Enterprise Community Partners must determine whether to rebuild the Lafitte housing projects in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, and if so, how to mitigate the risks. Set in January 2007, more than a year after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, the case examines how Enterprise has a number of environmental, contractual, reputational, and legal risks to overcome in making the project a success. Given these risks, Enterprise is unsure whether to rebuild in New Orleans at all, and whether to renovate the site or redevelop it into a mixed-income community.
Subtle biases and covert prejudice affect interactions in the workplace. Subtle biases are automatically activated associations or stereotypes that relate groups (e.g. men and women) with attributes or characteristics (e.g. career or household), often outside of our awareness. Covert prejudice refers to concealed negative opinions about members of other groups. Managers and business leaders can benefit both from understanding how subtle biases and covert prejudices can translate into discriminatory behaviors and from learning to manage in a way that avoids such biases and prejudices. The note has four sections, each of which can be read individually: Managerial Relevance, Subtle Biases, Covert Prejudice, and Managing to Avoid Subtle Biases and Covert Prejudice.
This case is intended to be part of a first-year MBA marketing course, or a second-year elective in advertising, integrated marketing communications, market research, or marketing analytics. The case provides students with examples of two real advertising experiments and the challenges involved in executing the experiments. It allows for a discussion of the need for advertising experiments, and also, at a more general level, the need to measure the return on marketing. Biases surrounding the field experiments allow for a discussion of the problems with establishing a causal relationship between advertising and sales.
The case documents Tetra Pak's ambitious efforts to collaborate with the governor of Nasarawa State in Nigeria in the setting up of a school feeding program based on a non-milk product that will eventually use local cereals; Nutrisip. This is a business, and not a philanthropic initiative that is also aimed at kick-starting local industry (thus relieving poverty) while improving child nutrition at the same time. It is engaging Tetra Pak in tackling many challenging business and development issues. The case shows the experience of Tetra Pak over the first two years of the program and illustrates the challenges and obstacles encountered by the company while trying to get this ambitious program off the ground, promote local production of Nutrisip and secure the supply and distribution chain for the product. Learning objective: 1. Change traditional perceptions of the role of business in society 2. Show how innovation can be introduced in a sustainable manner and in a developing country 3. Understand the challenges of working in a developing world context at its most challenging 4. Understand the power of partnerships to reinforce corporate sustainability initiatives.
The executive director of Invensis Technologies (P) Ltd. (Invensis), met with the chief operating officer and vice-president of human resources to address two major challenges that the company was facing. The first challenge was the increased pressure on Invensis to remain competitive and cut costs while providing premium customer service. Clients were expecting more every day from their business process operations. The other challenge was that of building an engaged and committed workforce. While the attrition rate in the information technology (IT) sector was low, the IT-enabled services (ITES) sector continued to show high levels of attrition. The executive director wondered whether the company's structured approach towards working on an outsourcing project would help build credibility and differentiate it in the market place and how he could reduce the high attrition rate of ITES.
Between 1985 and 2007, Danaher has been one of the best-performing industrial conglomerates in the U.S. This case examines the corporate strategy of this diversified, global corporation. It describes the firm's portfolio strategy and the Danaher Business System-a systematic and wide-ranging set of organizational processes the firm has developed to drive growth and create value. In 2008, the firm confronts various challenges in sustaining its impressive historical performance. First, can it continue to balance organic and acquisition-led growth? Second, what will be the impact of increased competition from private equity players? Third, for how long can its strategy of "continuous improvement" continue?
This case provides an overview of the entrepreneurial leadership taken by the government of India's Andhra Pradesh state in promoting the IT sector and using it to improve the status of the state's economic position in the early years of the third millennium.
By 2007, there were many signs that the merger of Chohung and Shinhan banks to form the Shinhan Financial Group in 2003 had met its goals. Shinhan Financial Group's stock price had increased from $31 a share at its opening on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2003, soon after the merger had been announced, to $91 in April 2006 after the legal merger occurred. Employees were also exhibiting increasing identification with the new bank. Looking into the future, the financial group hopes to expand overseas. In addition to pursuing opportunities in regional Asian markets, European and former Soviet markets as well as the large Korean immigrant community in the United States provide valuable expansion possibilities. The successful Chohung merger was an important first step in Shinhan's plans to become a global player in the financial services industry.
The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) was founded in 1970 on the notion that leadership was not innate but could be learned. CCL evolved into one of the world's top leadership development organizations, involved in both research and program design and delivery. This case explores CCL's approach to leadership and management education for executives and presents some of the challenges the CCL faces as many different types of leadership development providers continue to emerge.
Terumo faces two challenges: how to sell its catheter products in the U.S. and its new "Solution Pack" in its domestic market, Japan. The case provides rich detail on the firm's evolution from a manufacturer of thermometers to a seller of commodity products like syringes to a diversified firm offering a range of advanced products-catheters and graphs, for example-in addition to commodity products. It describes how the firm's sales strategy-including changes in structure and compensation-changed as its overall product line evolve. The case also offers an interesting contrast for students studying sales forces, in terms of how this Japanese model differs in the way, for example, the firm compensates-and views-salespeople.
