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Search for: Product: Case
Found: 193 Products
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Cases
Zingerman's (A)
by Wayne Baker
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2013  Product ID#: 1-428-861  Length: 30pages
Over the years, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB) has regularly won accolades and awards – including being named “the coolest small company in America” by Inc. in 2003 - for its food, service, mail order catalog, training, and overall success. This case shows how Zingerman’s went from a single delicatessen in 1982 to nine unique but complementary companies with combined revenues of $45 million in 2012.
Gillette
by Ryan Atkins
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-328  Length: 12pages
    Through market immersion, Gillette’s staff studied the Indian market and learned about the specific needs of Indian consumers. The Gillette Guard became the market leader in only six months, moving Indian consumers away from using low quality double-edge razors. Gillette also developed an operations model to efficiently produce these low cost razors in India, providing local jobs and ensuring stable costs. The primary question is if Gillette should launch the low cost razor in the US.
CCI: Last Mile Distribution Challenge
by Dr. Guda Sridhar, Vaibhav Chawla, Deep Singh
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-325  Length: 24pages
In 2007, Akhilesh Gupta and Naren Shah reconfigured Candy and Chocolate India with a vision to build an effective and efficient Route to Market (RTM). The objectives of the reconfiguration were to increase the availability of CCI brands and improve customer service. The company’s future growth opportunities depended on its penetration of rural markets. Approximately 69% of India’s population lived in rural areas. However, CCI had low representation in rural markets with populations of 10,000 or less.
ayzh at a Crossroad
by Asad Aziz, Yolanda Sarason, Grace Hanley
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-329  Length: 16pages
The case examines challenges presented by potential global expansion for the ayzh, a for-profit social venture that provides maternal health products as well as job creation opportunities for impoverished women in India. This case challenges students to think about the implications of global expansion on the mission and business models of social enterprises.
BTPN: Banking for the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia
by R. Ryan Nelson, Carl P. Zeithaml, Gardner Bell
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-330  Length: 20pages
BTPN is a mid-size bank in Indonesia with a successful business model that also creates positive social change (following its mission to “Do Good and Do Well”). The Bank’s president, Jerry Ng, is faced with the dilemma of how to grow the business; i.e.., whether or not BTPN should expand its micro-lending to include the productive poor in the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP). The decision should be based on a comprehensive understanding of BTPN’s environment, business model, strategy, and systems; while consider
Community Enterprise Solutions
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-331  Length: 16pages
The “Community Enterprise Solutions: Replicating the Microconsignment Model” case describes the founding and growth of Community Enterprise Solutions (CE Solutions), an NGO working at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) in Guatemala. The case opens with background information and some history on the founder, Greg Van Kirk. Van Kirk’s experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala allowed him to identify several opportunities for entrepreneurial businesses designed to employ local workers, attract more touri
Hydraid: Safe Water for the Base of the Pyramid
by Paul Mudde
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-332  Length: 24pages
Triple Quest, a joint venture between a manufacturer and a private investment company, is experimenting with different business models to distribute its proprietary Hydraid water filtration system. This case discusses the worldwide water crisis and the organizations involved in addressing it.
Mushrooms as a Viable Product for Poverty Alleviation in Tanzania
by Geoffrey R. Archer, Sarah Proctor, Jennifer Vagg
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-333  Length: 16pages
This case focuses on mechanisms for alleviating poverty and addressing food security issues through small scale farming in Tanzania. Simon Mkao, the protagonist, needs to choose a business model for expanding his small-scale mushroom farming operations (the Mwika Mushroom Group) as he drafts a proposal for the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. The case challenges students to examine different business models and assess the challenges confronted by millions of small-scale farmers worldwide.
Day One as CEO of Dover University Hospital
by Michael Provitera
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-305  Length: 24pages
This case is based on the decision-making process employed by leaders of a US hospital in New Jersey. Ray Wilcox suddenly becomes CEO of Dover University Hospital. With only two hours to sort through the former CEO’s in-basket of messages and voicemails before a business trip, he must work quickly to triage a variety of business issues. This two-part case challenges students to think outside the box, pay attention to detail, and use their imaginations as they do the timed exercise and the case discussion.
Cisco SCRM in Action: 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake
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 quickly develop a picture of what was at risk in Cisco operations as well as an understanding of the impacts to the hundreds of Cisco suppliers in Japan. With the help of his team, Cisco B
Sproxil: Saving Lives
by Dr. Prashant Yadav
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-324  Length: 16pages
As he read the media reports on Sproxil’s successful completion of the first phase of the company’s work in Nigeria, Ashifi Gogo wondered if such successes would be one of very many for Sproxil or if it was one of a kind. Sproxil now had a proven technology in place and Gogo had identified the regions he would like to enter with his technology. But he was still reviewing data on national markets to determine which markets to enter, as well as the right business model to use: a pure for-profit model or a so
Small Parts, Big Problems: Fastener Management at American Turbochargers, Inc.
by Dr. Gunter Dufey, Dr. Albert Shih
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-290  Length: 16pages
In an extremely competitive market, ATI had to keep costs as low as possible to remain a global leader. The ATI facility was the largest in the world by production volume, and the cost of the material and parts that went into production accounted for 75% of the total manufacturing cost on average; but for some, it was close to 95%. It was up to Brad Rogeman, Director of Procurement at American Turbochargers, Inc.’s (ATI) production facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, to keep that margin as high as possible.
Jamba Juice and the Foam Cup
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-298  Length: 20pages
Environmental issues increasingly influence many aspects of business including strategy, public relations, and supply chain operations. This case centers on whether or not Jamba Juice, a publicly held smoothie company, should respond to online public pressure to cease use of polystyrene foam cups. Students will explore how companies respond to public scrutiny and consider what actions make business sense for companies when faced with the public’s increasing demands for companies to be more sustainable.
A123 Systems Powering a Sustainable Future
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-302  Length: 24pages
A123 successfully went to market with new technologies that could revolutionize the energy storage and electric battery industries. It drew critical acclaim from the US President and Secretary of Energy, the automotive industry, environmental and scientific communities, and Wall Street. After opening the largest hybrid vehicle battery manufacturing facility in North America, CEO David Vieau needs to evaluate the road forward.
Blueprint for Ford's Future
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-303  Length: 16pages
Ford’s Social Sustainability Manager, David Berdish, faces the challenge of positioning Ford on the forefront of the global transportation industry while leveraging Ford’s leadership in the automotive industry. This case takes a holistic look at the global transportation industry with emphasis on emerging markets and their increasingly congested transportation systems. Students must decide how to balance market positioning and long-term vision with near-term strategy to better serve the next generation.
