Braithwaite & Co. Limited (BCL) was a leading railway-engineering public sector company in India. The company was incorporated in 1930 as the first wagon manufacturing company in India. In 1976, the Government of India (GoI) nationalized the company, registering and incorporating it as a fully owned GoI undertaking to support Indian Railways by supplying railway wagons. However, following nationalization, BCL faced growth challenges and gradually accumulated significant losses during the 1990s; eventually, it was declared legally sick and referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). The reasons identified for its sickness were failure to technologically upgrade and adapt to changing market scenarios, dependence on a single customer (Indian Railways), and operational-level issues within the organization. Yatish Kumar joined BCL in 2018 and took a series of strategic and operational measures to turn the company around. These measures resulted in BCL’s improved financial performance, profitability, and a quick turnaround, and the company was awarded Miniratna Category-I status in 2021. Although BCL had been growing at a good rate, Kumar was concerned about how to sustain the turnaround and maintain that growth rate in the future.
Braithwaite & Co. Limited (BCL) was a leading railway-engineering public sector company in India. The company was incorporated in 1930 as the first wagon manufacturing company in India. In 1976, the Government of India (GoI) nationalized the company, registering and incorporating it as a fully owned GoI undertaking to support Indian Railways by supplying railway wagons. However, following nationalization, BCL faced growth challenges and gradually accumulated significant losses during the 1990s; eventually, it was declared legally sick and referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). The reasons identified for its sickness were failure to technologically upgrade and adapt to changing market scenarios, dependence on a single customer (Indian Railways), and operational-level issues within the organization. Yatish Kumar joined BCL in 2018 and took a series of strategic and operational measures to turn the company around. These measures resulted in BCL's improved financial performance, profitability, and a quick turnaround, and the company was awarded Miniratna Category-I status in 2021. Although BCL had been growing at a good rate, Kumar was concerned about how to sustain the turnaround and maintain that growth rate in the future.
In January 2020, the human resources (HR) head of MAGIS Infotech (MAGIS), a software solutions provider to banking and financial firms, was asked to come up with a set of new HR measures to resolve problems related to coordination between employees at MAGIS’s two locations—in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Coimbatore, India. The Abu Dhabi location had all of the client-facing roles and support functions such as HR and finance, whereas Coimbatore had the back-end roles related to software development and testing. The HR head, located in Abu Dhabi, was responsible for HR matters for both the Abu Dhabi and Coimbatore locations. Within the next two months, MAGIS would recruit and onboard a large batch of employees to double the workforce at the Coimbatore location, which faced a lack of cohesion between employees at different levels. In addition, there was friction between the Abu Dhabi and Coimbatore teams. The HR head had to come up with HR measures to resolve these issues before the new employees were recruited.
In January 2020, the human resources (HR) head of MAGIS Infotech (MAGIS), a software solutions provider to banking and financial firms, was asked to come up with a set of new HR measures to resolve problems related to coordination between employees at MAGIS's two locations-in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Coimbatore, India. The Abu Dhabi location had all of the client-facing roles and support functions such as HR and finance, whereas Coimbatore had the back-end roles related to software development and testing. The HR head, located in Abu Dhabi, was responsible for HR matters for both the Abu Dhabi and Coimbatore locations. Within the next two months, MAGIS would recruit and onboard a large batch of employees to double the workforce at the Coimbatore location, which faced a lack of cohesion between employees at different levels. In addition, there was friction between the Abu Dhabi and Coimbatore teams. The HR head had to come up with HR measures to resolve these issues before the new employees were recruited.
The case is a narration of the 20-year journey of the All India Society for Electronics and Computer Technology (AISECT), a social enterprise offering information and computer technology (ICT) services, including skill development, higher education, financial inclusion, and e-governance, to youth in rural and semi-urban areas of India. It reflects the vision of AISECT's Founding Chairman, Santosh Choubey, to build a social organization aimed at disseminating science and technology (S&T) knowledge, services, and solutions to underserved rural areas in India and generating job opportunities for rural youth. In its initial years, AISECT joined a Government of India initiative to introduce and offer basic computer education to students in government high schools in Bhopal. AISECT developed a model in which it trained local youth to become entrepreneur-trainers who could operate ICT centers at the government schools, receiving a share of the government's funds. During the early nineties, AISECT set up ICT training centers in the selected government schools in MP and built a franchisee network of sustainable multipurpose training centers (MPTCs). The centers, owned and operated by village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs), would provide ICT-based and other skill-based education and services to rural communities. Through the MPTC model, AISECT not only penetrated and spread IT literacy in the semi- urban and rural areas of the state but also generated job opportunities for rural youth through its "train the trainer" model. The case is set in March 2005, when Choubey relives the struggles, challenges, and successes along the way and is gradually carried forward into the future. The case ends with Choubey contemplating the road ahead for AISECT. With the skill education landscape changing and new entrants competing for limited government funds, what should AISECT do to maintain its leadership position and ensure its sustainability and continued expansion across India?
