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Immersive Training: Building the Police Force of the 21st Century (Part A)
This two-part case describes the efforts of the Longueuil agglomeration police department (SPAL) and Fady Dagher, its chief of police, to improve relationships between the officers and the communities they serve. In the wake of a policy implemented by the Quebec government to create a more community-based police force, the SPAL had adopted a community policing approach to this effect. The focus of this case is the fundamental transformation of police culture to highlight not just protection but also collaboration, with the police also playing a social role. -
City Developments Limited's Internationalization: Chinese Property Troubles Hit the Third Generation
The case describes the family tensions and corporate crisis at City Developments Limited (CDL), a large and well-reputed Singaporean property firm that was the flagship company of a larger family-controlled business group. The gradual transition to the third-generation leader was marked by an aggressive growth strategy in China, which unravelled when the Chinese property sector experienced headwinds and CDL's Chinese joint venture partner experienced liquidity problems. These events forced the family firm to write off US$1.32 billion in 2021, causing it to report its first loss in decades. Moreover, four board members resigned, with one citing "unresolved differences in opinion" as part of his rationale for his resignation. The combination of a corporate crisis and a family boardroom drama elicited questions as to what steps the company should take to recuperate from the adverse events and resume its internationalization strategy. -
A Risk Versus Reward Approach to Market Research
King's Hawaiian Bakery, West Inc. (King's Hawaiian), a beloved and highly regarded company, produced a line of bread products dating back to the 1950s and was inspired by a Portuguese sweet bread. The business had grown over time, adding more production facilities and expanding from Hawaii to the mainland United States in 1977. King's Hawaiian had done minimal consumer research related to its development of new products before it hired Troy Figgins as its new head of consumer insights. In October 2018, Figgins was tasked with creating a new consumer insights department; what this department looked like and how it functioned were entirely up to him. He was eager to design a best-in-class insights team to work with new strategies, tools, and partners. King's Hawaiian knew it had to conduct market research to uncover insights to keep pace with evolving customer needs-but how? Figgins considered his problem and possible solutions to deliver great insights. -
Silverton Winery
In May 2022, a consultant with global management consulting firm Kearney was working on a project for a private equity client, Opal Partners Inc. (Opal). The client was looking to acquire a high-end wine producer in Oregon and had engaged Kearney to complete an operational due diligence of its wine-making operations. The consultant and his team would be flying to Oregon to complete a series of site visits and ask questions directly to the wine-making team. These meetings would allow the consultant to confirm his assumptions and would provide him with an opportunity to investigate possible operational constraints and identify potential solutions. Kearney's due diligence report was expected to evaluate potential longer-term operational issues, specifically whether Silverton would have sufficient capacity to support Opal's expansion plans, which were expected to start in the 2023 harvest season. -
Dietz and Watson: Making an 80-Year-Old Brand Young Again
Dietz and Watson (D&W), a family run business that had been operating in Philadelphia for over eighty years, was a key player in the deli meat product market. D&W was concerned about losing market share overall; it was dependent on the aging baby boomer segment and possibly not top of mind for a younger, more progressive demographic. In early 2019, the company's vice-president of brand strategy had to consider various options for investing the brand's resources and offer a credible plan to the chief financial officer. What tactics could the company employ? What were the risks of various marketing strategies, and how could the company mitigate those risks? Could a digital strategy help D&W make inroads with the targeted demographic? If so, what would such a strategy look like? -
Kinsip: From Spirits to Sanitizer
In March 2020, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains. The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus affected the entire world, including the scenic Prince Edward County in Eastern Ontario. Three co-owners of the boutique distillery Kinsip House of Fine Spirits (Kinsip) were inspired to contribute to their community's efforts to limit further spread of the virus. As a distillery, Kinsip was aptly able to produce the principal ingredient of hand sanitizer-ethanol. The other two main ingredients-glycerol and hydrogen peroxide-were generally procured on the open market from North American suppliers. Obtaining the right packaging for the sanitizer as quickly as possible, including both the bottle and the cap, was one of the key challenges the three partners were facing. Another challenge was navigating Health Canada's approval process. In addition, the partners needed to determine Kinsip's capacity to supply hand sanitizer to the local region and the production schedule on which it could deliver the product. -
Dr. Joan Reede and the Embedding of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Harvard Medical School
