The case briefly describes the 112 year history of the organization, and focuses particularly on the changes wrought by its new leader David Yarnold who was brought in by the board in 2010. Under Yarnold's leadership the organization went through two strategic plans (2012-2016 and 2016-2020), and brought about many changes. At the start of 2017, Yarnold declared his goal of making Audubon the most effective conservation network in America. What actions should Audubon take to get to that goal?
This case was written for the EC course "Managing with Data Science." The course provides MBA students with no programming experience an introduction to the field of data science and its applications in business. Students learn to (1) carefully articulate the business ask, (2) reason carefully from the ask, through metrics and models, and outputs; and (3) evaluate outputs from models to (4) develop a plan for action. The case features the work of LP Maurice (HBS '08) as he decides to launch an online business to unify the scheduling data of a fragmented bus industry, only to find that the data he needs simply does not exist. The case follows him and his team as they take on challenges as the start-up evolves and develops. Topics include acquiring data, web-based prototyping to understand customer preferences, and customer acquisition and retention metrics (SEO & SEM).
In August 2016, the director of UdaipurTimes.com, a hyperlocal news website, and his partner were faced with a problem. Their start-up venture had thus far grown without any explicit strategy. Despite a steady readership of nearly 200,000, achieving further revenue growth and sustained profitability were ongoing issues. UdaipurTimes.com needed to come up with a comprehensive strategy by evaluating various alternatives (such as creating a mobile app and soliciting user-generated content) to increase the frequency of customer visits and attract new readers to the website. Given its limited financial strength and its focus on speedily growing its customer base while leveraging current resources and capabilities, what strategy should UdaipurTimes.com choose?
Narayana Health, an Indian private healthcare provider, was established with the aim of providing affordable healthcare services without compromising quality. Over the years, its growth and expansion was financed by private equity investors. In August 2015, private equity investors of the company decided to go public through the offer for sale route. Private equity investors had to decide the value of the initial public offering (IPO) and whether the time was appropriate for Narayana to go public. To do so, they needed to consider the company’s financial performance, the pros and cons of the company’s strategy and business model, the industry’s future growth potential, and macroeconomic factors.
Narayana Health, an Indian private healthcare provider, was established with the aim of providing affordable healthcare services without compromising quality. Over the years, its growth and expansion was financed by private equity investors. In August 2015, private equity investors of the company decided to go public through the offer for sale route. Private equity investors had to decide the value of the initial public offering (IPO) and whether the time was appropriate for Narayana to go public. To do so, they needed to consider the company's financial performance, the pros and cons of the company's strategy and business model, the industry's future growth potential, and macroeconomic factors.
In August 2016, the director of UdaipurTimes.com, a hyperlocal news website, and his partner were faced with a problem. Their start-up venture had thus far grown without any explicit strategy. Despite a steady readership of nearly 200,000, achieving further revenue growth and sustained profitability were ongoing issues. UdaipurTimes.com needed to come up with a comprehensive strategy by evaluating various alternatives (such as creating a mobile app and soliciting user-generated content) to increase the frequency of customer visits and attract new readers to the website. Given its limited financial strength and its focus on speedily growing its customer base while leveraging current resources and capabilities, what strategy should UdaipurTimes.com choose?
This case examines design choices in the construction of flow lines. Flow lines are a popular way of arranging production because they are simple and inherently efficient. Equipment or workstations are arranged according to the sequence of steps in which a product is made. Each step consists of a set of tasks that individually are minimum rational work elements. These are combined to form the work assignment associated with the step. The work follows the same sequence of operations as it moves down the line, and the sequence is fixed from batch to batch. The case setting is a production site in Hungary that is starting up the production of a personal beverage maker. Should the team implement a conveyor-paced line in preference to a manual pull system? An analysis of process steps and times gives students an opportunity to debate this question.
Paktor is a popular mobile-based online dating app from Singapore, where a user can swipe right or left on a profile to indicate her interest in a potential match. The case is designed to explore issues related to pricing, market design, and launch strategies in the context of online marketplaces. Students are asked to evaluate Paktor's existing design features and pricing, and formulate recommendations on design choices, pricing, and global expansion.
In July 2016, the founder and president of Lockbox Social Inc., an American social media management company for real estate agents, was contemplating whether to offer search engine optimization (SEO) as a new product. He needed to decide whether to pivot his business to pursue SEO exclusively, include SEO with the current product mix, or stay with the status quo and reconsider SEO at a later date. How would the two products-social media management and SEO-meet his customers' needs? Would they provide a good fit with his business and personal goals? He also needed to determine how much to charge for SEO and whether the company's current pricing model was appropriate for social media management.
