While the existence of workplace discrimination has been firmly established, individual employees often feel uncertain about classifying a negative personal experiences as such. For example, if a woman is passed up for a promotion in favour of a man, she may wonder whether her colleague's performance was simply superior to hers, and may never resolve whether or not it was discriminatory. The authors refer to such experiences as 'ambiguous incidents,' and in this article they describe what these look like and their implications for women at work. In the end, they show that understanding and addressing gender inequality demands considering not only overt discrimination, but ambiguous incidents, as well.
Being seen, known and heard in our relationships-personal and professional-requires us to use our voices. But how many of us actually do? The fact is, for minorities in the workplace, there are often incentives to stay silent-particularly for people with traditionally marginalized identities. Many of us are guilty of not listening to others when we disagree with what they're saying or they aren't communicating in our preferred style. We assume, rebut and tune out. In short, we silence - even when we're going through the motions of listening. In an excerpt from her latest book, the author, a Harvard Law School professor, shares insights about 'voice' and tactics for leaders and individuals to encourage voice in those around them in their everyday interactions.
Many organizations over-rely on cybersecurity defenses at the expense of building cyber resilience. CEOs who have lived through a malware attack or hack stress the importance of accepting that cyberattacks are inevitable and of doing more to make business continuity and recovery plans. The article reviews their lessons learned and offers specific recommendations for improving organization cyber resilience.
Mass timber products included glued laminate timber and cross-laminated timber. These were valued-added goods made from softwood lumber that was resurfaced and glued together. Glued laminate timber, or glulam, was used in commercial construction in place of concrete or steel frames. Cross-laminated timber, or CLT, was multiple layers of planed lamellas glued together, and was used to form walls, floors, and ceilings. While regular timber products sold for about 200 euro per cubic meter, glued timber products could command prices between 500 and 1,000 euro per cubic meter depending on quality, strengths and engineering design. Hasslacher had intended to upgrade its plant located in Malaya Vishera, Russia, which was about 200 kilometres from St. Petersburg. The plan had been to double timber production to 200,000 m and to upgrade it to produce up to 50,000 m of glulam products per year for the Asian market. Christoph's options were to wait for the Russian and Ukrainian war to end and then to proceed with the upgrades, to buy a basic sawmill in Eastern Europe and upgrade it, to look for an acquisition in North America, or to sell the equipment. "We have to make a decision that will be best for the long-term even though we don't have all the information we need in front of us," remarked Christoph. "We have close relatives and long-standing employees working for us in Russia and Asian customers lined up for our glulam product. On the other hand, there is significant amount of uncertainty about the political situation. It's not an easy decision for us to make."
The case explores the role of sustainability initiatives in Avon's business strategy and how they align with its mission of empowering women. It also discusses the potential financial and operational implications of the yet-to-be implemented idea of a refill program, including changes to supply chain, production, and logistics. Additionally, the case highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement and the potential impact on Avon's Turkish associates and women entrepreneurs.
In their final year of studies, many engineering students in Canada eagerly anticipate reciting their obligation and receiving their "ring" as part of the century-old iron ring ceremony (i.e., the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer). Most students are unaware of the specifics of the ceremony or its history until they attend it. The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer has been an important rite of passage for Canadian engineering graduates for almost a hundred years and upholds a culture of engineering that is male-dominated, hierarchical, and elitist, in addition to being implicated in environmental abuse and degradation. Over the last century, the ritual has remained largely unchanged, even in the face of public pressure. As a member of the Corporation of the Seven Wardens, what decision, if any, would you make about changing the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer?
Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH) faced the challenge of scaling a low-tech business in the incense stick market. Led by Prakash Agarwal and his sons, MDPH secured a substantial domestic market share through competitive pricing and extensive distribution, aiming to achieve a ₹10 billion turnover by 2026. The company had to choose between expanding their core business or diversifying into related or new product lines. Expansion entailed deeper market penetration and product variation, while diversification presented opportunities in sectors like home fragrances or personal care products. The chosen strategy had to align with MDPH's economic and non-economic family goals, considering market dynamics and consumer trends. By leveraging their brand equity and distribution networks while staying true to their values, MDPH had the opportunity to navigate industry challenges and realize their growth ambitions.
Orange Sky Australia evolved as an entrepreneurial non-profit organization offering two primary services for the homeless: mobile laundering of clothes and engaging in genuine, individual, face-to-face connections through conversation. In February 2024, with 73 employees and roughly 3,000 volunteers spread throughout Australia and New Zealand, the company's recent staff engagement data indicated a decline in well-being metrics since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, despite the strong positive organizational culture. The company's growth strategy to double volunteer numbers within the next two years created additional challenges for how to recruit volunteer team leaders to manage and oversee daily operations as most volunteers did not want leadership roles.
This technical note introduces the concept of equity cash flow or equity residual cash flow. The note provides an explicit comparison between free cash flow and equity residual cash flow in the context of an acquisition of a fictional veterinary practice. At the Darden School of Business, this note is used in the elective course "Valuation in Financial Markets" and as an introduction to valuation based on equity cash flow.
This short, engaging case challenges students to review a series of corporate financial metrics and match them to one of 13 listed industries. As such, students are to use their intuition and common sense pertaining to the distinctive characteristics of, and the key differences between, the 13 industries and then identify the financial metrics that are most indicative of those traits. The 2023 version of this case replaces several of the companies used in the 2021 version. Over the years, various versions of this case have been used at Darden in the full-time MBA program as well as in our EMBA and Executive Education programs. It is also appropriate for undergraduate courses in finance and accounting.