In 2016, the managing director of Wingreens Farms, a social enterprise based in India, was considering the company’s future. Wingreens Farms partnered with rural Indian farmers living in poverty to produce and sell homemade processed foods, including salsas, dipping sauces, hummus, garlic butter, breads, teas, organic fresh pickled sprouts, microgreens, and wheatgrass. This small company had a unique, sustainable, and profitable business model with a managed sales turnover worth R160 million (US$2.4 million) in 2016. However, the managing director wondered whether Wingreens Farms could eventually transition from a small, personalized, family-owned company to a large systems- and process-driven organization. Could the company retain its commitment to ethical values and its handmade, labour-intensive production methods if it began competing against factory-produced, cheaper products from large, organized companies?
In 2016, the managing director of Wingreens Farms, a social enterprise based in India, was considering the company's future. Wingreens Farms partnered with rural Indian farmers living in poverty to produce and sell homemade processed foods, including salsas, dipping sauces, hummus, garlic butter, breads, teas, organic fresh pickled sprouts, microgreens, and wheatgrass. This small company had a unique, sustainable, and profitable business model with a managed sales turnover worth ?160 million (US$2.4 million) in 2016. However, the managing director wondered whether Wingreens Farms could eventually transition from a small, personalized, family-owned company to a large systems- and process-driven organization. Could the company retain its commitment to ethical values and its handmade, labour-intensive production methods if it began competing against factory-produced, cheaper products from large, organized companies?
Chinese companies are increasingly investing in companies overseas. But to reach advantageous agreements with Chinese direct investors, Western managers need to prepare themselves for differences in negotiating style.
This case presents the challenge faced by Nokia India in 2007. Nokia had built a strong brand reputation over a ten-year period and was a market leader in Indian mobile devices. India, incidentally, was also Nokia’s second-largest market, next only to China. Suddenly, what corporate headquarters considered a routine product advisory for a defective battery resulted in panic in customers after the Indian media widely publicized the potential dangers that defective batteries could pose. Over a three-month period, Nokia India had to recall a few million batteries and replace them with new ones.<br><br>The case provides an opportunity for students to develop practical knowledge of the role of operations management in a product recall situation, particularly in an emerging market context. Product recalls are an integral part of supply chain management (SCM). Companies inevitably face a question of when, not if, a recall will be necessary. These recall situations combine the complexity of operations with the time-urgency of a mission-critical task. The case also provides a rich context to learn about the interaction of SCM, information systems and reverse logistics, and to understand the marketing, logistics, and communication challenges faced by a multinational company operating in an emerging market such as India.
The case provides an opportunity for students to develop practical knowledge of the role of operations management in a product recall situation, particularly in an emerging market context. Product recalls are an integral part of supply chain management (SCM). Companies inevitably face a question of when, not if, a recall will be necessary. These situations combine the complexity of operations with the time-urgency of a mission-critical task. The case also provides a rich context to learn about the interaction of SCM, information systems and reverse logistics, and to understand the marketing, logistics and communication challenges faced by a multinational company operating in an emerging market such as India.<br><br>The case presents the challenge faced by Nokia India in 2007. Nokia had built a strong brand reputation over a ten-year period and was a market leader in the Indian mobile devices. India, incidentally, was also Nokia's second largest market, next only to China. Suddenly, what corporate headquarters considered a routine product advisory for a defective battery, resulted in panic in customers after the Indian media widely publicized the potential dangers that defective batteries could pose.<br><br>Over a three-month period, Nokia India had to recall a few million batteries and replace them with new ones.<br><br>The objectives of the case include 1) developing an effective product recall / reverse logistics plan that would ensure preparedness for the challenges and urgent circumstances that might surface in a recall situation, 2) understanding the key criteria for success of product recall systems and 3) understanding the interface of management action and the logistics system under a crisis situation.
In 2000, Vietnam passed the Enterprise Law to spur private sector development and facilitate its transition from a centrally-planned to a market economy. The Enterprise Law changed the paradigm for private business in Vietnam by making business registration a legal right, rather than a privilege. Between 2000-2005, the number of private enterprises increased by more than 100%, adding over 2.5 million jobs to Vietnam's labor market. Despite this success, Vietnam's private sector remained undercapitalized, having only 12 companies with over $33 million in total capital. This case study follows Mr. Nam, a successful Vietnamese furniture manufacturer trying to identify sources of funding to expand his firm, which was established under the Enterprise Law. In the past, Mr. Nam managed to finance business expansion from retained earning and informal credit, however continued expansion required Mr. Nam to identify "arm's length" financing. In this search, Mr. Nam encountered two fundamental problems. First, the banking sector, still under state influence, did not have strong incentives to lend to the private sector. Second, private banks and other sources of capital require Mr. Nam to submit his business to an independent audit, which would certainly uncover many business practices which were technically illegal - and essential to competitiveness. This case study encourages students to consider the social cost of weak regulatory environments, poorly designed economic laws, and the relationship between these conditions and the production of (undesirable) commercial norms. Instructors of development finance, small and medium enterprise finance, and legal and regulatory courses should find this case study useful. HKS Case Number 1812.0
Studies the U.S. credit card industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s. After an industry background review, a discussion of generic strategies follows in which strategies, like product proliferation and cost improvements, are achieved through superior IT. These strategies are exemplified using the leading players in the industry. On the other hand, these strategies are easily imitable, the basic product is standardized, and the industry is highly fragmented. What accounts then for the exceptional level of profitability enjoyed by this industry?