個案總覽

The executive director, human resources, at Hindustan Unilever Ltd., a market leader in the Indian fast moving consumer goods sector and the Indian subsidiary of the major multinational, Unilever Ltd., is concerned that the company may be losing its position as the “dream employer” for graduates from the top Indian business schools from which it recruits its management personnel. The shifting demographic profile of employees and their changing expectations have already resulted in changes in the company’s employment model. These include on-the-job training and classroom and e-learning program facilities at all levels of the organization and at all stages of one’s career; mentoring by senior management; communication of vision and goals throughout the company, especially through regular meetings with the CEO; a focus on corporate social responsibility; and an emphasis on work-life balance, such as offering sabbaticals and providing health and recreation facilities at the new headquarters. While the company has changed its traditional employment value proposition, in a highly competitive and talent-scarce job market, can it continue to be relevant in order to attract and retain the best talent in the country?

The supply chain director of Indo-Euro Pharma summoned an urgent meeting in response to significant losses incurred by the company in the last fiscal year. This was primarily due to the return of yet another international consignment of temperature-sensitive drugs (TSDs) — this time worth millions of dollars. The meeting focused on the inability of Indo-Euro Pharma to appropriately distribute and monitor TSDs cost effectively across the various stages and locations of the supply chain — especially at the pharmacist level. Deviations from drugs’ required temperature ranges could happen during packaging, storage, transport, loading and unloading in aircraft, sea containers, trucks, etc. It was extremely difficult to monitor whether pharmacists were following proper procedures for storing TSDs. Most medical stores in India had domestic refrigerators that required frequent calibration. The problems indicated the need for Indo-Euro Pharma to adopt an alternative distribution system that was specifically tailored for TSDs.

Owing to the rapidly growing automotive market, international joint venture activity in the auto-components sector has been increasing in India, both in terms of frequency and strategic importance.<br><br>Bonazzi Indo Fasteners Limited, a joint venture between the Turin-based Bonazzi Group and the Mumbai-based Indo Group, was set up to manufacture automotive fasteners, primarily for global original equipment manufacturers. There is a confrontational relationship between the two joint venture partners, and the chief executive officer has been unable to broker peace between them.

Nurturing Green is a three-year-old private company that is trying to change the gift-giving culture of India by offering attractively packaged potted plants in place of the traditional candy or cut flower bouquets presented on special occasions to friends, family and business associates. The founder of the start-up is a young, passionate entrepreneur who is risking much in order to grow his company. To realize the idea of “green gifting” to help the environment, he has accepted funding from a venture capitalist firm in exchange for giving up 25 per cent equity in his business. Now, it is time to revisit that agreement and, although the company has been very successful, the owner is concerned that the investors will demand more control and a faster growth focus than he is willing or able to meet. He is also worried about the sales forecast, return on investment for the short and the long term, monthly cash flows and employee motivation and performance reviews. Should he respond to the many requests to franchise the business or should he concentrate on developing the brand in new markets? How can he expand business-to-business sales while also opening more stores in malls in all parts of the country to sell directly to customers? Will the new website develop more online sales? As he prepares for a meeting with the auditors and investors, the owner looks for a solution to continue growing while retaining control over his company.

In June 2012, an area sales manager at NutriPack India, a multinational company dealing with fast-moving consumer goods, had to find a way to match the success of his predecessor in increasing retail outlet coverage in central Maharashtra. He studied the territory data and identified the Jalgaon region as having the potential for high growth. However, the single distributor for Jalgaon was upset because he had already increased his operations the previous year and was unconvinced that this had been profitable. The area sales manager needed to convince this distributor of the benefits of his past investments, and also convince him to make further investments (e.g., hire more salespersons). <br><br><br><br>This case illustrates the challenges that young area sales managers face when they have to deal with experienced distributors in the Indian retail trade, especially in smaller towns where relationships can greatly affect business. Students will gain an understanding of the key performance indicators required to focus on developmental issues in a territory. They will appreciate financial considerations as a major tool in dealing with intermediaries, such as distributors, and will gain practical knowledge in how to convince a distributor of his past investments and profitability, and pave the way for further investment for retail expansion.

The head of Data Marketing Analytics and Mobile for Intel Asia-Pacific was reviewing the proposed media plan for the Catch & Win 2.0 campaign. The media purchase needed to be finalized quickly in order to be included in the current quarter’s budget, but he could not help feeling that the proposed spend across the markets and advertising types could be used more effectively. He thought that the key was to use the company’s own experience and data regarding social media engagement within their markets rather than to rely on the generalized industry metrics provided by the contracted media agency, and now he must improve the proposed media plan.

Instructor spreadsheet for product 8B13A015.

Student spreadsheet for product 9B13A015.

A family-owned business that manufactures automobile horns for the replacement market in Delhi, India is considering options to improve current operations and expand the business. The company is faced with numerous challenges: erratic demand, lack of brand, high warranty returns, lack of information, availability of skilled manpower and implementing modern methods of manufacturing. The company is also considering expanding beyond Delhi and manufacturing products for automobile manufacturers, which requires adherence to regulatory certification.

Sears Canada’s associate vice-president of sustainability faces dilemmas in executing a strategy to reduce the retailer’s carbon footprint. He needs to integrate the concept of sustainability into the company’s larger corporate objectives, drive the concept in individual business units and identify the metrics for tracking the progress of reducing Sears Canada’s carbon footprint.<br><br>The (B) case, 9B13D015, is positioned two years later, when the associate vice-president is about to leave the company and needs to plan for the transition.

