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In 2006, Mexican convenience store chain OXXO faced a threat from a formidable competitor, the rival convenience chain Extra. OXXO had embarked on an initiative to fortify its corporate culture and operating system, but the threat of Extra raised the question of whether they should focus on opening as many stores as possible and as quickly as possible, in order to maintain market leadership. CEO Eduardo Padilla had to define his strategy and decide whether to focus on improving culture and operations or on relentlessly beating its rival.

In 2006, Mexican convenience store chain OXXO faced a threat from a formidable competitor, the rival convenience chain Extra. OXXO had embarked on an initiative to fortify its corporate culture and operating system, but the threat of Extra raised the question of whether they should focus on opening as many stores as possible and as quickly as possible, in order to maintain market leadership. CEO Eduardo Padilla had to define his strategy and decide whether to focus on improving culture and operations or on relentlessly beating its rival.

The Container Store (TCS) is a Texas-based retailer of organization and storage solutions. The company prides itself in taking care of its employees first and its co-founder and CEO Kip Tindell practices Conscious Capitalism. Since it beginnings in 1978, TCS grew to a chain of around 70 stores located in over 20 states by 2013. Tindell believed TCS's employee-first culture and the seven Foundation Principles, which guided the company, were what differentiated the company from other retailers. With plans to grow to 300 stores, TCS went public in late 2013. Since its IPO same store sales have suffered and the company's stock in early 2016 was trading well below its IPO price. As such, the company's culture and Foundation Principles were being put to the test. This product can be used with the free Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT), available at: hbsp.harvard.edu/jdot

Supplement to case 116004. This case study explores the challenges of aligning middle management interests with company goals as a company navigates rapid growth in a dynamic industry. China Lodging Group, a Chinese hotel chain that opened about 2,000 hotels during its first decade in business, uses Balanced Scorecard (BSC) metrics to promote both consistency of service and an entrepreneurial attitude amongst hotel managers. The company needs to encourage its managers to operate according to company-level values and goals, without gaming the BSC metrics for short term rewards or without focusing exclusively on local, narrow results. This case illustrates how executive teams can develop incentive systems that increase managers' sense of ownership and commitment to company values and goals.

This case study explores the challenges of aligning middle management interests with company goals as a company navigates rapid growth in a dynamic industry. China Lodging Group, a Chinese hotel chain that opened about 2,000 hotels during its first decade in business, uses Balanced Scorecard (BSC) metrics to promote both consistency of service and an entrepreneurial attitude amongst hotel managers. The company needs to encourage its managers to operate according to company-level values and goals, without gaming the BSC metrics for short-term rewards or without focusing exclusively on local, narrow results. This case illustrates how executive teams can develop incentive systems that increase managers' sense of ownership and commitment to company values and goals.

Indian cell phone retailer Go Mobile had implemented high-powered incentives to motivate its store employees to behave as owners and provide exceptional service. As the company scaled up, it faced multiple challenges in building a layer of district managers that were willing and were able to support the highly incentivized store teams. On one hand, the district managers were expected to drive a profitable expansion, supporting complex day-to-day operations at the stores. On the other hand, they were expected to serve as mentors-communicating and teaching the values of the firm to their store managers, sharing best practices, and instilling a long-term perspective of the business. The case presents different mechanisms that the company could implement to motivate the district managers to effectively support the stores and foster growth. This product can be used with the free Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT), available at: hbsp.harvard.edu/jdot

Summarizes the debate on accounting for computer software development costs. Provides a historical description of the development of standards on accounting of computer software development costs, both in the United States and internationally. Describes how, after much debate, standard setters gave companies the option to capitalize development costs that meet definitive standards, such as proof of technological feasibility. An exhibit reveals that, despite the requirement in the financial accounting standard to capitalize post-technological development costs, few large software companies in the United States capitalize any of their software development costs.