In 2010, PepsiCo India's management is working to translate PepsiCo's new mission, "Performance with Purpose," into practice in the India market. The mission calls for continued financial performance and market leadership, as well as greater emphasis on healthy products, natural resource management, and employee empowerment. PepsiCo India and other regional PepsiCo business units have significant discretion over how to implement Performance with Purpose in their local markets. PepsiCo India has made progress under the mission but continues to be challenged by the inherent tension between short-term financial performance and long-term investments in socially responsible initiatives.
It was June 2010, and Kevin Crutchfield, CEO of Alpha Natural Resources, and his team of senior executives were facing several critical issues for the coal business. These issues were top of mind as he prepared a presentation he was expected to deliver the following Monday to ANR shareholders at the annual meeting. For fiscal year 2009, the company had revenues of $2,495 million, an increase of 1% compared with 2008, and $58 million in net income. This was relatively good considering the economic environment, but the company's long-run future was what had Crutchfield really concerned.
This case is about the multinational company ABB, the development of its sustainability strategy, and its dilemmas in supplying hydropower dam projects. Adam Roscoe, head of sustainability at ABB Group, had to evaluate the content and the business consequences of a letter written by the non-profit organization (NGO) International Rivers. The letter discussed the alleged violations of sustainability criteria when building the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos. Roscoe needed to assess what implications the letter had for ABB. ABB had a large stake in the outcomes of the project. As ABB had a well-developed sustainability practice in its core business, such a letter from a large well-known NGO might affect ABB's policies and practices in sustainability. On the one hand, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank had a large stake in seeing that the project was successful in its environmental and social aspects. The dam project would be providing the country with much needed economic development: supplying rural areas of Laos as well as Thailand with electricity, bringing in a large source of revenues that would be used in poverty reduction programs for Laos, and lastly providing a non-carbon-based energy source. On the other hand, ABB had to consider the position of its stakeholders including customers, investors, media and NGOs. If ABB was associated with a dam project that did not comply with international regulations outlined by the World Bank and the Equator Principles of financial institutions, the company could face a reputation risk associated with the project. This could lead to negative publicity and, potentially, loss of business. Adam thus faced two interweaved questions: Would the International Rivers' letter pose a reputation risk for ABB? What would this example mean for ABB's sustainability criteria and objectives and would this need to be acknowledged, and, if so, how?
In the 1990's, Red Hat established itself as a leading proponent of the open source software movement and sought to carve out for itself a significant role in the open source marketplace. As of 2011, the company reported $177 million in Non-GAAP operating income in FY2010, based on revenues of $748 million. Red Hat's market capitalization was set at $8 billion as of January 25, 2011. It operated 65 offices worldwide, including 12 Global Support Service Centers, and employed 3,580 people. The Red Hat brand is most closely associated with Linux even though their stable of product offerings grew to include a number of other noteworthy system software and middleware products, such as JBoss and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization. As Red Hat's Linux product line came to be widely accepted as a enterprise software platform, the company transformed its thinking about and delivery of customer support. This case study explores the innovative ways that Red Hat went about this transformartion process.
The case describes the introduction of a human resources (HR) system named "Project Vishwamitra" (PV) in 2000 in a large, technocratic public sector organization, TP Engineering Corporation (TPEC). PV was introduced with considerable leadership support and visibility. It was intended to provide every engineer trainee at TPEC a friend and guide to ease their entry and socialization into the organization. The senior managers assigned to guide the trainees were called "mentors." For the first four to five years, the project ran smoothly. The trainees distinctly felt supported whenever they needed some help. At the same time, the mentors were happy to guide trainees. After four to five years, certain important changes took place in the organization in staffing of leadership positions. With expansion and new projects, the growth trajectory of TPEC also showed a sharp increase. With earlier people moving out and a significant rise in the number of trainees being recruited, PV ran into difficult waters. Yet, no changes were made in the system or processes. PV started to get ritualized - meetings between trainees and mentors became more infrequent and in certain areas, there was total absence of any contact between the two. In the midst of degeneration, one of the leaders was able to revive the project in Unit Chelpur. With highly ambitious growth plans, the number of trainees was expected to increase from 450 in 2010 to 750 in 2011. The company faced a choice regarding the form in which PV should continue.
"Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) is a manufacturing leader in the utility vehicles (UVs) segment in the Indian automotive industry. Since 2004, M&M has been exporting UVs to South Africa, the only country in the African continent with a significant middle-class population. M&M has set up a fully owned subsidiary in South Africa, where it has also established a servicing and spare parts infrastructure and a dealer network. This subsidiary enjoyed the growth wave in the South African automotive industry up to 2007, then fell into a three-year slump, largely as a result of a recession in the global automotive industry. Now on the verge of industry renewal in 2011, the subsidiary needs to plan its next steps in South Africa, where most global automotive companies have established either manufacturing or trading outposts in response to South Africa's long-term potential and the industry-friendly policies of its government. The case is positioned as of May 2011, when M&M's subsidiary must choose from among four alternatives. M&M can continue with its prevailing business model of importing completely built units (CBUs) from its Indian operations to meet local demand while using South Africa as a re-export hub to target the burgeoning markets in sub-Saharan Africa. It can also choose to collaborate with a local vendor to assemble vehicles locally from completely knocked down (CKD) components imported from India. Alternatively, M&M may choose to set up a manufacturing facility of its own in South Africa, a model followed by many of its competitors. Lastly, M&M can choose to wait and watch until it notes definitive signs of revival in demand, which would make it more certain of its steps. The case provides an opportunity for students to examine each alternative and make a decision on M&M's way forward in South Africa."
Provides practical guidelines for conducting market research to explore and validate demand for entrepreneurial offering. Explains how the research objectives of entrepreneurs might differ from those relevant to managers evaluating product or service offerings to established markets. For each of several research techniques, specifies conditions under which the technique is most likely to yield valuable insights; describes how the technique should be adapted for use in an entrepreneurial context; and offers tips and cautions about applying the technique. The techniques include customer surveys, usability tests, market trials, split tests, and Net Promoter Score. Appendices discuss the use of focus groups and conjoint analysis in an entrepreneurial context. The Note is therefore suitable for use in MBA, Executive Education, Field Study, or project contexts where the focus is startups, new business development, product development, or innovation.
Provides practical guidelines for conducting customer visits to explore and validate demand for an entrepreneurial offering. Reviews conditions under which visits will yield superior insights, compared to other research methods. Describes criteria for selecting visit sites; how to plan for visits; how to conduct them most effectively; and how to debrief after visits. The note is therefore relevant to MBA, Executive Education, Field Study, or project contexts where the focus is startups, entrepreneurial management, new product development, business development, or innovation.
This case is about the multinational company ABB’s development of a sustainability strategy, and its dilemmas in supplying hydropower dam projects. Adam Roscoe, head of sustainability at ABB Group, had to evaluate the content and business consequences of a letter written by the non-governmental organization (NGO) International Rivers. The letter discussed the alleged violations of sustainability criteria when building the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos. Roscoe needed to assess what implications the letter had for ABB, which had a large stake in the outcomes of the project. Such a letter from a prominent NGO might affect ABB’s policies and practices in sustainability. <br><br>The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank had great interest in seeing the project’s success, as it would supply rural areas of Laos and Thailand with electricity, bring in a large source of revenue that would be used in poverty-reduction programs for Laos and, lastly, provide a non-carbon-based energy source. ABB also had to consider the position of its stakeholders including customers, investors, media, and NGOs. If ABB was associated with a dam project that did not comply with international regulations, this could lead to negative publicity and potential loss of business. <br><br>Roscoe thus faced two interweaved questions: Would International Rivers’ letter pose a reputation risk for ABB? What would this example mean for ABB’s sustainability criteria and objectives and would this need to be acknowledged and, if so, how?
