James Han, director of strategy and planning at CHINT Group, needed to select the new country manager for the group's branch in Saudi Arabia. The branch was expected to become CHINT's regional hub for the Middle Eastern market, but the incumbent country manager lacked the necessary leadership skills. Han was considering two candidates: Wendy Sun, the country manager in Turkey, and Jack Ma, the country manager in Egypt. Both branches had achieved outstanding business growth under the leadership of Sun and Ma, respectively. Han needed to evaluate their capabilities and decide who was a better fit for the target market and the local team in Saudi Arabia, while also taking into account the cost of replacing them at their respective branches.
In the 2020s, with the emergence of a variety of digital technologies, Prada Group was interested in developing a new digital strategy. The global leading luxury fashion house headquartered in Milan, Italy, was recognized for its innovation and creativity. It sought a strategy that reflected the values and legacy of the company, while considering the sense of exclusivity that consumers of luxury brands desired. Prada Group was considering a digital strategy involving either the Metaverse or Web3 through the launch of a non-fungible token or by offering branded headsets and other equipment for customers to enter the Metaverse. Both the Metaverse and Web3 were relatively new technology concepts, not commonly known for interacting with luxury fashion brands. The company had to decide if it should explore an opportunity involving the Metaverse or Web3, or if it should instead find a way to remain relevant to customers by pursuing another digital strategy.
In 2022, the India-based patient-centred integrative oncology start-up ZenOnco was struggling with brand equity and impact. The company had introduced two innovative apps—Ziopar and CANNECT—to help empower, educate, and enable patients and caregivers to access scientifically-based information and support on cancer treatment. However, the company had yet to become the most sought-after platform for cancer guidance. More than a dozen oncology start-ups were springing up across India’s fragmented, disorganized, and complex cancer-care industry, known for service-delivery issues and high drug costs. ZenOnco’s biggest challenge was brand building and navigating the customer service journey to become the preferred destination for free and low-cost, fact-based cancer-care guidance, counselling, and support.
In August 2022, Falguni Nayar, the founder and chief executive officer of Nykaa—a Mumbai, India–based omnichannel beauty, personal care, and fashion retailer—confronted declining profitability and a stock price that had fallen 36 per cent since the company’s initial public offering in late 2021. As a woman entrepreneur who had launched her venture at the age of 49, Nayar’s attempt to emulate the French multinational retailer Sephora in the Indian market had had a strong start amid heady media coverage. However, the company had been expanding out of its core beauty and personal care market, where it was an early entrant, to the crowded and highly competitive fashion market, which impacted profitability. Nayar and her management team had to address two major issues: determining how to increase profitability and deciding whether or not to make a strong push to India’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where the competitive intensity was likely to be lower, but the demographics were unlike those in the country’s large metropolitan areas, where Nykaa was successful.
The case presents the complexities involved in implementing a social project with specific reference to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) in Mumbai, India. This project was awarded to the Adani Group, a large business conglomerate in India. Started in 2022, the project is envisaged to be completed over a period of seven years with a return on investment capped at 193%. Its multiple stakeholders include politicians, bureaucrats, Dharavi residents, manufacturing companies which outsource their production to Dharavi, committed non-governmental agencies and motivated press. These agencies with varied interest have been a drag in transforming Dharavi from a slum to a reasonable living place.
The case is set in 2023. The protagonist is Elon Musk, CEO and Technoking of Tesla, Inc. The vertically-integrated clean technology company designs, develops, manufactures, and sells high-performance fully electric vehicles (EVs) and energy generation and storage systems. Tesla had sales of $81 billion and generated over $12 billion in net income in 2022. Tesla's stock market valuation peaked at over $1.2 trillion in early 2022. Tesla's market cap had fallen by more than 50% to $600 billion by spring 2023. When introducing Master Plan 3, Musk reiterated that Tesla would produce 2 million vehicles in 2023 and then increase its production rate by 10x to reach 20 million EVs annually by 2030. Tesla would also be prominent in transitioning the global economy to sustainable energy. The Tesla CEO was surprised that investors were not impressed with Master Plan 3, as Tesla's stock dropped by 6% the next day.
