This case follows a day in the life of Captain Denny Flanagan. A United Airlines pilot for nearly a quarter of a century and a former naval aviator, Flanagan has created and championed a campaign to radically change the nature of air travel — putting good customer service at the heart of everything the airline does and reaching back, in some way, to the golden age of air travel. Examples of his service include ordering food for passengers of delayed flights and phoning the parents of unaccompanied minors to reassure them of their children’s safety.<br><br>The success he has achieved is significant for a company that has historically received very poor customer service ratings. It raises questions about whether such exceptional service is good or bad for the organization. How can Flanagan’s approach be replicated? Is it possible or even desirable to replicate it?<br><br>Captain Denny Flanagan will be retiring in June 2016. He has expressed a strong interest in, and desire to support the teaching of the case by attending classes where the case will be discussed, at minimal cost to the institution. More details are available in the teaching note.
Alibaba is the world’s largest online trading platform, with higher revenues than Amazon and eBay combined. Its 2012 syndicated loan was the first sizable loan for a Chinese technology company with few tangible assets. Creative loan covenants stated that the subsidiaries would repatriate 100 per cent of the distributable profits for debt service. The loan was partially used for the buyback of Yahoo!’s stake in Alibaba. In the agreement, Yahoo! would sell half of its stake back to Alibaba immediately and an additional 10 per cent during Alibaba’s IPO in the next few years, and divest the remainder sometime after that. Now, Alibaba thinks it is time to tap the debt market in order to pay off the $4 billion in loans it received in 2012 and to finish the payments owed to Yahoo! for the stock repurchase.
An investment analyst needs to recommend whether her firm should become an institutional investor in HudBay Minerals Inc., which is nearing completion of an acquisition to purchase another mining company, Norsemont Mining Inc.
Kiva.org was a website through which individuals could connect with opportunities to alleviate poverty via small-scale lending. Founded in 2005, the platform had grown impressively and had facilitated over $500m in loans by 2014. The scale Kiva had achieved was facilitated by its partnerships with microfinance institutions, which managed all of the lending operations for loans made by visitors to the Kiva site. Kiva's team had diverse views of impact, but in its early days Kiva measured impact based primarily on the volume of loans that were made through the platform. A combination of external and internal factors led Kiva's management to explore whether there were other products they could launch which would increase the social impact of the platform. Starting in 2011, two small entrepreneurial teams in the organization were formed to test new models, both of which would operate without microfinance intermediaries. Kiva Labs was set up to create and approve new loan products in partnership with social enterprises and other entities. Kiva Zip was created to experiment with direct lending to individuals via the platform. Labs and Zip created excitement among funders, lenders, and within the team, and Kiva's leadership believed that they had the potential to transform the organization and outpace the impact of the MFI channel. Nonetheless, there were real strategic and operational risks involved, along with questions about the financial sustainability of the new products.
In 2011 Britt Harris, the Chief Investment Officer for the $107.4 billion Teachers Retirement System of Texas (TRS), was considering whether to pursue strategic partnerships with a group of large private equity firms. After spending four years aggressively moving the fifth largest pension fund in the United States into alternative asset classes, Harris felt that TRS shouldn't just participate in private equity funds as a typical limited partner. Rather, under his proposal TRS would offer carefully vetted firms multi-billion dollar investments through a customized fund structure that had fewer allocation mandates than traditional fund structures, and guarantees to reinvest 50% of any investment gains back into the investment vehicle. In exchange, Harris hoped to receive a highly customized compensation structure and gain greater access to investment professionals within the participating firms.
The first of a three-case series, this is a classic business-government relations (BGR) challenge for Southwest Airlines. The A case takes the student from the problems SWA had with competitors and the Civil Aviation Board in the early years of attempting to fly through the passage of the Wright Amendment in the late 1970s. House Majority Leader Jim Wright championed the cause for the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Authority and the big DFW airlines, most prominently American Airlines. The case then updates the situation 25 years later, when SWA is a big airline and the events of September 11, 2001, hurt the short-haul business of low-cost airlines. The case presents BGR strategies of SWA over time.
