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Items 1-25 of 151
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General Management Zandu Pharmaceutical Works: The Takeover Bid (B)
Supplement case to ISB045.
Learn MorePublished: Nov 1, 2014₹399.00 -
Operations Management Technology Decision-Making in a Semi-Urban ICU: An Intensivist's Dilemma
Set in April 2017, this case centers around the digital technology dilemma facing the protagonist Dr. Vimohan, the chief intensivist of Prashant Hospital. The case describes the critical challenges afflicting the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital. It then follows Dr. Vimohan as he visits the Bengaluru headquarters of Cloudphysician Healthcare, a Tele-ICU provider. The visit leaves Dr. Vimohan wondering whether he can leverage the Tele-ICU solution to overcome the challenges at Prashant Hospital. He instinctively knew that he would need to use a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis to resolve this dilemma.
Learning Objective
The case study enables critical thinking and decision-making to address the business situation. Assessing the pros and cons of a potential technology solution, examining the readiness of an organization and devising a framework for effective stakeholder and change management are some of the key concepts. Associated tools include cost-benefit analysis, net present value (NPV) analysis, force-field analysis, and change-readiness assessment, in addition to a brief discussion on SWOT analysis.
Published: Jan 10, 2021₹399.00 -
Marketing Instagram Influencer Marketing: Creating a Winning Strategy
On August 9, 2020, Sean Jean De Ville, who had recently joined French fashion and cosmetics giant Satix as digital marketing head of the shampoo products division, was preparing for his first meeting with the CEO. He had been tasked to explore the viability of employing influencer marketing on Instagram. This would be a new promotional vehicle for the company, which had traditionally used billboards, print, and limited digital advertisements. He was also told that a budget of USD 500,000 would be allocated for influencer marketing and that the boss was anxious to get his insights and recommendations.
Learning Objective
• how influencer marketing works • how to decide on which influencer or influencers to employ • the key metrics involved in assessing an influencer marketing strategy • how to measure the marketing effectiveness of influencers, and • how to ask questions that go beyond the data to come up with relevant insights that will enhance the effectiveness of your expenditure(s).
Published: Dec 19, 2020₹399.00 -
Finance Gold: A Distinct Asset Class
Gold is a very popular alternative asset class globally. This note looks at the properties of gold that make it so attractive. The note also compares the performance of gold against various other asset classes and its correlation with them.
Learn MorePublished: Sep 15, 2014₹399.00 -
Operations Management Nizamabad Constituency 2019 Mega Elections (A): Attempting the Improbable
During the Indian general election of 2019, the Nizamabad constituency in Telangana state found itself in an unprecedented situation with a record 185 candidates competing for one seat. Most of these candidates were local farmers who saw the election as a platform for raising awareness about local issues, particularly the perceived lack of government support for guaranteeing minimum support prices for their crops. More than 185 candidates had in fact contested elections from a single constituency in a handful of elections in the past. The Election Commission of India (ECI) had declared them to be "special elections" where it made exceptions to the original election schedule to accommodate the large number of candidates. However, in the 2019 general election, the ECI made no such exceptions, announcing instead that polling in Nizamabad would be conducted as per the original schedule and results would be declared at the same time as the rest of the country. This presented a unique and unexpected challenge for Rajat Kumar, the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and his team. How were they to conduct free and fair and elections within the mandated timeframe with the largest number of electronic voting machines (EVMs) ever deployed to address the will of 185 candidates in a constituency with 1.55 million voters from rural and semi-urban areas? Case A describes the electoral process followed by the world's largest democracy to guarantee free and fair elections. It concludes by posing several situational questions, the answers to which will determine whether the polls in Nizamabad are conducted successfully or not. Case B, which should be revealed after students have had a chance to deliberate on the challenges posed in Case A, describes the decisions and actions taken by Kumar and his team in preparation for the Nizamabad polls and the events that took place on election day and afterward.
