The article suggests that when reward strategies fail, it is because they are frequently subsumed to a meaningless search for a best practice that delivers shareholder value that could be applied uniformly across countries, sectors, or workplace contexts. For instance, executive compensation schemes incorporating stock options are focused too much on delivering value for shareholders, and ignore other important stakeholders such as employees. Flexible benefits schemes tend to be designed and implemented top-down, without employee involvement or customizing them to meet their needs. I argue that reward practices should move away from shareholder-value reward to stakeholder reward, making full use of employee voice mechanisms as a key ingredient of workplace innovation. I consider the case of shared capitalism practices and outline the benefits of broad-based employee ownership schemes. The article concludes by offering prescriptive advice for the application of such schemes to enhance productivity and boost employee satisfaction.
Regulation imposes compliance demands on business, but these controls by no means ensure that corporations will act ethically. Externally imposed controls by government or industry are prompts intended to move organizations to engage in a moral minimum. Such efforts are typically reactionary corrective measures, often crafted and applied after an ethical scandal occurs, and thereby offer limited effectiveness in providing systemic change. To provide insight on internally driven controls, this article examines how a newer form of monetized self-regulation, referred to as inverted moral markets, might be leveraged to motivate corporate ethical behavior. Inverted moral market (IMM) operations target firms suspected of unethical action, providing a type of market whistleblowing. Such activities are monetized through the sale of information to investors and by short selling. Rather than a desire to build moral strength, IMM firms are motivated by self-interest and profit. They can potentially 'do good' by imposing self-correction within the market, but without virtuous intent. We explore IMMs and the varied impacts their activities may have on the functioning of the overall market. We argue that a more balanced approach between internal and external regulation may enhance the environment for moral balance in a capitalist market system.
Two discussions about the interaction between data analytics and competitive analysis have been taking place in the past decade: one focusing on micro-level firm capabilities and the other on macro-level industry competitiveness. We seek to integrate the micro- and macro-level analyses via the lenses of firms in agricultural input markets. Agriculture is undergoing a tremendous transformation in the collection and use of data to inform smarter farming decisions. Precision agriculture has brought a heightened degree of competition for input supply firms, forcing greater interactions among friends and foes.
In today's turbulent business environment, innovation and organizational renewal are key. Employees are encouraged to act as intrapreneurs (entrepreneurs within their employing unit or organization) and instigate change from the bottom up. However, accomplishing this company wide is highly challenging. In this article, we examine the case of Wehkamp, a Dutch e-tailer that overcame these challenges and succeeded in creating a flourishing climate for intrapreneurship. We describe the three-step chronological process for intensive change wherein the initiatives of some intrapreneurs can produce widely held organizational value for intrapreneurship. Key to this change process are three insights: (1) Team leaders can feed the incremental and radical initiative of the few; (2) top management can give meaning and guard fairness to stimulate overall intrapreneurship; and (3) corporate entrepreneurship can be used to continuously revive widespread intrapreneurship. Organizations seeking to encourage intrapreneurship from their employees can benefit from these guidelines.
Since the mid-1990s, the number of microfinance institutions (MFIs) has grown tremendously, with more than 10,000 worldwide varying in size and approach. Despite their continued growth and variety, the value of MFIs has been hotly debated. Furthermore, managers and founders of MFIs have also faced the challenge of balancing social and financial objectives and understanding effective ways of evaluating their organization's effectiveness. Hence, in this article we closely examine the operations of three distinct types of MFIs and offer a framework of how they collectively create value, with each playing a unique role in a symbiotic relationship: Namaste, an interactor; Kiva, a connector; and Accion, an institutionalizer. Interactors build relationships with clients and facilitate the flow of information to connectors and institutionalizers that disseminate this data to capital markets, build confidence, and fuel capital flow into the MF industry. The latter disseminates innovation and best practices. Thus, it is critical that each MFI recognizes its symbiotic role and evaluate itself accordingly instead of spreading itself across roles.
Service failures, once handled quietly by customer service departments, are now played out on a highly public social media stage. These failures can result in not only the loss of a loyal consumer but also can negatively affect relationships with those watching the dialogue between disgruntled customers and organizations. The phenomenon of seeking resolution to service failures online is distinct from both traditional word-of-mouth and voice behaviors. This article introduces social voice: public complaining behavior that aims to change the behavior of the organization. A qualitative methodology defines eight dimensions of social voice and categorizes them by the strength of the relationship to the organization. Results indicate that appropriate response strategies differ based on social voice segment.
