Publications

May 1983 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Students are asked to determine the fair market value of Carlton Polish Co. and decide if Mr. Carlton should buy out his partner's half for $25 million. Carlton's alternative is to sell his half for $25 million. Students must also evaluate a financing plan. View Details

Keywords: Value; Financing and Loans; Partners and Partnerships; Leveraged Buyouts; Fair Value Accounting

April 1999 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Aluminum Smelting in South Africa: Alusaf's Hillside Project

With prices at all-time lows at the beginning of 1994, South Africa's sole primary aluminum producer--Alusaf--is considering building the world's largest greenfield smelter. Using cost estimates in this case, students can evaluate the relative cost position of this... View Details

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Analysis; Markets; Profit; Capital; Industrial Products Industry; South Africa

March 1989 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Avon Products

Avon Products announced both a change in its business focus and a reduction of its dividend in June 1988. To offset the likely stock price effect of the dividend reduction, Avon announced at the same time an unusual exchange offer, under which it would take up to 25%... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Capital Markets; Corporate Finance; Consumer Products Industry

November 1993
Supplement

Sierra On-Line (C): The Insiders' Perspective, An Interview with Ken and Roberta Williams

Presents the insiders' perspective using an interview format. Ken and Roberta Williams, Sierra's founders, discuss issues raised in the (A) and (B) cases and present their vision to become the world leader in educational software. Teaching Purpose: Analysts typically... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Financial Statements; Management Teams; Education Industry

August 2000
Exercise

Brand Report Card Exercise

Designed primarily to give students the opportunity to evaluate brands by breaking down individual attributes and analyzing performance in these areas. In doing so, students will be able to isolate a brand's distinct characteristics and decide which areas are the most... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding

September 1994
Case

Otis Elevator Company: China Joint Venture (B-2)

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Asks the students to evaluate the challenges a company faced in the summer of 1989 in the light of great political uncertainties. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Government and Politics; Globalization; Construction Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China

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October 1984 (Revised May 1990)
Case

NIKE (A)

Describes the history of Nike, its economic strategy, and the industries in which it competes. The teaching objective is to ask the student to identify and evaluate Nike's economic/technical strategy. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Business History; Supply and Industry; Financial Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

August 2013 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Sustainability at Siemens

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Amy C. Edmondson, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Emer Moloney

Describes sustainability efforts at Siemens since arrival of Chief Sustainability Officer, Barbara Kux, in 2008. Asks students to evaluate success of those efforts and outline what the company should do going forward. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Sustainability; Energy Efficiency; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Energy Conservation; Environmental Sustainability; Gender; Electronics Industry

September 2000
Case

MCI-WorldCom Combination, The (A)

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Outlines the accounting decision faced by WorldCom in its acquisition of MCI. Two methods are discussed (purchase and pooling) and students are asked to evaluate which would be more suitable for WorldCom. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Accounting; Telecommunications Industry

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June 1995
Case

Strategic Countermoves: Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi

Describes strategic acquisitions by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola in the late 1980s. The context allows students to evaluate the implications of the mergers for the competitiveness of the industry. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

April 2020
Case

Promoting Land and Nature Jerky

By: John A. Quelch and Katherine B. Hartman

Kathy Ayers, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Land and Nature (L&N) Jerky Company, needs to make a recommendation about L&N's 2020 promotional spending. L&N's CEO, Tim Ryan, wants her to calculate different scenarios using historical data to determine... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Spending; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Food and Beverage Industry

September 2014
Case

Crescent Pure

By: John A. Quelch and Alisa Zalosh

Executives from Portland Drake Beverages (PDB) are meeting to determine the appropriate product positioning and advertising campaign for the launch of Crescent Pure, a specialty organic beverage. They have 3 options for positioning: should Crescent Pure be positioned... View Details

January 1987 (Revised September 1991)
Case

Walt Disney Co.'s Yen Financing

By: W. Carl Kester and William B. Allen

Walt Disney is considering hedging future yen inflows from Disney Tokyo. It is evaluating techniques using FX Forwards, swaps, and Yen term borrowings. Goldman Sachs presents a rather unusual but potentially attractive solution: Disney could issue ECU Eurobonds and... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Currency; Bonds; Valuation; Tokyo

June 2001 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Verizon Communications, Inc.: Implementing a Human Resources Balanced Scorecard

By: Srikant M. Datar, Marc J. Epstein and Jeremy Cott

In early 2000, Verizon Communications implemented a Human Resources Balanced Scorecard to evaluate the effectiveness of and payoffs from human resource management. This case describes the benefits of the scorecard and the challenges of measurement and implementation.... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Human Resources; Telecommunications Industry

August 1992
Case

Otis Pacific Asia Operations (A): National Challenges

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Describes the elevator market and Otis's competitive position in four markets: Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, and Japan. The student is asked to evaluate the strategic and competitive challenges in each market, especially in light of strong Japanese competition across the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Network Effects; Problems and Challenges; Global Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Service Delivery; Competitive Advantage; Competition; Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; India; Japan; Malaysia; Hong Kong

May 2002 (Revised June 2002)
Exercise

Negotiation Self-Assessment

By: Michael A. Wheeler

This exercise helps students evaluate their negotiating style on traditional measures of creating versus claiming, and empathy and assertiveness. In just a few minutes, they can see where their natural style lies on a matrix. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Attitudes

January 1983 (Revised September 1983)
Case

E.T. Phone Home, Inc.: Forecasting Business Demand

By: John F. Cady and Frank V. Cespedes

Describes a process for forecasting market demand for an emerging technology--cellular radio. The student must critically evaluate the demand model and the market estimates, and modify them as appropriate in order to develop a marketing plan and budget. View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Business Processes; Technology

June 2008
Case

Brigham and Women's Hospital: Shapiro Cardiovascular Center

By: Michael E. Porter, Robert S. Huckman and Jeremy Lance Friese

Considers the situation facing Gary Gottlieb, president of Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), prior to the opening of BWH's integrated cardiovascular center. This case allows students to develop an appreciation of the strategic, financial, organizational, clinical,... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Service Delivery; Organizational Design; Integration; Health Industry