Coolness is a quality that is widely desired but not widely understood. While many brands seek to establish themselves as "cool," few have a clear idea of how to get there. In this technical note, we present a general framework for coolness that can be used by consumers and managers alike to better understand how to create an air of cool around themselves, their brand, or their products. Our framework rests on four traits: autonomy, authenticity, attitude, and association, and on the interplay between them. Using this framework, we answer questions such as, "What makes something cool?" "What do cool brands do differently?" and "How can something cool become uncool?" Drawing on the literature surrounding autonomy, identity, norms, and impression formation, as well as real-world examples of best practices and common pitfalls, the note seeks to help students navigate the ambiguous world of coolness. This case is appropriate for use both in a first-year marketing course as well as a higher-level elective with MBAs and executives. This case would be most impactful if taught along with the case "From Heineken with Love: James Bond Product Promotion" (UVA-M-0952); the framework in this note could be applied to expand the discussion in that case.
Yi Hua, the leader of an impact-investing initiative at Goldman Sachs, was examining a new financial arrangement in a proposed public-private partnership called the Rikers Island Social Impact Bond (SIB). The proposed SIB was the result of a partnership between Goldman Sachs, the New York City (NYC) Department of Correction, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and three nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)-MDRC, Osborne Association (Osborne), and the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera). The investment that Goldman Sachs was considering would finance the implementation of a cognitive behavioral therapy program for teens (aged 16 through 18) incarcerated at Rikers Island. The goal of the program was to lower the likelihood of those teens returning to jail following their release (i.e., recidivism). If predetermined outcome-based metrics, which focused on lowering recidivism, were reached, the NYC government would repay Goldman Sachs its contributed capital along with a return. The case helps students develop an awareness of the growing innovative financial structure that attracts private capital to finance governmental efforts to address social issues: SIBs. Alongside SIBs, the following related issues could be discussed: financial and social returns, models of investing for social impact, measuring social impact, private-sector financial resources used for public benefit, and private debt vehicles. This case can be used as an introduction to SIBs in an MBA course or in undergraduate electives dedicated to impact investing, public-private partnerships, or other related courses covering the role of business in society. The material can also be used in executive education around issues of cross-sector collaboration to address social issues.
Thai Union had come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1977 as a Thai private label supplier of canned tuna to US importers. In four short decades it had become one of the leading seafood companies in the world with a turnover in 2016 of US$3.8 billion. Thiraphong Chansiri, the CEO, had led Thai Union brilliantly to make it a true multinational company operating in three continents, delivering value added branded products covering multiple fish species and distributing these under ambient, chilled and frozen temperature conditions. The company planned to more than double its turnover by 2020 to $8 billion while also raising its gross margin from 15.6% to 20%. It sought to do this by growing its existing business; launching innovative, high-margin products; expanding its presence in the food service sector; building a significant emerging market presence; and making more acquisitions. In October 2016, Thai Union announced that it had effectively acquired a 49% ownership stake in Red Lobster, the leading seafood restaurant chain in the United States. This diversification was viewed as an important growth opportunity for the company. The question for Thai Union's leadership team was whether diversification and growth were still the right mantras for the company in 2017, when it had already become the industry leader? A related challenge was in building a global organization that could effectively manage the company's growing and diverse international footprint.
In 2016, Dalmia Bharat Cement Limited (Dalmia Cement) and its agency, the Dalmia Bharat Foundation, worked in the areas of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. It worked with communities in the neighbourhoods of its plants and with rural communities in many other areas, focusing on soil and water conservation. In 2016 there was a growing concern that its water harvesting structures and methods of soil protection and improvement were no longer good enough. A measure that valued water in financial terms was required to help justify the foundation’s targets and funding. The company tasked interns from a well-known management institute with searching for such a measure.
In 2015 there was a public outcry over the price increase in Daraprim (pyrimethamine) by Turing Pharmaceuticals AG (Turing). Daraprim was a drug that was widely used by a small population of U.S. patients to treat toxoplasmosis. Soon after Turing acquired its commercialization rights in August 2015, the company increased the list price of the drug by over 5,000 per cent. The increase led to consumer protests in the United States, and the media vehemently condemned Turing’s action of raising the price for the decades-old drug that had gone off-patent in 1970. Later, the U.S. Congress stepped in, demanding that Turing’s officials clarify how they could justify the high price of Daraprim. How should Turing respond to the public outcry? Should Turing stand by the increased price for Daraprim? How could it handle the outcry from the patient groups that needed Daraprim?
In September 2016, Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw), Canada’s largest grocery retailer, was facing disappointing financial results, with net income in the previous quarter down 14.6 per cent from 2015. The chairman of Loblaw, needed to evaluate how to move forward in an increasingly competitive industry. With Sobeys Inc. at a close second to Loblaw’s market share and with food inflation significantly affecting the prices of produce, the chairman needed to consider how to approach the grocery retail industry using a method that would appease both his frequently price-sensitive consumers and his bottom line.