This field-based case uses the experiences of an equity analyst at his first job post-MBA to explore challenges of persuading a boss to support an action that the analyst determined would benefit the firm. In the A case, Fred Hill had been at his job for two years and believed he had come across a fresh idea?a long stock position in J. C. Penney (JCP). The company was misunderstood by the market,
This field-based case uses the experiences of an equity analyst at his first job post-MBA to explore challenges of persuading a boss to support an action that the analyst determined would benefit the firm. In the A case, Fred Hill had been at his job for two years and believed he had come across a fresh idea?a long stock position in J. C. Penney (JCP). The company was misunderstood by the market,
Eric Walsh, newly promoted director of aviation for Pacific National Industries, Inc. (PNI), is one week away from having to make his very first presentation to the company's COO and CFO. PNI is one of the country's largest chemical companies, and maintained four aircraft and a team of flight and maintenance crewmembers to facilitate executive travel to and from the company's many plants and opera
Service systems are inherently subject to variability, whether through customers, service providers, suppliers, or unexpected events. Yet customers demand excellence and consistency regardless of this variability. In general, there are two ways to handle this variability?through people or through processes. We use the concept of robustness to describe these two approaches. This case uses an invent
A young, female investment banker has just been unexpectedly promoted to managing director of her group?but she'll be taking her mentor's job while he is pushed out over a 10-month stint as a "senior adviser" in their group. This case offers students two decision points and opportunities to practice difficult conversations: first, what should she do, and how, when she first learns of her promotion
This is a Russian translation of the February 20, 2017, version of UVA S-0240. 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
This is a Spanish translation of the June 15, 2009, version of UVA-C-2267. This case presents students with an opportunity to develop a set of performance metrics based on four strategic goal statements. The setting is a highly ranked U.S. MBA program. Students are given some basic, limited-but-sufficient contextual information about the school to get a sense of its heritage, avowed differentiatin
This is a Spanish translation of the October 26, 2011, version of UVA-OB-1026. This second part of the two-part case updated from the Knowlton Roberts case series (UVA-OB-0737 and 0738) provides an epilogue to the manager's ultimate decision of whether or not to take a new job. His decision and how it is communicated to his boss and his boss's reaction are the meat of the B case.
This is a Spanish translation of the October 26, 2011, version of UVA-OB-1025. This case is an updated version of the Knowlton Roberts case series (UVA-OB-0737 and 0738). The case is best used as a vehicle to understand another person's point of view and to see what happens when points of view are misunderstood or misinterpreted. The A case presents a series of situations and interactions that req
This is a Russian translation of the January 30, 2017, version of UVA-OM-1560. This case is set on the verge of Microsoft initiating a TV white-space pilot in the Philippines in the summer of 2013; the uncertainty surrounding the new technology's performance in the region provides a view of the risks organizations face early on in the innovation process, particularly when decisions are decentraliz
This research-based case uses the circumstances surrounding Virginia-based Smithfield Foods' (Smithfield's) buyout offers from multiple foreign firms to examine the political and cultural constraints of a regionally rooted global firm in pursuing its strategic objectives. Smithfield's senior leadership receives offers from three firms, ShuangHui International (ShuangHui), JBS S.A. (JBS), and Charo
This is a Russian translation of the March 31, 2016, version of UVA-OM-1334. "Lean" has been defined as the "relentless pursuit of the elimination of waste." This technical note provides a glossary of terms concerning Lean implementation, including muda, muri, nura, kanban, andon board, SMED, poka-yoke, 5S, gemba, takt time, heijunka, and kaizen.
This is a Russian translation of the August 19, 2009, version of UVA-C-2211. In this, the second of a three-case series, Charley's Family Steak House No. 2 manager Alex Pearson prepares to meet with the restaurant's owner to assess Pearson's 2008 performance against the 2008 operating plan the two developed in December 2007. As he reviews the numbers, he asks himself: "How did actual sales compare
This is a Spanish translation of the June, 4, 2014, version of UVA-OM-0549. The plant manager of the Edgcomb Metals facility at Troy, Virginia is confronted with complaints that the current driver wage system—a guaranteed eight-hour day with time and a half for overtime—rewards drivers who "take their time" on daily assigned delivery routes. To investigate these claims, the plant manager compiles
This case follows the 2017 acquisition valuation of Mary Washington Pediatrics in Northern Virginia by two pediatricians, Natalia Juarez and Kirsten Atwood. The case provides a simple context for discussing approaches for enterprise valuation, including discounted cash flow (DCF) and transaction multiples methods. Students are encouraged to critique a financial forecast for the practice using the
This two-day program is a high-energy, high-engagement introduction to the strategies and methods essential to creating a successful student-centered learning environment—the environment central to successful experiential learning and at the heart of most case method teaching. The program describes the tools and techniques commonly employed by the best case method teachers, explores the appropriate use of student-centered learning in a variety of settings, and helps participants build their own unique teaching styles employing student-centered techniques. The experience will benefit anyone interested in creating compelling learning environments—university professors, corporate university instructors, and consultants—by deepening their ability to stimulate student learning.
Can a cross-organizational firm work with a more traditional client company to develop new marketing services in a virtual environment? This case looks at the corporate culture of the X-treme X-citement company and how it is fostered and maintained in a virtual setting.
Program Format: This day-and-a-half-long seminar will be conducted on-site at the Darden School's Sands Family Grounds, located in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC.
Tuition & Certificates: $950.00 covers materials, breakfast, and lunch for the program.
