This case is set in January 2015 and follows Future for Children (FFC), a poverty eradication charity initiated by Swiss banker, Daniel Elber, in Muntigunung, Bali (Indonesia). FFC began by piloting a phased development programme in one village by establishing local social enterprises that address key development hurdles and improve livelihood outcomes. Following the success of the pilot programme, the initiative is now ready to be replicated and rolled out to other villages in Muntigunung. However, some key challenges need to be addressed. For example, management of the social enterprises needs to be handed over to the local community. In addition, more funds are needed to replicate and scale up; and a sense of community ownership of the programme needs to take hold. In addition, the business model of FFC needed to be reviewed for its efficacy in achieving the mission's goal.
In June 2015 William A. Ackman, the CEO and Founder of New York Hedge Fund Pershing Square Capital, reflects on the success of the fund he has spent over a decade building. Since its inception in 2004, Pershing Square's assets under management had grown from $500 million to well over $18 billion. Ackman is now considering a sizable new portfolio position and must decide how he should raise capital to undertake this new investment. This choice is affected by the recent launch of his new, $6 billion closed-end vehicle, Pershing Square Holdings, as well as the firm's lengthening investment horizon. Although always activist in nature, Ackman and his fund had in recent years become substantively involved in the management of portfolio companies, often working to drive shareholder value by improving operating performance.
On January 18, 2015, the New England Patriots faced the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game. In the second quarter, a Colts player intercepted a pass from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Colts equipment personnel alerted NFL officials that the ball's air pressure was below the required 12.5 PSI (pounds per square inch). Some argued that lower PSI provided a competitive advantage as it made the ball easier to grip and harder to fumble. At halftime, game officials found the air pressure in 11 of the 12 Patriots game balls to be under 12.5 PSI. The NFL launched an investigation into what became known in the media as "Deflategate," and commissioned attorney Ted Wells to investigate whether or not the balls had been intentionally deflated. Wells' team, with expert consultants, examined air pressure data recorded by referees, the temperature on game day, the behavior of Patriots players, and other evidence. Did the Deflategate investigation reveal any actual evidence of cheating? Were there flaws in Wells' investigation?
As the ride-sharing app, Uber, expands into China, it is confronted by government regulatory concerns and local competition, while also facing opportunities generated by a fast-growing emerging market and aided by local collaborators. Uber endeavours to take the lead in the market, but, as the newcomer, it needs to make many decisions. The case study highlights China’s online chauffeuring market and the challenges facing Uber. As students attempt to develop a feasible plan for Uber to succeed, they will review Uber’s service offering and the strategies that both Uber and its competitors have adopted. The case also explores other opportunities and challenges that Uber faces as the company works with local businesses and government responses toward the new business sector.
As the ride-sharing app, Uber, expands into China, it is confronted by government regulatory concerns and local competition, while also facing opportunities generated by a fast-growing emerging market and aided by local collaborators. Uber endeavours to take the lead in the market, but, as the newcomer, it needs to make many decisions. The case study highlights China's online chauffeuring market and the challenges facing Uber. As students attempt to develop a feasible plan for Uber to succeed, they will review Uber's service offering and the strategies that both Uber and its competitors have adopted. The case also explores other opportunities and challenges that Uber faces as the company works with local businesses and government responses toward the new business sector.
With the encouragement of its overseas parent company, Cochran Consumer Products Inc. (CCPI), the U.S.-based executive team at S. J. Lawson, Inc. (SJLI), was nearly ready to announce the new financial performance measurement focus and economic profit (EP) for the company's product category managers. Currently, the SJLI executive team was finalizing plans for its initial announcement to the subsidiary's five product category managers. The team had received some general guidance from headquarters but it had also been told that because it knew the category managers best, it should develop its own local strategy for introducing the initiative.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania were interested in whether exposure to light early in life might affect eye growth and lead to an increased risk of myopia (nearsightedness). Eyes grew rapidly after birth, but myopia usually did not develop until later in life and arose from excessive postnatal eye growth. They knew that the duration of daily light had been shown to increase eye growth in chicks and wondered whether the same might be true for humans. The results startled researchers and might explain the increase in myopia rates over the last two centuries. The B case gives the results of a follow-on study conducted by the Ohio State University.
The 14 short vignettes presented in this exercise cover both religion and spirituality issues and are designed to facilitate a discussion on the place of religion in the workplace. They include a variety of religious beliefs, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. The instructor can use all 14 vignettes during one class session or choose to devote a separate class to each.
