This case set uses the example of Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Justice Sonia Sotomayor to discuss issues of communicating identity at work and to explore possible options for impression management over the course of one's career. As a law student, attorney, and lower court judge, Sotomayor leaned into her Latina identity, often referencing it as an important part of who she was. When then President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor for SCOTUS, she faced scrutiny over past comments, some identity related, that were construed to be evidence of judicial bias and that, in the eyes of some, made her unfit for the job. Sotomayor is faced with various options as to how she should respond in her nomination hearings before Congress. This case, a follow-up to both "'A Wise Latina': Sonia Sotomayor's Journey to the Supreme Court (A)" (UVA-OB-1429) and "'A Wise Latina': Sonia Sotomayor's Journey to the Supreme Court (B)" (UVA-OB-1430), provides a glimpse into how Sotomayor approached issues of identity and professional image after she was appointed. This case set examines the choices that many professionals, particularly those who are underrepresented in a professional space, face at various career stages when managing their identities at work. To what extent should individuals adjust their self-presentation if they are receiving signals of disapproval? Might identity-communication strategies vary depending on one's career stage? Students have an opportunity to proactively ponder how they want to present themselves at work while uncovering the benefits and costs of trying to merge aspects of their authentic selves with expected professional standards. This case series would be appropriate in courses on gender and leadership or ones about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) more broadly. The cases could also be used in a leadership communication course to discuss how individuals communicate aspects of themselves in professional settings.
Montecarlo Limited (MCL), a 25-year-old infrastructure and construction company in India, had invested in building effective human resources (HR) processes and a better employee experience. While it was unconventional for companies in this industry, whose outlook generally favoured production and profitability, to focus on these issues, MCL had endeavoured to create not only an effective training function, but also a culture of learning and development that empowered its employees to become better professionals and individuals. Given the nature of the industry, such efforts posed challenges in understanding and implementation. In January 2021, the company’s senior vice-president of HR wondered both how this focus on employees would help MCL and whether the company should continue to invest in its people and in building a culture of learning. If it did continue, how could it adjust its training process to make the learning and development process more effective?
Leaders who keep their distance from the hard decisions and conversations that a workforce reduction requires miss an opportunity to mitigate the damage to morale and trust that such events can engender. Sanyin Siang advises top executives to get personally involved in the process and to model a people-first, humane approach.
Companies that can move quickly to capture new opportunities don't have greater foresight than the rest. What they do have, increasingly, is modularity: They have broken apart and exposed their core capabilities via digital technologies in such a way that partners can leverage them. That is key to expanding into new markets and creating a wider range of options for growth.
Set in 2023, the case features Sanergy, a Kenya-based social enterprise founded by three MIT graduates. Sanergy's circular sanitation model comprised a not-for-profit toilet unit, which provided safe access to sanitation and waste collection, and a for-profit agriproducts unit, which treated the waste and upcycled it into saleable organic products. Ten years after Sanergy's 2011 launch, cofounders David Auerbach, Lindsay Stradley, and Ani Vallabhaneni decided to split the two business units into distinct entities--Fresh Life (the toilet unit) and Regen Organics (the agriproducts unit)--that would operate under a new umbrella platform called The Sanergy Collaborative. Both units had high growth potential, but operating under the same brand name had impeded their ability to pursue strategies suitable for their distinct business models. This split would allow each entity to scale and explore opportunities that the sanitation value chain had unlocked in related domains. Although the new structure held clear benefits, it raised concerns, too. Would the enterprise be able to strike a balance between generating profits and creating impact? Most important, would Fresh Life and Regen be able to establish credibility among key stakeholders in the industry? Should the two organizations align their missions to leverage synergies, or should they forge their own paths based on individual priorities? Through this case, students will learn about circular economy models, Maslow's hierarchy of systemic economic value, and various share of wallet (SOW) strategies that enterprises like Sanergy could adopt.
Indus Motors was a large automotive dealer and service provider in the state of Kerala (India), with a network of five zonal warehouses and 76 service centres. The company was grappling with inventory management issues, such as excess stock and procurement and distribution practices that accounted for higher costs. Although the company had recently implemented an enterprise resource planning system, the management believed that benefits accruing from the digital system and supply chain capabilities were not put to good use. The management was looking to streamline inventory management and procurement and sourcing practices, leveraging technology and analytics capabilities.
In April 2023, an issue emerged around the elevated level of sugar found in Mondelez India's nutritional beverage, Bournvita. The sequence of events began with the posting of a 90-second video by a prominent social media influencer, which rapidly gained widespread attention, accumulating more than 12 million views within a short period. The video emphasized the high amount of sugar in Bournvita and brought attention to the company's transparency procedures. Mondelez India, owner of the Bournvita brand, promptly refuted the assertions put forth by the influencer and categorized the video as "unscientific." In response to the accusations levelled against it, Mondelez India opted to issue a legal notice to the individual responsible for creating the video. The company's legal action yielded positive results, as the influencer ultimately removed the video and issued an apology to the company. Nevertheless, public opinion remained mostly unaltered, and the dispute persisted on many social media sites. The leadership team faced a series of inquiries in the following weeks on the wisdom of issuing a legal notice to the social media influencer. Did Mondelez India effectively address the crisis and utilize the appropriate communication channel? What message should Mondelez India have conveyed and what was the most effective method to do so?
