Two employees at 8SK Consulting, a major firm with 800 staff in five divisions, need to find a way to manage their leader effectively. A junior hire who is ready to take on more responsibility in order to advance her career is frustrated - although her leader has previously played an important role as her mentor and guide in the company, he now seems to be in the way of her promotion to more important positions. A senior quality specialist wants to refuse an offered team leader role, because of family concerns, but is worried how that may disappoint her boss and how it might affect not only hers but his career. How can these employees effectively and proactively manage a leader in order to reach personal and career goals?
American Electric Power, like most utilities in the USA, is currently exposed to distributed generation and the problem of net-metering. Solar installations in particular have been heavily subsidized, by the state and by regulation, which does not allow grid operators to to recover their fixed costs. This results in stranded assets and cross-subsidies from poor to rich.
This 2015 case is about the internal organizational transformation of the Hewlett Packard (HP) Enterprise Group (EG), which brought in $28 billion in annual revenue and had 50,000 employees. "EG Ignite," led by a small team of 10 people who reported directly to the head of EG, was designed to be the catalyst for the transformation and provide both a framework and problem-solving support for the most critical transformation initiatives. These included: 1) accelerating growth, 2) simplifying company processes, 3) becoming more customer-centric, 4) driving down costs, and 5) driving go-to-market changes. EG's leadership was especially focused on transforming the front line sales force. The EG Ignite team served as the interlock point between functions, business units, and regions, and it helped with the execution of the initiatives. At the same time EG Ignite was in full swing (18 months in), Hewlett Packard was in the process of splitting the $111 billion, 75-year-old company into two independent, publicly traded companies: HPI (Personal Systems and Printing business segments), and HPE (Enterprise Group, Enterprise Services, Enterprise Software, and Financial Services). The split came out of HP's desire to act with greater speed and agility so it could better compete in an environment in which technology, market, and customer expectations were rapidly changing. As a critical part of HPE, the Enterprise Group had to be sure its transformation was speedy, successful, and aligned with the imperatives of the company as a whole.
In 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook knew that Apple, despite its phenomenal success, needed to continue to innovate in new product areas in order to continue its momentum into the future. This case explores three new (actual or potential) product offerings from Apple: the Apple Watch, Apple TV, and the Apple Car. All three categories represented significant opportunities and challenges. The smartwatch category was new and poised for growth when Apple released its Watch in April 2015, but the use case remained uncertain, and Apple would face a strong challenge from Android-based competitors. The television industry, facing growing dissatisfaction with traditional cable packages and the rise of online streaming, was ripe for disruption, but would Apple be able to build a competitive offering? The automotive industry, with the rise of electric cars and autonomous driving technology, was also on the cusp of significant changes, but the engineering and economic challenges of the industry made any move into that space a risky bet.
The 2013/14 exit announcement by Australian car manufacturers poses a threat to the survival of the country's automotive industry, and the pull-out is expected to have a significant and adverse impact on the Australian economy as a whole. The case highlights the dilemma that government decision-makers often face: Should they provide protection to loss-making industries in order to support domestic employment and economic output, or should they let struggling industries die out to make room for more prosperous economic activities? The case also highlights the dilemma faced by firms within a supply chain when original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) exit: Should the firm follow the OEMs or adopt survival strategies?
By the end of 2013, PC Financial remained one of the few successful no-frills banking providers in Canada. Since its founding in 1998, the company had grown into a significant competitor in consumer financial services with nearly three million customers and $644 million in revenue. The financial crisis of 2008 and the competitive situation in Canadian retail financial services had led to the acquisition and in some cases closure of several of its competitors. While the changes in the market arguably seemed to be beneficial by reducing competition, they also raised questions about the company's ability to continue as a separate operating entity.
Students assume the role of regional president, Asia, for Delta Beverages, a large U.S.-based firm and a leader in the beverage industry. In assuming this role, students face the task of selecting a country manager for India. In this two-part case, Part 1 focuses on the most critical criteria to select the best candidate, while Part 2 focuses on the personal details and experience of the five top-rated candidates for the position.
By the end of 2013, PC Financial remained one of the few successful no-frills banking providers in Canada. Since its founding in 1998, the company had grown into a significant competitor in consumer financial services with nearly three million customers and $644 million in revenue. The financial crisis of 2008 and the competitive situation in Canadian retail financial services had led to the acquisition and in some cases closure of several of its competitors. While the changes in the market arguably seemed to be beneficial by reducing competition, they also raised questions about the company’s ability to continue as a separate operating entity.
