The Indian Railways (IR), the country's largest transporter, is considering a plan to fully electrify its network. The move will cut its fuel expenditure by a whopping 50%. However, the project will require a capital investment of INR 350 billion (approximately USD 4.9 billion1). The investment is beyond the normal capital that is available for annual investment, as the IR is not run with a profit mindset and has limited retained earnings. Therefore, the IR has to consider potential financing options. The proposed investment also requires the IR management to overcome numerous operational changes in areas such a rolling stock, crew, usage of fueling depots, training, disposal of usable diesel locomotives, etc. The electric-based platform appears to be where the industry is headed worldwide, and potential future cost savings may also be possible if the IR moves to this platform. The project would make India the first country in Asia to move to complete electrification, establishing it as a pioneer in the rail industry and boosting national pride. It would reduce the country's reliance on imported fuels and help with the nation's balance of payments, thereby advancing its economic agenda. A third non-financial but national objective of the project would be a significant reduction in carbon emissions. The board of the IR is tasked with examining various aspects of the proposed electrification project and deciding whether or not to approve the idea. The case requires students to make a decision as to whether or not the savings are worth the investment and resource allocation.
The case is a narration of the 20-year journey of the All India Society for Electronics and Computer Technology (AISECT), a social enterprise offering information and computer technology (ICT) services, including skill development, higher education, financial inclusion, and e-governance, to youth in rural and semi-urban areas of India. It reflects the vision of AISECT's Founding Chairman, Santosh Choubey, to build a social organization aimed at disseminating science and technology (S&T) knowledge, services, and solutions to underserved rural areas in India and generating job opportunities for rural youth. In its initial years, AISECT joined a Government of India initiative to introduce and offer basic computer education to students in government high schools in Bhopal. AISECT developed a model in which it trained local youth to become entrepreneur-trainers who could operate ICT centers at the government schools, receiving a share of the government's funds. During the early nineties, AISECT set up ICT training centers in the selected government schools in MP and built a franchisee network of sustainable multipurpose training centers (MPTCs). The centers, owned and operated by village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs), would provide ICT-based and other skill-based education and services to rural communities. Through the MPTC model, AISECT not only penetrated and spread IT literacy in the semi- urban and rural areas of the state but also generated job opportunities for rural youth through its "train the trainer" model. The case is set in March 2005, when Choubey relives the struggles, challenges, and successes along the way and is gradually carried forward into the future. The case ends with Choubey contemplating the road ahead for AISECT. With the skill education landscape changing and new entrants competing for limited government funds, what should AISECT do to maintain its leadership position and ensure its sustainability and continued expansion across India?
Founded in 2001 by the Sawiris family, one of the wealthiest families in Egypt, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) invested in human capital and provision of basic social services for the most marginalized Egyptians. In 2015, Noura Selim's (MBA 2013) arrival triggered a series of changes related to the Foundation's direct-grantmaking efforts, how SFSD evaluated the success of its programs, and the number and nature of partnerships it had with development finance institutions, the private sector, and the government. By June 2021, under Selim's leadership, SFSD achieved success across several fronts. Selim nevertheless felt that the Foundation still had a long way to go in terms of fulfilling its goal to elevate Egypt's education system. Comprised predominantly of public schools, the system delivered low quality education, and resulted in poor learning outcomes, which translated into high youth unemployment. She was in the process of crystalizing SFSD's five-year strategy and wondered how she should balance the allocation of the Foundation's time and financial resources to drive as much change in the education sector as possible.
In 2018, the founder of Swift Mobility in Nakuru, Kenya, Africa was considering her options for the future of her company, which was a Safaricom Plc dealership. The founder was reflecting on how much her business had progressed in the past ten years and wondering if this was the right time to expand or invest in the company’s future. She had just spoken with the property owner of a potential new store in Mombasa, Kenya, but was also considering other options. In addition to potentially expanding to a new location, the founder could choose to invest further to grow her current operation, or sell the business and exit the highly competitive telecommunications industry in favour of a more moderate lifestyle. Which option would be her best path forward?
In 2016, a social entrepreneur founded Even Cargo in Delhi, India to provide last-mile logistics by employing only women. Even Cargo trained and provided employment opportunities to women from underprivileged backgrounds, usually as their first job ever outside the home. The company encountered various challenges, including resistance from patriarchs and gender bias. The founder remained persistent in his goal to establish Even Cargo as a successful social enterprise in Delhi and eventually expand into smaller Indian cities. However, a prevalent patriarchal mindset and gender inequality were deeply ingrained in these areas, which would make this goal considerably more difficult to achieve. What strategies could the founder consider to realize his business growth and expansion objectives?
A recent MBA graduate from a premier business school in India successfully secured a position with a major investment firm. Shortly after starting his new job, he was asked by his supervisor to evaluate the performance of three mutual funds that he had invested in during his MBA studies: Edelweiss, LIC MF, and BNP Paribas. All three investments were large cap funds. After completing his evaluation, the MBA graduate was hoping to understand the performance of the three mutual funds and determine which was the best investment choice.