Learning Objective
To demonstrate how a quantitative approach to decision making can be used in the public policy domain to achieve end goals. To learn how resource allocation decisions can be made by understanding the scale of the problem, the various resource constraints, and the end goals. To discover operational innovations in the face of regulatory and technical constraints and complete the required steps. To understand the multiple steps involved in conducting elections in the Indian context.
Published: Feb 8, 2021₹399.00 -
OB and Leadership Career Dilemma of a Next-Gen Family Member - The Case of Lavanya Nalli
The case, set in 2016, follows Lavanya Nalli, a fifth-generation member of the Nalli family business, as she contemplates a critical decision about her future. Nalli Silks, an Indian ethnic wear retailer, had built an enviable reputation for quality and customer orientation over 90 years. As a female member of a conservative family business, she was not expected to enter the business and play an active role in it. Yet, she joined Nalli Silks after earning a degree in engineering and planned and pursued her own induction and learning in the firm. Over the next couple of years, she displayed her entrepreneurial drive by conceptualizing and setting up a successful business within the larger business. However, sensing that there were limited avenues within the firm to feed her ambition and keenness to learn and grow, she left India for the United States to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School. After graduating, she worked at McKinsey, a leading consulting firm. In 2014, Lavanya returned to India and joined Myntra, a rapidly growing Indian fashion e-commerce company. These experiences provided her with rich and varied insights and perspectives. After seven years away, she was considering returning to the Nalli group with tentative plans of setting up a separate e-commerce vertical from scratch. Three generations of her family - her grandfather, her father and her brother - were active in the business and held independent charge of different parts of the Nalli group. There were serious reservations within the family and the organization about Lavanya's proposal to venture into e-commerce. She herself had some concerns about the larger strategy and set-up of the business, such as the absence of a leadership pipeline and inattention to market trends. The case closes with her reflections and questions on the way forward.
Learning Objective
Understand how next-gen family members approach career choices and how this influences their enterprises. Appreciate the challenges of balancing values and aspirations among family, business and individual next-generation family members. Comprehend how next-generation family members can successfully build careers within an existing family business by being entrepreneurial without crossing value boundaries. Learn what family businesses can do to attract / retain next-generation family members.
Published: Dec 19, 2020₹399.00 -
IT Management An Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Based Disruptive Innovation in Cataract Screening: The Case of E-Paarvai
This case examines the vital social problem of the rising incidence of cataracts in India, especially in the elderly population. It describes the design and deployment of e-Paarvai, an AI-based digital health solution in more than 30 districts of rural Tamil Nadu, India, which helped screen about 25,000 cataract patients within ten months of its launch. It describes how design thinking and digital intervention could lead to effective health service delivery for social good. Specifically, this case focuses on: (1) elements of a service ecosystem, (2) the characterization of various personas and customer journey maps using design thinking (3) the application of emerging digital technologies like AI to solve challenging, complex social problems.
Learning Objectives
The key learnings involve understanding the complex nature of the service ecosystem, design thinking, persona and customer journey mapping, and digital technology design and deployment in healthcare, service contexts. By working through the case, participants could appreciate how emerging digital technologies like AI could solve complex problems.
Published: Mar 28, 2023₹399.00 -
Operations Management Telangana Graduates’ MLC Elections 2021: Handling Known and Unknown Uncertainties
The case is centered around the timeline of the Telangana graduates’ MLC elections 2021, which were held against the backdrop of a known unknown: the COVID-19 pandemic. The electoral officials had to be mindful of the numerous security protocols and complexities involved in implementing the election process in such uncertain times. They had to incorporate additional steps and plan for contingencies to mitigate risks while executing the election process. Halfway through the election planning process, it became clear that the number of voters and candidates was unprecedentedly large. This unexpected development necessitated a revision of the prior plan for conducting the elections. Shashank Goel, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), and M. Satyavani, Deputy CEO, were architecting the plan for conducting the elections with an unexpectedly large number of voters and candidates under pandemic-induced disruptions. Goel was also reflecting on how to develop contingency plans for these elections, given the uncertainty produced by unforeseen external factors and the associated risks. Although he had the mandate to conduct free and fair elections within the stipulated timelines and was assured that the required resources would be provided, several factors had to be considered. According to the constitutional guidelines for the graduates' MLC elections, qualified and registered graduate voters could cast their vote by ranking candidates preferentially. Paper ballots had to be used because electronic voting machines (EVMs) could not handle preferential voting. The scale and magnitude of the elections necessitated jumbo ballot boxes. To manage the process, the number of polling stations had to be increased, and manpower had to be trained. Further, the presence of healthcare workers to ensure the safety of voters and the deployed staff was imperative. The Telangana CEO’s office had to meet the increased logistical and technical requirements and ensure high voting turnouts while executing the election process.
