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Legacy, Transition, and Growth: The Case of BRIDGE Housing Corporation" concerns the issues that a leading regional nonprofit housing company faced after its charismatic founder, Don Terner, tragically and unexpectedly died. It covers the difficulties faced by the incoming president, who had to preserve the memory of her predecessor while charting new courses for the company. The unusual circumstances illuminate the universal problems of leadership succession in successful businesses. In particular, the case explores the challenges posed created by the growth of an aggressive and entrepreneurial housing development firm with a strong sense of social purpose. Furthermore, the case reveals that a policy of continued growth opened up several alternatives for expanding business, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

The case traces the evolution of ITC Limited (ITC) from its inception as a marketing subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT) in 1910 to one of India's most valued diversified corporations. Remarkably, despite being a dominant market leader in the socially undesirable tobacco business, ITC is regarded as a responsible corporate citizen. Even more significantly, ITC which regards itself as an "Indian" company in which BAT, its ''erstwhile parent'' is a large and important ''shareholder'', can be held out as an exemplar of the India Way - looking beyond stockholders' interests to public mission and national purpose - articulated by Professor Peter Cappelli and his colleagues at Wharton. The century long story is captured in five sections. While first section traces the early years of the company, the next four sections present ITC's evolution under its four Indian chairmen. The "Haksar Era" outlines the strong nationalist context in which BAT's stake in ITC was diluted, and the company's diversification into hotels and paperboards businesses. "The Sapru Era" describes the consolidation of market leadership in cigarettes and the company's foray into agri-business. "The Chugh Era" captures the tumultuous relationship between BAT and ITC, and the aborted takeover attempt by BAT. "The Deveshwar Era" traces his initiatives to strengthen the core businesses, diversify into new areas and embed a strong focus on social imperatives. The case concludes with questions on the company's goal to become the No. 1 FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) company in the country, and the succession challenges faced by Deveshwar.

The Indian Premier League (IPL), a professional league for Twenty20 (T20) cricket championships was started in 2008, in India. The IPL was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with eight franchises comprising players from around the world. Franchises acquired players through an English auction that was conducted every year; however, there were several rules imposed by the IPL. The prices of IPL players ranged from as low as $20,000 to more than $2 million for a tournament played over 7 weeks. Three of the nine IPL teams appeared in the list of the 50 highest paid sports teams in the world in a survey conducted by sportingintelligence.com in May 2012. The IPL teams had several restrictions on how much money they could spend on acquiring their players, and it was important that they spend their money wisely to put together a successful team, after gauging the true value of a player. The performance of the players could be measured through several metrics. Although the IPL followed the T20 format of the game, it was possible that the performance of the players in the other formats of the game, such as test and one-day matches, could influence player pricing. Anecdotal evidence suggests that factors such as batting strike rate, bowling strike rate, economy rate, and ability to take wickets; drive the price of players. The focus of this case is to understand the true value of a cricket player, which can be used during the player auctions.

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Partnerships between companies and non-profit causes are viewed as a key means to tackle many sustainable development challenges, and cause-related marketing (CRM) is a valuable if sometimes controversial way to align corporate and sustainability agendas. This case charts the launch and first year of the "ONE Water" brand, an ethical bottled water marketed in the United Kingdom. The money raised through sales of the product contributes to the funding of water development schemes in Africa via the Roundabout charity. The case follows the progress of the founder, Duncan Goose, and his efforts to launch an unknown brand from a new business (Global Ethics) into an already crowded and competitive market. It demonstrates that success can be derived from a combination of brave entrepreneurship, and innovative approaches to both developing relationships with others in the supply chain and to developing the marketing mix. Although the case is UK-based and reflects aspects of UK markets (such as the retailers involved or the Live8 event), the marketing of bottled water and the rise of ethical products is common across many industrialized economies and the issues raised by the case should be equally meaningful within many countries

This case introduces the application of blue ocean strategy in the context of managing a business portfolio at the corporate level. Apple created future profits and growth not by exploiting existing demand, but by reconstructing industry boundaries to create new market space and unlock latent demand. As a result, the company's value grew exponentially as the total market value of a firm reflects not only today's performance but also its future profitability. The case examines a series of blue ocean strategic moves at Apple, Inc. that transformed the company from a computer manufacturer into a consumer electronics powerhouse.

