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This note explains the building blocks of common financial performance metrics and show how operations affect those metrics. Return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) are two key measures of the financial performance of a firm. ROA captures the operational aspects of the firm while ROE captures the financing decisions of the firm.

Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART), a set of software and analytical tools designed for the purpose of wildlife conservation, had demonstrated significant improvements in patrol coverage, with some observed reductions in poaching and contributing to wildlife population growth. Jonathan Palmer, Executive Director of Conservation Technology for the Wildlife Conservation Society, wondered how far to promote the integration of a new predictive analytic tool being developed at Harvard University, called the Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security (PAWS), and whether the data that PAWS gathered from the parks and wildlife reserves would be reliable enough for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to work effectively.

In early 2020, the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world led the most highly affected countries, such as the United States and India, to focus on rapid testing and contact tracing to break the chain of transmission. By August 25, 2020, India had tested nearly 37 million cumulative COVID-19 samples as part of the government’s “Test, Track, Treat” initiative. The efficient allocation of collected swabs with saliva samples to appropriate testing labs had become an urgent operational requirement. The senior consultant of GD Labs was appointed officer on special duty by the State Government of Chhattisgarh to devise a plan for the optimal allocation of swabs to government and private labs across the state. He decided to roll out a pilot study for two districts that had six labs—both government and private. The task required access to extensive data on the collection of swabs with saliva samples, previous backlogs, locations of labs, and the maximum capacity per lab. The goal of the project was to maximize the allocation of swabs for testing within budget constraints.

Student Spreadsheet to accompany product W28361.

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product W28362.

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product W28362.

In early 2020, the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world led the most highly affected countries, such as the United States and India, to focus on rapid testing and contact tracing to break the chain of transmission. By August 25, 2020, India had tested nearly 37 million cumulative COVID-19 samples as part of the government's "Test, Track, Treat" initiative. The efficient allocation of collected swabs with saliva samples to appropriate testing labs had become an urgent operational requirement. The senior consultant of GD Labs was appointed officer on special duty by the State Government of Chhattisgarh to devise a plan for the optimal allocation of swabs to government and private labs across the state. He decided to roll out a pilot study for two districts that had six labs-both government and private. The task required access to extensive data on the collection of swabs with saliva samples, previous backlogs, locations of labs, and the maximum capacity per lab. The goal of the project was to maximize the allocation of swabs for testing within budget constraints.

Spreadsheet supplement for case W28361.

Mentors seldom use their roles to engage in identity work that celebrates the unique characteristics of their mentees. But research shows that mentors have a critical opportunity to redefine the often-gendered rhetoric of success that rewards ideal working at the cost of well-being. Drawing from a recent study, the authors offer tips for mentors and mentees on challenging toxic behaviors and unreasonable expectations and instead prioritizing health, well-being, and equity.

The authors present a framework for assessing a company's social and environmental performance based on four levers businesses can use to create impact: (1) the products and services the company develops or sells, (2) the customer segments it targets, (3) changes in operations, and (4) how profits are used. They explain the levers in detail, highlight links to the legacy concepts of ESG and impact investing, and identify tools for assessing a company's performance in each area.

Data preparation is a necessary pre-processing step in analytics. It aims to clean the data from various resources and improve its quality for better productivity. This process includes many tasks such as fusion, cleaning, and augmentation of data. This teaching note will focus on illustrating data cleaning using the programming language Python, with all codes completed in Google Laboratory. Different solutions using the programming languages R and Microsoft Excel are also provided. To effectively illustrate the data preparation process, the relatively simple dataset Bengaluru House Prices is used. This is a relatively messy dataset with a few variables and many records, making it ideal for explaining data preparation steps.

In January 2022, Shiftsmart cofounder and CEO Aakash Kumar wanted to capitalize on the company's momentum. Shiftsmart connected workers on a shift-by-shift basis to some of the world's largest corporations and government agencies. Fractionalizing traditional jobs into shifts was profoundly disrupting the idea of labor. At the time, the company operated in three verticals-Retail Insights, Flexible Contact Centers, and Convenience Retail. Kumar was considering whether to move up-market to professional services (such as tax preparation); attack the large, growing, and critical labor vertical (health care); or invest in fast-growing but highly competitive grocery delivery. The case provides students with the opportunity to examine platforms, analyze network effects, and evaluate the three expansion options Kumar was considering. It describes Shiftsmart's business model and its proprietary platform, which was the operational lifeblood of the company. This case is taught in Digital Operations, a second-year MBA elective course at the Darden School of Business. It could also be used in courses focused on digital operations or strategy and in those that consider how labor is changing.

Rain Industries Limited (Rain), through its wholly owned subsidiary Rain Carbon Inc., produced upcycled carbon products from the by-products of steel and petroleum and other industries. The demand- and supply-driven shifts and various sustainability initiatives by industries both downstream and upstream in Rain’s existing supply chain could prove to be disruptive, requiring strategizing and future-proofing. When the Government of India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry banned the import of green petroleum coke, also called petcoke, in 2018, Rain’s chief financial officer had to decide whether it was the right time to identify and implement different supply chain risk mitigation measures.

