bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Northlands Ledger (A): Management Style, Strategy, and Performance
Authors: Dewar Robert 
Published: March 2017

Case (A) describes the situation at the Northlands Ledger, a newspaper on its way out of business due in large part to its publisher and editor's focus on what they do and want to keep doing rather than on what their customers (readers and advertisers) want. The value proposition to the reader is that “we deliver the paper reliably and give you the latest national and international news.” The value proposition to the advertisers is that “we print your ads accurately and runs them on time.” Both value propositions are outdated, and, even if they were what the customers wanted—which they are not—neither is executed well. The paper's key performance indicators—circulation, classified ads, and commercial advertising—are all in decline, despite the fact that the community it serves is growing. The senior management of the Paulus chain that owns this paper has forced the publisher, Allison, to retire and brought another publisher, Potter, in from one of its other papers, The Sun Belt City Star, where Potter was highly successful. However, he cannot simply transfer his success formula from the Star to the Ledger. Case (B) details his efforts and may be used as a classic example of good change management and leadership practices. Potter established a clear cut set of objectives, formulated a new strategy of responsiveness to readers and advertisers more in line with finding out why they hired the paper in the first place. To implement his new strategy he terminated senior managers and others who he did not feel could contribute to the new paper, and made significant changes in key dimensions of implementation: culture, structure, information and decision support systems, incentives and human resources. Throughout he used a mix of both authoritative and participative change management—a mix that may provoke an interesting class discussion.Provide a realistic example of leading and managing change with successful transformation of a previously failing company while simultaneously illustrating key dimensions of implementation of strategy.
PageWell 2.0: Using Customer Research for Product Development
Authors: Sawhney Mohanbir , Goodman Pallavi 
Published: March 2017

PageWell, an e-reading platform provider, was preparing to launch PageWell 2.0 to the larger full-time MBA student market after a successful trial of PageWell 1.0 in Executive MBA (EMBA) classes at the Kellogg School of Management. Research had shown that full-time MBA students would be very interested in using products that allowed electronic access to course materials everywhere and across many platforms and that allowed electronic note-taking and storage. To better understand this user group, PageWell conducted a market research survey of students, faculty, and administrators to gauge their needs, preferences, and potential interest in the PageWell product. The study revealed that MBA student usage patterns, scenarios, and behavior varied significantly from EMBA student needs and perceptions. PageWell now had the task of prioritizing the product requirements and recalibrating the market requirements document to more accurately reflect student needs and thus create a viable productAfter students have analyzed the case, they will be able to:

Use customer feedback to help define requirements for a new product
Understand the role of personas and scenarios in defining requirements
Understand how to use scenarios and scenario templates to derive scenario implementation requirements
Understand how to prioritize scenarios based on customer, company, and competitive criteria
Write a market requirements document for a next-version technology produc
Pepita Disco PPM: Margins and Elasticity
Authors: Hennessy Julie , Meagher Evan 
Published: March 2017

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.Carolina Araujo had recently taken control of her family's business, Pepita Disco PPM, Uruguay's second-largest producer of beef-based dog food, treats, and toys. While she respected the company's nearly eighty-year history, Carolina felt that Pepita Disco had grown complacent with its market share and was basically preserving the status quo. Her plan was to re-energize the employee base and grow Pepita Disco's business faster than the overall market.This exercise poses a fictional problem about a company's efforts to predict the impacts of price, product cost, and spending moves on profitability.After completing the exercise, students should be able to:

Calculate and explain changes in net margin
Calculate price and volume changes for a given price elasticity
ProSight: New Millennium Financial Technology Portfolio Management
Authors: Jeffery Mark , Olson Chuck , Barnes Robin 
Published: March 2017

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are often very complex management endeavors. Analyzes the IT component of M&A for two financial institutions. Students are tasked with assisting Mike Farrell, the CIO of New Millennium Financial (NMF), a new company created through the merger of FinStar Financial and D&L Bank, in determining the optimal combined IT portfolio. To accomplish this task the strategic business objectives of the firm must be clearly understood and the IT projects in the pipelines of both institutions analyzed. Students must make an IT portfolio management decision and answer the question: What is the optimal IT strategy and project portfolio for NMF?To apply a framework to manage a company's IT portfolio, i.e., understand the company's strategic context, develop business objectives that align with its strategy, assess IT investments, and develop a portfolio of IT projects that support the objectives. The framework is iterative, i.e., IT investments are assessed on a regular basis based on their performance and risk/return tradeoffs. Also to introduce a leading Web-based tool, ProSight, that helps managers organize IT portfolios.
Spiegel Online
Authors: Schmedders Karl , Rott Armin 
Published: March 2017