Snehalaya is a non-governmental organization giving care to HIV-positive individuals in Maharashtra, India. The case provides a background of the sex trade in India before discussing the founder’s upbringing and how it influenced him to serve society through working towards inclusion and rehabilitation for HIV-positive individuals and former prostitutes. The case then outlines various problems that the founder faced in securing resources and cooperation from commercial sex workers. It emphasizes his motivations in forming a dedicated team for Snehalaya, then explains various initiatives taken up by Snehalaya over the span of 21 years and how it expanded to create a bigger impact on society. It also discusses various challenges that Snehalaya faced involving quality, funding, and societal involvement, touching upon aspects of team-building and succession-planning. Finally, it summarizes evaluation parameters being used by Snehalaya to gauge its performance.

In November of 2011 Transatlantic Holdings, Inc., a global property and casualty reinsurance company, announced it had agreed to sell itself to Alleghany Corporation, ending "the most frenzied takeover battle" of 2011, which involved competitors, Warren Buffett's National Indemnity, and private equity investors. The agreement with Alleghany came after Transatlantic's failed effort at a merger of equals, and a several other unsuccessful bids for the company, one that was hostile.

This case explores the reputational and legal issues that arise as Barclays Capital attempted to manage client conflicts by following established industry practice in the face of changing legal norms. In February 2011, Judge Travis Laster granted a preliminary injunction that delayed for 20 days a shareholder vote on the sale of Del Monte Foods Co. (Del Monte) to a consortium of three private equity firms. In his opinion, Laster was critical of Del Monte's board, noting that the directors may not have properly exercised their fiduciary duties, and the private equity firms. However, he saved his most severe criticism for an organization that was not even a party to the suit: the company's financial advisor, Barclays Capital. He suggested that Barclays had placed its own interests ahead of the company's in its actions and advice.

This case details Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra's (RLEK) transformation from a small movement to a well-established organization of more than 150 people. The focus of the case is on identifying the main features of the hill community advocacy group's seemingly perfect setup and recommending solutions to help RLEK move to the next level. The case briefs the reader on RLEK's background as a non-governmental organization (NGO), the reason for its inception, and its current methodology and strategy. Sections on finance, operations, projects, awards, organizational structure, and culture provide insight into the functioning of the NGO. The case also discusses the various problems faced by RLEK in its day-to-day operations, including intense competition, employee attrition, non-streamlined operations, and challenges to its operating principle of the real bottom line (i.e., the development of marginalized and underprivileged societies). The protagonist in the case faces a host of unanswered questions.

Since 1966, the Rehabilitation Institute of Puebla Civil Association (IPODERAC) had dedicated itself to providing a home and education for children who had been abandoned in the streets of Mexico. Using an educational model based on the concept of personal development through honourable work, IPODERAC had successfully combined its desire to be financially self-sufficient with its goal of teaching educational values, responsibility, and discipline to the children in its care, thus enabling them to develop a sense of belonging and some useful life skills.<br><br>This case explores the inception and long evolution of IPODERAC’s educational model, as well as the organization’s constant search for production projects that would enable it to generate income. After meeting this goal, IPODERAC also faced the ongoing challenge of maintaining its business units without deviating from its institutional mission. By April 2009, IPODERAC had all but obtained self-sufficiency; however, given the national financial crisis and the emergence of the swine flu epidemic, IPODERAC’s main source of income (the sale of gourmet cheeses) had suddenly diminished. This crisis affected the stability of the institution, and new proposals for diversification were needed to strengthen IPODERAC’s financial sustainability and avoid similar pitfalls in the future.

This technical note analyzes and explores frameworks for improving interventions in organizations. Organizations are complex ecosystems of assumptions, artifacts, and interactions. By understanding how the current system is arranged and recognizing the broader impacts of any intervention, leaders can make more impactful and lasting changes to their organizations. Any framework is only as good as the assumptions that are baked into it. Often the data needed to answer the questions in this framework are not readily known; therefore, leaders must be open to using methodologies such as ethnography, interviewing, focus groups, and conversations to better solicit these data from key stakeholders.

The case describes issues related to supply chain quality and how they evolve in the context of a multi-tiered global supply chain. The case involves a global multi-tier automotive supply chain made up of one of the world's largest automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), its tier 1 supplier that is also a U.S.-based global corporation and the tier 2, tier 3 and tier 4 suppliers based in India. With Automek's engineering support, Agile had developed many parts successfully for the OEM in the past. Based on this experience with the company, Automek buyers placed an order with Agile for a new product (an actuator assembly). In developing this product with little support from Automek, Agile was concerned due to its lack of knowledge concerning the suppliers for the actuator assembly components and the critical requirements. To allay its concerns, Automek promised to support Agile by (a) locating the critical global suppliers for specialized components and (b) assessing and validating the critical suppliers based in India on behalf of Agile. Agile then invested in the assembly line and developed the actuator assembly. When supplies started, the OEM reported many quality problems that were traced to the tiered suppliers. Along with the quality and part supply issues, the issues of subsequent liability in the case of a recall by the OEM were faced by the members of the supply chain. Agile felt that since Automek had selected or approved the suppliers, and also as Agile had no knowledge of the product, that Automek should take the responsibility of resolving the quality problems arising from the supplier base. To complicate matters, some of the tiered supply chain members were not willing to invest time and effort in implementing improved manufacturing and process control practices as desired by Automek.

