Local businesses' experiences with using Groupon to promote themselves ran the gamut of roaring success to absolute failure. Why is there such a large range in outcomes for firms that used daily deal sites such as Groupon? This case examines the effectiveness of online daily deal sites from the point of view of local businesses.
A common and critical dilemma confronting enterprises today is how to ensure that they realize value from their large-scale investments in information technology (IT) and IT-enabled change. IT-enabled investments can bring huge rewards, but only with the right governance and management processes and full engagement from all management levels. This teaching case is about the tough but rewarding journey of the Dutch airline company KLM in improving the governance of IT, moving from managing the cost of IT towards managing the business value of IT. Although KLM still has challenges ahead, the changes in structures, processes and relational mechanisms have helped to restore trust between the business and the IT organization, and lowered business operating costs through a more rigorous selection and portfolio management process. The changes have also increased the resources allocated to IT innovation. Although KLM faced some unique challenges as it began the journey to transform its enterprise governance of IT, the realization of greater business value from today's significant and increasingly complex investments in IT is a concern for all businesses. We therefore believe that the practices and lessons learned at KLM can be applied by other organizations as they seek to more fully engage their own business unit managers in IT investment decision making and in accountability for realizing business value.
The case takes us back to 2009, a year of great turmoil and the start of a transformation journey for BARCO, a global visualisation solutions company. Stefaan Kindekens, newly appointed corporate CIO, is preparing the new IT strategy per request of the board of directors. At the heart of the proposal are the introduction of a new IT operating model and the replacement of the legacy systems landscape. The case allows for discussions about business and IT alignment, IT strategy, and IT governance.
This case study invites students to discuss strategic value creation through the use of information technology (IT). It raises issues of business model innovation, IT strategy, digital platforms, ecosystems, business-IT alignment, and leadership. The key character in the case is the Chief Information Officer, Paul Danneels, who is ready to drive the strategic transformation of the VDAB, the Flemish Employment Agency, from a service provider to a labor market conductor. Starting from a firm understanding of the VDAB's strategic choices, students should be able to discuss the positioning and role of the IT department as well as its views on value delivery.
This case describes the effective information technology (IT) business alignment considerations that led to the successful implementation of a telecommunication platform designed to efficiently route cell phone calls in a financial institution in Chile. The company had several branches throughout the country, including its headquarters in Santiago. This initiative was part of a Technology Cost Savings strategy generated in response to the 2008 crisis. The idea behind it was to align internal business leaders with the IT team in order to optimize these costs, realizing a more efficient telecommunication platform, and to work together, as several cost-reducing initiatives were being executed at the same time. Achievements were thoroughly reviewed by the board of directors, and thus pressure to clean up the house was high. At that time, when users called a cellular phone from a landline, the call was charged using a fee much higher than a mobile company rate. The goal of the project was naturally to optimize these charges. An automatic call routing was designed, discussed and executed with the participation of the business leaders, based on each branch's demand and projected growth. The case relates the project lifecycle: the mistakes made at the beginning, the initial platform tests and bottlenecks, the rejection and frustration of the business, and a posterior crisis control and recovery phase. IT alignment and sponsorship from the directors were crucial, as there was no way back. All these factors, plus the additional IT activities competing for business attention, made this project both a challenging and learning experience.
The case explores the challenges facing Massachusetts General Hospital concerning the adoption of a new infection control policy, which promises to improve operational performance, patient safety, and profitability. The new policy requires coordination between different departments within the hospital, namely the Emergency Department, the Infection Control Unit, and Admission Services. Students are initially asked to assess the operational, financial and clinical implications of the new policy. They are then asked to examine different approaches to its implementation.
In 2010 the Memphis City School District merged with the neighboring Shelby County School system under the supervision of a single board of education and superintendent. It promised much more than just administrative synergies-it was an opportunity to change a culture, as well as policies and practices that had existed for decades. By 2010 Shelby County school system had about 50,000 students, approximately 55 percent white and 37 percent economically disadvantaged. The Memphis student body, which numbered around 100,000, was about 85 percent black and 87 percent economically disadvantaged. In 2010, residents from within and outside the city each contributed about 50 percent of the tax revenue for the two systems, but, based on enrollment, two-thirds of the budget was allocated to Memphis City schools. Pitt Hyde and the Hyde Family Foundation saw the merger as a once-in-a-lifetime fresh start for public education in Memphis and he was determined to do what he could to make sure the merger realized its potential. Many interests, practices and players were deeply entrenched in the Memphis schools. But Hyde and his wife had encountered like-minded reformers-educators, government officials, business people and not-for-profit leaders who were willing to put a shoulder to the wheel. Prior to the merger, the Hydes had notched some considerable successes, starting with the legislation that permitted establishment of the state's first charter schools. They had established valuable partnerships, and developed performance standards and accountability for teachers and administrators. They had helped inaugurate pay-for-performance for teachers and a teacher evaluation system based on student outcomes. Building relationships, raising the money, getting others involved were critical steps along the way. They had brought new voices into the campaign.
