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This case describes a typical situation faced by any firm engaged in marketing a commodity. Laxmi Proteins processed and sold pigeon pea, called toor or tur in Hindi. The processed grain was known as toor dal and was an important source of protein in the predominantly vegetarian diet of Indians. With the ongoing economic boom and subsequent increase in household income, it was expected that expenditures on more wholesome diets would increase and with it the intake of pulses such as toor dal. Laxmi Proteins was on the verge of inaugurating a new processing plant that would double its capacity. The managing director was concerned about the effectiveness of the current marketing strategy to sell additional produce and asked the marketing directors to review the company’s marketing efforts and come up with alternatives.

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.

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.

A four-year-old cosmetics company is experiencing the typical difficulties of a company evolving from a mom-and-pop operation to a scalable, systems-driven organization. The CEO and founder recognized a problem and opportunity with foundation makeup. She developed a self-adjusting, hard-powder makeup for use on any skin tone. Following an appearance on a reality TV show for entrepreneurs and numerous other promotional measures, the company’s sale grew to nearly $800,000. The recent acquisition of chain store clients requires the company to raise capital to finance the required inventory. Additionally, the company has consolidated its operations into a 4,000 square foot facility to improve logistics, quality control and management efficiency. Ambitious sales projections include a doubling of sales for the next two years. To support this projected growth, the CEO must ensure the appropriate systems are in place. She also needs to finance a marketing program to drive growth.

This case introduces students to the value chain of the oil and gas industry in Canada. Through examining the current position and future plans of a small, independent oil and gas exploration company, they will discover the challenges of growing through acquisition and the risks associated with expanding beyond a company's core competencies. The case includes an overview of the industry, the history of Oleum Resources Ltd., and the opportunities it has to revise its business strategy by expanding into the innovative but risky ASP technology. The company's first two options entail not only investing considerable capital but also hiring highly specialized personnel. However, the third option, to stay the course, may mean facing losses and investor unhappiness.

A patent lawyer and amateur woodworker with a doctorate in physics has invented a new technology to prevent table saw injuries - specifically, amputations. He has no desire to manufacture table saws, and instead protects his technology with patents and then seeks licensing arrangements with incumbent saw producers. In 2002, after two years of attempting to engage manufacturers, he accepts that they are unwilling to license his invention and he must decide whether to return to his law practice or launch a company to produce saws himself. He and his partners have no knowledge or experience with regard to making saws or starting a business. The (B) case advances the narrative to 2012.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Corporate Social Responsibility Award, European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>This case study deals with the opportunities and challenges faced by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk with regard to its sustainability approach in China as of 2012. Novo Nordisk is well known for striving to integrate its business activities in a financially, environmentally, and socially responsible way, and many Novo Nordisk employees proudly refer to Novo Nordisk as a “triple bottom line (TBL) company.” Novo Nordisk has been active in China for more than 50 years; however, since the Chinese economy has expanded tremendously, this increase in wealth and a more sedentary Western lifestyle have led to growing problems with obesity. As a result, China’s insulin market is booming. <br><br>Novo Nordisk therefore faces new challenges concerning how best to organize its TBL program in a way that ensures a comprehensive approach throughout the organization, yet allows Novo Nordisk China to adopt initiatives that fit the Chinese business context. Furthermore, with ever-increasing competition for access to China’s lucrative insulin market, Novo Nordisk’s competitors are also engaging in sustainability, which means that Novo Nordisk must keep innovating to stand out, and must use sustainability as a source of competitive advantage.

A young entry-level employee starts work in the hotel industry in Eastern Europe. The case describes her experiences and shows the HRM practices in the particular hotel in which she works. The issue for analysis is less whether or not the employee should stay or leave this hotel, which has minimal pay and poor working conditions, and more the overall nature of human resources (HR) operations at this service organization, with regard to ethics and sustainability.

In early February 2009, a radiologist with Community Medical Imaging (CMI), in London, Ontario, was approached by the Timmins District Hospital chief about providing on-call service to Timmins and the surrounding area. The hospital’s current provider had decided to relocate to the United States and could no longer provide service. The chief was hoping CMI could take on the extra workload. The radiologist knew this job would provide interesting work for CMI’s radiologists and would improve CMI’s presence across the province, but simultaneously would place an increased demand, both professionally and personally, on the entire team. Other radiology groups would be interested in this job, so the radiologist needed to accept or reject the job as soon as possible.

In 2009, an entrepreneur believes in the potential of Readeo, his idea for a website that combines the love of reading with video calling. He sees Readeo as a solution that would allow, for example, his son to interact and spend quality time connecting with his grandparents. The entrepreneur has several important factors to consider as he works to launch his website. The case explores the challenges that he faces in the midst of uncertainty. While he knows he wants to start the business, the real question is how he should go about doing this.

Pothi.com was a start-up publishing platform that offered print-on-demand (POD) self-publishing services for customers in the Indian market. In 2008, Pothi was launched during a digital transformation that gripped the worldwide publishing industry. Though Pothi had made steady progress in the two years it had been operating as a POD platform, the future remained uncertain, given that POD was a fairly new concept in India and that the country’s publishing market was highly volatile. In the wake of competition from “undercover” self-publishing in the Indian market, Pothi’s management had to make key decisions on awareness creation, promotion and distribution of its customers’ products, and the selection of niche segments to engage. The types of products/services that Pothi would need to offer to attain long-term sustainability were also a concern.

