By 2013, Sobey’s Inc., one of Canada`s largest food retailers, had initiated a number of programs in order to reduce its environmental footprint and to try to meet the public’s expectations that business would address such sustainability issues as waste management, genetically modified products and food safety. At the top of Sobey’s agenda was to develop a sustainable seafood strategy. While data collection, metric selection, employee incentives and customer education were important parts of this emerging strategy, a central decision was what products to choose to sell or not to sell. Certain major competitors had announced that they would sell only “certified sustainable” seafood, an approach strongly advocated by well-known environmental organizations. Sobey’s, on the other hand, decided that to abandon uncertified seafood would not only hamper its bottom line but also would eliminate its ability to push the very fisheries that needed more guidance towards better practices. Yet, to continue to sell “red zone” seafood was very controversial and could jeopardize Sobey’s standing as a leader in sustainable practices — an outcome that could have serious negative consequences in the marketplace. In this context, the vice-president of sustainability had to implement a sustainable seafood strategy by year’s end.
Acros Dorados, an Argentina-based multinational, is facing new organizational challenges as it seeks to build on its recent turnaround, and grow in Brazil and Mexico. Woods Staton and his management team have to make some hard decisions on how to structure and lead the company going forward.
In January 2014, Gary Bald, senior vice president of Safety, Environment and Health at Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCL), prepared for a review meeting with the company's chief executive, Adam Goldstein, and chairman, Richard Fain. Prior to joining RCL in 2006, Bald had spent 28 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. After seven years of upgrading security for the cruise line, Bald stated, "We've come a long way, but what keeps me up at night is what I don't know." As he prepared for his meeting with Fain and Goldstein, Bald considered whether his department's current initiatives would be sufficient to maintain RCL's position at the cutting edge of cruise industry best practice, and whether RCL could and should differentiate itself in marketing from its competitors in the areas of safety, environment and health.
Harlequin Enterprises is a well-known publisher of women's fiction and the global leader in series romance fiction. In 2013, e-book penetration of romance fiction has exceeded 50 per cent of unit sales. The vice-president of strategy is trying to make sense of the e-book opportunity and threat. She is wondering what impact e-books would have on Harlequin's business model: its relationship with authors, distributors and competitors.
Harlequin Enterprises is a well-known publisher of women's fiction and the global leader in series romance fiction. In 2013, e-book penetration of romance fiction has exceeded 50 per cent of unit sales. The vice-president of strategy is trying to make sense of the e-book opportunity and threat. She is wondering what impact e-books would have on Harlequin's business model: its relationship with authors, distributors and competitors.
Potatoes are grown across 130 countries and form the largest non-cereal food crop consumed in large per-capita measures in some of the Eastern European and South American countries. India is the world’s third-largest producer of the crop and is estimated to consume about 25 million tonnes each year. Calcutta-based Sumangal Industries Limited launched a high yield investment program under the banner of the Flexi-Potato Purchase Scheme. Market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), took exception to the company’s collecting uncollateralized deposits from the members of the public without due registration, and issued prohibitive orders.<br><br>This case puts the facts underlying the offering in perspective and conducts a micro-economic analysis to assess the strengths of the business proposition. The statistical analyses reveal that the volatility and predictability of seasonal pricing patterns that the company seeks to exploit may not continue beyond the short-term. Further, the early success of the scheme is likely to attract entry into the segment, thereby squeezing arbitrage margins and enhancing business process costs. This case also lays out facts relating to exogenous influences on the local potato market and encourages policy makers to adequately inform potential investors as a means to empower them to make sound resource allocation decisions. The conclusions of the case could be applied beyond West Bengal, and beyond India, to other agricultural produce and pyramidal investment schemes, qualified by local conditions.
As Fei Cheng Wu Rao, China's most popular entertainment program, enters its fourth year, company leaders grapple with questions of how to keep the show fresh and reach new markets. In particular, the show is poised to expand to Africa, yet there are significant questions about how to tailor a program designed to capture the attention of a unique demographic within China to new cultural contexts.