Postponing the election was not an option for the ECI from the standpoint of the legal code of conduct. The Telangana CEO's office prepared a revised election plan. The project plan was amended to incorporate the need for additional resources and logistical support to execute the election process. As the efforts of the staff were maximized effectively, the elections could be conducted smoothly and transparently although a large number of candidates were in the fray.
Teaching and Learning Objectives:
The key case objectives are to enable students to:
- Appreciate the importance of effective project management, planning, and execution in public administration against the backdrop of uncertainties and complexities.
- Understand the importance of risk identification, risk planning, and prioritization.
- Learn strategies to manage various project risks in a real-life situation.
- Identify the characteristics of effective leadership in times of crisis and the key takeaways from such scenarios
Published: Jan 17, 2023₹399.00 -
Strategy Suprajit Engineering: Ensuring Family and Business Continuity
Ajith Rai hailed from a humble background. As a first-generation entrepreneur, over the last three decades he had built a successful automotive business under the umbrella of Suprajit Engineering Limited (SEL). Rai and his wife, Supriya, along with their three sons were a close-knit family. The two older sons were deeply involved in the family business, and the third son was close to finishing his engineering studies. Supriya, a dentist, was engaged in the philanthropic activities of Supriya Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of the business. Rai had seen many business families disintegrate for lack of governance, and hence early on in his business career, he decided to formulate a family constitution. His sole objective was to safeguard family kinship and business longevity. The case reveals not only the process adopted by Rai to formulate the instrument of family governance-the family constitution-but also his ability to focus on building the capacity of all family members. The case closes with Rai reflecting on the satisfying journey thus far and hoping that the family constitution will be comprehensive enough to take care of the conflicting scenarios that could arise in the future.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the importance of instituting different organizational entities into a family constitution,
- Evaluate the possible conflicting scenarios that may arise on the basis of the policies devised in the SEL family constitution
- Evaluate the different ownership models that family businesses can pursue for succession planning and wealth management.
Published: Sep 25, 2022₹399.00 -
Strategy Rural Prosperity in the Face of Climate Change: Mahindra Strives for Sustainable Strategies
This case illustrates the efforts of the Mahindra Group's Agri Business and Farm Equipment divisions to drive sustainability-oriented action aimed at improving the lives of rural communities and preparing them to adapt to the impacts of climate change. It briefly describes the far-reaching consequences of climate-related disasters in terms of loss of food and nutrition security; livelihood; crop production; and losses in manufacturing, especially in developing countries such as India that are highly reliant on agriculture. The approach adopted by the Mahindra Group to tackle challenges in agriculture, such as water scarcity, food wastage, and energy-intensive practices, through affordable and energy- and resource-efficient technology is discussed. There are intense deliberations among the leaders of the Mahindra Group businesses about the way forward and concerns regarding climate-friendly innovations, which, from the perspective of the Chairman, ultimately translates into creatively reconciling the conflict between environmental goals and profitability goals. The Chairman and the Chief Sustainability Officer are firm in their belief that there are immense business opportunities in aggressively implementing sustainable practices. The leadership of the Mahindra Group is deliberating on how they can collaborate with rural communities and devise ways to improve farm-to-market linkages, reduce the costs of farm inputs, and scale up energy-efficient technology.
