A family business in Indonesia is hit hard by the economic downturn, and some family members want the former CEO--the founder's son--to retain the reins. Others argue that this would be a mistake. This fictional case study is written by William C. Kirby, featuring expert commentary by Les Trachtman and Lilli Friedland.
A family business in Indonesia is hit hard by the economic downturn, and some family members want the former CEO--the founder's son--to retain the reins. Others argue that this would be a mistake. This fictional case study is written by William C. Kirby, featuring expert commentary by Les Trachtman and Lilli Friedland.
Sullivan Container operated both new industrial steel barrel production and the reconditioning of industrial steel drum and plastic containers in several plant locations in the United States. The firm operated in an industry with a checkered past, characterized by periods of price fixing and environmental problems. A new management team acquired the firm in 2007 and began revamping manufacturing practices and focusing on environmentally sustainable practices. Faced with the severe economic crisis in 2009, the firm continued to pursue sustainable practices, but now faces a critical question as investment costs in sustainable practices increase. The key question we explore is: Given the industry history, will build sustainable practices into their business model drive a customer's Willingness to Pay? The case allows students to explore the challenges of creating a Willingness to Pay for aspects of value creation that may have no immediate positive effect on their customer's internal operations.
Companies are increasingly turning to online video advertising, which costs a small fraction of what traditional ads and paid media typically cost and which can create much greater engagement among viewers. Do-it-yourself strategies and outside talent can be used to create content, to distribute it, or both.
People have trouble understanding probability, yet it's crucial to all sorts of decision making, from choosing whether to buy new equipment to putting together an investment portfolio. Graphic representations and computer simulations can present information in ways decision makers can easily grasp--of critical importance in the era of Big Data.
Whether you're at the hub of a network of suppliers and other partners or part of a web of interconnected allies makes a big difference to your ability to innovate and to whether you're likely to get help in a crisis. There are advantages to both structures, and companies should make sure their network suits their strategy, position, and business environment.
Many people feel disconnected from the individuals they'll become in the future, perceiving their older self as "someone else." Because of this, they often make decisions that are not in their best long-term interests. But when people view images of themselves that have been digitally aged, their perspective changes, and their judgment improves.
The general secretary of Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation describes his organization's success--in partnership with WHO, UNICEF, and the CDC--at eradicating polio worldwide over the past 25 years, and shares some managerial lessons learned in the process.
Graduates of Harvard Business School overwhelmingly favor foreign over U.S. locations for new investment. Data from the International Finance Corporation show that the ease of doing business in the U.S. has declined. According to the Fraser Institute, the quality of both the legal system and property rights has fallen sharply in the U.S. since 2000. Has bureaucracy become the chief business of the American people?
The case analyzes the consumer choice behavior in the case of detergents sold in an Indian retail store, Reliance Retail. The protagonist, Parul Khanna, the house brand (private label) manager at Reliance Retail wanted to know whether promotions have any short-term or long-term impact on brand switching and customer retention. Sudz, the house-brand detergent sold by Reliance Retail, was envisioned as a cost-effective detergent, giving comparable wash results as some of the established national brands such as Surf, Rin, Ariel, and so on. The questions nagging Parul were: Could customers who had been habitually purchasing a certain brand for many years really consider a house brand and make that switch? Is there a need to interfere in the market and create a "catalyst" effect? Students are expected to evaluate the impact of promotion on brand switching and brand loyalty among detergent purchasers. The case may be used in advanced statistics, stochastic process, and business analytics courses of MBA or Executive MBA programs as well as in a Ph.D. program in Statistics and Business Analytics.
This case on Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd. traces the evolution of the firm and highlights how the product has evolved from a ubiquitous accounting software into an all-encompassing platform, with the launch of Tally.ERP.9. The case is poised at a time when the company has to consciously make the shift from being a product sales and service company to repositioning itself into an enterprise software company (with the product still being sold in the shrink-wrapped form), and therefore begin encountering the forces of network effects and platform dynamics.
