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St. Gianna Healthcare (SGH) was a community health centre located in Kochi, in the southern state of Kerala, India, offering government-approved medical checkups and health certifications, specialist consulting services in obstetrics and gynecology, and dental care. SGH’s medical administrator was concerned about service management issues at the clinic in recent months. While there had been a recent increase in patient numbers, she was concerned about customer experience. In particular, she was trying to assess whether patient waiting times and service turnaround were satisfactory, given the dependencies SGH had on capacity, scheduling, and overall service management at the clinic, and was considering her options for improvements.

Over a 105-year span, the Ermírio de Moraes family built Votorantim, one of Latin America's largest industrial conglomerates, and among Brazil's topmost businesses, also credited for helping "build" the country over decades. By early 2023, Votorantim included diversified operations in 19 countries worldwide, with a net income above $1 billion. The conglomerate was privately owned by the Ermírio de Moraes family, with its ownership evenly split across four family branches. Over time, the family established a corporate governance structure with separate boards for ownership, business, and family affairs, leaving business operations to a professional management team. At the heart of this governance structure was the family board, viewed by many family members as the "glue and honey" bringing them together. Despite running multiple initiatives, Luciana Domit chair of the family board and a fifth-generation member, acknowledged, it was becoming increasingly hard to get its over 170 family members to spend time together and to engage in the activities they promoted. As the family enlarged and interests diverged, fostering its long-term unity could become more challenging. Were the family board's current strategies and overall governance structure at Votorantim conducive towards keeping the family united in its values and preserving its legacy? Or would a transformation be needed if the Ermírio de Moraeses were committed to remaining at the forefront of the Votorantim's governance structure?

As 2023 neared its end, Richard Adkerson, CEO and Chairman of Freeport McMoRan, marked two decades of leadership. Dubbed "the elder statesman of the copper industry" by The Economist, Adkerson had witnessed various industry shifts. He anticipated a surge in copper demand, driven by the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. However, meeting this demand posed challenges, as copper mines take nearly a generation to become operational. With demand outstripping supply, the industry might seek copper alternatives. Recognizing these challenges, Adkerson prioritized operational efficiency and yield across Freeport's global copper operations. Embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Freeport invested heavily in technologies like artificial intelligence and data analytics to maximize copper extraction from existing mines. This strategy, initiated in Baghdad, Arizona, expanded across the U.S. under the America Concentrator program, aiming for efficiency in all American copper mines. However, competitors like BHP, Grupo Mexico, Codelco, and Rio Tinto were also adopting similar technologies. The ubiquity of these technologies raised questions about their potential as a sustainable competitive advantage for Freeport. The company faced the challenge of leveraging its human capital to maintain its edge, especially as its stock performance lagged behind rivals like Southern Copper. The future posed questions about Freeport's continued dominance in the copper industry.

In the wake of Covid-19's disruptions, Kshore, a Chinese appliance maker, is thinking of realigning its supply chain. Like many other global manufacturers, it's being pressured by its customers, which include Walmart and other large retailers, to reduce the time, expense, and environmental impact of shipping goods between countries. On a trip to Monterrey, Mexico, Kshore's CEO and COO tour factories that are closer to North American markets-and are impressed by their professionalism. But questions about transportation and staffing give the executives pause. Should Kshore start production in Mexico or consider other countries? Two experts weigh in.

In the wake of Covid-19's disruptions, Kshore, a Chinese appliance maker, is thinking of realigning its supply chain. Like many other global manufacturers, it's being pressured by its customers, which include Walmart and other large retailers, to reduce the time, expense, and environmental impact of shipping goods between countries. On a trip to Monterrey, Mexico, Kshore's CEO and COO tour factories that are closer to North American markets-and are impressed by their professionalism. But questions about transportation and staffing give the executives pause. Should Kshore start production in Mexico or consider other countries? Two experts weigh in.

