Teqswitch Inc.: Business in Buenos Aires

Topics: Joint Ventures, Relationship Management, Cross Cultural Management
Industry: Communications & Electronic Equipment
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Published: June 2002

Extreme CCTV

Produced by: Stewart Thornhill, Ken Mark
Richard Ivey School of Business*

Extreme CCTV, a start-up company that specializes in closed circuit television equipment, is looking at purchasing one of it distribution partners, Derwent Systems Ltd - a leading European manufacturer of infrared illuminators. The two companies have been successful in promoting the others products in their respective markets, now Derwent's founder wants to retire. Without Derwent's founder, Extreme CCTV will lose the ability to sell complementary Derwent products in North America and will have to look for another way to distribute its products in the European market. The president and founder of Extreme CCTV has to decide whether or not he should proceed with the purchase of Derwent Systems Ltd. and how he would manage both companies while preparing for an initial public offer.

Topics: Corporate Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Growth
Industry: Communications Equipment
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Published: October 2002

Omega Air Charters: Trouble in Azerbaijan

Produced by: Gerard Sejits, Simon Taggar, Ken Mark
Richard Ivey School of Business*

Omega Air Charters is an air transportation company that provides service to the global mining industry. The company has negotiated a contract with a group of European mining companies that requires Omega Air to provide air service in Azerbaijan - once part of the former Soviet Union. Based on the agreement made with the country, the company must staff the operation with Azerbaijan pilots and engineers who resent a western corporation operating western aircraft in their country. The executive vice-president must resolve this issue and gain the trust of the pilots and engineers if this project is to succeed.

Topics: Cross Cultural Management, Career Development, Women in Management, Management Behavior
Industry: Transportation
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Published: February 2003

Antamina Copper- Zinc Project: Political Risk Insurance

Produced by: Stephen Sapp
Richard Ivey School of Business*

Compania Minera Antamina S.A. is a consortium of three large multinational Canadian mining companies set up to exploit a very large copper-zinc deposit north central Peru. The project requires about US$2 billion of financing for the development and exploitation of the deposit. The finance committee needs to determine the best means to raise the necessary funds: loans guaranteed by the sponsors or project finance. The costs and benefits are different across alternatives because the project involves both business and political risks to which the exposure for all of the stakeholders is different.

Topics: Finance, International Finance, Risk Analysis, Political Environment
Industry: Extractive (Mining)
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Published: February 2003

Research in Motion: The Acquisition of Slangsoft

Produced by: Produced by: Rod E. White, Ken Mark
Richard Ivey School of Business*

Research in Motion is an integrated wireless solutions provider. The director of strategic alliances is excited about completing his first major acquisition for the company. His presentation to senior managers was a success and the company has agreed to go ahead with the acquisition. He must meet with the chief executive officer to have the letter of intent signed and present the offer to Slangsoft.

Topics: Crisis Management, Project Management, Strategic Alliances
Industry: Mobile Wireless Communications
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Published: May 2003

Metafix: Going International

Produced by: Stewart Thornhill, Ken Mark
Richard Ivey School of Business*

Metafix is a small company that sells silver recovery equipment for the photo processing industry. The company has been successful in the medical X-ray and mini lab segments by adapting its equipment specifically for each segment and developing a database on its thousands of customers. The president of Metafix is looking at expanding into the U.S. photo processing lab market and must decide on what price to charge and how to manage the additional customers.

Topics: Expansion, Strategic Change
Industry: Chemicals and Alloyed Products
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Published: May 2003

Exporting to Ghana

Produced by: David J. Sharp, Ken Mark
Richard Ivey School of Business*

A loan assessment officer at Export Development Canada is evaluating a proposed deal involving the export of refurbished machines used in the forestry industry. He must decide whether Export Development Corporation should extend loans to a foreign firm that is interested in purchasing from a Canadian supplier. Issues include international business risk and the role of an export development agency in facilitating a country's exports.

Topics: Accounting, Entrepreneurship, International Trade
Industry: Forestry
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Published: January 2005

Mariner Products: The Politics of Power - Managing Subsidiaries in Foreign Countries

Produced by: Export Development Canada

Case Simulation: Requests for bribes come in many shapes and forms; not all are overt, many pass virtually unnoticed, some requests even seem legitimate. This exercise: The Politics of Power - Managing Subsidiaries in Foreign Countries, simulates a common business situation – a teleconference discussion between the founder/CEO of an international company, his foreign office managers and the chairperson of the board of directors – during which the temptation to meet financial targets can be overwhelming. Issue: Mariner is faced with a number of non-financial dilemmas in the operation of its foreign subsidiaries in Russian, Indonesia and the United States. The main theme of the case is business ethics and corruption. Students role-play the parts of country managers to obtain optimal financial outcomes while balancing ethical issues.

