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The case follows Erica Mackey, CEO of early childhood education impact venture MyVillage, as she determines the growth path of the company after a recent fundraise. Particular issues explored include tensions between growth and mission, defining and measuring impact, and navigating interrelated areas of impact outside the core focus of an impact venture.

Uncertain how they would monetize their idea, they began with a pilot study in Redwood City. They formed groups of 10-12 seniors and one facilitator; the inexplicit goal was to create a sense of trust and cohesion such that each member would walk away with one friend. With time, they learnt that their programs could do so much more for communities than just provide friendship. By creating environments that enabled structured learning and peer-to-peer sharing, they could bridge many of the gaps in care and encourage members to look after each other and, interestingly, peer-pressure them into looking after themselves. Moshe and Darin realized that being the convener of these communities placed Wider Circle in a unique position in the healthcare value chain, which was attractive from the perspective of healthcare plans. The Wider Circle program could be a way for plans to improve the care experience and reduce costs as well to attract and retain members. Four years on, Moshe and Darin now had clinical validation that their programs were effective and had shown that their business model could generate healthy unit economics. As they prepared to scale and raise their series B financing, their minds were flooded with numerous questions, especially around scaling a people intensive business. Would they be able to identify, recruit, and train facilitators fast enough? Would they be able to recreate at scale the community experience members so loved? Would they be able to sell their program to enough health plans to have meaningful impact on elderly care? Reaching their next milestones would entail scaling from 5,000 to 50,000 members and increasing their revenue 10-fold - this would be their biggest challenge yet and they knew that if they couldn't address these questions, success was not guaranteed.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (Huawei) was the world's largest telecommunications equipment provider, and was widely acknowledged to be the leader in developing fifth generation (5G) mobile network systems. In 2018-2019, the US government took a series of steps to restrict Huawei's business with the US government and US companies, citing security concerns. Huawei needed to craft a response that would minimize damage to its financial position, protect its leading position in 5G equipment, and allow it to continue to expand its overall business.

New research links leaders' actions in their personal lives with outcomes for their firms. The researchers used crime databases, private investigators, tax and property records, and other sources to identify executives with personal legal records and ones with unusually materialistic lifestyles. They then looked for correlations between those traits and certain on-the-job behaviors. Across four studies, they found that leaders with legal records were more likely than their law-abiding counterparts to engage in stock trades made on the basis of insider information and that their companies were more likely than others to have submitted fraudulent financial statements to the SEC. Materialistic leaders, for their part, tended to helm firms in which other executives made intentional and unintentional reporting errors. They were more likely than frugal leaders to take risks, and they got lower scores on CSR measures. Simply having governance structures in place across a firm is not enough, the researchers conclude, because individuals have very different appetites for taking chances and breaking rules.

Ads tell us about attractive new offerings we might want to try. But it could be they also make us feel discontent with what we currently have--and diminish our sense of well-being in the process. When researchers looked at survey data on the life satisfaction of nearly a million people in 27 European countries and compared it with the annual ad spending in those nations, they found an inverse relationship between the two. When ad spending went up, national happiness went down.

The (A) case describes the difficult situation Avon faced back in 2018 when a new CEO arrived.

The (B) case describes the decisions taken by the new CEO as well as the impressive results achieved in less than 2 years.

The case of mysterious deaths of children caused by eating litchi, a popular fruit in Bihar, India provides the classic context. There have been instances of deaths of children in Bihar after eating Litchi and this has been going on for years. Many children were brought to hospitals with acute neurological symptoms like swelling of the brain, seizures, and convulsions, although strangely they seemed to have been healthy just moments before. These symptoms of the sick children were treated for Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in the region. It left the families of the children and neighborhoods perplexed, and even the doctors were at a loss in understanding the cause of the deaths. It was finally diagnosed in 2014, based on a research finding published in Lancet that these deaths could be due to hypoglycemia triggered by children eating litchi and skipping dinner thereafter. Another study by John had concluded similarly. They recommended administration of dextrose as the treatment which helped bring down the incidences. The government did try to implement their recommendations. However, the disease struck again in 2019 with the death of about 125 children. The disease and the deaths again brought to the fore all the questions. This case is about the reality of conflicting evidence, how the issue was handled by the government and the stakeholders' response. At the next level, the challenge for the government is how to communicate the diagnosis, treatment protocol, and precautions to the parents regarding the risk their children are exposed to on eating litchi when they are hungry. There was consensus about the findings and treatment procedures. Given this, the challenge is in communicating this to the healthcare providers as well as to the parents and the general public. It has to be done without creating panic about litchi. The government, as well as the growers, had the overriding concern that the controversy should not damage the market for litchi.