This is a supplement to 9B13D014.

A wealth management company in Chile that provided financial advisory services to high net worth individuals and pension funds was at a crossroads. After 15 years in business, the company had become very successful. To increase its value without incurring undue corporate financial risk, the owner, who has invested most of his personal wealth in the company, has the opportunity to make an investment in a similar wealth management company in Colombia. What are the risks and rewards of such a complex international merger and acquisition for this medium-sized enterprise operating in an uncertain political and economic environment?

The pharmaceutical industry prides itself on being the second largest growth industry in India; by the year 2015, it will be the third largest industry in the world. One of its major players, Micro Labs Limited, was established to provide quality healthcare products at an affordable cost. From supplying antibacterial antiseptics and vitamins to a local market, the company has expanded both nationally and internationally in such fields as eye care, heart disease, diabetes, neuropsychiatry, dermatology, paediatrics and gynecology. It not only provides training for specialists in its various sectors, but has a strong emphasis on research and development of new drugs and licensing them internationally. The founder’s sons have taken over the firm and now must decide how to maintain its competitive edge and how to achieve its goal of becoming a $1 billion company while respecting and enhancing their father’s vision for the brand.

In 2011, IBM India was experimenting with social media applications to extend its marketing mix. A social media campaign named Digital Influence was launched to gain market share for the company’s software products, influence groundswell and develop technical evangelists. Within a year, the share of voice and reach for the company’s five software brands increased significantly. However, the company’s marketing and communications director was hesitant to declare victory. Was the model sustainable? What challenges would the company face in the implementation process? Would the plan of operations continue to help the company gain market space and create technical evangelists?

Dominion Resources is an industry giant, generating and distributing electricity throughout much of the northeastern United States. The company has continuously explored and expanded into new markets. Its portfolio includes fossil-fueled electricity, nuclear power, renewable energies, gas exploration and more. This standalone A case considers a recent question of the proper mix between regulated and unregulated markets and the impact of such a decision on the firm’s future success. The standalone B case, Dominion Resources, Inc. (B) 9B13M009, examines how the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan affects Dominion’s strategic planning given the change in public perception of nuclear power following the incident.

This standalone B case, which can accompany Dominion Resources, Inc. (A) 9B13M008, examines how the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan affects Dominion’s strategic planning given the change in public perception of nuclear power following the incident.

In 2012, the director of a subsidiary campus of a national university was faced with many problems: he was personally overworked as both manager of the new campus and as a lecturer; there were too many part-time lecturers on staff, leading to a loss of commitment and morale; a decision had to be made about buying or leasing the newly renovated campus building; and, most importantly, all of his decisions were subject to approval by the main administration of the university. Without controlling the campus’s bank account, the director was unable to implement the initiatives he believed will allow the school to grow in a sustainable manner. The issues that arose as a direct result of this arrangement provided an interesting perspective on the difficulties involved in managing a small subsidiary of a large public organization.

Caterpillar Tunnelling Canada Corporation, a Toronto-based subsidiary of the U.S. company Caterpillar Inc., specializes in the custom design and manufacture of tunnelling boring machines used in the construction of transportation and utility tunnels such as subway, sewage and telecom cable tunnels. After the acquisition by Caterpillar, the company was chosen as one of the sites to undergo enterprise resource planning (ERP) transformation. After over a year of localization effort to adapt the corporate ERP template to the subsidiary’s business processes, the project was called off due to both the strained local resources and the significant gap between the parent company’s repetitive manufacturing model and the subsidiary’s concurrent engineering/project-based model. Moreover, the lack of executive buy-in and a mandate in establishing company-wide performance metrics and consistency in business semantics led to sporadic user adoption of business intelligence tools and the creation of sometimes irreconcilable reporting. The business resource manager and head of finance has to rethink the management of business intelligence technologies and come up with a strategy to achieve coherent data analytics for effective business decision making.

This case chronicles the growth and evolution of Revital, the bestselling vitamin and mineral supplement in India. The Indian nutraceutical market was booming, as the growing economy and increasingly demanding job requirements were pushing young Indian consumers to look for products like energy drinks, energy candy and health supplements. Stressful work conditions and lifestyle changes were resulting in an increased incidence of chronic disorders, and more and more consumers were taking nutraceuticals as a preventive measure. No company had launched an energy candy in the Indian market and imported brands were of limited availability. The case explores the possible options for Ranbaxy — one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in India —with brand expansion opportunities for Revital through introducing Revital energy candy. Should Ranbaxy introduce an energy candy in the Indian market? If so, should it be a brand extension of Revital or a new brand altogether?

An owner was concerned about the condo she bought in Mont Tremblant, Quebec in 2006 as an investment property and for occasional use by her family. A beautiful, five-bedroom unit with a panoramic view over the La Bête golf course, it was close to the ski area, the village of Tremblant, shopping, spas, restaurants and a casino. It was fully furnished with many upgrades. However, by 2010, the number of rentals was disappointing, and the unit was operating well below expectations. Something had to be done to increase occupancy or she would have to sell the property. She considered changes in all aspects of marketing: her target, positioning, product features, pricing, distribution and promotion. She needed to assess the situation and determine what could be done to generate more bookings and make the venture profitable.