For more than 30 years, Dr. Joan Reede worked to increase the diversity of voices and viewpoints heard at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and at its affiliate teaching hospitals and institutes. Reede, HMS's inaugural dean for Diversity and Community Partnership, as well as a professor and physician, conceived and launched more than 20 programs to improve the recruitment, retention, and promotion of individuals from racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in medicine (UiMs). These efforts have substantially diversified physician faculty at HMS and built pipelines for UiM talent into academic medicine and biosciences. Reede helped embed the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) not only into Harvard Medical School's mission and community values, but also into the DEI agenda in academic medicine nationally. To do so, she found allies and formed enduring coalitions based on shared ownership. She bootstrapped and hustled for resources when few readily existed. And she persuaded skeptics by building programs using data-driven approaches. She also overcame discriminatory behaviors and other obstacles synonymous with being Black and female in American society. Strong core values and sense of purpose were keys to her resilience, as well as to her leadership in the ongoing effort to give historically marginalized groups greater voice in medicine and science. -
Duolingo: Teaching Languages to the Masses
At the time the case is written, Duolingo is the most popular language learning service in the world. The company has more than 40 million monthly active users, and the company's total annual revenue has reached $250 million a year. Still, the sustainability of the business appears uncertain. Critical questions involve the company's approach to monetization, as well as the robustness of its customer growth model. For now, the company's bet on gamification as a mechanism to fuel user engagement appears to be working, but it is also creating tensions involving everything from the company's stated purpose to the company's revenue generation model. -
York Capital and Enovix
In June 2020, Jeremy Blank prepared for a meeting with his fellow partners at York Capital to discuss an investment he had championed in Enovix, a company developing a state-of-the-art, silicon-based battery. Early-stage technology companies, like Enovix, were not typical investments for York, but Blank had convinced his partners to invest. However, the partnership wanted to be "one and done" without reinvesting in future rounds. By 2020, Enovix had made great progress but not as quickly as forecasted. The company had set out to raise more money and received a term sheet from a well-known publicly-traded company. Blank saw this as an exciting opportunity for Enovix, but he was disappointed to see that it would require York to invest more capital and forego a key protective feature. How should Blank approach this meeting with his partners, and what should he recommend? -
Mysore Saree Udyog: Establishing a culture of professionalism in a family business
Mysore Saree Udyog is an iconic retail store in Bangalore for sarees, fabric and other Indian traditional wear. Its success rests on the family's merchandising skills and the delivery of a personalised in-store experience, both of which are difficult to replicate. The next generation has a different vision and does not want to be involved in day-to-day operations. The founders have concluded that the best way forward is to professionalise and expand geographically, but they are worried about the associated risks. The case offers insights into a structured approach for family businesses to build a professional culture and maximise Enterprise value while minimising risks. -
Green Monday: Flexitarianism, Innovation, and Endorsement
The Green Monday Group was co-founded in 2012 by Hong Kong entrepreneur David Yeung. Capitalizing on the developing global sustainability movement and the market opportunity from growth in flexitarianism, Yeung acquired a research and development company to innovate a plant-based pig meat product, OmniPork. Through product innovation, global distribution, and celebrity endorsement, Yeung was determined to bring OmniPork to global markets. He announced in 2020 that Green Monday Holdings had raised US$70 million of equity investment, the largest funding of its kind in Asia. In 2021, the question left was how those funds could be used to expand flexitarianism globally and capture new consumers of OmniPork. -
General Mills: Responding to the Killing of George Floyd (A)
Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused by a sales clerk of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes, had been arrested and then killed by Minneapolis police. The video of his heart-wrenching death had gone viral worldwide. In the past, the company had not typically commented on racial incidents. But this time felt different. As the leader of one of Minneapolis' largest companies, and one profoundly committed to its community, Harmening needed to determine how and to whom to respond. -
Yinglan Tan: Scaling a Venture Capital Firm in Southeast Asia
Yinglan Tan considered the future of his young Singapore-based venture capital firm. On the one hand, the intuition that was behind the initial creation of Insignia in 2017 had been proven correct. The venture capital market in Southeast Asia had grown rapidly, driven by the spread of e-commerce around the globe and the increased willingness of venture investors around the world to look globally. The new venture group, exploiting existing connections and a nimble structure, had rapidly establish itself in this promising market. This success was incredibly gratifying to Tan. On the other hand, some important questions remained. Foremost among these was the question of scaling. One concern related to whether Insignia should "climb the ladder," and follow its portfolio companies as they received substantially larger financing rounds. These financings would entail raising much more capital but doubling down on winners might yield attractive returns. Second, if it was to garner large amounts of additional capital, the Insignia model would need to evolve, and in important ways come under stress. Finally, the venture market was showing signs of stress. If the long-anticipated downturn was here, what would be the implications for Insignia? -
FIJI Water: Carbon Negative? (Abridged)
In the midst of increasing press scrutiny of the bottled water industry's environmentally harmful practices, FIJI Water made a series of sustainability promises. The boldest of these was a pledge to go "carbon negative." The company said that not only would they offset or mitigate all of their carbon emissions, but would go further, making every purchase of their hip, luxury bottles a net benefit for the environment. The unusual methodology they used to calculate their environmental benefit drew skepticism, and FIJI executives needed to evaluate how to move forward with their sustainability agenda. -
