When we want to learn a new skill in life, we try out a new behaviour. Some behaviours fulfill their intended purpose; others do not. Feedback-signals from the environment that tell us whether or not the behaviour we produced had the intended effect-is essential to changing, adapting or modifying human behaviour. That's what learning is all about. Learning theorists and practitioners agree that feedback is a prime enabler of learning. Yet in higher education, it is spotty, ill-timed or utterly missing. The authors-who head up the Self-Development Lab at the University of Toronto-show what can be done about it.
By embracing a vigilant mindset as a 'default state' and employing four tools-including 'asking lots of questions' and 'attending to artful dodges'-managers in any industry can develop a keen ability to notice unethical behaviour. The authors show that this is a critical step towards reducing both 'bounded ethicality' and 'bounded awareness' in today's organizations.
Consumer-facing companies in developed economies have experienced little to no growth since the global recession of 2008. As a result, the smartest of the bunch are now increasingly looking outward, trying to spur growth by turning to new sources of customer insight-including 'implicit' data such as biometrics, 'structured' batches of Big Data such as online behaviour and 'unstructured' data such as social media and call centre conversations. They provide advice for re-wiring the customer insight function in an organization.
In July 2014, the managing partner and co-founder of Netherlands-based Expatica Communications B.V. (Expatica) received tragic news. His close friend and business partner had been travelling on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine. The two partners had worked closely together at Expatica for over 15 years. Three days after receiving the news of his friend’s sudden death, the surviving partner found himself alone in his office trying to work out how to cope with the situation and, in particular, how to deal with the employees who were due to return to the office the next day. How should he prepare himself for the next morning? How should he approach the meeting with the employees, and what should he say? What actions should he take regarding the firm in the short and medium term?
In 2006, Sophia Tannis, a 36-year-old professional with the U.S.-based multinational company CPA Solutions (CPA), who had worked internationally for many years, was asked by an influential leader at corporate headquarters in the United States to inject herself into a business-critical situation in Moscow. An established local competitor had been using various methods to damage CPA’s reputation in Moscow, and Tannis had to decide between employing the usual approaches expected by her leaders—involving the courts, media, and outreach to customers—or taking a more informal, relationship-based approach, as her Moscow-based counterpart encouraged. Tannis had to make a choice that could impact the company’s credibility, and she had to choose between strategies that were successful in North America and Europe and those proposed by her local advisors.
Online stores sell thousands of products and services. Despite all care, mistakes can get made. These mistakes can have severe implications for the seller. A contract once formed is normally binding on the parties. The seller gets bound to sell at the mistaken price. Can an online seller get out of the contract on the ground that the price was a mistake? The only court judgement on the theme is Chwee Kin Keong v. Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd, a judgement of the Singapore High Court. With reference to the judgement, the case explores pricing mistakes by online stores.
Vishant Patel, the founder of Patidar Exports Private Limited (PEPL), an export firm for cotton and other products in Ahmedabad in January 2017, was thinking whether to export cotton to Indonesia or not. He exported cotton to countries like China, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam, but not sure about Indonesia because of the strict regulation of the buyers in the country. Indonesia was the sixth largest importer of cotton in the world. Exporting to Indonesia could create a new market for Patel while meeting the standard requirements would increase the cost of his cotton. He was not confident whether Indonesian buyer would like to purchase Indian cotton at a higher cost when they had options like American and Australian sellers available.
In February 2008, as world markets slid deeper into economic decline, J. Michael Pearson joined Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceuticals company, then based in a quiet suburb of southern California. By August 2015, the stock price peaked, valuing the company at nearly $90 billion, up from $2 billion in 2008. In that time, Valeant had made over 100 acquisitions with total revenues growing from roughly $750 million in 2008 to over $10 billion in 2015. The explosive growth of Valeant in just seven-and-a-half years was not without purpose.
A maker of paints and product coatings is considering introducing a new high-performance, environmentally-friendly hardwood coating called Lena. To proceed with the next phase of development, Pintura's VP of new product development must present a convincing analysis of the product's feasibility-along with a proposed marketing program. The VP must consider the relationship of the proposed product to the rest of the Industrial Finishes Group's product line, as well as how it would contribute to corporate and divisional objectives. The Pintura case can be used in a variety of classes, including an introductory marketing course, a capstone course, or a business-to-business (B2B) marketing course. The primary focus is on product-policy decisions. The most likely use for the case is in a module on product-line planning. It also can be used as a case on marketing planning.
