Pete Anderson, the general manager of Mumbai Dairy Company, is facing several difficult but related challenges. Revenues and profits at the Mumbai, India-based joint venture are in decline. At the same time, worker strikes and disruptions across India have become a major issue. Internally, employees seem to be unmotivated and many-particularly Anderson's direct reports-appear to be taking him for granted. Employees blame seasonal conditions as the cause of waning performance. Others are complaining that their compensation is too little given the contributions they are making. Anderson needs a plan of action for his upcoming meeting with his Singapore-based boss.
Pete Anderson, the general manager of Mumbai Dairy Company, is facing several difficult but related challenges. Revenues and profits at the Mumbai, India–based joint venture are in decline. At the same time, worker strikes and disruptions across India have become a major issue. Internally, employees seem to be unmotivated and many—particularly Anderson’s direct reports—appear to be taking him for granted. Employees blame seasonal conditions as the cause of waning performance. Others are complaining that their compensation is too little given the contributions they are making. Anderson needs a plan of action for his upcoming meeting with his Singapore-based boss.
This case describes the evolution of Lenovo from its origins in China in 1984 through the onset of the coronavirus crisis in early 2020. It focuses on four phases of growth, each bringing massive change and risk. Its most recent change puts the company at the intersection of globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As challenging as these developments have been, the coronavirus, with its origins in China and worldwide spread, represents a huge new threat to Lenovo and potentially undermines the company's commitment to globalization. The company's supply chain was disrupted, and its exposure to Chinese suppliers raised important questions about the risks of such a base when trying to reach and compete globally. The case raises interesting questions: what does it mean to be a truly global company and are the benefits worth the costs? How can companies fully manage the complexities that emanate from the dual imperatives of globalization and technological change? More specifically, can Chinese technology companies flourish as insiders in the U.S. and Europe? At the same time, does globalization mean that the company is too American to thrive in China? And by extension, what are the longer term implications for Western companies?
The case focuses on the efforts of Helena Borenius, an Executive Director of Scandinavian Building Group (SBG) Sweden who is in-charge of the company's civil engineering and construction work in Sweden. SBG is the disguised name of a major global construction and engineering company that was dealing with similar issues described in the case study. Borenius is under pressure to bid on work for a major expansion of the Arlanda Airport in Stockholm. However, she feels that the project is inconsistent with the company's as well as her own values.
CapitaLand was Singapore's leading property developer. It was formed in 2000 though a merger between DBS Land (the property unit of Singapore's leading bank, DBS) and Pidemco Land, a Singapore government linked company. The Singapore government through Temasek Holdings (one of its sovereign wealth funds) held an equity stake of 40% at end-2011. Liew Mun Leong was the firm's first CEO from 2000 to 2012. CapitaLand decided to expand internationally because it felt that the Singapore market was saturated with limited growth opportunities. CapitaLand's initial focus was on a number of gateway cities, where it aimed to achieve critical mass. This strategy changed quickly with the new focus being on three core markets - Singapore, China and Australia. In expanding into new markets, CapitaLand began by sending out a high quality executive, who understood the firm and the way it operated, from headquarters to start the new unit up. The firm's objective was to transfer operational responsibility to local executives when this was possible. While it had made some progress in this regard, most senior executives - corporate officers and senior executives of business units - were still Singapore nationals.
The new vice-president for Kentucky Fried Chicken in southeast Asia, must weigh the growth benefits of investing in China with alternative opportunities in the region. He is at the exploratory stage of market research and is focusing his attention on four possible locations in China. He must also balance his own personal ambitions with the possibilities for failure, not only in China, but the rest of southeast Asia. (A 31-minute video is available with this case, Kentucky Fried Chicken in China - Video.) A follow-up case Kentucky Fried Chicken in China (B) is also available.