Learning Objectives:
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To understand the business risks and opportunities presented by climate change and their implications for food and nutrition security, and livelihoods for rural communities.
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To illustrate the Mahindra Group's efforts to address environmental challenges.
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To discuss how Mahindra Group resolves the conflicting imperatives of profitability and sustainability.
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To identify the traits of a regenerative business design that generates sustainable value.
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To explore the applicability of key frameworks such as sustainable business model innovation and the Doughnut Economics model to the Mahindra Group's Agribusiness and Farm Equipment businesses.
Published: Sep 1, 2022₹399.00 -
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Marketing Chetak: Revitalizing a Legacy Brand from the Past to the Future
The case elaborates the relaunch of Chetak, the iconic scooter brand by Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL), from the perspective of brand identity, legacy brands, and brand extension authenticity. It traces the journey of Chetak from being the market leader in the Indian two-wheeler segment in the 1970s and 1980s to its gradual exit from the market in 2005. With the discontinuation of Chetak, BAL completely withdrew from the scooter market in India to build a motorcycle-focused business. The case locates the reader in December 2019, 14 years from BAL's exit from the scooter market. BAL had decided to bring back Chetak and wanted to launch it as a modern electric scooter in 2020. Although Chetak carried a positive legacy from the past, it needed to reconfigure its brand identity to fit with the new electric vehicle category. However, in this reconfiguration, the brand needed to be careful about not losing the authenticity connected to its past. The case focuses on the dilemma facing the protagonists regarding the brand positioning of the revived Chetak.
Learning Objectives
- Appreciate the strategic value of decoding brand identity and the systematic process of relaunching a legacy brand.
- Think profoundly about how brands travel through time-how iconic brands from the past can be strategically revived in a different era, catering to a new generation or cohort of consumers.
- Practice hands-on decoding of brand identity and repositioning.
₹399.00 -
Operations Management Data-Analytics-Based Decision-Making at Teach for India
The case is designed to be used in courses on Nonprofit Operations Management, Data Analytics, Six Sigma, and Business Process Excellence/Improvement in MBA or Executive MBA programs. It is suitable for teaching students about the common problem of lower rates of volunteerism in nonprofit organizations. Further, the case study helps present the importance and application of inferential statistics (data analytics) to identify the impact of various factors on the problem (effect). The case is set in early 2021 when Shefali Sharma, the Strategy and Learning Manager with Teach For India (TFI), faced a few challenging questions from a professor at the Indian School of Business (ISB) during her presentation at an industry gathering in Hyderabad, India. Sharma was concerned about the low matriculation rate of TFI fellows, despite the rigorous recruitment, selection, and matriculation (RSM) process. A mere 50-60% matriculation rate was not a commensurate return for an investment of INR 6.5 million and the massive effort put into the RSM process. In 2017, Sharma organized focused informative and experiential events to motivate candidates to join the fellowship, but it was not very clear if these events impacted the TFI matriculation rate. After the industry gathering at ISB, Sharma followed up with the professor to seek his guidance in performing data analytics on the matriculation data. Sharma wondered if inferential data analysis could help her understand which demographic factors and events impact the matriculation rate.
