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This case traces the rise of Mohandas Gandhi from his early days in British-controlled India to the inspirational martyr who, through personal deprivation and leadership, inspired millions and became the catalyst for India to break away from Britain. The case describes how he trained to be a lawyer in Britain and then later dedicated his life to the service of others less fortunate. Students will learn how Mahatma Gandhi became famous as he navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.

Since her appointment as General Manager of The National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, Claudia Franco focused on its commercial management. She managed to increase the revenue of the Orchestra through an ambitious commercial agenda that involved concerts with famous artists, chamber concerts, recordings and movie soundtracks. Claudia counted on the musician's commitment and disposition to accomplish all the activities aimed at positioning the Orchestra in Colombia and abroad, while acknowledging they did not have an exclusivity contract. In fact, many of them were hired on a temporary basis and the majority had side jobs to complement their earnings. Given the budget cuts announced by the government at the time, Mariana -the Minister of Culture- requested the implementation of a performance management system for the Orchestra. She considered performance information crucial to make decisions regarding musicians' hiring and salary. Cost containment and organizational efficiency were her main priorities. Musicians, on the other hand, were reluctant to commit to key performance indicators, as they believed that difficult auditions, rehearsals, and live concerts were enough evidence of their artistic performance and commitment to the National Symphony Orchestra. Claudia was in the middle of a struggle: she knew that 80% of the Orchestra's budget came from the Ministry, and not complying with the Ministry's demands could imply a significant reduction of the budget allocation. On the other hand, she needed musicians on board to execute her agenda. What alternatives did she have, and how did she deal with the stakeholders' conflicting demands?

Richard Evans, the newly appointed General Manager of the Siam Chemicals Company (SCC) returns to his Bangkok office after a two-week absence to find his in-box full of emails from his Thai team. Under time pressure he must first prioritise and then decide how best to respond to them. However, SCC is his first posting outside Europe and he has begun to realise that in this very different cultural environment, his previous managerial experience and assumptions are not applicable. If he is to gain the respect of his local managers and motivate them to increase SCC's productivity in a highly competitive regional market, then he must decipher what lies behind the requestions and problems in their messages and respond appropriately. Evans has one hour before he must leave to catch a flight to Basel to attend a Board meeting at SCC's parent HQ. There he is expected to report on his progress and future plans for improving the subsidiary's performance.

India headquartered Mahindra Group is a multibillion-dollar federation of companies operating across the globe. It is ahead of its time in articulating its purpose and mapping its values, something it had first done at inception and then refreshed yet again as 'Rise' in 2011. Over the past decade, it has cascaded the essence of 'Rise' as a purpose through the organization. The idea was to "challenge conventional thinking and innovatively use all their resources to drive positive change in the lives of stakeholders and communities across the world to enable them to Rise." As its senior leadership team contemplate Mahindra's future, they wonder how they should balance the 'Rise' philosophy with a focus on financial returns that is critical for the group, especially in the aftermath of the health and economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and a leadership transition at the group.

This case describes the corporate turnaround of the Ford Motor Company under the charismatic leadership of Alan Mulally. Ford was in deep trouble in the early 2000s as its prices and debt ratings plummeted and employee morale suffered. In 2006, the company anticipated a loss of $17 billion. Ford's declining product quality and lackluster designs led to declining sales. Moreover, the company struggled with a dysfunctional, ego-driven corporate culture. External factors like rising oil prices and raw materials costs also posed problems. To address these widespread challenges, Bill Ford, then CEO of Ford and great-grandson of Henry Ford, recruited Alan Mulally from Boeing, who had turned around that company in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Mulally developed and implemented an ambitious transformation of Ford; his plans included instituting accountability among senior executives using a data-driven approach that eventually trickled down to frontline employees and simplifying Ford's product line, portfolio of brands, and organizational structure. The sweeping restructuring and culture change allowed Ford to once again, become a profitable automaker.

In early 2019, just a year after opening a gallery in Sydney, Australia, the elders of the APY Art Centre Collective proposed opening a second gallery in Adelaide, a much smaller city. The first year in Sydney had been profitable, in part due to an aggressive digital presence. The Collective had some seed money, an offer of a small gallery space, and the draw of serving a large number of the APY community who were residents in Adelaide. But the Adelaide art market was tiny compared to Sydney’s, staff was stretched thin, and budgets were tight. The board’s vision was certainly compelling, but was it practical? Could a digital strategy help Adelaide’s success without cannibalizing the Collective’s success in Sydney? What would such a strategy look like?