In the wake of Covid-19's disruptions, Kshore, a Chinese appliance maker, is thinking of realigning its supply chain. Like many other global manufacturers, it's being pressured by its customers, which include Walmart and other large retailers, to reduce the time, expense, and environmental impact of shipping goods between countries. On a trip to Monterrey, Mexico, Kshore's CEO and COO tour factories that are closer to North American markets-and are impressed by their professionalism. But questions about transportation and staffing give the executives pause. Should Kshore start production in Mexico or consider other countries? Two experts weigh in.

Supply chain bottlenecks, labor and transportation costs, tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and industrial policies are driving a resurgence in U.S.-based manufacturing. The authors discuss six key factors that business leaders should consider as they decide whether to reshore their manufacturing operations to the United States.

Founded in 2015, ReUp Education helps "stopped out students"-learners who have stopped making progress towards graduation-achieve their college completion goals. The company relies on a team of success coaches to engage with learners and help them reenroll. In 2019, ReUp developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to help coaches better tailor the support they provide. A disappointing 2021 experiment showing limited utility of the algorithm, however, causes ReUp's senior leaders to question the value of AI for such a personalized, nuanced task like success coaching.

This case describes Ningbo Motor, a rapidly developing company specializing in the auto parts industry. It had evolved from being an original equipment manufacturer to becoming a branded manufacturer. The company had also shifted its business model from traditional foreign trade to a cross-border business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce approach. Unfortunately, the challenging circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict had significantly impacted Ningbo Motor's supply chain. Since 2018, the company had heavily relied on third-party platforms such as Amazon, primarily targeting the U.S. market. This dependency posed the risk of market over-reliance. Consequently, Ningbo Motor experienced a decline in its online and offline sales figures in the U.S. market from April 2022. To mitigate risks, Ningbo Motor needed to make strategic changes to enhance supply chain resilience and ensure supply chain stability. Accordingly, the questions posed are as follows: Should the company consider entering emerging markets such as Vietnam to gradually reduce its dependence on the U.S. market? Or should it create an independent site to sell products through new channels?

The conventional wisdom in e-commerce is that the purchase process should be seamless and fast, lest consumers stop to reconsider their decisions and abandon their carts. But friction that gives them time to think through buying decisions can result in more satisfied, more engaged customers, the authors argue. Different kinds of online sales might benefit from more or less friction; an assessment that accompanies the article can help managers determine what is appropriate in their own situation.

This case describes the challenges faced by the cosmetics division of a large corporation when determining the set of products to develop in 2004. The key players involved are the centralized R&D center and the decentralized brands. The case provides data to estimate the utilization rate of the R and D center. It also describes how the R and D center is organized to develop various types of product lines.

Aglaia Kong, the founder and chief executive officer of Guangdong LeapFive Technology Co. Ltd., a Chinese fabless chip design start-up, is facing a broken supply chain, with issues running from electronic design automation and core internet protocol through to fabrication, packaging, and testing in bringing up her Internet of things chip sets for industrial applications. Using fifth-generation open-source reduced instruction set computing instruction set architecture, she must assess a supply chain buffeted by severe bullwhip shortages and political headwinds, analyze her company’s strategy, and plot a course to assure it will be among the 2 per cent of Chinese chip start-ups that do not fail.

In 2023, CEO Randy Wu was considering the optimal growth strategy for Fantuan, a restaurant food delivery platform that had expanded from its 2014 founding in Vancouver, Canada to serve the Chinese demand for Asian cuisine in urban markets across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Unlike mainstream platforms such as DoorDash and Uber Eats, Fantuan had been profitable for its first four years until deciding to invest heavily in international expansion in 2020. Wu and his team now were evaluating how best to scale Fantuan further in order to capture additional value: by extending its existing services to new geographies, deepening its offerings for existing customers, or broadening its customer base beyond the Chinese diaspora.

