Large language models (LLMs) can generate convincingly human-sounding responses to queries. This ability can lead users to mistakenly attribute certain human capabilities to these artificial intelligence algorithms, namely reasoning, knowledge, understanding, and execution. Understanding how LLMs work and what their limitations are can help users identify where generative AI technology is best applied and where its outputs might be unreliable.
In May 2022, Praneet Agarwal, Shashank Patidar and Shaurya Joshi-founders of WeSkill, a live, online "extracurricular" learning platform for children below the age of 14 years-were contemplating ways to sustain their business going forward. The venture, which had been launched in September 2020 when the entire world was fighting COVID-19, had traversed multiple twists and turns. The team had worked hard and enjoyed some success during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic waned, challenges began to mount. The case documents multiple issues that arise when creating a platform start-up and sustaining it over a long period. It also examines why start-ups that experience initial success may not sustain operations as time progresses.
Established in 2003 with 120 volunteers, Food from the Heart (FFTH) is a Singapore-based charity organisation founded to alleviate hunger by providing reliable, consistent, and sustainable food support to the less fortunate through food distribution programmes. FFTH's digital transformation journey began in the middle of 2018 and it went through an overhaul in 2019. Among several digitalisation projects rolling out in early 2020, one was about distributing beneficiary cards with a Quick Response (QR) code to its beneficiaries. Having no direct access to beneficiaries and needing to rely on its community partners, the beneficiary card could be a game-changer for FFTH, yet implementing these cards through its community partners would be a challenge. The case requires students to analyse the managerial capabilities of a charity organisation and discuss how change management and change leadership could digitally transform an organisation. At the end of the discussion, students will recommend a stakeholder management strategy for FFTH to continue its digitalisation initiatives with its community partners.
This case provides a chronological view of Bud Light's sponsorship of Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, and the resulting impact. It helps students and executives consider both the decision-making process when working with influencers and other promotional partners and the steps that can be taken to minimize (and even prevent) the damage that can occur when a brand and business crisis results from a partnership. Students can explore the challenges associated with (1) identifying celebrities/influencers who align with a brand/consumer base/business and (2) managing reputational damage and crisis after it has occurred. The case offers opportunities for a deep dive into strategic partnerships, corporate response to crises, and marketing's role in preventing or minimizing negative consumer behavior. This case is well suited for undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA (EMBA), and executive education programs. For undergraduate students, it can be placed in a course on brand management, crisis management, brand activism, promotions, marketing strategy, management/leadership communication, or management strategy. For MBA and EMBA students, it can be placed in a first-year core marketing course or an elective on crisis management, management communication, management strategy, or brand management. At Darden, this case is used alongside two others: "Mickey Mouse Takes a Stand: Does Sociopolitical Activism Change the Disney Story?" (UVA-M-1031), and "Coke Puts Its Brand between a Rock and a Hard Place: Aligning Activism with Brand Purpose" (UVA-M-1019).
FULPMES, AUSTRIA, AUGUST 2021. Sergey Ignatyev, the founder and CEO of Bobsla, had arrived in Austria in 2019 from his native Saint Petersburg, attracted to the country by Startup Tirol, a foundation dedicated to bringing top technology startups to Austria. His revolutionary electric vehicle, a hybrid between a snowmobile and a sled on tracks, had already won multiple prestigious technology and innovation awards and was the talk of the town on European slopes. The list of possible uses was growing every day. At the same time, the quest for investors had proved more arduous than expected. The question now was whether he could salvage his startup and finally turn it into the "Tesla on Snow." Prototypes were making the rounds between exhibitions and technology fairs already, attracting attention and supportive editorials. The thrill of riding an electric snowmobile at 30 km/h sitting only millimeters above the snow was an incomparable and addictive experience. The hard part now was to define a proper business model (Selling hardware? Organizing events? Licensing the patented technology? B2B or B2C? Austria, US or Canada?) and developing a robust business plan to take the Bobsla to the world's snowy slopes. Every dimension of the plan needed to be internally consistent and sustainable to make the Bobsla the "Tesla on Snow," the ideal replacement for the snowmobiles craved by nature lovers around the world but which were actually environmental disasters: noisy, polluting and gas guzzling.