Spiegel Online (www.spiegel.de) is the leading news Web site in Germany. The site was first designed to accompany Der Spiegel, one of Europe's largest and Germany's most influential weekly magazine, which has a weekly circulation of around one million. The site's content is produced by a team of more than fifty journalists writing in several categories: politics, business, networld, panorama, arts and entertainment, science, university, school, sports, travel, weather, and automobiles. The original content is complemented by articles purchased from news agencies and selected articles from the print edition. Spiegel-Verlag is a major contributor to the Hamburg Media School, which offers professional master's degree programs in Media Management (MBA), film, and journalism. In their second year, MBA students typically engage in consulting projects with major media companies. In a recent assignment, Spiegel Online posed two questions to the MBA team: are there any chances for an economically successful entry into the market for interactive classifieds? And if so, what should the business model look like in detail? A student team analyzed markets for classified ads and found one market segment that appeared to be particularly promising: the market for art objects. During the development of a business plan for a new venture in this market it became apparent that there is much uncertainty about the key input parameters to the business plan. As a result, it is very difficult to assess the viability of the business idea. How can the team properly account for the uncertain input parameters? What is the impact of this uncertainty on the bottom line? Will a Web site for art objects earn or lose money? How can the team communicate this uncertainty to a group of high-level decision makers who want a simple “go or no-go” recommendation?The objective is to make students aware of the applicability of Monte Carlo simulation to the analysis of complex business plans. Students should learn how to explicitly account for uncertain inputs in a business plan, how to assess the impact of uncertainty on the bottom line via Monte Carlo simulation, and how to communicate the results of their analysis to high-level decision makers.
Steve & Barry's: To Save or Not To Save?
Authors: Mazzeo Michael , Shwayder Ariel , Waikar Sachin 
Published: March 2017

Steve & Barry's grew rapidly in the mid-2000s, transitioning from a chain of small stores selling inexpensive collegiate-branded merchandise near university campuses into a $1 billion mall-based giant selling a wide variety of low-priced, celebrity-endorsed apparel. While the company had a wide following, elements of its growth strategy—potentially exacerbated by economic conditions—contributed to its quick downfall. By 2008 Steve & Barry's had declared bankruptcy, and various private equity firms were investigating whether some or all of the company should be saved. This requires analyzing the underlying business strategy pursued by Steve & Barry's before and after its growth phase and specifically diagnosing the explanations for its failure.This case presents an initially successful firm whose product positioning, marketing, financial, organizational, and operations strategies are highly complementary. In analyzing the case, students will identify how the complementarities broke down during the firm's growth phase, ultimately precipitating its downfall. The diagnosis may reveal elements of the firm's strategy that are worth saving, or suggest related opportunities for profitability using a similar business model and approach.
Stihl Incorporated: Go-to-Market Strategy for Next-Generation Consumers
Authors: Wilson Richard E. 
Published: March 2017

Andreas Stihl AG is the world's leading manufacturer of chain saws and other outdoor handheld power equipment. Based on marketing challenges in its high-volume retail channel—mass merchants such as The Home Depot and Lowe's—Stihl's U.S. unit has narrowed its distribution system to a single channel: independent retail dealers specializing in yard maintenance equipment. This risky and highly publicized decision has proved extremely successful, raising profits, attracting more dealers into exclusive relationships with Stihl, and strengthening the brand's top-quality positioning. But Stihl management are concerned that this channel system may not fit tomorrow's demographics, dominated by homeowners from the so-called Generation X and Generation Y. The case outlines Stihl's business and channel systems and customer needs, then poses a series of questions that management believes must be answered to determine whether to maintain or move away from reliance on its specialty retailers and how to adapt its system.To understand issues related to retail channel strategy development in fast-changing consumer markets, as well as the challenges of adapting legacy routes-to-market systems to changing consumer service output demands.
Supply Chain Outsourcing at DB Toys
Authors: Jeffery Mark , Bibbs David , Dowhan Michael , Grace Daniel , Jackson Lisa , Maynard Woody , Yung Derek , Johnson Steve 
Published: March 2017