In May 2014, Honda Canada was planning to relaunch the Honda Fit-its entry-level car. The purpose of the relaunch was to kick-start growth in sales of the Honda Fit, which had fallen from 14,836 units in the launch year of 2008 to 9,512 units in 2013. The target customer group was an up-and-coming demographic cohort known as millennials. Honda Canada's manager of Customer Conquest Management was mandated with strategizing and executing the relaunch. She had to make two core decisions: How should Honda Canada connect with millennials, and what communication medium should it choose to reach them?
In May 2014, Honda Canada was planning to relaunch the Honda Fit—its entry-level car. The purpose of the relaunch was to kick-start growth in sales of the Honda Fit, which had fallen from 14,836 units in the launch year of 2008 to 9,512 units in 2013. The target customer group was an up-and-coming demographic cohort known as millennials. Honda Canada's manager of Customer Conquest Management was mandated with strategizing and executing the relaunch. She had to make two core decisions: How should Honda Canada connect with millennials, and what communication medium should it choose to reach them?
A sixteenth century Renaissance masterpiece, missing for 137 years, believed by many to have been destroyed, and then rediscovered less than a decade ago, becomes the most expensive painting ever sold, all the while surrounded by controversy. Did the buyer of Leonardo da Vinci's painting pay too much? Was it real? Did it matter? The sale of Leonardo's painting allows students to reengineer brand equity to understand from what it is derived and how marketing actions influence changes in it. Methods for brand valuation can be discussed and issues related to branding in contemporary times, such as authenticity, legitimacy, authorship, craftsmanship, and storytelling can be used to show how brand value is built and destroyed. Brand partnerships, particularly between and among Leonardo, Christie's auction house, the sellers, the experts who attributed the painting to Leonardo, and the celebrities used to market it, are dissected to understand how brand meaning and value transfer from one partner to another.
In early 2017, HCA Holdings, an investor-owned hospital management company, faced a strategically important capital allocation decision. After the exit of its private equity sponsors in 2016, HCA had to determine how best to allocate its substantial annual free cash flows among several competing alternatives. Equity analysts and some mutual fund investors were clamoring for the company to initiate regular quarterly dividends, while some other hedge fund investors were eager to see more share repurchases. Other choices being advocated by various parties included reducing leverage to improve HCA's credit rating to investment grade, spurring growth by initiating a major acquisition program or reinvesting heavily in existing markets to enhance HCA's strong competitive position. These choices had to be made in the face of uncertainty about the future of healthcare regulation and tax policy following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and in the context of its closest publicly traded peers struggling with heavy debt burdens. HCA's capital allocation choices would be crucial to its ability to provide high quality health care to patients, implement its corporate strategy and deliver value to shareholders.
In 2017, Tomer Zvulun, the CEO and artistic director of The Atlanta Opera, was considering next steps. Zvulun had adapted quickly to the new, dual role of chief executive and artistic director, although there had been a steep learning curve. As he gained traction, the Opera's profile as an up and coming arts organization also grew. However, there was still much to be done if Zvulun wanted the Opera to be ranked among the best in the country. Should Zvulun should hire a chief operating officer to help manage day-to-day operations, and if so, should he focus his search on internal or external candidates? More broadly, Zvulun wondered how could he best balance his significant personal, professional, and organizational aspirations?
In two short years, Viacom's Data Science & Advanced Analytics team built a web platform called Science Central that allowed employees from Viacom's 20+ cable networks to access television audience insights through three data science apps. In the past, employees would have approached the team to carry out these requests. Vice President of Data and Audience Development Fabio Luzzi, who oversaw the 10-person team, believed that making data science instantly available in accessible formats would allow teams to make better-informed decisions. By June 2017, the platform had 600 regular users, but Luzzi wanted to expand its reach. He considered whether the team should focus on strengthening the platform or devote more resources to custom analytics requests that would allow the team to explore new problems and develop new insights.
