This technical note offers an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) and some ways in which machine learning is leveraged to build this type of intelligence. The note also explores two schools of thought around AI's potential, discusses the possible roles for AI in business, highlights opportunities for collaboration between employees and AI, and considers one approach around responsible AI implementation. This note is taught at Darden in the second-year Digital Operations course. It would also be suitable in a module covering AI.

Barry Sloane, second-generation Chairman, President, and CEO of his family's bank, Century Bank, weighed whether to sell to Eastern Bank. As a small regional bank, Century faced a number of challenging trends, such as digitization and market share decline in the coming years, despite its past decade of top performance, balanced growth, and careful risk management. Whereas his father consistently refused to sell during his lifetime, Sloane worried this might be the last cash offer on the table for the bank. On the other hand, selling was an irreversible decision that would severe the family's legacy and the next generation from the bank. Was it finally time for the Sloane family to part with Century Bank?

When members of dominant social groups are accused of discriminating against those with less power and fewer resources, they sometimes seek to deflect criticism by portraying themselves as the victims. Some rely on digressive victimhood, which involves countering accusations of discrimination by reframing the issue as a matter of free speech or religious liberty. The authors discuss how managers can recognize such tactics so they can focus on addressing bias and supporting affected employees.

Supplement to case 523037 Volt Lines was a next-generation transportation service in Istanbul, Turkey. The company was trying to disrupt the traditional corporate transportation market by developing software that allowed it to offer subscription-based transportation. Under the subscription model, Volt Lines pooled employees from different clients to ride on the same bus and charged its clients using a per-seat pricing model instead of the traditional per-bus model. In 2020, when the pandemic hit and companies pivoted to working from home, the need for corporate transportation almost disappeared overnight. While this drop in demand put tremendous pressure on Volt Lines as a startup with negative cash flow, it also allowed the company to leverage its software infrastructure and offer even more flexible pricing models. Such flexible pricing models could help Volt Lines clients that now had their employees show up at the office only a few days a week cut costs. The three cases (Volt Lines A, B, and C) follow the journey of Ali Halabi, the company's founder and CEO, as he moves from trying to survive in the early days of the pandemic to seeing the pandemic as a unique opportunity to gain market share.

Supplement to case 523037 Volt Lines was a next-generation transportation service in Istanbul, Turkey. The company was trying to disrupt the traditional corporate transportation market by developing software that allowed it to offer subscription-based transportation. Under the subscription model, Volt Lines pooled employees from different clients to ride on the same bus and charged its clients using a per-seat pricing model instead of the traditional per-bus model. In 2020, when the pandemic hit and companies pivoted to working from home, the need for corporate transportation almost disappeared overnight. While this drop in demand put tremendous pressure on Volt Lines as a startup with negative cash flow, it also allowed the company to leverage its software infrastructure and offer even more flexible pricing models. Such flexible pricing models could help Volt Lines clients that now had their employees show up at the office only a few days a week cut costs. The three cases (Volt Lines A, B, and C) follow the journey of Ali Halabi, the company's founder and CEO, as he moves from trying to survive in the early days of the pandemic to seeing the pandemic as a unique opportunity to gain market share.

Zenoti was a software-as-a-service (SaaS) unicorn based out of Bellevue, Washington. Zenoti’s SaaS was focused on back-office resource allocation and enabling multi-location spas and salons to digitize the consumer experience. After the latest round of funding, Zenoti’s chief executive officer, Sudheer Koneru, was keen to invest in artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies to deliver an Uber-like experience to consumers. Other options for pursuing growth included geographic expansion, new customer segments, and entry into new competitive arenas. In January 2021, Koneru would have to identify and consider new growth ideas for Zenoti.

The India-based company Baobab Clean Technologies was founded in September 2011 with a business model based on the premise of safety and sustainability for electronic waste. The company facilitated the disposal of computers and electronic products for consumer and trade channels. It refurbished and sold products with a bundle of services like point-to-point delivery, installation, warranty, and support. Sales had started improving during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the protagonist was considering the way forward into the next level of growth. The case revolves around the application of various concepts related to business-to-business marketing, including value creation, value delivery, channel positioning, and marketplace equity.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed many aspects of consumers’ lives and transformed the industries serving them. This note examines the impact of the pandemic on the fast-food industry and details four main ways in which the sector was affected. First, the pandemic led to an increased reliance on technology. Second, it pushed forward new restaurant designs. Third, it accelerated the rise of “ghost kitchens,” which prepared food for consumption off the premises. Finally, the pandemic contributed to the emergence of loyalty programs. All four trends were expected to continue to evolve after the pandemic.