This case provides a further update on the firm's decision regarding its U.S. sales strategy for its catheter products and the progress of Solution Pack. It also discusses the expansion of the firm's "Medical Pranex," a unique facility offering training and meeting space for doctors and nurses.
Robin Budowski, a wine specialist and enthusiast, had dreamed about owning and running a vineyard for years, and on 28 July 2003 he was closer than ever to realizing his dream. He was putting the finishing touches to an offer to acquire Château d'Agel, a property in the Minervois region in the South West of France. The property, undermanaged and located in one of the cheapest wine AOCs, would be turned around on three dimensions: (1) improving the wine quality, (2) supporting the property's reputation with marketing campaigns, and (3) equipping it with the appropriate distribution channels. Château d'Agel seemed like the perfect candidate for a buyout. But a number of issues had to be solved before closing the deal. How would Robin structure the transaction so as to have minimal tax exposure in France and even less exposure for his investors, mostly non-French Europeans? The pure financial returns of wine properties are relatively modest, in particular when adjusted for the risk of agribusiness operations. So Robin needed to go after passion investors, i.e. enthusiasts. These investors expect large "affiliation" benefits from owning part of a vineyard. But how do you attract enthusiasts, in this case wine lovers, as investors? In other words, how do you maximize the non-financial benefits in the investment package?
This opening note is part of the suite of teaching materials which employs China as an illustration of the managerial implications resulted from the so-called War for Talent, and is intended to generate insights into "how to best play the talent game" in China, or elsewhere. We aim to generate an interactive and rich class discussion of the issues raised among seasoned business practitioners, by adopting a variety of interesting teaching formats: an opening note, four cases, an "appraisal exercise" and a video. In particular, this note presents the major talent-related issues that both local and foreign business leaders in China are facing today. Being deliberately brief, the note is designed to provide quick familiarity with the "big-picture" issues relating to talent in China today. Learning objectives: Among the critical issues in talent management to be addressed in this suite of teaching materials, the following are the most central for the learning of class participants: 1) Since sizing up potential candidates is the first and most fundamental step of talent management, what characteristics should a business leader look for to meet the competency requirements today and to prepare for the future? 2) What would be some creative and feasible practices to source, attract, develop and retain management talent?
This case is part of the suite of teaching materials which employs China as an illustration of the managerial implications resulted from the so-called War for Talent, and is intended to generate insights into "how to best play the talent game" in China, or elsewhere. We aim to generate an interactive and rich class discussion of the issues raised among seasoned business practitioners, by adopting a variety of interesting teaching formats: an opening note, four cases, an "appraisal exercise" and a video. In particular, this case features a state-controlled listed company which is a horizontally-diversified national champion involved in such business categories as tires, batteries, soap, printing ink and real estate, with export sales accounting for 45% of its total sales. The company aspires to increase its international presence and, in particular, to turn its tire operations into "global factories," while building its "Double Coin" domestic brand into a global one. The enterprise's board chairman, Dr Fan Xian, needs experienced managers for its domestic and overseas operations, especially in the areas of general management, finance, and marketing and sales. To him, loyalty is the most important criteria when appraising job candidates. His challenge is to find loyal and competent managers and match them with the right positions in China and overseas. Learning objectives: Among the critical issues in talent management to be addressed in this suite of teaching materials, the following are the most central for the learning of class participants: Since sizing up potential candidates is the first and most fundamental step of talent management, what characteristics should a business leader look for to meet the competency requirements today and to prepare for the future? What would be some creative and feasible practices to source, attract, develop and retain management talent?
This case is part of the suite of teaching materials which employs China as an illustration of the managerial implications resulted from the so-called War for Talent, and is intended to generate insights into "how to best play the talent game" in China, or elsewhere. We aim to generate an interactive and rich class discussion of the issues raised among seasoned business practitioners, by adopting a variety of interesting teaching formats: an opening note, four cases, an "appraisal exercise" and a video. In particular, this case is about a franchise formed in 2006 by SPSS, a NASDAQ-listed software provider with worldwide leadership. This foreign-invested company uses a channel partner network to sell its technology and to serve its clients. Tomas Casas, the Spanish-born CEO, aims to increase its contribution to SPSS's global revenue to 4% within five years of the company's establishment. To do so, he has to find qualified managers to support and develop the company's channel partner network. Because social skills - including the understanding of local dialects and rituals - are very important for building rapport with partners in different regions, Casas realizes that he needs to particularly careful when appraising candidates. However, such talent is in short supply and expensive in China. He needs to figure out the best ways to fill the positions. Learning objectives: Among the critical issues in talent management to be addressed in this suite of teaching materials, the following are the most central for the learning of class participants: Since sizing up potential candidates is the first and most fundamental step of talent management, what characteristics should a business leader look for to meet the competency requirements today and to prepare for the future? What would be some creative and feasible practices to source, attract, develop and retain management talent?
This four-case series follows a team through a weeklong kaizen event. The A case sets up the situation, and the B (UVA-OM-1259), C (UVA-OM-1260), and D (UVA-OM-1261) cases depict what happens on the successive days. The series teaches such concepts as takt time, line balancing, and managing change. The A case is intended to be handed out as an assignment, and the B, C, and D cases provide real-time exercises for the students.