Teaching Materials

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New Web Site for Educators

www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators

Teaching Materials

n e w f o r s p r i n g 2 0 0 9

n e w s l e t t e r

in this issue 01 new web site 02 harvard business for educators 03 new simulations 04 new brief cases in accounting 05 new cases, notes, articles & books

05 Accounting & Control 05 Business & Government 05 Competitive Strategy 07 Entrepreneurship 10 Finance

12 General Management

15 Human Resource Management

16 Management of Information Systems 16 Marketing

18 Negotiations

18 Operations Management

20 Organizational Behavior & Leadership 22 Service Management

22 Social Enterprise & Ethics 23 Teaching & the Case Method

23 contact information

bc new online course:

sPreadsheet modeling

This february,

_{we will launch a new}

version of the Harvard Business for

Educators web site. The site, which has

long offered business educators access

to case studies and other classroom

materials, will feature improved search

functions, access to a range of tools for

viewing and delivering content, and a

completely revamped “My Library” for

organizing and sharing both print and

eLearning course materials.

A new search interface and taxonomy

will let educators view all available

content formats (e.g., PDF, hard copy,

DVD, eLearning, Spanish, English) and

quickly add content to folders or courses

from anywhere on the site. Advanced search will allow educators to define their

inquiries by length, discipline, region, publication date, and more. We will

also make it easier to find cases and articles from other institutions, including

Stanford, Darden, Kellogg, and Ivey, among others.

The new “My Library” section of the site will give educators a flexible home

base for planning and delivering course material: instructors can view or update

current courses, create new ones, deliver material to students, and share course

ideas with colleagues.

It will now be possible for instructors to deliver both digital print material and

online courses and simulations directly to students from the site—at special

student rates unavailable elsewhere.

Visit the site and apply for educator access:

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introducing the New

harVard business for educators

DISCIPLINES PRODUCTS PCL & CASE METHOD HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW VISIT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL FOR CORPORATE BUYERS

FOR EDUCATORS FOR MANAGERS

Advanced Search

GO Search HBP for Educators

APPLY FOR EDUCATOR ACCESS TO RECEIVE:

Educator copies of cases, articles, and chapters

Teaching Notes

Preview access to online courses and simulations

Access to course planning tools to organize materials and get student pricing APPLY NOW o o o o

Fatal Ascent: Leadership Lessons from the 1996 Everest Tragedy Michael Roberto, Professor, Bryant University

00:11/ 02.34

THE CASE STUDY HANDBOOK:

How to Read, Discuss, and Write Persuasively About Cases (Paperback)

THE CONCISE GUIDE TO MACROECONOMICS:

What Managers, Executives, and Students Need to Know (Hardcover)

ON COMPETITION:

Updated and expanded edition by Michael E. Porter (Hardcover) FEA TURED PRODUCT S 1 2 3

NOT A USER? REGISTER NOW.

In addition, educators can apply for Educator Access. Benefits include: • Educator Copies • Teaching Notes • Student Pricing REGISTERED USER? LOGIN NOW SIGN IN APPLY NOW SIGN UP FOR UPDATES BY DISCIPLINE GO NOW

THE TEACHING POST BLOG

DEDICATED TO PARTICIPANT-CENTERED LEARNING IN ACTION

Using Cases

in Undergraduate Classes In his latest entry to the Teaching Post, Professor Jim Heskett offers tips and advice on how to integrate case study learning in an undergraduate setting. He addresses some of the challenges faced by students and professors, as well as case selection, setting expectations, and ways to introduce excitement into classroom case discussions.

READ MORE & POST A COMMENT

RELATED PRODUCTS

CASES

Participant-Centered Learning and the Case Method

This online program helps instructors develop skills and confidence in leading case discussions.

VIEW DETAILS

BOOK CHAPTERS

Analyzing a Case Outlines different types of case situations and describes a process students can use to analyze them.

VIEW DETAILS

• Accounting & Control

• Business & Government

• Competitive Strategy • Entrepreneurship • Finance • General Management • HR Management • MIS • Marketing • Negotiations • Operations Management • OB & Leadership • Service Management

• Social Enterprise & Ethics TEACHING RESOURCES GUIDES LEVELS DISCIPLINES APPLY FOR EDUCATOR ACCESS NOW LEARN MORE LEARN MORE

THE CASE STUDY HANDBOOK Paperback for students LEARN MORE PARTICIPANT-CENTERED LEARNING & THE CASE METHOD

WHAT’S NEW FOR EDUCATORS See More of What’s New

William Ellet

The business case is a powerful learning tool. But analyzing cases and writing about them can be challenging, especially for students new to the method. The Case Study Handbook covers how to read, analyze, write about, and discuss cases effectively.

VIEW DETAILS BOOKS

The Case Study Handbook

Each simulation is easy to set up, has powerful administration tools, and comes with a detailed Teaching Note:

• Operations Management: Benihana • Strategic Innovation: Back Bay Battery • Supply Chain Management: Root Beer Game • Pricing: Universal Rental Car • Leadership and Team: Everest

LEARN MORE & SEE DEMOS

Citibank has introduced a new, comprehensive performance-scorecard system. A regional president struggles with a tough decision: how to evaluate an outstanding branch manager who has scored poorly on an important customer satisfaction measure.

VIEW DETAILS

Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton

eLEARNING

Online Simulations

CASES

Citibank: Performance Evaluation

CASE

6

1

3

2

4

5

Search HBP for Educators DISCIPLINE PRODUCT FORMAT PUBLICATION DATE Author Name: OTHER COLLECTIONS REGION INDUSTRY LANGUAGE LENGTH (PAGES) SUBMIT X

1. updated and adVanced search

Use our updated search or new

advanced search to quickly find the right course materials.

2. see a wide range of tools for Participant-Centered Learning & the Case Method.

3. browse by primary types of course materials:

Articles, Cases, Books and Chapters, Online Courses, Online Simulations, Role Plays

4. organize materials and create courses:

n Users can register for basic access

to My Library for easy storing and organizing of materials.

n Instructors can apply for

educator access to receive:

o Free educator copies of cases, articles and chapters, and demos of eLearning programs

o Teaching Notes

o Access to My Courses to organize

materials and deliver them to students at a special price.

5. seVeral ways to browse:

o By academic Discipline

o By Level: See recommended

materials for MBA, undergraduate, and Exec Ed courses.

o With Guides: See recommended

cases and articles for specific textbooks or by course topic.

6. join our community of case teachers

In The Teaching Post, HBS professor

Emeritus Jim Heskett writes regular columns on topics related to Participant-Centered Learning. Join the discussion and share ideas.