The Hershey Company has just received a purchase offer from Mondelez, another confectionery company, and students are thrust into the role of Layla Dylan, one of Hershey's board members. The Hershey Company has an unusual ownership structure, in which the Hershey Trust Company controls 9% of the shares and 80% of the voting rights. The Hershey Trust Company is charged with providing for the Milton Hershey School, a responsibility which can be interpreted as ensuring for the richness of the entire community of Hershey, PA. While the purchase offer for the Hershey Company makes business sense, it may interfere with the charter of the Hershey Trust Company. As a board member of both the Hershey Company and the Hershey Trust Company, Dylan must balance the two organizations' goals as she makes her decision.
In 2009 Mark Weick, Director of Sustainability at The Dow Chemical Company, faced a difficult decision. Dow had spent three years working steadily toward meeting its 2015 sustainability goals, but the recent acquisition of Rohm & Haas threatened to change all that. The ongoing 2009 global recession had diminished the capital resources Dow could use to improve sustainability. The acquisition increased the size of Dow and meant that the already diminished capital would need to be stretched further and that Dow would need to improve sustainability more than anticipated. Could Dow achieve its 2015 sustainability goal of improving energy intensity by 25% over 2006? Weick had an important decision to make. Should he adjust the 2015 energy intensity target, potentially weakening Dow's reputation as a leader in sustainable chemistry? Or should Dow aim to meet the 2015 goals, knowing that failure to do so could damage its reputation?
In 2006, Sophia Tannis, a 36-year-old professional with the U.S.-based multinational company CPA Solutions (CPA), who had worked internationally for many years, was asked by an influential leader at corporate headquarters in the United States to inject herself into a business-critical situation in Moscow. An established local competitor had been using various methods to damage CPA's reputation in Moscow, and Tannis had to decide between employing the usual approaches expected by her leaders-involving the courts, media, and outreach to customers-or taking a more informal, relationship-based approach, as her Moscow-based counterpart encouraged. Tannis had to make a choice that could impact the company's credibility, and she had to choose between strategies that were successful in North America and Europe and those proposed by her local advisors.
The online virtual learning (K-12) industry in 2017 remains an industry moving fast with many different players and stakeholders. While online virtual learning is beginning to make its way into school districts, it is far from being mainstream and a long way from full adoption. One company - Connections Education - is at the forefront of the movement. The case provides information on the company and the industry (historical and current as of 2017) and introduces the challenges the company faces in its quest to create a better way of learning for all students.
Vikram Akula, CEO of SKS Microfinance, seeks a venture capital investment to fund his firm. SKS, one of the largest and fastest growing microfinance institutions in India, is a profitable, for-profit institution with a social mission. In what is one of the first commercial financing deals in the world, Akula must decide at what value to sell equity in SKS, and to whom to sell it. The case focuses on valuation, which is difficult because at the time there are no publicly traded comparable companies, and the strategic aspects of raising money.
SKS, India's leading microfinance firm, is challenged when politicians declaim microfinance as exploitation of the poor and severely restrict business practices.
When the June 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, or Brexit, resulted in a vote to leave, the managing director of the U.K. subsidiary of Italian coffee-machine maker Molto Delizioso, SRL, faced a scenario that affected many international firms and their subsidiaries. The U.K. subsidiary imported and paid for coffee machines in euros, but when it sold these items in the United Kingdom, the revenue earned was in pounds. The devaluation of the pound after the Brexit vote affected both the company's revenues and costs and, therefore, its profits. Molto Delizioso's managing director had to decide what to do about pricing after the devaluation of the pound caused an increase in the cost of importing his gourmet coffee machines. If he kept prices the same, profits would go down significantly. Should he raise the prices he charged to the customer? And if so, by how much?
When the June 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, or Brexit, resulted in a vote to leave, the managing director of the U.K. subsidiary of Italian coffee-machine maker Molto Delizioso, SRL, faced a scenario that affected many international firms and their subsidiaries. The U.K. subsidiary imported and paid for coffee machines in euros, but when it sold these items in the United Kingdom, the revenue earned was in pounds. The devaluation of the pound after the Brexit vote affected both the company’s revenues and costs and, therefore, its profits.<br><br>Molto Delizioso’s managing director had to decide what to do about pricing after the devaluation of the pound caused an increase in the cost of importing his gourmet coffee machines. If he kept prices the same, profits would go down significantly. Should he raise the prices he charged to the customer? And if so, by how much?