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The case presents a $1+billion technology company seeking new growth through the introduction of a radically new product platform. During its first ten years, PTC Corporation grew faster than Microsoft did during the similar period of its evolution. By the late 1990s PTC was faced with intensified competition and saturation in its core markets. To maintain growth, the company introduced a completely new product platform. While PTC focused on developing and selling the product, it failed to recognize that this new product was so different from its traditional offerings that it required a new organizational structure, sales capabilities, support processes, and market strategy. The case traces the company's evolution from development and launch of Windchill through the four-year period post-launch, during which its founding CEO was forced out and the company transformed. Ultimately, Windchill became a top seller for PTC, but not until after significant internal change.

The PTC case illustrates what it means to build a new business within the context of an existing, successful firm. It can also be used to explore what it takes to accomplish a successful new product launch for a substantially new product platform. Sales and channel strategy also figures prominently in the case.

Agile software development, Knowledge workers and Lean thinking as a management system

The case lends itself to students of business management, or aspiring consultants, who have been exposed to operations management in general and Lean thinking specifically. It is an advanced case study, assuming prior knowledge in these subjects and approaches the subject matter from an organisational development point of view, rather than a pure operations point of view. It is thus well suited to an elective on operational excellence on an MBA or in executive education courses in Lean thinking

The case starts with Mark, manager of a software development team, hearing that he will have budget for two new developers who will join his team in the coming year. While the extra help could be useful, he was considering what the impact of new people would be on the productivity of the team, which he felt was already stretched. Mark continues to consider the entire development chain and how code changes were implemented to ACSESim’s (the company’s primary product) graphical user interfaces. Having recently been acquired by an American company, he was also under pressure to start to adopt some of the parent company’s systems, which would constitute a fairly disruptive, but necessary, change, particularly for future collaborations with other developers in the parent company. With two new developers, experience taught Mark that development could slow down owing to training efforts. To minimise disruption, he was wondering about how to get the new developers up-to-speed quickly and streamline their operations within a changing corporate environment. The case highlights the different mechanisms that were in place at ACSESim, including the use of issue trackers; Kanban boards; version control software; automated systems; stand-up meetings, etc. Each of these mechanisms is discussed briefly and shows the value they added to the development practices that were in place. This also allows students to understand Agile practices and what Lean thinking might mean in a knowledge work environment and then to consider what the proposed changes might mean and how they could be deployed.

To gain an understanding of how Lean and Agile principles can be applied in a software development environment and Lean knowledge work in general To consider the best way to manage new hires so that they can become productive in a Lean or Agile software development environment, whilst dealing with pressures to migrate to new systems.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS: 9: Operations and Logistics.

Lewis Byrd, a partner in the private equity firm Opportunity Capital Partners, is managing a number of interconnected issues. First, in his role as investment professional responsible for the firm's investment in a doghouse manufacturing company called Dogloo, he has to manage a relationship with an entrepreneur who has behaved in a way that has made coinvestors nervous about his skills as a CEO. The CEO, Aurelio Barretto, is a Cuban immigrant who has established a close confiding relationship with Byrd, who is an African American. Barretto has increasingly relied on Byrd to run interference for him with investors, while also providing the strategic advice that typically supports an investor-entrepreneur relationship. Another issue is that there is a potentially costly lawsuit looming involving copyright infringement by a larger, well-funded competitor in the pet products market. Byrd has to manage potentially volatile relationships while determining what's best for his firm from an investment standpoint and how best to advise Barretto to proceed. The case provides insights into the challenges in private equity investing that occur after the striking of the financial deal. The case also provides information for students about the technical and legal structure of private equity financing.

This case describes how eight entrepreneurs discover different opportunities for new businesses to exploit a single technological invention. The case focuses on the process of entrepreneurial discovery and its implications for the creation of new firms. Many of the teaching materials on entrepreneurship assume that entrepreneurs have already discovered an opportunity. While these materials provide useful information about the process of creating new enterprises, they miss the crucial first step in the entrepreneurial process: identifying an opportunity. The case illustrates the theoretical concept of the role of information in the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. It can be used in a class on entrepreneurship or management of technology.

The application of activity based costing (ABC); calculating the cost of a CNC Process using ABC; designing a pricing strategy.

The case can be used in the following courses: MBA program with specialisation in finance (to teach students the application of costing in services sector); MBA program in general management (to highlight the concept of activity based costing and its application); and under an elective course on management control systems in MBA programs (to highlight the strategy to determine price effectively).

The case highlights the application of activity based costing in arriving at cost and finally leading to development of price to be charged by KK Metals. The company wishes to compute the activity based cost of CNC process and develop the selling price for 194 precision turning services scientifically as opposed to the present strategy of being a price taker, largely on the basis of what essentially is prevalent in the local market within which KK Metals operates. The case gives an insight to numerous control variables that the management can consider while pricing its services.

The case can be used to understand management concepts such as ABC, pricing and the role of efficiency in business processes. It can be used to: teach complexities involved in identifying activity driver(s) in case of ABC as far as application to service sector is concerned; help understand the use of costing as an effective tool in pricing strategy of the company; and help students realize the significance of inputs used for calculating per hour cost.

Teaching notes are available. Consult your librarian for access.

Strategic decision making, strategic alternatives.

This case is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate business and management, MBA programs; the case could be used in strategic management, strategic analysis methods, change management courses.

