Alyssa Harris was the CEO of TechTeen, a Washington, DC, nonprofit. Like many organizations during summer 2020, TechTeen issued a statement supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. A valuable board member expressed concern, threatening to resign over the statement, which escalated discussions among staff and volunteers. The case considers how Harris should manage and respond to these issues. Harris must consider each of her stakeholders, how they might be affected, what to communicate, and how to communicate. This case enables discussion of values in addition to managing public opinion. The teaching note for this case guides the instructor to: (1) map the issues, stakeholders, and potential actions relevant to the case; and (2) critically assess the multiple aspects of the case that apply in business settings.
Sirona Hygiene Private Limited (Sirona Hygiene) started operations in 2015 with its launch of PeeBuddy-a portable urination device for women. For Sirona Hygiene, the first four years had been extremely satisfying, as the company was able to launch five unique products and 15 differentiated products across its three brands-PeeBuddy, Sirona, and BodyGuard. Each brand had its own unique value proposition and operated in a different product space. The company's founder was looking for additional funding as he moved toward achieving his mission of tripling the company's growth by 2022. When it came to investor mindsets, most investors were traditional in their thinking and sought to invest in single brands. As such, the company's founder was considering consolidating all of the brands under the corporate brand-Sirona Hygiene. Brand articulation, strategy formulation, and fundraising were all interlinked, and to steer the firm to its next journey, a sequential path was imperative. The question was clear, but there were no straight answers.
The chief executive officer of Ruaha Farm (T) Ltd (Ruaha Farm), in Iringa, Tanzania, established his honey business, in 2012. The company's business model relied on the engagement and empowerment of neighbouring communities of low-income beekeepers, creating mutually beneficial relationships with local beekeeping communities in the Iringa region. The business model was unique, asset-light, and scalable. In contrast with an integrated business model in beekeeping, where a company typically owned all assets (land, beehives, processing machinery, and routes to market), Ruaha Farm not only commercialized the honey from its own farms but also reached out to all beekeepers in the region to support them in the production and collection of their honey. By 2019, amid the challenges of managing the company's relationship with the beekeeper communities, the chief executive officer had to consider how to increase Ruaha Farm's annual production volume from 10 to 100 tons in five years.
nam.R, a data-driven start-up based in Paris, embarked on an ambitious plan to contribute to address global warming using open data. From its launch in 2017, using open-data sources augmented by sophisticated data analytics, nam.R has constructed a "digital twin" of every single building in France by early 2020. It requires vast quantities of data to be extracted, aggregated, cleaned and reorganized in diverse formats from different providers. This unique asset potentially has wide-ranging applications, including the identification of energy-saving opportunities. The next challenge for nam.R is to sell the data to companies and public authorities, staying true to its sustainability and energy-efficiency goals.
This case details the various challenges that Whitney Wolfe Herd faced in starting and scaling Bumble. The case explores critical decisions that Wolfe Herd had to make, including which investors to raise money from, how to pitch her 'women message first' dating app to the group of male engineers who could build it, and how to make leadership and reporting line changes as the company scaled.
This case details the challenges Jenell Ross faced at Bob Ross Auto Group, the car dealership in Dayton, Ohio, started by her father, Bob Ross. The case explores critical activities that she had to undertake after her father's unexpected passing, including managing her grieving family, estate taxes, and succession.
This case explores the corporate finance issues arising from the privatization of Li & Fung Limited (Li & Fung, prior stock code: 494.HK) in May 2020. A public announcement was made earlier in March of the same year, while its closing stock price surged by 88.0%, from HKD0.50 to HKD0.94, the following trading day. Such price movement reflected the market expectation of successful execution of the privatization proposal. The case seeks to highlight the considerations of Li & Fung in deciding on privatization, from a corporate finance perspective. Through the case, students will grapple with the practical questions of how controlling shareholders of a listed company should balance their own interests and the interests of disinterested shareholders in the market in formulating a privatization deal. There are always some signals that indicate a listed company may have a plan for privatization. Shareholders need to be alert to certain signals that may possibly indicate a good opportunity for speculation. Li & Fung is a good example for students interested in investment.
In 2021, Ron DeShay, former American Idol producer, is launching his new business venture: World of Dreams Entertainment Group. World of Dreams rethought the existing TV production model, giving audiences more power to directly influence the creation of shows through a digital platform, and building an immersive experience around the TV production business.
This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication.
This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication. Part II: Business Communication Tips for Success, Section 1, "General Business Communication." In this section, the author offers a variety of tips, along with related applications of and stories about those tips, that readers can use to make their own business communications more effective.
This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication. Part II: Business Communication Tips for Success, Section 2, "Writing." In this section, the author offers additional tips, applications, and stories for readers to use to make their writing more effective and persuasive.
This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication. Part II: Business Communication Tips for Success, Section 3, "Presenting and Speaking." In this section, the author offers tips, applications, and stories for readers to use to make their presentations more effective and persuasive.
This book contains business communication information that may not have been taught in college, information that has been accumulated over years of business experience and teaching. Anyone can read these brief tips to learn how to better communicate in business while saving the time that might have been invested in reading many books. The tips cover the fundamental areas of writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication, as well as general business communication advice. Each tip is a practical application that can be implemented quickly. Each tip is also illustrated by a story from the author's work life in various industries. Lastly, the book also lays a foundation for an understanding of how the brain influences all communication. Part II: Business Communication Tips for Success, Section 4, "Interpersonal Business Communication." In this section, the author offers tips, applications, and stories for readers to use to make their interpersonal business communications more effective and persuasive.
China's peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry had over 3,000 platforms at its height in 2015. China Risk Finance (CRF) was one of the country's P2P success stories. With over 1 million borrowers using CRF's platform, it raised $60 million in its 2016 IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Yet the pace of P2P's rise spooked financial regulators, sparking a crackdown on the industry that would lead to its demise in China. This B case tracks CRF's tumultuous attempts to salvage its business in the face of sudden and sweeping changes to the rules governing its industry as well as the lengths to which the Chinese government went to ensure the stability of its financial system, even at the expense of its development.
Lidya CEO Tunde Kehinde must size up options for the expansion of his novel lending practices that drastically reduce the credit cycle in his developing Nigeria, and determine if expansion into Eastern Europe will prove successful or disastrous.
AptDeco, a used furniture marketplace, was growing rapidly in the tri-state area. The co-founders were confident that the business model, financial position, and unit economics positioned AptDeco for scaling in the massive $120 billion furniture market, despite its complexity and high costs. The co-founders were looking at different options to scale: working to convert sellers into buyers and vice versa, finding superusers that would fuel the supply for their platform, expand to new markets, rebrand with a sustainability focus. What is the best way for them to scale?
Students were provided with the financial data for 10 major companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019. They were also given a list of 10 major industries. As an exercise, students were then asked to identify which company operated within which industry. The exercise would test the students' understanding of how a company’s financial data can be specific to a particular industry. Using only financial figures, could the student identify within which industry each company operated?
The owner of Hailey’s Handbags, a New England-based online business selling handmade products, had successfully grown her company using a limited-release sales model. However, by early 2019, complaints posted to her business’s social media accounts had become abusive and personal. The emotional impact on the owner was severe, and before she could decide how to manage the comments, she needed to first determine whether they represented legitimate complaints or if she had become a target of cyberbullying.