Set in late 2016, this case recounts the remarkable performance record of Blue Chip Growth Fund (BCGF), a mutual fund managed by Larry Puglia at T. Rowe Price, Inc. The case describes the investment style of Puglia, whose record with BCGF had on average outperformed the S&P 500 since the inception of the fund in 1993. The tasks for the student are to assess the performance of the fund, consider th
Ella Zhang, a talented fashion designer, established an online presence through Taobao and WeChat in 2013. Over the following four years, she tested online advertising tools and honed her marketing to young urban women in China's first-tier cities, primarily by shifting to the Weibo platform. Through the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017, her sales continued to grow but her marketing expenses wer
"Marketing Analytics Resource Allocation" is an introduction to and overview of how marketing analytics can be used to measure the impact of marketing. In this series on optimizing marketing resources, Raj Venkatesan uses predictive analytics to address topics including customer retention, customer acquisition, brand recognition, and customer lifetime value.
Videos in this playlist: Why Marketing
This is a four-part case series.
In 2012, Leigh Nicholson, a self-employed IT consultant with a successful career that had spanned South Africa, Dubai, and London under her belt, joined forces with three friends to form Hanging Gardens, a cottage business that sold homemade hanging plant holders in their local suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, on the weekends. After spending the summer introducin
This is a four-part case series.
In 2012, Leigh Nicholson, a self-employed IT consultant with a successful career that had spanned South Africa, Dubai, and London under her belt, joined forces with three friends to form Hanging Gardens, a cottage business that sold homemade hanging plant holders in their local suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, on the weekends. After spending the summer introducin
This is a four-part case series.
In 2012, Leigh Nicholson, a self-employed IT consultant with a successful career that had spanned South Africa, Dubai, and London under her belt, joined forces with three friends to form Hanging Gardens, a cottage business that sold homemade hanging plant holders in their local suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, on the weekends. After spending the summer introducin
This is a four-part case series.
In 2012, Leigh Nicholson, a self-employed IT consultant with a successful career that had spanned South Africa, Dubai, and London under her belt, joined forces with three friends to form Hanging Gardens, a cottage business that sold homemade hanging plant holders in their local suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, on the weekends. After spending the summer introducin
Marketing strategy, part of the marketing planning process, flows directly from a company's goals and helps define how the marketing organization will help the firm achieve its objectives. Marketing strategy is guided by the goals and objectives of the organization, the business unit, or the particular product or service for which the plan is developed. The choice of which marketing strategy (or
This case details the history of Southwest Airlines (LUV) and emphasizes the benefits of a focused strategy. The case demonstrates how a competent service strategy together with operations efficiency can lead to profit, and it explains the concept of an integrated approach tying together the customer value proposition with operational and human resource capabilities. At the time of the case, LUV m
The owner of a Cape Town, South Africa-based business, Sarak Wholesale Supplies, struggles to manage his cash flow and get his inventory under control (Sarak Wholesale has no formal order-cycle process). To improve the level of service Sarak Wholesale provided to its clients, he would need to formalize its ordering procedures.
Focused ultrasound (FUS) technology is an early stage, noninvasive therapeutic technology with the potential to transform the treatment of many medical disorders by using ultrasonic energy to target tissue deep in the body without incisions or radiation. The technology had the potential to improve outcomes and decrease costs by serving as an alternative or complement to surgery, radiation therapy,
This note contains some tips and best practices that drive effective nonprofit boards. The note will also examine the key responsibilities of nonprofit boards, and identify gaps in the effectiveness of these boards.
This case describes a common situation in old buildings, namely the decision as to whether intall an elevator. In this armchair case, we have an apartment building in Budapest with 24 homeowners with a possible interest adding an elevator to the walk-up building. The case begins by discussing serveral ways to fairly distribute the cost if the elevator is approved. One way is an equal split. The se
On October 25, 2016, Timothy J. Sloan, the new CEO of Wells Fargo bank, apologized to 1,200 of his employees in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sloan had been named to the company's top position two weeks earlier, when then-CEO John Stumpf resigned amid fallout from the banking scandal for which Sloan apologized. In September, Wells Fargo had agreed to a $185 million settlement with the Consumer Financ
Nonprofits are facing a growing challenge to retain donors. At a time when acquiring a new donor is three times as expensive as retaining an existing donor and donor attrition stands at an all-time high, nonprofits are looking to increase the lifetime value of their donors. This case presents a new means by which nonprofits can induce donors to give today and commit to giving in the future. The po
This case follows the financial-statement forecasting decisions of a Deutsche Bank research analyst for the natural and organic retailer Whole Foods Market in May 2014. Students evaluate the associated financial ratios with the forecast to ascertain whether the industry dynamics and company strategy are consistent with the forecast. The case expressly focuses on the asset side of the balance sheet
In March 2014, Marco and Nicola were anxious. They were preparing for a meeting that would be vital to the future of Paolo Babini, a social cooperative that they led, that served the people of Forl?, Italy. Due to a 30% cut in Paulo Babini's funding, Marco and Nicola were going to pitch a new project to the cooperative's supervisory board that would help the organization become more financially se
This technical notes answers the questions: What does the competitive landscape look like to a given competitor? Which firms does the competitor regard as its chief rivals? Critically, what actions is the competitor likely to take?
