It is August 2014, and the Citibank conference on leadership and development has just concluded. Immediately after, Sara Roberts, Talent Head of Citigroup Asia Pacific, and Anuranjita Kumar, Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) of Citigroup South Asia, discuss a pressing issue: how talent and development programmes at Citibank India could evolve to cultivate the bank's future leaders.
On October 9, 2013, JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., a large U.S. retailer of men's tailored and casual clothing, footwear and accessories, made a hostile offer to buy its larger rival Men's Wearhouse. The latter made a counter-offer on January 6, 2014 in what is known as a Pac-man defence - the prey turned predator. JoS. A. Bank responded by adopting a poison pill, announcing the planned acquisition of Eddie Bauer, an outdoor apparel retailer. What started out as a simple offer had turned into a contest with multiple counter-offers and the deployment of several takeover defences. How should Eminence Capital, a New York-based hedge fund and the largest shareholder in both firms, react? How should each firm respond to the latest offer on it respective table?
Vietnam has made impressive economic gains over a period of three decades, following the Doi Moi reforms of 1986. Before reform, the country's socialist economy had been unable to displace the poverty that had plagued the country in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. After reform, Vietnam has experienced many years of sustained growth, as evidenced by its advances on several economic performance rankings. By 2014, Vietnam's rankings compared favourably with those of many of its Asian neighbours. A major feature of the country's strategy for economic development was its emphasis on information and computing technologies. Students will analyze Vietnam's past successes to extract lessons that can lead to additional future success.
The president and CEO of a commercial group must assess his options after his company's recent acquisition of a small hauling company. This new company transported construction materials and aggregates from one location to another. After a few successful years of growth in the hauling business, the CEO wondered whether the new company should expand into the excavating business. He needed to evaluate the health of the current operations from a profitability and cash-flow standpoint. If the expansion into excavating were to be pursued, he needed to decide how it would be financed, while still remaining self-sufficient.
On September 6, 2014, a young investor is trying to find a trading strategy to use to make money on Cisco's stock. He wants to know whether the stock is increasing or decreasing in value. He decides to use the moving average strategy to avoid the fluctuations in the stock price caused by different short-term phenomena. When should he buy, sell or do nothing?
This case chronicles three major challenges faced by the Niagara Health System, a seven-hospital network in the Niagara region in the province of Ontario, Canada. An interim chief communications officer has joined the Niagara Health System team on secondment to help with communications issues during a C. difficile outbreak. He soon realizes that the public communication issues were not isolated to this outbreak, but rather continued a trend of poor relationships with local media and the public. The case examines the field of hospital communications in Ontario, including trends and best practices, a history of communications struggles at the Niagara Health System, strategy options and considerations to manage the C. difficile outbreak and strategies to improve trust and reputation.
Airtel mCommerce Services Limited was waiting for news from the Reserve Bank of India related to mobile banking regulations, as it was eager to unleash the massive potential and untapped opportunity in India regarding mobile commerce. Its service, Airtel Money, was struggling in India, but it had experienced a huge success in Africa. Though it had some initial success in India, it still had a long way to go to capture the Indian mobile market.
Based in Delhi, India, Sherry's Bakery (Sherry's) faced a host of challenges at the four-year point in its operations, with issues related to business expansion and management, cost management and fund procurement. The business had gradually grown from a hobby based on a love of baking into a home-based business that showed lots of potential for growth. The owner needed to devise a marketing and communication plan for her business since she wanted to turn Sherry's into a full-fledged bakery rather than simply operating from her kitchen.
Launched in 2005, Aava natural mineral water is one of the key brands in the natural mineral water market in India. It had sales of over INR 15 crore (150 million) in 2012 and it is the second largest brand and a volume leader in the natural mineral water category. The case discusses the dilemma faced by its Managing Director and his team in light of the emerging competition. The company needs to take important decisions related to customer segment selection, product mix and introduction of new product offerings.
