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The case presents the complexities involved in implementing a social project with specific reference to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) in Mumbai, India. This project was awarded to the Adani Group, a large business conglomerate in India. Started in 2022, the project is envisaged to be completed over a period of seven years with a return on investment capped at 193%. Its multiple stakeholders include politicians, bureaucrats, Dharavi residents, manufacturing companies which outsource their production to Dharavi, committed non-governmental agencies and motivated press. These agencies with varied interest have been a drag in transforming Dharavi from a slum to a reasonable living place.

The case is set in 2023. The protagonist is Elon Musk, CEO and Technoking of Tesla, Inc. The vertically-integrated clean technology company designs, develops, manufactures, and sells high-performance fully electric vehicles (EVs) and energy generation and storage systems. Tesla had sales of $81 billion and generated over $12 billion in net income in 2022. Tesla's stock market valuation peaked at over $1.2 trillion in early 2022. Tesla's market cap had fallen by more than 50% to $600 billion by spring 2023. When introducing Master Plan 3, Musk reiterated that Tesla would produce 2 million vehicles in 2023 and then increase its production rate by 10x to reach 20 million EVs annually by 2030. Tesla would also be prominent in transitioning the global economy to sustainable energy. The Tesla CEO was surprised that investors were not impressed with Master Plan 3, as Tesla's stock dropped by 6% the next day.

Black hat workshops are a type of competitive insight workshop that can help organizations model how competitors might behave in a particular scenario. The author describes how these sessions can help teams simulate the outcomes of decisions and situations their company will face in the real world through role-playing exercises. He also offers a step-by-step guide to conducting black hat workshops to better anticipate competitors' next moves and develop successful market strategies.

In this political strategy case, Oni K. Blair, newly appointed executive director of a Houston nonprofit advocating for more equitable transportation resources, faces a challenge: how to persuade a Texas state agency to substantially redesign a highway expansion project, already decades in the planning, in and around Houston? When Blair was appointed head of LINK Houston, in August 2017, the project-to expand, modernize, and re-route a 25-mile stretch of Houston's north-south highway, I-45, from the downtown center to the outer beltway north of town-was entering its final planning stage. Supported by powerful state leaders and stakeholders, the project was intended to address I-45's safety and capacity problems, but critics questioned the plan on several grounds, especially given its adverse impacts on Black and Latinx neighborhoods-communities that had also borne the brunt of Houston's highway construction in the past, a common pattern in American cities in the mid to late 20th century. This case, centering the perspective of Blair, was written in two parts. In the A case, students learn about the design of the project, the benefits claimed by its proponents, the dangers flagged by its critics, the history of highway development in Texas, and the perspectives of residents in the Black and Latinx neighborhoods that would be most adversely affected. It ends with Blair's realization that TxDOT's public participation process will never lead to a serious reconsideration of the project's design and poses the question, what should she do now? The B case picks up as Blair and her colleagues assess the political landscape. Who are the real decision-makers? And who might be in a position to influence them? It traces their battle within Texas to persuade the state to re-imagine the project-a battle that will eventually include a lawsuit, federal intervention, and a controversial political deal. HKS Case 2252.0

In this political strategy case, Oni K. Blair, newly appointed executive director of a Houston nonprofit advocating for more equitable transportation resources, faces a challenge: how to persuade a Texas state agency to substantially redesign a highway expansion project, already decades in the planning, in and around Houston? When Blair was appointed head of LINK Houston, in August 2017, the project-to expand, modernize, and re-route a 25-mile stretch of Houston's north-south highway, I-45, from the downtown center to the outer beltway north of town-was entering its final planning stage. Supported by powerful state leaders and stakeholders, the project was intended to address I-45's safety and capacity problems, but critics questioned the plan on several grounds, especially given its adverse impacts on Black and Latinx neighborhoods-communities that had also borne the brunt of Houston's highway construction in the past, a common pattern in American cities in the mid to late 20th century. This case, centering the perspective of Blair, was written in two parts. In the A case, students learn about the design of the project, the benefits claimed by its proponents, the dangers flagged by its critics, the history of highway development in Texas, and the perspectives of residents in the Black and Latinx neighborhoods that would be most adversely affected. It ends with Blair's realization that TxDOT's public participation process will never lead to a serious reconsideration of the project's design and poses the question, what should she do now? The B case picks up as Blair and her colleagues assess the political landscape. Who are the real decision-makers? And who might be in a position to influence them? It traces their battle within Texas to persuade the state to re-imagine the project-a battle that will eventually include a lawsuit, federal intervention, and a controversial political deal. HKS Case 2253.0

