Set in August 2011, Meru Cabs ¾ A Spectacular Growth Story is a case that documents the design and positioning of a service business in India, where the service industry is the fastest growing and most competitive sector. It tracks how strategies, processes and technologies are integrated to reduce cost and offer world-class service. Specifically, it traces the factors that have contributed to making Meru Cabs (Meru) the largest taxi operator in India and third largest in the world. Success in the four major cities of India has given senior management the confidence to consider rollouts in other cities in India and abroad. However, the immediate focus is on improving service and reducing the cancellation rate in the cities where Meru currently operates. The case describes the design and implementation of the service from the twin perspectives of efficient service operation and customer orientation, and raises questions related to the expansion of the service to other Indian and global cities. It also takes into account such factors as cab reengineering, driver selection, cab assignment, cab maintenance and fleet maintenance for the proposed service improvement and extension.
Struggling Sibling Partners deals with the difficulty of creating a sense of fairness in family business relationships. The case explores the challenges of leading and governing a family business equally owned by three siblings. It is used as an introduction to the concept of Fair Process, at the core of INSEAD's work with family businesses. Developing a sense of fairness is the critical goal of family business governance processes, including family meetings and councils, boards of directors and family constitutions.
Succession patterns in Asia are heavily influenced by Confucian values and traditions. Liu Bai's father's authoritarian style of management was typical of Chinese families, but his critical and demanding manner made it impossible for Bai to work with him, even in the Asian context. While it may seem aberrant to Westerners, children are supposed to bow to the Confucian ideal of the patriarch, even more powerful than the state as far as the welfare and governance of the family is concerned. Conflicts are settled by the family, within the family.
The objective of this case is to explore how governance can positively support management in developing and implementing a business strategy based on talent development as a competitive advantage. While it has been argued by some that senior leadership (CEO and management) determine a firm's strategy, others highlight the role of governance, or alternatively the importance of shared strategy making. This case demonstrates that talent development is influenced by all of these factors and depends in large measure upon the nature of the relationship between the CEO and board and their interaction in the strategy-making process.
In 2011, Lebanese television station LBCI partnered with Impact BBDO to develop Cheyef Halak, a marketing and social media program that aimed to create meaningful social change in Lebanon. The first campaign, which targeted the chaos of road traffic in Lebanon, captured the imagination of the Lebanese population. But how should the impact of the campaign be measured? And what were the linkages between the traditional advertising venues and the social media that were employed? This case includes videos of the television campaign, excerpts from the social media campaign, and associated tracking data to analyze the success of the campaign from a qualitative and quantitative perspective.
A proposed private-public partnership (P3) involves a Calgary-based private enterprise, Alta Injection Molding (Alta), the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and the government of Canada. Alta has been chosen to collaborate with SAIT because it developed a unique way to generate revenue throughout its value chain. Alta’s strategy towards fostering innovation revolves around a seven-step approach to turnkey innovation. In this P3, Alta would have access to the equipment, while SAIT students would gain exposure to the plastic manufacturing processes and have the opportunity to be connected to company leaders or distribution channels through Alta’s large network. Considering the parties involved in this P3, significant differences exist in terms of mindsets, goals and concerns. The president of Alta is wondering whether to participate in the P3, and, if he does, what steps he should take to ensure his business remains viable while not impeding SAIT or the government’s goals.
In 2013, Rio Tinto was expected to begin commercial shipments from Oyu Tolgoi, a copper and gold mine in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Oyu Tolgoi was one of the last great unmined deposits in the world, and, once operations were in full swing, was expected to constitute around a tenth of Rio Tinto's profits and over a quarter of Mongolia's GDP. But the terms of the deal were being threatened by elections in Mongolian and a change in voter sentiment towards the project. With around $6 billion invested, Rio Tinto had to figure out how to make its investment work out. Meanwhile the Mongolian government, facing scorching economic growth rates, had to lead the country through its most significant transformation since the time of Ghengis Khan nine centuries earlier.
"Highlights critical gaps between research and practice in the field of strategic human resources management. Also, aims to debunk some myths and preconceptions that general managers bring to their HR decisions. Before class, participants fill out a true-or-false questionnaire for subsequent class discussion.<br> Note: Please refer to the Teaching Note for ""People Management"" (Product #: 406034). Although the numbering of the questions will not line up, all the information is included. A Teaching Note for the abridged version is forthcoming."
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were heralded by some as a healthcare game changer, enabling smokers to switch to a new product which carried lower risk of cancer. However, there were concerns about the public health risk of e-cigarettes, particularly the chance that teens would easily develop nicotine addictions from smoking the fruit-flavored products. Manufacturers argued that current smokers, not teens were the target market, but laws regulating e-cigarettes were far less stringent than those governing tobacco products.
