This case presents a fictitious firm, KindyBis, which must decide whether or not to engage in offshoring, and if so, how. Students structure and model an offshoring decision and choose an international site and suppliers. The case was designed to use a combined SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses/Opportunities-Threats) - AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) technique, but other methods can be used. The instructor is provided with an Excel file containing details of the calculations. In addition, we have produced a generic analysis grid that can model different circumstances depending on the conclusions arrived at during class discussions.
This is not your typical family business case and that is what makes it such a rich teaching tool and learning experience. The Paul Newman story covers several family business topics and issues including Fair Process, philanthropy, social ventures, estate and succession planning, governance, next generation roles, entrepreneurship, family communication and relationships, and non-family executives. The sense of fairness is achieved with effective family communication and governance that builds trust to support long-term family commitment. The Newman case demonstrates the difficulty of making ownership, governance and leadership decisions that are effective and perceived as fair by the next generation.
Recent MBA graduate Majed finds his dream job: high-tech, entrepreneurial, senior, social - contributing to the economy of Palestine, a cause close to his heart. But the new CEO of WebTeb, an online medical information service in Arabic, finds it more challenging than expected. Recruiting IT talent in Palestine is particularly tough. Eventually, his team finds an android developer to help them launch, but then comes a fateful phone call. Majed has infringed an unwritten policy of Palestinian tech companies - never to poach each other's employees. The rationale behind this is to keep wages low and thus boost an industry with potential to transform the local economy. The injured party, an IT outsourcing company, asks Majed to rescind the offer. If he refuses, they threaten to put WebTeb out of business by offering better salaries to his entire web-development team. Case B shows how Majed resolves the dilemma.
Supplement to case IN1456. Recent MBA graduate Majed finds his dream job: high-tech, entrepreneurial, senior, social - contributing to the economy of Palestine, a cause close to his heart. But the new CEO of WebTeb, an online medical information service in Arabic, finds it more challenging than expected. Recruiting IT talent in Palestine is particularly tough. Eventually, his team finds an android developer to help them launch, but then comes a fateful phone call. Majed has infringed an unwritten policy of Palestinian tech companies - never to poach each other's employees. The rationale behind this is to keep wages low and thus boost an industry with potential to transform the local economy. The injured party, an IT outsourcing company, asks Majed to rescind the offer. If he refuses, they threaten to put WebTeb out of business by offering better salaries to his entire web-development team. Case B shows how Majed resolves the dilemma.
In April 2018, after it became known that Google was collaborating with the US Department of Defense on Project Maven, over 3,000 employees signed an internal memo asking CEO Sundar Pichai to (a) cancel the project immediately, and (b) enforce a policy stating that the company would never build warfare technology. Project Maven had been launched in early 2017 as part of the DoD's efforts to integrate AI and machine learning into its defense strategies. Drones, robots and AI were increasingly deployed in intelligence gathering and combat operations in what was considered a 21st century "arms race." While Google described its role as "non-offensive," the memo argued that involvement in Project Maven might hurt its reputation and ability to attract talent at a time when public trust in technology was waning. The case puts students in the shoes of a recent hire faced with the choice of signing the memo. It also invites them to consider how they would respond, as CEO, to such a petition against one of the company's contracts.
The case is a detailed 'inside' account of the 'dieselgate' scandal at Volkswagen which revealed how engineers had programmed software that enabled its card to cheat emissions tests. It explores the origins of internal and external forces that propelled the company to market environmentally sustainable "clean diesel" cars while using engine management software to conceal on-the-road emissions of over 40 times the permitted levels. The scandal - one of the biggest of the decade - illustrates contributing factors that are common to many instances of organizational misconduct: obedience to authority, organizational culture, goal-setting, and corporate governance.
Jean-Marc Frangos, Managing Director of Products & Services Research and Open Innovation at BT Group is looking to optimize the London-based telcom company's external innovation process - scouting for new technologies from Silicon Valley, Israel and Asia. Having taken on responsibility for some of BT's internal research labs in 2017, he needs to boost synergies between internal research and external innovation, and to evaluate how these will play out in the future for telecom companies and the implications for BT. Please visit the dedicated case website (https://cases.insead.edu/bt-group/) to access supplementary material.