KOODESIGN was founded in Hong Kong by Larry Koo and Natalie Chan in 2017. From its base in Hong Kong, KOODESIGN has managed global design projects for clients around the world, such as Philips, Whirlpool, and Softbank. All of those product designs then needed to be manufactured and brought to market. Accordingly, KOODESIGN also developed its Go-to-Market strategy to facilitate the process of moving a product from a design concept to a finished product ready to be launched in the market. KOODESIGN's latest project was the design of an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) for a major, new client, Eaton, a global conglomerate with US$20 billion in annual sales. The product called the ATS MATSN was to be manufactured in China and was intended for the mainland China market. As the product design lead for KOODESIGN, Larry interacted extensively with Studio Blue, Eaton's human-centric design team, and studied the Eaton Designer's Guide to Visual Brand Language (VBL) that Studio Blue had shared with KOODESIGN. Natalie, on the other hand, had been in close communication with the ATS MATSN project team in China, which included product development, as well as sales and marketing. They also provided input on product design. Over the course of the interactions that Larry and Natalie had with the respective parties, it became apparent that the priorities of the design team in the USA and the product development and manufacturing teams in China were not necessarily aligned. While KOODESIGN had an established Go-to-Market strategy, implementing that strategy varied across projects depending on the stakeholders involved in each project and their respective priorities. It was necessary, therefore, for Larry and Natalie to further vet the priorities of the parties involved with the ATS MATSN project and ensure that key elements of Eaton's VBL were not compromised while also ensuring that the product could be manufactured and assembled in a cost-effective manner so as to be competitive in

Impostor syndrome can make employees question their intelligence, competence, and sense of belonging. But workers who don't speak up in meetings or apply for promotions might actually be feeling the effects of impostorization workplace policies, practices, and interactions that make individuals question their intelligence, competence, and sense of belonging. The author shares examples of the phenomenon, along with tips to help managers avoid triggering impostor syndrome among employees.

Marine transport is the most cost-effective way to move large volumes over long distances, and container shipping is the backbone of international trade in goods. Yet shipping contributed 3% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, and the deep-sea segment, which included long distance trade lanes such as Asia to Northern Europe and Asia to North America, warranted special focus because they accounted for 80% of maritime transport's total emissions in 2019. New International Maritime Organization regulations that came into force in January 2023 mandated the annual calculation and grading of each ship of more than 5,000 deadweight tons. Vessels that received a grade of A, B, or C were compliant, while those graded D or E had time limits for getting back into compliance or removal from service. More significantly, the standards for grading required annual improvements in efficiency. This meant that a brand-new vessel built with the latest technology that was initially graded A could over time become graded E and no longer be legally operable if no upgrades were made. This is the supplementary spreadsheet for the case, 623006.

This background note describes the Amager Bakke waste-to-energy (WtE) plant in Copenhagen, which merges traditional waste incineration with a combined heat and power (CHP) plant and air pollution control (scrubbing) technology, and had plans to add carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology to become the cleanest incineration plant in the world. The note also provides an overview of integrated waste management, waste incineration, district heating, Amager Bakke's process, and the future of waste management in Denmark.

The Nuqul Group was established in 1952 by Elia Nuqul, a Palestinian refugee who fled his hometown in 1948 with his family to Jordan. He overcame many hardships in his initial years there, but subsequently started a trading business that grew to become one of Jordan's largest family businesses. Its flagship company, Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH), was a leader in hygienic paper products across the Middle East and North Africa. In March 2023, Ghassan Nuqul, a second-generation family member and chairman of FHH, was at a crossroads. Following his father's death in 2022, Ghassan and his three siblings decided to split the Group's assets among themselves so that each branch of the family could forge its own path. They were in discussions to finalize the details of the agreement. What would this mean for the future of the family? Would it make the family stronger, or would it weaken family ties?

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case UV5969

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding was a world-renowned giant panda research institution and tourism destination and had successfully attracted millions of tourists since its opening. The surge in tourists, however, had also increased pressure to provide a tourist-friendly experience, and long wait times generated more complaints than any other issue. Tourists experienced long queues at the ticket offices and at the entrances of the panda house and delivery room, which greatly impacted their experience. Moreover, long queues also created other issues, such as managing crowding and the negative impacts on the giant pandas' emotional and psychological health as a result of the noise generated by tourists waiting in lines.