Case Study B is a continuation of building the entrepreneurial mindset using the BRiSK3MIND model in Case Study A. We would be following the journey of Mr. Neo Kah Kiat, Founder, Chairman and CEO of NEO Group Limited, as he navigated through his entrepreneurial journey. We encourage readers to trace his journey using the BRiSK3MIND.
The UK daily newspaper the Guardian undertook turnaround initiatives between January 2016 and April 2019 under the leadership of Katherine Viner, the newspaper's editor-in-chief. Viner leveraged a new reader-funded contribution model to generate revenues, whereas newspapers such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal used paywalls and subscription-based models for revenue generation. Viner also undertook several cost-cutting initiatives, such as replacing the Berliner newspaper format with a tabloid format and outsourcing the printing of the Guardian. The impact of the contribution-based revenue model was substantial, leading the newspaper's digital revenues to surpass revenues from advertising. The newspaper's reach also increased substantially, with international subscribers, especially those in the United States and Australia, contributing more than Guardian readers in the United Kingdom. Although the Guardian reported its first profit in the past two decades in May 2019, several challenges remained for Viner, such as increasing the number of financial contributors to 2 million by 2022 and making the turnaround sustainable.
At a time when the wellness industry was experiencing a dynamic renaissance, Weight Watchers International Inc. was stuck with an aging demographic. In 2018, in an effort to stay relevant, the company rebranded itself as WW International Inc. (WW). The goal was to make wellness accessible to all, and to transform from a diet brand to a global wellness juggernaut. However, despite the rebrand and support from celebrity spokesperson Oprah Winfrey, WW's stock price declined sharply. The results led to a number of questions about the soundness of WW's marketing strategy. What should WW do to prevent a meltdown in brand equity, retain its loyal customers, and realize its ambitious goals in the wellness space?
This case explains how Dakota, a medium-sized garment maker headquartered in Hong Kong, built its sustainability program while serving a US$3 trillion industry that is the world's second-largest polluter after oil. It explores the main drivers behind Dakota's sustainability program - the relationship with its major customer, H&M; Dakota's organic development of sustainability principles as it moved production from China to Cambodia and Myanmar, two rapidly developing but poor countries in Southeast Asia; and the evolving discourse over business ethics and the "triple bottom line" (TBL) challenging companies to meet performance metrics that include impact on social and environmental wellbeing as well as corporate growth.
Senior Change Manager Fredrick Martin and the UVA HR leadership team are tasked with the implementation of Ufirst, a project that will merge more than 70 HR programs and 11 distinct HR offices in both the academic division and the health system into a single, seamless HR operation. Ufirst will also leverage new technology that will enable HR self-service for approximately 30,000 employees. It is an ambitious and complex project for the university, and the first in a new strategic effort to streamline university operations to make them more efficient, less costly, and best in class. Martin brings with him experience as a change manager in a corporate environment. Academia presents novel problems because of its complex governance structure. Change in the academic context requires buy-in from many different stakeholders; they could also choose to "opt-out," which could prolong decision-making and derail implementation. Martin and his team must also contend with the complex regulations that govern hiring and workforce management. Martin needs to figure out how to support this necessary change to a new culture, in which HR professionals are strategic partners with the people they serve rather than transactional experts. In order to revitalize HR, Martin and his team must demonstrate to a large university community the power of collaboration and integration. The case can be taught as a stand-alone discussion on change implementation, or as a discussion focused on managing crises that often emerge from such large-scale change initiatives. The case set is also conducive to a sequence of two 85-minute classes, or two parts of one three-hour class. The videos in this B case, "Crisis Scenarios," provide instructors with additional content for the latter discussion.
The UK daily newspaper the <i>Guardian</i> undertook turnaround initiatives between January 2016 and April 2019 under the leadership of Katherine Viner, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief. Viner leveraged a new reader-funded contribution model to generate revenues, whereas newspapers such as the <i>New York Times</i> and the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> used paywalls and subscription-based models for revenue generation. Viner also undertook several cost-cutting initiatives, such as replacing the Berliner newspaper format with a tabloid format and outsourcing the printing of the <i>Guardian</i>. The impact of the contribution-based revenue model was substantial, leading the newspaper’s digital revenues to surpass revenues from advertising. The newspaper’s reach also increased substantially, with international subscribers, especially those in the United States and Australia, contributing more than <i>Guardian</i> readers in the United Kingdom. Although the <i>Guardian</i> reported its first profit in the past two decades in May 2019, several challenges remained for Viner, such as increasing the number of financial contributors to 2 million by 2022 and making the turnaround sustainable.
