Jason Scott's superpower had always been his ability to connect people and ideas across industries, sectors, and geographies. After graduating from Stanford GSB, he pursued his professional North Star of finding the best entrepreneurs in the world and providing value to them as an investor at Highland Capital. After two years at Highland, Scott moved into a startup ecosystem developer role at Google. Using the resources and scale of one of the world's largest companies, Scott was eager to continue providing support to entrepreneurs across the globe. What shape would that take?
Tianjin Motor Dies Co. Ltd. (or "Tian Qi Mo"; TQM) was a China-based automotive technology supplier that specialized in the research and development (R&D), design, manufacturing, and distribution of automotive body panel dies, welding tools, and automobile body stamping fixtures. Although TQM had struggled during China's reform toward a market economy, the company's persistent focus on and investment in R&D, innovation, and technology enabled it to survive and thrive, eventually growing to become an industry leader in China. A key pillar of the company's strategy was information technology (IT). The company's focus on IT had enabled it to establish a solid foundation for growth. In today's age of digital disruption, TQM sought to leverage IT to transform its traditional product-based business model into a hybrid model that included not only products but also a platform that enabled different stakeholders in the automotive industry to transact and collaborate. The vision was promising, but TQM faced many challenges in its implementation.
This case set uses a humanitarian aid organization, Save the Children, to set the stage for analyzing a crisis and the CEO's strategy of leading through uncertainty. The case provides only the minimal information the decision-maker had at the time and gives a sense of the complexity around that fact. It introduces issues around basic communication, strategy, and crisis uncertainties that can be explored in subsequent classes. The material includes video clips of Carolyn Miles, the president and CEO of Save the Children at the time, discussing these issues; when played in class, these enrich the discussion and provide a practitioner's view of a learning experience and leadership in a difficult context. After giving an overview of Save the Children and the situation in Afghanistan in January 2018, this A case describes the text that Miles receives from the country director alerting her that the organization's Jalalabad office is under direct attack. The organization has been through indirect attacks, kidnappings, and natural disasters. Being directly attacked makes this crisis unusual, and Miles is alarmed. Miles receives a second text less than an hour later-she learns that 47 people from Save the Children are sheltering in a safe room as the attack continues. The B case provides an epilogue. At the Darden School of Business, this case has been successfully used in second-year electives in MBA and executive MBA programs. In both programs, it is taught in a course on "Leading in Uncertainty and Crisis." The material works well in a module on decision-making under pressure. It also would be useful in first-year communication strategy courses or organizational behavior courses that raise issues around managing performance and leveraging team and individual capabilities.
This case set uses a humanitarian aid organization, Save the Children, to set the stage for analyzing a crisis and the CEO's strategy of leading through uncertainty. The case provides only the minimal information the decision-maker had at the time and gives a sense of the complexity around that fact. It introduces issues around basic communication, strategy, and crisis uncertainties that can be explored in subsequent classes. The material includes video clips of Carolyn Miles, the president and CEO of Save the Children at the time, discussing these issues; when played in class, these enrich the discussion and provide a practitioner's view of a learning experience and leadership in a difficult context. After giving an overview of Save the Children and the situation in Afghanistan in January 2018, this A case describes the text that Miles receives from the country director alerting her that the organization's Jalalabad office is under direct attack. The organization has been through indirect attacks, kidnappings, and natural disasters. Being directly attacked makes this crisis unusual, and Miles is alarmed. Miles receives a second text less than an hour later-she learns that 47 people from Save the Children are sheltering in a safe room as the attack continues. The B case provides an epilogue. At the Darden School of Business, this case has been successfully used in second-year electives in MBA and executive MBA programs. In both programs, it is taught in a course on "Leading in Uncertainty and Crisis." The material works well in a module on decision-making under pressure. It also would be useful in first-year communication strategy courses or organizational behavior courses that raise issues around managing performance and leveraging team and individual capabilities.
Historically, customer engagement and product fulfillment occurred in the same place â€" a traditional retail store. But today, retailers are beginning to explore how they can create opportunities for customers to engage with products in native environments. A related approach is to use nontraditional spaces for inventory storage, potentially speeding fulfillment. While it’s still early days, retailers should proactively consider these strategies’ potential risks and opportunities.
