Knowledge is being discussed as one of the most important organizational resources. But these resources exist in specialized pockets dispersed across the organization, and dedicated knowledge management (KM) programs are required to improve their flow. However, high failure rates of such programs raise serious doubts about their ability to improve knowledge flows. This case traces the KM program of Infosys Technologies, Ltd - a Global Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise. The case describes how, in 1999, Infosys' top management detected a severe lack of organizational knowledge flows while implementing a program aimed at continuously improving their core business processes. A more detailed examination exposed that the lack of knowledge flows stifled the effectiveness of their organizational structure and their business model. Alarmed by these critical findings, Infosys initiated their KM program. A five-stage knowledge maturity model (KMM) was conceptualized to aid KM implementation. With people, processes, and technology as the three pillars of Infosys' KM program, KMM identified specific capabilities Infosys needed to develop in each of the five levels. Things worked fine till 2004 when Infosys began moving towards KMM Level 4, which required developing clear metrics to measure KM effectiveness, that is, improvements in knowledge flow. In the absence of such metrics, Infosys' Board of Directors started questioning company's financial investment in the KM program. The CEO, who championed the KM program, knew that he faced two key challenges - to convince the Board of future revenue prospects of the KM program, and to identify metrics for assessing improvements in organizational knowledge flows.
In 2005, Derek V. Smith, CEO of ChoicePoint, Inc., a leader in the personal data industry, was facing some difficult strategic challenges. Under his watch, the company had allowed a large security breach-compromising some 160 thousand personal files-which it did not prevent or detect immediately. The result was renewed attention and scrutiny on personal data privacy issues causing Congress to consider several new legislative bills. Meanwhile, pressure to make changes in the way he did business was mounting from the media, the Federal Trade Commission, influential privacy rights advocates, and the general public. The case focuses on Smith as he weighs his options after months of trying to change public sentiment. Smith needed to make a decision regarding the proper use of social security numbers but also the restoration of faith in his company and the personal data industry, as both were facing significant legitimacy threats.
Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo, had placed multiple strategic bets on his company. In September 2007, that strategy was due for a major test. TiVo was a maker of digital video recorder (DVR) products and a distributor of DVR technology. Rogers believed that macro-trends in the home entertainment industry--the convergence of standard television with the delivery of video content via broadband Internet, and the related crisis faced by companies whose business models relied on TV advertising--played to TiVo's unique strengths. Leadership in DVR technology and a TV-centric user interface arguably positioned TiVo to become something more than a consumer electronics company. That was Roger's big bet. Implementing it required making six other bets: continuing to sell stand-alone DVRs in the retail market, despite rapidly eroding market share; distributing TiVo service in partnership with cable and satellite TV providers (which also functioned as TiVo's chief competitors in the DVR market); developing a platform for DVR-based advertising; entering the audience research business; leveraging TiVo's intellectual property both through litigation and in the marketplace; and expanding into non-U.S. markets. In late 2007, a pivotal new product, a major distribution deal with cable operator Comcast, and a key intellectual property lawsuit were all reaching points of critical impact.
In 2007, there were three prominent corporate governance ratings firms-The Corporate Library (TCL), Governance Metrics International (GMI), and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). These firms assessed the effectiveness and deficiency of the governance systems of thousands of publicly traded companies. Although members of the investing public agreed that sound policies were important to protect the interest of shareholders from potentially self-interested managers, there were many questions around the usefulness of published governance ratings themselves. Questions ranged from whether a system of governance could be adequately summarized in a single, numerical score to what a high or low rating was supposed to indicate. Furthermore, allegations that ISS engaged in a conflict of interest by selling consulting services to companies on how to improve their ratings led some to question the objectivity of the ratings process.
