Contributed by Russ Coff
This exercise from Norman Sheehan and Kay Keels addresses corporate governance and ethics (see the Jensen Pharma Teaching Note). 
Here is the setting: A pharmaceutical firm’s board must decide what to do with its best selling drug, Dekanor, in light of research that suggests that the drug may be causing serious harm. This reflects the ambiguity and choices Merck’s and Pfizer’s boards may have experienced in the years before they knew if their “blockbuster” drugs, Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex, were harming patients. For example, the role play includes the impact of social media, pressure from rivals, and tactics sometimes used by pharmaceutical companies to discredit negative research studies. Board members are asked to choose between options including: 1) preemptively remove Dekanor from the market, 2) continue selling Dekanor but add additional product warnings and stop actively marketing the drug, or 3) continue to aggressively market the drug and fight to keep the FDA from banning it. The 14 roles include Jensen’s Chairperson and CEO, its five board members, and eight managers (click here for the Jensen Pharma Roles and Agenda). Each must balance his/her corporate agenda with his/her personal agenda. For example, some own considerable amounts of valuable stock that may affect their decisions.
Contributed by Norman Sheehan and Kay Keels
You may have followed the debate about HBR’s policy prohibiting professors from linking suggested HBR readings 
to their own library’s paid subscriptions (see Joshua Gans’ blog posts on this and his Financial Times article on HBR and their journal list). I have increasingly used McKinsey Quarterly which makes their articles available for free (you need to register but that’s free). Here are some HBR alternatives that seem to work well (often by authors you know well):
Contributed by Russ Coff
Contributed by Russ Coff
If you really need a video, this one from Greg Mankiw’s page should work. See also the classic Dilbert Prisoner’s Dilemma video.
Contributed by Russ Coff
Ok so here is another funny Onion News Network story of how the death on newspapers affects crazy loons who fill their houses with old newspapers. However, there is a serious issue on how firms ensconced in old technologies respond to strategic challenges. Here is an academic paper by Adner and Snow on the topic. You may also be interested in their HBR article on the topic that may be useful for teaching.
Contributed by Russ Coff
At the same time, projections indicate that their anticipated product changes will be incremental at best. A recent article coins the term “frosted glass effect” to describe the incremental innovations that signal a fast moving challenger will soon leapfrog over a stodgy slow moving incumbent (like Apple). Not to be left out, the Onion has entered the fray as well. In short, stakeholders are wondering how critical Jobs was to Apple’s “organizational” capabilities — Has the core competence really rotted away? Some discussions of dynamic capabilities place great emphasis on organizational routines as the key elements that drive the ability to acquire, integrate, recombine and release resources and capabilities (e.g., see Winter). The importance of Jobs, in this case, shifts our attention to key individuals who may be essential components in harnessing and directing routines. Without a rudder, the routines may lose much of their value. Of course, this steers us solidly into a micro-foundations perspective (e.g., see Barney and Felin or Foss)…Contributed by Russ Coff
Contributed by Aya Chacar
Forbes recently published an infographic that illustrates many of these. This is valuable to point out the uncertainty surrounding new products and services and how a real option portfolio might be an appropriate tool for making investment decisions. Ultimately, the process may look a bit like a venture capital portfolio. Given Google’s successes, we may forget their many ideas that have not worked well in the marketplace. There are a number of other resources here that help to focus on real options as a strategic tool.Contributed by Russ Coff
Contributed by Karl Wennberg
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 transcript of his comments available.Contributed by Russ Coff
Contributed by Rich Makadok
Contributed by Russ Coff
Contributed by Peter Klein
BusinessWeek offers a nice analysis of Starbucks’ decision to lower prices on its premium coffee.
Rita McGrath describes the “hourglass economy” as thick markets for low cost and highly differentiated products. Accordingly, Starbucks is keeping prices high for premium drinks in its stores but dropping the price of coffee by 10% to draw in more price conscious consumers. This strategy leverages Starbucks’ lean supply chain operations that give it a very low cost structure despite offering premium products. Ultimately, this puts higher cost rivals at a disadvantage because Starbucks can offer a better value proposition.
Contributed by Russ Coff
Contributed by Russ Coff
Education Portal has put together a series of videos on Organizational Change that seem like a nice addition especially for online or part time courses. 
Education Portal Academy offers these videos for free. The content is fairly basic but some of it might be very useful to augment other course materials. This could help you cover these topics outside of class if you want to do an experiential exercise in class (see, for example, the org change ruse on this site) or if you want to give students some additional background resources.
Contributed by Russ Coff
Contributed by Russ Coff
Contributed by Russ Coff
Carpenter Strategy Toolbox 