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New Online Simulations

in Finance

avaiLabLe This seMesTer,

two new online simulations in Finance: Blackstone/

Celanese and M&A in Wine Country. Both simulations are designed to be easy

to administer and engaging to students. Each is accompanied by a detailed

Teaching Note, including screen-by-screen instructions.

finance: blackstone/celanese

This simulation recreates the

landmark acquisition of Celanese

AG by the Blackstone Group in

2003. Students play the role of either

Celanese or Blackstone and conduct

due diligence, establish deal terms,

and respond to bids and

counter-bids. The simulation includes chat

functionality so students can negotiate “live.” Ideal for 2nd-year MBA

elective courses in Private Equity, Valuation, and Mergers and Acquisitions.

Product #3712

finance: m&a in wine country

In this team-based simulation,

students play the role of one of three

wine producers: Starshine, Bel Vino,

or International Beverage. Students

progress through 3 rounds of valuation,

negotiation, and bidding before they

must decide to accept (or reject) final

offers. Ideal as a capstone experience

for a 1st-year MBA Finance course or after a module covering M&A. Students

should have exposure to fundamentals in Finance before playing. Available for

classes in March 2009.

Product #3289

TeaChiNG faCuLTy can receive preview access to online simulations. Contact customer service at 800-545-7685 (Outside the u.s. and Canada, 617-783-7600).

New siMuLaTiON

Supply Chain

Management:

Root Beer Game

baseD ON The

classic Beer Game

developed at MIT in the 1960s, this

team-based simulation illustrates how

oscillations arise in a simple supply

chain and how they amplify as one

moves up the chain (the “bullwhip

effect”). Students play one of four roles

in a root beer supply chain: factory,

distributor, wholesaler, or retailer.

Students place orders each round

(simulated week) in order to manage

inventory. The objective of the game is

to minimize cost across the supply

chain. Inventory holding costs are set at

$0.50 per case per week, and stockout

costs are $1.00 per case per week.

The game begins with untimed rounds

but moves to shorter, timed rounds to

increase pressure on decision making,

mimicking suboptimal real-world

conditions.

Faculty can run multiple supply chain

configurations within one class to

accentuate the differences in resulting

data and illuminate key learning points.

Faculty can also monitor student

progress in real time, and results

are available immediately for class

discussion following play.

Ideal for courses in Operations

Management and Supply Chain

Management.

supply chain management simulation: root beer game

Product #3101

> LearN MOre ON Our web siTe: www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators

Shipments Orders Factory Shipments Orders Distributor Shipments Orders Wholesaler Retailer

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New Brief Cases in Accounting & Control

Additional Cases in Marketing and OB & Leadership

the talbots, inc., and subsidiaries: accounting for goodwill

Focusing on the firm’s acquisition of J. Jill, the case demonstrates what goodwill is, how it originates, how it is measured at acquisition, and how it is amortized or impaired.

Key topics: goodwill accounting, intangible assets, nonfinancial performance

#3254 • teaching note #3257

marketing

harrington collection: sizing up the active-wear market

In the wake of sagging profit margins, a leading manufacturer and retailer of high-end women’s apparel, Harrington Collection, must evaluate an opportunity to expand into the high-growth active-wear market.

Key topics: industry analysis, breakeven analysis, consumer behavior, product development, brand management

harvarD busiNess PubLishiNG

continues to expand its Brief Cases collection with new offerings in

Marketing, Organizational Behavior, and Accounting. A Brief Case typically contains 3–7 pages of text

plus a few exhibits, portrays a protagonist who confronts a complex and critical decision, and requires

rigorous analysis—often quantitative—by students. Every Brief Case is accompanied by a detailed

Teaching Note.

lyons document storage: bond accounting

A manager must analyze the refunding of bonds issued in 2000, when interest rates were higher. Students must calculate the present value of interest and principal payments.

Key topics: accounting procedures, bonds, financial analysis, financial reporting, interest rates, present value

merrimack tractors and mowers: lifo or fifo?

A CFO proposes use of FIFO to maintain earnings growth, accepting possible tax consequences. The case demonstrates that firms often have choices about accounting policies. Key topics: financial reporting, inventory valuation, LIFO, FIFO, decision making

ob & leadership

stone finch, inc.: Young division, old division

A young executive arrives at Stone Finch as head of a new consulting division that quickly eclipses the old manufacturing unit as a growth engine, making some managers wealthy. The cash-cow manufacturing unit is drained of profits to fund growth elsewhere, and resentment builds over organizational and financial dysfunctions.

Key topics: leadership, employee motivation, growth management, organizational design, human resources management

new brief cases in accounting & control

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NEWLy RELEASEd

aCCOuNTiNG &

CONTrOL

new century financial corporation

Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan, Aldo Sesia Jr.

harvard business school case (library) Product #109034 (27 pages)

After years of rapid growth and stock price appreciation, New Century Financial Corpora-tion, one of the largest subprime loan origina-tors in the United States, reported accounting problems in early 2007. The resulting liquidity crisis forced the company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Accord-ing to the bankruptcy examiner assigned to investigate New Century, the company’s troubles “were an early contributer to the subprime meltdown” that fueled a financial crisis in the United States and beyond. The case study examines New Century’s business model and accounting practices and focuses on the role of management, audit commit-tee, and external auditors in the problems at New Century, based on the findings of the bankruptcy examiner.

Learning Objective: This case introduces

students to the subprime mortgage industry, helps them understand the business model, and shows how the economic transactions of subprime mortgage originators are captured by their accounting. It illustrates the risk management roles of management, the audit committee, and the external auditor.

busiNess &

GOverNMeNT

korea: on the back of a tiger (abridged) yasheng Huang harvard business school case (secondary source) Product #708052 (28 pages)

What caused the 1997 Korea crisis? Did the International Monetary Fund (IMF) help or hinder recovery? Did democracy help or hinder recovery? Previously seen as an economic miracle, Korea succumbed to the wave of currency crises sweeping Asia in late 1997. Did the same state-led export growth strategy that had brought about such spectacu-lar success cause this financial meltdown? Conversely, what role had foreign investors played in setting up the crisis by pouring short-term capital into Korea’s partially and unevenly liberalized financial system? When it arrived on the scene, did the IMF do more to help Korea recover from its economic distress or did it just bail out foreign investors and prepare the way for Wall Street to buy up Korean banks and firms? Had Korea’s long move toward democracy helped or hindered government efforts to reform its economic strategy and to resolve the current crisis? This case explains the background for the explora-tion of these quesexplora-tions.