Garnier which was launched in the United States in 2003 acquired a market share of 5.1% within a year. Pantene, which was the market leader in the United States in the shampoo category, saw its market share decline from 22% to 20.5% during the same period. The steep decline in the market share worried Procter & Gamble, the owner of the Pantene brand. It wondered whether the decline was because of lack of distribution, or higher pricing or unfavorable consumer perception. It hired leading market research agency - Nielsen to identify the cause of decline in market share and to suggest marketing strategy. This case elaborates on the research findings of Nielsen. It also traces the evolution of market research industry and in particular Nielsen. It describes the various research offerings of Nielsen.
The case describes the efforts of Reliance Retail in establishing a dedicated supply chain for sourcing bananas directly from farmers and selling them through Reliance's retail outlets in urban India. Reliance intervenes at multiple points in the supply chain, educating the farmers about better ways of planting, growing and harvesting bananas, introducing hygienic techniques of ripening and bypassing several layers of middlemen. This results in greater income for farmers, lesser wastage in the supply chain and better quality of fruits for the consumers. While Reliance's efforts with bananas seem to be a success, there are various challenges in scaling the model and leveraging the supply chain to source other fruits and vegetables. By describing the challenges and various tradeoffs that Reliance had to make, the case highlights how a large commercial organization such as Reliance can establish a viable business model that makes a positive impact on the lives of poor farmers and traders.
The case describes the inception and early stage evolution of RuralShores - a business process outsourcing organization established in rural India (Rural BPO). RBPO is a unique business model that involves the rural poor in delivering remote services such as transaction processing via telecommunication links. Although India has a thriving BPO business, all BPO organizations are located in urban centers. The founders of RuralShores conceptualized the rural BPO model so that it can be inclusive, empower rural women and solve problems of large-scale migration. Locating a BPO organization in rural India enabled significant savings in cost. However, it had its attendant challenges, such as dealing with poor quality infrastructure and a lower level of skills among the employees. RuralShores not only overcame these challenges but also ensured that its service levels were on par with those of urban BPO organizations. In the process, it was able to create positive impact in the lives of its employees as well as give a boost to the local economy. This motivated it to embark on an aggressive plan of scaling that involves geographic expansion through a franchisee model and increasing the scope of RuralShores' activities.
Dr. Ananth Rao, who heads the Quality Department at Apollo Hospitals, Bangalore, had undertaken initiatives to measure and benchmark the hospitality services at the hospital. In-patients spend around 80% of their time under the care of the staff from different departments such as nursing, housekeeping, food & beverages, operations, and so on. The Quality team at Apollo Bangalore received 1,434 complaints from the 1,38,600 in-patients treated between March 2011 and December 2012. The feedback was generally open-ended, in the form of patients' comments, opinions, or suggestions. Of the 1,434 complaints received, the housekeeping department received the maximum number of complaints, while the dietary service had the least number. Some of the complaints were genuine concerns, while some were related to minor discomfort. Some of the complaints were very specific, while some were generic. All of these were analyzed, which would enable the hospital to work towards reducing the overall number of complaints. Text analytics was used to analyze the open-ended complaints. In order to gain deeper insights, "Defect-Defective" techniques were used to identify the processes that caused the defects. The processes were re-engineered to eliminate all the defects and a pilot study was done using the "Define Measure Analyse Improve and Control" (DMAIC) cycle. Dr. Rao and his team have developed benchmarks for several common complaints with three levels of service by adopting the Kano model. Critical to Quality (CTQ) metrics have been defined and Sigma levels were calculated for each CTQ. Dr Rao is pondering on what is a good Sigma score target to set given the importance of hospitality in Apollo Hospitals.
Although inexperienced in real estate, Edward Alexander hopes in June 2013 that youthful enthusiasm and an $240,000 in savings and inheritance will help him enter the real estate business. His experience chronicles the process of finding, evaluating, and acquiring a four-unit brownstone in need of renovation in the Beacon Hill area of Boston. The case also identifies the various players in the process. A rewritten version of an earlier case
A graduating fourth-year HBA student faces an ethical dilemma as she struggles to decide which one of two job offers to accept. The situation is complicated by the fact that she has received an exploding offer from one firm and she must respond to it on the same day as she participates in a final-round interview with the other firm. The stakeholders in this case include the student, the two firms, the university and its career-management program, and the other graduating students in the HBA program. The (B) case 9B13C021 is set about two weeks later, when Patricia Coulter is wrestling with another decision.