This case study depicts the cooperation process undertaken by several companies in Venezuela's rum industry to add value to their products through securing the protected designation of origin (Ron de Venezuela). The case describes basic dilemmas that companies face when they need to implement cooperative strategies to develop competitive advantages in the global market, even when benefits and costs obtained from such cooperation are not equally distributed. It also describes the role played by the Chamber of Venezuela's Alcoholic Products Industry (CIVEA, for its Spanish acronym) in coordinating companies in their effort to obtain the Ron de Venezuela protected designation of origin in a hostile political and regulatory environment.
Agarwal Packers and Movers Limited is an example of a business that delivers superior customer service with continuous logistics design innovation. The case provides details of a leading logistics and solution provider for household goods relocation who in past was facing problems due to increase in number of customer complaints and claims and also increase in packaging costs. APML believed that mistakes could be avoided and defects could be prevented. Solutions were offered by modifying the processes through innovation in its services resulting in customers' delight. As a result of continuously improving capabilities, people, processes, and technology; the services improved too. The case gives an insight on how the company improved its services by innovating and how these innovations were sustained by such a large organization with many branches throughout India.
At the end of 2013, Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH, the second-biggest German department store chain and one of the most traditional and well-known companies in Germany, was in a highly challenging strategic position. Following recent mismanagement, it had narrowly escaped insolvency. By the end of 2013, however, Karstadt was still struggling against competition in the retail sector. Could the newly appointed chief executive officer come up with a business model and strategic direction that would ensure the company's continued existence and sustainable profits in the near future? Challenges that she had to address included increasing competition (e.g. from online shops), low liquidity, delays in necessary investments, and rising concerns about job security among employees. What strategic options were best for turning around the performance of the iconic 130-year-old department store chain?
At the end of 2013, Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH, the second-biggest German department store chain and one of the most traditional and well-known companies in Germany, was in a highly challenging strategic position. Following recent mismanagement, it had narrowly escaped insolvency. By the end of 2013, however, Karstadt was still struggling against competition in the retail sector. Could the newly appointed chief executive officer come up with a business model and strategic direction that would ensure the company’s continued existence and sustainable profits in the near future? Challenges that she had to address included increasing competition (e.g. from online shops), low liquidity, delays in necessary investments, and rising concerns about job security among employees. What strategic options were best for turning around the performance of the iconic 130-year-old department store chain?
Being a business executive is about leading, competing and winning — which is why sports stories can be valuable reference points for decision making and motivating. Take, for example, the National Football League’s Super Bowl XLIX, which was lost due to a terrible judgement call by the Seattle Seahawks coaches that provides a vivid illustration of something that is critical to business success — the willingness of leaders to listen, and the willingness of staff to speak up when they disagree with the boss. History is full of mistakes caused by leaders who set courses of action that went unchallenged even when everyone else saw them as folly. Leaders should ask for feedback before taking courses of action, because it is easier for staff to be critical of a position the leader has not yet taken. The viewpoints of staff should be carefully listened to, and private conversations should be initiated with those staff members who do not speak up. Staff can be heard more effectively if they are prepared and well-informed, because nothing makes a leader stop listening faster than half-baked criticism.
The Glasgow-based charity, Impact Arts, was looking for alternative funding streams for its Young Gallery project. As a result, it undertook its first crowdfunding campaign on the Indiegogo platform. The project did not achieve its stated target of £15,000 in the six week campaign period. Instead, only £4,715 (31 per cent of the total) was raised. While the charity did not achieve its goal, the campaign left the chief executive officer and her team feeling motivated and enthusiastic about crowdfunding as a possible complementary revenue source. However, they recognized that they needed to learn from this experience in order to make future campaigns more effective with respect to pitch (the proposition made to would-be donors) and its delivery.
Berendsen Island, an outsourced workwear service, uses the standard costing model to determine its profitability. Because the company recently reported a loss, the plant manager and the business controller investigate time-driven activity-based costing in an effort to gain insights into its cost structures. The company also needs to provide a quote to two potential new customers.
The Glasgow-based charity, Impact Arts, was looking for alternative funding streams for its Young Gallery project. As a result, it undertook its first crowdfunding campaign on the Indiegogo platform. The project did not achieve its stated target of £15,000 in the six week campaign period. Instead, only £4,715 (31 per cent of the total) was raised. While the charity did not achieve its goal, the campaign left the chief executive officer and her team feeling motivated and enthusiastic about crowdfunding as a possible complementary revenue source. However, they recognized that they needed to learn from this experience in order to make future campaigns more effective with respect to pitch (the proposition made to would-be donors) and its delivery.