The BreadTalk Group was a leading Singapore-based bakery and restaurant chain, consisting of eight different brands that were sold across 15 countries in Asia. In a span of 12 years, it had become a premier lifestyle bakery brand in Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East, as well as a cherished household name in its native Singapore. BreadTalk prided itself on having a culture of "creative differentiation". The company strived to stay "fresh" by continuously changing and adapting to consumer demand; and "relevant" by offering localised and customised products to its customers. Although the company could boast of many past successes, there were new challenges ahead. With the number of new players growing rapidly, the marketplace was becoming increasingly competitive. New markets offered both opportunities and challenges. And customers had come to expect a constant stream of innovative products from the bakery chain. As BreadTalk enters its mature stage of growth and comes head on with the challenges of international expansion, is its business model equipped to identify and address the risks associated with global brand management? Is the brand positioned well to seize future opportunity? Should it focus on its core competency and brand, or should it be looking to develop and aggressively promote other brands?
Acxiom built the market for personal data, yet sales have been flat for a decade during which marketing's appetite for data has exploded. Will the acquisition of a digital data onboarder, LiveRamp, give marketers what they want from a data broker?
Founded in 1999 in the Boston area, Sentient Jet had become a leading private aviation company in the United States. Its success was built on the introduction of a groundbreaking membership program that offered business travelers the flexibility and convenience of flying on private aircraft for their personal and business needs at an outstanding and unparalleled value. Sentient functioned differently and more efficiently than traditional charter companies; it used an open fleet model, renting jets from a pool of certified charter companies. Thanks to its innovative business model and proprietary technology platform, the firm was providing its clients with all the benefits of owning a fleet of aircraft with none of the associated costs and commitments. Its fares were typically 20% to 30% lower than those of its competitors. In a nutshell, Sentient Jet had invented the Uber of private jets before Uber even existed. With over 15 years of experience, the company was serving more than 5,000 cardholders, and Andrew Collins, president of Sentient Jet, was considering various strategies to double the company's size in the next few years.
The chief executive officer of South Africa’s Nedbank Ltd. contemplated the dilemma of growing the bank in a mature, competitive market within his own country, as well as successfully expanding outside of South Africa’s border. Nedbank’s extensive investment in Ecobank, with its pan-African presence, was a risk, and required improvement of the capabilities of the leaders to execute Nedbank’s strategy. To achieve this, Nedbank focused on building an internal capacity through coaching and mentoring programs for its leaders, in addition to other initiatives to enable employees to execute the bank’s strategy. The chief executive officer was proud of his own innovative idea for a new product, and hoped he was setting an example for other leaders. He was equally proud that Nedbank was a values-oriented business that believed in using its influence to positively impact its community and environment. In 2014, despite positive advancements, the economic situation was grim and the chronic lack of skilled workers was a detriment to the country, and to Nedbank in particular. Could Nedbank rapidly increase its capabilities in time to meet the immediate challenges it faced as it expanded into locales where the stakes, and the risks, were higher?
In 2012, All Nippon Airways diversified into Japan’s emerging low-cost carrier market by launching two new low-cost carriers: Peach Aviation and AirAsia Japan. After one year, Peach Aviation experienced financial losses and operations failures; after two years, the company announced cancellation of many flights. The second carrier, AirAsia Japan, ended its operations in 2013, and was later restructured as Vanilla Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of All Nippon Airways. Why was a highly successful flag and legacy carrier unable to successfully run a low-cost carrier in Japan?
Having previously raised pigs on his farm with unsuccessful results, a Canadian farmer has always dreamed of reintroducing pigs to his cash crop farm. The decision is particularly difficult, as he must consider not only the financial viability of his options, but also the environmental costs, benefits, and the welfare of the animals and workers — collectively referred to as the Four Ps (profits, planet, people, and pigs). Although the market for organic meat remains comparatively limited, it is a growing segment, and one that the farmer wants to tap into to maximize a first-mover advantage. However, the transition poses many risks as well. Will he be able to achieve his dream of re-introducing pigs to his family farm? Or will the attempt to transition to organic pork bury his currently profitable cash crop business?
Anyone looking at stock charts these days has good reason to feel like cutting their losses. Despite the partial recovery after the Global Financial Crisis, sovereign and consumer debt levels have only increased while commodity prices have plummeted along with China’s economic growth levels, so thinking about rebalancing investment portfolios is clearly a good idea. When thinking about rebalancing investments, it is unwise to let stock charts alone convince you to sell or buy. Stock charts are widely used to help professional and retail investors make decisions regarding when to buy or sell equities. But research shows that stock charts display information in a way that leads to irrational decision making. The problem with using stock graphs to decide whether or not it is time to sell a company’s shares has to do with the importance that people place on observations. Simply put, the most recent past is frequently seen as more diagnostic than the distant past and so lines on a graph can be misleading. Furthermore, research has found that feeling isolated or ostracized causes consumers to pursue riskier financial opportunities.
Having previously raised pigs on his farm with unsuccessful results, a Canadian farmer has always dreamed of reintroducing pigs to his cash crop farm. The decision is particularly difficult, as he must consider not only the financial viability of his options, but also the environmental costs, benefits, and the welfare of the animals and workers - collectively referred to as the "Four Ps" (profits, planet, people, and pigs). Although the market for organic meat remains comparatively limited, it is a growing segment, and one that the farmer wants to tap into to maximize a first-mover advantage. However, the transition poses many risks as well. Will he be able to achieve his dream of re-introducing pigs to his family farm? Or will the attempt to transition to organic pork bury his currently profitable cash crop business?