In mid-2020, the organizer of the Qingdao International Beer Festival (QIBF) faced a predicament. The QIBF was an annual festival held every August in Qingdao, China; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizer had initially abandoned the idea of holding the QIBF in 2020. By the end of March 2020, the spread of the pandemic in China had been basically contained. The organizer then decided to restart the event preparations. However, on June 12, 2020, a second COVID-19 outbreak occurred in Beijing. Could the QIBF be held as expected in August 2020? What should be done to control the pandemic's spread and coordinate the planning and design work of the festival? Based on this predicament, could the organizer meet the festival's goals while safeguarding the health of all participants?

In May 2020, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the liquor delivery company LiqHub was happy with his company’s initial success. The company’s first steps in the Indian market had been propitious, and the founders were happy with the government’s validation of their business model. Now, they needed to determine how to replicate their success on a larger scale across India. The CEO needed to evaluate various growth options and make a decision about which operational strategy would most effectively grow the business during the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future. Should the company focus on diversification, product development, market penetration, or market development?

Spreadsheet supplement for cases 721440 and 721441.

Carsten Schmidt, CEO of Sky Deutschland, needs to prepare for the auction of German soccer rights. Much was at stake. Not only was soccer the most widely watched sport in Germany, the company had long advertised that only Sky showed "every game, every goal." In evaluating his company's bid, Schmidt had to consider not only the intrinsic value of the media rights but also how his bidding strategy would influence competition in the German media industry. Was it a good idea to keep OTT players out of the market? What was the right amount to bid?

Founded in 2000, Dalian Xinhe Leather Clothing Co. Ltd. (Dalian Xinhe) mainly produced men’s and women’s leather clothing; it had become the largest leather garment manufacturer in northeast China. At the beginning of 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dalian Xinhe began to produce medical protective clothing, which brought the company through the business challenges created by the pandemic and earned it wide recognition from the government and society. As the pandemic situation evolved, two opinions emerged within the company with regard to Dalian Xinhe’s further development. Chun He, the chairman of Dalian Xinhe, needed to determine whether the company should continue to expand production of medical protective clothing or whether it should concentrate on returning to original garment manufacturing and developing the company’s own brands.

As one of the world's largest healthcare companies, Philips sought to reach beyond the walls of the hospital and expand its hospital-to-home program to gain future competitive advantage through technology solutions combining predictive analytics with care delivery. By its estimation, 40% of hospital admissions could be avoided, and its variety of home-based resources could be delivered at 30% less cost than the same level of care in a hospital. This tremendous potential left the chief executives at Philips wondering how best to commercialize these solutions. Should they position themselves as a technology-commercializer relying on clinical partnerships to capture value through data insights; or should they own the patient care experience as a clinical enterprise or as a cost-reducer?

This two-part case describes the circumstances surrounding a 1989 plane crash in central England. Part A describes what happened in the cockpit as determined by the analysis of the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (black boxes). Part B presents the same events, with added detail, in the form of a comic book depicting the people involved (pilots, passengers, and cabin crew), the physical space they occupied, and their actions and reactions to the unfolding disaster.

This two-part case describes the circumstances surrounding a 1989 plane crash in central England. Part A describes what happened in the cockpit as determined by the analysis of the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (black boxes). Part B presents the same events, with added detail, in the form of a comic book depicting the people involved (pilots, passengers, and cabin crew), the physical space they occupied, and their actions and reactions to the unfolding disaster.

Zip Co Limited (Zip) was a market follower in the Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector. In September 2020, PayPal Holdings Inc. entered the growing sector, which was expected to disrupt the credit card industry, with better incentives for retailers and consumers. Although investors were concerned, Zip’s chief executive officer remained confident about the company’s future growth. How could he combat competition against large players like PayPal in the United States? What competitive strategies could he opt for—and could Zip disrupt the credit card industry?

This case traces the life of Ayn Rand from Russia to Hollywood to New York City. The case describes how Rand fled communist Russia and, in reaction to the deprivations she experienced under communism, developed a philosophy idealizing free will and personal achievement. The case describes how she published her philosophy in popular novels that have sold more than 30 million copies and made her one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. Students will learn how Ayn Rand navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.

In November 2018, a bicycle program specialist who worked in the Planning and Sustainability Division at the Washington, DC, District Department of Transportation, wanted to analyze Capital Bikeshare's bike rental demand for the past two years. Capital Bikeshare was a station-based bike-sharing operator that provided an expansive, multi-jurisdictional transportation system to Washington and the surrounding area. If the bicycle program specialist could determine some significant factors that affected users' ridership patterns, he could best design his expansion plan of adding 40 new bike-rental stations to the system. He obtained the hourly bike rental demand for October 2016-September 2018 to evaluate how sensitive the demand was to some external factors.

Student spreadsheet to case W21108

To implement a bold new strategy, Humana needed to decide how to prioritize the pillars; where to own and where to partner; how much risk is acceptable; and how to continue to deliver strong operational performance while implementing a new strategy. Had the firm made the right decisions?