HSBC is one of the largest and most global financial institutions in the world. The company has identified Bital, Mexico's fourth largest bank, as a potential acquisition target. Negotiations have come down to the wire, and the controlling Mexican shareholders are trying to get HSBC to raise its offer. Is it worth it? HSBC must decide on both strategic and short-term financial criteria under some degree of uncertainty as illuminated by a due diligence process. The HSBC executive who has handled the acquisition at a local level, and would be chief executive officer of HSBC Mexico should the deal go ahead, is assessing the pros and cons of the acquisition and must also identify the priorities which he and his team would have to address, including culture change issues, re-branding Bital as HSBC Mexico, personnel issues and maintaining the continuity of the business.
HSBC is one of the largest and most global financial institutions in the world. The company has identified Bital, Mexico's fourth largest bank, as a potential acquisition target. Negotiations have come down to the wire, and the controlling Mexican shareholders are trying to get HSBC to raise its offer. Is it worth it? HSBC must decide on both strategic and short-term financial criteria under some degree of uncertainty, as illuminated by a due diligence process. The HSBC executive who has handled the acquisition at a local level, and would be CEO of HSBC Mexico should the deal go ahead, is assessing the pros and cons of the acquisition and must also identify the priorities that he and his team would have to address, including culture change issues, rebranding Bital as HSBC Mexico, personnel issues, and maintaining the continuity of the business.
Bombardier Transportation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of passenger rail cars, has successfully negotiated the purchase of Adtranz, a large European manufacturer of rail equipment. The newly appointed chief executive officer has been brought in to manage the acquisition. The new CEO faces many challenges including decisions about the pace of integration, location of headquarters, organization structure, personnel retention and personal management style. Students may use this case to discuss post-acquisition strategy and how fast companies should move to integrate acquisitions.
Bombardier Transportation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of passenger rail cars, has successfully negotiated the purchase of Adtranz, a large European manufacturer of rail equipment. The newly appointed CEO was brought in to manage the acquisition. The new CEO faces many challenges, including decisions about the pace of integration, location of headquarters, organization structure, personnel retention, and personal management style.
Pinnacle Technologies, although entirely independent, acts essentially as a subsidiary of U.K.-based Psion Teklogix. Psion Teklogix manufactures wireless data communications devices that are used primarily in inventory management activities performed in warehouses, ports, factories, and airports. In the mid-1990s, Psion gave Pinnacle Technologies exclusive Middle Eastern rights to the Teklogix technology and product line. It also assisted in training Pinnacle's development staff, programmers, and sales representatives. By 2002, Pinnacle was prospering and thinking of diversifying into related and unrelated software services. The CEO must decide to what degree Pinnacle should diversify from its core business and determine what financial and managerial resources are required for the diversification.
Maple Leaf Foods is Canada's largest and most dominant food processor. The recently appointed senior marketing director discovers on her first day on the job that the hot dog business at the company is completely broken: market share is down, profits are in free-fall, the products taste bad, there is a proliferation of brands and her team is a mess. To make matters worse, she inherits a job where there is little market data in the files and little to go by to help guide her decisions. She must prepare a short-term plan and a clear strategy for the future. The supplement to this case, Maple Leaf Consumer Foods - Fixing Hot Dogs (B), product 9B03M018, looks at the senior marketing director's short-term plans. Also available is the video, Maple Leaf Consumer Foods - Fixing Hot Dogs, product 7B03M017, that provides an update to what happened and a discussion with the senior marketing director.
In this supplement to Maple Leaf Consumer Foods - Fixing Hot Dogs (A), product 9B03M017, the senior marketing director coordinates the gathering of data on the company's hot dog products and spends considerable time analyzing the data. She has determined areas for improvement and works with senior management, research and development, production, distributors and consumers in implementing improvements on taste and product positioning. With her short-term plans in order, she now must present her future strategy to senior management.