This case examines the cost of capital estimation for British postal service company Royal Mail plc in 2015?a time when company managers and government regulators were adjusting to private ownership after 500 years of government ownership. The case features a flawed cost of capital estimation analysis that includes common blunders. Students are invited to evaluate this analysis and provide their o
This document is one of three available case-based simulations used as the basis for a multisession course on design thinking. The course emphasizes deep user understanding, iteration, and a focus on the possibilities as a way to enhance value creation for stakeholders. Please refer to the course teaching guide to view the additional essential pedagogical tools available to the course instructor?i
This document is one of three available case-based simulations used as the basis for a multisession course on design thinking. The course emphasizes deep user understanding, iteration, and a focus on the possibilities as a way to enhance value creation for stakeholders. Please refer to the course teaching guide to view the additional essential pedagogical tools available to the course instructor?i
MBA students are taught to use the expected monetary value (EMV) to evaluate risky opportunities. The reaction of individuals to risk, however, is far more complex. In fact, individuals are rarely found to be consistently risk neutral, risk averse, or risk seeking. They can be all these things, depending on whether the probabilities are small or large or the outcomes are gains or losses. The purpo
Tim Conner, the CEO of Central Express Trucking (CXT), was preoccupied as he drove to work one sunny morning in late October 2013. Diesel fuel prices had been a constant concern at the trucking company he had started 22 years ago. Over the last decade, the steady rise in fuel prices had squeezed margins and dampened profits. Furthermore, despite the existence of fuel surcharges in all of CXT's con
This case provides students with the opportunity to analyze the pension disclosures for AT&T Inc. In particular, it provides for discussion about the components of pension expense, the balance sheet accounts, and the various assumptions that drive these figures. What is most unique about the example is that the case is set in 2008, and in 2010, AT&T elected to immediately recognize actuarial gains
This case provides students with the opportunity to analyze the income tax disclosures for Apple Inc. In particular, it provides for discussion about such topics as deferred taxes, valuation allowances, unrecognized tax benefits, and the statutory rate reconciliation. What is most unique about the example is that Apple reports around $200 billion of cash and investments on its balance sheet.
How
The case describes a 2016 debt buyback transaction for Deutsche Bank, a major, global, systemically important bank. The case focuses on the large, global bank during a turbulent period, giving students the opportunity to consider both the specific issue of whether Deutsche Bank should do a debt buyback as well as the strategic, regulatory, and macroeconomic issues the bank was facing. This case is
Who doesn't want the ability to wield influence, and build or possess some sort of power? The A case describes the ascent of a blogger at the top of the list of the most influential luxury fashion writers worldwide. He had made his way to front-row seats at fashion events, created a signature pose, garnered the attention of those who mattered in the high-end fashion business, lived lavishly, and w
This material is part of the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) curriculum. To see other material in the GVV curriculum, please visit http://store.darden.virginia.edu/giving-voice-to-values.
This material offers a brief introduction to the Giving Voice to Values curriculum, which is designed to help individuals learn to recognize, clarify, and speak and act on their values when those conflicts arise.
In late 2013, an analyst at WNG Capital LLC, Wenbo Su, must recommend whether the terms of a sale-and-leaseback deal are value adding for WNG. WNG was an operating lessor of used commercial aircraft manufactured by Airbus Group and Boeing Corporation. The lessee in the deal was a small private airline based in the United Kingdom. The essence of the transaction was to transform the airline from bei
The case evolves around the Powerball lottery and the rule changes implemented in 2015, which, among other things, changed the chances of winning the jackpot from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 292 million. What is the impact of such rules on lottery revenues? The expected value rule is unable to explain why people play in the first place and fails to give the appropriate weight to the factors that expl
Set in an investment firm, the A case presents the president going through a review process with the firm's portfolio managers. By all accounts Fred Silverton's financial savvy and skills had helped turnaround the staggering mutual fund company's success. The case runs through issues and actions directly involving Silverton. Despite Silverton's success, there were some who were alarmed over his ap
Set in an investment firm, the A case presents the president going through a review process with the firm's portfolio managers. By all accounts Fred Silverton's financial savvy and skills had helped turnaround the staggering mutual fund company's success. The case runs through issues and actions directly involving Silverton. Despite Silverton's success there were some who were alarmed over his app
This case invites students to assess the impact that Brexit, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, might have on a New York-based hedge fund's portfolio and, specifically, its UK assets. The case is designed to prompt students to make market assumptions and investment hypotheses based on a combination of numerical data and qualitative information. It requires no numerical c
The purpose of this document is to describe each step in the development of a model for the case "A Late Night at The Virginian Restaurant" (UVA-OM-1551).
The set of four cases composing the Fur Industry Merger Exercise affords the opportunity for a merger negotiation among students. Three potential buyers (Adams, Jindo [UVA-F-0962], and Lessard [UVA-F-0963]) compete for two potential sellers (Adams and Gallery of Furs [UVA-F-0965]). The cases give detailed financial forecasts for the target firms that are unique to each party. The forecasts form th
The set of four cases composing the Fur Industry Merger Exercise affords the opportunity for a merger negotiation among students. Three potential buyers (Adams [UVA-F-0964], Jindo, and Lessard [UVA-F-0963]) compete for two potential sellers (Adams and Gallery of Furs [UVA-F-0965]). The cases give detailed financial forecasts for the target firms that are unique to each party. The forecasts form th
