In April 2016, the owner of Apoorva Mess (Apoorva) in Manipal, India, wwanted to open a full-service economical restaurant to reach out to customers, beat the competition, improve his sales, and fulfill his dream of serving quality food at affordable rates to the lower middle class. He was facing a dilemma over selecting the best location for establishing his new restaurant, knowing that the wrong choice would spell disaster for his business in the long run. A number of conflicting constraints were making it difficult for him to come to a decision. He wanted to follow a systematic approach to pinpoint the final location.
In October 2010, Ira Pittelman, lead producer of the Broadway musical American Idiot, had to evaluate one week's grosses from when star musician, Billie Joe Armstrong, was put into the show in New York City. The rock star had been enthusiastic about filling in for an actor in the musical based on an album by his band, Green Day. Audiences had also been enthusiastic, and revenues for the play were up. The producer had to determine whether Armstrong was the source of the increased revenue and, if so, how much his performance had contributed. He needed to determine how to respond should Armstrong offer to act in the musical again. Should he accept such an offer? How much compensation should he offer the star?
Bahwan Cybertek (BCT) was an IP-enabled technology company founded in 1999 by Sheikah Hind Bahwan (Hind) and S. Durgaprasad (DP). Over the years, it had grown into a global provider of innovative software products and services and become a $242 million company with more than 2800 business and technology professionals. BCT was privately held, based in Chennai, India, with operations in the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. BCT had worked with more than 550 customers, including Fortune 500 companies, and delivered its innovative software solutions to companies in North America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In 2016, BCT created a holding company for capitalizing on the great and growing amount of IP it had created. The move seemed a natural progression for the company. "From day one we were building our IP," said Hind, "and that is why we are moving all our IP to the separate company, and that is the company that will go public or get investors: BCT Digital. It is already registered as a separate company. So now we need to restructure and move." One year later, in late 2017, BCT Digital had been established and BCT's top management was considering the strategic and organizational challenges they confronted in further developing and leading the newly-formed company.
By 2013, after over near 30 years, Ryanair has become the largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers flown internationally. It outperformed its low cost rivals on most operational dimensions. It was unambiguously positioned as the lowest cost of the low cost airlines. Its success, however, came at a price. Ryanair was far from loved. Its operational model, which enabled such low cost flying, had as a side effect service that was seen as far below industry norms. In 2013 its outspoken CEO, Michael O'Leary, came under increasing pressure to tone down the macho image he had cultivated and enhance service levels. To do this he would need to adapt the successful operational model. The A case asks whether such an adaptation make sense. The B case documents the evolution and implementation of Ryanair's response, a change program called "ALWAYS GETTING BETTER" (AGB). AGB encompasses a digitalization program that chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs believes can enable Ryanair to become the "Amazon of Travel in Europe." The B case asks whether this is a realistic ambition. Learning objective: The case allows for an exposition of several related strategic concepts: Business system alignment, strategic positioning, market evolution (and response), customer centricity and innovation. Four specific learning objectives are particularly well addressed: (1) Understanding customer centricity. (2) Understanding strategic alignment. (3) Understanding whether and how successful incumbents can embrace change. (4) Understanding how incumbents can best embrace digitalization.
By 2013, after over near 30 years, Ryanair has become the largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers flown internationally. It outperformed its low cost rivals on most operational dimensions. It was unambiguously positioned as the lowest cost of the low cost airlines. Its success, however, came at a price. Ryanair was far from loved. Its operational model, which enabled such low cost flying, had as a side effect service that was seen as far below industry norms. In 2013 its outspoken CEO, Michael O'Leary, came under increasing pressure to tone down the macho image he had cultivated and enhance service levels. To do this he would need to adapt the successful operational model. The A case asks whether such an adaptation make sense. The B case documents the evolution and implementation of Ryanair's response, a change program called "ALWAYS GETTING BETTER" (AGB). AGB encompasses a digitalization program that chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs believes can enable Ryanair to become the "Amazon of Travel in Europe." The B case asks whether this is a realistic ambition. Learning objective: The case allows for an exposition of several related strategic concepts: Business system alignment, strategic positioning, market evolution (and response), customer centricity and innovation. Four specific learning objectives are particularly well addressed: (1) Understanding customer centricity. (2) Understanding strategic alignment. (3) Understanding whether and how successful incumbents can embrace change. (4) Understanding how incumbents can best embrace digitalization.
The case discusses the events leading up to the massive data breach at Equifax, one of the three U.S. credit reporting companies, the organizational and governance issues that contributed to the breach, and the consequences of the breach. The case supplement provides details of how Equifax recovered from the breach and changes the company made. On September 7, 2017, Equifax announced that the personal information of over 140 million consumers had been stolen from its network in a catastrophic data breach, including people's Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, email addresses, and credit card information. The announcement sparked a massive backlash, as consumers and public officials questioned how a company that managed sensitive personal information about over 800 million individuals could have such insufficient security measures. It came to light that Equifax had been aware of critical faults in its cybersecurity infrastructure, policies, and procedures for years but had failed to address them. Equifax's public response also received criticism. CEO Richard Smith and numerous other executives resigned, and Equifax was left facing dozens of lawsuits, government investigations, and the potential for new regulation.