The case describes the nature of juvenile recidivism in Massachusetts and explores the potential structure of a privately funded, publicly guaranteed pay-for-success contract.
The interim president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ontario’s air ambulance service is reflecting on the first challenging months of his tenure. Previously a deputy minister in the provincial government, he now has to deal with ongoing issues of accountability within the organization and the safety of its fleet of helicopters. In the middle of a media storm of accusations of mismanagement, questionable business and spending practices that had wasted millions of dollars of public funding, problematic hiring of unqualified staff and extravagant salaries, along with possible personal improprieties of the previous CEO, he is wondering what new allegations might surface and how he might not only remedy the internal management problems but regain the public’s trust in the organization.
This technical note presents the reason for using a binomial logic regression in marketing applications. It is used in Darden's "Big Data in Marketing" course elective. The issues surrounding the use of a linear regression model when the dependent variable is a dummy variable are identified. A consumer-utility-based behavioral rationale is presented for the applicability of the binomial logistic regression for modeling dummy variables. Simulated and real data examples are used to present the mechanics of the logistic regression and the interpretation of the outputs. The relationship between odds ratio and the logistic regression probabilities are presented. Application areas such as brand choice and customer retention are discussed.
This case uses two important examples based at the Stanford Hospital. In the first, Joe Kelly is diagnosed with fast-growing lung cancer and must quickly go through a series of chemotherapy. Joe's path includes discussions with his wife, son, and doctor about his prognosis and treatment. While Joe believes he is cured after the first round of chemotherapy, the doctor must communicate that the chance of relapse is high. In the second example, Tina and Beth, graduate students at Stanford Medical School, compete for their Chief Resident's attention. Beth believes Dr. Rivas favors Tina and a great deal of conflict is created in the fight to win over Dr. Riva. After some time, it is noticed that this conflict greatly affects the two's care of their patients and Dr. Rivas must sit down and discuss solutions.
Citi Hong Kong ("Citi HK") achieves good results in community engagement with its US$1.5 million annual spending. From a quantitative perspective, its team of less than 5,000 employees performed 23,867 volunteer hours in 2012. During the company's 2012 Global Community Day, 250 of its clients and over 4,000 Citi staff, including their family members and friends participated in volunteer work. In addition, over 36% or over 1,800 of the company's staff chose to participate in the company's Rainbow Day in 2012, through which they donated a lump sum to a charitable organization in exchange for an additional annual leave. From a qualitative perspective, the Hope Development Accounts ("HDA") program, a multi-year program that Citi HK has facilitated and supported since 2007, is among the first few, if not the first, programs that attempt to use asset-building approach for poverty-alleviation in the city. The success of the program hinges on the long-term participation of the volunteers of Citi HK; their contributions mean that Citi HK's support goes beyond monetary terms-the general and financial education offered and the coaching and guidance given are critical in empowering the program participants. How does Citi HK achieve these good results in community engagement with a contained budget? And what roles do its staff play? What does the company do to enable such a high level of staff participation?
Foxconn's management seemed keenly aware of the company's need to reposition its business. While its revenues increased almost uninterruptedly over the previous decade, its net income margin had decreased over this time frame. Should Foxconn double down on manufacturing or make attempts to leverage its current advantages into new kinds of business, such as becoming an original design manufacturer ("ODM")?
Before opening its first store in India in 1996, McDonald's spent six years building its supply chain. During that time, the company worked to successfully source as many ingredients as possible from India. However, French fries ("MacFries") were a particularly tough product to source locally-and importing fries was undesirable for both cost and availability reasons. Growing potatoes suitable for use as fries was challenging in India. By 2007, 11 years after opening its first restaurant, the MacFry was finally being produced in India. McDonald's main MacFry supplier was the Canadian company McCain, which spent many years working on potato agronomy and with farmers to build up supply in India. From 2007 to 2011, local MacFry production increased from none to 75 percent of sales. Despite the strides made, in 2011 Abhijit Upadhye, McDonald's then senior director of Supply Chain India was still a worried man. Double-digit food inflation in India had been putting cost pressure on the company. McDonald's had aggressive growth plans for the coming years. The company had 240 restaurants, and planned to more than double by 2014. The MacFry was the single largest procurement item, so having a 100 percent local supply was critical to avoiding high import duties. The question that troubled him was: "Will I ever be able to eliminate imported fries from my supply chain?" This case describes McDonald's India and McCain India's efforts to optimize the MacFry supply chain by increasing local supply in a fast-growing emerging market using agronomy, farmer relationship development and value chain innovation.