This case set is part of the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) curriculum. To see other material in the GVV curriculum, please visit http://store.darden.virginia.edu/giving-voice-to-values. In the A case, Tasha, leader of a data analytics team at Gotham Children's Hospital, is confronted with an ethical dilemma when her supervisor, Beatriz, suggests a facial recognition system at the hospital. The proposed project would draw on images in the hospital's database, as well publicly available images and information about arrest records, to identify visitors and trigger alarms when flagged individuals enter certain areas of the hospital. While her team is interested in the project, Tasha is concerned about privacy, bias in automated systems, public relations, and opportunity costs. In this B case, Tasha brings her concerns to Beatriz and outlines the ways in which the project would conflict with the core mission of the organization. This case set is intended to be used with students from a wide range of backgrounds, including especially team leads (who may have an MBA or other graduate-level degree) and data scientists. It would be particularly useful in courses on data ethics, technological innovation, technology management, and data law or policy.
Mandalay Homes, a home builder based in northern Arizona, is a market leader in energy efficiency based construction. The company is now at a crossroads for developing a strategy for the future. Internal leadership is in agreement that quality is better than quantity and wants to focus on innovations to further push the market forward toward sustainability. The case introduces students to the residential construction industry, climate change as it relates to construction, energy efficiency standards and certification programs, renewable energy market principles, the green construction industry, and potential innovations within the residential construction space. The case outlines the proverbial wall that Mandalay is approaching in terms of the improvements that can be made to sustainable homebuilding withing the current paradigm. The company has identified three frontiers within which Mandalay Homes can allocate priorities: (1) resource management, (2) prescriptive vs. performance-driven building standards, and (3) newer options for building sustainable homes and communities.
In this Ivey Business Journal Q&A, Ivey Business School Professor Tima Bansal-one of the sustainability field's most cited scholars-explains why there is nothing anti-capitalist about sustainability, while making the case for old-school capitalists to embrace Ivey's ambitious Innovation North initiative, which aims to save the planet (and capitalism) by disrupting traditional approaches to innovation. She says sustainability suffers from two issues. First, some people think that sustainability is about asking them to do less. The second issue is that many people, including executives, just don't know what to do about sustainability and how to do it. Bansal claims we need to reframe the discussion as prosperity-an opportunity to realize better health and community. Instead of talking about sustainability as reforming capitalism, we need to think about sustainability as innovating for prosperity. Innovation North assembles senior business leaders, academics, and world-renowned systems thinkers every three months to discuss how to innovate the innovation process. It is working with partner companies to create a toolkit that bakes systems thinking into innovation-the Innovation North Compass. This uses both ideas (as in the stage-gate model) and solutions (as in design thinking). Ultimately, Bansal says, a systems thinker thinks differently than how we teach people to think in business schools. They work though problems differently, not looking for the right answer but instead looking for patterns and possibilities.
Anugnyaa Agricultural Association (AAA), a non-profit organisation, wants to introduce a cross subsidisation scheme between tomato farmers with good yield and those whose yield is affected by a crop infection. They want to partially absorb the risk of infection while ensuring their revenues are large enough to cover all costs. Further, they also have the technology to identify early onset of infections in certain cases, treat those crops and ensure high yields. Can a management trainee help AAA price their services and analyse their risks in different cases?
Carlsberg Breweries A/S (Carlsberg) had developed from a local to a global player in the brewing industry, having focused on growth in emerging economies in Europe and Asia. This growth path was against the background of economic transition and political change in Russia—from optimism about opportunities in the new market economy in the 1990s, to increasing regulatory obstacles, political authoritarianism, and increasing local competition in the 2010s. In 2022, Carlsberg, more than other West European consumer goods companies, was exposed to Russia when Russian military forces invaded Ukraine in February. This created complex operational and ethical challenges the company had to address with urgency. The company’s annual general meeting was coming up, on March 14, and by then the executive board had to communicate to shareholders concerned with both the company’s financial performance and its international reputation—as well as to Carlsberg employees across Europe (including both Russia and Ukraine) and the increasingly impatient Danish media—what steps the board would take to address the crisis.
A recent master of business administration degree graduate, had discovered a problem with inventory management in her family’s business. Agrawal Kitchenware Distributors (Agrawal), a wholesaler and distributor of kitchenware items, appeared to be well-off according to its financials, but when she had toured the company’s warehouse, she discovered several problems with the inventory, and there was no management system that could identify, track, or resolve the inventory problems. Because Agrawal was a family business, the changes needed to be acceptable to both brothers who owned and managed the business, and the changes needed to be fairly simple to implement and maintain. What inventory management technique would be suitable in these circumstances?
