Ronds Science & Technology Incorporated Company (Ronds) was a leading smart solutions provider in China’s machine condition monitoring market. Since its establishment, 10 years earlier, the high-tech company’s monitoring and diagnostic solutions have been implemented across various industries, with the strongest foothold in the wind energy industry. However, the co-founder and chairman of Ronds observed that most Chinese industrial enterprises were slow in adopting technology in the area of maintenance and repair, and long sales cycles had led to Ronds missing its 2016 sales target. News of the Chinese central government’s plans to redistribute wind energy projects across China to new provinces also followed. Given Ronds’s weak profitability performance and the recent change in government policies, the company had to consider whether it should focus on further penetrating the wind energy market or expand to other industries. As either approach had its own challenges, the cofounder and his senior management looked to identify the best growth strategy for Ronds to remain competitive in the industry 4.0 era.
Mindtree Limited (Mindtree) was promoted by a group of first generation entrepreneurs and had established itself as a successful digital business company. Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), a successful conglomerate primarily in the business domains of construction and engineering, was looking to increase its footprint in information technology services. In 2019, L&T acquired more than 20 per cent stake in Mindtree and sought to increase its stake to 66 per cent by acquiring shares in the open market and making open offers to shareholders. Though Mindtree’s management and promoters were very much opposed to this takeover attempt, the company’s ability to keep a determined acquirer with deep pockets at bay would not come easy. The promoters of Mindtree, who had nurtured the company for the last two decades, faced the real threat of losing management control to L&T, the large and aggressive corporate group.
In early 2018, the chairman and chief executive officer of FOTILE, based in Ningbo, China, announced a change in the company's mission statement from "Enable people to feel better about their homes" to "For the happiness of millions of families." The previous year had seen impressive growth, with sales exceeding ¥10 billion. After only 22 years in operation, FOTILE had become a leading brand, comparable to such prestigious names as Siemens, in the high-end sector of kitchen appliances in China. More importantly FOTILE was hailed as a distinct enterprise, driven by a grand vision, a unique mission statement, and core values based on Confucianism. The FOTILE Confucian Way was embraced with enthusiasm by its employees and close business partners, and was broadly recognized by the Chinese business communities and the general public. However, the chairman understood that FOTILE was still a long way from being a great company, not only in terms of business success but also in transferring positive energy to society and helping people become morally admirable. Although he was deeply absorbed in FOTILE's past achievements, he was also wondering about FOTILE's future international expansion, to North America in particular. Would FOTILE's products be competitive in North America? Would that continent adopt the FOTILE Confucian Way?
This case begins with post-deposition thoughts of Sean Burns, a 23-year veteran of Takata Corp. The lawsuit that gave rise to the deposition was brought as a class action on behalf of people who alleged Takata's airbags caused them economic damages and/or personal injuries. In 2003, Takata learned that an inflator had ruptured in a driver-side airbag it had developed and manufactured. Another inflator ruptured in 2004, three in 2007, and more from 2008 through 2010. Throughout this time, Burns worked in concert with employees in other functional areas at Takata to determine the root cause of the inflator ruptures. He had led the team that developed the propellant inside the inflator and was part of the team that developed the inflator design that came under scrutiny. In addition to their deep concerns with safety, Burns and his Takata colleagues were confronting the complex type of situation that arises for a company facing potential liability for a defective product. Eventually, more than 40 million vehicles in the United States and over 100 million globally were recalled due to concerns with airbags manufactured by Takata.
In mid-2019, the owner of Ireland Renovations was contemplating the future of his renovation and construction company that operated in London and Middlesex County in Ontario, Canada. The owner's youngest son was interested in working for the business, but the owner wondered whether the company could afford to hire him. His son had previously worked for the company part-time and had shown an interest in helping his father grow the business. The owner decided to project and analyze cash budgets for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to determine whether hiring his son would be a feasible option.
Since its expulsion from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore had transformed itself from a third world island nation into a vibrant city-state with one of the highest levels of GDP per capita in the world. However, sluggish demand among Singapore's major trade partners began testing the nation's export-driven growth model. It was also becoming clear that the Singaporean government could no longer focus single-mindedly on economic growth. Was Singapore facing a mid-life crisis? If so, how could the government revive optimism in the nation's future?
GitLab is arguably one of the world's largest "all-remote" companies. Started in 2011 and with more than 1,000 employees at present, it has no physical offices and all employees, including the entire C-Suite, work remotely from all parts of the world. The case highlights the value created for companies and employees from the adoption of the all-remote model. It also sets up a debate for how GitLab should customize organizational processes related to communication, coordination, and socialization as the firm scales up.
In May 2017, SoftBank announced the official launch of the Vision Fund - which promptly became the largest technology-focused investment fund in the world, with nearly $100 billion in capital under its management. Reports from a few months prior hinted that SoftBank was weighing a billion-dollar investment deal with WeWork, a commercial real estate company that specializes in shared office spaces. The official launch of the fund was proceeded by a series of multi-billion dollar investments in WeWork, eventually bringing the company's post-money valuation to $42 billion. The development of the Vision Fund had key implications for the late-stage venture capital industry. Moreover, Soft Bank's investments in WeWork raise important questions regarding investment decision-making, asset valuation, and issues surrounding corporate governance.
