Using perceptual maps, students make decisions about launching new products in the context of impending market competition. Groups of six players compete in the launch of a new or enhanced product by positioning their brand at an ideal place in the market. Decisions are made in real time, and costs are incurred with positioning changes. Launching new products into new or established markets provid
In 1837, President Martin Van Buren confronted a dilemma over the appropriate federal response to the recent panic of 1837 that seemed to undercut the policies and power of Andrew Jackson's "Democracy." Now, Van Buren must decide how best to harness the civic reaction in stabilizing the financial system and returning the American economy to growth.
Van Buren's dilemma occurs in the midst of a dra
In 1837, President Martin Van Buren confronted a dilemma over the appropriate federal response to the recent panic of 1837 that seemed to undercut the policies and power of Andrew Jackson's "Democracy." Now, Van Buren must decide how best to harness the civic reaction in stabilizing the financial system and returning the American economy to growth.
Van Buren's dilemma occurs in the midst of a dra
In 1837, President Martin Van Buren confronted a dilemma over the appropriate federal response to the recent panic of 1837 that seemed to undercut the policies and power of Andrew Jackson's "Democracy." Now, Van Buren must decide how best to harness the civic reaction in stabilizing the financial system and returning the American economy to growth.
Van Buren's dilemma occurs in the midst of a dra
In 1837, President Martin Van Buren confronted a dilemma over the appropriate federal response to the recent panic of 1837 that seemed to undercut the policies and power of Andrew Jackson's "Democracy." Now, Van Buren must decide how best to harness the civic reaction in stabilizing the financial system and returning the American economy to growth.
Van Buren's dilemma occurs in the midst of a dra
An analyst's The manager at a local investment firm had been reading through a recent report regarding MGM Resorts International when he noticed a drop in the company's bad debt expense estimate for 2016. He had asked an analyst at the firm to investigate. The manager knew a decrease like this could indicate an improvement in collectability from customers, but he also knew the expense was subject
The benefits or harms achieved by a business is determined in part by the choices that business leaders make. One important driver of these choices is a leader's view of the purpose of business. This note: (1) outlines the history of debates about corporate purpose, (2) calls out some myths that persist in the way that people think about corporate purpose, and (3) introduces a view of business cal
In this note, a chef perceives that a website reviewer is responsible for his slowing business because the reviewer allowed fake reviews about his restaurant to be posted; it follows that the chef would like this behavior to stop.
In 2016 Andrew Rose, CEO of Compare.com, an online price comparison website for car insurance shoppers, faced a troubling problem. Completion rates for the site's detailed online questionnaire were at an alarming low as site visitors, increasingly coming to the site from mobile devices, were proving they did not have the time or incentive to answer the site's requisite questions and, thus, were d
In 2016 Andrew Rose, CEO of Compare.com, an online price comparison website for car insurance shoppers, faced a troubling problem. Completion rates for the site's detailed online questionnaire were at an alarming low as site visitors, increasingly coming to the site from mobile devices, were proving they did not have the time or incentive to answer the site's requisite questions and, thus, were d
In 2016 Andrew Rose, CEO of Compare.com, an online price comparison website for car insurance shoppers, faced a troubling problem. Completion rates for the site's detailed online questionnaire were at an alarming low as site visitors, increasingly coming to the site from mobile devices, were proving they did not have the time or incentive to answer the site's requisite questions and, thus, were dr
This is the fourth in a series of four cases.
Ian Desmond, a baseball player for the Washington Nationals team, was deciding whether or not to accept a new contract. Should he take a seven-year contract, and stick it out with the team for for another seven years? He was young and talented, and his star was on the rise. With strong 2013 performance statistics, he was in a good position to negotiat
This is the third in a series of four cases.
Ian Desmond, a baseball player for the Washington Nationals team, was deciding whether or not to accept a new contract. Should he take a seven-year contract, and stick it out with the team for for another seven years? He was young and talented, and his star was on the rise. With strong 2013 performance statistics, he was in a good position to negotiate
This is the second in a series of four cases.