In May 2021, the founder of Yardstick Educational Initiatives Private Limited, a provider of experiential learning programs in India and the United Arab Emirates, was facing various business challenges. The company was started in India in 2008 but had been increasingly focused on the more profitable Middle East market since 2012. Attempting to stay current with technology advancements in educational products, it made considerable investments to develop new products and enhance its flagship learning product, the Yardstick Experiential Learning Program. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 caused a major setback for the company. Cash flow issues and reduced working capital were forcing the founder to decide which client segment to continue serving and which products to support. With only three months left in the peak sales season before the next academic year, the founder had to make important decisions.
On February 16, 2021, Slave Free Chocolate removed Tony’s Chocolonely (Tony’s), a chocolate company based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from its “Ethical Chocolate Companies” list due to Tony’s association with Barry Callebaut, a cocoa processor associated with child slavery in West Africa. Tony’s, a B Corp-certified company whose founding mission was to eradicate child slavery from the cocoa supply chain, had to address its public removal from the list immediately to maintain the company's credibility. How should the chief executive officer of Tony’s respond to the removal?
An investor in NIO Inc. (NIO), an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer based in China, contemplated the role NIO played in the EV market in China and the world, as well as the differences between NIO’s business model and the business models of other EV makers. Specifically, NIO had built and operated a network of battery-swapping stations and often included complimentary swaps with vehicle purchases. Also, NIO was able to sell a car without a battery pack as long as the customer paid for a subscription service. Further, to fund the venture, NIO and other entities had established Wuhan Weineng Battery Asset Co. Ltd., which owned the batteries that were leased out under the battery-as-a-service (BaaS) model. The investor realized that it was important to understand the implications of these streams of revenue and how they affected NIO’s stock valuation.
This exercise helps students practice bringing vulnerability, compassion, and curiosity to a discussion. Over two rounds, groups of students are asked to both answer questions about themselves and listen as others answer, sharing in an environment of confidentiality and care.
This case examines the career of Vicky Tsai, the creator of San Francisco-based TATCHA, a Japanese-themed luxury beauty brand launched in 2009. It explores how Tsai developed the concept, assembled management, and successfully launched the brand, despite experiencing major obstacles because of stereotyped views based on her gender and Asian ethnicity. Originally advised that Asian beauty was too niche for the American market, Tsai struggled to raise capital, and felt that she needed to take on white males as co-founders in order to be taken seriously. She faced continuous funding constraints, even after the Tatcha brand debuted on the QVC channel and began to grow fast. In 2017 Tsai sought private equity funding to further grow the business, and found herself encouraged to leave the role of CEO in favor of professional management. Tsai sold the business to Unilever for an estimated $500 million in 2019 as this process was underway. In January 2021 Tsai was recalled as CEO as the business faltered. The case ends with her determination to build a business which would work for positive change in the beauty industry in its attitudes towards gender and ethnicity.
In June 2022, 3G Capital Co-Managing Partners Alex Behring and Daniel Schwartz were in a partners' meeting. On the agenda were three potential investments. Code named "Alpha," "Bravo," and "Charlie" (real target companies that have been disguised), they were the finalists amongst hundreds that the team had screened. Unlike other private equity firms, 3G did not build a portfolio: each of its funds had only one investment. This model had worked extremely well for some investments, with successes like Restaurant Brands International, but it had also faced some challenges. Each investment decision was crucial to the future of the firm. What should their next investment be?
The case narrates the IPO journey of Budweiser APAC (Budweiser APAC), the Asia-Pacific subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). During its time in Asia, megabrewer AB InBev not only engaged in many mergers and acquisitions but also witnessed first-hand the development of an up-and-coming market. This allowed Budweiser APAC to become a leader in the Chinese and South Korean markets and develop plans to significantly expand its market share in Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, challenges such as the overall sluggish beer industry and fierce competition for talent slowed Budweiser APAC's business. In 2019, the brewer behemoth suspended plans to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Shortly thereafter, the company offloaded its Australian Subsidiary Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) and then successfully listed Budweiser APAC in Hong Kong. Instead of providing the entire IPO story at once, the case intentionally splits this content into two parts. Case A focuses on Budweiser APAC's initial failed IPO attempt and asks students to put themselves in the shoes of Jan Craps, AB InBev's Zone President Asia Pacific and CEO & Executive Director of Budweiser APAC. Initially, the class discussion should focus on the global beer industry, the competitive landscape in different geographic regions, and Budweiser APAC's major competitors. Subsequently, students should discuss which of the proposed alternatives to the failed IPO listing best serves the needs of both AB InBev and Budweiser APAC. Case B follows Case A and discusses which alternative was actually chosen: AB InBev successfully listed Budweiser APAC on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after selling its Australian subsidiary to Japan's Asahi Group. This divesture facilitated Budweiser APAC's second IPO attempt not only by making it clear to investors that the company will focus on growth markets such as China, India, and Vietnam, but also by making the listing more attractive to investors who seek exposure to emerging
Supplement to Budweiser APAC Spinoff (A): The Financial Strategy for Localization. Case B follows Case A and discusses which alternative was actually chosen: AB InBev successfully listed Budweiser APAC on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after selling its Australian subsidiary to Japan's Asahi Group. This divesture facilitated Budweiser APAC's second IPO attempt not only by making it clear to investors that the company will focus on growth markets such as China, India, and Vietnam, but also by making the listing more attractive to investors who seek exposure to emerging markets.