In 2001, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated acquired the San Diego-based biotech company, Aurora Biosciences. The combination of Vertex's and Aurora's technologies would improve the flow of novel drug candidates into development. However, several questions related to the integration of Aurora into Vertex were still unresolved, the most pressing being Aurora's major collaboration with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). Were venture philanthropy and foundation deals an appropriate funding mechanism for a public company like Vertex? How could the board of Vertex and the CFF fundamentally align the objectives of a for-profit company with those of a non-profit institution? Those were the questions faced by the Vertex executives.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of West Lake Furnishings Ltd. (West Lake) has been given a proposal from one of his top three wholesale customers: lower the price of a line of signature lamps from $69.99 to $29.99 in exchange for five times the unit sales. The decision point of the case focuses on whether the CEO should or should not take the offer, and answering the question requires a close examination of West Lake's business strategy and its industry. The West Lake case is a short, comprehensive case that is useful for time-pressured situations like case competitions or exams. It can also be used to introduce the Five Forces, or give an overview/review of the entire strategic analysis process.
Presents one company's efforts to implement a project management organization, or PMO, and the challenges they faced in doing so. Issues brought out in the case include defining the PMO's purpose and mission, the structure and governance of the PMO, and how to successfully implement it in what appears to be a resistant culture. John Strider, AtekPC's chief information officer (CIO), had strong convictions that the PMO-light model was the way to go. He had held back on hiring fill time employees for the PMO and was moving very slowly and cautiously so as not to violate AtekPC's culture. He was also concerned about the many issues that the PMO implementation had already raised. Were small steps building on small successes going to get the job done fast enough? With the ever increasing challenge of successfully managing information technology (IT), organizations are recognizing the need for greater discipline in managing IT projects. For many organizations, this has meant ratcheting up project management skills, processes, and governance structures within the organization by implementing a project management office (PMO). Unfortunately, there is little shared understanding of the challenges of implementing a PMO. Therefore, managers and their organizations have inadequate guidance to help them identify and overcome the obstacles they are likely to encounter.
(1) To highlight the critical role of the environmental forces driving change and competition in the global marine and offshore industry: oil prices, technology changes and new cycles of industrialisation; (2) To discuss Keppel O&M's approach to strategic management in its volatile market and to evaluate the reasons for the firm's success in such an environment.
Examines the evolution of Dove from functional brand to a brand with a point of view after Unilever designated it as a masterbrand, and expanded its portfolio to cover entries into a number of sectors beyond the original bath soap category. The development causes the brand team to take a fresh look at the cliches of the beauty industry. The result is the controversial Real Beauty campaign. As the campaign unfolds, Unilever learns to use the Internet, and particularly social network media like YouTube, to manage controversy.
This case chronicles the creation and transformation of a Singaporean joint venture, Eagle Services Asia (ESA). It describes some early start-up problems, including a forced shutdown by the Civilian Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). The resulting shakeup of the ESA management team provides a fresh start and an opportunity to reinvigorate the company using lean management principles. Managerial decisions play a key role in ESA's success, together with the discipline and training of the workforce. Students will gain an understanding of cultural difficulties associated with international joint ventures, and learn fundamental aspects of lean management including how to create and sustain a lean culture. The case also provides insight into the worldwide aircraft engine business, the engine overhaul process and cultural barriers that may arise when managing operations in foreign countries.
The three-part China Aviation Oil (CAO) case series documents the overseas adventure - the rise, fall and subsequent restructuring and rebuilding - of a leading Chinese state-owned enterprise over the last ten or so years. The case is designed to address in an integrative manner issues commonly faced by (1) the increasing number of Chinese executives now playing in the international arena and (2) Western executives who have experience of working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives, or who would like to do so - either in China or their own marketplace. There have been many cases of multinationals going to China, where cultural differences have been blamed for things that did not work, for things that were not understood, or even for frustrations when working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives. However, the real questions are: Are we aware of other differences, e.g. financial and legal? Do we understand them and, perhaps more importantly, how we can work with them? The case series describes the first overseas restructuring of a state-owned Chinese company. As such, it provides participants with a totally different angle for looking at the dilemma of working with China: How to make things work outside China from a Chinese perspective. Learning objectives: The case series has been designed to enable participants to gain a clear understanding of some broad issues, including: 1) The strategic considerations for a Chinese company wishing to expand overseas, and the key success factors. 2) The fact that many of the factors contributing to failure are similar and equally applicable to different business contexts - even though the types of failure might differ. 3) The need to be open-minded - the "rules of the game" are different inside and outside China. 4) The need for increased awareness and a better understanding of the differences - financial, legal, cultural and even moral. 5) The need to work with the differences rather than avoiding them.
