This note describes a collection of 26 teaching case studies and 5 expository notes on the history of financial crises from 1720 to 2008. The note also summarizes a semester-length course design based on these materials. The purpose of this collection is to advance pedagogy and research in the field of financial crises.
This note, written to accompany "The NBA, China, and Social Media: What Are the Rules of the Game?" (UVA-E-0459) but useful in tandem with other cases, charts the history of freedom of speech in the United States. The US Constitution did not originally include the Bill of Rights (which contains the 1st through 10th Amendments), but after more than 200 years of legal and philosophical shifts, expre
A government's impact on the economy is not limited to taxes, spending, and monetary policy. As any manager can attest, regulations dramatically impact the way managers think about production. An effective regulatory environment will allow both new and existing firms to grow and innovate. Burdensome regulations can lower economic productivity and employment, and are associated with higher levels o
Despite the important role that assumptions about intentions play in our judgments of others' actions and how we respond to these actions, most of us haven't thought much about the accuracy of the inferences we make, the ways our decisions about "what he meant to do" or "why she did that" might be unintentionally biased, or the potential negative effects that result when inferences about intention
This note describes how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), founded in 1949, has attempted to create and maintain an official narrative of the country and regime that tilts toward the favorable and minimizes any negative. A key component of the historical narrative has been China's so-called Century of Humiliation, in which China suffered exploitation at the hands of various other nations. Mist
Using the fictional situation of two brothers facing the challenge of managing a commodity business in central Africa, this note explores different metrics for risk and related considerations for investors. The note considers measures of volatility, including the difference between systematic risk
This tech note is designed to introduce general management students to the body of work associated with agile and its current state of practice. While anchored in a simple 68-word manifesto, agile now offers guidance on applied practice across ideation, design, development, and deployment of working products. This note describes how teams use agile to focus their work and apply current practice ac
In the 1920s, Germany experienced one of the most severe episodes of hyperinflation in history. The episode originated in military defeat and revolution, produced instability that figured prominently in the onset of the Great Depression, and created policy dilemmas that present cautionary lessons for leaders in business and government. This note examines the causes, dynamics, and consequences of G
With frequent water main breaks, leaking pipes, and lead contamination, the water infrastructure of many countries is in bad shape, and improvements are urgent in light of climate change and increasing water stress. Discussion in recent years has focused on the role of private companies in a sector that has traditionally been in public hands. Since the privatization of the United Kingdom's water i
Hoshin kanri (HK), or strategy deployment, has been an integral part of the company management practices of some of the most successful Lean-practicing organizations. The purpose of this note is to give a very quick introduction to how it has been successfully used in small and medium-sized value streams to inject strategic meaning and tactical understanding to operational strategies and improveme
On December 22, 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). While many pundits focused on the bigger ticket items of the bill, there was a small provision tucked away in the 185-page document that promised to have outsized influence on the investment strategies of high-net-worth individuals, and others sitting on appreciated investments, throughout the
External corporate communications and the rapidly changing ways in which companies engage with their customers received a lot of attention between 2010 and 2020. With social media, online chats, blogs, vlogs, and much more, consumers gained unprecedented access to corporate decision-makers, celebrity spokespeople, endorsement-driven athletes—even the US president. Internal communications, through