In this political strategy case, Oni K. Blair, newly appointed executive director of a Houston nonprofit advocating for more equitable transportation resources, faces a challenge: how to persuade a Texas state agency to substantially redesign a highway expansion project, already decades in the planning, in and around Houston? When Blair was appointed head of LINK Houston, in August 2017, the project-to expand, modernize, and re-route a 25-mile stretch of Houston's north-south highway, I-45, from the downtown center to the outer beltway north of town-was entering its final planning stage. Supported by powerful state leaders and stakeholders, the project was intended to address I-45's safety and capacity problems, but critics questioned the plan on several grounds, especially given its adverse impacts on Black and Latinx neighborhoods-communities that had also borne the brunt of Houston's highway construction in the past, a common pattern in American cities in the mid to late 20th century. This case, centering the perspective of Blair, was written in two parts. In the A case, students learn about the design of the project, the benefits claimed by its proponents, the dangers flagged by its critics, the history of highway development in Texas, and the perspectives of residents in the Black and Latinx neighborhoods that would be most adversely affected. It ends with Blair's realization that TxDOT's public participation process will never lead to a serious reconsideration of the project's design and poses the question, what should she do now? The B case picks up as Blair and her colleagues assess the political landscape. Who are the real decision-makers? And who might be in a position to influence them? It traces their battle within Texas to persuade the state to re-imagine the project-a battle that will eventually include a lawsuit, federal intervention, and a controversial political deal. HKS Case 2252.0
In this political strategy case, Oni K. Blair, newly appointed executive director of a Houston nonprofit advocating for more equitable transportation resources, faces a challenge: how to persuade a Texas state agency to substantially redesign a highway expansion project, already decades in the planning, in and around Houston? When Blair was appointed head of LINK Houston, in August 2017, the project-to expand, modernize, and re-route a 25-mile stretch of Houston's north-south highway, I-45, from the downtown center to the outer beltway north of town-was entering its final planning stage. Supported by powerful state leaders and stakeholders, the project was intended to address I-45's safety and capacity problems, but critics questioned the plan on several grounds, especially given its adverse impacts on Black and Latinx neighborhoods-communities that had also borne the brunt of Houston's highway construction in the past, a common pattern in American cities in the mid to late 20th century. This case, centering the perspective of Blair, was written in two parts. In the A case, students learn about the design of the project, the benefits claimed by its proponents, the dangers flagged by its critics, the history of highway development in Texas, and the perspectives of residents in the Black and Latinx neighborhoods that would be most adversely affected. It ends with Blair's realization that TxDOT's public participation process will never lead to a serious reconsideration of the project's design and poses the question, what should she do now? The B case picks up as Blair and her colleagues assess the political landscape. Who are the real decision-makers? And who might be in a position to influence them? It traces their battle within Texas to persuade the state to re-imagine the project-a battle that will eventually include a lawsuit, federal intervention, and a controversial political deal. HKS Case 2253.0
Black hat workshops are a type of competitive insight workshop that can help organizations model how competitors might behave in a particular scenario. The author describes how these sessions can help teams simulate the outcomes of decisions and situations their company will face in the real world through role-playing exercises. He also offers a step-by-step guide to conducting black hat workshops to better anticipate competitors' next moves and develop successful market strategies.
Founded in 2005, Vermont Kombucha Corp. (V-Ko) was an early mover in the fledgling U.S. market for kombucha, a drink brewed for its health benefits. Early on, the company captured more than 90% of market share. Under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Joe Williams, V-Ko went public in 2015. On the first day of trading, V-Ko's shares doubled in price, and the company closed the year with a market capitalization of approximately $2.5 billion. However, the company's growth began to slow as competitors entered the market. Though V-Ko's market share began to shrink, Williams continued to set aggressive sales targets that were increasingly difficult to reach. In 2018, the company missed its first-quarter earnings target. The company shifted its control systems and company culture, resulting in pressure on salespeople that led to the use of questionable tactics to meet sales and compensation goals. Following a tip from an anonymous employee whistleblower, V-Ko launched an investigation in 2020 that revealed overstated revenue and overstated inventory stemming from lax internal controls. Stepping into the perspective of new leadership at V-Ko, students will discuss the company's business model, sales practices and employee incentives, internal control systems, and financial reporting issues around revenue recognition (specifically sales returns) and inventory valuation (specifically obsolete inventory). Students will also consider what actions, if any, should be taken against those involved in the accounting scandal and how to improve corporate governance and rebuild trust with investors.