It was April 10, 2011, when the head of Whirlpool’s Asia International Procurement Office in Shanghai was informed by his colleagues that the company was about to launch a new energy-efficient refrigerator model in just six months. For the new refrigerator model, the basic difference was in the motor; the current AC motor would need to be replaced with a DC motor, which was more efficient but also more expensive. He would have to find a suitable supplier of DC motors in a very short time. Delayed sourcing of components would cause delays in the production of a new refrigerator and result in a later launch of new products. Within the home-appliance industry, the fierce level of competition meant that any delays in launching new products would result in a loss of sales. How should Whirlpool go about the process of finding a suitable supplier for the required DC motor parts? Should the company explore the possibility of developing its current supplier, or should it quickly engage an existing supplier of DC motors?

Annapurna Mahila Mandal (AMM), Mumbai, is a trust that provides micro credit and other services to poor working women. It was established in 1975 by a veteran Goa freedom fighter and social entrepreneur and her late husband, a union leader, in the wake of a decade-long millworkers’ strike in Mumbai. Though AMM was a pioneer in the field of urban microfinance, by 1982 it slowly started losing its focus on microfinance and diverted to other social activities, which were difficult to scale up and thus started to turn unviable. In 1993, when AMM’s chairperson began looking after the operations, she realized that the external environment was evolving quickly with changes in regulations, rising competition, rising aspirations of microfinance clients, etc. If not tackled on time, these potential threats could jeopardize the survival of the organization. AMM needed to develop a very clear vision as to which direction it should grow in in order to become sustainable without losing its focus on the core objective — the empowerment of poor women.

In April 2012, the director of marketing for Pepsi Beverages Canada assessed the launch plans for the year's version of what had traditionally been called the Pepsi Challenge. Now called the Pepsi Ultimate Taste Challenge, the goals of the campaign were very aggressive and, of course, a Coke versus Pepsi battle was always difficult. The novelty for summer 2012 was the emphasis on social media, and the interaction between social media and the Ultimate Taste Challenge. In addition, the marketing director was targeting the Millenials as a target market segment. These consumers were a notoriously difficult group to market to. The marketing director assessed the proposal he received and needed to make a decision as to whether to approve it, or whether changes were necessary to achieve his market share goals.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Emerging Chinese Global Competitors Category at European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>7 Days Inn, a leading hotel group in China, was established in 2005 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2009. It now operates more than 1,000 hotels in 168 major Chinese cities and has enrolled more than 30 million customers in its membership club. Its success is largely due to its innovative business model and operations strategy, which includes designing product services with the vertical cutting approach, enhancing customer loyalty through a membership system and direct sales, managing a hotel chain with different governance structures and expanding a hotel chain with an innovative franchised-and-managed model. In particular, the case introduces the company’s shepherd management philosophy. However, as the company expands, it has become difficult for headquarters to manage and supervise all the hotels. In addition, the resignation rate of hotel managers has gone up to 30 per cent in the past few years. What should 7 Days Inn do to deal with these challenges? Does the company need to break the rules again and innovate its business model, operations strategy or operating model — or all of them?

UrbanBaby is a newly developed smartphone application (app) that allows users to address the difficult task of finding activities, restaurants and other forms of entertainment for newborns to young teens. A number of issues must be addressed if it is going to be profitable. First, the app’s creators, Alex and Pavel, are unsure how to characterize the large potential target market, parents, or if there are other target markets that might be interested. This is critical, as the success of the app depends on the cultivation of a strong online community that will contribute content. Second, they have to find a reliable source of data to populate the app. Third, they must decide whether to focus on Apple's operating system, which is popular in North America, or put more of their energy into competing operating systems that are much more popular in the rest of the world. Finally, they have a number of strategic marketing choices to make and to prioritize, including whether to keep the UrbanBaby brand name and risk the ire of similarly named competitors, how to price the app, how to position and promote the app and how to time the rollout. How these initial choices will affect subsequent strategic and tactical decisions is also a matter of concern.

The executive vice president of sustainability and corporate affairs at Monsanto was facing a difficult situation that could dramatically reshape the firm's business. A decade earlier, the firm had introduced into India, through a joint venture, the first in-the-seed cotton trait biotechnology. This trait protected cotton crops against potentially devastating pests, thereby reducing the need for pesticides and improving yields. Subsequently, three Indian state governments imposed a price ceiling on these biotech seeds. In addition, by 2010, the company was facing competition from over 40 Indian seed companies that offered similar or competing biotechnology cotton seeds. Also, a federal ministry had overruled the recent regulatory approval for a second, indigenously developed biotech crop, brinjal (eggplant). How should a technology innovator such as Monsanto deal with an unpredictable regulatory approval process in an increasingly competitive marketplace? Looking forward, two new in-the-seed trait technologies were being considered for introduction to Indian farmers. Should Monsanto proceed and, if so, how? More generally, what should the firm's long-term approach be in this promising market?

The district manager of Sodexo was faced with the task of increasing the company’s staffing levels in its food-service operations within the Ontario Power Generation plant facilities. He knew his team was anxious about the prospect of hiring more food-service workers in order to deal with the anticipated increase in the number of customers served. Such a recruitment initiative would be challenging given the perception that all possible recruitment channels had already been explored.

The vice president and managing director of Nokia India needed to decide whether to undertake an all-India launch of Nokia’s newest service offering for emerging markets, called Nokia Lifetools (NLT). The NLT pilot was very successful, with consumer adoption and retention rates over 70 per cent. However, offering services and applications that came directly loaded onto a handset was new for Nokia, put it in direct competition with service providers, and required the company to develop a very different distribution strategy. It could not avoid the important stakeholders in the telecommunication value chain as they were also crucial partners whose cooperation was key to Nokia’s success. Successfully launching NLT in India could shift the telecommunications industry globally. The decision facing the vice president was likely one of the most important business decisions he would ever make.