On December 1999, Schibsted, Norway’s largest media company, launched a free daily newspaper, 20 Minutes simultaneously in Zurich, Switzerland, and Cologne, Germany. As of February 2000, the launch of 20 Minutes in Zurich had been considered a success, whereas the Cologne launch had been fraught with difficulty. Schibsted had been caught up in a lawsuit filed by two prominent German publishers. The Cologne edition had been shut down for five weeks. .....more

A city politician and the former editor of the city's daily newspaper assess the potential for a weekly, controlled circulation newspaper to succeed in the city's $50 million market. They know that the incumbent paper will react strongly to drive out new competitors as it has over many years. The challenge for them is to put together a strategy and a team to enter the market. They will be starting with a mere $250,000 in capital so this operation .....more

Steady growth and an aggressive new project are putting increasing pressures on a successful owner/manager and his management team. The business continues to perform well, however, and the manager and his people are reluctant to change their management approach. Under the circumstances, are any strategic or organizational changes justified? If so, what ones and when and how should they be implemented? This case may be used as an exercise in managing .....more

4Print Company is a small printing firm with three locations in the greater Toronto area. An employee is preparing for lease negotiation meetings with the property management company. He knew his boss would lead the discussion but wanted to have all the necessary material since negotiating favourable lease terms would help to ensure that 4Print would continue to grow in the competitive printing industry.

The vice chairman of CIBC World Markets Inc. was pondering potential strategies to undertake in the wake of Torstar Corporation's surprising unsolicited offer to acquire Sun Media Corporation. He and his team now had the challenge of assessing and evaluating Torstar's unsolicited bid for Sun Media, and advising Sun Media's board of directors regarding potential value-maximizing alternatives.

The decision maker is faced with rapid growth and is aware that he requires expertise that is beyond the capability of himself and of the internal organization. He must decide how to best solve the issues that are facing him. The opportunities that an outside director can provide in technical, financial and strategic expertise are contrasted with hiring consultants, carrying on with inside directors, and the potential problems of managing outside .....more

The president and CEO of a private rapid-growth business has made the decision to add outside directors to his board. He is also aware that the company requires additional financing and would like to acquire financing expertise with one of the outside directors. He must now define the role he would like the board to play, recruit candidates, and select the best combination of skills and personalities to form a cohesive board. The case addresses how .....more

The decision maker must now decide on how to structure the board for maximum utilization of the various expertise of the members. The issues presented are: frequency of board meetings, board committees, attendance at board meetings, the appointment of the chairman, compensation for the directors, and how to manage this group to ensure that the board is helping management make the best decisions and move the company forward in the most effective way. .....more

HK Magazine was a Hong Kong magazine created by three expatriate Americans. It was launched as a monthly magazine after two years of planning. The editorial tone of the publication can best be described as irreverent. Four years later, HK Magazine is now published twice a month and is very successful financially. The three owners are looking at the decision to start a comparable publication in Singapore. There are four principal issues involved in .....more

The editor of an environmental magazine has received an advertisement from a large petroleum company for inclusion in the next issue. He is concerned about negative readership response, and must decide whether to include the advertisement. A follow-up case (9A92A007) is available.