This case is used in Darden's EMBA and Global EMBA programs. It works well in any course covering short- and long-term strategic issues for a privately held firm experiencing strong growth. In 2011, sales at Chick-fil-A (CFA)surpassed $4 billion; however due to ownership's aversion to debt, the pace of expansion was significantly slower than the fast-food-segment average. Also, the biggest differences between CFA and other fast-food chains were its private, family-controlled ownership structure and its management philosophy. This case explores the relationship between an enterprise's philosophy and its long-term viability.
An entrepreneurial entertainment business is considering its possible entry into a new foreign market. The case does not, however, focus on the sales potential and financial considerations of entering Brazil. The company assesses these considerations by using fairly straightforward guidelines - its intuitive indications of interest based on DVD sales and attendance at performances elsewhere in the world and the availability of enough large venues to seat a certain total combined audience size. In assessing whether to enter Brazil, the case considers the management demands likely to be encountered in that new context and the management capabilities of the organization and the staff members to effectively deal with these demands. This analysis requires the company to consider many of the same issues that are typically discussed in international management courses: the nature of Brazil's national environment and whether Brazil's social infrastructure includes such elements as a dependable legal system, a pool of experienced local managers and a societal culture that will support dependable and trusting relationships with venue managers and local work crews.
An Indian company was planning to set up a Global Design Competence Centre (GDCC) in India. The company offered scented candles and holiday and gift products primarily for the U.S. market. Through its two American subsidiaries, it made and sold its products to large American mass-merchandisers and independent retailers. In-house design capabilities also existed in the form of six teams across India and the United States. Through the GDCC, the company intended to use Indian designers in collaboration with U.S. designers to create products for the U.S. market. The case draws students into exploring possible strategies to set up the GDCC.
In February 2013, the G-20 finance ministers met in Moscow, Russia to discuss the rising anxieties over a potential international currency war. It was speculated that certain countries were purposely devaluing their currencies in order to improve their competitiveness in global markets. Emerging markets contended that the expansionary monetary policies of the major central banks, such as the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and the Bank of England, were causing significant and detrimental spillover effects, such as currency appreciation, declining exports, and rising inflation, in less developed economies. Conversely, the major central banks insisted that such policies were necessary for reviving economic growth both domestically and internationally. Would these policies successfully create a resurgence of growth? Can expansionary monetary policies be considered "beggar-thy-neighbor" actions by emerging markets? How should developing nations respond?
In the fall of 2012, Dr. Andres Alonso had much to celebrate about in his five-year tenure as CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, including the approval and implementation of an innovative teachers' contract with a jointly-governed four-tier career pathway that tied teacher pay and promotion to performance and peer review. Nonetheless, Alonso was concerned about the future of the contract and the reforms it introduced. It took two votes before the teachers ratified the contract in November 2010. Since then, implementation had been laborious, complicated, and uncertain. many questions would have to be answered in the coming months. Was the district making the transition to a contract that rewarded "engagement" in a career pathway rather than passive reliance on steps and lanes? Were the processes for earning Achievement Units and progressing through the pathways rigorous enough so that the contract wouldn't default to the past practice where everyone moves up and earns more money? Were the joint governance structures established to direct and manage the career pathways, pay system, and peer-review process working effectively? How did the new system support the district's underlying theory of change?
The profit margin for the travel agency industry in Singapore, which mostly offered travel packages to Asia and Europe, was very thin. An up-and-coming travel agency faced the dilemma of offering maximum customer satisfaction while keeping its operating cost (e.g., fees for its tour guides) low. Rather than simply assigning travel guides to tours by trial and error, a director of the travel agency decided to use an optimization template. This case requires the development of an optimization template to advise management on the optimal assignment of tour leaders (within constraints of their availability and required rest periods) and generate maximum satisfaction among the customers. Considerations for tour-guide assignment include tour guides’ customer satisfaction levels, expertise on particular tours, visas for specific countries, and employment plans.
<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Innovation Management category, ISB-Ivey Global Case Competition</strong></p><br>An Indian company was planning to set up a Global Design Competence Centre (GDCC) in India. The company offered scented candles and holiday and gift products primarily for the U.S. market. Through its two American subsidiaries, it made and sold its products to large American mass-merchandisers and independent retailers. In-house design capabilities also existed in the form of six teams across India and the United States. Through the GDCC, the company intended to use Indian designers in collaboration with U.S. designers to create products for the U.S. market. The case draws students into exploring possible strategies to set up the GDCC.
An entrepreneurial entertainment business is considering its possible entry into a new foreign market. The case does not, however, focus on the sales potential and financial considerations of entering Brazil. The company assesses these considerations by using fairly straightforward guidelines — its intuitive indications of interest based on DVD sales and attendance at performances elsewhere in the world and the availability of enough large venues to seat a certain total combined audience size. <br><br>In assessing whether to enter Brazil, the case considers the management demands likely to be encountered in that new context and the management capabilities of the organization and the staff members to effectively deal with these demands. This analysis requires the company to consider many of the same issues that are typically discussed in international management courses: the nature of Brazil’s national environment and whether Brazil’s social infrastructure includes such elements as a dependable legal system, a pool of experienced local managers and a societal culture that will support dependable and trusting relationships with venue managers and local work crews.