Topics: Business Ethics, Corruption, Corporate Social Responsibility
Industry: Extractive (Mining)
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Last time reviewed in 2007

Avanti Resources Corporation (ARC): The Politics of Power - Making Project Funding Decisions

Produced by: Export Development Canada and Ken Mark

Case Simulation: When threatened with losing their jobs due to a cut in project funding (as is the case in deselected mining projects), employees tend to engage in self-preservation. When self-interests are at stake, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility can easily be overlooked. This exercise: The Politics of Power -Making Project Funding Decisions, simulates a funding dilemma – which mine will be chosen? And by extension, in this zero-sum game, which mine will not be chosen? In an effort to convince others to choose Kassala or Uvita (the two mining projects described), what role does Corporate Social Responsibility play?

Topics: Corporate Social Responsibility
Industry: Extractive (Mining)
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Last time reviewed in 2008

Gemcom Technology

Produced by: Conor Vibert
Fred C. Manning School of Business, Acadia University

Video interview with Rick Moignard, President and Chief Executive Officer also available.

In early 2006, Rick Moignard and his team at Vancouver based Gemcom Software International Inc. find themselves in an intriguing position. They are an important supplier of software to the global mining industry, one that is experiencing an unprecedented boom. Driven by growth in emerging economies such as China, mined mineral prices are expected to continue their upward trend for the foreseeable future. Employing over 100 individuals, Gemcom software products are MS Windows based, target open pit hard rock mining environments, are known for their exceptional database capabilities and improve mining productivity of clients. Their competitors are based in Australia, the U.K and the U.S. while their customers are a who’s who of global mining giants. Despite controlling approximately 20% of sales in the niche marketplace, they are only marginally profitable and will need to grow in order to prosper in the long run. Growing implies globalizing their operations. Their challenge is to do both.

Topics: Mergers and Acquisitions, International Expansion, Business Strategy
Industry: Mining Technology
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Published: January 2009

North American Tungsten

Produced by: Conor Vibert
Fred C. Manning School of Business, Acadia University

Video interview with Stephen Leahy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, also available.

Stephen Leahy’s mining company North American Tungsten Corporation (NTC) controls 12% of the world’s known reserves of Tungsten. With demand greater than supply and China controlling much of the world’s market for this metal, he needs to decide how to grow his company. His options are internal growth, an acquisition, an alliance, or a long term supply relationship. It is early 2006 and a global commodity boom is underway. NTC’s Cantung is the only operating tungsten mine North America. Its sister mine Mactung is supposed to be operational in 2010. There is no shortage of potential partners. Some are small mine property owners while others are large tungsten fabricators and processors with established, global distribution networks. Another potential partner has an unproven new processing technology that is potentially cleaner and more efficient. The role of the case is to help students explore the growth options and the risks associated with each one.

Topics: Mergers and Acquisitions, Growth, Socially Responsible Mining
Industry: Extractive (Mining)
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA
Published: March 2009

Melville Trade Finance Inc.

Produced by: Prescott Ensign and Andrew Lunney
Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa

Melville Trade Finance Inc. is approached by a Canadian bottling equipment manufacturer to provide $3.4 million of capital investment foreign buyer financing to their customer, a rapidly expanding Chinese bottling company. The Chinese company needs to purchase the equipment and increase its production capacity to secure long-term, multi-million dollar contracts with Pepsi and Coca-Cola in Korea. With very short deadlines, Melville’s CEO works with Export Development Canada (EDC) to assess the risks involved in offering full financing and insurance for the Chinese bottler, and must keep in mind that the Canadian manufacturer will lose the sale if the financing does not get approved. The deal presents several challenges to Melville; an unknown foreign buyer with no proven credit history, language & communication barriers, geographic distance, incongruent accounting standards, etc.. As the risk variables emerge, both Melville and EDC must decide if the stakes are too high to support the transaction.