The case is based on a real supply chain outsourcing management decision at a major manufacturing company. The company has been disguised for confidentiality reasons. The case discusses different types of outsourcing, supply chain management, the benefits and risks of outsourcing, and various pricing models for outsourcing contracts. Students must make a management decision and answer these questions: Is supply chain outsourcing a viable option for DB Toys? What will the return on investment be? What is the best outsourcing model? What is the best pricing model?Students learn the different types of outsourcing, supply chain management, the benefits and risks of outsourcing, and various pricing models for outsourcing contracts. Students also learn how to calculate the return on investment of supply chain outsourcing. Most important, the case enables students to understand the strategic context of outsourcing, and to decide which outsourcing model and pricing is appropriate.
Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whisky War of 2007
Authors: Hennessy Julie , Frazzano Rebecca , Meagher Evan 
Published: March 2017

The case examines a competitive situation in the market for Scotch whisky in Thailand. Two multinationals fight for market share with a complex portfolio of products under the Chivas Regal, Johnnie Walker, and Ballantine brand names. Students must understand a broad array of branding, consumer behavior, pricing, and regulatory issues in order to arrive at recommendations for Chivas Regal to defend against recent gains of Johnnie Walker. The case can be taught with a focus on the Chivas Regal 12 Year product and recommendations for its growth, but also can be taught as a broader portfolio case, with students aligning a portfolio of Chivas and Ballantine products at different quality levels to maximize sales and profit.Students will understand how category behavior changes in the context of a different culture. Students will gain insight into how consumers balance price/value and image in purchasing choices
The Whitney Clinic
Authors: Donnelly Anne Cohn , Scott Walter , Kathy Shaw , Millie Gong , Lydia Morris , Michael Roark 
Published: March 2017

This case describes a community-based healthcare clinic and the issues facing the management and board of directors. The issues raised are common problems faced by all types of nonprofit organizations: insufficient fundraising and marketing policies to guide board decision making, confusion over staff and board roles in decision making, poorly thought-out bylaws that contribute to the confusion over board and staff roles, the challenge of harnessing the diverse backgrounds and opinions of a community-based board of directors, and lack of sound financial planning.The Whitney Clinic case identifies common pitfalls in board governance and includes a roleplay to help students understand the difficulties inherent in implementing the basics of good governance.
Vioxx: Too Risky for Merck?
Authors: Petersen Mitchell A. , Singhal Rashmi 
Published: March 2017

Once a decision has turned out poorly—such as Merck's decision to launch and support the painkiller Vioxx—it is easy to criticize. However, are these bad outcomes the result of a good decision which turned out unlucky, or are they decisions where the bad outcome could have been predicted? This case follows Merck's pharmaceutical product Vioxx from initial development to launch and subsequent withdrawal, and considers the decisions made at each stage by the Merck executives involved. The case concludes by examining the financial impact of the Vioxx withdrawal on the company and on the Merck stock value.This case allows the students to examine the various steps of Vioxx's development and launch. By doing so, they can consider whether the decision-making process broke down and why. By connecting the Vioxx launch and withdrawal to changes in Merck's cash flow and stock market value, the students can document the impact of such decisions on the value of the firm.
Washington Mutual (A): A Very Old Bank Can Grow—A Lot!
Authors: Dewar Robert D. , Rao Hayagreeva 
Published: March 2017

Describes the ways in which Washington Mutual preserved and reinforced its brand through two phases of expansion, the first based on acquisition and the second on organic growth. The Washington Mutual brand is shown to be grounded in a well designed customer experience. This experience was the result of careful attention by Washington Mutual to hiring policies for its staff, incentives that encouraged entrepreneurship, empowerment of both “store” managers and “sales associates,” and a strong culture that valued the community, innovation, fairness in treatment of customers, care for its employees, and high-speed implementation.To realize that true customer/market focus occurs when all decision makers act to create a customer experience that builds the company's brand, which implies an alignment of leadership, culture, information systems, incentives, and people.
Western-Southern Enterprise
Authors: Petersen Mitchell A. 
Published: March 2017