This case explores the downfall of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), illustrating the critical role of operational due diligence (ODD). Established in 2012 by Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, 3AC's swift shift from forex to cryptocurrencies led to rapid success, marked by opulence and influence. However, in 2022, the fund collapsed due to mishandling, governance failures, and compliance missteps. Students assume the role of Vera-Maria, head of ODD at a fund of funds (FoF), tasked with investigating the 3AC collapse. The FoF, contemplating investments in crypto hedge funds, is wary of digital asset risks post-3AC's collapse. Vera-Maria aims to extract lessons and craft an ODD framework to mitigate risks in future digital asset investments. The case delves into the 3AC collapse's causes, offering students insights into institutional best practices. It equips them to navigate the digital asset space, and identify and mitigate counterparty risks, fostering a comprehensive understanding of ODD in the context of crypto hedge funds
The neurodivergent population faces high unemployment in a tight labor market that could benefit from their talents. Companies should look to community colleges as a valuable source of job candidates from this largely untapped population. Businesses might find that neurodivergent candidates possess skills that are poised to become even more important in the age of artificial intelligence, such as creativity and innovative thinking.
Since 1834, eight generations of the Ayala family have used their conglomerate to fund nation-building projects in the Philippines, including investments in tramcars, telecommunications, hospitals, and schools. In 1997, Ayala's subsidiary, Manila Water, took control of the failing water distribution system in Metro Manila's east zone, vowing to rebuild the infrastructure and bring cleaner, safer, and more widespread water to the area. Manila Water largely succeeded in this mission in its early years, but, as time went on and the climate grew more unpredictable, it became increasingly difficult to source water for the growing population. By 2019, Manila Water became unable to bring its customers a consistent supply of water, prompting both public and political outrage directed at the firm and the Ayala family. With their legacy at risk and the problem of water scarcity enduring, how should Manila Water and Ayala move forward?
Since 1834, eight generations of the Ayala family have used their conglomerate to fund nation-building projects in the Philippines, including investments in tramcars, telecommunications, hospitals, and schools. In 1997, Ayala's subsidiary, Manila Water, took control of the failing water distribution system in Metro Manila's east zone, vowing to rebuild the infrastructure and bring cleaner, safer, and more widespread water to the area. Manila Water largely succeeded in this mission in its early years, but, as time went on and the climate grew more unpredictable, it became increasingly difficult to source water for the growing population. By 2019, Manila Water became unable to bring its customers a consistent supply of water, prompting both public and political outrage directed at the firm and the Ayala family. With their legacy at risk and the problem of water scarcity enduring, how should Manila Water and Ayala move forward?
By 2023, the global market for cloud infrastructure had consolidated into a three-horse race. As of Q4 2022, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google collectively accounted for 66% of the global market. AWS had a market share of 33%, Microsoft Azure had 23%, and Google Cloud had 11%. The global market for cloud services, valued at over $550 billion in 2023, was projected to grow at an annual rate of 15-20%, reaching over 2 billion by 2030. Though the growing demand for cloud services was a reassuring tailwind for Microsoft, the emergence of multicloud approaches in enterprise, the relentless price-pressure from competitors, and the threat of further commodification presented a wholly new set of challenges for Microsoft Azure. As the opportunities and threats of the multicloud future became clearer, Microsoft needed a multicloud strategy.
Set in early 2023, the case exposes students to the challenges of managing open source software at Google. The case focuses on the challenges for Alex Spinelli, Vice President of Product Management for Core Machine Learning. He must set priorities for Google's efforts in open source communities. An important priority is the TensorFlow framework. Released by Google in 2014, it supports many advances in modern artificial intelligence and continues supporting it. Spinelli must also manage open source activities in additional areas, such as the Android operating system for mobile handsets and cloud computing. The choices and strategies have consequences for Google's position as a technological leader among programmers who use and write code and for the safety and transparency of the code Google uses and supports. The case frames questions about what, if anything, Google should change with the explosion of interest in generative AI.