At a time when the wellness industry was experiencing a dynamic renaissance, Weight Watchers International Inc. was stuck with an aging demographic. In 2018, in an effort to stay relevant, the company rebranded itself as WW International Inc. (WW). The goal was to make wellness accessible to all, and to transform from a diet brand to a global wellness juggernaut. However, despite the rebrand and support from celebrity spokesperson Oprah Winfrey, WW’s stock price declined sharply. The results led to a number of questions about the soundness of WW’s marketing strategy. What should WW do to prevent a meltdown in brand equity, retain its loyal customers, and realize its ambitious goals in the wellness space?
The issue of gender diversity on boards has received increased attention in U.S markets over the past few years. In 2018, California introduced a law which required boards of U.S-listed firms with headquarters in California to include at least one female director by the end of 2019, and at least two by the end of 2021. In December 2020, Nasdaq asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve new diversity rules where the goal is to have boards of firms listed on Nasdaq have at least one female director and at least one underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+ director. However, such initiatives have invited criticism from various market participants, who argue gender quotas could violate the U.S. constitution because they could force companies to turn down a male board candidate or displace a male board member based on his sex. However, countries like Norway endorsed gender quotas more than a decade ago. What can we learn from Norway's actions? This note discusses the views from four prominent male and female executives and board members from the Norway business community on the quota law a decade after its legalization. They point out both challenges faced, and benefits gained by companies from this law. Students can debate the pros and cons of quota laws by drawing from the views and experiences of these executives, and can discuss the merits of corporate diversity quotas in the U.S.
In 2018, China Merchants Bank, China's seventh-largest bank and the 30th-largest bank in the world, strategically repositioned itself in "light banking" to address the changing competitive landscape and rapid entry of non-bank financial technology companies. These companies were using information technology to compete in China's domestic payments market. China Merchants Bank was also actively stimulating innovation. Through its incubation fund, the bank provided funding to its business units for new technology projects. The bank's president was reviewing one specific project financed by the fund-the cross-border payments blockchain system. He was eager to determine the success of the project and the potential for future development of the blockchain technology, in his efforts to understand the applicability of blockchain to banking in general, and to payments banking in particular.
In 2018, China Merchants Bank, China’s seventh-largest bank and the 30th-largest bank in the world, strategically repositioned itself in “light banking” to address the changing competitive landscape and rapid entry of non-bank financial technology companies. These companies were using information technology to compete in China’s domestic payments market. China Merchants Bank was also actively stimulating innovation. Through its incubation fund, the bank provided funding to its business units for new technology projects. The bank’s president was reviewing one specific project financed by the fund—the cross-border payments blockchain system. He was eager to determine the success of the project and the potential for future development of the blockchain technology, in his efforts to understand the applicability of blockchain to banking in general, and to payments banking in particular.
Thelma Cross-Olden Foundation (TCO), a non-profit organization, had supported the settlement needs of migrant women in Montreal, Quebec, for over three decades. However, in 2011, the foundation's revenue declined sharply. By 2018, the foundation was running into debt and had less than CA$50,000 with which to manage its operations and outreach programs. The decline in TCO's finances raised issues concerning the instability of leadership, the mismanagement of funds, and an overreliance on government agencies as a key source of generating revenue. In an attempt to reinstate the financial position of the foundation in 2019, the newly appointed chief executive officer needed to decide whether to reconsider the merger deal proposed by a reputable large global charity or to search for new avenues to generate funds.
The conventional view of disruptive innovation as a series of cumulative advances that results in a new value proposition is incomplete. It does not account for the uncertainties surrounding an invention’s technology, ecosystem, and business model. To factor those in and understand the trajectory and impact of a disruptive value proposition, innovators must ask themselves five critical questions.
This technical note explores the concepts of marketing as a ploy, promotion and position. To build a sustainable business, where customers return and spread positive word of mouth, one must satisfy customers as well as ensure an adequate profit margin for the firm. This is simpler said than done. From this perspective, marketing is fundamentally about seeking a unique competitive position in the industry for the firm's offer.
Verily Life Sciences, an independent subsidiary of Alphabet, Inc., set out to harness machine learning in the health care field. The company sought partnerships with academic research institutions, legacy life sciences companies, and hospitals and health systems to develop tools to collect and organize health data, with the goal of creating platforms that utilized the insights from that data to enhance patient care. The case study discusses these broad partnerships and goals, the illness-specific health monitoring and care tools in Verily's project pipeline, and efforts by competitors like Apple and Amazon- as well as a growing number of start-ups. The case provides insights into decision making in the largely uncharted territory of machine learning in the health care industry, providing an in-depth look at Verily's diabetic retinopathy project, which screened for eye disease.