The three-part China Aviation Oil (CAO) case series documents the overseas adventure-the rise, fall and subsequent restructuring and rebuilding-of a leading Chinese state-owned enterprise over the last ten or so years. The case is designed to address in an integrative manner issues commonly faced by (1) the increasing number of Chinese executives now playing in the international arena and (2) Western executives who have experience of working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives, or who would like to do so - either in China or their own marketplace. There have been many cases of multinationals going to China, where cultural differences have been blamed for things that did not work, for things that were not understood, or even for frustrations when working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives. However, the real questions are: Are we aware of other differences, e.g. financial and legal? Do we understand them and, perhaps more importantly, how we can work with them? The case series describes the first overseas restructuring of a state-owned Chinese company. As such, it provides participants with a totally different angle for looking at the dilemma of working with China: How to make things work outside China from a Chinese perspective. Learning objectives: The case series has been designed to enable participants to gain a clear understanding of some broad issues, including: 1) The strategic considerations for a Chinese company wishing to expand overseas, and the key success factors. 2) The fact that many of the factors contributing to failure are similar and equally applicable to different business contexts - even though the types of failure might differ. 3) The need to be open-minded - the "rules of the game" are different inside and outside China. 4) The need for increased awareness and a better understanding of the differences - financial, legal, cultural and even moral. 5) The need to work with the differences rather than avoiding them.
The three-part China Aviation Oil (CAO) case series documents the overseas adventure - the rise, fall and subsequent restructuring and rebuilding - of a leading Chinese state-owned enterprise over the last ten or so years. The case is designed to address in an integrative manner issues commonly faced by (1) the increasing number of Chinese executives now playing in the international arena and (2) Western executives who have experience of working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives, or who would like to do so - either in China or their own marketplace. There have been many cases of multinationals going to China, where cultural differences have been blamed for things that did not work, for things that were not understood, or even for frustrations when working with Chinese companies and Chinese executives. However, the real questions are: Are we aware of other differences, e.g. financial and legal? Do we understand them and, perhaps more importantly, how we can work with them? The case series describes the first overseas restructuring of a state-owned Chinese company. As such, it provides participants with a totally different angle for looking at the dilemma of working with China: How to make things work outside China from a Chinese perspective. Learning objectives: The case series has been designed to enable participants to gain a clear understanding of some broad issues, including: 1) The strategic considerations for a Chinese company wishing to expand overseas, and the key success factors. 2) The fact that many of the factors contributing to failure are similar and equally applicable to different business contexts - even though the types of failure might differ. 3) The need to be open-minded - the "rules of the game" are different inside and outside China. 4) The need for increased awareness and a better understanding of the differences - financial, legal, cultural and even moral. 5) The need to work with the differences rather than avoiding them.
The launch of Apple's iPhone marked a pivotal new chapter in the story of mobile music (the uniting of digital music players with mobile phones). The iPhone combined an iPod music player, a cell phone, and a mobile Internet device, along with a camera and other features. By September 2007, just 74 days after the June launch of the iPhone, Apple and its mobile carrier partner AT&T Mobility had sold one million units. When Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the product in January 2007, he said that the goal behind it was to "reinvent the phone." Yet both the device and the mobile service provided by AT&T involved limitations that could hinder the long-term prospects for the iPhone. At the same time, handset makers and other mobile carriers had brought, or would soon bring, various "iPhone killers" to the market.