In 2017, bike sharing was one of the hottest technology trends in China. Since its inception two years earlier, Mobike had quickly become one of China's leading bike on-demand companies because of its bicycles' superior quality, and the company's intelligence capability, open innovation, alliance strategies, and big data applications. Mobike expanded aggressively to take advantage of opportunities in this emerging market and the need for efficient, green, and sustainable solutions to short-distance urban transportation. However, Mobike's aggressive expansion faced tough challenges, including shared bicycle operations and management, competition from rivals, and government regulations. By late 2017, several bike-sharing services had gone bankrupt. How could Mobike avoid the same fate, generate profit, and continue to prosper?
iD Fresh Food (India) Private Ltd., is a leading ready-to-cook and eat packaged food company serving several cities in India. The company is known for its popular product, Idly-Dosa batter that it sells through retail outlets. iD started with packaging Idly-Dosa batter and has since diversified into Malabar Parota, Wheat Parota, Chapati, and Chutneys. In 2017, iD Fresh was a 1000+ member team with seven factory locations and eight offices - two plants in Bengaluru, one each in Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mangalore, and Dubai. They manufactured more than 50,000 kg of Idli-Dosa batter per day which is equivalent to a million idlis. The company produced and sold nearly 15 ready-to-eat packaged food products and their flagship products include Idli-Dosa batter, Mini Parota, Malabar Parota, Whole Wheat Parota, Whole Wheat Chapati, and Whole Wheat Junior Parota. iD Fresh Food was in expansion phase and adding several outlets to its distribution network. Since all the products sold by iD Fresh Foods had short shelf life, anywhere between 4 and 7 days, forecasting demand accurately is important. iD would like to be in a state where there will be a greater degree of predictability in its operations. Ideally, they would like to know how much of each SKU should be loaded into each vehicle for the following day when a salesman starts his beat journey. The forecast for each store, based on past performance of each store in each beat, should be fairly accurate. This would then enable a macro-view of the business operations over a month and consequently help in production planning and operations for the future.
This case introduces the concepts of information and material flow analysis, operational improvement procedure and the steps to be taken for successful change management in the context of warehouse consolidation at Manipal Hospitals Bangalore (MHB). The case describes the warehouse consolidation project which was expected to lower operational costs and improve service levels by leveraging economies of scale through aggregation of demand. It discusses the benefits of aggregation of demand and the procedure to design a supply network based on the demand pattern and criticality of products. However the desired outcomes were not achieved initially and the service levels plummeted rather than increasing. The second case then describes the steps taken to manage the change and meet the desired goals. This case goes beyond process improvement, to its implementation, the challenges faced, and related change management techniques needed for ensuring success of the process improvement initiatives. The case challenges the students to think about the various stakeholders involved when change initiatives are implemented on an organization level and to recommend solutions based on the voices of various internal customers. The case also encourages the students to think about the various aspects of organizational behavior that are involved at the time of changes in management processes. The Part B case showcases the changes that were implemented by the protagonist to improve and deliver the necessary service levels.
This case introduces the concepts of information and material flow analysis, operational improvement procedure and the steps to be taken for successful change management in the context of warehouse consolidation at Manipal Hospitals Bangalore (MHB). The case describes the warehouse consolidation project which was expected to lower operational costs and improve service levels by leveraging economies of scale through aggregation of demand. It discusses the benefits of aggregation of demand and the procedure to design a supply network based on the demand pattern and criticality of products. However the desired outcomes were not achieved initially and the service levels plummeted rather than increasing. The second case then describes the steps taken to manage the change and meet the desired goals. This case goes beyond process improvement, to its implementation, the challenges faced, and related change management techniques needed for ensuring success of the process improvement initiatives. The case challenges the students to think about the various stakeholders involved when change initiatives are implemented on an organization level and to recommend solutions based on the voices of various internal customers. The case also encourages the students to think about the various aspects of organizational behavior that are involved at the time of changes in management processes. The Part B case showcases the changes that were implemented by the protagonist to improve and deliver the necessary service levels.
Kalpana Sankar, was working with community-based initiatives, using a five-pillar approach. The approach is an intricate interconnection between a problem and its connection with the society. One of the pillars is provision of financial services to augment livelihoods. As she moves ahead, the financial services grow faster than other pillars. The ecosystem for inclusive finance has also changed; other initiatives dictate the rules of the game. Kalpana's path is of development with community involvement and ownership. This militates against rapid growth. The case explores the dilemma of ideology lead inclusive initiative stagnating, with growth opportunities appearing in a market based model. So, is it the ideology-mission model or a market-led model?