The case of Quantum Park Hotels, a global hotel chain, is designed to uncover the challenges in designing a customer service recovery programme. The case is set in the Singapore branch of the hotel chain. General Manager David Ng is faced with several irate customers who have refused to pay their hotel bills, because they had no access to water from 4:30 am to 8:45 am that day due to damaged pipes. The front desk staff are seeking guidance from Ng on how to address the guest complaints. To help him arrive at a decision, Ng meets with his heads of guest services, finance, and loyalty programmes to get their insights and thoughts. Although the broken water pipes have since been repaired, they expect more customers to request some sort of compensation for their trouble. It will soon be check-out time at the hotel and while Ng is considering the inputs of multiple stakeholders, several decisions must be made. What sort of compensation should be offered - cash, room nights, hotel meals, or a combination of some or all of these? How much should be offered to the affected guests - a sum greater, less than or exactly the same as what they spent? Should different guests receive different benefits? And should something be done for guests who did not complain?
In September 2023, Sarah Bell, the president and chief executive officer of Artisan Alley Donuts (Artisan Alley), was facing various operational challenges as she navigated the complexities of scaling up her business. Artisan Alley is an artisanal donut bakery in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Bell’s decision to increase donut production by 15 per cent (from 624 to 720 daily products) inadvertently led to late deliveries and inadequate inventory by opening time for the company’s two stores. With the limited shelf life of donuts (just one day), unsold items are discarded. This product waste increases the cost of goods sold. Recognizing the need to optimize production for profitability, Bell had several levers at her disposal. She could decouple processes, adjust the task schedule of bakers, incorporate work-in-process buffer inventory, or consider reducing batch sizes. Artisan Alley is also consistently selling out of donuts before closing time, so Bell is contemplating increasing production even further. She is wondering if a newsvendor model analysis might offer insights and solutions to address this challenge. Bell has only one day to determine the ideal production volume for next week.
To remain competitive, smart multinationals ensure they can rapidly globalize or localize certain parts of their businesses as needed. Here’s how they do it.
In early 2024, Ruth Jones, head of digital banking at Signa Bank, a (fictitious) European consumer bank, was thinking about how to best incorporate GenAI capabilities to improve efficiencies and create new ways to improve the customer experience. Where were the biggest opportunities? How could the bank incorporate GenAI to better personalize the customer experience? And what were the most effective strategies to mitigate the number of product and enterprise risks that would arise? Jones needed to ensure that as the technology was increasingly embedded and incorporated across the bank's operating systems, that there would be no negative fallout on its consumers or its reputation.
This case takes the perspective of Dane Barnes, cofounder of Shibumi Shade, Inc., a North Carolina start-up that created and sells an innovative beach shade. In particular, the case highlights Barnes's and his cofounders' decisions in forming and growing their company, and it presents an inflection point for students to recommend future actions to the cofounders to maintain Shibumi's growth trajectory. The case explores such experiences and decisions as transitioning the venture from a side hustle to a full-time pursuit, protecting intellectual property, seeking outside funding, outsourcing, and growing the venture.
To remain competitive, smart multinationals ensure they can rapidly globalize or localize certain parts of their businesses as needed. Here's how they do it.
This case follows the founder and CEO of King's Flair International (KFI), Alex Wong, as he navigates a critical situation involving Zhong Ying (ZY), a long-standing strategic partner of KFI. KFI, a reputable Hong Kong-listed Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) for premium international household brands, has collaborated with ZY as a manufacturing partner for over two decades. Throughout the years, ZY has enjoyed a steady stream of orders from KFI, contributing to its gradual business growth. However, due to its recent overexpansion and mismanagement, ZY found itself buried heavily in bank loans. In early 2019, ZY had reached a point where it could no longer meet its regular debt repayment obligations due to a lack of funds. Consequently, the bank issued an ultimatum, demanding full loan repayment within a few days or else initiating legal action against the company. Faced with this dire situation, ZY had no choice but to seek out Wong's assistance. Wong now faces two crucial decisions: 1) whether he should extend help to ZY, and 2) if he decides to help ZY, which of the three alternatives should he choose? Complicating matters further, ZY is currently working on an urgent order for KFI. Wong understands the gravity of his choice, as it carries significant implications that extend beyond ZY and can impact other manufacturing partners as well. Hence, he must carefully deliberate and weigh the potential consequences before making a decision.
In March 2024, Anthropic, a leading AI safety and research company, made headlines with the launch of Claude 3, its most advanced AI model. This marked Anthropic's bold entry into the multimodal GenAI domain, showcasing capabilities extending to both image and text analysis. Co-founded by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic aimed to be at the forefront of generative AI innovations. The broader AI landscape had seen technologies like ChatGPT transition from niche applications to mainstream tools, sparking global discussions about their potential impact. Established as a Public Benefit Corporation, Anthropic prioritized public good alongside financial returns. The company emphasized aligning technological progress with human values, driven by concerns over AI's potential for harm without robust safety mechanisms. Anthropic's cautious strategy, including delaying the release of an earlier version of Claude to ensure appropriate safety protocols, contrasted with competitors such as OpenAI whose release of ChatGPT triggered an AI arms race. As a company with aggressive growth targets and a 75x revenue multiple, Anthropic had to balance its foundational safety mission against the demands of commercial success. The OpenAI experience with its Board replacement had demonstrated the importance of governance and the risks of misaligned values within the company. Did Anthropic's corporate structure effectively guard against profit-driven incentives that could compromise safety? As AI models became more powerful, what tools should Anthropic develop and share to prevent harm?