This case captures the predictable tension between the generations of a family in business. The incumbent generation knows the secrets to the business's current success; the next generation joins the business with its own vision of what the future holds and the opportunities that changes in the marketplace, technology, supply chains, and degree of globalization represent. Both legacy and opportunity (or tradition and innovation) are fundamental elements of the successful strategy for continuity of the family-owned business. Amit is returning to his family business in India after successfully completing the requirements of a master's in business administration in the United States. How can he most productively rejoin the family business and make the knowledge he has acquired abroad available and useful to its owner-managers and the enterprise they lead?
Faced with major losses from operations, Sharp Corporation's young and unconventional president questioned the company's long-standing operating model. Sharp was a leader in the area of liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and manufacturing. It also held strong positions in several categories of consumer electronics in the Japanese market. Although Sharp had been increasing its involvement in overseas markets, it had yet to replicate its successes overseas. Sharp's operating model placed sensitive, high-value-added operations, such as research, development and component manufacturing near its headquarters in Japan. The company jealously guarded its LCD knowhow and had implemented strict security measures at its LCD panel plants. As Sharp's international sales grew, limitations with its business model became apparent. Operating primarily in Japan had drawbacks, such as exposure to currency risk, high infrastructure cost and high taxes. Additionally, the logistics of shipping large items, such as LCDs and solar panels, overseas presented other dilemmas. Sharp needed to reconsider this model and develop an approach that was more suitable to the environment it now competed in.
Risking becoming the target of a hostile takeover or alternatively, being cornered as a small regional player in the global beer industry, the Danish brewery Carlsberg decided in the early 2000s to expand into the rapidly growing emerging market to pursue new arenas of growth. By 2008, this strategy had paid off, and Carlsberg was positioned amongst the five largest breweries in the world. In the Russian market - one of the fastest growing markets in the world - Carlsberg had become the market leader. In China - the world's largest beer market in terms of size and population - the company had achieved a 55 per cent market share in Western China, and operated 20 brewery plants with approximately 5,000 employees. The ambitious acquisition strategy applied in emerging markets had become essential to Carlsberg's business in relation to future growth and profit. Accordingly, the case focuses on Carlsberg's entry into China, which started as a commercial failure in the eastern part of the country, but subsequently developed successfully in the west.
The a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (B) case updates company changes since the (A) case. Key updates include leadership and management appointments and organizational changes.
The case describes the development of Caesar's sustainability initiative program, the effect of the initiative on employee engagement and motivation, and on customer satisfaction.
This case describes the strategic internationalization options of a Taiwan-based digital music service provider, KKBOX.com. KKBOX was the first independent profitable digital music service provider in the world, with several factors having contributed to its profitability. While KKBOX looked for growth, service internationalization made it increase its involvement in international operations through adapting its strategy, resources, and structure. The CEO of KKBOX needed to decide between global growth through a content-based path, a technology platform path, or a new service path. Though there were good reasons to pursue each, it was vital to prioritize them to understand what was negotiable and what was core when going across borders to build a sustainable and strong KKBOX brand.
In October 1945, Henry Ford II received a telegram in his office at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan written by Charles "Tex" Thornton, a U.S. Air Force colonel. The telegram presented an opportunity for Ford to deploy a system of statistical control which had been developed and applied successfully in the management of the Army Air Forces. Henry Ford II had recently assumed control of his grandfather's troubled automotive empire, and was looking for experienced auto industry men to help him make Ford a dominant name once again. Thornton had no industry experience whatsoever, but seemed convinced that his ideas could be applicable to Ford's company. Perhaps the Ford Motor Company could use an injection of new ideas. Hiring Thornton and his men could end up being Ford's most inspired move. Or his most disastrous.
Bakari Burns, CEO of the Health Care Center for the Homeless (HCCH), located in Orlando, Florida was faced with the daunting task of rebranding the organization he lead. Burns knew the organization experienced difficulty with recognition and marketplace distinction, primarily due to the public's misperceptions about the relationship between HCCH and the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida. An external consulting team offered several recommendations for change, including an amended name and redesign of all marketing materials. This advice and changes in the external environment provided an excellent opportunity to reposition and refocus the organization. Recognizing the need for a new strategy and implementing that strategy were not the same; Burns was not sure how to lead the organization through the change process.