This case traces the digital transformation exploration of NOVA VISION (also called "Baodao Glasses"), as the leading Chinese service-oriented eyewear retailer sought continuous improvement. The company developed informatization construction in its early stage. In the internet era, it started an online business and tried the O2O (online to offline) model in 2013. In 2019, it launched a methodology for private domain traffic operations and implemented drastic organizational changes. They followed its strategic positioning of "professionalism + digitalization" and operational goal for transforming the traditional "store operation-centered" sales model into "member operations as the core" service-oriented retail model. However, NOVA VISION's digital initiatives were not recognized by peers for many years, nor have they solved the industry's essential pain points, such as the high proportional personnel costs and the steadily rising store rents. NOVA VISION still faces internal and external challenges. The extremal challenges include threats from upstream players in the industry chain of lens and glass frame brand giants as well as competition from eye hospitals that enter the optician industry. Internal challenges come from its employees, who may be full of confusion and uncertainty about the future. It is crucial that NOVA VISION better implements the "professionalism + digitalization" strategy and ensures organizational changes bring effective outcomes. Wang Zhimin, chairman of the board of directors, still has a strong idea for exporting the company's own experience and upgrading the industry through platformization, which is full of unknowns. Will future generations still need glasses? What kind of glasses will they need? The future of eyewear service retail is blurry... NOVA VISION's related exploration reflects several important issues in the development of China's optical retail industry, such as "healthcare vs. fashion" needs, "online vs. offline" scenarios,
with a description of three concepts it inspired and an invitation to design a set of experiments to test the concepts' desirability, feasibility, and viability. The C case reviews the two phases of testing actually conducted. Taken together, the three cases cover a completed design thinking process in detail, with a particular goal of encouraging student reflection on the design of research plans, both exploratory and confirmatory. SWR operated some of the busiest train routes in the United Kingdom, with 235 million passenger journeys a year. It covered urban, suburban, regional, and long-distance routes between London's Waterloo Station and locations in southwestern England. SWR struggled with some long-term problems: challenging relations with a highly unionized work force, major network repairs needed, low staff morale, and overcrowded commuter services. All these were compounded by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Amid these challenges, senior leadership at SWR concluded that the pandemic presented a unique opportunity to change how the public and the UK Department for Transportation viewed SWR, and to improve the passenger experience. SWR reached out to David Kester & Associates (DK&A), a leading design-strategy consultancy, in search of a partnership that could help the rail company innovate. DK&A's mandate was clear: learn fast from customers, rapidly deliver confidence-building basics at stations, and work closely with SWR staff to reshape both the organization's culture and their passenger's experience. SWR wanted practical ideas to better meet customer needs-ones that could be trialed and scaled throughout the network. But how to go about gathering the data needed within a tight timeline amid the complexity of SWR's operations and opportunities? For those interested in adding self or peer assessment to students' design thinking learning journey, Professor Jeanne Liedtka, working with coauthors Karen Hold, Jessica Eldridge, and Treehouse
This case, a follow-up to "Design Thinking in Action (A): South Western Railway" (UVA-S-0377), finds South Western Railway (SWR) and its design-consultancy partner, DK&A, beginning work on a project to improve passenger experience. The team followed a classic design thinking methodology, the Double Diamond, focused on four steps-discover, define, develop, and deliver-and created an ambitious three-month schedule to meet a tight delivery deadline. The case describes in detail how team members gathered data from a variety of passenger categories, created persona types and journey maps, and identified new ideas to help SWR accomplish its goals. It concludes with questions about how these ideas should be tested. What design should experiments take? What outcomes were most important to measure and learn from?