This case follows the evolution of pricing strategy at Echosec Systems, a Canadian open source intelligence firm. The case provides information on pricing as the company grows and diversifies its product offerings.

Spreadsheet supplement to 722357 In January 2021, Jalila Mezni, CEO of the SAH Group, was preparing to present the company's future growth plans to its board of directors. The Tunisian company was a leading producer and distributor of personal care and packaged hygiene products. In 2019, it expanded further by entering the detergents market. By 2020, the company employed over 4,500 people and had a presence in 20 African countries. The Lilas brand had become a household name in Tunisia, outperforming brands owned by global players like Procter and Gamble. In detergents, SAH was steadily gaining ground over multinational consumer goods companies like Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, and Henkel. As Mezni looked ahead, she had to carefully evaluate three growth opportunities: introducing a range of kitchen cleaners, vertically integrating operations in the detergents business, and opening a subsidiary in Kenya. Which of these, if any, would be the right way forward for the SAH Group at this juncture?

Appointed to his position in 2015, Christophe Weber, a French national and president and CEO of Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals, had begun transforming the company into a global player. He knew that, if the business was to survive, he would have to accelerate its transformation and globalization, and he believed the solution was the acquisition of Shire, an Irish pharmaceutical company and a similar-sized firm. If successful, this would be the largest cross-border acquisition ever negotiated by a Japanese company. Weber had known that the acquisition would be costly - and controversial among the company's shareholders, who could challenge his leadership. Although he was confident in his proposal, his bid did not go as planned. Despite his best efforts to keep the deal secret, using Japanese whisky-inspired code names for Shire and Takeda, the details had leaked before he had had a chance to inform Shire's board of his attempt and discuss it with them. On April 8, 2018, Shire's board rejected his offer. At the time, many questions remained as to how Takeda should proceed.

Tesh Mbaabu started MarketForce to help bring technology to the thousands of Kenyan merchants who ran corner shops that were often a centerpiece of their communities. MarketForce began as an inventory ordering platform for merchants, but has quickly evolved into a comprehensive operating system that merchants can use to unlock new revenue streams and grow their businesses. The team has expanded from Kenya into four new African countries and hopes to be in 15 countries by 2025. In this case, Mbaabu and the MarketForce team are faced with a number of critical decisions: how to build a product expansion strategy through geographic expansion and mergers and acquisitions, and how to scale the company's culture across new markets and countries.

Zenoti was a software-as-a-service (SaaS) unicorn based out of Bellevue, Washington. Zenoti's SaaS was focused on back-office resource allocation and enabling multi-location spas and salons to digitize the consumer experience. After the latest round of funding, Zenoti's chief executive officer, Sudheer Koneru, was keen to invest in artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies to deliver an Uber-like experience to consumers. Other options for pursuing growth included geographic expansion, new customer segments, and entry into new competitive arenas. In January 2021, Koneru would have to identify and consider new growth ideas for Zenoti.

The India-based company Baobab Clean Technologies was founded in September 2011 with a business model based on the premise of safety and sustainability for electronic waste. The company facilitated the disposal of computers and electronic products for consumer and trade channels. It refurbished and sold products with a bundle of services like point-to-point delivery, installation, warranty, and support. Sales had started improving during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the protagonist was considering the way forward into the next level of growth. The case revolves around the application of various concepts related to business-to-business marketing, including value creation, value delivery, channel positioning, and marketplace equity.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed many aspects of consumers' lives and transformed the industries serving them. This note examines the impact of the pandemic on the fast-food industry and details four main ways in which the sector was affected. First, the pandemic led to an increased reliance on technology. Second, it pushed forward new restaurant designs. Third, it accelerated the rise of "ghost kitchens," which prepared food for consumption off the premises. Finally, the pandemic contributed to the emergence of loyalty programs. All four trends were expected to continue to evolve after the pandemic.

The shift away from a sole focus on financial returns to multistakeholder capitalism has involved a welcome rediscovery of the idea that businesses are social entities. Embracing this strategy requires a combinatorial accounting, taking into consideration the health of five types of stakeholders: employees, partners, and communities, along with investors and customers. This is not easy to achieve, even for companies that say they want to move in this direction.

DEI initiatives that promote social justice in organizations necessarily boost tensions: They make inequities visible and make many people especially those from dominant groups uncomfortable. When workplaces respond to such tensions by simply tamping down conflict, they miss opportunities to solve systemic problems. Here's how they can leverage conflict instead, to foster lasting change.