The case presents the status of sports in general in India under official federations, place and shape of the football game before and after introduction of premier leagues, and global trend and debate around games going the path of premier leagues. In India, sports, in general, is dominated by the official federations whose performance track has been dismal. The premier football league is at the early stage of its life cycle. Marketization of the game has succeeded in bringing to the fore the latent demand and passion for the game. It has brought forth initial success in professionalizing the game, identifying the talents, upgrading the infrastructure, etc. However, the purists would like to voice their concern about unbridled marketization in terms of dominance of star players, financial viability, conflict with national games, etc. This case is built around All India Football Federation (AIFF) at the center and AIFF weighing the development of premier leagues and latest rift between two leagues. The challenge for AIFF is: Can it calibrate the contours and trajectory of the game to keep in check unhindered marketization? Can and should the official federation influence the rules of game, terms of engagement of investors, players, agents, etc. or best leave it to the leagues; and their influence on the game once the floodgates are opened? Or, is marketization such a juggernaut that it rolls on its path sidestepping regulations and national fervors? Can something be learnt from other sectors in protecting national brand against the onslaught of global brands in the context of international management?

Anurag Bhatt (AB), Managing Director (MD) of Coats Indonesia, was on a flight from Bangalore to Singapore on his way to Jakarta after a vacation. On the flight, he was reflecting on an issue that he had encountered just before the vacation but not yet addressed. It would definitely be one of the first issues he would have to handle on his return. An effort to fill a senior position, Head of Procurement, currently occupied by an expatriate, had not been received with enthusiasm by those who seemed to have the potential to take on the role. One-on-one conversations with the potential candidates had not helped as each one suggested the name of another person as more suitable for the role. He had faced similar difficulties in recruiting Indonesians to occupy other senior roles. Nothing in his past experience helped him understand how these people were unwilling to accept an opportunity for career growth. One of the goals that had been assigned to him as he accepted his current role was to reduce the number of expatriates in senior ranks in Coats Indonesia. This was not feasible unless local managers were willing to rise to the occasion. He needed a way to address the lack of enthusiasm among managers in Coats Indonesia to take on positions with greater responsibility. He had some ideas, based on the short experience in the country, but was willing to get inputs from anyone who might have a better understanding of the drivers of behavior of Indonesians in general and managers in particular.

Bank of Baroda (BoB) is one of the oldest banks in India with a large international footprint. The bank was nationalized in 1969 and was under the control of the government. Ever since the India embarked on the program of economic reforms of 1991, there were efforts to address the structural and governance aspects of banks. The ideas around reform have included among other things - repeal of the Bank Nationalization Act, to bring it on-par with companies incorporated under the Companies' Act, disinvestment, and also consolidation of multiple banks. In an effort to infuse new thinking and to reform the banking sector, the government as a first step, appointed a non-executive chairperson and a chief executive officer laterally from the private sector in 2015. Therefore, BoB (along with Canara Bank) was seen as a bank where the early experimentation of reform in the sector could happen. However, subsequently, there have been mounting concerns in the banking sector which have created significant challenges associated with the banking reform process. This case thus illustrates and examines the challenges associated with the governance of a large bank with legacy systems and with multiple expectations from various stakeholders arising from the State being a part owner, and from customers, financial markets, and minority shareholders.

Bank of Baroda is one of the oldest banks in India with a large international footprint. The bank was nationalized in 1969 and since then has been under the control of the government. Ever since India embarked on the program of economic reforms of 1991, there have been efforts to change the culture and management of public sector banking enterprises in India. As a part of the larger reform process, the Government of India appointed an independent non-executive chairman for the bank and also laterally recruited the CEO from the private sector banking space. In the light of this move, this case examines the challenges of managing a large bank with legacy systems and with multiple expectations - from customers, markets, and the state. Given the nature of the bank's incorporation and ownership, it operates under multiple constraints at the operational and governance levels. The case documents the challenges and opportunities at the operational level; examines the process of transformation and raises the questions regarding these changes and whether they could last beyond the current leadership. The case also juxtaposes the experience of the transformation exercise undertaken by the organization in the past to review the progress of some of the erstwhile changes and provides an opportunity to examine the subsequent transformation exercise amidst a severely constrained situation.

This case provides a platform to discuss the role of the board in the governance of a corporation. Extant discourse on the role of the board is largely centered on the challenges of monitoring managerial behavior and as a consequence on board independence. The two other critical tasks of the board - mentoring the leadership (based on expertise) and maintaining continuity with robust succession of both the board and the executive leadership - are not as well documented. Set in 2019, this case documents the rollercoaster ride of Infosys Limited - India's second largest software services company - from an icon of corporate governance to its fall from grace after an ugly fight between its co-founders and the board, following whistle-blower allegations of governance failures. The case helps demonstrate the importance of issues related to board succession (to ensure continuity) and board capital (to guide strategic choices) that are often overlooked.