This case explores TecSalud's response to COVID-19 between March 2020 and January 2021. TecSalud was the Healthcare System of the Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey. The case focuses on hospital management, but it can also be used to teach crisis management, with potential applications in other industries. The narrative highlights the leaders' challenges, critical decisions, and actions to address the pandemic, emphasizing the importance of considering key stakeholders to manage a crisis effectively. At the onset, TecSalud established a response team (the bunker) to address the pandemic. The team identified four priorities: minimize disease transmission; protect patients, healthcare staff, employees, and students; keep the healthcare system functioning; and reduce morbidity and mortality. San Jose Hospital (HSJ) was designated as TecSalud's exclusive COVID-19 treatment hospital. The case focuses on two pivotal moments when difficult decisions had to be made. In May 2020, HSJ had been operating for eight weeks with an occupancy rate of 14%, resulting in significant financial losses. The bunker leader and TecSalud's president, Guillermo Torre, decided with his team not to change course despite the risks and resistance from key stakeholders. In January 2021, at the peak of the second wave of infections in the state of Nuevo Leon, Torre, and the bunker members considered closing HSJ's doors to new COVID-19 patients because demand had exceeded the hospital's operational capacity; staffing was inadequate, personnel were exhausted and dissatisfied, and many resigned. Representatives from intensive care, medical management, nursing, and HSJ operations argued that quality of care couldn't be guaranteed, putting patients at risk. However, others argued that closing admissions to HSJ would deny care to patients with no other healthcare alternative. The case concluded on January 25, 2021, when Torre and the response team met to decide the course of action for COVID-19 patients.
On Monday, May 25, 2020 Ricardo Sierra, CEO of Celsia -a Colombian electricity generation, transmission and distribution company- was about to enter a meeting with Claudia Salazar, leader of the department of Human and Administrative Management. The objective was to review the company's successes and prospects in terms of organizational culture (known internally as Orange Culture), amid two challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing demands of the country's energy market. A mandatory preventive confinement measure to control the COVID-19 crisis had been decreed in Colombia two months earlier, and it was expected to be extended indefinitely. For Ricardo Sierra, the situation merited careful analysis. The measure altered the interaction and conduct of its employees and posed immediate changes in the company's practices. It also affected thousands of jobs and occupations and began to be reflected in a reduction of income for Colombian households and in the reduced capacity of low-income customers to pay bills. Simultaneously, the confinement was changing the energy consumption patterns of households and increasing demands from Celsia's customers for continuity and quality of energy service. The meeting provided an opportunity to address two issues that Sierra considered fundamental: How to keep the pillars of the Orange Culture alive during the lockdown? And in that context, how to use the Orange Culture as a support to continue to contribute to the good performance, effectiveness and competitiveness of the company? In the development of the case, students must apply models and theories of organizational culture to characterize Celsia's culture, to identify the main expressions of the cultural change proposed by Sierra and to recognize the key factors that favored such change. Likewise, students must propose recommendations that would allow the company to face the challenges posed by the pandemic and by new conditions in the Colombian energy market.
The leaders of business are a continued focus of interest in management research and in the broader society. Their attributes speak to social mobility, inequality, and who holds positions of power and influence in society. This article examines the attributes of the ten highest-ranked executives of the largest corporate enterprises in the United States-the Fortune 100-and compares how they have changed over the past 40 years, a period when many assumptions about businesses and the people who run them have changed. While there has been significant change in some areas, such as the increase in the proportion of women and foreign-born executives and the rise in outside hiring, there is no evidence of an increase in younger leaders who advance faster than their predecessors and spend an ever-shorter time with their employer. In fact, top executives now are as old as their peers were in the 1950s, and their tenure with their employer is rising.