Learning Objective
- Illustrate the importance of inferential statistics as a decision support system in resolving business problems
- Formulating and solving a hypothesis testing problem for attribute (discrete) data
- Visually depicting the flow of work across different stages of a process
Published: Jul 3, 2022₹399.00 -
General Management Hyper Island: A Creative Business School's Disruptive Maneuvers to Hold its Ground in the Education Landscape (B)
Set in two parts the case documents the manoeuvres of a creative digital business school, Hyper Island (HI). Part A is set in December 2019 and narrates the biased decisions HI to pursue a flawed business model. The case is discussed from the perspective of Melanie Cook, the Asia-Pacific Managing Director of HI in Singapore. Cook played a key role in HI's strategy team. In 2017, HI launched a consulting service to design and deliver bespoke learning journeys for its corporate clients to generate more revenue and create a unique competitive advantage. Since it overlooked the potential pitfalls due to prolonged sales cycles and resultant costs, HI landed in financial troubles. Cook and her team faced the dilemma of abandoning the consultancy business model and switching to a new business model that would shorten the sales cycle, slash costs, and bring in more revenue. Part B of the case documents how pivoting to a productized business model helped HI gain revenue growth and improve its bottom line. While the course correction saved HI from imminent financial failure, new challenges emerged. Cook had to find means of keeping the employees engaged and securing their buy-in to drive the productized business model.
Learning Objectives:
By reading and discussing the case, students will learn how to:
- avoid bias in decision-making
- pivot successfully for sustained growth
- productize services for profitability and competitive advantage
- remain customer oriented for successful productization
- secure organization buy-in and engage employees during pivoting
Published: Aug 2, 2022₹399.00 -
General Management Hyper Island: A Creative Business School's Disruptive Maneuvers to Hold its Ground in the Education Landscape (A)
Set in two parts the case documents the manoeuvres of a creative digital business school, Hyper Island (HI). Part A is set in December 2019 and narrates the biased decisions HI to pursue a flawed business model. The case is discussed from the perspective of Melanie Cook, the Asia-Pacific Managing Director of HI in Singapore. Cook played a key role in HI's strategy team. In 2017, HI launched a consulting service to design and deliver bespoke learning journeys for its corporate clients to generate more revenue and create a unique competitive advantage. Since it overlooked the potential pitfalls due to prolonged sales cycles and resultant costs, HI landed in financial troubles. Cook and her team faced the dilemma of abandoning the consultancy business model and switching to a new business model that would shorten the sales cycle, slash costs, and bring in more revenue. Part B of the case documents how pivoting to a productized business model helped HI gain revenue growth and improve its bottom line. While the course correction saved HI from imminent financial failure, new challenges emerged. Cook had to find means of keeping the employees engaged and securing their buy-in to drive the productized business model.
Learning Objectives:
By reading and discussing the case, students will learn how to:
- avoid bias in decision-making
- pivot successfully for sustained growth
- productize services for profitability and competitive advantage
- remain customer oriented for successful productization
- secure organization buy-in and engage employees during pivoting
Published: Aug 2, 2022₹399.00 -
General Management Krishnapatnam Port: Capitalizing on the Opportunity to Create a Greenfield Port in South India
Set in 2005 in Hyderabad, India, the case revolves around the dilemma facing Chinta Sasidhar, a young entrepreneur and Director of Navayuga Engineering Company Limited (NECL), who was presented with an unexpected opportunity to develop Krishnapatnam Port, a greenfield seaport on the east coast of India. Sasidhar had to decide whether or not to take on the mammoth infrastructure project with all of its associated challenges, or continue working on the transformation of NECL's traditional business. Sasidhar met with Srinivas Vallabhaneni, a seasoned entrepreneur whom he regarded as an advisor, and told him about his predicament. They discussed Sasidhar's dilemma over a game of golf, the conversation taking several different turns over the course of their game. Through a series of thought-provoking questions, the case lays the framework for a thorough evaluation of the new opportunity- what Sasidhar needs to do in order to decide whether or not to go forward with the port project. This is the crux of the case-evaluating an entrepreneurial opportunity in the infrastructure sector in India.
Learning Objectives:
In the context of developing and managing a large infrastructure project the case will enable participants to: Learn about opportunity evaluation Understand entrepreneurial risk Identify and understand the need for and challenges involved in developing a brand for a major infrastructure project (in this instance, a new seaport) in the context of intense competition (in this case from existing ports in India and proximate international ports).