The second of a three-case series, this is a classic business-government relations (BGR) challenge for Southwest Airlines. The A case took the student from the problems SWA had with competitors and the Civil Aviation Board in the early years of attempting to fly through the passage of the Wright Amendment in the late 1970s. It then updated the situation 25 years into the future when SWA was a big airline, and the events of September 11, 2001, hurt the short-haul business of low-cost airlines. This case affords the opportunity to update the analysis performed in the A case in the context of almost every strategic and political aspect of Southwest and Love Field having changed.
Zomeworks, a small-sized designer-manufacturer of passive solar energy products, is considering launching a new freeze-tolerant passive thermosiphon solar water heater. The firm’s target market analysis is based only on consumer economics. How can the firm design the product and select a target market in ways that implement a corporate strategy and a branding strategy? Should the product be targeted only at consumers living off the natural gas line in the United States, or should it also target green/“ethical” consumers, industrial users and emerging markets? Is Zomeworks the best firm to commercialize the product, or should it license out or spin off the product? The firm also has a successful battery enclosure product. Should it spin it off in order to mass produce it?
Priya Paul, chairperson of The Park Hotels, an award-winning portfolio of thirteen boutique hotels scattered across India, was in the midst of a brand revitalization program. Landor Associates, a leading brand consultancy had identified three areas of concern: the shrinking differentiation opportunity provided by the boutique hotel positioning, consumers' negative perceptions of The Park's properties, and a lack of consistency across the hotel properties in the brand portfolio. Competition was heating up and Paul had a goal to expand her hotel portfolio to twenty properties in the next ten years. Paul knew that she had to make some major changes to her brand, including changing her positioning, choosing a new logo, and selecting the right products and services that enhanced her revitalized brand. And, she had to decide where to site the new hotel properties to best compete against global behemoths, Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt and Intercontinental. How could she best revitalize her brand to stand out in a crowded marketplace, while preserving its rich heritage? Which changes would best propel The Park Hotels into the future?
Axis Bank is India's third largest private sector bank. In April 2009, Shikha Sharma, an outsider was appointed as its CEO. She took over from a person who had overseen ten years of rapid growth at the bank. The selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many inside and outside the bank. Sharma changed the bank's hierarchical culture, strengthened the core team by appointing new talent where needed, sought to build its core processes and infrastructure, and filled several gaps in its business portfolio. Despite these changes, the stock market continues to undervalue Axis Bank compared with its chief rivals. In light of this, Axis Bank needs to figure out what more it needs to do to ensure that the market values the franchise correctly.
Adani Agri Logistics Limited (AALL) was established to execute a national project for the bulk handling of food grains through a public-private partnership with the Food Corporation of India. This project involved financing, planning, designing, constructing, operating and maintaining modern infrastructure for the bulk handling, storage and transportation of grains required for the public distribution system. Although a technology-driven supply chain solution was implemented, the benefits of this innovative supply system did not come into full fruition even after four years of operation. AALL soon realized that farmers were reluctant to accept the new storage system because it was a departure from the relationship-based transactions they were used to undertaking with traditional intermediaries. In this way, the company learned that there are cultural subtleties and traditions that must be appreciated and given consideration, along with the economic justifications. How could these traditions be respected and upheld while making way for improvement and progress?
EA Financial Services is a microfinance institution in Koforidua, Ghana. In its seven months of operation, it has done well to establish a client base, but it now lacks sufficient capital to meet the growing demand for new loans. Although having a growing client base is a positive sign, the lack of capital is a significant burden - the company has had to begin turning down loan requests. The owner knows that potential clients will likely deal with one of his many competitors if he cannot provide financial services for them. He wonders if he should first explore obtaining additional operational capital or concentrate on improving current operations. Several alternatives to addressing these issues have presented themselves. What is his best course of action?