PopChef is a start-up foodtech business in the lunchtime food delivery market in Paris. The case centres on the period from launch in 2015 to 2017. PopChef is the first to enter the market with a new business model in France. As other well-funded domestic and international entrants arrive, the market becomes highly competitive market. PopChef aims to counter this by shifting from a technology-based company to a virtual food company. Will this be enough to ensure its survival?
In September 2016, Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. entered the Canadian retail industry by opening its first Canadian Uniqlo store in Toronto. The retail industry in Canada had notably rejected foreign brands such as Target and Aéropostale, while other Canadian retailers, such as Reitmans Ltd. and Le Château were struggling to keep up with the competitive landscape. Uniqlo, a Japanese fashion retailer, had struggled in the U.S. market due to a lack of brand awareness and an aggressive expansion strategy. Hoping to become a dominant fashion brand in Canada, Uniqlo conducted extensive research prior to entering the Canadian market. How could Uniqlo increase its brand awareness and thrive in the Canadian fashion market?
In September 2017, the managing director of Summit Maritime Pvt. Limited, a marine consulting firm and luxury boat manufacturer in Kochi, India, faced a dilemma. He needed to relocate a production facility and set up a service factory, where boats would be both manufactured and displayed. The managing director needed to decide on the optimal location for the new facility by considering multiple factors. He also needed to design a preliminary layout for the new facility. How should he decide on the optimal facility location and layout to restructure his growing business operations and ensure the company’s future?
After nearly four years of controversial reform that included layoffs, school closures and battles with the Washington Teachers' Union over tenure and seniority, Michelle Rhee resigned as Chancellor of DC Public Schools on October, 13, 2010 when Mayor Adrian Fenty lost the democratic primaries to challenger and critic of Rhee's style, city councilman Vincent Gray. Education reform had been the central focus of Mayor Fenty's ambitious administration when he hired Michelle Rhee. But now the nation's most provocative urban school reform effort was thwarted and the fate of DC schools, under newly appointed Kaya Henderson, was once again up in the air. Case number 2117.0
This case focuses on the economic landscape of the Chinese city of Chongqing from 2007, the year when its municipal economy began a decade-long ascent even as China's economic growth had slowed down, especially since the 2008 global financial crisis. The case examines the policies that Chongqing's government took to promote economic growth, as well as the socio-political and economic context surrounding them. It also highlights the challenges and opportunities that Chongqing faced at the end of 2017, and will have to deal with in its near future against the background of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This case is suitable for a China-specific course as a "context case" on local and regional development. It may also be suitable for teaching the BRI initiative. This case could illustrate how Chinese provinces are adjusting their policies to the BRI, as well as the implications for businesses from the adjustment.
This case describes the challenges facing Jon Moussally, the CEO of TraumaLink, a four-year-old social venture that provided trauma first aid to victims of traffic injuries in Bangladesh, a country that had some of the most dangerous highways in the world but no formal emergency response system. Jon, a practicing emergency room physician and public health student, had been shocked by the chaotic traffic that he observed during a trip to Dhaka, Bangladesh, for a course on global health issues. Over the next 18 months, Jon and three partners-two fellow students and the Bangladeshi head of a local social venture organization-decided on a three-pronged approach: they would train community-based volunteers who lived or worked close to the highway to provide free basic trauma first aid; they would develop an easy-to-use 911-type software system to deploy volunteers quickly to a crash scene; and they planned to raise operating funds by selling advertising or subscriptions to companies in Bangladesh whose workers travelled the dangerous highways daily. By the fall of 2017, TraumaLink had been successfully launched along two sections of particularly dangerous highways. Their trained volunteers had been able to quickly and effectively provide first aid to victims of traffic injuries. The software had worked well to notify and deploy volunteers and collect data. However, Jon and his partners had not yet found sustainable, long-term sources of revenue, despite almost four years of trying. After an initial pilot phase in November 2014, the organization had been awarded $142,500 by the US Agency for International Development, but these funds would run out by the end of 2018, with little chance of another round. TraumaLink had proven that they could deliver emergency services and save lives, but could Jon and his partners figure out how to become financially sustainable so that they could continue to support and expand their services within Bangladesh and possibly beyond?