By 2021 Zalando had become Europe's largest pure player in online fashion. But the road to success had not always been smooth. Back in 2014, six years after it was founded, the Germany-based company was at a crossroads. With an impending initial public offering (IPO) and investors looking for results, the company was nowhere near being profitable. Zalando realized that to achieve profitability and market leadership, it would have to leverage advanced technology and develop a data-driven supply chain. So, with the innovative spirit of a start-up, it embraced the challenge of building internal digital tools and competencies to drive supply chain efficiencies. The online fashion supply chain had to wrestle with the same challenges of tight margins and high customer expectations familiar to all online retailers. However, the fashion industry faced other unique challenges - high SKU counts, high seasonality, relentless product turnover and frighteningly elevated return rates. By developing proprietary systems and machine learning tools, Zalando developed a responsive, flexible distribution network, trustworthy order promises and a sophisticated, holistic approach to returns management. Through a data-driven journey born out of a crisis, Zalando discovered that these capabilities not only delivered supply chain excellence and pioneering new innovative techniques but also helped to fulfill the company's vision of providing endless choice, seamless convenience and a tailored digital experience to millions of customers across Europe.

In October 2021, Todd Tucker, senior vice-president of Market Development and general counsel for Arrive Mobility Inc. (Arrive), a Chicago-based provider of last-mile mobility solutions, met with Beth Diaz, innovation director for Sapphire Parking (Sapphire). Sapphire, a parking company based in Seattle, Washington, was struggling to remain in business due to the changing needs of modern society and a shift to a work-from-home culture. While Tucker believed he could generate better business opportunities for garage owners like Sapphire through technology, after his meeting with Diaz, he realized that gaining buy-in from Sapphire’s operational leaders would be an uphill battle. Technology could be confusing, and technological inertia existed. Tucker’s challenge was to convince Diaz’s field team to try new methods for monetizing Sapphire’s parking spaces while bringing the business into a more modern mindset.

Heineken, one the world's largest breweries, had led a long and successful effort to improve the efficiency of its brewery network. For the company COO, this was a source of pride, and also a challenge and an opportunity. Long curious about the potential for digitalizing the supply chain, perhaps this was the natural entry point for the company's supply chain to create a digital transformation program. Heineken could continue its productivity efforts by leveraging digital technologies. Starting by bringing in digital natives from the outside and identifying key internal stakeholders ready to innovate, Heineken began a process of initial pilots where those that were willing could experiment, fail fast, build on successes, and build a digital culture. Through some breakthroughs use cases and financial return prioritization, the company overcame internal resistance, found their way to a model that didn't demand standardization, allowed local innovation and ownership and built a digital community that acted like a tech start-up as much as a brewing company.

In October 2021, Todd Tucker, senior vice-president of Market Development and general counsel for Arrive Mobility Inc. (Arrive), a Chicago-based provider of last-mile mobility solutions, met with Beth Diaz, innovation director for Sapphire Parking (Sapphire). Sapphire, a parking company based in Seattle, Washington, was struggling to remain in business due to the changing needs of modern society and a shift to a work-from-home culture. While Tucker believed he could generate better business opportunities for garage owners like Sapphire through technology, after his meeting with Diaz, he realized that gaining buy-in from Sapphire's operational leaders would be an uphill battle. Technology could be confusing, and technological inertia existed. Tucker's challenge was to convince Diaz's field team to try new methods for monetizing Sapphire's parking spaces while bringing the business into a more modern mindset.

This case opens in June 2022, after Esas Group, one of Turkey's largest family-owned investment firms, implements a series of changes to professionalize the business and help transition family members from operators to responsible investors. In December 2019, the Group reorganized its structure. Measures were also taken to strengthen governance; for example, independent board members were brought in, and investment committees were formed. In January 2020, the founder, Şevket Sabancı, handed the chairmanship over to his son, Ali Sabancı. Şevket's daughter, Emine Sabancı Kamışlı, was still vice-chair of the Group, but she had stepped away from overseeing the company's day-to-day activities. By early 2022, Esas Group had a strong-performing product portfolio and it had started thinking about raising third-party capital. In June 2022, third-generation family member Fethi Kamışlı, who was heading Esas Ventures, received approval from the Esas Group's board of directors to move the venture capital business. Meanwhile, his cousin Kazım Köseoğlu, was pondering the future of the real estate business. He became managing partner and chairman of Esas Properties in late 2019 when the company hired a CEO to run the Turkish division of the real estate business. Can Köseoğlu and Kerem Kamışlı, two other members of the third generation, had become Esas Group board members, and both were living in London, each making their own private investments. As the younger generation was coming into wealth and managing their own choices, would the shareholders stay united and use Esas Group with the same level of commitment? What would the future of the holding company look like?

In August 2017, Concentrix Corporation (CNX) partnered with Photon Life Insurance Company (PLI), a leading insurance provider in India, to support PLI's customer management service. On February 1, 2018, Mohit Khanna, global operations manager at CNX, undertook a promising task to improve PLI'S customer persistency at minimal operational cost. If all policyholders with an approaching due date were to be called, then the number of service agents required would be very high, leading to significant operational cost increases. Khanna's challenge was to design a contact prioritization strategy that could be implemented at minimal cost and improve persistency.

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case W25821