Cases in this issue
| Case title and target audience | Authors | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| Towny: A new business model for a mobile economy Target Audience: Undergraduate students in entrepreneurship courses such as new venture finance | Tyler Self | Towny: A new business model for a mobile economy shares the context and issues surrounding CEO Nathan Baumeister in the spring of 2018 at Towny, a unique business helping local businesses connect with their consumers over mobile devices. The company began going to market based on the vision of its owner and Nathan’s boss, Don Shafer. It had quickly approached local business clients and consumers in five key markets The purpose of the case is to allow students the opportunity to discuss key new venture creation concepts and scenarios such as customer value proposition, competitive advantage and digital marketing |
| InvisaWear: Evolving the entrepreneurial mindset Target Audience: Undergraduate students in business or entrepreneurship | Sunny Sun Roberto Santos Xiaoyi Luo | In the summer of 2016, the future of invisaWear suddenly became uncertain. Rajia Abdelaziz and Ray Hamilton had conceived an idea for smart jewelry that they felt solved a real problem. However, it was one thing to have a great idea and quite another to turn that idea into a real business. As engineering students, they were accustomed to solving problems, but if they truly wanted to make an impact, they had to learn to solve problems as entrepreneurs. With the help of DifferenceMaker® and their mentors, they developed an entrepreneurial mindset and decided to build invisaWear into a company |
| InvisaWear: Bridges under construction Target Audience: Undergraduate students in business or entrepreneurship | Sunny Sun Roberto Santos Xiaoyi Luo | Having graduated from UMass Lowell with engineering degrees, co-founders Rajia Abdelaziz and Ray Hamilton build invisaWear into a venture, but they did not know much about business. With coaching from their mentors, Rajia and Ray focused on building their network to raise capital to finance the business. Despite all their hard work networking, however, they faced a hurdle. Rajia and Ray contemplated their dilemma. “Are we doing something wrong? What can we do differently to attract investors?” |
| Sir Allen Stanford: Inmate #35017-183; A case study of a Ponzi scheme and its aftermath Target Audience: Upper-level undergraduate or graduate students in fraud or forensic accounting courses | Kevin Flynn Phyllis Belak Sean Andre | Ponzi schemes – one of the most common types of investment fraud – have caused investors to lose billions of dollars. Because of the prevalence of Ponzi schemes and the ramifications to investors, it is important for business students to understand the nature of these schemes and to learn how to recognize them. As future business professionals, students will be charged with recognizing a Ponzi scheme early and uncovering it before investors lose their investments |
| Minority shareholders dispute Tang Plaza’s value Target Audience: Undergraduate and graduate students in intermediate accounting courses | Ming Jian Rony Lim | The case centers on an iconic Singaporean integrated retailing and property landlord entity: Tang Holdings. As part of its succession planning, the company’s founding family decided to take its listing arm, C.K. Tang Limited (CK Tang hereafter), private in May 2006. The Tang brothers, who represented the controlling family, initiated several attempts to delist the company The minority shareholders of CK Tang were unhappy that the offer price was below the net asset value of the company. The minority shareholders also highlighted that the reported fair value of the flagship Tang Plaza complex understated its highest and best use and might not possibly comply with IFRS 13 |
| Pricing and scholarship optimization at waypoint adventure Target Audience: Upper-level undergraduate or early graduate-level students in operations management, revenue and pricing management or marketing courses | Benjamin Marcus | A young non-profit organization serving the disabled community in Boston sought growth but lacked clarity and consistency in their program pricing and scholarship structures. The case analysis centers on revising program prices to achieve specific cost and revenue requirements and determining a scholarship policy that will maximize participation in their outdoor adventure programing for the upcoming year. This case allows the exploration of optimization with an atypical objective, as the organization seeks to maximize participant engagement rather than profit |
