Medical research consensus is that a poor diet is a much greater determinant of obesity than lack of exercise. However, the authors' primary research shows that only about half of lay people believe that diet is the primary cause of obesity. People who mistakenly underestimate the importance of a poor diet are in fact more overweight than people who correctly believe that it is the primary cause of obesity. The marketing, public relations, and corporate social responsibility campaigns of food and beverage companies consistently overemphasize the lack of exercise as the cause of obesity-the authors call this "leanwashing."
In 2010, General Electric launched an investigation into how multinational corporations (MNCs) were adapting to rural emerging markets. A team of 33 executives and three academics examined models ranging from Toyota' s vehicle servicing program in East Africa to Nokia' s localized mobile handset financing in India to Egis Pharmaceuticals' worker retention incentives in Eastern Europe. The project included 15 case studies from India, China, Africa, and Eastern Europe. This article presents common tactics that these MNCs have used to successfully adapt to rural markets in emerging regions across five key organizational functions: product development, distribution, service, financing, and human resources.
Many firms have enjoyed remarkable success using revenue sharing contracts to improve supply chain performance. Video rental industry and its pioneering deal with movie studios is one such example. At the same time, other firms have struggled to make it work. What accounts for this difference? When can revenue sharing create significant value and what are implementation costs? By comparing and contrasting several case examples-including our own experience working with a major semi-conductor manufacturer-we develop a general framework that helps answer these questions, which is based on the fundamental sources of added value and added costs.
Alliances have become a core component of many firms' strategy, but they are often characterized by a high level of instability that can lead to failure. Ambiguity is an intrinsic aspect of strategic alliances and effective management of it determines how well the partners are able to make the alliance work. Alliances are subject to three types of ambiguity-partner, interaction, and evaluative-that are important at different stages of alliance evolution. Partner-related ambiguity is most prevalent at the formation stage of the alliance, interaction ambiguity at the operational stage, and evaluative ambiguity at the outcome stage. This article examines the mechanisms by which firms can best manage these different types of ambiguity to achieve a successful alliance.
Despite the exponential rise of social media use in external stakeholder engagement, academic research and managerial practice have paid little attention to how it can be used for open innovation across the entire innovation funnel, spanning ideation, R&D, and commercialization. As a result, there is little understanding of how companies can organize for and implement social media for open innovation. Utilizing a multiple case study design, this article examines its application across the entire innovation process. It proposes a range of organizational and technological adaptations that managers can implement to ensure they realize the innovative benefits of social media application.
The case describes a situation faced by the Starter Motor and Generator (SMG) Division of Bosch Limited in India as a consequence of the global restructuring of the Bosch Group in 2007. The SMG division had not earned profits for 22 years since its inception, but was accommodated as part of the India operations of Bosch Limited as other divisions cross-subsidized the division. However, after the restructuring, the division became part of the global product division which had no incentives to tolerate the continuation of a loss-making division. The local management was forced to make strategic and operational changes to make the division viable to avoid the harsh decision of closing down the operations of the business. The case briefly describes the operational changes that were implemented to improve profitability, and then focuses on the strategic decision related to choice of a new business model which had consequences for the organizational structure that was adopted.
Hemant Luthra, Chairman and Arvind Mehra, Executive Director and CEO, Mahindra Aerospace needed to examine the prospects of the aerospace industry in India and decide on the organization's growth strategy. Mahindra Aerospace was a leader among private sector organizations in India that, in addition to building capacity outside the country, had established manufacturing capacity in India for the aerospace industry. The top executives needed to take stock of how the situation had evolved since its entry into the industry to decide on the next major strategic moves. Luthra and Mehra had to decide the next major strategic moves for the company. The Mahindra Group had already established some relevant capabilities, and Mahindra Aerospace added some focused capabilities by acquisitions, and was well-poised to participate in engineering design, and also be a supplier to some majors. With strong technological capabilities relative to other new players and a relative cost advantage over traditional American and/or European players, Mahindra hoped to be able to chart a strategy that allowed them to move up the value chain. However, the top executives were sensitive to the unique features of the sector - long gestation periods for product development and production and high volatility in the market. Hence, prudent capital investment decisions were very critical for the long-term health of the organization.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation (TAPF), a Bangalore-based Indian non-governmental organization, is hailed globally for running the world's largest school meal programme. It has grown from serving five schools in Bangalore in June 2000 (1,500 children) a day to its current operations of 19 locations in nine Indian states, providing lunch meals to approximately 1.5 million school children every day. This case looks at the operations of one of its larger kitchens, which is located at Vasanthapura in Bangalore. It describes the complete range of activities: procurement, pre-processing, cooking, and finally packaging and dispatch, at this center. The case is rich in data and helps generate discussions around the material planning, procurement, and production planning activities at this kitchen.