Building a Scalable Business with Small-Holder Farmers in Kenya: Honey Care's Beekeeping Model
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-313  Length: 20pages
It was late September, and Madison Ayer, chief executive officer of Honey Care Africa (HCA), was visiting a small-holder farm in Kakamega, Kenya. Together with an HCA technician, he was inspecting five beehives being harvested for the first time on the farmer’s property. Just one year ago, HCA had launched its reworked business model under Ayer, who had become the company’s CEO two years ago. This new model transitioned HCA from obligating farmers to maintain their own hives to providing hive management ser
ABT Associates: Scaling Indoor Residual Spraying for Malaria Prevention in Africa
by Ravi Anupindi, Colm Fay
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-272  Length: 36pages
In the summer of 2011 Abt Associates was awarded a contract to implement indoor residual spraying (IRS) in up to 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa based on successes the company had with its IRS program in Uganda. The company had come a long way since it took over the Uganda project in 2009 from the previous contractor.
SC Johnson and the Greenlist Backlash
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-300  Length: 16pages
This case examines SC Johnson’s development of the environmentally focused ingredient improvement process Greenlist™ and the subsequent lawsuits brought by consumers against the company for deceptively labeling its products, or “greenwashing”. The case inspires a discussion of the cleaning product industry and how green aspects of products are currently being communicated to consumers. Students are challenged to consider the tradeoffs of different kinds of communication and green certification.
The Dow Chemical Company: the Inseparability of Safety and Business Success
by GlobaLens
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-178  Length: 20pages
The decision in 1995 to develop the 2005 EH&S goals was monumental. Although at the time it was difficult to envision the goals becoming reality, Dow drastically improved its EH&S performance by integrating safety and sustainability into the very fabric of the organization, attaining nearly all of the goals it had set in 1995. The initiative not only contributed billions to Dow’s bottom line, but also improved employee morale, enhanced the company’s industry standing, and assisted Dow in attracting an
Service Excellence (University of Victoria Coursepack)
by None Selected
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-316  Length: 52pages
This coursepack is for the course "Competing Through Service Excellence", taught by Professor Vivien Corwin at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Spring 2013.
BUSI 672-- Global Supply Chain Management (U. Maryland, Spring 2013)
by None Selected
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-315  Length: 46pages
This coursepack is for BUSI 672 - Global Supply Chain Management, taught by Professor Thomas Corsi at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
REI Rentals
by Damian Beil, Wallace Hopp
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-292  Length: 20pages
Kirk Myers, REI’s Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), twirled his pen around his thumb and forefinger. Staring out the window toward misty Mt. Rainier, Myers thought hard, recalling a conference call with his boss, CSR Director Kevin Hagen, and Retail Operations Manager Teresa Mueller several weeks before. At the end of the conversation, Myers was tasked with an assignment outside his usual realm of responsibility—find a way to optimize the rental program across REI retail locations to maximiz
BGSU BIZX4000
by None Selected
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-314  Length: 292pages
Coursepack for BizX4000 - Senior Applied Business Experience - at Bowling Green State University's College of Business Administration, taught by Dr. Deborah A. O'Neil, Assistant Professor, Department of Management.
American Express: A Relationship, Not a Transaction
by M.S. Krishnan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-100  Length: 20pages
Jim Bush he began to worry that the company was focusing too much on cost reduction. Customer service quality was eroding as the company strove to stay competitive during hard economic times.
Alexander & Thurston: Inventory Management
by Wallace Hopp
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-293  Length: 8pages
The president and CEO of A&T has expressed the opinion that there is too much spare-parts inventory in the system, both at the DC and in the field. He believes that, through better inventory management, inventory can be reduced from its present level while customer service is improved...
Joy to the World...through Software Development at Menlo Innovations
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 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, but wonder if they can preserve their culture.
Aparajitha: Developing a Thinking Organization
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 give it comparative advantages that could be applied in other a...
MBAMGT 684 Social Ent. & Poverty Alleviation Coursepack (UMass-Boston)
by None Selected
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 08/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-286  Length: 116pages
This coursepack is for MBAMGT 684, Social Enterprise & Poverty Alleviation, taught by Professor Arthur Goldsmith, University of Massachusetts-Boston. The following case studies are included in this coursepack: Acumen Fund: How to Make the Greatest Impact (#1-428-592) Building a Sustainable Venture from the Ground Up: The Mountain Institute’s Earth Brick Machine (#1-428-611) CEMEX’s...
Strategy Fall 2012 Coursepack
by None Selected
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 08/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-285  Length: 118pages
This coursepack is for BADM 4801, Section 10 taught by Professor Smita K.Trivedi at The George Washington University School of Business. The following case studies are included in this coursepack: VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid (# 1428610) The Clorox Company Goes Green (# 1429087) CEMEX's Patrimonio Hoy: At the Tipping Point? (#1428606) Profile of Enron:...
Honor Code: A Sticky Situation in Business School (A)
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 judgement, and asks students how to proceed. Honor Code (B) is the resulting outcome. This case was originally developed for executive-MBA students, but it will be appropriate f...
Honor Code: A Sticky Situation in Business School (B)
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 judgement, and asks students how to proceed. Case (B) is the resulting outcome. This case was originally developed for executive-MBA students, but it will be appropriate for all...
Cisco - Supply Chain Risk Mgt (H1N1)
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.
GoodBelly: Using Statistics to Justify the Marketing Expense
by Hyun-Soo Ahn
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-252  Length: 6pages
GoodBelly is trying to boost its sales at grocery stores like Whole Foods Market. As a small start-up, GoodBelly must optimize the allocation of its limited marketing budget. It currently promotes through in-person demonstrations in stores, but management is concerned that these demonstrations are not effective enough to justify the cost. It is up to GoodBelly's student intern, Car...
NextEra Energy
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-232  Length: 18pages
Rick Anderson, senior director of NextEra’s Green Marketing Group, is crafting a marketing strategy to move Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) on the voluntary market by demonstrating the added value of the company’s EarthEra RECs. NextEra not only markets RECs, but also funds the construction of renewable energy projects. Anderson is seeking to expand the EarthEra program and brand. While there has been some good responses to EarthEra RECs, there have also been setbacks....
Genesis BioSystems
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 embryos will produce a better study than mouse embryos. The decisi...
