“Casa Franceschi, part of Grupo San José (GSJ), specializes in producing, sourcing, and trading cocoa from Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru. GSJ operates through three business units: cocoa farming, trading fine flavor and conventional cocoa beans, and producing and trading chocolate and related products. Casa Franceschi manages farming and trading cocoa. Founded in 1830 by Vincent Franceschi Vincentelli in Sucre State, Venezuela, Casa Franceschi has a long history of high-quality cocoa production. Descendants Alberto and Carlos Franceschi have managed GSJ since 2010, with Alberto focusing on business growth and investor relations, and Carlos overseeing operations across the three countries. By July 2023, they faced critical decisions to double cocoa sales from $50 million (22 thousand metric tonnes) in 2022 to $100 million by 2025. This growth is tied to their commitment to community improvement. GSJ launched the San José Foundation in 2012 to invest in education and health projects. In 2022, they received B-Corp certification, one of only two in Venezuela. The key questions for the brothers include whether to focus on improving margins in Venezuela, exporting more cocoa from Ecuador, or attracting new investors. They also need to consider the feasibility of pursuing all these strategies simultaneously. Understanding cocoa’s historical and cultural significance in Venezuela is crucial for analyzing the case. Cocoa production faces challenges due to Venezuela’s political and socio-economic changes, global cocoa trade dynamics, and internal crises. The 2023 situation in Venezuela, marked by political polarization, poverty, corruption, economic volatility, and an unfavorable business environment, complicates the decision-making process for achieving the company’s goals. “

“Vicky Smith is the founder and CEO of Earth Changers, a platform that curates trips and connects travelers with real experiences worldwide to offer an alternative to traditional tourism, which could adversely affect the environment and communities. Vicky founded Earth Changers in 2017 to promote sustainable and regenerative tourism globally. The case introduces the profile and purposes of Vicky, a British businesswoman and social entrepreneur with 27 years in the industry and 17 years of experience in sustainable tourism. Earth Changers was at a crossroads after the COVID-19 pandemic halted the global tourism industry in 2020. As of 2022, Vicky has yet to be able to secure funding for her company after six years of operation. She thought that her company was a part of a new industry in which no historical market or financial data existed and stated. She needed clarity on her options since, on July 29th, 2022, she was to meet with two of her mentors to analyze her options and assemble a new business plan and a pitch that would be attractive to potential investors. The case closes with Vicky’s dilemma: How can she raise the necessary capital for a profitable business model without losing her vision of sustainable and regenerative tourism on a larger scale? The case focuses on two core subjects: A businesswoman’s entrepreneurial leadership focused on people and the planet, not just profits, and the process of developing a sustainable tourism platform business model that is neither a travel agent nor a tour operator. The case is based on field research and secondary sources. Case writers had access to case information through interviews and web pages. No disguise has been made of any of the names in the case. Vicky Smith, the case protagonist, has reviewed the case and authorized the authors to make it public and publish it. “

“In the seaside town of La Jolla, a community conflict revolves around a coastal cove known as the Children’s Pool. A colony of seals took up residence in the pool, which previously was enjoyed by children. The feud escalated from public outrage to death threats and arrests. In a narrow sense, Children’s Pool is a binary conflict between those who want the cove to remain a sanctuary for seals and those who do not. In a larger sense, it is a multiparty conflict among numerous stakeholders.
For some, the conflict impacts their livelihoods, property values, and quality of life. Others fight to defend the rights of the wildlife. There are also those looking for a hybrid solution.
A native La Jollan, Jim Thomas, grew increasingly concerned about the ongoing conflict among neighbors. The parties to the conflict attempted to solve it through litigations and other adversarial approaches, but none stuck for long. Jim believed it would prove more productive to initiate a mediation. But in what format? The case guides the students through two parallel mediation simulations, a two-party one and a multiparty one, that explore the pros and cons of each approach helping Jim to make an informed decision. “

“Sophia Green, a former Peace Corps volunteer and USAID program manager, founded the Center for Transnational Justice (CTJ) in 1997. CTJ, a nonprofit funded by individual and corporate donations, focuses on grassroots training and dialogue programs to enhance community resilience against violence. Recognizing criticisms of Western-based organizations for their disconnection from local communities, CTJ made efforts to “”de-colonize”” its work by implementing mentorship programs for grassroots peacebuilders, developing strong peer groups, and involving local mentors. In 2017, these efforts led to the launch of the Serena Initiative (SI), which provides fellowship support to ten promising women each year who demonstrate their ability to mobilize communities for peace. Each fellow participates in a ten-day training seminar at CTJ’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. After the seminar, fellows develop a program to be implemented over the following year, with ongoing guidance from CTJ mentors. SI fellows join a database, creating a community of practice for SI alumni. The SI aims to enhance fellows’ skills, support impactful projects during their initial phases, and establish a resilient network of women engaged in grassroots work, fostering peer-to-peer support. The COVID-19 pandemic forced CTJ to suspend the SI fellowship program. In early 2022, Green sought to revive the program with a redesigned structure to better align with its goals. She envisioned incorporating greater inclusivity, minimizing environmental impact, and handling the ongoing health emergency presented by COVID-19. Green considered how to achieve SI’s objectives post-pandemic and whether to maintain a similar format or restructure the program. She enlisted a team to prepare a report on updates. Students assume the role of team members responsible for evaluating CTJ and SI and preparing a report to update SI. This fictional case highlights issues regarding pedagogy and learning in programs aimed at supporti.”