Learning Objective: To explore causes and

ramifications of financial crises.

COMPeTiTive sTraTeGy

betfair vs. uk bookmakers Ramon Casadesus-Masanell harvard business school case (field) Product #709417 (23 pages) teaching note #709418

Betting exchanges provide an electronic plat-form that allows ordinary consumers to not only back teams to win, but also lay odds for other punters to back. This business model allows punters to cut out the middleman— the bookmaker—and leads to a much more efficient two-sided market. In fact, Betfair. com’s domination of the betting exchange has threatened to undermine the core of the traditional bookmaker’s business model. The case examines two aspects of the industry: (1) What specific choices did Betfair make to become the dominant betting exchange, winning the competitive battle over Flutter. com? (2) At what stages do Betfair.com’s business model and those of the bookmakers interact? Will Betfair.com naturally come to dominate the industry, and if so, how should the bookmakers react?

Learning Objective: This case has been

designed to be taught in the third module of the EC course “Competing through Business Models.” It allows a rich discussion of compet-itive interaction between players with different business models (Betfair vs. bookmakers) and players with similar business models (Betfair vs. Flutter). The case illustrates the power of business models that exploit the indirect network effects present in platform industries.

accounting & control | business & government | comPetitive strategY

C a s e s

N O T e s

a r T i C L e s

b O O k s

cases, articles, chapters, exercises, notes, and teaching notes:

$6.95 Executive Education ($3.95 for degree-granting academic programs) supplements: $3.75 executive education

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fidelity investments’ charitable gift fund (a) Robert C. Pozen harvard business school case (field) Product #309002 (11 pages) teaching note #309018 supplement #309003

Deborah Pege, an attorney at Fidelity Invest-ments, needs to decide whether Fidelity should attempt to patent business processes involved with its new charitable gift fund. The case explores the conditions that must be satisfied in order to receive a patent and raises issues about the value of the patent versus other ways to protect intellectual property.

Learning Objective: To educate students about

patents and other aspects of intellectual property protection. hilton hotels: brand differentiation through customer relationship management Lynda M. Applegate harvard business school case (field) Product #809029 (18 pages)

This case analyzes the Hilton Hotels Corpora-tion’s CRM strategy at a key juncture in its history, immediately after the firm had been taken private by Blackstone. The case provides students with a comprehensive history of Hilton’s CRM initiative—its evolution and the role of IT enablers—and its proprietary OnQ enterprise system. The case offers a rare opportunity to engage in a longitudinal evaluation of the firm’s CRM initiative and to enable students to propose the future evolu-tion of the initiative, based on their analysis.

house of tata:

acquiring a global footprint

Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu harvard business school case (field) Product #708446 (33 pages)

Chronicles the globalization of the Tata Group, one of India’s largest business groups. Since 2000, many Tata Group operating companies have aggressively built international busi-nesses, particularly through overseas acquisi-tions. After describing the globalization rationales and approaches of the major Tata Group companies, the case asks students to consider whether Tata Motors should pursue the acquisition of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands owned by U.S.-based Ford Motor Company.

Learning Objective: To consider the use of

acquisitions as a tool for emerging market-based companies to globalize their businesses.

linkedin corp., 2008

david B. yoffie

harvard business school case (field) Product #709426 (22 pages)

In June 2008, the online professional net-working service LinkedIn became a $1 billion company. But CEO Dan Nye understood that LinkedIn faced several strategic dilemmas. Founded in 2002, LinkedIn by 2008 had become the world’s leading professional networking service (PNS), with more than 23 million members. Aiming to “dominate the business of business networking,” in Nye’s words, LinkedIn allowed individual members to post a profile on the LinkedIn site and then to use the site’s tools to search for job

opportunities; to recruit job candidates; to find suppliers, partners, and customers; and to seek out expert advice. The company was also expanding into corporate services that would enable businesses to build and manage their own online networks. With revenue sources that included advertising, premium subscriptions, job posting services, and busi-ness solutions, LinkedIn was on track to bring in revenues in 2008 of up to $100 million. A new funding round in mid-2008 yielded a $1 billion valuation for the company. Three key dilemmas confronted LinkedIn, however. First, at a time when the “walled garden” model of online community building was under siege, LinkedIn had to decide how far it should open its platform to users. Second, in light of competition from highly popular social network services such as Facebook and MySpace, LinkedIn had to decide whether to incorporate social networking into its value proposition. Third, in an increasingly global business environment, it had to weigh the option of merging with its leading interna-tional competitor, XING.com.

Learning Objective: To depict the strategic

dilemmas that confront a successful tech-nology company in a fluid, fast-changing competitive field.

mixi

Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

Kenji Kasahara, founder and CEO of mixi, the most successful Japanese online social network, is deciding between two strategic options in order to leverage the power of the social network: (1) B2C, or (2) C2C. In the B2C option, mixi would become a portal for online shopping for both digital content and tangible goods and would charge the business sellers a fee. In the C2C option, mixi would facilitate exchanges between mixi’s members through online flea markets or auctions and would charge the members for successful transactions. In choosing between the two options, Kasahara has to consider other upstart networks, particularly in the field of mobile social networking.

Learning Objective: To help students

under-stand when social networks add the most value to exciting business models.

comPetitive strategY

COMPeTiTive sTraTeGy

On Competition

Updated and Expanded Edition

michael e. Porter

For the past two decades, Michael Porter’s work has towered over the field of competitive strategy. On Competition, Updated and Expanded Edition, brings together more than a dozen of Porter’s landmark articles from Harvard Business

Review. Five are new to this edition, including a major revision of the strategy classic “The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy,” as well as new work on health

care, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, and CEO leadership.

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Pccw now

Andrei Hagiu

In 2007, PCCW had to formulate a strategy for the growth of its successful now TV platform and its quadruple-play implementa-tion outside of Hong Kong. Launched in September 2003 by PCCW (Hong Kong’s largest telecommunications operator), now TV had swiftly become the world’s most success-ful commercial IPTV deployment. By the end of June 2007, the service had an installed sub-scriber base of almost 820,000 and offered a choice of 143 TV channels, 71 of which were exclusive. However, opportunities for growth were inherently limited to Hong Kong (7 million inhabitants), which meant PCCW had to find ways to expand its now TV platform or seek to license parts of it internationally.