Case A describes the development from concept to production of the world's first and smallest hand-held espresso machine. It shows the importance the role of prototyping plays in developing an innovative product, capturing the phases and decisions involved along the design path. The machine is ready for tooling and the CEO of Nielsen Innovation must decide to bring the product to market. Should it be licensed as they had done with other products they had designed? Or should they create a stand-alone business? Case B describes how and why the team started a spin-off company for the Handpresso machine, and managed to grow the business in a short space of time.
Case A describes the development from concept to production of the world's first and smallest hand-held espresso machine. It shows the importance the role of prototyping plays in developing an innovative product, capturing the phases and decisions involved along the design path. The machine is ready for tooling and the CEO of Nielsen Innovation must decide to bring the product to market. Should it be licensed as they had done with other products they had designed? Or should they create a stand-alone business? Case B describes how and why the team started a spin-off company for the Handpresso machine, and managed to grow the business in a short space of time.
In October, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., is preparing for the company's 2010 Q3 earnings conference call and wondering how to address the inevitable questions related to financial reform. It has been just over two months since the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) was passed, and there is still much uncertainty as to how JPMorgan should address the reforms. JPMorgan had reported stronger than expected EPS in the third quarter, but analysts were more concerned about what strategic initiatives the CEO would implement in response to the Dodd-Frank Act. The act had introduced wide-ranging and industry-changing reforms that were aimed primarily at fully integrated financial institutions such as JPMorgan. While most of the rulemaking would be forthcoming from regulatory authorities, the CEO knows it would be best to address these issues immediately to protect shareholders by avoiding uncertainty.
The Dodd-Frank Act, in response to the preceding financial crisis of 2008-09, fundamentally changed the finance industry and greatly affected its biggest players. This technical note gives an overview of the Dodd-Frank Act, the most important parts of the act (and other regulatory reform), and the affect its reforms could have on the country's largest financial institutions. It is important to note that the Dodd-Frank Act does not necessarily create hard and fast rules but often provides only guidance for regulators to proceed with rule-making activities.
The case describes the delivery of an urban public transportation project through a public private partnership (PPP). Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was a corporate body created by the Government of India and the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT Delhi) for implementing a mass rapid transit system (MRTS) in Delhi. Dr. E. Sreedharan was appointed the managing director of the corporation. DMRC successfully completed phase-I of the MRTS in 2006. The government further mandated DMRC to implement phase-II of the MRTS project. The Japanese Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) provided soft loans for both phases of the project, which were being implemented and commissioned through conventional engineering and procurement contracts (EPC). Meanwhile, the city of Delhi got the mandate to host the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010. As part of the preparations for these games, linking New Delhi Railway Station with Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport with a metro system - Airport Express Metro Link (AEML) - became necessary for easing the traffic congestion in the city. The time line available for the AEML project was less than three years. At the same time, JBIC financial help was not available for this project. Dr. Sreedharan was thus facing the challenges of project financing and its timely delivery. In the recent past in India, the public private partnership (PPP) model of infrastructure development had emerged as a dominant model due to its certain desirable characteristics. The case discusses various options available to DMRC for project financing and timely completion of the AEML project under PPP mode.
The marketing manager for Canadian Blood Services (CBS) is concerned about a growing demand for blood - 2 per cent per year - driven by a number of factors, including the decrease of wait times in local hospitals, new operating procedures and increased use or requirements of an aging population. Peak demand seasons coincide with low supply seasons, such as summer and winter holidays. Two issues require attention: the first involves increasing the absolute number of donors, currently in the 400,000 range. Indications are that the percentage of Canadians (four per cent) who donate blood is lower than other countries such as Sweden (five per cent). The second need is to retain more donors and increase the number of donations per donor, per year. The CBS still faces issues stemming from the tainted blood scandal of the 1980s and the subsequent Krever inquiry. They are working to rebuild the trust of the public. The crux of the issue is understanding consumer behaviour toward blood donation. The manager needs to understand the consumer decision process, examine segments, determine a target segment and develop communications to increase both the absolute number of donors and the repeat donations of identified donors.