Founded in 2005, Vermont Kombucha Corp. (V-Ko) was an early mover in the fledgling U.S. market for kombucha, a drink brewed for its health benefits. Early on, the company captured more than 90% of market share. Under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Joe Williams, V-Ko went public in 2015. On the first day of trading, V-Ko's shares doubled in price, and the company closed the year with a market capitalization of approximately $2.5 billion. However, the company's growth began to slow as competitors entered the market. Though V-Ko's market share began to shrink, Williams continued to set aggressive sales targets that were increasingly difficult to reach. In 2018, the company missed its first-quarter earnings target. The company shifted its control systems and company culture, resulting in pressure on salespeople that led to the use of questionable tactics to meet sales and compensation goals. Following a tip from an anonymous employee whistleblower, V-Ko launched an investigation in 2020 that revealed overstated revenue and overstated inventory stemming from lax internal controls. Stepping into the perspective of new leadership at V-Ko, students will discuss the company's business model, sales practices and employee incentives, internal control systems, and financial reporting issues around revenue recognition (specifically sales returns) and inventory valuation (specifically obsolete inventory). Students will also consider what actions, if any, should be taken against those involved in the accounting scandal and how to improve corporate governance and rebuild trust with investors.

We hear it all the time as managers: "what is the data that backs up your decisions?" Even local mom-and-pop shops now have access to complex point-of-sale systems that can closely track sales and customer data. Social media influencers have turned into seven-figure solopreneurs from digital advertising analytics. In 2023, globally, we will create three times the data we did in 2019, and by 2025, it is estimated that 181 zettabytes of data will be generated (that is 181 followed by 21 zeros). Data is becoming a critical, arguably inextricable, part of business operations in our modern context. Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) uses data to inform decisions rather than relying on intuition. The digital era has given rise to the importance of data science for business applications. This technical note explores how different design thinking principles can assist the data-driven processes in a project.

This case presents an inventory challenge. The goal of the case is to encourages students to redefine problem statements that Fizzy Fusion is faced with and to use innovative thinking to come up with solutions that can address the core underlying problem that the company is facing. The case encourages students to think from the perspective of the customer to solve data problems.

The delegation of managerial functions to algorithms transforms management practices by automating repetitive tasks and enhances the role of managers as coordinators and decision makers. Algorithmic management functions also have potential to alter power dynamics within organizations and raise ethical challenges. Organizations should investigate how they can profit from algorithmic management and nurture algorithmic competencies to build a symbiosis between human and machine capabilities.

From an open-concept 90's-style stone and wood cabin in Dublin, New Hampshire, Ryan Serhant reflected on his career as a real estate broker. As Ryan stared into the fireplace that featured prominently in the center of the house, he wondered whether the period of selling real estate at record highs in New York was over. A few short months earlier, the United States had begun to shut down to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. New York City was unsure of its future under this newly defined threat. New York also faced a real estate crisis, as loyal residents started to leave the city in search of more space and distance from other people. Many experts feared that New York City real estate was "in a worse state than after September 11th and the 2008 financial crises." Students step into Ryan's shoes as he faced a decision in March 2020 at the height of Covid-19: Should he stay at his current real estate brokerage, launch his own brokerage in a pandemic, or enjoy the flexibility to start new ventures and spend time with family? As part of the discussion, students reflect on Ryan's time management techniques including the 1,000-minute rule, Task Triage and Finder, Keeper, Doer methodologies, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of these various time and prioritization strategies.

This technical note follows F. D. Wilder, who is being tasked with driving the Procter and Gamble's digital transformation effort. The cornerstone of the transformation would be "assessing and improving the digital capability of the firm." He decides to develop an assessment tool that would enable P&G's brand leaders to assess "digital ability" and then work with their bosses to create learning plans to address ability gaps.

US-registered Emerging Markets Development Group (EMDG), a small but successful international consulting firm that provided development assistance in emerging and post-conflict regions, bet big on a project in Southeast Asia in 2008 that was financed by a Small Business Administration (SBA)-guaranteed loan issued by a local bank. The project failed, with catastrophic results. After seven years of attempting to dig themselves out of the hole, the principals were out of cash and needed to either significantly restructure the balance of EMDG's outstanding loan or shut the firm down. Complicating the situation was the possibility that a former partner, who had left the firm over nine years before, might be held liable for the current debt.

Remote and hybrid work environments can breed distrust, or "productivity paranoia", between managers and employees or between remote and in-person colleagues. The author describes four steps managers can take to foster a culture of trust and honesty when people aren't able to interact and develop relationships with one another in person.