Learning Objective: To illustrate challenges of

formulating growth strategy for a multi-sided platform. the university of texas md anderson cancer center: interdisciplinary cancer care Michael E. Porter harvard business school case (field) Product #708487 (29 pages)

In 2006, The University of Texas MD Ander-son Cancer Center was a leading international institution for cancer care, education, and research. Since 1996, it had successfully restructured itself from a cancer hospital that was physically organized around clinical specialties into one that was organized into disease-based integrated practice units called “multidisciplinary care centers.” These units

were supported by a construction project that had created new disease-specific facilities and a widely supported administrative plan in which physicians reported to leadership of both specialty-based academic departments and disease-based clinical centers.

Learning Objective: To develop an

understand-ing of value-based health care delivery.

vmware inc., 2008

david B. yoffie, Andrei Hagiu harvard business school case (field) Product #709435 (27 pages)

Paul Maritz took the helm of VMware in July 2008, just as the company confronted a radi-cally new competitive environment. Since its founding in 1998, VMware had been the lead-ing provider of virtualization software. Now it faced the kind of threat that every software company dreaded most: Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, was taking direct aim at VMware’s core market. As of June 2008, buyers of Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 operating system received a free, bundled version of Hyper-V, an advanced virtualization platform product. Looming over the impend-ing competition between these two companies was the history of the “browser wars,” in which Microsoft overwhelmed browser maker Netscape Communications by bundling the Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system. Did a similar fate await VMware? Maritz moved quickly and boldly to respond to the Microsoft threat—by deciding to offer a version of VMware’s own virtualiza-tion platform product for free. But he still had to determine whether VMware’s overall strategy was the right one.

Learning Objective: To provide material for

the evaluation of strategy for a successful high-tech company facing a newly competitive environment.

eNTrePreNeurshiP

abraaj capital Josh Lerner harvard business school case (field) Product #809008 (30 pages)

Abraaj Capital addresses issues of how to respond to the fast-growing Middle East market. Questions of scaling, institutionaliza-tion, and geographic scope are among those considered.

Learning Objective: To examine strategy in

private equity. comPetitive strategY | entrePreneurshiP affinity labs, inc. Joseph B. Lassiter harvard business school case (field) Product #809019 (28 pages)

In 2006, Chris Michel left Military.com, which he founded in 1999, to start Affinity Labs, a global network of online communities. Michel raised a Series A round of venture funding and established a partnership with Monster. com, to which he had sold Military.com. Within its first year of operations, Affinity Labs launched eight vertical portals, including PoliceLink, NursingLink, TechCommunity, and IndiaOn. While the company was well ahead of its original plan to release four portals in 2007, Michel still faced a number of challenges. He had learned a great deal from the first launches of Military.com and Affinity Labs, but in the case of each new community, he now faced how best to construct the vertical and attract a sufficiently large audience. While the model seemed highly scalable because each vertical used the same core technology, every sector had its unique features. In 2007, executives from Monster.com opened up a dialogue with Michel about either selling the company or expanding their relationship. Michel wondered if the time was right to sell or if he should grow Affinity Labs further with the hope of creating a company that could command the high valuations seen recently by a number of social networking concerns.

Learning Objective: To illustrate the

tech-niques and tools used to accelerate customer adoption in an e-commerce/social networking setting. amazon.com: the brink of bankruptcy Lynda M. Applegate harvard business school case (secondary source) Product #809014 (11 pages)

This case enables a thorough analysis of the Amazon.com business model and its evolution from 1994 to 2001. This study ends with the company poised on the brink of bankruptcy and facilitates discussion of how to turn around the company and leverage proprietary assets.

Learning Objective: To enable discussion of

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tion. Also facing Mao was the forthcoming deregulation of the telecommunications industry on the island, which would introduce new competitors on fixed-line services to a field that already included a competitive mobile communications segment where the company’s once dominant market share was heavily eroded. Mao had to decide on the pricing strategies for the company’s various product lines, including fixed-line, mobile services, and data communication. He also needed to ponder how to revise the company’s compensation system to better motivate its staff in a deregulated market and to com-municate all these changes to the unionized labor force.

elbulli: the taste of innovation

Michael Norton

Ferran Adrià, chef at elBulli, the highest-ranked restaurant in the world for two consecutive years, faces two related decisions. First, Adrià and his team must continue to develop new and different dishes for the groundbreaking cuisine at elBulli in order to guarantee a continuous stream of innova-tion, the cornerstone of the restaurant’s success. In addition, they face the challenge of growing the business, exploring whether the core concepts from elBulli—this “taste of innovation”—can be applied to domains ranging from consulting to fast food. The case walks readers through an evening at elBulli, using the rave reviews of patrons to capture the full experience.

Learning Objective: This case highlights a

suc-cessful process for continuous innovation in a creative industry, as well as offering guide-lines for successful implementation of a “good experience” marketing strategy as opposed to a more standard product. The case includes several elBulli recipes, which students can attempt to recreate. big to small: the two lives of barry nalls Noam Wasserman harvard business school case (field) Product #808167 (22 pages)

Barry Nalls describes lessons learned during his 25-year career, including his rise at GTE and shorter-lived ventures and how these prepared him to found MASERGY, a telecommunications start-up. Even as a young boy in a family of entrepreneurs, Nalls had a reputation as a hard worker, but instead of becoming an entrepreneur himself, he built a long career at “the biggest company around.” After years of working in sales and marketing at GTE, he decided to venture out on his own. His GTE experiences armed him for some entrepreneurial challenges but also caused additional problems as he tried to start, build, and grow MASERGY. Four years after founding the venture, he now feels that he should have “taken the entrepreneurial plunge” much earlier in life.

Learning Objective: To explore when to

become an entrepreneur and what career path to build before becoming one. To examine the advantages and disadvantages of developing deep functional expertise in sales and market-ing, and of being an entrepreneur in a big company before founding a company yourself.

chunghwa telecom co., ltd. (a)

Paul W. Marshall

supplement #808138

In late November 2000, Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd., the once-monopolized telecom operator owned by the Taiwanese government, was on its way to privatization. Chairman C. K. Mao had accepted the job only three months earlier, after the prior chairman resigned unexpectedly in the midst of chaos brought on by the resistance of staff who feared losing their civil servant status after

privatiza-frank addante, serial entrepreneur

Noam Wasserman

Frank Addante is a 28-year-old serial entre-preneur who is in the process of building his fifth venture. Of his first four ventures, two were sold and one went public; he decided to close the last venture and return unused capital to his investors. With the passing of each venture, he has learned about forming founding teams, splitting equity with his co-founders, hiring executives to work for him, and taking (or refusing) outside funding. Now, he’s facing pressure from investors who aren’t happy with the way he is building his current team and are questioning whether he should remain CEO.

