Tessa Lyons was a rising star at Facebook. She had been the project manager in charge of news feed integrity for a little over a year, stationed at the front lines in the battle against misinformation and "fake news." However, in early 2019, she faced an ethical dilemma that could define her tenure at the company and perhaps her career: whether to ban Alex Jones and the content from his platform,
This case covers the initial public offering (IPO) of the Siemens subsidiary Healthineers. The March 2018 offering of the health care technology firm was heavily anticipated on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and was Germany's largest IPO in more than 20 years.
Healthineers was one of Siemens' most successful businesses, and its management board had a keen interest in its long-term success and in th
The B case in this series picks up after the protagonist, Henry Franklin, has delivered his recommendation to use "first in, first out" (FIFO) accounting to the management of Sunshine O.J. (Sunshine). CEO Don Sanchez is impressed with Franklin's idea and asks him and his boss, Virginia Silverstein, to look into another problem at the company: inventory stockouts.
Henry Franklin works at Sunshine O.J. (Sunshine), a three-year-old, fast-growing organic orange juice manufacturer near Charleston, South Carolina. Before his employment at Sunshine, Franklin worked for about two decades in his family's business, Franklin's Hardware. Franklin learned a great deal during his time in the hardware business and hopes to use some of his insights to help Sunshine, which
Preparing for a potential interview, an MBA graduate reads extensively about Daimler AG. She learns about company's longtime presence in China manufacturing luxury automobiles and its continued investment in manufacturing and R&D capacity in that country. She also learns that the company financed part of its operations and growth in China by issuing bonds in both China and Hong Kong and wonders wh
An MBA graduate prepares for a possible interview with Caterpillar Inc. by reading about the company's longtime presence in China manufacturing heavy equipment and its continued optimism about the heavy equipment market in that country. He also learns that the company financed part of its operations and growth in China by issuing bonds in Hong Kong and wonders whether the company would return to t
This case continues the story of Bill and Elaine Jardine from "Quail Cove Farms (A): One Night and a Big Decision."
The Jardines, having moved into distribution, now face two decisions. First, they must evaluate whether they should continue to pursue each of their three channels of business (farming, retail sales, and distribution); second, they need to decide if they should shift their sales an
This technical note discusses the various financial services segments in which technology solutions have been used to solve problems, including lending, payments, wealth/investment management, insurance, and regulation. For each of the segments, the note identifies key issues facing the segment, why and how fintech might provide an answer to the challenges faced, and the potential difficulties fin
This case uses the streamlining of pharmaceutical distribution to explore supply-chain coordination. For years, supply-chain inventory information had been opaque. Then in the early 2000s, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors were forced to shift from investment buying to inventory service agreements. Information sharing among channel partners regarding customer demand and inventories was
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