Learn MorePublished: Jun 10, 2022₹399.00 -
Operations Management Project Ashray: Planning a Time-Constrained Project
In response to the uncontrollable second wave of COVID-19 in the south Indian state of Telangana in April 2021, a few like-minded social activists in the capital city of Hyderabad came together to establish a 100-bed medical care center to treat COVID-19 patients. The project was named Ashray. Dr. Chinnababu Sunkavalli (popularly known as Chinna) was the project manager of Project Ashray. In addition to the inherent inadequacy of hospital beds to accommodate the growing number of COVID- 19 patients till March 2021, the city faced a sudden spike of infections in April that worsened the situation. Consequently, the occupancy in government and private hospitals in Hyderabad increased by 485% and 311%, respectively, from March to April. According to a prediction model, Chinna knew that hospital beds would be exhausted in several parts of the city in the next few days. The Project Ashray team was concerned about the situation. The team met on April 26, 2021, to schedule the project to establish the medical care center within the next 10 days. The case is suitable for teaching students how to approach the scheduling problem of a time- constrained project systematically. It helps as a pedagogical aid in teaching management concepts such as project visualization, estimating project duration, float, and project laddering or activity splitting, and tools such as network diagrams, critical path method, and crashing. The case exposes students to a real-time problem-solving approach under uncertainty and crises and the critical role of NGOs in supporting the governments. Alongside the Project Management and Operations Management courses, other courses like Managerial decision-making in nonprofit organizations, Health care delivery, and healthcare operations could also find support from this case.
Learning Objectives:
To learn: Time-constrained projects and associated scheduling problems Project visualization using network diagrams Activity sequencing and converting sequential activities to parallel activities Critical path method (early start, early finish, late start, late finish, forward pass, backward pass, and float) to estimate a project's overall duration Project laddering to reduce the project duration wherever possible Project crashing using linear programming
Learn MorePublished: Jun 8, 2022₹399.00 -
Human Resource Management Creating a Fulfilling Workplace: A Holistic Approach to Employee Well-Being at LVPEI
Set in August 2019, this case describes the efforts of L. V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) to implement an initiative to improve the well-being of its employees by addressing their needs holistically. LVPEI is one of the leading medical institutions in India and the world in eye care treatment and research. As part of its mission to treat its patients well and provide excellent eye care services, LVPEI also sought to treat its employees well and provide them with a work setting that enabled them to thrive. This focus on employee well-being led LVPEI's Chairman, Dr. G. N. Rao, and Vice-Chairman, Dr. G. Chandra Sekhar, to invite Ram Nidumolu, co-author of the case study (referred to as "the consultant" in the case for the purposes of objectivity), to identify areas of improvement and implement initiatives to enhance employee well-being. The initiative described in this case study began in August 2018 and was completed a year later. The initiative was built around a new approach to employee well-being called "beingful work". Beingful work theory, developed by Nidumolu and his associates, posits that employee well-being is influenced by the extent to which the workplace fulfills the needs of the employee's "whole self" or being. These holistic needs include material, psychological, social, ecological, and moral/spiritual needs that employees bring to their work. The more the organization cultivates a work setting that fulfills these needs, the more meaningful work becomes for employees, making them more engaged with their work. Meaningful and engaging work, in turn, promotes the holistic well-being of employees because of the positive energy it creates. The case describes three phases of implementation of beingful work at LVPEI, of which the third phase-scaling up-is proving to be the most challenging.
Learning Objectives
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The components of an employee's whole self at work and their associated needs, e.g., material, psychological, social, ecological, and moral/spiritual.
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How workplace gaps in fulfilling these needs can be identified using beingful work theory principles and practices.
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The organizational and individual challenges in scaling the implementation of employee needs fulfilment initiatives throughout the enterprise.