Ian Desmond, a baseball player for the Washington Nationals team, was deciding whether or not to accept a new contract. Should he take a seven-year contract, and stick it out with the team for for another seven years? He was young and talented, and his star was on the rise. With strong 2013 performance statistics, he was in a good position to negotiat
This is the first in a series of four cases.
Ian Desmond, a baseball player for the Washington Nationals team, was deciding whether or not to accept a new contract. Should he take a seven-year contract, and stick it out with the team for for another seven years? He was young and talented, and his star was on the rise. With strong 2013 performance statistics, he was in a good position to negotiate
A director of marketing at a major big-box retailer in the United States finds herself overhearing a customer and a lighting specialist discuss the replacement of incandescent and halogen lightbulbs with LEDs in his house. The case provides sufficient data to perform the economic analysis of which lightbulb is more cost effective in terms of net present value. The results are at odds with the stud
Inditex, the parent company of Zara, is known for its success in "fast fashion," the ability to respond quickly to changes in the retail apparel industry. This case examines the reasons for its success by tying its strategy to its design, production, distribution, and retailing practices from both a process and people perspective. The links between this strategy and performance measures such as RO
In this case, John Connaughton, a managing director at Bain Capital, had joined forces in October 2006 with Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) to acquire Clear Channel Communications in a historic $28 billion leveraged buyout (LBO). The plan had looked solid, and the private equity consortium was ready to close the deal. But this plan turned out to be only the first act.
In late 2007 and early 2008, th
This exercise teaches participants how to generate ideas and brainstorm and helps to remove the perception that idea generation is a process that only "super-creative people" can do well. It not only shows participants how to generate valuable ideas, but also highlights barriers to doing so. Suitable for students in either full-time or executive MBA programs as well as executive education programs
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In this case, two friends, a managing director with an investment banking group and a partner at Cavalier Capital LLC have submitted a bit for a leveraged buyout (LBO) of retail giant Staples Inc. Staples seemed like an ideal LBO candidate: it was a large, stable company; it was a market leader with highly predictable cash flows; and, most important, its shareholders were unhappy. Markets also loo
This technical note provides hands-on instructions for searching, classifying, and obtaining documents from the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) official document repository, EDGAR. It helps students become familiar with the different types and classifications of SEC filings available for public companies registered with the SEC.
The C case is a memo from the head of Titan Products to Franz Schuler managment stating it is imperative that the R&D portion of Franz Schuler be kept separate from Titan and remain under the leadership of Hermann Schuler.
Coolness is a quality that is widely desired but not widely understood. While many brands seek to establish themselves as "cool," few have a clear idea of how to get there. In this technical note, we present a general framework for coolness that can be used by consumers and managers alike to better understand how to create an air of cool around themselves, their brand, or their products.
Our fram
Yi Hua, the leader of an impact-investing initiative at Goldman Sachs, was examining a new financial arrangement in a proposed public-private partnership called the Rikers Island Social Impact Bond (SIB). The proposed SIB was the result of a partnership between Goldman Sachs, the New York City (NYC) Department of Correction, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and three nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)?
Developing new products and services is an iterative process that involves (1) identifying a problem or opportunity that needs to be addressed, (2) generating concepts or solutions that address the problem, and (3) conducting experiments and tests to learn about the success or failure of those concepts. This note describes the first of these activities.
The case follows the analysis of a proposal to insource production of certain parts for the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) division of JBT AeroTech in 2015. The primary motivations for the proposal were rising costs due to vendor price increases and long lead times. The GSE division believed production could be done internally at much lower cost and that, with increased control of production, the
This case calls students to evaluate an investment in impact-oriented private-debt fund TriLinc Global. The fund is led by Wall Street veteran Gloria Nelund and provides debt financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. The case discusses the well-known shortages in SME finance globally and the role SMEs play in emerging economies. In her desire to make the impact investin
Pied Piper's first driverless car had been in an accident and had killed a 26-year-old jogger. Pied Piper felt a deep sadness for the victim's family, and was disappointed and alarmed because the company had optimistically thought driverless cars would eventually lead to total elimination of driving fatalities. The company needed to decide if the car's algorithm was responsible for this death and,
