Most parties today agree that insiders should hold the balance of power on a board. Perhaps so, but there is also a third way, write these authors, who suggest that insiders and outsider should have equal power.

Teaching note for product 9A99C011.

Norwest Labs provides agricultural and environmental testing services. While the agricultural market is seasonal and highly sensitive to the weather, the environmental market is relatively stable, as it is primarily developed because of regulatory compliance testing required of its clients. The company's CEO and founder is confronted with serious challenges: a substantial financial loss, cash flow problems, growing competition and a potential .....more

A gain sharing plan was introduced at Norwest Labs. However, because of a number of serious problems with its implementation, the plan is being redesigned. While working towards redesigning the plan, the company suffered a financial crisis after losing 20 per cent of its business from the elimination of mandatory environmental testing by its clients. The purpose of the case is to consider whether open book management, which involves the sharing of .....more

Employee and management perceptions of the impact of gain sharing and open book management on behavioral change are provided in this supplement to Norwest Labs (A) and (B), cases 9A99C011 and 9A99C012.

Cisco is the world's largest, and leading manufacturer and distributor of routers and switches. In order to achieve this position, it has adopted an aggressive growth strategy, acquiring companies, their employees, and new employees at a rate of 250 to 300 employees per month. The Cisco Employee Connection (CEC), a corporate intranet, is the primary means by which new employees are absorbed and acculturated. The CEC is also the principal means .....more