The Liang family, experienced family hoteliers in China, had to leave the mainland under the pressure of the forces of Chairman Mao and the CCP in 1949. They resettled in Taiwan, resumed their hospitality business and now, two generations later, have returned to Nanjing to find their family's old guest house has been allowed to run down and deteriorate as a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SoE). They repurchase the old guest house with the intention to redevelop. How will they deal with this privatization and the inevitable bureaucracy of purchasing, demolition and rebuilding the old guest house? How will they convert the existing SoE human resources (trained under planned economy conditions) into dynamic employees operating in the market economy while being sensitive to the cultural characteristics and challenges of this mainland Chinese workplace? With more than 6,000 Chinese SoEs still being targeted for privatization, this case is very relevant and provides a real world opportunity for students to exercise their research, analytical, international management, entrepreneurial and cross-cultural management skills.<br><br> This case is best used in a unit after the topics of international human resource management, culture and international management have been covered. Such positions may include 1) as a closing case in an international management unit of study 2) as a human resource management case in an international human resource management or international management unit of study 3) as a challenge in an entrepreneurial unit of study or 4) as a mid-unit or closing case in a strategic management unit of study.
The Chief Information and Security Officer (CISO) of HDFC Bank Ltd, a leading private sector bank in India, is examining the options before him in strengthening the bank's online security subsequent to a phishing attack on the bank's customers. Introducing an additional level of security involving new gateways for each online transaction seems a foregone conclusion. But the CISO must contend with customer convenience which is becoming a source of differentiation in a competitive banking scenario. The case provides an opportunity for students to develop a road map for the CISO in reinforcing the online security of a new generation bank.
In January 2010, Andrew Witty realized that the Pharmaceutical Patent Pool in and of itself was insufficient to generate action on neglected tropical diseases. He announced, therefore the "Open Labs, Open Minds" strategy. Was this enough to encourage action for neglected diseases affecting the world's poorest? How would GSK's shareholders react?
In February 2009, Andrew Witty reflected on his vision for big pharma as a catalyst for change which focused on two key issues: 1) promoting innovation for the products that treat or prevent neglected tropical diseases and 2) improving access to medicines in the world's poorest countries. He had announced the creation of the "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" and wondered if it was the right strategy to deliver on the two key issues.
In this supplement to Maple Leaf Foods (A): The Listeriosis Crisis, product #9B11C001, describes what the company and its chief executive officer did to cope with this crisis in the days and months following.
A hedge-fund strategist had two decisions to make. First, what was the path of core euro zone long-term interest rates likely to be over the next year? Was the dramatic decline in German long rates over the past two years an aberration that would soon be reversed, or was it part of the "new normal" that would persist for some time? Second, how would periphery long rates evolve relative to core rates? That is-the spread between long rates in the likes of Greece, Spain, and Ireland and those in Germany-how would they evolve over the next year? Was the dramatic divergence in euro zone long rates likely to persist, or would the coming year see a reconvergence? He knew many factors influenced long-term interest rates; he would have to use his entire toolkit to address this issue. The evidence was in no way clear-cut. Some factors pointed toward lower German rates, some toward higher, some toward a widening of euro zone spreads (even a dissolution of the euro zone as we know it?), and some toward reconvergence. To form an opinion on the likely paths of euro zone long rates, he would have to sort through mounds of information.
In 2007, the Red Hen Baking Company was deciding whether to move from its cramped and inefficient facility to a new facility. It had been in business about 8 years, and 2006 was the first year RHB realized a profit that was over $50,000. The added annual cost of the new location was about $58,000 and would require a $300,000 build-out. While the owner of Red Hen was excited about the possibility of a new, efficient bakery, he wondered if it was worth the added expense and risk.
The note on Social Media in Health Care describes different educational and collaborative social media firms that affect 1) consumers, 2) physicians, 3) medical centers, 4) life science firms, and 5) employers and their employees.
Customer loyalty schemes (or programs) are explicit efforts by retailers to gain long-term patronage from customers. Loyalty schemes are developed for a variety of reasons: to reward loyal customers, to generate more robust information about customer behavior, to influence consumer behavior, and as a defensive measure to combat a competing scheme. The purpose of this note is to describe the objectives of these schemes, including their origin and evolution; to highlight key aspects of their implementation; and to suggest approaches to maximize their impact. While this note focuses on the U.S. and U.K. retail sectors, most of its content is applicable to other economies.