Bob Whelan developed an idea with partners that was a seed before his fellowship year and seemed to address a significant national challenge - college financing - with a creative concept and experience from his years in venture capital. His nonprofit was called 13th Avenue Funding and it provided equity as an alternative to debt for students to finance college. Since he first set out on his journey, he faced a lot of resistance and difficulty in scaling his non-profit aimed at enabling one million low income students to obtain a postsecondary education debt free. Whelan continued to persist and adapt to the changing environment.
Damien Duff was worried. When he graduated from business school five years ago, Damien had had a plan - a good one. The problem, of course, was that plans rarely unfold as expected. Damien and his wife, Katrina, were now expecting their first child. As Damien wrestled with the reality of this news, he took a quick look at his financial plans. Damien knew his career was on track, but his debt load was much higher than anticipated and he hadn't started his retirement portfolio as planned. With a baby on the way, he knew the expenses would only accelerate. What to do - pay off the debt, start a registered education savings plan, or postpone the retirement savings plan still further?
Madison Kryswada, director of alumni relationships at State University, assembled a 125-school data set to explore, in her words, "the drivers of alumni giving rate." The alumni giving rate contributed 5% to the increasingly important U.S. News & World Report rankings of U.S. colleges and universities. Wanting to understand the relationship between this variable and school characteristics, Kryswada gave her assistant a list of four well-formed questions to answer.
The Hidesign case examines issues facing a niche fashion company in pursuit of its next growth phase. After three decades of offering a leather products portfolio, the founder and president of Hidesign has decided to extend Hidesign's portfolio to include non-leather product categories such as sunglasses and pens. The company's advertising tagline - "Real leather. Crafted the forgotten way." - has helped position Hidesign as a quality leather accessories brand. How should Hidesign position its new product range? Should different taglines be used for its leather and non-leather products? Should Hidesign do away with taglines altogether? Could the decision to extend the brand to non-leather product categories dilute its carefully cultivated core identity? Or could this decision help transform Hidesign into a fashion lifestyle brand?
The case centers on the dilemma faced by Carlo Fontana, the owner-operator of a small chain of two four star urban hotels located in Lugano, Switzerland and the other in Milan, Italy. Having developed an extensive customer service and operations information system, called Happy Guests Relationship Management, Fontana is entertaining the possibility of commercializing his innovation. Doing so may provide a welcome new source of income during the greatest economic slowdown in recent history and it would help in keeping the HGRM design and development team motivated to refine and improve the solution. However, commercializing the innovation may also stretch his organization too thin, and bring his team into a business, the software industry, completely foreign to them.
The case tells the story of the transformation of the corporate learning function at Nike Inc. and the creation and branding of the Nike U. It provides an account of the transformation plan that was developed by the newly appointed CLO Andrew Kilshaw and tracks the implementation process with its challenges and successes. It also outlines the key components of a learning brand of a multinational corporation. Learning objectives: Identify the key priorities of a new CLO. Outline the key components of a corporate learning brand. Identify ways in which learning creates value for an organization.
In 2012, Encana is reassessing its choice for functional currency and presentation currency. Historically, Encana has used Canadian dollars for its functional currency and US dollars for its presentation currency, but changes in Encana’s operations over the past several years have caused the company to revisit its choices. For functional currency, Encana must determine whether Canada continues to represent its primary economic environment. Further, Encana must consider whether its reasons for using U.S. dollars as presentation currency remain valid. To make its decisions, Encana must apply the guidance in IAS 21, “The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates.” Finally, Encana must determine the impact of its choices on the financial statements.
In 2010, Friend Bank was entering the fifth year of Hope Harris Johnson's ambitious 20-year growth plan to transform her family's one-branch community bank into an institution with a substantial presence in southeastern Alabama. Harris Johnson was pleased, so far, with the results. Strategically they had exceeded expectations in opening a second office and execution of the plan was going well. And while the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 had affected the financial results, it also presented Friend with competitive opportunities. Nonetheless, realizing her ultimate goals for Friend would not come easily. This is a shorter version of "Friend Bank: The Time for Hope," HBS No. 310-070.
Shanghai Diligence Law Firm continued with its approach to grow through a merger, rather than organically, and was eventually merged into a bigger law firm in China. After the merger, a refined A-B-C-D model is still in use as compensation system, although the challenge remains as for how to enhance both willingness and capabilities of associates to improve team performance at the firm.
Meredith, the head of a major division of a financial firm, must confront an unexpected response and challenge from a senior colleague when she proposes shutting down an underperforming unit.
A business unit leader faces a major decision when an employee critical to a high profile transaction asks for a unique compensation arrangement that has implications for the culture of the business.
A business unit leader faces a major decision when an employee critical to a high profile transaction asks for a unique compensation arrangement that has implications for the culture of the business.
The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client.
The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client.
The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client.
The case is about a non-profit organization located in Manchester, England. As a regional association helping smaller voluntary organizations and groups survive and grow, the organization itself depends on fundraising and donations and runs on project-based funding. The projects normally run for three to five years. Hiring and training new employees every two to three months is common. Due to project timelines, employees leave as soon as they find another job. Many complain about the lack of development opportunities within the organization. The chief executive officer has seven people working for him and needs to make a plan to retain his employees for the whole life of each project. For this purpose, he has decided to devise training and development programs for them. There are different options available for this purpose, each with pros and cons. Considering scarce funding, small project tenure, and his goal to provide fair opportunities for all, he must decide which option best fits his organization's needs and resources.
Internal communication in organizations has been significantly changing under the influence of the latest advancements in the digital space. Recently published research suggests that the majority of companies use internal communication for a variety of purposes, including helping employees understand the business and providing performance information. This technical note examines the importance of social media used for internal purposes, provides relevant examples from companies taking leading positions in adopting social media technologies, and presents an overview of the existing internal social media tools that are commonly used in organizations.
Nalli Silk Sarees Private Limited was a family owned and operated business that retailed Indian ethnic wear. This 83-year old company had enjoyed impressive growth with a $95 million turnover, a 22 store retail footprint, and had outdone its competitors by being the only player in its segment to have a national presence. Headquartered in Chennai, India, the company built its unique national brand by emphasizing innovation, customer centric practices, quality and honesty across the store's retail operations. In 2011, with changing dynamics in the Indian apparel market, the company started to face intense competition from small and large Indian and foreign retailers. The company's chairman, Dr.Nalli Kuppusamy Chetty, announced a $25 million expansion plan and proposed the opening of 12 new stores over a period of two years. This case focuses on the company's pricing strategy, merchandising process and product assortments to support its own competitiveness and overall customer experience.
This case introduces students to the value chain of the oil and gas industry in Canada. Through examining the current position and future plans of a small, independent oil and gas exploration company, they will discover the challenges of growing through acquisition and the risks associated with expanding beyond a company's core competencies. The case includes an overview of the industry, the history of Oleum Resources Ltd., and the opportunities it has to revise its business strategy by expanding into the innovative but risky ASP technology. The company's first two options entail not only investing considerable capital but also hiring highly specialized personnel. However, the third option, to stay the course, may mean facing losses and investor unhappiness.