Learning Objective: To examine the lessons

learned by a young serial entrepreneur during each of his five ventures, including lessons regarding working with older co-founders, splitting the equity with co-founders, hiring executives to work for him, and when to take outside funding. how serial entrepreneurs build and manage a board of directors in a venture-backed start-up Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman harvard business school case (field) Product #808163 (27 pages)

This case includes structured interviews with four serial entrepreneurs about the way in which they built and used their boards in each of their companies and what they have learned through that process. These entre-preneurs were asked similar questions, such as “How do you build a board of directors in a venture-backed start-up?” “What do you expect of the board, and how do you ensure those expectations are met?” “What are the most and least value-added board activities?” “How do you manage the board?” “How does board composition change over time?” “What were your biggest surprises about boards?” and “What advice would you give first-time entrepreneurs?”

Learning Objective: To highlight the unique

governance issues in small, new firms.

entrePreneurshiP

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Jadelink and the luxury goods market in china

Kevin Au, Barbara Li ivey school of business case Product #908m52 (19 pages) teaching note #808m52

The chief executive officer of Jadelink International Limited strives to create a modern jewelry brand that represents a new perception of jade. The CEO has achieved early success, growing sales rapidly and bringing Jadelink products to Shanghai, the trendiest city in China. But the company wants to expand business to the Asian and international luxury goods markets. This requires intensive capital to continue to build up the company scale. This case examines the consideration of venturing a new business in the China market, managing business growth, and acquiring venture capital. It also encourages discussion of factors that lead to a successful entrepreneurship and deal with a business highly associated with industry tradi-tion, people connectradi-tion, and product design and innovation.

Learning Objective: This case is suitable for

use in teaching MBA students and senior undergraduates in an entrepreneurship course. It can also be utilized in a new venture creation course because of the strong associa-tion with product design and innovaassocia-tion.

keeping google “googley”

Boris Groysberg, david A. Thomas harvard business school case (field) Product #409039 (23 pages)

This case examines how Google has worked to avoid the potential negative by-products of rapid growth, such as bureaucracy, slow decision making, lack of visibility, and organizational inconsistency. When the case protagonist, Kim Scott, started with Google in 2004, she wondered if she would still be there in several years, as she preferred small, entrepreneurial companies. In 2008, she was pleased that Google still had the same entrepreneurial energy it had when she joined. She and her colleagues reflect on how Google has been able to maintain its culture even as the company keeps doubling in size.

Learning Objective: To illustrate how a

com-pany can maintain its entrepreneurial culture amidst rapid growth.

marc abrahams: annals of an improbable entrepreneur

Boris Groysberg

Marc Abrahams was a media entrepreneur who specialized in science humor. In 2008, he sought to boost the scale and monetiza-tion potential of his business. That business, called Improbable Research, encompassed a magazine (Annals of Improbable Research), a high-profile annual event (the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony), a web site (improbable. com), a series of books, and various public appearances. This case uses the story of the “improbable” emergence and expansion of

that business to investigate the challenges and opportunities faced by an individual who seeks to build an enterprise around his own human capital. It includes background information on Abrahams’s early career, a summary of the various segments of his company, and a discussion of recent efforts by Abrahams to break free of constraints that have limited the size and revenue-generating ability of Improbable Research for many years. Among those efforts are a decision to distribute magazine content over the Internet for free and a major investment in producing video content for the web. The case concludes by presenting various options under con-sideration by Abrahams—options that dealt with both external challenges (How should he define his brand? Which markets should he target?) and internal challenges (Should he hire to fill certain key positions?). The case also features lively exhibits that illustrate Abrahams’ value proposition and analyze his

business model and revenue sources.

Learning Objective: To explore key issues of

human capital management, with a focus on how individuals manage their own human capital.

negotiating equity splits at updown

Noam Wasserman, deepak Malhotra harvard business school case (field) Product #809020 (12 pages) supplement #809021 supplement #809022 supplement #809023

Michael Reich is having severe doubts about how he split the equity with his co-founders

two months ago, when they completed a one-page “November Agreement.” Since then, Michael has found an angel investor and has worked nonstop on the business, while one co-founder has been off enjoying the winter break with his family and the other worked on lucrative consulting contracts for other companies. Michael has just sent his co-founders a proposal that would reallocate the equity within their founding team, and all three founders are getting ready to reopen a negotiation they thought had been finalized.

Learning Objective: To give students firsthand

experience in negotiating with team members, in the context of a founding team splitting the equity within a new venture. Also, to provide insight into the issues involved when renegotiating in the shadow of a previous arrangement. This is the core case in a series that is useful for negotiation exercises.

robert wessman and actavis’ “winning formula”

daniel J. Isenberg

Robert Wessman took over Actavis in 1999 when it was a failing 90-person generic pharmaceutical maker in Iceland. Within 7 years he had taken Actavis to number 5 worldwide, a $1.6 billion global manufacturer with 11,000 people active in 40 countries. The case explores the reasons for the success of this global venture.

starbucks coffee company in the 21st century Nancy F. Koehn harvard business school case (secondary source) Product #808019 (45 pages)

This case explores the opportunities and challenges confronting Starbucks in the early 21st century. For more than 15 years, Starbucks has grown swiftly and successfully, helping to create a large, dynamic market for specialty coffee, building one of the world’s most powerful brands, and forging a new business model based on industry repair and responsible global citizenship. In 2008, Starbucks leadership faces a range of issues from inside and outside of the company that relate to its success. This case examines these

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issues in the context of a changing economy, increased competition, evolving consumer priorities, and the organization’s place on the larger global stage.

under-stand the possibilities and problems of rapid growth and industry leadership.

system on a chip 2008: global unichip corp.

Willy Shih, Chen-Fu Chien harvard business school case (field) Product #608159 (9 pages)

teaching note #609033

Though much of the semiconductor industry has shifted to a horizontal model, complexity driven by technological evolution is driving a shift in the perceived boundaries in the value chain. Global Unichip sees itself as a “virtual integrated device manufacturer,” a throwback to the vertically integrated model that fell out of favor for most chips. This case offers an opportunity to examine a highly modular industry and the impact of technology shifts on those boundaries, with significant implica-tions for the incumbents.