Program Overview: Giving Voice to Values (GVV; www.GivingVoiceToValues.org) is an innovative approach to values-driven leaders
After finishing a PhD in immunology and working for a few years for a large pharmaceutical company, Eric Lafferty entered an executive MBA program intending to reorient his career toward more meaningful work. Thus he leapt at the chance to work in a significant leadership position at a government agency where he would be in charge of a group that vetted academic proposals to work toward experiment
This is a Spanish translation of the June 14, 2016, version of UVA-QA-0582. Merck has been approached by a small biotech research firm with the proposal that Merck buy the rights to a new drug that promises to treat obesity and lower cholesterol. The drug is in the middle of phase I of the FDA approval process. Pat Harlow, the chief licensing officer, has been leading Merck's investigation team. A
Dr. Brad Worthington and his friend, Thurman Ballard, needed to commit to one of three possible paths for commercializing BKK, their new combination drug. BKK was a unique, patented formulation of nonopioid anesthesia drugs with an excellent record in practice. Because BKK was based on the synergistic use of three FDA-approved drugs, it could be used without additional approvals. Worthington and B
While the importance of developing a superior brand is a common goal across firms, a key challenge marketers face is the measurement of a brand. What does it mean to measure a brand? It is about the worth of the brand? Is it about the target consumer's perception? Or is it about how well known the brand is? The purpose of this tech note is to: (1) create a conceptual model framing the ways in whic
The new business development manager for Evergreen Executive Education has been asked by the firm's CEO to develop a list of as many revenue growth ideas as he could over the next week. The COE saw this task as critical for the new services initiative that he had been hired to lead. The list would be an inventory of possibilities for ongoing consideration as well as a catalyst for other profession
The new business development manager for Evergreen Executive Education has been asked by the firm's CEO to develop a list of as many revenue growth ideas as he could over the next week. The COE saw this task as critical for the new services initiative that he had been hired to lead. The list would be an inventory of possibilities for ongoing consideration as well as a catalyst for other profession
Knowledge, creativity, adaptability, and the ability to learn are critical necessities in a world in which the pace of change is accelerating. Many of us will choose to or be required to make a career pivot, in which we must reassess our aptitudes, interests, and priorities. It is in these junctures that significant, positive change is possible. This is where transformational learning can occur.
This case uses one of Fannie Mae's credit-risk transfer instruments (CRT) to explore its data set platform and predict loan defaults through machine learning algorithms. The CRT, called Connecticut Avenue Securities (CAS), issued bonds valued on the performance of preselected pools of mortgages. The material works well to unfold natural language processing using Python. Through a three-class serie
This is a Chinese translation of the June 1, 2011, version of UVA-C-2318. This case provides a tutorial on the basic concepts associated with straightforward time-value-of-money scenarios. The topics of future value (FV) and present value (PV) are discussed and exemplified for both lump sum and recurring cash flow situations. In this vein, the derivation and use of four useful time-value-of-money
A senior industry analyst focused on aviation and aerospace at an investment advisory firm in Northern Virginia, pondered the potential implications of the acquisition by United Technologies Corporation of Rockwell Collins for aviation around the world. It was certain that the deal would impact not only the two companies involved, but it would also have a substantial impact on their customers, sup
The case examines the development and launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on JUST Capital's socially responsible corporate ranking methodologies. The case provides a market overview of Environment, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) and socially responsible investing (SRI), what has driven growth in those areas worldwide, and several best-practice investment approaches. Following the
This note explores the first principles of pricing financial contracts. Debt contracts go by many names, but the term bond is used in this note to denote any market-traded debt contract. The note is divided into three sections. The first section examines the simplest of financial contracts?the zero-coupon risk-free bond contract. The second section examines bonds with the additional complexity of
In the summer of 2018, iconic American automaker Ford Motor Company (Ford) created a new limited liability company, Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC (Ford AV), and charged the organization "with accelerating [Ford's] AV business to capitalize on market opportunities." Alongside Ford's well-publicized push to debut robot-taxi and driverless delivery services in 2021 via the Ford AV unit, the company ha
To avoid significant global disruption, scientists assert that global warming must be kept below a two-degree Celsius rise from preindustrial levels—a goal formalized in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Meeting that challenge will require near-total decarbonization of global economic activity by 2060. The industrial sector accounts for close to a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Effort
To avoid significant global disruption, scientists assert that global warming must be kept below a 2-degree Celsius rise from pre-industrial levels?a goal formalized in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Meeting that challenge will require near-total decarbonization of global economic activity by 2060. The industrial sector accounts for close to a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. This br
This note provides a description of international flows and positions data, a way to identify extreme capital flow episodes (such as surges and stops), and a straightforward technique to predict whether a country should receive more or fewer portfolio inflows in the coming year based on a notion of benchmark inflows.
Using a comprehensive sample of publicly listed firms in 30 countries over the period 2001-2010, the authors found that greater foreign institutional ownership fosters long-term investment in tangible, intangible, and human capital?and leads to significant increases in innovation output. This finding challenges the view of many that foreign investors lead firms to adopt a short-term orientation an
With a $7,500 loan from a family member, Calvin Gorelick has started an online business selling specialty yoga blocks. His primary concern is whether or not the cycles of "purchase blocks, sell blocks, receive money, make loan and other necessary repayments" will allow his company to remain financially solvent. Coupled with the cash flow issue, Gorelick has noticed disturbing sales data in his fir
