The case explored whether a novel design for a recycling bin could promote proper recycling behaviours in Singapore. The redesigned recycling bins were initially deployed at different sites around the National University of Singapore to assess their effectiveness among the university community, with promising results. The team now wanted to investigate whether the improved recycling habits observed on campus could be replicated in more diverse public environments, such as shopping malls. The decision for the team was how to implement a field trial of these bins across three shopping malls in Singapore to assess their effectiveness among the general population. The case underscored the importance of human and behavioural-centred design in promoting sustainable practices and discussed primary operational challenges, potential risks, and mitigation strategies to ensure a field study’s success.
Prabhakar Hegde, plant head at Ashmilro Engineering Limited, a prominent player in the diesel generator industry, faced a critical challenge of addressing delayed product delivery that threatened the company’s competitiveness. Hegde recognized that this delay could hinder the organization’s plan to increase market share by 15 per cent within the next two years. In a competitive industry where timing was everything, the company was targeting to reduce its delivery lead time from six weeks to two weeks. The misalignment between the departments was coupled with challenges in the order-fulfilment process, parts shortages, performance measures, and long lead times. Hegde’s top priority was to find the root cause of the production problems and to recommend a comprehensive solution.
In February 2023 acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay is filming her latest movie, Origin, a daring adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. With Origin, DuVernay is pioneering a method to finance the endeavor-through a combination of investors and grantors-that is unheard of for a film of its size. A group of charitable institutions and individual donors have brought in around $35 million needed to acquire the adaptation rights, develop and produce the film; Array, DuVernay's company, which she describes as "a narrative change collective dedicated to the disruption of inequitable systems in Hollywood's film and television industry," has invested another $5 million. Is Origin on a path to success? What challenges await the filmmaker and her team further down the road, as their focus shifts from producing to distributing and marketing the film? And is DuVernay, with this new financing model, changing the game in Hollywood?
The Himalayan Chocolate is a start-up brainchild of Rohan Keshewar. Stuck in Manali during the Lockdown, Rohan stayed with a family in their homestay facility. While interacting with the host family, Rohan discovered that the locals had two primary sources of income: working at a nearby farm and tourism. Apart from that, they did not have any other source of livelihood. Owing to his skills in making chocolate, he made his first batch of chocolate for the host family using local food ingredients. It began the journey of The Himalayan Chocolate with a bit of start-up investment, raw chocolate, and unique local flavors. Rohan named the brand The Himalayan Chocolate to suggest a chocolate made by the Himalayan people using local ingredients.
In 2021, an investment management firm analyst needed to convince his portfolio manager that technology companies such as Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) could have a strong investment thesis since they improved upon existing business models. To make his argument, he used financial ratio analysis to compare one of the portfolio manager's favourite companies, Walmart Inc. (Walmart), with a more technologically focused competitor in the retail space, Amazon. By analyzing the two companies using ratio analysis to highlight their similarities, the analyst sought to show his portfolio manager that Amazon was not only a technology company, but a better version of Walmart.
Bosch Automotive Product (Changsha) Ltd Co, is a leading automotive parts manufacturer, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bosch, a multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany. Since 2020, Bosch Changsha had accelerated its digital transformation through building an organizational culture that embraces digital innovation. By designing and implementing a portfolio of digital initiatives and programs, Bosch Changsha managed to establish a culture that embraces digital transformation and inspires employees to contribute to organizational change. Meanwhile, despite the significant success, the company also faced the question of how to continue leveraging culture to drive future digital transformation.
BYD Auto Co. Ltd. (BYD Auto) became the world's biggest electric-vehicle (EV) maker in 2023. Before its inception in 2003, BYD Auto's parent firm, BYD Co. Ltd. (BYD), was a Shenzhen, China-based battery manufacturer. Under the visionary leadership of the company's chair and president, a trained chemist with an eye toward sustainable transportation, BYD diversified into the automotive industry and transformed into an EV leader. Based on site visits and interviews, this case examined the design and branding aspect of the transformation. Combining technology with deep-seated local culture, BYD Auto strategically designed a series of models that incrementally established its leadership domestically. What should be the company chair's strategic move in 2024 to innovate on BYD Auto's EVs?
Jim Collins, executive director of Harvest Hands, was very active in the day-to-day operations of Harvest Hands, but he also bore the responsibility for planning for the future of the registered charity. Jim together with his wife, Jacintha Collins, founded Harvest Hands in 2020 in St. Thomas, Ontario. In less than three years, their charity had distributed over $7.6 million in rescued food to food banks, missions, and over 120 local agencies. An impressive accomplishment for a volunteer-run charity. Their policy of "We never say no" was quickly pushing the capacity limits of the organization and Jim needed to consider the options for expanding Harvest Hands to keep up with both growing demand and supply.
Four years of research by a team in Sweden uncovered the unique challenges emerging digital health platforms face, such as integrating with existing solutions in a largely physical health care system and exerting influence in a tightly regulated industry. Based on more than 100 interviews with leaders and managers at 14 organizations in Sweden, the researchers developed a three-part strategy to help digital health platforms successfully scale to address global health care systems challenges.
Since the launch of ChatGPT, interest and investments in generative AI technologies have surged. Which players stand to gain the most from the growth and adoption of this technology? Analyzing the factors underlying generative AI allows us to identify points of differentiation. Given that the technology is resource and data intensive and benefits from network effects, incumbents have the greatest advantage; however, there are some areas where new entrants can create and capture value.
Many corporate venture capital initiatives (CVCs) do not deliver on their potential to bolster innovation. Research finds that these units often fit awkwardly within their parent companies, fail to meet their goals, or lack clear objectives. The authors identify the salient issues and specific questions that business leaders who are overseeing, or launching, CVC efforts should work through to improve their odds of success.
"Storrowed" is an exercise to help participants raise their capacity and curiosity for generative AI. It focuses on generative AI for problem understanding and ideation, but can be adapted for use more broadly. Participants use generative AI tools to understand a problem and then to arrive at ideas for solving it. The exercise begins with the following introduction: "A problem vexed Boston, Massachusetts, and its drivers. Trucks got stuck under the bridges on the city's Storrow Drive so often that this predicament even had a name, 'Storrowing' or getting 'Storrowed'. Efforts to date, including signage, social media campaigns, and fines, among other measures, had not put an end to Storrowing. One driver - dismayed and delayed on the way to work behind one such run-in - wondered, 'What would AI have to say about why this keeps happening?'" The exercise is accompanied by a game and can be run in teams; the best prompts keep the teams' trucks from "Storrowing."
This case, described as the last big merger in the global beer industry, involves a valuation of the merged company using a basic discounted cash flow (DCF) methodology. Students are asked to calculate and compare the value of the merged entity with the standalone valuations of the respective companies to see if there is indeed value in merging. An additional consideration is the impact of a large net cash position on the company's stock price when growth stalls.
Lebanon is a country with many contradictions; and yet, it has a special place in the heart of the many admirers. The famous Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran conveyed this contradiction in his poetic works. He unambiguously declared that the way you view Lebanon is a matter of perspective; you choose what to see. His words still hold true today, without a doubt. Lebanon is a country that has an exceptional beauty of nature and the unmatchable hospitality of its people. But this is just one side of the coin. The other side reveals a reality that has been haunting the country for the past 50 years, a reality that has been extremely difficult to escape, involving wars, crises, and instability.