Roche Canada: Open Innovation and the Radical Rethinking of Big Pharma
In February 2022, an indigenous studies professor was considering applying for a position on Roche Canada's Soaring with Roche program's advisory Board. The program was looking for an individual to represent Canada's indigenous population, as it pursued an open innovation strategy within Canada. In considering her decision, the professor examines the pharmaceutical industry as whole (and within Canada), the pros and cons of open innovation, and the fit between her, an open innovation program, and Roche Canada. -
Bumble: Taking on Tinder, One Woman at a Time
After a year filled with the highs of entrepreneurial success and the lows of personal hardships, Whitney Wolfe was considering starting a new venture-a social media platform aimed at creating positivity for women online. Wolfe was meeting with Andrey Andreev, the founder of Badoo, one of the world's most popular dating services, to discuss her new venture idea. However, Andreev was disinterested in starting a social media platform and dismissed her new venture idea. But he had wanted to work with Wolfe for some time, so he instead suggested starting a new online dating service focused on women. Wolfe had to make a decision. Should she turn down Andreev's suggestion and start her own business, or should she pursue his idea of creating a new online dating service focused on the needs of women? If so, how should this new service differ from the numerous current products flooding the market? -
Yorgus Yogurt and Zona Sul: Building a New Venture in an Established Family Business
Yorgus, a Brazilian entrepreneurial maker of premium Greek yogurt, has hit its stride--and now it faces questions about the best path to achieve growth, including becoming independent of the context in which it was created. Founder Enrico Leta launched the company in mid-2014, and Yorgus grew against the backdrop of the Letas' large family business: Zona Sul, a high-end grocer with 36 stores. Enrico's father, Fortunato, leads Zona Sul, but conflicts in Fortunato's generation resulted in the prohibition of Enrico's generation from joining that business. This led Enrico, his brother Patrick, and other cousins to launch independent food businesses that benefited from some of Zona Sul's resources. Enrico developed Yorgus within Patrick's premium cheese business, Vitalatte, and the brothers collaborate on strategic decisions for both brands. Now Enrico is considering taking Yorgus independent, in part to scale more quickly than his brother would be comfortable attempting. But Enrico must ponder the possible effects of such a move on the current operating arrangement with his brother's business, as well as on his relationship with his brother, his father, and the broader family. The case illustrates common family-enterprise challenges, including independence versus autonomy, shared decision-making, and the alignment of risk appetites. -
Ubiquitous Surveillance (A)
This case set is part of the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) curriculum. To see other material in the GVV curriculum, please visit http://store.darden.virginia.edu/giving-voice-to-values. In this A case, Tasha, leader of a data analytics team at Gotham Children's Hospital, is confronted with an ethical dilemma when her supervisor, Beatriz, suggests a facial recognition system at the hospital. The proposed project would draw on images in the hospital's database, as well publicly available images and information about arrest records, to identify visitors and trigger alarms when flagged individuals enter certain areas of the hospital. While her team is interested in the project, Tasha is concerned about privacy, bias in automated systems, public relations, and opportunity costs. This case set is intended to be used with students from a wide range of backgrounds, including especially team leads (who may have an MBA or other graduate-level degree) and data scientists. It would be particularly useful in courses on data ethics, technological innovation, technology management, and data law or policy. -
Rocks And Pebbles Cruising Through Covid-19
Rocks and Pebbles (RnP), a dog park, café and a dog boarding center located in the city of Gurgaon in Northern India, was set up in August 2019 by Vandana Sinha, a dog lover. The case details some of the decisions taken by Sinha with respect to the services offered, the business model, and execution of her strategy. It details some of the challenges faced by RnP during the Covid-19 crisis and the decisions Sinha has taken to deal with the crisis. She is grappling with four dilemmas even as she is trying to grow the business. Should she scale up the café at RnP into a restaurant in order to attract more visitors? Should she provide flexible payment options to pet parents in order to increase customer enrolments at RnP? Should she diversify into delivery of pet food in order to increase revenue? How should she balance her commitment to her regular job with the time devoted to RnP? -
Mandalay Homes: Building Sustainable Innovation in Residential Construction
Mandalay Homes, a home builder based in northern Arizona, is a market leader in energy efficiency based construction. The company is now at a crossroads for developing a strategy for the future. Internal leadership is in agreement that quality is better than quantity and wants to focus on innovations to further push the market forward toward sustainability. The case introduces students to the residential construction industry, climate change as it relates to construction, energy efficiency standards and certification programs, renewable energy market principles, the green construction industry, and potential innovations within the residential construction space. The case outlines the proverbial wall that Mandalay is approaching in terms of the improvements that can be made to sustainable homebuilding withing the current paradigm. The company has identified three frontiers within which Mandalay Homes can allocate priorities: (1) resource management, (2) prescriptive vs. performance-driven building standards, and (3) newer options for building sustainable homes and communities.