Two managers in the Power Tools division of German multinational corporation Robert Bosch GmbH (Bosch) have been tasked with devising potential solutions for addressing tensions between the regional headquarters (RHQ) for the Eastern Europe and Middle East region of Bosch Power Tools' Blue Emerging Markets business unit. The RHQ faces challenges in managing its geographically dispersed subsidiaries, with the subsidiaries complaining about slow decision-making, a lack of efficiency, and a limited understanding of customer needs. Bosch Power Tools must rethink its approach to the Blue Emerging Markets unit and the organizational set-up of the RHQ. Thus, the two managers are meeting with senior managers from across the Eastern Europe-Middle East region and the board of management (Case A) in order to determine the best way to address the issues (Case B).
After succeeding long-time CEO Maurice Levy as top leader of the world's third largest advertising, marketing, and communications company, headquartered in France, Arthur Sadoun accelerates digital transformation through a new platform drawing on talent from any of the formerly autonomous agencies and completes a reorganization to integrate the company by geography rather than brand. With Levy's mentoring, Sadoun must maintain morale during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue navigating change. This is the latest in a series of cases tracking milestones in the building of Publicis Groupe.
Set in July 2021, this case looks at several growth strategies under consideration at Brown Capital, the second-oldest Black-owned asset management firm in the U.S. Since its 1983 founding, Baltimore-based Brown Capital has specialized in small company growth equity-investing in small, publicly traded companies with outsized growth potential. But with its successful, domestic small company fund closed to new investors since 2013, and its international small company fund on a similar trajectory, Brown Capital's pathway to sustained growth is unclear. Should it (1) reconsider closing its Morningstar 5-star rated international small company fund; (2) focus on its newer mid company fund, which has more capacity for growth and a recent uptick in performance; or (3) introduce new strategies and asset classes?
In June 2020, with the COVID-19 crisis affecting physical retail and accelerating the trend of digitalization, the leadership team of Moltacte, a work integration social enterprise that manages a chain of clothing outlet stores in urban areas outside of Barcelona, Spain, is considering options for innovating the business model. Moltacte has a very clear purpose to support the health and well-being of its employees, more than half of whom are people with severe mental illness. It has developed a management model that puts people (not profits) at the center of the organization and ensures that its people are the driving force of the company, not passive ""beneficiaries,"" charity cases, or subordinates following orders. In its current form, this model is based largely on in-person, human-to-human interaction. This raises the question of whether it is possible and desirable to develop online activity that is compatible with its people-centered approach. Whereas cases about social enterprises are typically written from the perspective of the entrepreneur, the narrator of this case is a character with mental illness, who is a fictional composite of many real Moltacte employees. The authors made this choice because we wanted Moltacte's mentally ill employees to be at the center of the case and the discussion as students explore management models that seek to put beneficiaries at the center.
Set in early 2021, this case is about Kino Biotech, a Singapore-based company producing health and beauty products, most notably its flagship brand, Kinohimitsu. Its operations and distribution have expanded globally, especially to Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. In April 2018, Kino Biotech launched a spin-off company called Kinofy to leverage its cross-border commerce license and digital business experience of operating in China. Kinofy provides consulting solutions to Singapore and international companies that want to enter China. Kinofy is also pivotal in building a cross-border e-commerce platform where the collective intelligence can be accumulated when more Singapore and international firms enrol. By following the journey of Kino Biotech and Kinofy from their start and through several critical transformations across three decades, this case enables a rich discussion on how firms manage strategic change, internationalisation, and digital transformation.
Neons Fashion LLP was the entrepreneurial venture of Arthi Ramalingam after she completed her MBA. Arthi had been interested in jewellery since childhood and decided to focus on the design, manufacturing and retailing of fashion and costume jewellery items under the brand name of Eternz through different sales channels like exhibitions, retail stores, own website and as an independent seller on e-commerce marketplaces. She initially started selling on Amazon marketplace through a third party, Cloudtail India Pvt. Ltd and later sold through other e-commerce marketplace operators like Flipkart, Jabong and FirstCry. As her business grew, Arthi planned to add the kids' shoes category and decided to participate in the Bangalore Fashion Week to build the Eternz brand. However, in November 2016, Cloudtail terminated her contract, which played havoc with the sales and profitability of her start-up. Neons Fashion LLP (A) provides details of how independent sellers are at the mercy of marketplace operators and ends with the need to review the choices of sales channels for different categories like fashion garments and fashion accessories and for the upcoming launch of kids' shoes.
Neons Fashion LLP was the entrepreneurial venture of Arthi Ramalingam after she completed her MBA. Arthi had been interested in jewellery since childhood and decided to focus on the design, manufacturing and retailing of fashion and costume jewellery items under the brand name of Eternz through different sales channels like exhibitions, retail stores, own website and as an independent seller on e-commerce marketplaces. She initially started selling on Amazon marketplace through a third party, Cloudtail India Pvt. Ltd and later sold through other e-commerce marketplace operators like Flipkart, Jabong and FirstCry. As her business grew, Arthi planned to add the kids' shoes category and decided to participate in the Bangalore Fashion Week to build the Eternz brand. However, in November 2016, Cloudtail terminated her contract, which played havoc with the sales and profitability of her start-up. Neons Fashion LLP (B) describes the events after the Bangalore Fashion Week that ultimately led to the closure of business.