Primark was a low-cost, fast-fashion clothing retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom. The company's low-priced clothing enticed consumers, but it also attracted criticism for exploitative labor practices in the low-cost economies where Primark's manufacturing was outsourced. However, Primark believed that it created jobs in low-cost economies, and its low prices were the result of efficient initiatives such as no online presence and limited advertising. Experts suggested that the absence of an e-commerce division was a strategic mistake. In October 2019, the company's chief executive officer was challenged with synchronizing Primark's low-cost strategy with its sustainability initiatives and deciding on the company's online presence.
ExtraCarbon was a company focused on the sorting stage of India's unorganized waste management industry. The company was founded in 2013 with owners' capital and some investments from friends and family. In October 2018, one of these friend investors expressed a desire to exit the venture. Although ExtraCarbon had made steady progress since its founding, the company did not have enough money to buy out the investor's stake, and the company's valuation was too low for the investor to benefit from leaving the venture. The investor complained that the founders had never taken his advice to scale up the venture more quickly, which would have benefitted all stakeholders by providing a better valuation and attracting more investors to the company. The incident led the founders to review their current scale of operations and make more ambitious growth plans for the company, including setting an ambitious revenue target of US$6 million by 2021. The challenge was to identify resources and ways to achieve this target. What strategy would help the company reach its target in a largely unorganized industry?
Digital initiatives often suffer from poor governance when it comes to providing structure and governance to digital transformation projects, from finding alignment between business processes to assigning ownership for change efforts. Executives need to rethink their governance approach for digital transformation in a way that prioritizes active enablement over control. Seven key governing principles linked to successful digital business transformation can help.
On August 19, 2014, Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was faced with an agonizing decision: should she quarantine a densely populated township of Monrovia to halt the spread of the Ebola virus disease? The disease had been ravaging the Republic of Liberia for months but until now, had been isolated in the countryside. Now, the deadly virus was spreading, unchecked, and threatened the 1 million inhabitants of Monrovia, the capital city of the Republic of Liberia. At 5pm she would meet with military and health advisors to hear their recommendations. This case describes the rise and spread of the Ebola virus disease in Liberia and the actions taken by all levels of government, NGOs, volunteers and the community that led to a quarantine within the West Point township. The case is presented in three parts to allow faculty to pose the question, "Should President Sirleaf impose a quarantine?" (A case) before asking students to reconsider the question in light of the community's response to the government and security force actions (B case). An epilogue describes how the West Point community engaged in a peaceful and effective resolution.
On August 19, 2014, Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was faced with an agonizing decision: should she quarantine a densely populated township of Monrovia to halt the spread of the Ebola virus disease? The disease had been ravaging the Republic of Liberia for months but until now, had been isolated in the countryside. Now, the deadly virus was spreading, unchecked, and threatened the 1 million inhabitants of Monrovia, the capital city of the Republic of Liberia. At 5pm she would meet with military and health advisors to hear their recommendations. This case describes the rise and spread of the Ebola virus disease in Liberia and the actions taken by all levels of government, NGOs, volunteers and the community that led to a quarantine within the West Point township. The case is presented in three parts to allow faculty to pose the question, "Should President Sirleaf impose a quarantine?" (A case) before asking students to reconsider the question in light of the community's response to the government and security force actions (B case). An epilogue describes how the West Point community engaged in a peaceful and effective resolution.
On August 19, 2014, Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was faced with an agonizing decision: should she quarantine a densely populated township of Monrovia to halt the spread of the Ebola virus disease? The disease had been ravaging the Republic of Liberia for months but until now, had been isolated in the countryside. Now, the deadly virus was spreading, unchecked, and threatened the 1 million inhabitants of Monrovia, the capital city of the Republic of Liberia. At 5pm she would meet with military and health advisors to hear their recommendations. This case describes the rise and spread of the Ebola virus disease in Liberia and the actions taken by all levels of government, NGOs, volunteers and the community that led to a quarantine within the West Point township. The case is presented in three parts to allow faculty to pose the question, "Should President Sirleaf impose a quarantine?" (A case) before asking students to reconsider the question in light of the community's response to the government and security force actions (B case). An epilogue describes how the West Point community engaged in a peaceful and effective resolution.
Bertha Ansah had come a long way from selling confectionaries to her school classmates to owning and leading her own transportation services company. Her journey included a career in nursing, retail in arts and crafts, a stint selling generators, public health activities, and since 1999, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Pergah Transportation Limited. As the owner of a transportation company, Ansah was breaking the mold in Ghana. While it was common and expected for Ghanaian women to work, their work was largely limited to defined roles in small, often informal enterprises, primarily in agriculture or caring occupations-not transportation. Ansah was, as she described it, "always looking for something new to do." It was exactly that restlessness that had landed her in the middle of her current dilemma. In 2008, Ansah supported John Atta Mills in his campaign to become the president of Ghana. Mills was elected and envisioned great changes for Ghana's working class, especially small business owners. One of those key changes involved giving new life to Ghana's Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (Masloc)-a job Mills wanted Ansah to take on. Mills became president in 2009 and the position of CEO Masloc was vacant, so he needed to fill it to meet his electoral promises. Could Ansah give up her private business to provide the public service the president wanted for their country? It was Sunday and Ansah was still not any closer to an answer that was needed by Monday morning.