The case describes how the Greek oil-spill specialist Polygreen diversified into municipal waste management and turned the Aegean paradise of Tilos into the world's first zero-waste island. Focusing on the company's charismatic CEO, Athanasios Polychronopoulos, the case follows the implementation of a business model based on the principles of the circular economy. The project progresses from the selection of the location to negotiating a "free" contract with the municipality, to rebuilding a whole new team and raising awareness in a community where sorting and recycling are not the norm. A few months later, the operation has to scale up massively for the summer season to cope with thousands of tourists. The results of this apparently successful experiment enable Polygreen to bid for similar business in new municipalities and markets in the Middle East, where it can apply the learning from Tilos.
Recent MBA graduate Majed finds his dream job: high-tech, entrepreneurial, senior, social - contributing to the economy of Palestine, a cause close to his heart. But the new CEO of WebTeb, an online medical information service in Arabic, finds it more challenging than expected. Recruiting IT talent in Palestine is particularly tough. Eventually, his team finds an android developer to help them launch, but then comes a fateful phone call. Majed has infringed an unwritten policy of Palestinian tech companies - never to poach each other's employees. The rationale behind this is to keep wages low and thus boost an industry with potential to transform the local economy. The injured party, an IT outsourcing company, asks Majed to rescind the offer. If he refuses, they threaten to put WebTeb out of business by offering better salaries to his entire web-development team. Case B shows how Majed resolves the dilemma.
Supplement to case IN1456. Recent MBA graduate Majed finds his dream job: high-tech, entrepreneurial, senior, social - contributing to the economy of Palestine, a cause close to his heart. But the new CEO of WebTeb, an online medical information service in Arabic, finds it more challenging than expected. Recruiting IT talent in Palestine is particularly tough. Eventually, his team finds an android developer to help them launch, but then comes a fateful phone call. Majed has infringed an unwritten policy of Palestinian tech companies - never to poach each other's employees. The rationale behind this is to keep wages low and thus boost an industry with potential to transform the local economy. The injured party, an IT outsourcing company, asks Majed to rescind the offer. If he refuses, they threaten to put WebTeb out of business by offering better salaries to his entire web-development team. Case B shows how Majed resolves the dilemma.
This three-part case study explores the development of Adlens, a commercial firm, and Vision for a Nation as the social venture developed in parallel. The entrepreneur's strategy is to sell the innovative Adlens optical products in middle-to-high income economies for profit, while Vision for a Nation is dedicated to improving vision in the developing world, starting with Rwanda. A key synergy comes from the "Buy one, give one" model, whereby for every pair of Adlens glasses purchased, another pair (adjustable or traditional glasses) is given away for free in Rwanda. Developing Adlens and Vision for a Nation as viable ventures has been not been an easy task. Despite the vast amount of time and money James Chen has invested in these projects, their long-term sustainability has yet to be demonstrated. But as an investor of 'patient capital', he sees beyond the logic of short-term profit making.
Supplement to case IN1293. This three-part case study explores the development of Adlens, a commercial firm, and Vision for a Nation as the social venture developed in parallel. The entrepreneur's strategy is to sell the innovative Adlens optical products in middle-to-high income economies for profit, while Vision for a Nation is dedicated to improving vision in the developing world, starting with Rwanda. A key synergy comes from the "Buy one, give one" model, whereby for every pair of Adlens glasses purchased, another pair (adjustable or traditional glasses) is given away for free in Rwanda. Developing Adlens and Vision for a Nation as viable ventures has been not been an easy task. Despite the vast amount of time and money James Chen has invested in these projects, their long-term sustainability has yet to be demonstrated. But as an investor of 'patient capital', he sees beyond the logic of short-term profit making.
Supplement to case IN1293. This three-part case study explores the development of Adlens, a commercial firm, and Vision for a Nation as the social venture developed in parallel. The entrepreneur's strategy is to sell the innovative Adlens optical products in middle-to-high income economies for profit, while Vision for a Nation is dedicated to improving vision in the developing world, starting with Rwanda. A key synergy comes from the "Buy one, give one" model, whereby for every pair of Adlens glasses purchased, another pair (adjustable or traditional glasses) is given away for free in Rwanda. Developing Adlens and Vision for a Nation as viable ventures has been not been an easy task. Despite the vast amount of time and money James Chen has invested in these projects, their long-term sustainability has yet to be demonstrated. But as an investor of 'patient capital', he sees beyond the logic of short-term profit making.
Costly Train Journey (A) tells the story of an MBA student who on graduation started an investment banking job in the City. He was successful in his first few years but commuting into London he continued to dodge the train fare until he was caught by ticket inspectors. He was asked to pay £43,000 in avoided fares or face prosecution. Costly Train Journey (B) reveals that the (A) case is based loosely on the experience of Jonathan Burrows a Managing Director at Blackrock Asset Management. Investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Burrows was judged to have failed its "fit and proper" test and banned from working in financial services.
Costly Train Journey (A) tells the story of an MBA student who on graduation started an investment banking job in the City. He was successful in his first few years but commuting into London he continued to dodge the train fare until he was caught by ticket inspectors. He was asked to pay £43,000 in avoided fares or face prosecution. Costly Train Journey (B) reveals that the (A) case is based loosely on the experience of Jonathan Burrows a Managing Director at Blackrock Asset Management. Investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Burrows was judged to have failed its "fit and proper" test and banned from working in financial services.
The case follows the story of Brazilian business leader, Ricardo Semler, who took the family marine-pump business, Semco, to multi-national, multi-sector success. To do so, Ricardo Semler dramatically changed his own leadership style by relinquishing control and working less hard, and subsequently transformed the culture at Semco via a radical process of workplace democratisation. Finally, he applied the same leadership principles successfully to other industries: hotels, education, and banking.