The case describes existing performance management systems at a leading business school in India, the National Institute of Management (Central India campus) (NIM (CI campus)). The institution, which ranked among the top 20 business schools in India, is facing critical issues of attracting and retaining faculty members. The director of NIM (CI campus) has implemented a unit based performance measurement and incentive system that has worked favorably and enabled the institute to recruit top academicians. However, the management committee believes that the system has outlived its utility and desires to replace it with more robust systems that are less vulnerable to misuse. The faculty members, however, support retention of the existing system. The key teaching objective of this case is to understand performance management systems from perspectives of different stakeholders and develop a framework that meets all objectives of performance management. The case enables users to understand all steps in performance management and examine shortcomings at each stage. The role of incentive systems both as a tool to enhance individual performance and as a management control mechanism is also discussed. The case provides users an opportunity to evaluate the strategic significance of performance management. The case is to be used along with Performance Management at the National Institute of Management (Central India Campus) (A) [908C20].

Shane Eten is passionate about being an entrepreneur and finds an opportunity in managing food waste; a Clean Technology startup. Shane develops a plan for an anaerobic digester that will convert grocery store food waste into energy and organic fertilizer. The case explores Shane's entrepreneurial journey, from working in a high tech startup, a low tech candle maker, an MBA student to gaining recognition in business plan competitions for the anaerobic digester. At the point in time of the case, Shane needs to raise some capital to develop a prototype and prove his concept. Shane struggles in identifying sources for the $250,000 he needs to launch his dream. Although Shane has garnered lots of interest from potential investors during his success in business plan competitions, his venture is too early and the capital needed is too small for venture capitalists. He could seek angel capital, but how can he identify these "hidden" angels? Friends and family are a possibility, but Shane isn't sure that his contacts have enough capital available for him. Besides, he would like to preserve as much ownership as possible at this point in time, because he recognizes that he'll need to raise more capital to build out the company if the prototype is successful. This is a good case to explore alternative sources of capital.

This article explains the utility of adopting an identity-based view of the corporation, which underpins a diagnostic tool of identity management outlined in this article. Using British Airways as an extensive case history, it examines and analyzes how British Airways' senior executives have intuitively adopted an identity-based perspective as part of the strategic management of the carrier. The analysis is corroborated by insights from the former CEO of British Airways, Lord Marshall, as well as his predecessor, Lord King. The overriding message is that calibrating the multiple identities of the corporation is a critical dimension of strategic management.

In many industries, disintegration processes have drastically changed the overall industry structure as well as the organization of value creation processes and actors. Highly integrated production and distribution systems have been replaced by devolved organization architectures. This article introduces the concept of value creation architectures, a term that describes the structure and relationships of all the value-adding activities that are carried out by various actors and companies to bring a particular product or service to market. Analyses of business firms tend to overlook the relationship between competitive advantage and the architecture of value creation. This article investigates how different architectures of value creation affect the competitiveness of individual firms. The new concept is illustrated by an in-depth case study of the European automobile industry.

Despite the availability of many methodologies, management approaches, and literature on strategy execution, research suggests that seven out of ten organizations fail to successfully execute their strategies. However, three out of ten organizations do appear to succeed. To find out what these organizations do differently, ten key management elements for successful strategy execution were identified from the literature as well as seven business benefits that could be realized if these elements were performed effectively. Next, 93 organizations were surveyed, followed by focus group meetings with senior managers. While mastery of formal methodologies and development of business cases are important, successful strategy execution is critically dependent on having a portfolio of change programs that are explicitly aligned with the organization's strategy. Further, this portfolio needs to be supported by the strategic leadership team and managed within a culture conducive to change. There are specific actions that organizations need to take to identify which elements of their strategy execution capability need to improve in order to take their performance to the next level.

With companies being exhorted to become more strategically agile and internally connected, this article examines the role of the Senior Strategy Director, the executive tasked specifically with internal strategy. In particular, it explores what they do, what specific capabilities they deploy to enable effective contribution to the company, and in what ways they facilitate the connectedness of strategy. An analysis of multiple interviews over time with Senior Strategy Directors of large companies shows the vital and challenging role these executives play in both shaping, connecting up, and executing strategy. This article identifies the particular capabilities necessary for Senior Strategy Directors to perform their role and shows how it all depends upon their skillful deployment. These findings have significant implications for understanding unfolding micro-processes of strategy in large organizations, for assumptions about the skills and capabilities necessary to be an effective Senior Strategy Director, and for business schools in terms of the content and style of strategy courses they provide.

