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Operations strategy/global operations/value chain.

BA/Master level – The case can be applied to support operations strategy discussions related to the link between context, configuration, and capabilities, and particularly to discuss internationalization strategy and global operations.

The case is initiated with an overview of the wider corporate and industrial context, which are included to supply contextual information pertinent to the understanding of competitive requirements and strategic choices of the company. The case then moves into establishing an understanding of the operationalization of these requirements and choices through a discussion of the structural configuration and organizational capabilities.

The case it expected to build an understanding of the fit between competitive priorities and their operationalization within structural and infrastructural decision areas.

Teaching note.

Delee founders aimed to change the way cancer radically was detected, monitored, and treated. They created CytoCatch™, a highly sensitive automated benchtop device for the rapid isolation and analysis of circulating tumor cells from blood samples to make this possible. Strategic alliances with Stanford University, Tecnologico de Monterrey, and UANL strengthened this innovative company’s purpose. Nevertheless, some questions arose when selecting a suitable business strategy to accomplish Delee’s vision. Liza Velarde, Delee’s CEO, was preparing the agenda for the company’s 2025 planning in November 2020. The journey has been challenging, and Liza Velarde faced critical decision-making milestones. What could be the most promising customer segment for her technology? What business model may work better for such a market? How can Delee reduce the time-to-market for their technology? Furthermore, how can Delee fund their development for the following years until FDA approves?

With the application of this case, the teacher aspires that students understand the following crucial insights: to understand the impact of a business model strategy, identify different possible business models, and explore options; in this sense, intellectual property can offer options to the strategy; to identify and analyze the gender gap in entrepreneurship and its strategic implications; and to identify the relevance of reducing the time to market for a technological product.

Gender inclusiveness in entrepreneurship.

Undergraduate and graduate-level.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Capital structure theory.

The case is meant for teaching and class discussion, and uses only secondary data based on published sources. The interpretation and perspectives presented are based solely on the secondary data.

This paper aims to help current and future managers understand capital structure theory and the various equity and debt finance options available for raising capital. It also examines the financial analysis and strategic management of black swan events. After the class discussion, students will understand how to financially and strategically manage a company during black swan events and also have a deep dive into capital structure analysis of a large company.

MBA/postgraduate/undergraduate courses on corporate finance or advanced corporate finance. Executive/management development programs and short duration Massive Open Online Courses on investment decision-making and advanced corporate finance. MBA/postgraduate/undergraduate courses on corporate strategy and economic environment and planning.

Emiratisation, dual bottom-line, destination policy making and strategic development, ecosystem perspective and human capital.

This case is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying policy; strategy and human resources. Practitioners from the human resource industry, government sector and destination marketing may also benefit from the case.

ATIC is an investment company with a dual bottom line mandate. This means besides the financial objective it has for its investors (which is largely the Government of Abu Dhabi), it must contribute to socio-economic objectives outlined by the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. For this perspective, ATIC had developed a unique approach looking at the “Ecosystem” perspective. Some key areas are destination development as an advanced technology hub and human capital development or “Emiratisation”. All these are key to long-term success of the country as the Middle East North Africa region has one of the youngest populations and an increasing unemployment rate. Most government organizations are saturated and it is vital that nationals start working and performing in the private sector. This case outlines the plans and efforts of ATIC towards those goals.

Management of “Emiratisation” at policy and implementation; scenario planning and strategy management especially looking at advanced technology sector; organizational values – development and implementation at recruitment and marketing; destination marketing and policy looking at the case of Abu Dhabi, stakeholder management.

Teaching notes.

The (A) case describes the evolution between 1999 and 2005 of an unusual innovation team within the office of the chief information officer at oil and gas giant BP. This team helped business units conceive, develop, and implement novel, value-added applications for emerging information technologies. The team leader, vice president and chief technology officer Phiroz Darukhanavala (“Daru”), eschewed a large group and venture budget in favor of a small, lean team intimately engaged with BP's business units. The case describes several mechanisms created by the CTO office during its early evolution: “Blue Chalk” events that expanded executives' appreciation of emerging technology capabilities, a network of relationships through which emerging technologies were scouted and vetted, a structured technology transfer process, and annual “game-changer” projects.

The (B) case describes how the CTO office team members in 2011 again solicited advice from their ecosystem of thought leaders and held workshops to significantly enhance their impact. As a result, they began developing solutions for broader, more fundamental business problems that came to be known as Grand Challenges: extremely difficult business problems whose solutions could potentially create hundreds of millions—or billions—of dollars in business value.