The case presents students with common size balance sheets, financial ratios and related financial information. Students are required to correctly identify a series of corporations in distinctive industries based solely on their analysis of this financial data.
In October 2011, a young entrepreneur in Ghana faced a critical moment. Given his degree in marketing from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and his past work experience running a retail clothing store, he was confident he could branch out and start his own photocopying service in his hometown of Koforidua, where there was a distinct undersupply of photocopying services. The proposed store would be located near All Nations University, whose students and faculty would provide a stable demand for his offerings. Now he must perform a breakeven analysis and return on investment calculation to assess whether he should go forward with the venture.
Helio Polymer Enterprises, located in Nakuru, Kenya, is a company that manufactures synthetic polymer gunny bags used in the transportation and handling of animal feed. The owner wants to expand her business operations so she can serve more clients. She has three options: to add a night shift, buy a new printing machine or start producing laminate gunny bags for other markets. Before she makes the decision, she must understand her current operational capacity and determine what aspects of customer service she believes are important for the long-term success of her company.
In 2013, a successful entrepreneur in Eldoret, Kenya is considering her options. In 2007, after a history of operating several small businesses, only one of which failed, she founded Lilgaa Property Management Ltd., a real estate and property management business. She has focused her energies on the real estate industry in spite of its many challenges, which include corruption and lack of regulation, enforcement and trust. Now, she needs to decide how to grow her business, specifically, whether she should buy a building in Eldoret and rent it out or buy a plot of land on the outskirts of town and build a hotel; if the latter, should it cater to the middle or upper class? She must assess the various elements of the business, political and social environments and consider the potential risks that could affect the outcome of her investment.
This case study discusses the challenges of implementing Flowcasting. It starts by summarizing the innovations made in supply chain management over the past fifteen years. It also describes the multi-level replenishment cycle as it existed in 2006 between CPGA and Sam's Club. The first section of the case study aims to stimulate thoughts about the disadvantages of the system in use at the time. Then, the case moves on to the implementation of Flowcasting, a breakthrough approach to supply chain management. Flowcasting is unique in two ways: 1) it is the first decision support system targeting three levels of the supply chain (retailer, the retailer's distribution centre, and the manufacturer's distribution centre), and 2) it involves the exchange of data between two separate sources (or companies), or a type of co-managed inventory.
Sweet Leaf Bath Co. is a small, family-operated bath and body products company specializing in fairtrade, environmentally conscious products. The company progressed from initially selling its high-quality, unique products at craft shows and exhibitions to limited sales through local retailers. Through these sales channels, Sweet Leaf’s founding partners learned more about the bath and body industry and the international issues surrounding the sourcing of many raw ingredients used in their products. However, after a year of minimal sales growth, the partners realized that they needed to develop and implement a new marketing strategy that would enable them to grow the business. Out of the many options available to expand the company’s distribution plans and promotional efforts, its owners must select those opportunities that will offer maximum benefits on a limited budget.
Ten years after its founding, California-based Tesla Motors is close to becoming one of the world’s premier luxury car manufacturers. Its innovative design — using carbon fibre and aluminum rather than steel to construct body and parts — and technology — lithium ion battery packs rather than gasoline for power and a simple powertrain to provide maximum acceleration — make its models treasured options for eco-friendly and tech-savvy consumers as well as wealthy professionals. Relying almost entirely on word-of-mouth promotion through social media, the company sells its cars through factory stores in upscale malls rather than through dealerships and has built service centres to provide free battery charging. However, just as it is expanding into Europe and Asia and is contemplating buying its own factory to secure its battery supply, three of its cars have burst into flames following collisions, although no one has been injured. In addition, analysts claim that the company has been covering up its lack of cash flow by using non-generally accepted accounting principles for reporting its revenue. The CEO knows that the company has tremendous potential but is struggling with public relations problems arising from the crashes and questions about its financial stability and return on investment to investors.