Octavian Graf Pilati, rising generation member of an Austrian princely family, prepared to sell the palace his family had held for over three hundred years. In recent years, the Pilati family lands had been leveraged as loan collateral for an international venture that had become entangled in a case of suspected management fraud. Between banks unwilling to restructure debt obligations, the complexities of multi-jurisdictional legal enforcement, and intransigent family members, Octavian found himself in the impossible position of being tasked with resolving the crisis yet with little formal power to follow through on his designated responsibilities. Realizing he and his family's centuries-long legacy was at an impasse, should the family choose to fully divest its long-held assets in the face of possible financial ruin? Could they bounce back from failure - either in this generation or future ones - or should future generations seek to start anew?

La Biennale of Venice, which organized festivals in different disciplines, pondered how to remain relevant in front of fading boundaries across arts.

Levels is a highly innovative startup in the health care space. They intend to revolutionize health by linking behavior-eating, exercise, sleeping, etc.-to changes in metabolism. They believe metabolic health can be managed through careful monitoring of changes in variables like blood glucose levels using digital monitors. The company is, however, more interesting for its management model and organization structure. Founded prior to Covid, Levels is a 'native remote' company. All the management processes are designed to function without employees regularly interacting face-to-face. There is a great emphasis on information being prepared to support asynchronously. The company makes extensive use of tools that allow employees to generate effective content. It also practices radical transparency internally and externally, with the vast majority of its strategic documents, research agenda and product development agenda accessible freely to outsiders. Even more interestingly, the work process are designed to maximize employees' opportunity to engage in 'deep work.' Deep work is a concept associated with the writing of Georgetown computer scientist, Cal Newport. It is based on the premise that humans are singularly bad at context shifting and that they require extended period during which they can apply themselves to difficult tasks without interruption or distraction. The Levels management model minimizes the number of meetings (i.e., no more than two a week for most people, many of those optional), real time communities, etc. Levels adherence to a native remote/deep work model provides a fascinating basis for evaluating innovative management structures and the challenges in running a distributed workforce.

In February 2024, the world was looking to Google to see what the search giant and long-time putative technical leader in artificial intelligence (AI) would do to compete in the massively hyped technology of generative AI. Over a year ago, OpenAI released ChatGPT, a text-generating chatbot that captured widespread attention. OpenAI would offer a range of new generative AI products as both user-facing applications and developer-facing application programing interfaces (APIs). In January 2023, Microsoft and OpenAI signed a $10 billion deal extending their exclusive partnership. Microsoft would continue to supply OpenAI with seemingly unlimited computing power from its Azure cloud, and Microsoft hoped that OpenAI's technology and brand would keep Microsoft at the center of the new generative AI boom. Microsoft announced that it would soon begin deploying OpenAI's technologies throughout its suite of products, from its Microsoft 365 productivity apps to its search engine Bing. Google needed to decide how to respond to the threat posed by OpenAI and Microsoft. Google had a decade of experience developing and deploying AI and machine learning (ML) technologies in its products, but much of their AI work happened in-house and behind the scenes. Google researchers had invented the transformer architecture that made the generative breakthroughs demonstrated by GPT possible. Breakthroughs in AI had been quietly supercharging Google products like Search and Ads for years, but most of the product work was internal and little of it had penetrated the public consciousness. Until 2022, Google leadership had been deliberately cautious about revealing the extent of their AI progress and opening Google's experimental AI tools to the public.

Case A explores the transformative role of data analytics in the sports industry through the lens of Infosys, an innovative tech company. Infosys aims to showcase its AI and analytics expertise by partnering with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Recognizing the potential of data to reshape the experience of fans and to advance the business of tennis, Infosys strategically selects tennis as its focus. By becoming the official Digital Innovation Partner for the ATP, Infosys aims to enhance fan engagement, aid players and coaches, and transform tennis through data-driven insights. The ATP, which governs men's professional tennis, operates within a multifaceted business model reliant on data to drive engagement and revenue. In its quest for a technological partner, ATP aligns with Infosys to tap into its expertise. Leveraging ATP's data repository, Infosys revamps the player zone app, creating a versatile hub for players and coaches. The case underscores the power of data-driven decision making and its potential to redefine the sports landscape.

The ATP Leaderboards evolve to provide real-time insights for fans, players and coaches, while the Second Screen capability aids players in refining strategies. Innovations like MatchBeats, Rally Analysis, Stroke Summary and 3D CourtVision enrich fans' understanding of the game.

Infosys collaborated with the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) to create a metaverse-based digital twin, bridging tradition and innovation. The post-Covid drive for sustainability prompted Infosys to address carbon emissions by developing an ATP carbon tracker app, highlighting its environmental and societal commitment. Enhancing visibility, Infosys revamped content interaction, creating an AI-driven journalism platform that streamlines content sharing. Furthermore, the company augmented existing technologies to provide fans with immersive experiences through augmented reality (AR) and was exploring the potential of gaming as a means of fan engagement.