SSISM is the case of a missionary organization, founded by an upwardly mobile IT professional Pranjal Dubey, who leaves the trappings of a successful career to pursue what he felt was his life's calling, to make a difference to the community around his ancestral village, through providing better education to the youth. The case highlights the effort and evangelistic zeal of Pranjal as he battles multiple hurdles on a daily basis to try and make a difference at the grass root level. However, what clearly needs to be defined is how he can establish a viable business model, in the absence of which the organization is unlikely to achieve its vision. The case discusses the various challenges SSISM faces on multiple fronts including motivating people, ensuring quality of education, financing, and changing social mind-sets. It also addresses the issue of society's involvement and responsibility. From the perspective of Pranjal, the main protagonist, the case provides several rich pastures of discussion including, should he manifest a local or global perspective, and how should he sustain the movement, going forward? The case touches upon several processes that are fundamental in Strategy and entrepreneurship in terms of developing a sustainable business model for an entrepreneurial missionary organization. As an entrepreneurial missionary firm in its growth phase, SSISM needs to manage the fine balance between growth (current revenues, clients, etc.) and sustaining and disseminating its evangelistic vision.
Grameen Koota had escaped any direct impact of the crisis faced by the microfinance industry due to new legislations introduced by the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in 2010. External sources of funds had dried up for the microfinance sector thus impacting growth. While evaluating his organization's performance during the last two years, Suresh Krishna, Managing Director of Grameen Koota was concerned about the imminent shortfall in the growth envisioned in 2010. The tumultuous industry condition was accompanied by an uncertain regulatory environment. While exploring options for growth, Krishna wanted to assess whether to expand operations to new districts and new states or consolidate and grow in the existing regions of operations. Concentrating operations implied risking too much in too few states in a shaky regulatory environment while expansion to nascent geographies could potentially erode the low margins. It was a difficult choice, so Krishna wanted to make sure that he arrived at the decision after a thorough evaluation of the opportunities, costs, and risks associated with expanding the distribution reach.
Easwaran Iyer, Dean of the Jain University's Business School, wanted to ensure that they admitted the right set of students to their Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, but he was not sure about the parameters that could be used to identify students who were ideal for the MBA program. Jain University received applications for the MBA program from across India and admitted approximately 400 students every year. There had been a steady increase in the number of applications received by Jain University over the years. Placement performance played a major role in attracting good quality students to the MBA program in India. In 2012, over 180 Business Schools in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Dehradun closed down. Although, there could be many reasons for their closure, their inability to place their students played a key role. At the beginning of every admissions season, which began in April and stretched until July, Iyer thoroughly screened the admission seeking candidates and decided along with his admission committee which of candidates were admitted or rejected. Although there was no penalty if a non-placeable student was selected, it would weigh heavily on the institute's reputation. A wrong pick could eventually contribute towards an increase in the number of unplaced students as well as a reduction in the average salary. Moreover, there was the possibility of rejecting a placeable candidate. What made Iyer's job tougher was that he was expected to increase the batch size while also increasing the quality of the admitted set of students. He acknowledged that MBA admissions needed much more analytical reasoning, taking multiple criteria into consideration.
The owner/operator of Spruce Lawn Farms, a cash crop farm located near London, Ontario, was thinking of expanding his operation to include identity-preserved soybeans and a grain dryer. The farm had been in operation for 12 years and consisted of 650 acres of owned land with plans to increase this through renting neighbouring fields to 2,000 acres by 2015. Current crops included genetically modified winter wheat, corn and soybeans, but given the growing backlash against genetically modified foods in Europe and Asia, he was considering adding certified identity-preserved soybeans as well. His back-of-the-envelope calculations seemed to indicate that the venture would pay off. However, when he approached his financial institution for a loan, they were concerned about how the new venture would change the farm's financial structure.
Innovations often fail due to one simple fact: innovators have a flawed understanding of the psychology of their end user. The author shows that, contrary to the view of traditional Economics, consumers are not driven purely by rational considerations. Real consumers are emotional; they are lazy (both physically and cognitively); and they are systematically influenced by context in making decisions. After describing several common biases, the author provides four recommendations that can help to reverse innovation's dismal success rate to date.
Modern organizations contain a wide variety of tensions that leaders must face every day: collaboration vs. control, flexibility vs. efficiency and profit vs. social responsibility, to name just a few. The authors present an approach for handling these tensions: the paradox perspective. Paradox Theory presumes that tensions are integral to complex systems, and that sustainability depends upon attending to contradictory-yet-interwoven demands simultaneously. The authors introduce a new skill that enables leaders to embrace paradox: 'dynamic equilibrium'.
The former senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada and new Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto discusses the ongoing quest for a balanced economy, why service exports should be the next big thing, and the personal challenge that lies ahead for him at the Rotman School.