Supplement to case A00104. Launched in 2005, Aava natural mineral water is the second largest brand in the Indian natural mineral water market. Over the years brand has established its volume leadership in its product category. The case discusses the dilemma faced by the top management in dealing with the issues related to brand positioning of Aava. The company's top management has to decide on how to position Aava in the market so as to create premium image and aspirational appeal for the brand.
Ashutosh Sinha is managing VIMPL as rural distribution business involving Villgro stores and village level entrepreneurs (VLE). After spending two years in evolving the business model which provides sustainable products to improve rural livelihood, he has recently started selling FMCG products through VIMPL network. As he decides to expand the business, he has to make choices about strategic path of horizontal expansion versus vertical expansion. The expansion decision is also linked with choosing the right type of VLEs. The case provides detailed description of VLE operations and examines the challenges in building last mile delivery models using entrepreneurs.
The Off Grid Electric case focuses on the creation, growth, and financing of the company from 2011 through the middle of 2014. The three cofounders saw an opportunity to provide solar electricity to much of Africa through their solar-as-a-service solution, which they launched in Tanzania in 2012. The Off Grid Electric business model was very capital intensive, and the new venture had several risks from the perspective of investors: market, business model, human resources, technology, and exit. As such, CEO Xavier Helgesen needed to think strategically about how-and when-to raise money in order to grow the business. In addition, the executive team needed to be in agreement on the company's growth plan. Should Off Grid Electric focus on rapid growth? Should they emphasize generating cash? What would these choices imply for Off Grid Electric's financing needs? At the end of the case, Helgesen receives two term sheets for a potential Series D financing. One is from Zouk Capital, a financial investor, and another is from Solar City, a strategic investor who had previously invested in Off Grid Electric. Students are asked to evaluate the term sheets from Helgesen's perspective, as well as to analyze an investment in Off Grid Electric from the perspective of an investor.
On October 9, 2013, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., a large U.S. retailer of men's tailored and casual clothing, footwear and accessories, made a hostile offer to buy its larger rival Men’s Wearhouse. The latter made a counter-offer on January 6, 2014 in what is known as a Pac-man defence — the prey turned predator. Jos. A. Bank responded by adopting a poison pill, announcing the planned acquisition of Eddie Bauer, an outdoor apparel retailer. What started out as a simple offer had turned into a contest with multiple counter-offers and the deployment of several takeover defences. How should Eminence Capital, a New York-based hedge fund and the largest shareholder in both firms, react? How should each firm respond to the latest offer on their respective tables?
Based in Delhi, India, Sherry’s Bakery (Sherry's) faced a host of challenges at the four-year point in its operations, with issues related to business expansion and management, cost management and fund procurement. The business had gradually grown from a hobby based on a love of baking into a home-based business that showed lots of potential for growth. The owner needed to devise a marketing and communication plan for her business since she wanted to turn Sherry’s into a full-fledged bakery rather than simply operating from her kitchen.
The president and CEO of a commercial group must assess his options after his company’s recent acquisition of a small hauling company. This new company transported construction materials and aggregates from one location to another. After a few successful years of growth in the hauling business, the CEO wondered whether the new company should expand into the excavating business. He needed to evaluate the health of the current operations from a profitability and cash-flow standpoint. If the expansion into excavating were to be pursued, he needed to decide how it would be financed, while still remaining self-sufficient.
Vietnam has made impressive economic gains over a period of three decades, following the Doi Moi reforms of 1986. Before reform, the country’s socialist economy had been unable to displace the poverty that had plagued the country in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. After reform, Vietnam has experienced many years of sustained growth, as evidenced by its advances on several economic performance rankings. By 2014, Vietnam's rankings compared favourably with those of many of its Asian neighbours. A major feature of the country’s strategy for economic development was its emphasis on information and computing technologies. Students will analyze Vietnam's past successes to extract lessons that can lead to additional future success.