Learning Objective: To examine extreme value

migration in a modular system.

work is good: branding the employ+ability mission

Lynda M. Applegate, Susan Saltrick, Monica Higgins

harvard business school case Product #809028 (23 pages) Employ+Ability, a small company that employs developmentally disabled adults, finds itself competing with low-cost producers of its core products—therapeutic hot and cold packs. How might an innovative branding campaign, centered on the company’s core value of “Work Is Good,” enable it to effec-tively contend with its competitors?

under-stand the challenges of social entrepreneur-ship, especially in low-margin, cost-conscious industries.

fiNaNCe

aurora capital group—douglas dynamics Nabil N. El-Hage harvard business school case (field) Product #209010 (11 pages)

Aurora Capital, a U.S. private equity firm, contemplates whether to acquire Douglas Dynamics, the leading U.S. maker of snow-plows. Does a seasonal business that is highly dependent on the weather make a good lever-aged buyout candidate? This case provides a good introduction to the LBO business. What are the characteristics of a successful LBO? And how do successful PE firms create value by acquiring such companies?

Learning Objective: To introduce students to

the concept of an LBO, to analyze price sensi-tivity for an LBO, to explore characteristics of a good LBO candidate, and to analyze how the successful PE firm generates value in an LBO.

finansbank 2006 C. Fritz Foley harvard business school case (field) Product #208108 (18 pages) teaching note #208149 supplement #208724

This case provides students with an opportu-nity to analyze the restructuring of a Turkish multinational business group by way of a merger. Finansbank is a bank headquartered in Turkey, with additional operations in Holland, Switzerland, Russia, Romania, and Ukraine. It was founded by Hüsnü Özye in 1987, and in April 2006, the National Bank of Greece (NBG) offered to buy part of the bank. Students consider factors that contribute to Finansbank’s growth and success. In order to assess the terms of NBG’s offer, students can evaluate given valuations of the bank and analyze why the proposed deal is structured so that Özye retains a stake and buys back the non-Turkish operations. Students also consider the offer from the perspective of minority shareholders.

Learning Objective: To illustrate how capital

requirements create a need for restructuring in environments where the benefits of owner-ship concentration are high.

hsbc credit card rewards Program

Robert J. Fisher

ivey school of business case Product #908a17 (22 pages)

At the start of the previous decade, competi-tion in the credit card market was based on price (i.e., interest rates and annual fees). After Chase and American Express launched bonus-point programs in 1993, HSBC was forced to follow in 1994. The original program was targeted at high-income consumers, as with luxury-brand redemp-tion items. The competiredemp-tion reacted and consumers quickly learned to expect a points program as a standard feature. Again, HSBC differentiated its credit card products by adding a wider range of redemption items and lowering redemption levels. Problems emerged in 1997 and 1998 as the HSBC program became a source of complaints, due to operational difficulties in fulfillment and a lack of competitive advantage in the marketplace. In 1999, HSBC’s credit card was rated poorly, largely because of the problems with the bonus point system. Research was used to understand consumers and revitalize the program. Significant changes were made in the features, operations improved, and the selection of redemption items grew. By 2002, the program was rated as one of the best in the industry. The challenge is, where does HSBC go from here?

Learning Objective: To illustrate how

consum-ers and competitors change as markets evolve; to consider ways to differentiate products that have become commoditized; to examine a context in which an organization has transformed a product from worst to best in market through marketing activities; and to consider the implications of using rewards programs and promotional tactics to drive consumer behaviors. The case is designed for marketing management courses at the senior undergraduate, MBA, and executive levels. It is designed for a single 80-minute class.

iceland (a)

Aldo Musacchio

supplement #709012

In May 2008, a team of sovereign debt analysts at Moody’s needed to decide whether to downgrade the country’s sovereign

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term debt from Aaa to Aa1 or lower. Investor sentiment toward Iceland had changed radically in March, and the Moody’s team was fearful that the situation could spiral out of control. The Moody’s team knew that carry traders increased Iceland’s vulnerability to a confidence crisis, because they were quick to liquidate their holdings at the first sign of distress. The plunge in the Icelandic krona since the beginning of 2008 also forced the Icelandic people to confront a decision: Would joining the European Union (EU) protect Iceland from capricious swings in investor sentiment? What, if anything, should Iceland do to avoid a future crisis?

international carbon finance and ecosecurites

Andre F. Perold, Forest Reinhardt harvard business school case (field) Product #208151 (22 pages)

In late 2007, EcoSecurities had to decide whether to undertake a new Clean Develop-ment Mechanism (CDM) project in China. EcoSecurities, an aggregator of carbon credits, was also invested directly in projects that produced carbon credits, used by governments and firms to fulfill part of their compliance obligations in cutting greenhouse gas emissions according to the Kyoto Protocol. As demand for UN-issued carbon credits rose, the UN approval process had become increasingly burdensome. The Ventilation Air Methane Project was an opportunity to break into a new sector with great potential, and EcoSecurities had to assess the economics and risks of the project.

Learning Objective: To understand the market

for carbon emissions and the pricing of carbon credits; to learn about project valuation and discounted cash flow; and to think about investment risk analysis in the context of political uncertainty.

ithmar capital

Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon harvard business school case (field) Product #809032 (21 pages)

The founders of Ithmar Capital, a mid-market private equity fund that targets businesses with concerns and operations in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, are about to raise their third fund, targeting $1 billion. The firm’s current strategy as demonstrated in

Funds I ($70 million) and II ($250 million) emphasizes careful targeting of sectors and in-depth work to develop the portfolio companies post-acquisition. With the industry’s greater velocity and deal size, can Ithmar continue to pursue this strategy even with a larger fund?

the private equity environment in the Persian Gulf area. kmart and esl investments (a) Stuart C. Gilson harvard business school case (secondary source) Product #209044 (24 pages)

A major retailer is poised to emerge from Chapter 11. Two activist hedge funds (“vulture investors”) will own more than 50% of reorganized Kmart common stock, based on prior investments in Kmart’s debt claims and an infusion of new equity financing. The Chapter 11 process has generated both costs and benefits for the company. Its future profitability and the value of the reorganized business, however, are both highly uncertain.

Learning Objective: To introduce Chapter

11 and the basics of the U.S. bankruptcy practices; distressed (“vulture”) investing strategies in bankrupt companies; valuation of a company about to emerge from bankruptcy; and complicated capital structures, including issues around security, subordination, public versus private debt, etc.

martingale asset management l.P. in 2008: 130/30 funds and a low-volatility strategy Luis M. Viceira harvard business school case (field) Product #209047 (22 pages)

In early July 2008, William (Bill) Jacques, chief investment officer at Martingale Asset Management, a quantitative value-oriented investment manager in Boston, Massachu-setts, was busy preparing for an upcoming meeting with the group that made new prod-uct decisions within the firm. The objective of the meeting was to review the backtesting and real-time investment results of a new mini-mum-variance strategy within the framework of a 130/30 fund. The performance results were very encouraging, but Bill still wondered if they were a fluke of the data, a result of data mining rather than the reflection of a true market anomaly. He wanted to discuss several possible explanations of the phenomenon and to decide whether Martingale should offer the strategy to its clients.