Supplier Selection at Casturn Systems (A)
by Damian Beil, Izak Duenyas
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-248  Length: 14pages
Miguel Haro, director of Control Systems in Casturn’s Transmission Division, had returned to his desk after witnessing an online reverse auction for O-rings. Although supplier training for the event had been rushed, Haro’s Global Commodity Manager Mary Konchesky was confident that the event would yield significant cost savings. One bid stuck out from the rest: the incumbent supplie...
Supplier Selection at Casturn Systems (B)
by Damian Beil, Izak Duenyas
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-249  Length: 14pages
Despite initial concerns about the electronic reverse auction process, Casturn Director of Control Systems Miguel Haro decided that he was going to put all his weight behind the initiative and ensure that it succeeded, even if it was only to answer all the questions about how to run auctions. After a series of initial missteps, Haro began building a convincing business case for the...
CEMEX's Patrimonio Hoy: At the Tipping Point?
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 case study explores Patrimonio Hoy in 2006, the sales, distribution, and savings program that serves Mexico’s self-construction housing market. Since then, Patrimonio Hoy has gone from a small, centrally-funded project to a US$25 million in revenue. This case explores the initiative's opportunities for growth and expansion into new markets.
Oz TV
by Izak Duenyas
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-240  Length: 6pages
This year, television service provider Oz TV’s financial figures are troubling, despite steady demand. Is operational performance hurting financial performance? Oz customers rent a set-top box when they buy their programming package. Set-top boxes drive Oz’s key performance indicator: utilization. Students examine Oz’s box-return process in order to discover the link between financ...
Google Energy Shifts into Renewables
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-226  Length: 14pages
Google has been widely criticized for its data center energy usage. Google Energy, a recently created subsidiary, has successfully responded to this criticism but must now formulate an expansion strategy. If successful, the expansion is expected to strengthen Google’s image as an industry leader in energy procurement, provide strong financial returns, and create a lucrative new market. However, this initiative has high risks.
BP: Beyond Petroleum?
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 into all events of the spill, this case study asks students to determine: what should BP do now?
Oxfam-Swiss Re Micro-insurance Partnership in Ethiopia
by Jonathan Doh, Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-185  Length: 22pages
Winner of the 2012 Oikos Foundation Casewriting Competition. Swiss Re, a large global reinsurance company, has partnered with Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization, to provide the poor with risk reduction support. The partnership's evolution shows students many common inter- and intra-organizational challenges. For example, the need to overcome interna...
CEMEX’s Patrimonio Hoy Looks to Grow
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 construct their own homes. Israel Moreno, Director of Patrimonio Hoy, must present his recommendations to CEMEX's top management that outline a growth s...
Patagonia: Encouraging Customers to Buy Used Clothing (A)
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-230  Length: 22pages
How do you make money when you tell your customers 'don't buy our stuff unless you really need it?'" This was the question that Yvon Chouinard, founder of the clothing company Patagonia, asked himself as he considered developing a new partnership with eBay in which customers would buy and sell used Patagonia gear on eBay rather than buy it new. As he considered this new partnership...
Patagonia: Encouraging Customers to Buy Used Clothing (B)
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-231  Length: 6pages
How do you make money when you tell your customers 'don't buy our stuff unless you really need it?'" This was the question that Yvon Chouinard, founder of the clothing company Patagonia, asked himself as he considered developing a new partnership with eBay in which customers would buy and sell used Patagonia gear on eBay rather than buy it new. As he considered this new partnership...
Growing Pains of the Tata Nano
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 where several Nanos caught on fire, the Tata Nano has seen dismal sales. Thi...
Movirtu's Cloud Phone Service
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-162  Length: 18pages
Who are the right investors for a for-profit company targeting the world's poor? Before this start-up spends hundreds of hours pursuing venture capital (VC), Movirtu must decide whether a profit-oriented VC investment will fit its vision for both growth and social impact. Movirtu’s "Cloud Phone" software is designed for the nearly one billion people who cannot afford mobile phones...
Bharti Airtel (B)
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan, Sheel Mohnot
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-428-864  Length: 12pages
This is the second of two cases. Case B presents students with the various strategies that Airtel has pursued to become one of the most profitable wireless telecommunication companies in India.
Martin Burt
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-214  Length: 14pages
This case provides students with an in-depth interview with Martin Burt, social entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Fundacion Paraguaya. The case should be used in conjunction with the Fundacion Paraguaya case series. The case makes a great follow-on discussion to Fundacion Paraguaya (A): The San Francisco School or a conclusion to the three case series. This case makes an excellent...
Kinder, Lydenberg, and Domini and Socially Responsible Investing
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-215  Length: 22pages
This case study tells the story of KLD Research & Analytics, which provided annual social responsibility ratings for over 3,000 companies, employed over 60 people, and was widely regarded as a leader in social investment research. One of this case's key learning outcomes will be helping students realize that starting and growing a successful social venture takes more than individua...
Fundación Paraguaya (A)
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-216  Length: 18pages
This case focuses on Fundacion Paraguaya, a microfinance institution in Paraguay that helps primary and secondary schools become financially self-sufficient. Its most recent acquisition - an agricultural high school in Paraguay - was almost insolvent when Fundacion Paraguaya came to its aid. After helping the school become financially self-sufficient, Martin Burt, CEO of Fundacion...
Fundación Paraguaya (B)
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-217  Length: 8pages
This case accompanies the Fundacion Paraguaya (A) case. Martin Burt, CEO of Fundacion Paraguay, has helped another school become financially self-sufficient using the same business model he applied to the San Francisco High School (see case A), but has found that replicating his success requires more financial capital than he had initially thought. Since banks are hesitant to lend...
Fundación Paraguaya (C)
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-218  Length: 4pages
This case outlines four problems with the Social Return on Capital (SROI) metric, which quantifies the social impact of programs like Fundacion Paraguaya. How do you accurately quantify the impact of infant nutrition programs? This case accompanies the Fundacion Paraguaya (A) and (B) cases.
Procter & Gamble’s PUR Purifier of Water:
by Carol Seagle, Lisa Jones Christensen
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-201  Length: 14pages
Over the last ten years, Procter & Gamble has helped to distribute over 200 million PUR packets, packets that are typically used by people who must draw their water from contaminated and foul water sources. PUR packets have been used to purify more than 2.4 billion liters of water, most often in rural locations in developing nations. However, since P&G had never promoted such a pro...
Calling and Talent Development
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 vocational choice.