After it introduced the extremely successful Droid smartphone into the market in 2009, Motorola quickly moved to develop the next-generation Droid 2 before the next wave of smartphones (including the rumored iPhone 4) flooded the market. The development process was moving smoothly for the company when Verizon, its biggest partner, dropped a bombshell. It wasn't happy with the mechanical camera button on the Droid 2 (citing customer feedback) and wanted it to be changed to a software button like the iPhone's. This request immediately placed Motorola in the proverbial horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, it couldn't brush away the request of its biggest and most important partner. On the other hand, changing the camera button now would mean delaying the Droid 2's entry into the market. Should the Droid 2 team remove the camera's hardware button in favor of a software button per Verizon's request, or not? John Smith, the product manager, leads the cross-functional Droid 2 team. The case setting is an emergency "war room" meeting to address this critical issue, just weeks prior to launch. John's objective is to obtain the salient facts and opinions of team members quickly so he can make an informed recommendation to his boss by the end of the day. He is concerned that this last-minute request for a design change will not only threaten to delay the launch, which would have significant financial implications, but could potentially create deep fissures in a hitherto effective team that had been running like a well-oiled machine. The case puts students in a situation that simulates a real-world discussion and allows them to experience what it is like, as a product manager, to orchestrate a meeting with cross-functional teams that have conflicting priorities and agendas. It illustrates the challenges a product manager faces while striving to make important decisions with little or no direct authority over the various teams.
Founded in San Francisco in 2009, Square finished 2012 as the darling of Silicon Valley; flush with more than $340 million in funding, the firm had grown to several hundred employees in just three short years. It processed more than $10 billion annually in credit and debit card payments from small business owners that used Square's smartphone-enabled card swipe device wherever cellular or wireless Internet service was available. However, Square's success had attracted new entrants into the mobile payments processing space, both in the United States and abroad, threatening to derail the company's remarkable trajectory. With its latest financing round valuing the company in excess of $3.4 billion, management and investors were considering which strategies would continue-even accelerate-the company's growth.
Created in 1900 by the tire manufacturer Michelin, the Michelin Restaurant Guide was widely considered the international benchmark of food rating, and, by 2013, boasted paper editions in 23 countries, and had recently expanded to the United States and Asia. Paper sales however had dropped, following the emergence of free, online guides, global players, and more broadly, the wider diffusion of the Internet. In 2012, the Guide had launched a new range of services targeting restaurateurs. The Director of the Guide was contemplating developing the Guide even more internationally and on digital formats, but also knew he needed to limit costs.
Potatoes are grown across 130 countries and form the largest non-cereal food crop consumed in large per-capita measures in some of the Eastern European and South American countries. India is the world's third-largest producer of the crop and is estimated to consume about 25 million tonnes each year. Calcutta-based Sumangal Industries Limited launched a high yield investment program under the banner of the Flexi-Potato Purchase Scheme. Market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), took exception to the company's collecting uncollateralized deposits from the members of the public without due registration, and issued prohibitive orders.This case puts the facts underlying the offering in perspective and conducts a micro-economic analysis to assess the strengths of the business proposition. The statistical analyses reveal that the volatility and predictability of seasonal pricing patterns that the company seeks to exploit may not continue beyond the short-term. Further, the early success of the scheme is likely to attract entry into the segment, thereby squeezing arbitrage margins and enhancing business process costs. This case also lays out facts relating to exogenous influences on the local potato market and encourages policy makers to adequately inform potential investors as a means to empower them to make sound resource allocation decisions. The conclusions of the case could be applied beyond West Bengal, and beyond India, to other agricultural produce and pyramidal investment schemes, qualified by local conditions.