Topics: Risk Management, International Financing
Industry: Finance, Manufacturing
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business
Published: November 2009

Making the Most of the Credit Crisis: How Canada has Positioned for Recovery

Address made by: Eric D. Siegel, President & CEO, Export Development Canada
Canadian Club, Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Canada
November 26, 2009

Eric Siegel, President of Export Development Canada (EDC), addressed the Canadian Club and discussed how Canada's public-sector financial institutions have helped Canadian businesses through tough economic times, and are now helping them to position for recovery. The global economy has faced unprecedented challenges in the last year, but the tide is beginning to turn. Canadian businesses have weathered the storm of the credit crunch and are turning their attention to making sure they can capitalize on the recovery - no matter where it unfolds. View webcast

Topics: Finance, International Trade
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business – Finance / MBA

Acadia Videos

Produced by: Conor Vibert
Fred C. Manning School of Business, Acadia University

Video interview with Conor Vibert, Professor/Co-Creator also available.

It is late in 2009. Dave Sheehan, a multimedia producer at Acadia University is part of a small team of individuals who have successfully commercialized a collection of video interview clips of managers for the Canadian higher education sector with a major publisher. The clips are part of a larger teaching product that takes the form of a web-hosted searchable database of video interviews. Sheehan and his colleagues have their eye on the export market for these clips. They believe that China represents an attractive market given the size of its higher education sector and their experiences dealing with Chinese students on campus. The case focuses on identifying whether they should indeed attempt to export the videos to the Chinese market. The case highlights the state of the existing technology and the organizational infrastructure in place to support it.

Topics: Risk Management, Export Readiness
Industry: Educational software
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business
Published: August 2010

Atlantic Industries Limited

Produced by: Conor Vibert
Fred C. Manning School of Business, Acadia University

Video interview with Michael Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer also available.

Atlantic Industries Limited (AIL) is a private company located in Dorchester, New Brunswick that develops proprietary engineered solutions in corrugated metal structures, modular steel bridges, retaining walls and other products used in infrastructure construction and renewal in the transportation, public works, mining, forestry and environmental sectors. Set in 2004, it employed approximately 150 individuals with annual sales between $25 million and $50 million. It competes in North America with publicly traded Armtec Infrastructure Fund and a number of very large cement and concrete manufacturers. Wilson is contemplating a growth strategy but realizes that each option has its own risks. Along with the options and risks, he needs to consider how his company might enter new foreign markets.

Topics: Risk Management, New Market Entry
Industry: Engineered Bridge Solutions
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business
Published: August 2010

VIH Aviation Group

Produced by: Charlene Zietsma, Dan Day
University of Victoria
***Won the Best Case Award for the Case track division of ASAC at the 2011 Conference

Video interview with Charles J. Hodgins, Senior Vice President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer, and Christian Kittleson, Director of Financial Operations, also available.

In the fall of 2008, VIH Aviation Group, a privately held helicopter services firm, had to decide among three major growth opportunities in the growing offshore oil and gas business: a joint venture in China, an acquisition or joint venture in Australia, or expansion of the company’s facility in the US Gulf of Mexico. Each growth option would require substantial investment in new helicopters and facilities and feature various risks and uncertainties. The CFO of VIH has to recommend a growth strategy and a plan to finance it.

Topics: International growth; entry options; risk factors in international expansion
Industry: Helicopter services for the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
Recommended for: Undergraduate Business / MBA / Executive MBA
Published: August 2010

Financial and operational risk management at Molson Coors

Produced by: Dennis Kira, Ahmet Satir and Dia Bandaly
Concordia University, John Molson School of Business

Molson Coors Brewing Company, fifth largest brewer by volume in the world, was created by the merger of Molson of Canada and Coors of the United States. This case outlines the various operational and financial risks Molson Coors faces and how they have been managed by the company. The main purpose is to explore approaches in supply chain risk management. Emphasis is on financial and operational hedging approaches used to mitigate risks emanating from demand uncertainty and fluctuations in commodity (aluminum) price and foreign exchange rates. Moreover, the case also makes reference to the use of information sharing and establishing closer relationships with suppliers as an effective means to mitigate supply risks.

Topics: Supply chain risk management; financial and operational hedging
Industry: Light manufacturing; food & beverage
Recommended for: Senior Undergraduate Business / MBA / Executive MBA
Published: September 2011

* The case studies produced in collaboration with the Richard Ivey School of Business are only available to some universities. To confirm if your school has access please send an email to community@edc.ca.