Equilibrium Capital Group
by Tom Lyon
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-106  Length: 48pages
Venture capitalists Bill Campbell and Kipp Baratoff have a decision to make. They can either invest their hard-earned capital in one of two existing energy efficiency (EE) companies or create their own company that tackles EE market barriers in a novel way. Bill and Kipp must understand how EE companies operate and discover the nuances of the EE market to make their joint decision.
Advanced Chemical Industries’ Shwapno Initiative
by Md. Ashaduzzaman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-184  Length: 11pages
In Bangladesh, most of the farmers, fisherman, and meat producers of the country were victim to typical interest business Dadan, a business system in Bangladesh in which middlemen purchase produce from farmers at a low price and sell it at a high price to consumers. Lots of vegetables grew moldy in rural areas, because farmers did not find enough buyers who would buy their goods, w...
Lewis Stone
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 company's decision to relocate the company.
Range Resources
by Andrew Hoffman, Steve Percy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-168  Length: 28pages
John Pinkerton, CEO of natural gas company Range Resources, must consider supporting or condemning a new bill passed by Congress that could add more regulations to one of Range's most effective mining methods: fracking. Pinkerton must consider the benefits and costs of supporting or condemning the new legislation and how it will impact his company.
ITC e-Choupal 3.0
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 generation e-Choupals are envisioned to mitigate a lack of information ab...
Bharti Airtel (A)
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan, Sheel Mohnot
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-428-834  Length: 16pages
Bharti Airtel (Airtel) examines 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'ss capabilities to determine strategies for growth.
South Pacific Business Development Foundation
by Philip Powell, Jacob Hiatt, Matthew Hutchens, Rocio Ortiz
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-169  Length: 23pages
Second Place Winner of the NextBillion 2011 Case Writing Competition SPBD Foundation is a microfinance organization with ten years of success in Samoa. SPBD has achieved financial self-sufficiency and a 98% repayment rate for its female borrowers. After successful expansion to the neighboring Polynesian country of Tonga, SPBD owner Greg Casagrande now wants to begin operations in F...
Habitat for Humanity
by Daniel Fogel, Michael Nestor
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-170  Length: 23pages
Fifth Place Winner of the NextBillion 2011 Case Writing Competition Henry Smith, Director of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, has been encouraged by the Habitat for Humanity headquarters to begin building affordable, environmentally sustainable homes, which seem to be attracting much donor and foundation support. Smith must decide if and how to facilitate this new strategy, t...
Village Capital
by Peter Roberts, Carol Gee, Ross Baird
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-171  Length: 15pages
First Place Winner of the NextBillion 2011 Case Writing Competition Bob Pattillo is the founder of a firm that invests in for-profit companies that also seek social and environmental impact, but it has been difficult for Pattillo to find start-up social enterprises. So, Pattillo developed Village Capital, an innovative investment strategy that uses peer support cohorts of entrepren...
Good Capital
by Gautam Kaul, Lauren Foukes
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-172  Length: 13pages
Fourth Place Winner of the NextBillion 2011 Case Writing Competition Kevin Jones, cofounder of social investment firm Good Capital, is considering possible expansion strategies for Good Capital. He has three main options: raising a second fund, expanding their SOCAP conference to help develop the impact investing industry, and increasing the reach of The Hub, work places for socia...
Sustainable Financing for a BoP Hospital
by Paul Clyde
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-173  Length: 21pages
Third Place Winner of the NextBillion 2011 Case Writing Competition STAR, a comprehensive mission hospital in India, is facing an impending decrease in donations, which currently comprise nearly 50% of total funding. Its founder, Gautam Vora, must consider altering its business model to adopt more sustainable financing mechanisms. To do so, he benchmarks three other hospitals that...
Madras Cement, Ltd.
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-428-925  Length: 23pages
Madras Cement is a leading cement producer in southern India. This case illustrates the process of championing ERP implementation in a complex diversified conglomerate.
LifeSpring Hospitals
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 scalable than a charity or non-profit entity that is eternally reliant on...
Zipcar, Inc.
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-159  Length: 9pages
Though Zipcar's cost-effect approach to car ownership is known for being a great “best new idea” story, this cases asks how CEO Scott Griffin can turn Zipcar from “best” and “new” into “profitable”? This case is included in Module 2 of the course Business Thought & Action.
Sustainability at Detroit Edison
by Owen Q. Wu
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-143  Length: 10pages
Electric utility companies have been at the forefront of the sustainable development challenge. This case describes Detroit Edison's sustainability strategies in transforming its fossil generation assets. This case complements existing cases on the development of renewable energy sources by describing transition strategies and merits and costs of displacement and transition strateg...
Grainger
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 points. These private label products were sourced primarily from...
Ford Motor Company in the 1920s
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 (timing production activities, industrial shortages, price increases, etc.
Circuit City
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 led to Circuit City's demise. This case is included in Module 3 of the course...
SMART: Global Urban Mobility Solutions
by Nigel Melville
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-964  Length: 27pages
SMART works to develop more efficient, environmentally and socially sustainable transportation systems in cities around the world. Its key approach is the Integrated Hub Network - a network that accesses several transportation modes in one place, while utilizing real-time transportation updates and information kiosks. Students help director Sue Zielinski pitch the Los Angeles proje...
Autoprime Corporation
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 including overcoming resistance at the floor level and the importance o...
LanServe Corporation (B)
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 to make and justify recommendations each way.
Midco Pharmaceuticals
by William Lovejoy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-129  Length: 12pages
This case follows Laura Milanes as she defines the problems facing Midco Pharmaceuticals, a leading manufacturer of store brand over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and vitamins. Students analyze Midco's new-product development (NPD) process. This requires critical-path, capacity, and process flow analysis. Students then conduct a cost-benefit analysis and make recommendations.
eChoupal - ITC, Ltd.
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 a sense of dignity and confidence in being connected to the rest of the...
eGovernance in Andhra Pradesh
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, paper-based system are eliminated. Citizens find it easy to pay bi...
EID Parry
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.
E+Co & Tecnosol
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, and jobs. The Nicaraguan government welcomes this effort, as scarc...
ICICI Bank
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 importantly, ICICI Bank has created a network of eight thousand S...
Annapurna Salt
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 Ltd. has developed a more stable iodine for salt that is effective...
Selling Health
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-156  Length: 27pages
Around the world, 2.2 million people die from diarrheal disease every year. Children are especially at risk - one child dies every 30 seconds. India alone contributes thirty percent of the world's diarrheal deaths. By teaching and demonstrating the benefits of handwashing through both UN and branded programs that reach into the villages, Hindustan Lever Ltd. is reducing infectious...