This note is assigned in Darden's course elective, "Global Economics of Water." There is more than enough fresh water to satisfy the world's needs. The primary concern, however, is the geographical mismatch between water needs and the availability of water to communities who need it. Hence, a major challenge for the 21st century is to better manage this mismatch. In this note, we focus on one particular factor-climate change-and how it may contribute to future stress on water resources. We lay out the basics of climate change and the hydrological cycle, and we point to some of the intricate ways in which both phenomena are connected. This note does not contain blanket policy recommendations as to how to fight global warming beyond the general statement that the rational response to the risk and uncertainty of higher global temperatures and their associated environmental changes is to take actions that ensure against potentially adverse effects.
Interface ranks among the top three manufacturers in the carpet industry, measured by revenues per year. Through its sustainability program, the company has achieved astounding results. Still, while Interface has made tremendous strides, company leaders are not content to rest. Interface developed its Mission Zero with the objective of eliminating all negative environmental impacts. During their reading and discussion of the case, students are asked to find solutions that will allow the company to scale its sustainable sourcing program and use its purchasing power to drive the social impact investments of others.
It is five years since the Great Recession, and Morgan Stanley and its competitors are still trying to regain the confidence of investors. To that end, James Gorman, Morgan Stanley CEO and chairman, has taken the bold step of creating an institute for sustainable investing, for which Morgan Stanley will provide the initial $1 billion of investment capital in hopes of raising 10 times that amount. The pledge is the largest to date from an impact fund - toping Goldman Sachs' $250-million social impact fund as well as initiatives by UBS and JP Morgan & Chase. Students are tasked with assessing the plan's rollout and comparing and contrasting Morgan Stanley's strategy to that of its competitors. They are ultimately asked to answer the question of whether investment banking firms can drive sustainability in the marketplace.
Pacific Gas & Electric is the second-largest investor-owned utility in the country and the largest in California, serving 15 million people across 70,000 square miles in central and northern California. Revenues at the utility are sliding as Kent Harvey, the company's CFO, considers legislation coming before the California legislature that will allow utility customers to purchase up to 100% renewable power from an offsite, local facility. The program is capped at 600 MW, but if it is amended to expand capacity, PG&E will face another hit to its bottom line. Students are asked to put themselves in Harvey's shoes and decide whether the company should lobby against the bill or adjust its policies to integrate more clean energy into its portfolio.
Kellogg Chief Sustainability Officer Diane Holdorf is facing a campaign by environmental activists who allege that the company's Indonesian supplier Wilmar International is illegally growing palm and is engaged in slash and burn practices. Protestors are lining up outside the company's Battle Creek, Michigan headquarters to rally against the partnership. While Kellogg only uses a small amount of palm in its products, the partnership with Wilmar provides the company with important strategic access to the Chinese market. Holdorf will be speaking with Kellogg's CEO in two days and is expected to provide him with her recommendations on how to proceed. Students are asked examine the extent of Kellogg's accountability for Wilmar's actions and decide how to respond to the allegations against its joint venture partner.
After years of development, William Krause knew that 2014 was the year to "go big or go home." His Flexible Herbert Screw, a medical device intended to support the healing of fractured collarbones (clavicles), was ready for launch, and he had accumulated the necessary cash?$1 million by his reckoning?needed to comfortably see him through the start-up phase. Although evidence in favor of the invasive device was still inconclusive, other key players were now entering the space with remarkably similar technologies.
After early successes in a very selective management-training program, Daniel Oliveira, a young manager for Brazilian fashion chain Clothes & Accessories, is thrown into the deep end of the pool by being reassigned to a region lagging in sales. Early on, Oliveira discovers that his store, located in mid-sized Vitória in southeastern Brazil, is in trouble. As soon as he tries to make changes, however, he meets with resistance from long-term employees. The case details his pitfalls and growing awareness of the complexities of leading a diverse workforce and managing change.
Komatsu built a very successful business in China over the last two decades. But it is now facing rising competition from lower cost domestic Chinese companies, which are themselves trying to become global players. Facing the same situation, Caterpillar is implementing a two-brand strategy. What should Komatsu do to retain its leadership position in China?