UAE Exchange began operations in 1980 and, through the years, established itself as a global remittance, foreign exchange and payroll solutions brand. Investing extensively in its people by adopting innovative practices, UAE Exchange won appreciation from its customers and employees alike. In 2008, the global financial crisis adversely impacted the Middle East and forced many expatriates to return to their home countries. With fewer people remitting money, UAE Exchange lost considerable market share. Leaders at UAE Exchange sensed an urgent need for change and made several strategic moves to navigate this challenge. The new direction proved successful, and management was then faced with the challenge of sustaining the momentum. The case asks students to identify the various positive practices that an organization could implement for change. It covers the importance of developing employee strengths, generating positive relationships and emotions, enhancing employee engagement, and supporting customer focus. After reading this case, students will gain a conceptual framework of organizational excellence in a competitive industry. Students will be able to identify the practices of positive organizational behavior, employee engagement, and positive change that can be applied at any corporation. In addition, students will build opinions on the key factors in developing and maintaining positive relationships in an organization with employees and customers from different nationalities.

Moo Cluck Moo owners Harry Moorhouse and Brian Parker never really thought about a living wage when they opened their fast food restaurant. It was never a question - they just thought it was the right thing to do. Providing a living wage would mean happier employees, which would lead to better retention and better service. Now that they are considering franchising the business they are wondering if employee wages will be a contract provision. If so, all of their best intentions may be for naught.

Southwest Airlines has defied gravity as a leading domestic airliner with consistent profitability, extreme customer loyalty, and a happy labor force. Organizational excellence and a positive corporate culture has propelled Southwest to its leadership position in the US aviation industry. But what is the secret that keeps this airliner flying miles above its competitors? While success can be attributed to several competing factors, students will hone in on leadership, employees, and community impact to assess Southwest's organizational excellence.

Zingerman's co-founders Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw have a non-traditional approach to growth, allowing employees that receive extensive training through the organization to fulfill their wildest aspirations. Charting a partnership path to ownership, the pair allows employees to forge the businesses of their dreams while benefiting the greater Zingerman's Community of Businesses. The strategy has resulted in the creation of eight successful businesses, with several more in the pipeline and annual sales of approximately $50 million. Students assess this non-conventional approach and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such a strategy.

Inc. Magazine's "coolest small company in America," Zingerman's Community of Businesses (ZCoB), is an exemplar positive organization known for its culture and award-winning food. This case covers the ZCoB's decision in 2013 to migrate toward broad-based employee ownership and the iterative, inclusive process by which Zingerman's Partners Group researched and crafted a new ownership design for the ZCoB. Should they use an ESOP, equity compensation, become a cooperative, or create their own model? As students learn about Zingerman's culture (e.g., its progressive views on sustainability, commitment to open book finance, decision-making by consensus) and evaluate which model might be the best match, they grapple with questions that are top-of-mind for the partners: Who will own the ZCoB, and how will it be run when the founders (who own 30-67% of each Zingerman's business) are no longer living? How can it foster a positive, thriving workforce that is the driving force behind a sustainable busi

Over the years, Zingerman's Community of Businesses (ZCoB) has regularly won accolades and awards - including being named "the coolest small company in America" by Inc. in 2003 - for its food, service, mail order catalog, training, and overall success. This case shows how Zingerman's went from a single delicatessen in 1982 to nine unique but complementary companies with combined revenues of $45 million in 2012. It details the novel methods ZCoB employs to create "a great place to eat and work" and touches on the challenges it faces moving forward. This case can be used in conjunction with Zingerman's: New Business Development and Zingerman's: Broad-Based Ownership, Governance, & Sustainability.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. People in organizations commonly talk about the energy associated with a project, team, or individual. But is energy related to performance or learning in organizations? And how is it created and transferred in groups? To answer those questions, the authors assessed energy within seven large groups in different organizations. They collected data that allowed them to map social networks and, more specifically, determine who the "energizers" and "de-energizers" were in those groups. Their analyses, supplemented by interviews with network members, also reveal why energy is important for performance and learning and how it is created (or destroyed) in organizations. And they gave rise to a set of questions that can help managers and the people they oversee increase the energy they generate in their interactions with colleagues. By mapping relationships, managers can see where energy is being created and where it is being depleted. They can then take action, encouraging simple changes in behavior to increase energy in places where its absence hinders the progress of important organizational initiatives.