Published: May 30, 2022₹399.00 -
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Strategy Hopes Critical Care: Scale-up of a Tele-Intensive Care Solution
The case is set in 2021 and follows the journey of Dr. Shailesh Jhawar, an intensivist trained in the United Kingdom, who returned to India to join his father, Dr. Shiv Bhagwan Jhawar, at Apex Hospitals in Jaipur, Rajasthan, which his father had founded in 1994. The case describes Jhawar's efforts to improve patient outcomes in critical care with the tele-intensive care unit (tele-ICU) model. It takes the reader through Jhawar's journey from the time he discovered the need for tele-ICU and understood the various facets of its implementation to the establishment of Hopes Critical Care (HCC) as a tele-ICU provider and the induction of the first few ""spoke"" hospitals into the tele-ICU network. The case then describes the dilemmas confronting Jhawar as he sought to scale up HCC. Students are encouraged to use their critical thinking skills to design a strategic framework for identifying domains with the greatest potential for adopting and growing the tele-ICU model. First, the case acts as a resource for classroom discussion on what Jhawar should do differently during the next implementation, given the failure of the pilot at the Sky Lifeline Multispecialty Hospital. Second, the case enables the instructor to introduce the concept of the business model canvas, a strategic management tool used to present a business plan in a straightforward and structured way. By developing the business model canvas for the tele-ICU business, students can gain insights into the customers, value proposition, channels, revenue, cost streams, etc., of the business. This case will also introduce students to quantitative (using the net present value, or NPV) and qualitative tools to evaluate the revenue model used in the associated business model.
Learning Objectives:
The objective of this case is to study an innovative business model, the tele-ICU model, which enables an intensivist to remotely manage 60-80 critical care patients across multiple locations from a command center in contrast to 10-12 patients managed by an on-location intensivist. The case covers various aspects of executing and scaling up a tele-ICU model, including crafting an innovative business model, navigating the barriers to adoption, and crafting a robust growth strategy.
Learn MorePublished: May 27, 2022₹399.00 -
General Management Alcohol Prohibition in Bihar: A Policy Dilemma
It is January 2020. The chief advisor to the chief minister (CM) of Bihar is particularly unhappy after a long meeting with the cabinet members. Four years after the prohibition on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Bihar, it is time to review the full impact of the ban on the state's socioeconomic fabric in light of upcoming elections. As multiple growth and development avenues emerge, the state is embarking on a vibrant journey to realize dreams of a better future. To achieve its goal, the state is focusing on gender mainstreaming and development through various government initiatives. In response to a perceived increase in women's voice against alcohol consumption, the Bihar government introduced a prohibition on alcohol in 2016. However, the stringent policy with a hefty fine and non- negotiable jail term had its downsides. It hindered the much-needed economic growth because of massive losses in sectors such as tourism, food and beverage (F&B), and hospitality. It also hit the state's economic development plans because of massive shortfalls to the state exchequer. The CM stood by his decision undeterred. Yet, in a state plagued with a lack of economic development, many serious gender gaps impacting human development, and a historical lack of capacity for law enforcement, should this be the approach of choice? The chief advisor is grappling with the nagging issues of law and order, budget shortfalls, and the ability to continue the current policy while weighing the social cost of this ban on the public.
Learning Objectives:
This case is relevant in the present-day context of radical policymaking and its implementation with several competing interests at play, enabling the students to: Understand the complexity of policymaking with quantifiable economic costs at stake along with incalculable social impact, Exemplify the nuances of stakeholder management when a single policy affects multiple parties, and Explore the plausability of reevaluating impact and the importance of course correction measures.