| Maruti’s Nexa – Enhancing customer experience beyond buying Target Audience: Graduate students in retail management, sales and distribution management or marketing management courses | Arun Kaushik Geetha Mohan | Nexa was launched by Maruti in 2015 to enhance the buying experience of its premium customers, and to reposition itself as a premium brand. It started offering customized services to car purchasers through its well-trained employees, attractive store environment and Omnichannel experience. Through all these facilities, though Nexa had a bumpy ride for selling its first product, it managed to pace up and perform better in the next few years. It remained to be seen how Maruti would handle competitor and cost challenges and how it would strategize its efforts to strengthen its footprint in the Indian automotive industry |
| Case title and target audience | Authors | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| Towny: A new business model for a mobile economy | Tyler Self | Towny: A new business model for a mobile economy shares the context and issues surrounding CEO Nathan Baumeister in the spring of 2018 at Towny, a unique business helping local businesses connect with their consumers over mobile devices. The company began going to market based on the vision of its owner and Nathan’s boss, Don Shafer. It had quickly approached local business clients and consumers in five key markets |
| InvisaWear: Evolving the entrepreneurial mindset | Sunny Sun | In the summer of 2016, the future of invisaWear suddenly became uncertain. Rajia Abdelaziz and Ray Hamilton had conceived an idea for smart jewelry that they felt solved a real problem. However, it was one thing to have a great idea and quite another to turn that idea into a real business. As engineering students, they were accustomed to solving problems, but if they truly wanted to make an impact, they had to learn to solve problems as entrepreneurs. With the help of DifferenceMaker® and their mentors, they developed an entrepreneurial mindset and decided to build invisaWear into a company |
| InvisaWear: Bridges under construction | Sunny Sun | Having graduated from UMass Lowell with engineering degrees, co-founders Rajia Abdelaziz and Ray Hamilton build invisaWear into a venture, but they did not know much about business. With coaching from their mentors, Rajia and Ray focused on building their network to raise capital to finance the business. Despite all their hard work networking, however, they faced a hurdle. Rajia and Ray contemplated their dilemma. “Are we doing something wrong? What can we do differently to attract investors?” |
| Sir Allen Stanford: Inmate #35017-183; A case study of a Ponzi scheme and its aftermath | Kevin Flynn | Ponzi schemes – one of the most common types of investment fraud – have caused investors to lose billions of dollars. Because of the prevalence of Ponzi schemes and the ramifications to investors, it is important for business students to understand the nature of these schemes and to learn how to recognize them. As future business professionals, students will be charged with recognizing a Ponzi scheme early and uncovering it before investors lose their investments |
| Minority shareholders dispute Tang Plaza’s value | Ming Jian | The case centers on an iconic Singaporean integrated retailing and property landlord entity: Tang Holdings. As part of its succession planning, the company’s founding family decided to take its listing arm, C.K. Tang Limited (CK Tang hereafter), private in May 2006. The Tang brothers, who represented the controlling family, initiated several attempts to delist the company |
| Pricing and scholarship optimization at waypoint adventure | Benjamin Marcus | A young non-profit organization serving the disabled community in Boston sought growth but lacked clarity and consistency in their program pricing and scholarship structures. The case analysis centers on revising program prices to achieve specific cost and revenue requirements and determining a scholarship policy that will maximize participation in their outdoor adventure programing for the upcoming year. This case allows the exploration of optimization with an atypical objective, as the organization seeks to maximize participant engagement rather than profit |
| Maruti’s Nexa – Enhancing customer experience beyond buying | Arun Kaushik | Nexa was launched by Maruti in 2015 to enhance the buying experience of its premium customers, and to reposition itself as a premium brand. It started offering customized services to car purchasers through its well-trained employees, attractive store environment and Omnichannel experience. Through all these facilities, though Nexa had a bumpy ride for selling its first product, it managed to pace up and perform better in the next few years. It remained to be seen how Maruti would handle competitor and cost challenges and how it would strategize its efforts to strengthen its footprint in the Indian automotive industry |
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