This case introduces students to the analysis involved in making the decision whether to go ahead with a new business opportunity. Revenues, costs and investment date enable students to analyze the venture’s investment requirement, cash flow and its risks. This case also gives students the opportunity to evaluate the venture’s potential success from an investment point of view by applying the basic return on investment (ROI) tool.

Students need to perform a financial analysis of a one-time purchase, create a timeline to determine if the order can be completed on time, and use cash budgeting skills to aid in their decision.

Launching a nationwide venture that redefines and simplifies how customers engage with their pharmacy

In July 2017, MAX (Metro African eXpress) was paving the way for an ecommerce boom in Lagos, Nigeria by creating the city’s first reliable same-day delivery service. MAX used an on-demand mobile platform to match delivery requests with highly vetted and trained motorcycle couriers. This growing, loudly-branded fleet of 66 contract drivers was making 500 deliveries per day, creating new opportunities for small businesses. Cofounder Tayo Bamiduro was eager to scale, but how? Should MAX continue expanding within Lagos, or was it time to branch out? And should the company continue to focus on its core motorcycle delivery and taxi services, or should it dedicate resources toward converting its proprietary mapping standards and driver licensing into new products?

An in-depth case study documenting Alternate ROOTS' challenging journey from questioning ingrained organizational assumptions to orchestrating large scale membership restructuring. This regional arts organization in the South entered EmcArts' Innovation Lab for Arts Development Agencies in 2013 to realign their membership structure with its core values of connectedness, participatory democracy and anti-oppression.

Students learn that as a business grows or when seasonal sales fluctuations occur, the uses of cash can exceed the business’s ability to generate the cash needed. In these cases, other sources of cash must be tapped to make up for the shortfall due to this timing of cash flows. The case also reinforces to students that the “earnings” figure from the statement of earnings (income statement) is rarely equivalent to the business’s cash balance.

In early 2009, Taiwan-based CX Technology was looking for new markets to enter. A leading manufacturer of cold-forged steel, the company was considering entering the automotive industry as a Tier 2 supplier. At a time when the future of the U.S. automotive industry was in peril, the question was where and how.

This clear and focused case is designed to introduce students to business decision-making. In the role as sole owners of CP, students must assess quantitatively whether to accept an order from a large supplier at a selling price lower than their firm’s current selling price. This case demonstrates that the quantitative analysis can be completed with an analysis of costs on a fixed/variable/contribution basis rather than on a full cost basis. Beyond the quantitative analysis, students must analyze acceptance or rejection of this offer from a qualitative standpoint, including the short-term and long-term ramifications on future orders and CP’s other retail chain customers.

This case introduces students to decision making and illustrates the various areas of analysis that should be completed before making a decision. It is a fairly comprehensive introductory case so students student should have some familiarity with how to read financial statements, recognize problems and suggest possible solutions.

Biocon India Group has just formed a new subsidiary, Clinigene, to provide services in clinical trials. Concerns abound, however, as to whether this new subsidiary could prove to be a distraction or worse to this enzyme and pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Students are introduced to decision making and the appropriate analysis that should be completed before making a decision. Industry data on the Canadian retail pharmaceutical industry is provided as a backdrop to help students understand the customer’s request for a price reduction amid the changing retail pharmaceutical landscape. Students are encouraged to assess and consider the “bigger picture” perspective –this customer is responsible for 25% of MDI’s total revenue-and its impact on their final decision. Quantitatively, students must perform a financial analysis at the two retail selling price points. To do a proper case analysis, students should be familiar with cost behavior. Students must apply their understanding of cost behaviour and the effect of volume on pricing decisions to correctly analyze this case. Also reinforced is the importance of qualitative analysis before rendering a final decision.

An in-depth case study documenting Boston-based The Theater Offensive's progress through the Innovation Lab for the Performing Arts. The company successfully hosted a national alliance for emerging queer theatre groups, and grappled with the challenge of simultaneously hosting a national network alongside local programs.

Students are introduced to the strategic role of operations and must evaluate a potentially large order that could affect the firm’s competitive advantage. The case lends itself to a wide-ranging strategic discussion from a “bigger picture” management perspective of what is best for the company. Topics include Whitewater Specialties’ past diversification efforts, the production task’s requirements for this order, the need to shift from a job shop towards large batch production if the order is pursued, the financial impact of the order and, finally, whether Winford should pursue the order. Note: This is the most challenging case of the cases available for teaching at the high school level. Teachers are advised to refresh their knowledge of some of the business issues discussed in this case.

In 2004, after a year of declining revenues, Brazilian startup Compsis, the leading systems integrator for electronic toll collection in Brazil, was considering whether and how to enter new markets, particularly the United States.

This case study on Latino New South follows the journey and partnerships of three cultural institutions – the Levine Museum of the New South (Charlotte, NC), the Atlanta History Center (Atlanta, GA), and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, AL). These three organizations entered the Innovation Lab for Museums with the intention of making their programs and institutions more resonant with, and responsive to, the fast-growing Latino communities in their respective cities.

In July 2015, Managed by Q co-founder and CEO Dan Teran was trying to decide how best to grow the 15-month old on-demand office cleaning and maintenance company. As Teran saw it, Q, which differentiated itself from the competition by leveraging people and technology, could grow by acquiring customers in its existing markets of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco; expanding into new markets; or, diversifying the range of services it offered in the office management space. No matter which path Q chose, Teran was committed to protecting the company’s unique business model and culture.

Digital Divide Data had grown from a small IT outsourcing company in Cambodia to an internationally recognized social enterprise. In 2009, the company was weighing how best to grow while safeguarding its social mission: to offer training and employment to disadvantaged youth.

This case is designed to test students on their ability to sort through a listing of accounts and discern where they belong on the company’s financial statements. Beyond the mechanics , the teacher is provided with leading questions to encourage student to analyze and interpret these statements, resulting in students understanding why and how readers (bank managers, company managers, owners, or stockholders) use these statements to glean useful information about a firm’s financial performance before making business decisions.

This case introduces students to the areas of analysis relevant to general management, including business objectives, an external analysis (opportunities and threats), and an internal analysis (corporate capabilities). Students are expected to produce rough financial projections and a qualitative analysis as reasonable bases for a business decision.

Students are introduced to business analytical tools, including contribution analysis and break-even analysis, to help them assess the costs and benefits associated with this purchase decision. Students will also learn how to identify variable costs, fixed costs, and one-time investments and the relevancy of allocated fixed costs when making this kind of a decision. Using their analysis, students can then assess the trade-offs associated with this opportunity to aid in their decision.

Sanergy was installing 100 new toilets per month in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, but David Auerbach’s team still had a long way to go before reaching their targeted economies of scale (at which point they could provide sanitation services to all Nairobi slum residents at less than one-fifth the cost of a running-water sewer). Now that Sanergy’s for-profit arm was finally generating revenue, it was time to consider the next steps to grow the company. Economies of scale in collection and conversion processes would allow Sanergy to sell waste-converted products to farmers at greater volume and profit, but first they had to install many more toilets, which in turn demanded additional funds.

In early 2010, Mercy Corps, a global nongovernmental organization (NGO), wanted to find a way to turn its KeBal pilot project, which sold nutritious food from food carts to kids in Jakarta, Indonesia, into a self-sustaining, scalable business that would benefit the local communities. Although the Mercy Corps office had concluded that growth would be best served by franchising, that conclusion left them with further questions.

This case study explores Chicago-based Jane Addams Hull-House Museum's process of intentionally slowing down its programming practices to create more organic engagement with its community through The Porch Project.