The 2013/14 exit announcement by Australian car manufacturers poses a threat to the survival of the country’s automotive industry, and the pull-out is expected to have a significant and adverse impact on the Australian economy as a whole. The case highlights the dilemma that government decision-makers often face: Should they provide protection to loss-making industries in order to support domestic employment and economic output, or should they let struggling industries die out to make room for more prosperous economic activities? The case also highlights the dilemma faced by firms within a supply chain when original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) exit: Should the firm follow the OEMs or adopt survival strategies?
People are wired to respond to similar situations and stimuli in pre-set ways without realizing it. With limited brain power at our disposal, we create standard operating procedures and habits to keep mental bandwidth free to handle complex tasks. Subconsciously setting defaults likely cannot be avoided. In fact, it is often desirable — otherwise, our brains would be drained in trying to meet daily responsibilities. However, it is harmful to fall victim to one’s default settings, which happens when autopilot behaviours run counter to what we would do if we were controlled by our conscious mind. Three common casualties of slipping into default are discretion, objectivity and moderation. After observing many leaders who effectively manage their default settings, the author suggests the following steps: a) awareness — understanding that we all have defaults and the potential for unwanted actions can prompt reflection that leads to corrective actions; b) always be on the lookout; c) seek feedback — create a network of trusted people empowered to provide feedback; d) log defaults — keep a record of your slippages into default to assist in the development of insights that help you recognize triggers; and e) check expiration dates — nothing stays relevant forever, so use a default log to rethink your standard operating procedures.
Tele-Tichon Limited, a private company in India’s telecom equipment manufacturing sector, was in deep financial trouble, after having experienced declining financial health for nearly 10 years. The company had made an attempt at corporate debt restructuring (CDR) six years earlier but its restructuring plan had not been approved. Now, with the company in deeper financial crisis and unable to service its mounting debt and interest burden, the chief executive officer and chief financial officer must weigh the various options for bringing their company back into the black.
The development and utilization of an intentional Field learning strategy developed for the Obama for President campaign in 2012 following an after action Review calling for it after the 2008 elections
Set in 2013, Hamidah Hassan works at SATS, a provider of gateway services at Changi Airport in Singapore. SATS has a symbiotic relationship with Changi Airport Singapore and Singapore Airlines in ensuring a smooth travel experience for customers. Hamidah is in charge of the operations at the check-in counter. As passenger traffic at Changi Airport increases, the lengthening waiting lines threaten to impair customer perceptions of the airline and airport. In order to implement an efficient solution, she has to balance her cost of operations against the cost of waiting for passengers and the terms of the service level agreement with the airport authority. This case analyses the problem and solves it using an integer linear program and simulation analysis.
The case looks at Ian Lambert's first year as the new general manager of ElektroSecur, a Canadian SMB with about 40 employees, specialized in the production and distribution of emergency vehicle technologies. Part A of the case focuses on his first six months in the job (September 2012 to February 2013), while Part B shifts attention to the following six months (March to August 2013). Part A: Ian Lambert took over as general manager of ElektroSecur in September 2012. The company was founded in 1997 by its two current owners, Daniel Dufour and Marc Rorty, who are respectively president and vice-president, business development. ElektroSecur had annual sales of approximately $7 million generated by some 50 in-house products and roughly 100 products distributed by it. The company was making a small net profit of no more than $20,000 a year and had always struggled to remain profitable. Part B: Contrary to what Ian had hoped after six months on the job (Part A), the company's financial situation did not improve over the following six months. Financially speaking, it was shaping up to be the worst year in the company's history. Up to the month of May, sales were more catastrophic than ever.
The case looks at Ian Lambert's first year as the new general manager of ElektroSecur, a Canadian SMB with about 40 employees, specialized in the production and distribution of emergency vehicle technologies. Part A of the case focuses on his first six months in the job (September 2012 to February 2013), while Part B shifts attention to the following six months (March to August 2013). Part A: Ian Lambert took over as general manager of ElektroSecur in September 2012. The company was founded in 1997 by its two current owners, Daniel Dufour and Marc Rorty, who are respectively president and vice-president, business development. ElektroSecur had annual sales of approximately $7 million generated by some 50 in-house products and roughly 100 products distributed by it. The company was making a small net profit of no more than $20,000 a year and had always struggled to remain profitable. Part B: Contrary to what Ian had hoped after six months on the job (Part A), the company's financial situation did not improve over the following six months. Financially speaking, it was shaping up to be the worst year in the company's history. Up to the month of May, sales were more catastrophic than ever.
Tele-Tichon Limited, a private company in India's telecom equipment manufacturing sector, was in deep financial trouble, after having experienced declining financial health for nearly 10 years. The company had made an attempt at corporate debt restructuring (CDR) six years earlier but its restructuring plan had not been approved. Now, with the company in deeper financial crisis and unable to service its mounting debt and interest burden, the chief executive officer and chief financial officer must weigh the various options for bringing their company back into the black.