Voxiva
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-157  Length: 17pages
Peru's struggle in the early 1990s to control a cholera outbreak took years, cost thousands of lives, and meant over $770 million dollars in lost productivity, trade, and tourism for Peru's economy. Voxiva's product, Alerta, is one tool Peru is using to fight back against infectious disease outbreaks. It transforms the typical village telephone into a tool for effectively reporting...
Jaipur Foot
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 Foot (a non-profit organization) has created a low-cost prosthesis...
Casas Bahia
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% of CB customers have no formal or consistent income), Casas Bahi...
EMRI
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 successful in delivering consistent high-quality services at the lowe...
Friction and Frustration at TMG, Inc
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.
Honest Tea
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. Honest Tea desires to stay committed to CSR goals and maintain its...
Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda (English):Lumberyard
by Etienne Musonera
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-071  Length: 10pages
This case was written about an alumnus of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative, which aims to bring high-quality business and management education to 10,000 underserved women around the world. It was written to be used for a cohort of the same program. See Kinyarwanda version if needed. This case describes Anastasie Nyirabukeye’s timber and woodwork business and chronicles her...
Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda (Kinyarwanda): Banana Wine
by Etienne Musonera
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-138  Length: 12pages
This is the Kinyarwanda-language version of the case was written for a class in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative, which aims to bring high-quality business and management education to 10,000 underserved women around the world. It was taught in classes consisting of about 30 women entrepreneurs each in Kigali, Rwanda, and it described the banana wine business of Christine M...
Inventory Gremlins
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 as well as when and how to do compete write-downs.
International Development Enterprise
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 India. It then discusses IDEI’s growth and the success of its p...
IRC in Sierra Leone, The
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 created a unique model of social enterprise by which the youth can l...
Coke in the Crosshairs
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 reform, and the Coca-Cola Company. Pressured by this activist group,...
Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda (Kinyarwanda): Lumberyard
by Etienne Musonera
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-139  Length: 12pages
This Kinyarwanda-language version case was written about an alumnus of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative, which aims to bring high-quality business and management education to 10,000 underserved women around the world. It was written to be used for a cohort of the same program. See English version if needed. This case describes Anastasie Nyirabukeye’s timber and woodwork bu...
Ziqitza Healthcare Limited
by Venkataramani Srivatsan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-095  Length: 18pages
This case is featured as part of the Next Billion/WDI 2010 Case Writing Competition. It centers around Ziqitza Healthcare Limited, a private ambulance company in India which just secured its first governmental contract with the state of Rajasthan to serve its 56 million inhabitants. The case opens with a detailed overview of company background and business model, then discusses the...
New Technologies and Financial Communications
by Greg Miller
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-088  Length: 16pages
A slew of information technologies have emerged in recent years with the progression of online communications. These technologies are fundamentally changing the interaction between companies and their investors. This case is about the new challenges confronted by investor relations (IR) when using novel communication channels to disseminate financial information to constituents (in...
Kentucky Fried Chicken
by Glyn ATWAL, Douglas Bryson
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-078  Length: 8pages
An isolated rat infestation in a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in New York City was filmed live on US television, setting off a media frenzy. Students must place themselves in the position of the management of the chain, owned by franchise parent company, Yum! Brands, Inc., and think about how handle the crisis by responding to consumers and the Board of Directors in a way that...
The Emancipation Network
by Nathalie Laidler-Kylander
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-096  Length: 30pages
This case is featured as part of the Next Billion/WDI 2010 Case Writing Competition. In 2005, Sarah Symons and John Berger founded The Emancipation Network (T.E.N. Charities) to combat slavery and human trafficking. Though T.E.N accepted donations, the majority of its revenue came from Made By Survivors L.L.C, its wholly-owned subsidiary, which purchased handicrafts made by survivors and resold them in the U.S.
Sweetest Business of Nestle Venezuela
by Deborah Mendez, Steve Koch
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-090  Length: 18pages
This is the Next Billion/WDI 2010 Case Writing Competition Winner. This case explores the need to scale BoP initiatives in a cost-efficient manner to create a measurable positive impact on the lives of BoP consumers and the long-term financial performance of Nestle Venezuela. Nestlé Venezuela marketed a portfolio of products and wanted to strengthen its bond with Bottom of Pyramid (BoP) consumers.
International Marketing Mini-Cases Collection
by John Branch
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-089  Length: 22pages
This 'bundle of case' include: "Irbit Motorcycle Factory" "Sussex Chainless Bicycles" "Inline Fibreglass" "Katie’s Kakes" "VOSTOK Watches" "StrongFiber Company Limited" "Maru Industries" "Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company" A collection of eight 1-2 page mini-cases, available...
Open Book Finance
by Ryan Smerek, Wayne Baker
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-091  Length: 22pages
This case outlines the origins of Open Book Finance, its core elements, and its implementation at Zingerman’s Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Open Book Finance is a philosophy of management developed by Jack Stack, CEO of Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation in Springfield, Missouri. Open Book Finance is based on the premise that business is essentially a game—one that almost anyone can learn to play.
In Search of Proof
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 poverty alleviation as part of its operations. HNB helps the communi...
Pepsi & Coke: Vertical Integration
by Aneel Karnani
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-939  Length: 20pages
In 2009, Pepsi acquired its two largest franchised bottlers. Six months later, after initial rejection of Pepsi's strategy, Coca-Cola also bought the North American operations of its largest bottler. With these acquisitions, the industry leaders changed the structure of the carbonated soft drink industry in North America, raising several questions: 1) Is the current strategy of for...
Monsanto Company (A) (Spanish)
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-093  Length: 38pages
Este caso explora la estrategia de negocios de la empresa Monsanto siguiendo principios de sostenibilidad y su consiguiente transicion de productor de quimicos a una gran compañia de “ciencias de la vida”, particularmente en el area de la bioquímica. Este caso presenta cinco secciones: 1) una encuesta de desafíos a la sostenibilidad que enfrenta el sector agrícola, 2) una visión ge...
Monsanto Company (B) (Spanish)
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-094  Length: 10pages
Después de dos años de controversia en relación a sus cultivos genéticamente modificados y sus futuros planes de biotecnología en agricultura, Monsanto se enfrenta con el fracaso de una fusion planificada de su compañia y una caída de precio de las acciones. Con el crecimiento del mercado estancado y la fuerte desaprobación pública de la empresa, Monsanto debe determinar el camino...