The Japanese sake market witnessed a 40-year decline, fueled by shifting consumer preferences and an aging customer base. Asahi Shuzo Co. Ltd. (Asahi Shuzo), a once-struggling brewery from Yamaguchi, defied the trend with the success of its singular brand of sake, Dassai. By 2022, under the leadership of the founder and chairperson of the company, Asahi Shuzo’s sales surpassed ¥ (yen) 16.5 billion, marking a phenomenal 165-fold increase since 1984. Expanding into 20 countries by 2016, the company aimed for a 50:50 revenue split between sales brought in from its Japanese market and sales brought from its overseas markets. In 2017, Asahi Shuzo’s president and fourth-generation owner embarked on a bold venture—to construct its first overseas brewery in New York. Initially estimated to cost ¥1 billion, by March 2023, due to delays related to COVID-19, the costs increased to ¥8 billion. The opening of the Dassai Blue Sake Brewery in New York in October 2023 raised questions about what the global market’s impact would be on Dassai as a premium sake brand. As the brewery in the United States became a reality, challenges and uncertainties unfolded, shaping the narrative of Dassai’s strategic evolution.
When looking to fill a position above entry level, companies have two choices: transfer/promote an internal candidate, or hire from the outside. Anecdote and research alike show that external hires are usually offered a higher starting salary than internal candidates.
At a conference in November 2020, the chief executive officers (CEOs) of two exceptional healthcare start-ups-AliveCor Inc. (AliveCor) and Neurobit Inc. (Neurobit)-discussed their paths to innovation: AliveCor, a trailblazing health tech company, had emerged in 2011 with electrocardiogram (ECG) hardware and software that had since garnered global recognition. Neurobit, a digital health start-up, entered the scene in 2018 with sleep biomarker-based health analytics that could predict adverse cardiopulmonary or neurological outcomes. As the CEOs shared their stories, common challenges emerged regarding data acquisition, privacy concerns, and regulatory compliance. Amid their successes, the two companies experienced the necessity of addressing data challenges to achieve AI's full potential in healthcare. They made trade-offs between time and resources amid a rapidly evolving industry and employed various strategies and solutions, from academic collaborations to extensive data collection, in their quest to determine the best strategy to use to overcome the challenges of efficiently and cost-effectively acquiring and utilizing data to drive innovation and gain a competitive edge.
Within a single year, Lebanon experienced multiple adversities, from the economic crisis in October 2019, to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the Port of Beirut explosion on August 4, 2020. Many start-ups had to shut down during this period. This case investigates the role of organizational culture in how Toters Delivery, a high-tech Lebanese-based start-up, responded to these challenges and adapted its business model to overcome adversity. Its co-founder believed that organizational culture was a key factor in its survival. The case examines questions such as: How can a start-up maintain its culture in the face of grand challenges? and What strategic changes does a start-up need to make during challenging times, and how?
An employee's health crisis affects the whole team, deepening the complexities of management. The authors suggest six research-based recommendations for responding with sensitivity and professionalism when a team member is diagnosed with a terminal illness: opening a dialogue, adjusting work arrangements, educating and preparing the team, planning for business continuity, supporting the team emotionally, and responding to the death of the employee.
When companies consider the entire life cycle of their products, they can get more value from materials and resources and do better on sustainability measures. The authors describe four types of circular business models: extending product lifetimes; tapping idle or wasted capacity; reclaiming material resources; and using resources more frugally. The article discusses the capabilities required to execute each type of model.
Akshali Shah, the promoter of Parag Milk Foods, was excited about the success of her brand, 'Pride of Cows,' which, despite being super-premium, was growing fast in the Indian market. The other two brands- 'Gowardhan' and 'Go' brands were performing well. However, her mind was continuously distracted with the thought of scaling up and 'What next for Parag Milk Foods (PMF)'? The Indian dairy market had been primarily about liquid milk and was highly commoditized due to a lack of differentiation and premiumization. She had to make decisions on how to scale up. Should the company introduce more products or consolidate the existing ones?
This case addresses managing critical mineral supply chains by focusing on cobalt used in lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and the impact of mining operations in Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Minespider, a Berlin-based start-up, tackled these issues with a blockchain platform. Following blockchain’s evolution since Bitcoin in 2009 and Ethereum in 2015, Minespider developed the digital battery passport (DBP). Minespider’s broad industry application highlighted its potential for tracking materials, ethical sourcing, and supply chain transparency. In 2017, Minespider focused on understanding the market, identifying ideal customers for their unique blockchain solution and partnerships, optimizing supply chain management, and showcasing blockchain’s value in this sector in order to make the most impact.
The Indian Premier League (IPL), a Twenty20 cricket league, underwent a transformative shift in 2022 as the IPL governing council conducted an e-auction for media rights, valuing them at US$5.64 billion. Viacom18 secured digital rights for $2.57 billion, highlighting the growing significance of online platforms. Disney Star invested $3.02 billion in exclusive TV and over-the-top rights, contributing to the IPL’s global popularity and revenue. Special packages, including weekend matches, attracted diverse investors, elevating the league to the second-highest globally—after the US National Football League. Unbundling media rights increased competition, emphasizing the elevated value of digital rights. Amidst competition between Disney+ Hotstar and Jio, strategic evaluation became crucial for the IPL’s position in the evolving sports broadcasting landscape, raising questions about global reach, digital engagement, revenue enhancement, and the pivotal role of media rights in sports property growth and valuation.
In March 2020, the leadership team at Toronto General Hospital (TGH) needs to plan resources to accommodate the new influx of COVID-19 ICU patients. Key resources for ICU capacity include beds, physicians, nurses, and PPE. The current demand coming from two streams of patients (elective surgeries & emergencies) is expected to overwhelm the ICU capacity, but by slowing down elective surgeries, TGH can mitigate the situation. The optimal proportion of COVID to total ICU patients must be analyzed considering the impact on physicians, nurses, patients awaiting elective surgeries, and PPE. The case allows students to take the role of a hospital leader deciding on allocating capacity across resource pools and recommend an ICU action plan.