By 2018, it was clear that U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) had significantly contributed to the growth of green building, and over its 25-year history had become a powerful brand in the construction sector with its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard. Nonetheless, USGBC faced two significant challenges moving forward: maintaining LEED's leadership position as the green building standard in the U.S., and increasing the proportion of building stock that met the LEED standard. The case provides background on the USGBC and the evolution of its LEED standard, including how the standards are set, and green building benefits and costs.
In September 2017, the managing director of Summit Maritime Pvt. Limited, a marine consulting firm and luxury boat manufacturer in Kochi, India, faced a dilemma. He needed to relocate a production facility and set up a service factory, where boats would be both manufactured and displayed. The managing director needed to decide on the optimal location for the new facility by considering multiple factors. He also needed to design a preliminary layout for the new facility. How should he decide on the optimal facility location and layout to restructure his growing business operations and ensure the company's future?
SKM Egg Products Export (India) Limited (SKM) manufactured processed egg products, including egg powder and liquid egg, which it exported to advanced international markets. The company had gone through phases of turnaround, countering challenges and a severe debt overload. In 2016, it had overseas subsidiaries in Japan, the Netherlands, and Russia. The chief executive officer had promoted SKM's use of technology, quality processes, and accreditations to move up the value chain. India was the third-largest egg producer in the world, and he saw India's specific advantages of scale and a mature eco-system in egg production, collection, feed, and poultry as logical elements for selecting an export-led growth strategy. He was planning another turnaround to counter a 20 per cent revenue hit that his top line had suffered in 2016-17 because of the impact of the 2015 avian flu epidemic in the United States and the resulting drop in global egg-product consumption and prices. His mission was to make SKM a ₹7.5 billion company by 2022. What actions should the company take regarding genetically modified crops? How should it approach opportunities to import feed material ingredients, eggs, and egg products from other source countries? Should it consolidate its overseas operations and leverage the domestic market? If so, how?
SKM Egg Products Export (India) Limited (SKM) manufactured processed egg products, including egg powder and liquid egg, which it exported to advanced international markets. The company had gone through phases of turnaround, countering challenges and a severe debt overload. In 2016, it had overseas subsidiaries in Japan, the Netherlands, and Russia. The chief executive officer had promoted SKM’s use of technology, quality processes, and accreditations to move up the value chain. India was the third-largest egg producer in the world, and he saw India’s specific advantages of scale and a mature eco-system in egg production, collection, feed, and poultry as logical elements for selecting an export-led growth strategy. He was planning another turnaround to counter a 20 per cent revenue hit that his top line had suffered in 2016–17 because of the impact of the 2015 avian flu epidemic in the United States and the resulting drop in global egg-product consumption and prices. His mission was to make SKM a ₹7.5 billion company by 2022. What actions should the company take regarding genetically modified crops? How should it approach opportunities to import feed material ingredients, eggs, and egg products from other source countries? Should it consolidate its overseas operations and leverage the domestic market? If so, how?
This case study focuses on the Montreal Community Loan Fund (ACEM), which fights poverty and exclusion through the administration of community credit. More specifically, ACEM provides training and offers loans to marginalized and vulnerable people for pre-start-up, start-up, and consolidation of businesses. The case describes ACEM's recent history and how the organization long chose to increase the scale of community credit services through collaborations and partnerships, avoiding for decades the need to grow its own organization. In 2012, ACEM broke with tradition and launched its own scaling process to double its size. The case thus describes an organization trying to stay focused on its social mission and core values while ensuring its own financial stability and protecting the interests of the network of independent community credit organizations that it co-founded. It thus provides an opportunity to discuss the variants of scaling and the challenges faced by a growing not-for-profit organization. The case ends by describing a dilemma regarding ACEM's financial instability. Students will be asked to make a decision regarding the current scaling process and propose a sustainable model that will make ACEM less dependent on government grants while respecting its core values.