Bjorn Tore Larsen, Norse Atlantic Airways' founder and CEO, hadn't planned to get into the airline business. But when the COVID-19 pandemic depressed the global demand for air travel and the lease rates for jetliners, he realized if ever he was going to get into the airline business, this was the time. With below-market lease rates on 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Norse launched a new long-haul low-cost carrier targeting heavily traveled intercontinental markets. Norse's business model started by offering consumers low-cost seats on routes like London - New York. This meant limiting their network to routes that already had well-developed traffic that afforded an opportunity for market segmentation. The company also put a strong focus on ancillary revenue as a key element of its business model. Many other companies had tried and failed to make the long-haul low-cost business model work on the North Atlantic. During the tourism-driven summer months, it was easy to fill the planes and make money. The question was, could they make it through the off-season? Larson was focused on maintaining operational simplicity and a low-cost structure, but he admitted that the model had yet to be proven, and the history of those who had tried before him was not great.
At many companies, gaps in organizational structure get in the way of data science success. A new type of role, connectors, can bridge those gaps to help line-of-business and data science professionals work together better and deploy more projects. This article examines examples of organizations that created connector roles and explores the management challenges for this valuable group of professionals.
The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had invited proposals for developing an Information Technology (IT) Park near the township of Panchkula in northern India. Sreeni Iyer, a partner at AMII Advisors, was considering a bid for this project in partnership with LIRA Developers, a public company. The fact that the Haryana state government had initiated this project suggested that regulatory approvals would not be a hurdle. However, the exit price and exit options needed to be carefully assessed by Iyer and his team.
The case describes how the Greek oil-spill specialist Polygreen diversified into municipal waste management and turned the Aegean paradise of Tilos into the world's first zero-waste island. Focusing on the company's charismatic CEO, Athanasios Polychronopoulos, the case follows the implementation of a business model based on the principles of the circular economy. The project progresses from the selection of the location to negotiating a "free" contract with the municipality, to rebuilding a whole new team and raising awareness in a community where sorting and recycling are not the norm. A few months later, the operation has to scale up massively for the summer season to cope with thousands of tourists. The results of this apparently successful experiment enable Polygreen to bid for similar business in new municipalities and markets in the Middle East, where it can apply the learning from Tilos.
This two-part case examines the major challenges faced by Simplyk, a start-up with a social mission related to volunteering and the non-profit ecosystem. Part A provides an overview of the context in which this social innovation was created, describing the business model and methodology developed by the organization to facilitate volunteering. Part B describes the transformation of Simplyk's business model into an innovative fundraising platform and some of the difficulties encountered.
This two-part case examines the major challenges faced by Simplyk, a start-up with a social mission related to volunteering and the non-profit ecosystem. Part A provides an overview of the context in which this social innovation was created, describing the business model and methodology developed by the organization to facilitate volunteering. Part B describes the transformation of Simplyk's business model into an innovative fundraising platform and some of the difficulties encountered.
Pierre Honnorat, chief manager of the United Nations Response Depot (UNHRD), was faced with a daunting challenge. He and his team had to develop a strategy that would improve the efficacy and reduce the cost of offering logistics services. UNHRD's storage infrastructure enabled its partners to store relief supplies and equipment in strategic locations to ensure a rapid response during crises. In the humanitarian sector, this storage strategy - stockpiling in anticipation of sudden need - is known as pre-positioning. Since UNHRD offered some logistics services such as free storage, it relied on funding to cover some of its operational costs. But over the past decade, humanitarian needs had skyrocketed, while available resources had not. Honnorat and his team had decided to address this problem by analyzing two options for optimizing UNHRD's supply chain: 1) cut costs by changing the service offer while retaining the existing network, and 2) add a regional storage level to the existing network in Kampala to serve East Africa.