Managers are encouraged to develop deeper, collaborative relationships with NGOs as they execute their CSR strategies, and they have benefited from guidance to date that has focused on the dyadic relationships between a single firm and a single NGO. However, corporate relationships in CSR can include broader collaborations with both other firms and multiple NGOs. This article provides a framework for examining a range of collaboration opportunities and provides managers guidance for matching CSR strategies with the goals of the firm. The framework focuses on specific strategies that firms can employ to help ensure that returns from investments in CSR are maximized.

Successful scaling of social impact by a social entrepreneurial organization is driven by its capabilities in seven areas, identified in this article by using the acronym SCALERS: Staffing, Communicating, Alliance-building, Lobbying, Earnings-generation, Replicating, and Stimulating market forces. The relative importance of each of these capabilities in driving scaling will depend on several situational contingencies, such as the labor needs of the organization or the public support attracted by its causes or programs. The article presents the logic, theory, and prior research that support the SCALERS model and cites examples of case experiences that are consistent with the model.

Regulatory changes have affected the composition, role, and responsibilities of Boards of Directors worldwide. While stronger frameworks for directors' fiduciary responsibilities have resulted, considerably less attention has been devoted to understanding the nature of, and concomitant duty-of-care towards, the information systems and technology assets in the organization, or IT Governance. As a result, Boards have not demonstrated the competence or attention that good IT governance demands. IT Governance takes two forms: a defensive form, IT Risk Governance, that seeks to safeguard the organization from the consequences of IT-related disasters; and a strategic form, IT Value Governance, which creates lasting shareholder value. This article focuses on IT Risk Governance. Based on an academic and trade literature review, and interviews with Board members from six international firms, it presents a model, the IT Risk Governance Chain, and a dashboard that outlines the critical areas of IT risk and the key questions directors should ask to properly safeguard the information and technology assets of their firms.

Two professors who have studied how leaders regain momentum in uncertain times suggest four ways to get your employees to face their fear, outrun hesitant competitors, and seize advantage.

Is an institution that instills fear in many people a good spot to set up shop? Yes, say the authors, whose research shows that hospital lobbies are places where businesses can connect with consumers.

It's well known that stock markets react more favorably if a company is bought with cash rather than with stock. But the opposite holds true for just a business unit. Here's why.

In Chile, as in much of Latin America, business is identified with right-wing politics. Two Spanish multinationals found a simple but effective way to overcome this historical prejudice so that they could establish a productive relationship with the present left-wing government.

By learning how to turn field reports into compelling stories, the World Bank's International Finance Corporation has made them fulfill their true purpose: to become effective tools that actually transfer knowledge among employees.

The CEO of Better Place talks about what went through his mind the night he decided to start a venture to end the world's dependence on oil as a transportation fuel.

Contracts exist to foster trust, but they can actually do the opposite. Overly detailed contracts leave no room for spontaneous acts of kindness to create goodwill between parties; too-rigid contracts leave parties unable to respond to the unanticipated; and, strangely enough, incentives can end up being just plain insulting.

IT systems increasingly hold the potential to launch cascading disasters, triggered by the most trivial of incidents. A new type of risk-management culture is needed, warn these Carnegie Mellon professors, to guard against such extreme, but no longer unthinkable, events.

This case study delves into the challenges faced by CGI, which has just signed an agreement for a major project involving the development of information systems for a client in Los Angeles. We sit in on the meetings of the members of the project team as they make important decisions on the main project management and execution parameters. Part A introduces readers to the actors and the project, while exposing the context and the challenges facing this project. Part B illustrates the decisions made by CGI regarding the project's organization and the competencies of the team members, with a specific focus on the innovative development methodology adopted by CGI in response to the specific characteristics of this project.

This case study delves into the challenges faced by CGI, which has just signed an agreement for a major project involving the development of information systems for a client in Los Angeles. We sit in on the meetings of the members of the project team as they make important decisions on the main project management and execution parameters. Part A introduces readers to the actors and the project, while exposing the context and the challenges facing this project. Part B illustrates the decisions made by CGI regarding the project's organization and the competencies of the team members, with a specific focus on the innovative development methodology adopted by CGI in response to the specific characteristics of this project.

This case describes the evolution of IT management at Alcan during the period from 2006-2007. At that time, IT governance and the IT function itself were undergoing a complete transformation. The case follows the Vice-President of Corporate Information Technology from the time of his arrival at Alcan: his observations on the current state of IT management, his appointment to the position of Chief Information Officer and the development of his new strategic plan for IT management. Part A presents the main features and challenges of IT management at Alcan up until the middle of 2006. Part B continues with the main concepts and elements of the CIO's new strategic plan for IT management. Students are encouraged to reflect on the characteristics, implications and challenges represented by IT management in a large global organization.