Examines the problem facing Western Southern Enterprise (WSE), a mutual insurance company, at the end of 1996. Its investment in Cincinnati Bell stock was phenomenally successful, but left the company potentially overweighted in equities in general and a single stock in particular. The cost of diversification is declaring and paying tax on a large capital gain. Possible solutions include maintaining the position, selling the position, or protecting the position by issuing a Debt Exchangeable for Common Stock security (DECS). Asks students to trade off the benefits of diversification (which they have to justify) against the cost of declaring the capital gain (which they must quantify). In defending their choices, students are asked to evaluate the various tax and nontax benefits and costs of each solution. Because the client (WSE) has several potentially contradictory objectives, the case lays out a situation where security design can improve upon the simple alternatives. Provides structuring details of the DECS, allowing discussion of why various features were included in their design.To discuss the costs of financial distress (or poor diversification) as well as teach security design.
Xbox One
Authors: Roese Neal J. , Meagher Evan 
Published: March 2017

On April 4, 2013, a video game website reported that the next-generation Xbox console—due to be released by Microsoft the following month—would require an always-on Internet connection in order to operate. The new version of the SimCity game that had been released earlier that year with an always-on requirement had been a disaster. Hardcore gamers reacted negatively to the news.When the Xbox One console was officially revealed on May 21, Microsoft effectively confirmed that it would require an always-on connection for validating digital rights. Predictably, gamers reacted negatively, a response that was exacerbated when Microsoft's president of the interactive entertainment business, Don Mattrick, made dismissive statements about their concernsAfter reading and analyzing the case, students will be able to:

Address the challenge of marketing a product to multiple adjacent but very different customer segments
Understand the need for a unified vision before going to market
Develop a strategy that addresses the complexity of a world in which the company may no longer own the “loudest voice in the room”
Governance, risk-taking and default risk during the financial crisis: the evidence of Japanese regional banks
Authors: Yeh Tsung-Ming 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
This study aims to provide additional insights by further investigating the governance aspects including board composition, risk monitoring and management by the board, ownership structures as well as the incentive compensation.

Design/methodology/approach
This study investigates the relationships between corporate governance, risk-taking behaviors and default risk by analyzing 78 publicly listed Japanese regional banks during the 2007-2008 crisis period.

Findings
Banks that were more diversified in the run-up to the crisis were associated with higher default risk during the crisis. Foreign shareholders may have prompted banks to engage in higher risk-taking activities in pursuit of higher returns, putting banks at a higher risk of default. On the other hand, board-level risk management committees may have mitigated the risks to protect firms from rising default. Finally, banks perceived to have better quality accounting information, by being audited by one of the Big 4 auditors, benefitted by mitigating price misevaluation and thus reducing default risk during the crisis.

Originality/value
Different from the majority of previous related studies on the relationship between governance and performance of stock returns, the current study focuses on the relationship between governance and default risk during the crisis which has a more direct link through which governance practices can affect risk-taking behaviors and thus the default risk during the crisis. In addition to examining conventional governance aspects, this study also focuses on the more relevant aspects of banks’ risk monitoring functions.
A cross-country comparison of the relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance: does judicial system efficiency matter?
Authors: Lepore Luigi , Paolone Francesco , Pisano Sabrina , Alvino Federico 
Published: March 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance, including judicial system efficiency as a moderator to investigate the joint effects of both explanatory variables. Although prior studies have considered judicial system efficiency by examiningde jureinvestor protection, this study identifies another useful proxy and exploresde factolegal protection.Design/methodology/approachOrdinary least square multiple regression models were used to examine the influence of judicial efficiency, which was measured using the disposition time (DT) and legal origin, as a moderator of the relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance for a sample of 565 non-financial companies listed in Italy, France, Germany and Spain in 2013.FindingsThis paper shows thatde factoinvestor protection ensured by an efficient judicial system is relevant to the relationship between firm performance and ownership structure. As a moderator variable, DT strengthens the intensity of this relationship in countries with low judicial efficiency, showing that ownership concentration leads to a better enhancement of firm performance and is, therefore, a more efficient governance mechanism in countries in which investor protection is weak.Originality/valueThe evidence presented expands the understanding of the link between firm performance and ownership structure. The institutional deficiencies suggest that internal governance mechanisms may substitute for external mechanisms in facilitating efficient governance. This study corroborates policymakers’ concerns regarding the efficiency of judicial systems and their role in protecting the rights of minority shareholders. The results suggest a need for more efficient external mechanisms of investor protection to facilitate investment in equity capital. Moreover, this study shows that DT is a more accurate measure of investor protection than the traditional measure ofde jurelegal protection.