Better Place: Charging Into the Future
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 future, or would competing technologies, environmental regulation...
Sherwin - Williams: VOCs in Full Color
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-993  Length: 16pages
In late 1996, Sherwin-Williams CEO John Breen sat at his desk, preparing for another meeting with his board of directors. The room was dark except for a small stream of light that escaped the curtains hung heavily over the windows. Outside, rain was falling onto the company’s corporate headquarters and on the streets of Cleveland. Breen stared at the portraits of company founders H...
Clorox Company Goes Green
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 Generation and Method, Clorox targeted the niche market of green products, wi...
Medical Marketing and Privacy
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-047  Length: 6pages
Joe Stoddard was a certified public accountant. He was in good health. He was an avid runner, exercised regularly, and went for regular health testing. His company offered a comprehensive health plan through Amalgamated Medical Services, and he spent extra premiums for full health coverage for himself and his wife and two children. He considered himself to be conscientious and resp...
Molten Metal Techonology (A)
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-049  Length: 24pages
This case describes Molten Metal Technology's beginnings and its new technologies, the impact of regulation on its business, environmental implications, the waste cleanup and disposal industry, and Molten Metal Technology's possibilities for future expansion amidst competition.
Augusta Richards: Plagiarism (A)
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 perpetrators are a group of authors, including a doctoral student, a new...
Augusta Richards: Plagiarism (B)
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.
Augusta Richards: Plagiarism (C)
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 brought the matter to a close.
Six Flags
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-076  Length: 12pages
This case is about Six Flags, a national theme park chain, as its CEO, Mark Shapiro (former Executive VP at ESPN), strives to turn around the company's fortune. Attendance was dropping in the late 2000s as the US economy struggled, causing Six Flags to file for bankruptcy in June 2009. This case describes Six Flags' founding, its niche, its top competitors, its acquisition-focused...
Lehman Brothers
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 during the company's last year of operation. This case is included in...
Snapple Beverages
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-057  Length: 6pages
How do you blow a $1.7 billion merger? You buy a company with a popular brand name, dilute the brand, and sell it for a fifth of what you paid for it. This case explores the merger between Snapple Beverages and Quaker Oats, considered “one of the worst mergers of all time”. Using this case, students will learn about the importance of a brand name. Snapple Beverages is also included...
Heart of Reuters (A), The
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 organization's response pattern?"The Heart of Reuters is ideal for a d...
Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda (English): Banana Wine
by Etienne Musonera
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-070  Length: 12pages
This case was written for a class in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative, which aims to bring high-quality business and management education to 10,000 underserved women around the world. It was taught in classes consisting of about 30 women entrepreneurs each in Kigali, Rwanda, and it described the banana wine business of Christine Murebwayire, an alumnus of the program. See...
Toll Brothers
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-037  Length: 10pages
Toll Brothers has lost focus on what it does best. This is the surprising story of a dominant luxury home builder whose volatility during the housing boom and bust has nearly devastated the company. Students use this case to analyze business stress, decline, and how to respond. The case is complementary to an excerpt from "How the Mighty Fall: A Primer on the Warning Signs" by Jim...
China Mobile and Climate Change
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 report, as well as the conclusion of the Green Action Plan, a comprehe...
Credit Cards for the Poor: HSBC
by Raed Elaydi
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-888  Length: 6pages
This case follows the vision of Dalshan Ismail, Executive Director of HSBC’s Sri Lankan credit card business for HSBC’s credit card venture in Sri Lanka. He realized that the bottom of the pyramid represented an untapped consumer market in which businesses, especially multi-national corporations (MNCs), can alleviate poverty with market solutions. To reach the Base of the Pyramid,...
Russell Athletic Honduran Labor (A)
by Brian Talbot
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-826  Length: 24pages
Russell Athletic, one of the University of Michigan's primary providers of collegiate athletic clothing, is involved in a serious labor rights controversy. Russell had been a trustworthy and responsible supplier for years, but the University of Michigan committee was very concerned about Russell’s decision to close a manufacturing facility in Honduras, a move that received severe c...
Glaxo and Zantac: Life and Death
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 course Business Thought & Action.
Naandi Foundation: Safe Water to India
by Allen Hammond, James Koch, Sheel Mohnot, Sherrill Dale
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-987  Length: 31pages
This case follows the development of the Naandi Safe Water Program from the view of Naandi’s chairman and founder, Dr. K. Anji Reddy. In 2002, Dr. Reddy saw a sign informing affluent guests at a hotel that “the tap water in this toilet is potable.” Realizing that the affluent people of India have access to clean and drinkable water even in the toilet, yet the majority of India’s pu...
Buyer/Seller Exchanges Relationship
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 course Business Thought & Action.
Making a Market: eBay, StubHub, and Swaptree
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-994  Length: 8pages
This case is comprised of three concise vignettes describing three different online commerce sites: eBay, StubHub, and Swaptree. All three have become viable companies very quickly. From their experiences, lessons can be learned about making a market. This case can be used for students to compare and contrast the three different systems as well as analyze who the beneficiaries are...
Chrysler (A): Bankruptcy to Rebirth
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 government. A new nine-member board of directors was established to...
Remanufacturing at Cummins, Inc.
by Brian Talbot, Xiuli Chao
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-798  Length: 18pages
Cummins is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and remanufacturers of diesel engines. This case focuses on their largest remanufacturing business, which is based in the U.S. and Mexico. The competitive landscape for this industry is described along with a fairly detailed look at Cummins’ forward and reverse supply chains and their remanufacturing operations.
Job Crafting at Burt's Bees
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. crafted their formal job designs to better align their jobs with th...
Boeing: The Fight for Fasteners
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 together. Engineers at Boeing never could have imagined that faste...
Handy Lab, Lab-on-a-Chip
by Thomas C. Kinnear
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-929  Length: 24pages
...
Jaipur Rugs
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 skills at the grassroots level, providing steady incomes for rural men and women in the most depressed parts of India, and conn...
Technoserve: Cashing in on Cashews
by Aneel Karnani
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-817  Length: 16pages
In the mid-1970s, Mozambique was the world’s leading cashew nut producer. But by the late 1990s, the post-independence civil war, a slowing economy, and poor policy decisions had destroyed the sector. Instead of a vibrant value-added domestic industry serving the growing global market, Mozambique’s raw cashew nuts were shipped to India for processing, effectively resulting in the e...