In October 2021, during an unseasonal rainstorm, the Compania Azucarera Valdez management team met to discuss the implications of a fundamental decision it needed to make: whether to end 20 years of sustainable sugarcane production using a unique biological control model and move to an integrated pest control model that included chemical insecticides. Gabriel Hernández, director of agriculture, stated that the change would increase profits by raising yields and reducing costs, and that the current biological controls were not as effective as they should be. Conversely, Paula Chacón, sustainability director, said that it could destabilize the ecosystem and generate more economic losses than benefits. Mario Goncalves, commercial director, mentioned the impact this could have on the company's brand positioning and its "de- comoditization" strategy, and the work they would need to do on the commercial side of things to offset these changes. He did, however, recognize the need to improve the company's financial results and invest in improving agricultural practices and strengthening the brand. The next board meeting was drawing near, and the management team needed to produce a concise proposal on how the company would be managed from 2022 onwards, and how it would increase its income by 2025.
In a world where attention is a scarce commodity, this case explores the meteoric rise of TikTok-an app that transformed from a niche platform for teens into the most visited domain by 2021-surpassing even Google. Its algorithm was a sophisticated mechanism for capturing and holding user attention: "When you gaze into TikTok, TikTok gazes into you." TikTok elevated the design of algorithmic systems to a new level, and outperformed U.S tech giants in user engagement. The app faced a host of challenges-including a complicated relationship with the Chinese government, legislative scrutiny in the U.S., and global concerns over data security-but grew unabated. How did TikTok design and operate a system that determined each person's preferences in culturally different countries? Is TikTok a threat to democracy in countries like India and the U.S.? Were the potential harms caused by TikTok any different from those caused by other social media companies? The case provides educators an opportunity to discuss the dynamics of global digital platforms, data security, cultural impact, and the geopolitical implications of technological advancements. It also covers the design of the TikTok algorithm, and the importance of the process and organization in making the algorithm effective.
On Thursday, July 13, 2017, the project manager and the chief executive officer for A-Media Limited were making a significant decision about their company. They could quickly increase their billboard hoardings by 20 per cent by pre-emptively erecting giant mega boards in five locations of interest to a major client. This was a significant opportunity, but it presented several significant risks. One major risk was the client’s need to have the mega boards ready before the Christmas season. The client would not commit to renting the space until the boards were at least 90 per cent completed. Was this time frame too short to confirm the prime locations, secure all government permits, hire suppliers and subcontractors, and erect the five structures? How could A-Media Limited manage five geographically dispersed projects simultaneously when the scheduling, supervising, suppliers, city permits, and city inspectors would be different in each location? The project manager had to quickly determine the feasibility of the project, which involved building a detailed schedule and budget.
Considers McDonald's efforts to build resilience into its global supply chain so that the company and its suppliers can better navigate the increasing pressures and pace of climate change and regulatory change, including a focus on supplying sustainable beef, while the company seeks to continue is current pace of growth and deliver on multiple public commitments.
In May 2023, professional fighter Francis Ngannou is facing a choice: re-sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the world's premier mixed-martial-arts (MMA) organization, or opt for a contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), a growing but still relatively small disruptor in the space? Since his first fight in the UFC in 2015, Ngannou has quickly risen to prominence in MMA, becoming the UFC heavyweight champion. But uneasy with what he sees as the relatively low compensation and the highly restrictive nature of the contracts between the UFC and its fighters, he has elected to let his contract expire. The PFL promises him a more lucrative contract, an equity stake in PFL Africa, support for Ngannou's foundation, and the freedom to pursue boxing matches. However, the PFL is far less established than the UFC, and a move away from the dominant organization likely comes with a loss of exposure and acclaim. Is leaving the UFC and signing with the PFL the best move for Ngannou? If so, how should he approach the negotiations with the PFL? And how can he best combine an endeavor in boxing with his proposed activities for the PFL?
The case profiles the development of cluster-based economic development activities in Catalonia, one of Spain's most prosperous regions, over the last thirty years. It describes the evolution of these activities between 1990 and 2022 and puts these changes into the context of the broader evolution of Catalonia's economy. The case is targeted at students that want to understand the nature of cluster-based economic policies, either from the perspective of policy makers or of business leaders faced with such efforts. It is relevant for a broader set of location-based sectoral industrial policies, a tool that has recently gained significant new traction. These policies aim to enhance the competitiveness of specific sectors in distinct locations and are implemented through public-private collaborations.