After reading and analyzing the case, students will be able to:

• Understand the management challenges associated with realizing the business value of new technologies

• Explore how innovation management evolves as an innovation team learns from its successes and failures and, more importantly, builds a reputation within and outside the company

• Examine a prototypical “advocate” model of corporate entrepreneurial practice

• Explore a leading example of a successful internal innovation program

Understand the management challenges associated with realizing the business value of new technologies

Explore how innovation management evolves as an innovation team learns from its successes and failures and, more importantly, builds a reputation within and outside the company

Examine a prototypical “advocate” model of corporate entrepreneurial practice

Explore a leading example of a successful internal innovation program

This is a case of a crisis project management which showcases the unpredictable nature of the project and the role of management in handling the crisis. It is the case of a very severe cyclonic storm hitting the city of Visakhapatnam plant during October, 2014. The whole city was devastated and so was the situation in the Steel plant as it was under zero power conditions for around 10 days. This case gives need for managing an integrated steel plant in case of very severe cyclonic storm and documents the sequence of events and managing unforeseen uncertainty using NTCP concepts.

By 2006, Wikipedia had achieved the type of success that only a handful of young organizations could ever dream of reaching. It had grown from almost nothing in 2001 to become one of the consistently highest ranked and most visited sites on the Internet. This success brought new problems at a scale that no organization of this type had ever before faced. Exposes students to Wikipedia's brief history, the causes of its success, and the issues it faced going forward. Two topics form the focus: The first concerns the rules and norms for submission and editing, which raise questions about the ambiguity of Wikipedia's authority and the virtual cycle that keeps the site going; The second concerns the need to alter its practices as it gains in popularity, raising questions about what any wiki site, profit-oriented or open source, must do to scale to large numbers of participants and entries. These issues arise as part of a discussion about the site's priorities going forward.

To teach the factors that shape Wikipedia and wikis in general. Students will become familiar with the internal operations of wikis, open-source programs for developing text from many users. Also to facilitate teaching about factors that shape reference sites on the Internet, dividing discussion into three sub-topics: defining what Wikipedia is and what it is not, analyzing how it works, and understanding why it generates controversy in some circles.

In the (A) case, Jason Phillips, Chief Financial Officer of a soup manufacturing business, is given the task of maximizing the value of the firm twelve months after the case is set. Although he does not want to break any legal rules, Jason is interested to see whether accounting and real action choices can be used to enhance the company's financial position and increase its perceived value to investors. The case permits him to select from a menu of options, including decisions on product pricing, inventory levels, accounts receivables, leasing or purchasing a new machine and valuation or sale of securities. These choices are fed into an Excel spreadsheet which adjusts financial projections and accounting disclosures accordingly.

In the (B) case, Ben Kerr, Chief Investment Officer at one of Dragon's main competitors, considers the financial statements produced by Dragon to unravel any earnings management behavior and establish a true value for the company. Although the case can be focused on the accounting consequences of real decisions, a richer discussion is obtained when considering the ethical angles of the decision process. In particular, how much “earnings management” should be pursued and what types of behaviors are simply going to be unraveled by investors?

Students will explore: the concepts of “legal” earnings management as compared to true value optimization; whether sophisticated investors misled by such behaviors; and the management of information flows to investors.

In the (A) case, Jason Phillips, Chief Financial Officer of a soup manufacturing business, is given the task of maximizing the value of the firm twelve months after the case is set. Although he does not want to break any legal rules, Jason is interested to see whether accounting and real action choices can be used to enhance the company's financial position and increase its perceived value to investors. The case permits him to select from a menu of options, including decisions on product pricing, inventory levels, accounts receivables, leasing or purchasing a new machine and valuation or sale of securities. These choices are fed into an Excel spreadsheet which adjusts financial projections and accounting disclosures accordingly.

In the (B) case, Ben Kerr, Chief Investment Officer at one of Dragon's main competitors, considers the financial statements produced by Dragon to unravel any earnings management behavior and establish a true value for the company. Although the case can be focused on the accounting consequences of real decisions, a richer discussion is obtained when considering the ethical angles of the decision process. In particular, how much “earnings management” should be pursued and what types of behaviors are simply going to be unraveled by investors?

Students will explore: the concepts of “legal” earnings management as compared to true value optimization; whether sophisticated investors misled by such behaviors; and the management of information flows to investors.

The case of Bertelsmann China: Supply Chain for Books (A) focuses on one the world's leading media companies to illustrate a widespread problem in the supply chain strategy in extremely fast growing markets. Students learn about the basic challenges of supply chain strategy in an international context. The case covers important fields of management theory. Supply chain designs well as cost and performance drivers are revised by the use of frameworks.