The chief executive officer of South Africa's Nedbank Ltd. contemplated the dilemma of growing the bank in a mature, competitive market within his own country, and succeeding at expanding outside South Africa's border. Nedbank's extensive investment in Ecobank, with its pan-African presence, was a risk, and required improvement of the capabilities of the leaders to execute Nedbank's strategy. To achieve this, Nedbank focused on building an internal capacity through coaching and mentoring programs for its leaders, in addition to other initiatives to enable employees to execute the bank's strategy. The chief executive officer was proud of his own innovative idea for a new product, and hoped he was setting an example for other leaders. He was equally proud that Nedbank was a values-oriented business that believed in using its influence to positively impact its community and environment. In 2014, despite positive advancements, the economic situation was grim and the chronic lack of skilled workers was a detriment to the country, and to Nedbank in particular. Could Nedbank rapidly increase its capabilities in time to meet the immediate challenges it faced as it expanded into locales where the stakes, and the risks, were higher?
In 2012, All Nippon Airways diversified into Japan's emerging low-cost carrier market by launching two new low-cost carriers: Peach Aviation and AirAsia Japan. After one year, Peach Aviation experienced financial losses and operations failures; after two years, the company announced cancellation of many flights. The second carrier, AirAsia Japan, ended its operations in 2013, and was later restructured as Vanilla Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of All Nippon Airways. Why was a highly successful flag and legacy carrier unable to successfully run a low-cost carrier in Japan?
In response to the education crisis in South Africa, two young MBA graduates start SPARK Schools, a network of low-fee, private primary schools; however, teacher candidates often lack the skills, knowledge and attitudes required in this innovative schooling system. SPARK Schools has implemented a range of human resource practices that show how an integrated, intensive, systemic approach to human resource policies and practices can help to optimize teachers' performance. The two leaders wonder whether their human resource practices are suitable for scaling up their social entrepreneurship organization from four schools to 60 in their effort to make a positive national impact on education.
In December 2014, the chairman of Agarwal Packers and Movers Limited (APML) prepared for a meeting with his senior management team. APML was a family-managed business and the largest branded player in the fragmented and largely unorganized house-movers segment of the Indian logistics industry. The company was taking advantage of the Indian economy's growth, government infrastructure spending, and goods and services tax changes that would bring beneficial changes to the industry. While the company had achieved sales of US$62.6 million in 2013/14 and had been lauded for its safety practices and achievements, the industry had low barriers to entry. APML was faced with several large, and numerous small, moving companies that were fighting for business. Moreover, many small companies fraudulently co-opted the company's name to steal customers. APML's chief financial officer had put forth a proposal to increase prices for inter-city relocations. The chairman had to consider the proper price strategy to employ, because any price increase could cost the company customers.
In 2014, FotoNation, an international venture previously located in Ireland, produced innovative solutions for digital photography from its headquarters in California. At the core of FotoNation's technology were its proprietary algorithms, which were embedded in software and used in over 2 billion digital devices such as the cameras in smartphones. The company placed an emphasis on research, and it had its research and development units in Romania, Ireland, and the Western United States. However, after being acquired by Tessera Technologies in 2008, FotoNation had to relocate its top management team from Ireland to the headquarters of Tessera Technologies in the United States. FotoNation's management had some difficult decisions to make in light of the acquisition. How would a research-based product fit into the grand scheme of Tessera Technologies? How would FotoNation compete with larger industrial players, while coping with the relocation of its top-tier staff?
In response to the education crisis in South Africa, two young MBA graduates start SPARK Schools, a network of low-fee, private primary schools; however, teacher candidates often lack the skills, knowledge and attitudes required in this innovative schooling system. SPARK Schools has implemented a range of human resource practices that show how an integrated, intensive, systemic approach to human resource policies and practices can help to optimize teachers’ performance. The two leaders wonder whether their human resource practices are suitable for scaling up their social entrepreneurship organization from four schools to 60 in their effort to make a positive national impact on education.
In December 2014, the chairman of Agarwal Packers and Movers Limited (APML) prepared for a meeting with his senior management team. APML was a family-managed business and the largest branded player in the fragmented and largely unorganized house-movers segment of the Indian logistics industry. The company was taking advantage of the Indian economy’s growth, government infrastructure spending, and goods and services tax changes that would bring beneficial changes to the industry. While the company had achieved sales of US$62.6 million in 2013/14 and had been lauded for its safety practices and achievements, the industry had low barriers to entry. APML was faced with several large, and numerous small, moving companies that were fighting for business. Moreover, many small companies fraudulently co-opted the company’s name to steal customers. APML’s chief financial officer had put forth a proposal to increase prices for inter-city relocations. The chairman had to consider the proper price strategy to employ, because any price increase could cost the company customers.
In 2015, Downingtown Area School District (DASD), a suburban school district near Philadelphia, entered its second year implementing Ivy Academy, a blended learning program in its two traditional high schools. Superintendent Larry Mussoline, having for several years worked to incorporate technology into student learning hoped that Ivy Academy would deepen student learning, provide more rigorous courses, introduce more scheduling flexibility, and change the culture among teachers in his district. In Ivy Academy, classes meet two out of every six days in-person, and students are expected to work asynchronously online during the other days. In the first year, 341 students (out of 3,800 eligible) and 19 teachers (out of 240 eligible) participated in Ivy Academy; in the second year, the program grew. However, final exam results for students participating in the Ivy Academy are mixed, and certain staff and parents remain skeptical of its effectiveness. This case explores whether DASD is ready to scale Ivy Academy and make it the primary way in which students learn.