a software-development company known for its casual Mondays and extreme interviews. Menlo's founders are considering opening a new branch to keep up with the demand for Menlo's services, but ...
by Izak Duenyas
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 06/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-164  Length: 9pages
Kellogg Company, one of the largest cereal companies in the world, is struggling with inefficient production flows. The popular Raisin Bran and Frosted Flakes cereals are produced on the same production line. The process is often starved of cereal, which is costing Kellogg thousands of dollars every day in lost revenue...
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-054  Length: 15pages
Kodak has been a leader in convenient and cutting edge products for many decades. However, the company has not adapted well to the market's shift toward digital technology. Now, the CEO must decide how to handle the decline of earnings and stock prices, which began in the last decade. This case is included in M...
by William Lovejoy
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-127  Length: 4pages
This case explores the LanServe Corporation, a company that focuses on manufacturing low to mid-range network servers. As a low cost server provider, LanServe is facing a series of decisions surrounding how it should manufacture its products. Data surrounding the company's operations are provided, leaving students ...
by William Lovejoy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-128  Length: 3pages
This case builds upon LanServe Corporation (A). LanServe, a company that designs low to midrange servers, is facing increased demand for its services and has to choose between lines and cells to redesign its production process. Price data and capacity calculations are presented for each option, and students are asked t...
by Christie L. Nordhielm
Product Type: Simulation  Publication Date: 07/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-111  Length: 19pages
Laura Moore, CEO of her own executive recruiting firm, Moore Associates, wants to scale her business in the $1 billion professional recruiting industry. With the professional and personal needs of her staff in mind, Moore must continue to distinguish her company from the competition and grow her business. Moore has sev...
by Susan Ashford
Product Type: Leadership Crisis Challenge  Publication Date: 05/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-930  Length: 21pages
Winner of the 2011 University of Michigan Provost's Teaching Innovation Prize
This simulation presents students with a realistic business challenge that lies at the intersection of social, environmental and financial constraints. It encourages students to practice and gain critical le...
by Susan Ashford
Product Type: Leadership Crisis Challenge  Publication Date: 01/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-121  Length: 22pages
Winner of the 2011 University of Michigan Provost's Teaching Innovation Prize
This role-playing simulation allows students to make decisions in real-time based on rapidly-changing business scenarios. Students become the senior executives for AquaStar Bottled Water, a company accused o...
by Susan Ashford
Product Type: Leadership Crisis Challenge  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-769  Length: 52pages
Winner of the 2011 University of Michigan Provost's Teaching Innovation Prize
This simulation presents students with a realistic business challenge that sits at the intersection of social, environmental, and financial constraints. It encourages students to practice and gain critical l...
by Susan Ashford
Product Type: Leadership Crisis Challenge  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-585  Length: 14pages
Winner of the 2011 University of Michigan Provost's Teaching Innovation Prize
This simulation presents students with a hypothetical yet realistic business challenge that sits at the intersection of social, environmental, and financial constraints. The student teams are asked to take on...
by Izak Duenyas
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-795  Length: 18pages
This case study teaches students about lean process improvement projects at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the world's leading hospital systems. The majority of the case focuses on one lean improvement project and leads the student step-by-step through the Kaizen events, and the tools, approaches and outcomes of the ...
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-034  Length: 5pages
This is a concise profile of Left foot Company, the customized shoe business of Finland’s leading casual footwear manufacturer, Pomarfin Ltd. It includes a brief history of Pomarfin and Left foot Company as well as a description of the The left Process of ordering customized shoes—which includes scanning of customers’ ...
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-055  Length: 8pages
This informational case details the story of Lehman Brothers in the wake of the recent financial crisis. In doing so, the case also provides background about mortgage-backed securities and the involvement of financial institutions in the housing crisis. At the end, the case lays out a timeline of important events durin...
by William Lovejoy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-130  Length: 5pages
Lewis Stone is a small, Midwestern company that manufactures plastic parts. The company has been hit hard by the 2008 recession and must move its headquarters to a region with lower labor costs. With a labor negotiation on the horizon, Lewis Stone's management must decide whether to inform the union leaders of the ...
by Aneel Karnani
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-038  Length: 14pages
This case study details LifeSpring Hospitals, a maternity hospital chain for low-income women in India that is an investee of Acumen Fund. Though LifeSpring's target customer earns between $2 to $5 per day, the hospital is a business, with the belief that a for-profit model is more efficient, sustainable, and scala...
by Andrew Hoffman, Rebecca Henn
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-714  Length: 38pages
~~Awarded 3rd prize in the 2008 oikos Casewriting Competition~~ Steve Glenn, a successful Internet start-up entrepreneur, returned to his love of architecture and commitment to sustainability by creating a company that would provide signature green, prefabricated homes to the “cultural creative” market. The case outlin...
by Andrew Hoffman, Rebecca Henn
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-027  Length: 0minutes
This video accompanies the case "LivingHomes." It depicts a site installation. (This is the first part of a 2-part video series). There is no audio on this video. The case study is about Steve Glenn, a successful Internet start-up entrepreneur, who returns to his love of architecture and commitment to sustainability by...
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-042  Length: 1minutes
This video accompanies the case, LivingHomes. It is an interview with the CEO and architects. (This is part 2 of a 2-part video series) The case study is about Steve Glenn, a successful internet start-up entrepreneur, who returns to his love of architecture and commitment to sustainability by creating a company that wo...