Mahindra Financial Services (MMFSL) is an Indian non-banking financial services organization largely involved with financing of tractors, commercial, and passenger vehicles. The company is nearly 30 years old with a turnover of more than US$ 1 billion. MMFSL grew as an organization following a regional structure. However, with growth in business both in terms of volume and diversity, MMFL felt that the regional structure was creating constraints rather than facilitating its growth. Therefore, it undertook a restructuring exercise and adopted a product-based structure. The case describes the conditions that led MMFSL to consider the structural change, how it went about implementing the change and what was the impact of the structural change? The elaborate process that MMFSL adopted in implementing the change ensured that the transition was smooth and that the new structure created architecture for further business growth.

Madan Mohanka, Managing Director of Tega Industries, a start-up organization, was reviewing the marketing strategy and plan for introducing new improved wear-resistant rubber products in India in mining and metal processing industries. The case describes products, product characteristics, potential market, likely demand, customer behaviour, current and likely competition, segmentation, targeting, marketing strategy and marketing plan including segment coverage strategy, pricing, promotions, marketing organization, and the marketing and promotion budget. Participants can be challenged to evaluate objectives, marketing strategy, marketing plan, pricing, promotion, and marketing organization.

Supplement for Case A00335

Brazilian logistics company Rumo operated 13,500 km in railway networks, port terminals, and inland transshipment terminals, connecting major Brazilian ports to the agriculture hubs of Mato Grosso and São Paulo state. Controlled by Cosan, Brazil's leading sugar and ethanol producer, Rumo had been through a turnaround over the last 3 years, including heavy investment in operational improvements, financial deleverage, and taking cash flow generation from a negative $278 million in 2015 to positive $15.3 million in 2018. In 2019, as the company planned its new expansion cycle ($3.4 billion would be invested from 2019 to 2023), Rumo's executives had to find the best way to continue to capture the value created, while preserving its relations with customers and other stakeholders.

As author Ryan Cohen was on the verge of launching an online jewelry business with cofounder Michael Day, he had a revelation: He was standing in a local pet store with his toy poodle, Tylee, discussing her food with the proprietor, when he realized that millions of other pet owners were equally concerned about their animals' well-being. Clearly, the opportunity was huge--and he cared much more about pet food than about jewelry. He went door-to-door in Silicon Valley looking for funding, but not until Chewy had beaten sales projections did the company find a significant backer, at Volition Capital. Cohen describes that first round of funding as a major watershed. "From that point on, the mission was larger," he writes. "I was even more committed to making Chewy an industry leader because it was no longer just our own money on the line. . . I felt that responsibility." The financing allowed him and his team to scale up the operation rapidly and plan for an IPO, but before that happened, they sold Chewy to PetSmart for $3.35 billion. Its early-stage investors made huge gains, and later-stage ones made significant money. "Those investors put their trust in me and my vision," Cohen writes, "and I repaid them with returns."

Today markets are being reshaped by a new kind of firm--one in which artificial intelligence runs the show. This cohort includes giants like Google, Facebook, and Alibaba, and growing businesses such as Wayfair and Ocado. Every time we use their services, the same thing happens: Rather than relying on processes run by employees, the value we get is delivered by algorithms. Software is at the core of the enterprise, and humans are moved off to the side. This model frees firms from traditional operating constraints and enables them to compete in unprecedented ways. AI-driven processes can be scaled up incredibly quickly, allow for greater scope because they can be connected to many kinds of businesses, and offer very powerful opportunities for learning and improvement. And while the value of scale eventually begins to level off in traditional models, in AI-based ones, it never stops climbing. All of that allows AI-driven firms to quickly overtake traditional ones. As AI models blur the lines between industries, strategies are relying less on specialized expertise and differentiation based on cost, quality, and branding, and more on business network position, unique data, and the deployment of sophisticated analytics.

Discussions about reining in health care costs invariably turn to the sickest 5% of the population, who account for 50% of all health care spending. Most of these patients have multiple chronic conditions, and the hope is that through disease-management programs that use registered nurses and social workers to monitor and help them, we can care for them better and achieve big savings. But these programs are expensive. Typically each focuses on just one disease, which means that many patients deal with multiple teams. The programs also operate outside primary-care practices, so they often duplicate doctors' work as well. And in the experience of the authors, the former CEO and associate executive director of Kaiser Permanente (KP), they do not reduce net costs. KP has come up with a better approach: providing coaching and support to patients through IT and inexpensive assistants who are integrated into primary-care practices--avoiding duplication. KP applies it judiciously, focusing only on patients whose chronic conditions can truly be improved (about a third of the most expensive 5%). This strategy has not only led to better medical outcomes but cut costs so much that KP has been able to lower premiums for millions of members by 10% to 15%.