Learning Objective: To discuss the mechanics

and the economic implications of leverage and short-selling for investment strategies; to discuss minimum volatility stock invest-ment strategies and quantitative investing in general; and to discuss the management of quantitative funds, especially in the context of new product development and client offerings.

finance

f i n a n c e

ben bernanke’s fed

The Federal Reserve After Greenspan

ethan s. harris

In this first in-depth look at Bernanke’s chairmanship of the Fed, Lehman Brothers’ chief U.S. economist Ethan Harris demystifies the policy choices and pronouncements of the new Fed chair—and explains how they influence the global economy.

Harris’ accessible portrayal is the tool students need to understand and anticipate Bernanke’s decisions and communications by putting his actions into clear context.

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sks microfinance

Shawn Cole

Vikram Akula, CEO of SKS Microfinance, seeks a venture capital investment to fund his firm. SKS, one of the largest and fastest-growing microfinance institutions in India, is a profitable for-profit institution with a social mission. In what is one of the first commer-cial financing deals in the world, Akula must decide at what value (and to whom) to sell equity in SKS. The case focuses on valuation, which is difficult because at the time there were no comparable publicly traded com-panies, and the strategic aspects of raising money.

Learning Objective: To teach valuation of

financial institutions, particularly microfi-nance; to study an entrepreneur’s problem.

thoma bravo—citect corporation take-Private

Nabil N. El-Hage

harvard business school case (field) Product #209022 (22 pages) In 2006, Citect Corporation, a publicly traded Australian software company, was the target of a takeover battle between a financial sponsor and a strategic buyer. Thoma Bravo, the U.S.-based private equity firm, had to decide on its acquisition strategy in the face of competition from Schneider Electric, a large

French multinational. The case allows for a thorough analysis of buyer types (financial vs. strategic), deal strategy, and valuation. Among other topics covered in the case are the importance of due diligence, the potential for value creation by private equity firms through operational improvements, the use of footholds in deal strategy, and the challenges of cross-border acquisitions.

Learning Objective: To evaluate the

charac-teristics and goals of different buyer types, to discuss deal strategy from a private equity standpoint, and to analyze how valuation impacts bidding strategy.

tribune company, 2007 Timothy A. Luehrman harvard business school case (secondary source) Product #208148 (24 pages) supplement #208723

This case describes the proposed acquisi-tion of Tribune Company by Sam Zell in 2007. Tribune Company is one of the largest newspapers and broadcasting companies in the United States. Zell’s proposed acquisition is unusual in several respects. It is two-tiered, employs an ESOP as the acquisition vehicle, and involves a high degree of leverage as well as significant asset sales, and Zell himself will own almost no common stock in the post-deal Tribune. The case is set in late October 2007, at which point the first stage of the acquisition had been completed, but the second stage had not. Recent deterioration in both Tribune’s

operating results and its credit market condi-tions made it unclear whether the transaction could be closed as scheduled in 2007, or indeed at all.

Learning Objective: The case permits a

discus-sion of the decline of the U.S. newspaper industry and an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the unusual features built into this particular transaction. The case may be analyzed from multiple perspectives: Zell’s, the employees’, the shareholders’, and Tribune’s pre-existing lenders’.

venture capital vignettes: difficult financings G. Felda Hardymon harvard business school case (secondary source) Product #809003 (6 pages)

These three short vignettes depict invest-ment professionals considering difficult financings for companies in their portfolios. For one reason or another, each company has underperformed expectations. Should the protagonist recommend that the firm participate or not, or should he try to revise it? Can the firm exercise any influence, and are the potential gains worth the time and effort that will be required?

the complex and nuanced decisions about funding companies with uncertain chances of success.

GeNeraL MaNaGeMeNT

absolute return for kids Herman B. Leonard harvard business school case (field) Product #309036 (22 pages)

Absolute Return for Kids (ARK) is a charity with strong financial support. ARK seeks to transform the lives of children who are vic-tims of abuse, disability, illness, and poverty. As one of the 50 largest fundraising charities in the United Kingdom, the organization’s trustees wrestle with how to meet the needs of this vast and most vulnerable population through program expansion and delivery in Eastern Europe, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. How can the organization replicate its existing successful programs faster, within

finance

GeNeraL MaNaGeMeNT

Groundswell

Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

charlene li and Josh bernoff

Corporate executives are struggling with a new trend: people using online social technologies (blogs, social networking sites, youTube, podcasts) to discuss products and companies, write their own news, and find their own deals. The authors explain how to turn this threat into an opportunity.

“an insightful book that takes a refreshing research-driven approach to helping businesses transform themselves and successfully navigate this new dynamic landscape.”

—steve rubel, senior vice President, edelman digital, and columnist for Advertising Age

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both new and existing countries? How can ARK best identify new areas into which it should expand over the near term and further down the road, as well as recognize the ones that would overstretch ARK’s organizational capacity and risk its failure to maintain the highest quality of delivery?

Learning Objective: To illustrate the problems

of maintaining focus and disciplined strategy in a resource-rich environment.

areva t&d

Ananth Raman, Vincent dessain harvard business school case (field) Product #608174 (48 pages) The case explores the rapid and highly effective turnaround at AREVA’s transmis-sion and distribution (T&D) business by focusing on the division’s operations. The division was struggling in 2004 when newly appointed CEO Philippe Guillemot and his team improved performance substantially by focusing on four levers—industrial footprint realignment, competitive sourcing, process efficiency, and a competitive product offering. The case challenges students to identify the best path forward, starting in 2008. How can the progress achieved from 2004 to 2007 be sustained? AREVA T&D hopes to surpass ABB and Siemens in sales and profitability by focusing on superior product offerings, through “customer intimacy” (e.g., involving customers in new product development) and development of a reputation for environmen-tally friendly behavior. What is the role of operations management in this context?

under-stand the role of operational improvement in a turnaround setting. ath microtechnologies: making the numbers Robert L. Simons harvard business school case (field) Product #108091 (14 pages) teaching note #108097

An exercise that takes students through five stages in an entrepreneurial start-up in the medical devices industry: founding, growth, push to profitability, relocation process, and takeover by new management. At each stage, students must confront tensions while balanc-ing profit, growth, and control. They will encounter difficulties in the business as the

result of management’s attempts to design and use formal control systems to achieve profit and performance goals.