This case illustrates how Storm, a small innovation company located in the city of Novosibirsk, Russia, tackled the problem of future development. The company was set up in 1992 by young scientists to produce equipment for automatic process control systems in power engineering. All the engineering solutions were based on the developments of the company's founders. Currently Storm is the regional leader in creating engineering complexes for power generating companies. However, because of the drastic changes in the business environment and increased market competition, the company faced the challenge of further development. The company's management and owners saw the further development prospects and risks differently. Three strategic alternatives are available and the company is required to choose one of them, substantiating the choice made.

After completing the case study assignment, learners should be able to: state the strategic problems of small business development; identify the challenges of the external environment for company development; apply the tools of strategic analysis for evaluation of the company's market position; analyze the company's internal strengths and weaknesses; and elaborate and evaluate strategic alternatives for the company's growth.

Teaching notes are available – consult your librarian for access.

In mid-1992, Christine Olsen, the chief financial officer (CFO) of this large CAD/CAM equipment manufacturer, must decide on the magnitude of the firm's dividend payout. A subsidiary question is whether the firm should embark on a campaign of corporate-image advertising and change its corporate name to reflect its new outlook. The case serves as an omnibus review of the many practical aspects of the dividend decision, including (1) signaling effects, (2) clientele effects, and (3) finance and investment implications of increasing dividend payout.

This case is about Kija Kim, a Korean born founder and CEO of Harvard Design and Mapping Inc. (HDM). Founded in 1988, HDM is a cutting-edge GIS firm with $5 million in revenue and 35 employees in their Cambridge, MA and Washington D.C. offices. Through Kija Kim's leadership, HDM has become a significant niche player in homeland security and disaster relief. The case ends in fall 2005 just after HDM provided Hurricane Katrina mapping support, and Kija is nominated for the SBA Small Business Person of the Year. This case explores the intersection between cultural heritage, leadership effectiveness and organizational behavior. It particularly notes Kija's ability to turn her immigrant female minority status into a business advantage. This strength coupled with her ethos of care and ability to network in all walks of her life contributes to her distinctive and integrated leadership style. Definitions of leadership success and implications for decision making are also highlighted.

Human resource management, Training and development, Competency development and team spirit.

The case is intended for MBA/PGDM level students as part of a human resource management curriculum. The case is more diagnostic in nature and should be discussed in the same spirit. The case is suitable for developing conceptual thinking and community orientation of professionals aspiring or pursuing a career in the area of human resource management.

The case examines the imperatives behind Sterling Tools Limited (STL), a leading fasteners manufacturing Indian company's decision and strategy adopted to inculcate team spirit through outdoor experiential training (OET). The case explores in detail the process undertaken to execute the OET at STL. The case also briefly mentions the tangible benefits of OEL. The case is structured to enable readers to: understand the basic objectives of OET; understand the innovative approach adopted by STL; and understand how an organization responds to changes and challenges in the external environment.

This case is structured to enable students to: understand the meaning and significance of outdoor experiential training (OET); analyze the challenges faced by HR managers in modern day organizations; learn the conceptual framework and understand the principles of OET; examine the measures that can be taken by management to ensure a smooth induction and socialization process of employees; and understand the need of inculcating team spirit among employees.

Teaching notes are available.

It is recommended that students apply the arguments of resource-based theory to analyze the potential strategic partnership that the case focuses on. The resource-based view suggests that strategic partnerships between firms have the potential to create value when resources are pooled together. Scott Crump faces a decision-making situation wherein he analyses the value-creation potential of the original equipment manufacturer partnership with Hewlett-Packard (HP). In addition, contrasting the cultural environments within both organizations would bring in greater complexity and depth to the reflections, analyses and discussions. Often research experts explore these concepts in isolated streams of research. However, in real-world scenarios, these aspects must be integrated for a more comprehensive decision making to take place. It is also recommended for students to analyze how founder characteristics and resources imprint organizations with certain enduring “imprints” that determine strategic outcomes for the firm in unique ways.

For the development of this case, the authors interviewed the top management at Stratasys including Scott Crump, Founder and CEO. The authors also interviewed former and current employees of Stratasys, HP, other experts in the printing industry and existing customers in the 3D printing industry. The company made internal documents available to the authors including financial statements, internal meeting presentations, company forecasts and assessment tools. All interviews were recorded and analyzed to obtain and include multiple perspectives from various stakeholders. The authors also conducted extensive online research on the 3D printing industry and utilized data from news articles, interviews and other relevant press materials.

Scott Crump, Founder of Stratasys, a company that developed and sold 3D printers, had always envisioned a future when it would be commonplace for a 3D printer to be on the desk of every engineer. HP approached him with a proposal that had the potential to make that dream come true. Crump knew that Stratasys did not need to partner with HP for a financial reason, but he loved the idea of the technology becoming a standard method for creating parts universally. The case highlights a true-life account of a firm’s founder considering an important strategic alliance and analyzing the ramifications of taking on or refusing this partnership.

This case has applications in strategic management and small business management courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. It also contains critical areas of decision making relevant to an advanced strategic management course that focuses on manufacturing strategy or strategic alliance decision making. This case would be relevant to MBA, Executive MBA or Masters of Science in Accountancy level students as well. Specifically, it is intended for use in courses involving topics such as mergers and strategic partnerships, negotiation and leadership, risk analysis, financial statement analysis, financial modeling and market analysis.