In late 2012, recent Harvard Business School graduate Hannah Lopez is given the opportunity to lead entry into a new market for Plámo, a company that created startup companies in Europe and emerging markets based upon existing successful business models. She had only been with the company a few months, and while excited by the opportunity, she was beginning to have some doubts about the company. In the brief time she had been with the company, she had had a few experiences that made her question the company's approach to management and the sustainability of its business. Accepting the assignment could give her a unique entrepreneurial opportunity, but she wondered what level of support she could expect to receive and, if the startup did fail, what impact would that have on her career and reputation? Lopez was also starting to worry about the ethical implications of Plámo's style of entrepreneurship. She worried that by agreeing to serve as a manager of the new operations, she would be tacitly supporting elements of Plámo's strategy and practices that she was concerned about. Was she comfortable taking other companies' ideas and simply copying them? Was this true entrepreneurship?
Omar Ishrak, Medtronic's first non-American CEO, aims to reinvigorate the medical device maker's growth by focusing on emerging markets, therapy innovation, and creative business models. In 2012, budget constraints in mature economies, the lack of new medical therapies coming to market, and the decline in growth of Medtronic's core businesses has reduced the company's once dynamic growth close to zero. As the newly appointed CEO, Ishrak faces the formidable challenge of restoring the company's growth. In his first 18 months as CEO, he has laid the groundwork for future growth by ramping up R&D investment in breakthrough therapy innovations. To bolster Medtronic's near-term prospects, he has supported creative product and business model innovations aimed at overcoming adoption barriers in emerging economies. Ishrak restructured his executive team and their responsibilities: the heads of Medtronic's global operating regions and major countries, who previously reported to the head of international, now report directly to the CEO, putting seven non-Americans on the excecutive committee. In another important milestone, Medtronic acquired a Chinese orthopedics company, which became its first fully integrated business unit outside the U.S. Ishrak is trying to decide whether these steps are sufficient to transform Medtronic from a multinational into a truly global company and restore its growth.
This case describes the compensation and performance evaluations at an investment management company. The senior management team of Massachusetts Financial Services (MFS) Investment Management was contemplating an introduction of hedge funds at the firm, but many believed that typical hedge fund manager pay (20% of the upside) would harm the MFS culture, which glorified "star performance but not star egos." The case presents the MFS compensation philosophy and plan (including the plan's emphasis on subjective compensation), the types of people it attracted, the resulting culture, and how the senior management team approached the hedge funds question. It includes side discussion on firm-specific human capital. This is an abridged version of an earlier case.
With the increase of globalization in trading and online shopping, phony products are on the rise in the market. This article introduces a range of technologies that have been implemented in the supply chain to deter counterfeiters. Technology for both product authentication and tracing and tracking products in the supply chain will be discussed, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. Additionally, success stories on combating counterfeits are introduced. Finally, issues related to rising anti-counterfeiting costs, collaborative efforts in fighting fakes, and a multi-pronged plan are explored.
The recent case of fake Avastin1 brought the problem of counterfeit pharmaceuticals to the forefront of illicit trade. Drug counterfeiters are opportunistic criminals motivated by the windfall profits that are realized from selling fake pharmaceuticals with limited legal penalties. This article describes the interrelated trends that may trigger a catastrophic situation of counterfeit drugs infiltrating the global pharmaceutical supply chain--a 'perfect storm.' We discuss the failure of policymakers to note the early warning signs and the ease of penetrating the pharmaceutical supply chain--both physically and virtually--by an array of illicit traders, ranging from small cottage operations to full-scale manufacturing facilities; the recent U.S. legislation enacted to curb growth in counterfeit pharmaceuticals; and the proliferation of national, multilateral, and industry-led agencies to protect the prescription drug supply chain. Finally, we conclude with an analysis of anticounterfeiting tactics (e.g., consumer education campaigns, authentication technology) developed by various stakeholders.
Every business enterprise touches and is touched by customers in different ways at different touchpoints: points of human, product, service, communication, spatial, and/or electronic interaction collectively constituting the interface between an enterprise and its customers. Like any good architect conceiving of and giving shape to a building or a space, the enterprise must conceive, design, implement, and manage these touchpoints with the central goal of developing a compelling customer experience at all touchpoints over the course of the entire relationship cycle. This article addresses this central challenge in three stages. First, it makes the case for a holistic approach to the totality of touchpoints across all parts of the enterprise and all stages of the customer relationship cycle. Then, it offers a methodology for drawing up customer touchpoint blueprints. Finally, it suggests five critical requirements for compelling touchpoint architecture.