Learning Objective: To offer a longitudinal

study of company attempting to balance innovation and control.

boston teacher residency: developing a strategy for long-term impact Stacey Childress harvard business school case (field) Product #309043 (31 pages)

In June 2008, Jesse Solomon, founding director of the Boston Teacher Residency (BTR), faced an important decision about the organization’s strategic direction. Since its founding in 2003, 125 of its graduates had joined the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and BTR had established a reputation as a provider of some of the district’s best-prepared new teachers. Yet Solomon wondered if its approach so far was the optimal choice going forward. Carol Johnson, the new superinten-dent for BPS, was developing a district-wide improvement strategy that prioritized performance acceleration of the district’s lowest-performing schools. But relatively few BTR graduates joined these schools—they were free to pursue teaching openings at any school in the district. Solomon knew the potential to partner more closely with the new superintendent was a time-sensitive oppor-tunity that involved a number of questions. What were the implications of moving from an open hiring market to the placement of BTR graduates in high-priority schools? Was BTR’s model sufficient to prepare new teach-ers to join struggling schools in the absence of a comprehensive turnaround strategy? How could BTR continue to strengthen the quality of its program while supporting the new superintendent’s priorities?

Learning Objective: To analyze the strategy of

an entrepreneurial education venture.

enterprise risk management at hydro one

Anette Mikes

An early adopter of enterprise risk manage-ment, energy giant Hydro One anticipated new threats and opportunities in an industry that faced climate change and carbon legisla-tion, the deregulation of electricity markets, and the greater adoption of renewable tech-nologies. CEO Laura Formusa felt that Hydro One’s risk profile had shifted, to the extent that she had to ask herself: Was the strategy tenable? The case provides a rich description of enterprise risk management in action and shows how Hydro One executives arrived at a shared understanding of the risk profile of the company. In the narrative, a diverse group of managers (the chief executive, the chief finan-cial officer, the head of public relations, and the chief regulatory officer) voice their views on the risks, collectively bringing a multiple-stakeholder perspective to the risk profile. The case challenges students to define the problems and risks that the company faces, given its strategic objectives, its evolving risk profile, and the changing environment. The case also offers a discussion ground for defin-ing both the role of the chief risk officer and the relationship between risk management, strategic planning, and capital budgeting.

Learning Objective: To provide a rich

descrip-tion of ERM and to expose students to the challenges of risk assessment from a strategic perspective. gordon williams: clinical research at brigham and women’s hospital H. Kent Bowen harvard business school case (field) Product #608168 (27 pages)

Clinical research is a critical element of bio-medical research and development. This case describes the challenges of clinical research and its role in bringing breakthroughs to

general management

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patients. Dr. Williams leads through his own research and special programs to train clinical investigators.

Learning Objective: To understand the role

of clinical research within the spectrum of biomedical research.

innocentive.com (a)

Karim R. Lakhani

InnoCentive.com, a firm connecting R&D labs of large organizations to diverse external solvers through innovation contests, has to decide if it will enable collaboration in its community. The case covers the basics of how a distributed innovation system works and the advantages of having external R&D. It also applies concepts of open source to a non-software setting; describes the rationale for participation by solvers in innovation contests and the benefits that accrue to firms; and raises the issue of whether a community can be shifted to collaboration when competition was the basis of prior interaction.

Learning Objective: To cover the mechanics

of open innovation and the rationale for participation by firms and individuals. To discover the challenges of moving to a collaborative model for innovation and the potential opportunities for participants in a collaborative setting.

kidney matchmakers

Brian J. Hall

This case looks at the design and development of an unconventional market, where neither

money nor traditional “goods” are exchanged. Kidney exchange is an idea pioneered by HBS professor and market designer Alvin Roth along with a small group of innovative doctors. The case follows this group as they grapple with some of the complex questions associated with launching a national clearing-house for kidney exchange. It raises critical questions about why and how value is created in markets, and about how important moral dilemmas (in this case, the buying and selling of human organs) complicate the connection between market exchange and value creation.

Learning Objective: To demonstrate that

markets are a powerful vehicle for value cre-ation, and to show the complexities of market design when applied in an unconventional setting. mattel’s long hot summer Jane Wei-Skillern harvard business school case (secondary source) Product #308129 (14 pages)

In the summer of 2007, Mattel performed three major recalls of toys, mostly due to the use of lead paint and other manufactur-ing issues in China. This case examines specifically how those recalls were perceived by consumers and responded to by Mattel, as well as what effect they had on the toy industry, consumer safety, and manufacturing in China in general.

Learning Objective: To question the trade-offs

between price and quality in manufacturing practices and strategy.

Pat fili-krushel (a)

Kathleen L. McGinn

harvard business school case (field)

Product #909009 (12 pages) supplement #909010

Pat Fili-Krushel, CEO and president of WebMD.com and past president of ABC Network, contemplates accepting Richard Parsons’ offer to become the first executive vice president of administration at AOL Time Warner. Accepting this position would be a move back into mainstream media but also a career shift from line positions to a corporate staff role. The case profiles Fili-Krushel’s media experiences and her use of interper-sonal influence and negotiation, leading up to the critical decision point. After consult-ing with colleagues throughout the media industry, Fili-Krushel’s decision rests on her own career aspirations and her expectations about the future of AOL Time Warner.

Learning Objective: To facilitate a discussion

around critical decision points faced by individuals at the mid-career point, using influence and negotiation strategies for career management and addressing job challenges; and to analyze specific influences and negotia-tion tactics used in different stages of a career.

sovereign wealth funds: for Profits or Politics?

Laura Alfaro

On March 21, 2008, the U.S. government secured an agreement from two leading sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) to adopt a new set of investment principles to govern the funds’ activities. SWFs, broadly defined as investment funds owned by a nation or a government, were gaining prominence across the globe, especially with their recent investments in troubled U.S. financial firms that had suffered significant losses during the subprime mortgage crisis. Yet SWFs were viewed with suspicion amid concerns that they could have potential political interests behind their investments. Many SWFs also lacked disclosure or transparency regarding their activities or investment goals. Countries such as the United States felt that interna-tional regulation had to be imposed, but would it be possible?

general management

GeNeraL MaNaGeMeNT

Control in an age of empowerment

robert l. simons

In this short paperback, Robert Simons explains how to give employees the freedom to innovate while protecting your firm from loose cannons. Clear examples in the book show how to apply 4 powerful management “levers” to balance autonomy with control.