The Iora Health case looks at a new approach to the management and delivery of primary care. Instead of having a doctor, half a nurse and two accountants, Iora deploys a doctor, a nurse and several health coaches, all operating as an integrated team. Iora focuses on measuring and improving health. They are paid to manage a population rather than on a fee for service basis. They spend twice as much on primary care and hope to save over 20% on total care by improving health and obviating the need for acute interventions. The action question in the cases revolves around a proposed financing for the company at a time when several locations are up and running but the model has not been fully validated.
Natalia Georgio is the executive director of a growing dance troupe. She has a mandate from her board to expand the company by going international and pursuing TV and film opportunities. To realize these plans for growth, she recently hired a new marketing director, who wants to launch a customer research initiative. The company's founder, however, believes that innovation comes from employees, not customers. Natalia needs to decide whether to bring her new marketing director's customer research plan to the board or follow the founder's lead and cultivate creativity from within. Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan present this fictionalized case study with expert commentary provided by Mario D'Amico and Jens Martin Skibsted.
Natalia Georgio is the executive director of a growing dance troupe. She has a mandate from her board to expand the company by going international and pursuing TV and film opportunities. To realize these plans for growth, she recently hired a new marketing director, who wants to launch a customer research initiative. The company's founder, however, believes that innovation comes from employees, not customers. Natalia needs to decide whether to bring her new marketing director's customer research plan to the board or follow the founder's lead and cultivate creativity from within. Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan present this fictionalized case study.
Natalia Georgio is the executive director of a growing dance troupe. She has a mandate from her board to expand the company by going international and pursuing TV and film opportunities. To realize these plans for growth, she recently hired a new marketing director, who wants to launch a customer research initiative. The company's founder, however, believes that innovation comes from employees, not customers. Natalia needs to decide whether to bring her new marketing director's customer research plan to the board or follow the founder's lead and cultivate creativity from within. Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan present this fictionalized case study with expert commentary provided by Mario D'Amico and Jens Martin Skibsted.
In the much-heralded war for talent, it's hardly surprising that companies have invested a lot of time, money, and energy in hiring and retaining star performers. For most CEOs, recruiting stars is simply more fun; for one thing, the young A players they interview often remind them of themselves at the same age. For another, A players' brilliance and drive is infectious; you simply want to be in their company. Besides, in these troubled times, when businesses are so vulnerable, people who seem to have what it takes to turn around a company's performance are almost irresistible. But our understandable fascination with star performers can lure us into the dangerous trap of underestimating the vital importance of the supporting actors. It's true that A players can make enormous contributions to performance. Yet, as the authors have found, companies' long-term performance--even survival--depends far more on the unsung commitment and contributions of their B players. These capable, steady performers are the best supporting actors of the corporate world. They counterbalance the ambitions of the company's high-performing visionaries. Unfortunately, organizations rarely learn to value their B players in ways that are gratifying for either the company or these employees. This article will help you to rethink the role of your organization's B players.
Todd McKenna, a third-year associate at an investment banking firm, confronts his boss. His boss had told him he would be the top paid associate at the firm, and McKenna finds out that this isn't true. He approaches his boss to find out why he was lied to.
R.K. Krishna Kumar, managing director and head of Taj Hotel Group, has to decide whether to reexamine a promotion decision. In an attempt to deliver a level of service quality that met global standards at the Indian hotel chain, Kumar had introduced new personnel management systems at the company. As a result, a committee was now responsible for deciding which managers should be promoted to senior positions at the company. Taj's COO, one of the more respected executives at the company, requested that a committee decision be overturned. Kumar must respect the committee's choice or indulge his popular manager's request to reexamine it.
Marilyn Winn, head of human resources at Harrah's Entertainment, must make a recommendation to the company's president and CEO about whether the existing bonus payout program is effective at motivating employees or whether it should be revised and/or replaced. A recent downturn in economic conditions led Winn to wonder whether customer service payouts were the most efficient way to make Harrah's a service-driven and customer-driven company.
Retaining talent is an issue for any company whose success relies on the creativity and excellence of its employees. This is especially true for Cirque du Soleil, the spectacularly successful "circus without animals," whose 2,100 employees include 500 artists--mimes, clowns, acrobats, gymnasts, musicians, and production professionals. Managing a company full of creative people is a juggling act in itself, between keeping its artists happy and pursuing a successful strategy for attracting more business and talent.
The Bradley Marquez advertising agency had created a successful niche delivering ethnic markets to their clients, corporate giants like Compaq, Sprint, Texaco, and British Airways. The company was operating in aggressive growth mode when, in 2000, the stock market bubble of the 1990s burst. Now, Andrew Lauder, chief operating officer, faces the possibility of a second round of layoffs and downsizing, "no longer cutting fat but cutting muscle," as Lauder puts it. Being a public company means that warning of upcoming layoffs would violate securities laws.
James Aramanda, head of Mellon Investor Services, must decide how to change the focus of his business. He works with consultants to create a change strategy to enhance a business that is already doing well. Will he be able to interest his professionals in changing the nature of the way they meet customer expectations and demands while simultaneously motivating and including his professionals in the process?
Chip Rae, director of recruiting at SG Cowen, must decide which recruits to keep after the final interview process for new outside associate hires. Along with team captains assigned to each school, he reviews the criteria used to make hiring decisions. Their new strategy is to look beyond the top 10 core business schools for the best of class in the top 25, avoiding people in the middle of their class. After some initial resistance, senior managers eventually see the wisdom of the new strategy.