This case is based on real negotiation dilemmas posed by a crisis generated when a peace agreement signed between the Colombian government and the guerrilla group FARC-EP was outvoted in a national plebiscite, causing the necessity of the renegotiation of the peace accord in order to gain public legitimacy. Both parties need to revise the agreement and adjust it in a short period of time in which the ceasefire is in place. Negotiators are pressured to maintain the spirit of the original accord, avoid conflict relapse, while making adjustments to respond to the population’s concerns and attain legitimate approval of Parliament.

“Andrés Perez had one month leading up to March 30, 2022, to present the available alternatives and his recommendation to the family council, which would determine the future of Arqustik Vitruvio S.A.S. The company in Palmira, Colombia, specializes in producing PVC doors and windows and has been grappling with a severe financial crisis over the past four years. This crisis was primarily attributed to inadequate management under the previous administration, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the social unrest experienced in Colombia in April 2021. Andrés found himself at a crossroads, faced with the crucial decision of recommending the most favorable course of action to his family. The available options were to either retain ownership of the company by restructuring the debt and introducing new product lines, sell it to a construction company that had presented a concrete offer, or consider the proposition of an external partner specialized in door and window manufacturing, who had expressed interest in buying 40% of shares. His recommendation needed to balance the economic and non-economic interests of his family. “

“In the design of the gender and personal finance research project, savings was quickly put upfront as a variable to be studied. In the middle of defining several hypotheses within a robust research framework, we decided to first examine whether there is a difference in savings between men and women in Colombia. We set up the question and proceeded to answer it using analysis of variance and simple linear regression. Furthermore, the link between both methodologies is easily shown in applied research and reminded us of implementing simple, yet robust, methods in the exploratory stages of a research project. Unfeasible observations in the data suggested examining the question after trimming extreme values. The preliminary results rendered contradictory outcomes between savings and savings in terms of income; after trimming, a consistent answer emerged. The process led to a thorough understanding of both methodologies, a proper definition of the dependent variable, and dealing with extreme observations in the preliminary stage of academic research. “

The Morales couple, Carlos and María, and Andrés Córdoba, shareholders of the twenty-year old Colombian mining company Carbostar, wanted to step down from the day-to-day management of the company in March 2018. To do so, they considered three options: selling the entire Company to Carbones de Panamá; partnering with Carbones Julius, which was willing to buy 45% of the shares as long as the founders participated in an aggressive expansion plan by increasing debt; or selling 60% of the shares to Maklan, a coal producer and supplier of heavy machinery in the industry, which could accept a generous dividend policy given its financial muscle.As the majority shareholder (with 75% of the shares), Carlos Morales was not convinced about allowing third parties to manage the company he had founded. He secretly longed for one of his children to take over the company in the future. His wife María (Andrés’ sister) held 12.5% of the shares. Her interests lay in receiving an income from the business and she had no preconceived ideas on whether it was convenient to open up to third parties. Andrés Córdoba held the remai ning 12.5% of the shares. He was interested in creating a family office with the resources from the total or partial sale of Carbostar. As the financial expert of the group, he was responsible for advising his partners on their course of action. Andrés’ challenge, which will be the task for students, is to find the option that best balances the disparate interests of his partners.

In March 2013, Alberto Silva, president of the newly appointed Board of Directors of Fabricato, one of Colombia’s oldest textile companies, met with representatives of the main shareholder groups in order to gauge their willingness to approve profound changes within the corporation and even inject new money, if necessary. The company was suffering from a major crisis caused by a stock market bubble generated around its share price, which resulted in the suspension of its stock market listing, the disqualification of a major group of shareholders, and the bankruptcy of Interbolsa, the brokerage company that financed the bubble.With great effort, Silva was successful in obtaining, from the representatives of the main groups of shareholders, the commitment that they would vote in the Board of Directors in favor of hiring a new Executive President for the company, only if he were able to identify the path to follow: liquidate the company, restructure it with or without an injection of new money, or split it in two, one to keep the manufacturing assets and the other to develop the real estate business. The student’s role is to assume Silva’s task and define the course of action to follow, making use of specific financial information about the company, an Excel simulation sheet of its share price and indicators, its history, the challenges of the industry, and the environment in Colombia for March 2013.

Although Tuplastibog is a fictitious name, it is based on a real company that was created in 2014 by Juan Carlos Ordoñez, using financing from his family’s business Agropecuaria de Occidente. Tuplastibog is losing money and faces going into liquidation unless urgent corrective measures are taken.Juan Carlos needs to convince his father (Agropecuaria de Occidente’s controlling shareholder) to support his business, but first he needs to ensure that his projections are correct and that the accounting measures he plans to implement make sense and will help his company stay afloat in coming years. To help students develop the case, an Excel spreadsheet is attached (Student_Excel.xlsx) A teacher version is also attached (Teacher_Excel.xlsx) to help understand the impact of the adjustments and financial statement projections.

This case is a roleplay simulation of the negotiations between the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC-EP, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (henceforth FARC), leading up to and after the peace agreement of 2016. The peace agreement put an end to an armed conflict that lasted for more than 50 years and cost more than 200,000 lives.The negotiations cover six Negotiation Topics: i. laying down arms & safety guarantees; ii. social integration of FARC; iii. justice & trial of war crimes; iv. political participation of FARC; v. rural reform; and vi. drug production. Students assume the roles of six participants in the negotiation, forming two delegations. One represents the Colombian Government and the other represents FARC.