The case describes the evolution of a global multi-tiered supply chain involving one of the world’s largest automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), its tier 1 supplier — Automek, a U.S.-based global corporation — and the tier 2, tier 3, and tier 4 suppliers based in India. <br><br>With Automek’s engineering support, India-based Agile Electric had successfully developed many parts for the OEM in the past. Based on this experience, Automek buyers placed an order with Agile for a new product — an actuator assembly. In developing this product with little support from Automek, Agile was concerned due to its lack of knowledge concerning the suppliers for the actuator assembly components and the critical requirements. To allay its concerns, Automek promised to locate suppliers and assess and validate the suppliers based in India. Agile then invested in the assembly line and developed the actuator assembly. When supplies started, the OEM reported many quality problems, traceable to the tiered suppliers. <br><br>Along with quality and parts supply issues, the issues of subsequent liability in the case of a recall by the OEM were faced by members of the supply chain. Agile felt that since Automek had selected or approved the suppliers, and since Agile had had no original product expertise, that Automek should take responsibility for resolving the quality problems.

Since November 2011, the director and chief scientist for Acumen Research Laboratories (ARL) had been conferring with Spring Singapore — a government agency devoted to the city-state’s economic growth — on ways to improve the current procurement practices of the biomedical science (BMS) industry in Singapore. As a senior chief scientist and the founder of ARL, she saw and experienced tremendous purchasing inefficiency and quality problems in the existing procurement practice in sourcing supplies and equipment. She believed that a centralized procurement structure and process among all members of the BMS industry in Singapore would be more efficient and was in April 2012 finalizing a proposal to Spring Singapore for initial funding to set up such a purchasing consortium. This consortium would be a new line of business for ARL.

The case describes competition in the market for smartphones in the US, and the position of one player, Research in Motion (RIM) who manufacture the popular Blackberry line of products. Early in 2011, RIM is in trouble. Its stock price has plummeted, amidst poor business results, and its future as an independent company is in doubt. A new Chief Executive Officer, Thorsten Heins, must decide how to position the company for the future. The case allows students to understand the strategic dynamics in platform-based industries in general, and to explore more specifically how a firm that led the industry in 2007 could fall to earth so dramatically four years later. The case is based upon data and information from public sources.

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is a well-known Canadian retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment. While it stocks a range of branded products in its stores, a key source of profits is its private-label line. The challenge MEC faces is how to continue to develop and launch innovative private-labeled products while recognizing that they may be direct competitors of MEC’s assortment of global brands. MEC needs to develop its line-up without being seen as infringing on intellectual property or being too much of a “follower.” In assessing how MEC can develop its line-up, students can review MEC’s philosophy as a co-operative (in which it positions itself as being different from corporations) and its design philosophy.

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is a well-known Canadian retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment. While it stocks a range of branded products in its stores, a key source of profits is its private label line of products, which spans the entire range of products offered at MEC. The challenge MEC faces is how to continue to develop and launch innovative private labeled products while recognizing that these private labeled products may be direct competitors of MEC's assortment of global brands. MEC needs to be able to develop its line-up without being seen as infringing on intellectual property or being too much of a "follower." In assessing how MEC can develop its line-up, students can review MEC's philosophy as a co-operative (in which it positions itself as being different from corporations) and its design philosophy.

Bob Whelan developed an idea with partners that was a seed before his fellowship year and seemed to address a significant national challenge - college financing - with a creative concept and experience from his years in venture capital. His nonprofit was called 13th Avenue Funding and it provided equity as an alternative to debt for students to finance college. Since he first set out on his journey, he faced a lot of resistance and difficulty in scaling his non-profit aimed at enabling one million low income students to obtain a postsecondary education debt free. Whelan continued to persist and adapt to the changing environment.

The case tells the story of the transformation of the corporate learning function at Nike Inc. and the creation and branding of the Nike U. It provides an account of the transformation plan that was developed by the newly appointed CLO Andrew Kilshaw and tracks the implementation process with its challenges and successes. It also outlines the key components of a learning brand of a multinational corporation. Learning objectives: Identify the key priorities of a new CLO. Outline the key components of a corporate learning brand. Identify ways in which learning creates value for an organization.