Fast food workers all over the U.S. are striking in hopes of doubling the minimum wage (from $7.25 to $15 per hour). 
However, a a recent AP news story states: “No group along the food chain, from the customers to the companies, wants to foot the bill for higher wages for workers.” The tactic is a classic move to change the structure of the 5 forces to grant more bargaining power to the workers. However, overwhelmingly, these workers are not unionized so the prospects of sustaining a prolonged, organized strike are quite limited. Furthermore, there are many unemployed workers who might step into their jobs if given the opportunity. All of this suggests that the structure of the industry will hinder their attempt to garner bargaining power. This seems like a good “ripped from the headlines” case to discuss with students to drive home the application of 5 forces analysis.
Contributed by Russ Coff
Apple has been a master of this — all in the name of customer service. 
A recent 
Team-Maker is a tool for assigning students to teams based on instructor-specified criteria. Instructors can choose from a library of questions, such as students’ schedules or majors, or write their own questions. Team-Maker collects the information from students and allows the instructor to assign use that information to assign students to teams based on the criteria and weighting that they choose. CATME Peer Evaluation is a tool for self- and peer evaluations of students’ contributions to their teams that is based on research. The system automates the data collection and analysis and allows instructors to release feedback to students. There are many optional follow-up questions about team processes that are taken from published research. CATME Rater Calibration allows instructors to assign students to practice using the CATME behaviorally anchored rating scale by rating fictitious team members. CATME Meeting Support provides templates for team charters, meeting agendas and minutes. Teamwork training modules are in development. The website shows research and other information about these tools.
At the same time, projections indicate that their 
They are planning to invest $500M just in marketing the new phone (more than Apple or Samsung). This may be motivated by the fact that Samsung is 
Here the board didn’t want to take the company private “for the sake of the employees.” While the CEO was fired, the news has apparently fired up investors who may be interested in buying the company — now it may be in play regardless of what the board wanted.This seems like it might be helpful to drive home the different goals and objectives for different stakeholders, While the board accused Zimmer of being opportunistic, 
Here is an excerpt: “In this exercise, student volunteers blindly taste three different soft drinks: Coke, Pepsi, and a store brand. The student then tries to assess which one each drink is. Across several years of performing this, in every semester a majority cannot identify their preferred drink, nor can many identify any of them correctly. After several volunteers make the attempt, the class engages in meaningful conversation about how and why Coke and Pepsi capture so much market share, when their products cost 50% more than store brands.” What, then, is the basis for competitive advantage when imitation is so evident? It’s worth noting that Pepsi did not include generics in the original challenge — why might that be?
It is divided into four segments: 1) Biology goes digital, 2) Materials and manufacturing, 3) My computer my friend, and 4) Man vs. machine. They also have a 
Carpenter Strategy Toolbox 