We hear it all the time as managers: "what is the data that backs up your decisions?" Even local mom-and-pop shops now have access to complex point-of-sale systems that can closely track sales and customer data. Social media influencers have turned into seven-figure solopreneurs from digital advertising analytics. In 2023, globally, we will create three times the data we did in 2019, and by 2025, it is estimated that 181 zettabytes of data will be generated (that is 181 followed by 21 zeros). Data is becoming a critical, arguably inextricable, part of business operations in our modern context. Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) uses data to inform decisions rather than relying on intuition. The digital era has given rise to the importance of data science for business applications. This technical note explores how different design thinking principles can assist the data-driven processes in a project.
This case presents an inventory challenge. The goal of the case is to encourages students to redefine problem statements that Fizzy Fusion is faced with and to use innovative thinking to come up with solutions that can address the core underlying problem that the company is facing. The case encourages students to think from the perspective of the customer to solve data problems.
The delegation of managerial functions to algorithms transforms management practices by automating repetitive tasks and enhances the role of managers as coordinators and decision makers. Algorithmic management functions also have potential to alter power dynamics within organizations and raise ethical challenges. Organizations should investigate how they can profit from algorithmic management and nurture algorithmic competencies to build a symbiosis between human and machine capabilities.
From an open-concept 90's-style stone and wood cabin in Dublin, New Hampshire, Ryan Serhant reflected on his career as a real estate broker. As Ryan stared into the fireplace that featured prominently in the center of the house, he wondered whether the period of selling real estate at record highs in New York was over. A few short months earlier, the United States had begun to shut down to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. New York City was unsure of its future under this newly defined threat. New York also faced a real estate crisis, as loyal residents started to leave the city in search of more space and distance from other people. Many experts feared that New York City real estate was "in a worse state than after September 11th and the 2008 financial crises." Students step into Ryan's shoes as he faced a decision in March 2020 at the height of Covid-19: Should he stay at his current real estate brokerage, launch his own brokerage in a pandemic, or enjoy the flexibility to start new ventures and spend time with family? As part of the discussion, students reflect on Ryan's time management techniques including the 1,000-minute rule, Task Triage and Finder, Keeper, Doer methodologies, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of these various time and prioritization strategies.
This technical note follows F. D. Wilder, who is being tasked with driving the Procter and Gamble's digital transformation effort. The cornerstone of the transformation would be "assessing and improving the digital capability of the firm." He decides to develop an assessment tool that would enable P&G's brand leaders to assess "digital ability" and then work with their bosses to create learning plans to address ability gaps.
<p align=”justify”>US-registered Emerging Markets Development Group (EMDG), a small but successful international consulting firm that provided development assistance in emerging and post-conflict regions, bet big on a project in Southeast Asia in 2008 that was financed by a Small Business Administration (SBA)-guaranteed loan issued by a local bank. The project failed, with catastrophic results. After seven years of attempting to dig themselves out of the hole, the principals were out of cash and needed to either significantly restructure the balance of EMDG’s outstanding loan or shut the firm down. Complicating the situation was the possibility that a former partner, who had left the firm over nine years before, might be held liable for the current debt.</p>
Case A explores the transformative role of data analytics in the sports industry through the lens of Infosys, an innovative tech company. Infosys aims to showcase its AI and analytics expertise by partnering with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Recognizing the potential of data to reshape the experience of fans and to advance the business of tennis, Infosys strategically selects tennis as its focus. By becoming the official Digital Innovation Partner for the ATP, Infosys aims to enhance fan engagement, aid players and coaches, and transform tennis through data-driven insights. The ATP, which governs men's professional tennis, operates within a multifaceted business model reliant on data to drive engagement and revenue. In its quest for a technological partner, ATP aligns with Infosys to tap into its expertise. Leveraging ATP's data repository, Infosys revamps the player zone app, creating a versatile hub for players and coaches. The case underscores the power of data-driven decision making and its potential to redefine the sports landscape.
The ATP Leaderboards evolve to provide real-time insights for fans, players and coaches, while the Second Screen capability aids players in refining strategies. Innovations like MatchBeats, Rally Analysis, Stroke Summary and 3D CourtVision enrich fans' understanding of the game.
Infosys collaborated with the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) to create a metaverse-based digital twin, bridging tradition and innovation. The post-Covid drive for sustainability prompted Infosys to address carbon emissions by developing an ATP carbon tracker app, highlighting its environmental and societal commitment. Enhancing visibility, Infosys revamped content interaction, creating an AI-driven journalism platform that streamlines content sharing. Furthermore, the company augmented existing technologies to provide fans with immersive experiences through augmented reality (AR) and was exploring the potential of gaming as a means of fan engagement.