Serious Play at the Make-A-Wish Foundation
by Adam Grant, Lauren Malcolm
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-873  Length: 16pages
This case explores the benefits and challenges of creating and sustaining an organizational culture that emphasizes fun and playfulness by telling the story of an inspiring organization that has cultivated such a culture: the Michigan chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation (MAW). The case provides background information on the organization and describes the initiatives and activitie...
Nanocerox
by Thomas C. Kinnear
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-884  Length: 16pages
Nanocerox is a start-up company based in Ann Arbor, MI, that provides nanopowder based research and development solutions for corporate customers. Powders are used in everyday items such as ceramic plates, cell phone covers, and metal coatings. Nanopowders, which are smaller powders made from increasingly pure elements, have a whole host of new, high-technology applications, ranging from microelectronics, to prosthetics, to more durable defense equipment
Rainforest Expeditions
by Gautam Kaul, Kate Elliott
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-799  Length: 16pages
2004 marked the 15th anniversary of the founding of the ecotourism company Rainforest Expeditions (RFE). A decade and a half of experience led the company’s cofounders, Eduardo Nycander and Kurt Holle, to gain international exposure and praise for their environmentally and socially responsible business practices in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. Most notable among their socially...
Acumen: Valuing Social Venture (B)
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.
A Difficult Course (A)
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. A Difficult Course (B) is the resulting outcome. This case was originally developed for both undergraduate and graduate leve...
Anne Ladky: An Energy Approach To Leadership
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 this demanding line of work. Her leadership approach attends to...
Crafting a Fulfilling Job: Bringing Passion Into Work
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 occupation besides teaching, crafted their jobs to incorporate their...
Vision Correction in the Developing World
by Aneel Karnani
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-820  Length: 16pages
This case is about a major unmet social need: vision correction. Even though technologically this is a simple problem to solve – eyeglasses – it is not being solved. Over 500 million people with refractive error continue to do without vision correction and lead less productive lives than they could if they had eyeglasses. It would seem that private companies could profitably supply eyeglasses to the poor...
From Gecis to Genpact
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 customer base. However, after divestiture, Genpact’s plans had no...
Implementing POS at Prudential
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 on positive deviance. In April 2004, Prudential Financial acquir...
Caring Company: CSR in Hong Kong
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, discussing their journey towards bridging the divide between Hong Kong...
Aramex (A)
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, and its management team needs to make strategic decisions.
EIA at S.C. Johnson
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-778  Length: 16pages
SC Johnson, a leading consumer products goods company, developed a patented process, Greenlist, to assess the environmental impact of its raw materials. The case study takes the reader through SC Johnson's history and the development and improvement of the Greenlist process. It asks students what options the company has to license, share, or consult other organizations in implement...
Acumen: Valuing Social Venture (A)
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 Ziqitza Healthcare Limited, a for-profit ambulance company in I...
Tandus 2010: Race to Sustainability (A)
by Mark Milstein, Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-782  Length: 20pages
This case describes the strategic and environmental challenges at Tandus (formerly Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings, Inc), one of the world’s leaders in floor covering products. Case A gives an overview of the U.S. carpet industry and the environmental strides of different players. It then follows protagonists Mac Bridger and Lee Schilling through their efforts to make Tandus an env...
Lean Process Improvements at Cleveland Clinic
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 project. The case study ends with two short mini-cases on additional...
TerraCycle: Turning Trash into Cash
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-429-176  Length: 16pages
TerraCycle was founded in 2002 by Tom Szaky, a 20-year-old Princeton University dropout. The company’s flagship product, TerraCycle Plant Food, is liquefied worm poop made from worm-processed organic waste and packaged in reused soda bottles, many of which are collected in fund raising efforts by school children and non-profit groups.
Western Union: Global Expansion
by Patricia Loubeau
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-773  Length: 10pages
The Western Union Company is the largest US-owned provider of money transfer services. Services are currently available in over 200 countries around the world. Originally founded as a telegram company in 1884, the company went bankrupt in 1992 as other communication channels gained greater prominence, such as faxes and airmail. Two years later, the company emerged from bankruptcy a...
Caritex Cooperative
by John Stocker
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-617  Length: 17pages
The founders of the Caritex Cooperative, Alex and Lucy Ivanov, created a business that was operationally sound but a financial disaster. Caritex was a meat processing and retail company located in Bulgaria in the mid-1990s. This case traces the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in emerging markets and asks students to examine the pro forma and projections of the company to determin...
Branding Israel (A)
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.S. industry leaders that came together in 2002 to form the Brand Israel Group, with the goal of improving Israel's image.
Branding Israel (B)
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. The case profiles a pilot project in Toronto, Canada and numerous...
B&O Railroad Museum (A)
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, and planned to revive the museum through a prominent fair which...
Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD
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 explores the conflict between Sony and Toshiba and how Sony ev...
MSU Federal Credit Union, The: People Helping People
by Lynn Wooten
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-758  Length: 8pages
This short case is one of eight in a series of cases written for the Next Great Companies in Michigan project, which profiles great places to work in Michigan. The Michigan State University Credit Union has been a part of the community since 1937. It has provided vital services to students and citizens throughout Michigan and has had a particular focus on community education. This...
P&G's use of Branded Entertainment
by Rajeev Batra
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-774  Length: 20pages
This case presents the novel approach Procter & Gamble (P&G) has taken to weave advertising into entertainment. As media channels have become more fragmented, P&G has developed branded entertainment campaigns to reach a more targeted set of consumers. P&G has employed these principles to reach what it terms the “branded entertainment sweetspot”. The case describes P&G’s branded ent...
Acumen Fund: BOP Talent Mgt.
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 specifically explores the talent challenges at Acumen Fund's investees a...
Subsidies in BoP Ventures
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-767  Length: 8pages
Though there is limited literature on the role of subsidies in venture development targeting the poor in the developing world, there are many examples of ventures incorporating subsidies in their business models and working alongside subsidy providers such as governments and foundations. This case highlights three ventures within Acumen Fund's portfolio of investees and the varying...
Global Seeds to Village Farmers: Hearing the Voices at the BoP
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. This is an example of a for-profit/non-profit partnership serving...
BP & Whiting Refinery (A)
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 out by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and legally obta...
Hindustan Lever at the BoP
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 growth and become a key source of a future sustainable competitive a...
CARE
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 support of revenue-generating ventures provides sustainable an...
Capacity Mgt. at St. Mary's Hospital
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 increasing costs for the hospital.