Pinnacle Technologies is an unusual company in that it acts essentially as a subsidiary of U.K.-based Psion Teklogix although it is 100 per cent independent. Psion Teklogix manufacturers wireless data communication devices that are used primarily in inventory management activities performed in warehouses, ports, factories and airports. In the mid 1990s, Psion gave Pinnacle Technologies exclusive Middle Eastern rights to the Teklogix technology and product line. It also assisted in training Pinnacle's development staff, programmers and sales representatives. By 2002, Pinnacle was prospering and was thinking of diversifying into related and unrelated software services. The chief executive officer must decide to what degree Pinnacle should diversify from its core business and determine what financial and managerial resources are required for the diversification. (A 27-minute video is available featuring a discussion with the chief executive officer of Pinnacle, product 7B03M054.)
mGames is a manufacturer of game-based software for portable computers, PDAs and cell phones. The company's new chief executive officer has just been informed of a potential hostile takeover of the company by a major PDA manufacturer. At the same time he receives a phone call from a senior executive at a Scandinavian telecommunications company expressing interest in forming a partnership. With all of this happening, the chief executive officer faces growing pressure from the company's chairman to address ongoing performance problems. In a complex and changing environment he must make a strategic choice as to which group of customer groups (traditional handheld gaming device manufacturers, telecom manufacturers or PDA manufacturers) the company should focus on.
mGAMES is a manufacturer of game-based software for portable computers, PDAs, and cell phones. The company's new CEO was just informed of a potential hostile takeover of the company by a major PDA manufacturer. At the same time, he received a phone call from a senior executive at a Scandinavian telecommunications company expressing interest in forming a partnership. With all of this happening, the CEO faces growing pressure from the company's chairman to address ongoing performance problems. In a complex and changing environment, he must choose which customer group (traditional handheld gaming device manufacturers, telecom manufacturers, or PDA manufacturers) to focus on.
Hutchison Whampoa Limited is a holding company based in Hong Kong with its core business interests in property development, retail and manufacturing, telecommunications and finance and investment. The deputy managing director must assess the company's corporate strategy. She must consider how the corporate office adds value to the underlying business and review the business portfolio and its considerable geographic scope. It is unlikely Hutchison Whampoa can be a global player in all of its businesses, so she must determine which of the businesses can be global, regional or local.
Global Sources Ltd. is Asia's leading publisher of business-to-business (B2B) trade-related magazines. In the latter half of the 1990s, the Internet became a powerful force for change in the business world, leading to an explosion of Internet-related activities by both traditional bricks and mortar companies, as well as countless upstart dot.coms. The chairman and CEO of Global Sources had foreseen the opportunities afforded by the Internet early on and had made it an integral part of the company's strategy. Currently, the level of activity in the B2B portal space has evolved so quickly that a noticeable degree of confusion among suppliers, buyers, and investors about the merits and drawbacks of these portals has arisen. Moreover, the sustainability of these ventures has been brought into question, which is causing a dramatic reversal of fortunes for many companies. The result is that there are strong signs that the industry will experience a significant consolidation. This has left Global Sources chairman with the key challenge of generating greater visibility among users and potential users of the companies services, as well as greater interest from the investment community to remain viable. The company must be able to educate and convey its value proposition to its users, as well as determine whether it should continue to remain an independent player, purchase a competitor, or enter into a strategic alliance.
Global Sources Limited is Asia's leading publisher of business-to-business (B2B) trade-related magazines. In the latter half of the 1990s, the Internet became a powerful force for change in the business world, leading to an explosion of Internet-related activities by both traditional bricks and mortar companies, as well as countless upstart dot.coms. The chairman and chief executive officer of Global Sources had foreseen the opportunities afforded by the Internet early on, and had made it an integral part of the company's strategy. Currently, the level of activity in the B2B portal space has evolved so quickly that a noticeable degree of confusion among suppliers, buyers and investors about the merits and drawbacks of these portals has arisen. Moreover, the sustainability of these ventures has been brought into question, which is causing a dramatic reversal of fortunes for many companies. The result is that there are strong signs that the industry will experience a significant consolidation. This has left Global Sources chairman with the key challenge of generating greater visibility among users and potential users of the companies services, as well as greater interest from the investment community in order to remain viable. The company must be able to educate and convey its value proposition to its users, as well as determine whether it should continue to remain an independent player, purchase a competitor, or enter into a strategic alliance.