Robert (Bob) A. McDonald just completed his service as the 8th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), successfully leading the beginnings of a transformation for one of the nation's most scrutinized departments. Reflecting back, McDonald looked to the lessons he learned as a West Point Cadet, Army Officer, Chief Executive Officer at The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), and Secretary of the VA to drive his approach to transitioning into the next challenge in his career.
Louis (Lou) Gossett Jr.'s exemplary life included a groundbreaking career in entertainment and a bold and audacious goal to erase racism. From the Broadway stage to television and the movie screen, Gossett earned major accolades in his field, notably becoming the first African American man to win an Oscar (Academy Award) for Best Supporting Actor for his moving portrayal as Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman in 1982. Despite his accomplished Hollywood career, as an African-American male he was subjected to constant discrimination in the industry and in society. Amidst the duality of success and distress in his life, Gossett forged a meaningful life path, marked by resilience and perseverance. In 2006, his desire to make an even greater impact led him to create the Eracism Foundation. Eracism was defined as "the removal from existence of the belief that one race, one culture, one people is superior to another."
Eastern Bank is a 200-year-old New England mutual bank with a community focus. Eastern specializes in small business lending, having made strategic investments to become the top SBA lender in New England in the midst of the Great Recession, when other banks were pulling back. But with technology threatening to disrupt Eastern's relationship banking model, CEO Bob Rivers is getting worried. Looking to spur innovation at the bank, he set up meetings at MIT to talk with "fintech" entrepreneurs. In a deliberate quest for innovation talent, Rivers finds his way to Dan O'Malley, co-founder of the payments division at Capital One and, most recently, CEO of a failed online bank. O'Malley agrees to join the bank as Chief Digital Officer, leading product development, customer support, and "Eastern Labs"-a new office enclosed by glass walls and located in the middle of Eastern's main lobby. Rivers provides Labs with $4 million annually-1% of gross revenues-to develop new banking technologies, and promises to help O'Malley spin out his own company if he develops product that can be monetized. O'Malley conducts tests in insurance cross-selling and small business lending, eventually launching a completely automated small business lending product. Rivers keeps the promise by helping O'Malley spin out a bank technology company called Numerated, and secures a 25% equity share for Eastern. But by the time of the spin out, Rivers is reassessing the success of the effort. Did Rivers have the right intrapreneurship model? Did he change the culture at Eastern? Did he make a mistake spinning off Numerated into a separate company? What lessons can he learn for "Labs 2.0"?
Hisense Co., Ltd. (Hisense) was the fourth-largest television maker in the world, but its market share and brand recognition remained low in Europe. Therefore, strengthening its branding and improving its sales there were priorities for the Chinese company. In 2013, Hisense was considering whether to establish a strategic alliance with the German high-end television manufacturer Loewe AG (Loewe). Despite having a good reputation, Loewe was suffering severe financial distress and facing possible bankruptcy. If Hisense co-operated with Loewe, it would gain access to Loewe's distribution network in Europe and utilize co-brand advertising with Loewe. In turn, Loewe would benefit from Hisense's long-term technical support and gain access to the promising Asian market. Should they proceed?
For the Deutscher Fussball-Bund e.V. (DFB)-the German Football Association-winning the most prestigious football trophy, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, was the culmination of a long period of suffering, reinventing, and rebuilding. Once the dominating force in world football, the German team had been at rock bottom around the beginning of the millennium. To manage its way out of this crisis and leave competitors behind once again, the DFB had to fundamentally reinvent itself. The turnaround required radical changes that would take a long time to pay off and involved substantial risks. How did the DFB reinvent itself to overcome the crisis and regain competitive strength, culminating in triumph at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil? How could DFB's managerial options be applied to the corporate world and provide lessons on successfully managing a crisis? What could DFB's management do to remain at the top of international football?
A senior manager at Ergonomica Consulting was under pressure to demonstrate to her client Solltram Hotels that the hotel's investment in LED lighting would provide a payback. Winning the client's buy-in would lead to an extension of the contract with the client, development of a new specialist practice area within Ergonomica Consulting, improvement of the manager's chances of promotion, and the cementing of her reputation. However, at a critical moment, the manager discovered that a previously hidden error in her main spreadsheet, which contained over two million data points, had resulted in her overestimating the cost savings for the client. Should she conceal the mistake and win the important contract, improving her chances of promotion? Or should she own up to the mistake and risk losing the account, her promotion, and her reputation?
In 2017, Volkswagen Group was not satisfied with its performance in India. Tata Motors Limited, on the other hand, had been dealing with increased competition from new automobile players. In March 2017, both players made the announcement of a potential strategic alliance with one another. However, the alliance talks soon stalled over the potential use of a platform and the practicality of the business model. The question facing both companies was whether to work out their differences and move the alliance forward, or to terminate the negotiation talks and operate independently.
On June 1, 2016 a student was preparing for a summer job with Agarwal Automobiles, a vehicle fuel station owned by his father. The student had taken courses that covered supply chain management, including inventory management and forecasting. His father had suggested that, as a summer project, the student examine the fuel station’s retail inventory management practices with the intention of replacing the current simple rules with a more rational and complex planning model. The student needed some ideas to use as a guide toward a better ordering policy. The available data for the previous six months suggested that the company held an average ending inventory of ?2.1 million worth of fuel products to maintain average daily sales of ?0.52 million. The challenge was to reduce the inventory levels, while maintaining a high customer service level in fuel sales.