Monsanto Company (A)
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-688  Length: 36pages
This case explores Monsanto's sustainability-based strategy and subsequent transition from a chemical company to a giant in the life sciences, particularly in the area of biotechnology. There are five sections to this case 1) a survey of the sustainability challenges facing the agricultural sector, 2) an overview of the agbiotech industry, 3) a brief history of the Monsanto company...
Monsanto Company (B)
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-689  Length: 10pages
Following two years of sustained controversy over its genetically modified crops and its plans for the future of biotechnology in agriculture, Monsanto must face the significant failure of a planned merger and a plummeting stock price. With market growth stagnant and strong public disapproval Monsanto must determine the path into the future for its life sciences division.
JuggleFrogs: Opening the Door to Reputable Tradespeople
by Veronica Velo
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-683  Length: 8pages
This case illustrates the development of a "dot-com" start-up in the domain of home improvements. JuggleFrogs has a mission to create a friendly virtual environment where home-owners and reputable tradespeople can meet and those passionate about decoration and developing the looks of their homes can share experiences and creative ideas. The company has successfully established its...
Deja Shoe (A)
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 appealing product. However, as their product is about to launch th...
Weyerhaeuser Company
by Stuart Hart, Mark Milstein
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-672  Length: 20pages
Weyerhaeuser is the world’s largest private owner of standing softwood timber, North America’s largest producer of softwood lumber, and the world’s largest supplier of softwood pulp. The company had spent years investing in a model of forestry they now called Weyerhaeuser Forestry and looked forward with much anticipation to the ‘Wall of Wood’ that was expected as high-yield planta...
Nike’s World Shoe Project (A)
by Stuart Hart, Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-673  Length: 20pages
Nike's Footwear Director for Emerging Markets was challenged with “expanding the playing field” in emerging markets with a range of affordable, durable, and easy-to-produce sports shoes. The goal was to effectively reach the huge untapped segment of “Tier 3” countries, characterized by a population of 1 billion and an average of $2,000 purchasing power parity. By January 2001, the...
Targeting Malaria
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-642  Length: 8pages
In Africa, the usage of insecticide treated bed-nets (ITNs) has shown to be one of the best ways to prevent malaria. USAID, the principal U.S. agency for providing assistance to countries, has just announced that by mid-2008, it will provide an additional $5 billion for malaria prevention and treatment in Africa. Specifically, the agency would like to see Tanzania improve not only...
Wessex Power Technology Ltd.
by Veronica Velo
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-684  Length: 6pages
Wessex Power Technology Ltd. offers sales and marketing services to overseas companies who have developed highly innovative technological products and wish to introduce and promote them in the UK. The key elements to the success of the company are their capacity to assess sophisticated, newly developed items and to assist potential customers in their use and functionality in existing production processes.
Giving Tree International
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 market in Vietnam.
Natural8 Ltd. Lipstick
by Veronica Velo
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-681  Length: 22pages
This case discusses the story of a new beauty product, Natural8, a lipstick that plumps the lips by using a natural toxin generated by the human body when stung by a bee. The product was created by a couple of scientists based at Coventry University without experience in the business world. It is an example of public/private partnership between a newly created company and a Univers...
Airbus and Boeing
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 onslaught from Boeing. This case explores Airbus' immediate busin...
Acumen Fund: Making an Impact
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 into talent building and knowledge creation. This case explores m...
VisionSpring
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-610  Length: 21pages
Awarded 1st place in the 2008 oikos Casewriting Competition VisionSpring sells affordable reading glasses to the poor at the base of the pyramid through Vision Entrepreneurs and, more recently, through franchise partners. Winner of the prestigious 2008 Oikos Case Competition, this case explores how to scale VisionSpring's approach to serving the poor. (Note: In 2008, The Scojo Foun...
Chery Automobile
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 European markets, and in 2007 it struck a strategic alliance with the struggling U.S.-based Chrysler Company.
Mzansi at Standard Bank
by Paul Clyde
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-590  Length: 25pages
This case explores the different formal and informal financial instruments used by the low-income population in South Africa. From the Standard Bank's perspective and its own product targeted to the low income population (the Mzansi accounts), the case looks at the different forms of competition that Standard Bank faces and the various institutional arrangements that they have established.
AMREF & Guardian in Katine Village
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 Uganda. However, as the partnership developed, issues regarding cultural differences and questions of sustainability began to rise.
Oxfam vs. Starbucks
by Christie L. Nordhielm
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-664  Length: 22pages
Oxfam and a coalition of allies asked Starbucks to sign an agreement to allow the country of Ethiopia to control the names of coffees grown in certain areas of the country. According to one coalition member, gaining control of the name brands could increase Ethiopia's coffee export income by more than $88 million annually. This money could go a long way to help lift millions of Eth...
McDonald’s Environmental Strategy
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-677  Length: 18pages
McDonald's Case (A) is the first piece in the McDonald's case series. It gives the background on McDonald's and the organization's environmental initiatives in the early 1990s. In particular, it presents a partnership that McDonald's formed with the Environmental Defense Fund to create a systematic approach and a strong scientific basis for McDonald’s solid waste decisions. This ca...
McDonald's Clamshell Controversy
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-678  Length: 16pages
McDonald's Case (B1) is the second piece in the McDonald's case series. It describes the decision-making process and subsequent decisions that McDonald's made regarding its polystyrene “clamshell” sandwich containers. Environmentally concerned customers oppose these containers despite scientific arguments that they are preferred over paper wraps. It contains details on the Life-Cycle Analysis that was adopted, and walks the students through the packaging methodology and analysis.
McDonald's Environmental Success
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-679  Length: 13pages
McDonald's Case (C) is the fourth piece in the McDonald's case series. It describes the organization's response to the fact that in April 1993 another nonprofit environmental group, The Beyond Beef Coalition, targeted McDonald’s in a campaign to reduce beef consumption. McDonald's struggled with this backlash, and the case asks students how McDonald's can deal with this effectively...
LivingHomes
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 outlines the state of both the housing industry and the green building ind...
Connecting the Rural Poor
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 million. This case explores opportunities both within Bangladesh and beyond the country’s borders to expand the Village Phone program.
Building a Sustainable Venture
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. This case explores using this technology as the centerpiece for a new for-profit venture in the developing world.
Adventureland: Disney’s Foreign Ops
by William J. Streeter
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2006  Product ID#: 1-428-692  Length: 15pages
The two Disney amusement park complexes in the U.S. have been tremendously successful. This has led the company to open new parks in Japan and France with different degrees of success. This case discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Disney’s global strategy.
CEMEX
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 the poor in Mexico.
 
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