Amazon’s HQ2 (C): Choices

Amazon’s first bid for a second headquarters (HQ2), published in September 2017, attracted a lot of attention and eventually proposals from 238 cities and regions in North America. In this case, it is about the company’s decision to split its HQ2 into two locations and the resulting reaction from local politicians and the public.

Making the Grade (A)

It focuses on the dilemma of a young professor at a graduate school of business administration. He must decide what final grade he will give to a student who has worked very hard, but is limited by the school’s Forced Curve grading policy. Designed to examine the multiple purposes of performance measurement (motivation, evaluation, early …

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Stock Options at Virtua.Net

It describes the problems faced by three young founders of a high-tech startup in Silicon Valley, including hiring an experienced CEO and negotiating with a potential venture capitalist. It focuses on the incentive and compensation aspects of trading with applicants (eg what percentage of capital is appropriate) and with venture capitalists (eg options to exercise …

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Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (A)

Kjell & Company was a Swedish electronics retail chain. The company’s products consisted of electronics and home accessories. The company was characterized by excellent customer service and a fair “one for all” personnel policy. In the past, sellers were compensated with a fixed salary and a variable commission, depending on meeting a monthly sales quota. …

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Duckworth Industries, Inc.–Incentive Compensation Programs

A private company is considering an introduction of a longrun incentive compensation system in which payoffs to managers are determined by the economic value added for shareholders by their individual business units. The proposed new system is compared to a number of earlier incentive schemes utilized by the firm.

Abengoa S.A.: The Unveiling or Unraveling of a Bold New Strategy?

Shortly after the launch of its new Assetlight strategy, which consists of dividing its operating structure into three distinct units, Abengoa S.A. before a crisis when its share price falls by half as investors have doubts about the parent company’s guarantee for a newly issued green bond.

RKO Warner Video, Inc.: Incentive Compensation Plan

Describes the design and implementation of a bonus plan for video store managers. The problem for the chain’s top management is getting store managers to “push themselves”, keep business orderly and organized, and be courteous and efficient with customers. The design of the bonus plan is simple: Instead of trying to measure the neatness of …

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Mobil USM&R (C): Lubricants Business Unit

The CEO of a lubricants business unit in Mobil’s marketing and refining division in the United States initiated a project to develop a balanced scorecard (BSC) for his unit. The goal was to give all employees in the unit a focus to enable integrated action. After the unit scorecard was developed, the managing director asked …

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Jill Draeger

The case of Jill Draeger is designed as an introduction to a general entrepreneurship course. It is suitable for many levels of students. It attempts to portray the archetype of resource-constrained, opportunity-oriented behavior that is the hallmark of entrepreneurship. The case describes the career of Jill Draeger, an MBA with experience in the consumer electronics …

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