The emergency department of any large hospital is frequently subject to substantial patient crowding, a result of arrivals by foot and ambulance, and limited resources. The San Francisco General Hospital is particularly crowded due to its prominence as the only trauma centre in the city. As a result, it is on ambulance diversion almost 25 per cent of the time, more than any other hospital in the area. Hospital managers are looking for ways to alleviate emergency department crowding and ambulance diversion.
MassChallenge Inc. is a large non-profit startup accelerator that connects new ventures with other stakeholders within an established business ecosystem. For this new company to engage stakeholders in the numbers envisaged and create a crowd-sourced deal management system, the founders need to develop a model that brings in as many quality or attractive startups as possible. Instead of taking equity in participating ventures as traditional accelerators do, MassChallenge focuses on developing a marketplace for stakeholders to gain access to startups and for startups to access the resources provided by investors and other stakeholders, including government; angel investors, venture capitalists and lawyers; and businesses, foundations and universities. The founders also need to find ways to build MassChallenge through possible expansion and funding opportunities.
In 2012, two years after a major restructuring project had begun at German skin care producer Beiersdorf, the process was still ongoing. The new chief executive officer (CEO) inherited several challenges from his predecessor, including the difficult implementation of the new transnational strategy, opposition from employees and the work council, and ineffective market-entry strategies (especially in China). Strong competitors and a slow rate of economic recovery in Beiersdorf’s main markets provided additional complexity. Questions remained about how the new CEO should address the ongoing challenges facing the company.
The sole proprietor of a small cake-baking and cake-decorating business needs to make some decisions regarding the company’s future. The company’s growth has brought new challenges including possible space constraints. The desire to improve profitability and to take the business to the next level leads the owner to consider increasing prices and the development of a new advertising strategy.
In mid-March 2011, the vice-chairman of National Bank Financial had to decide what price to recommend to his Maple consortium partners for the TMX Group Inc. (TMX). The TMX was the owner and operator of Canada's leading cash and derivatives exchanges. The vice-chairman was leading a consortium of Canadian banks that was planning an unsolicited bid in response to merger talks between the TMX and the London Stock Exchange Group. The case allows for a discussion of mergers and acquisitions and the factors behind merger waves, the mechanics of a hostile bid for a publicly listed company, the changing landscape for stock and derivative exchanges, the valuation of a target company, and the distinction between strategic and financial buyers. An Excel spreadsheet for students is available.
Marketing managers tend to focus on "mean" or "net" consumer scores, but these miss an important point: Some brands are highly polarizing, with large numbers of "brand lovers" and equally large numbers of brand haters. Measuring "brand dispersion" will allow marketers to identify polarizing brands, and they can take steps to turn polarization to their advantage.
Initial public offerings are expensive, and many owners turn to M&A instead. But a little-understood mechanism known as a tax receivable agreement can offset the high costs of an IPO offering. Investment banks and private equity firms are already using this tool; other companies should, too.
Using simple online psychometric tests at the start of the hiring regimen can reap a smaller, better applicant pool and save thousands of hours of managerial time.
Business leaders are continually faced with complex change, and consistent performance is not enough to keep their companies relevant. They must be prepared to adapt to a shifting environment and continually reinvent themselves. The author has been the chairman and CEO of Abbott Laboratories since 1999. He describes how Abbott's reinvention has led to success.
Most executives accept that social and civic responsibilities are indispensable to doing good business; their enterprises won't survive if those responsibilities are ignored. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and Unilever CEO Paul Polman are exemplars of that attitude.
Despite its reputation as the engine of the modern economy, the information industry shed more jobs in the United States from 2001 to 2011 than any other sector except manufacturing.