Learn MorePublished: May 26, 2022₹399.00 -
Strategy Anthem - An Insourcing Strategy Through the Establishment of a Subsidiary (Legato)
Anthem Inc. (www.anthem.com) was a leading health care insurance provider and the largest insurer in the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) network. In October 2017, it approved the establishment of captive subsidiaries or global capability centers (GCCs), called "Legato," in India and the Philippines. The first captive was established in India. From January 2018 to June 2021, the two Legato entities had ramped up their head count to over 15,000 full-time employees (FTEs). This number well exceeded the initial approved business plan of a little over 3,000 FTEs. As a result, the parent organization accrued substantial cost savings. This also helped the company create a foundation to use low-cost internal talent to enable additional objectives, such as supporting digital transformational objectives and improving end-to-end process efficiency. Anthem developed an initial organization chart and reporting structure to establish the new companies. As the entities grew, Anthem made changes to better align them with US processes and strengthen governance and risk management. In 2021, Anthem established a new objective for Legato. As a cost center, Legato had firmly established itself in Anthem's value delivery chain, successfully setting up several information technology (IT) and business process practices. Anthem decided to use this capability by pursuing IT and business service revenue from other BCBS players in the US. It could now offer a suite of IT and business process services from Legato-essentially a profit and loss (P&L) role. The addition of this new P&L role brought up the following questions: Should the existing leaders' role be expanded to take on the additional responsibility of delivering to external customers? Should an entirely new division be established to take on this new P&L role? Or was there any other option to consider?
Learning Objective:
For an MBA or executive MBA course for the participants to: - Understand the rationale behind the proliferation of the business model of captives - Appreciate the interlinkage of structure and strategy - Appreciate the need for strong change management in implementing new strategies
Learn MorePublished: Mar 31, 2022₹399.00 -
Marketing Creative Chocolates in Nigeria: To Test Market or Not?
The case is set in 2022 when Creative Chocolates, a popular United States based chocolate manufacturer, plans to enter the African market. Known in the United States for its unique "warm freshbaked" chocolates, Creative Chocolates expanded to over 100 countries with 26,000 outlets worldwide since its inception in the late 1980s. However, all their outlets were either their own stores or franchisees. Attracted by the market research data on the population growth and economic success of Nigeria and other African countries, Alan Rickman, the new chief executive officer of Creative Chocolates, plans a growth strategy based on penetrating the African market. The case presents Rickman's dilemma-whether to conduct test marketing or not-and builds on it to discuss his next step.
Learning Objectives:
Understand how to select or prioritize projects using risk criteria in business environments; Understand the what and how of test marketing; Facilitate critical thinking and decision-making through basic decision trees and associated applications Company.
Learn MorePublished: Mar 21, 2022₹399.00 -
Finance Sahrudaya Health Care Pvt. Ltd. (2017): Towards a Term Sheet
In 2017, Sahrudaya Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. (SHPL), a successful chain of corporate hospitals based out of Hyderabad, India, approached private equity (PE) firm Samara Capital for a capital infusion. After conducting a thorough due diligence and evaluation of the company, Samara Capital brought its major limited partner (LP) Medicover, a European multinational healthcare and diagnostics company, into the decision-making process. In a surprise turn of events for SPHL, Medicover offered to become a strategic partner and invest in SPHL. With the new proposal on the table, top executives from Samara Capital, Medicover, and SHPL attended a high-level meeting in New Delhi to discuss the modalities of the term sheet.
Learning Objectives:
- To introduce students to the concepts of raising capital via private equity with attendant risk and return
- To examine a full range of financing alternatives (invoking the pecking order theory, namely internal accruals, angel financing, venture capital financing, debt, private equity, etc.
- To attempt firm valuation
- To draft a term sheet by assessing the various terms and conditions under which an investment is to be made
Published: Mar 24, 2022₹399.00 -
Human Resource Management The Great Union Journey: Amalgamation of Union Bank Of India, Andhra Bank, And Corporation Bank
Set in April 2021, the case study traces the process of amalgamation of the Union Bank of India (UBI) with the erstwhile Andhra Bank (e-AB) and Corporation Bank (e-CB) following the announcement by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Government of India (GoI), on August 30, 2019. With the Amalgamation Effective Date set as April 1, 2020, Rajkiran Rai G., the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UBI, who oversaw the amalgamation project was faced with formidable challenges. The banks had distinctive cultures and values. While UBI was pan-national, the employee and customer compositions of the e-AB and e-CB reflected their regional dominance. The case documents how Rai and his team successfully integrated people, products, policies, cultures, technology, and customers within a stringent and short timeline. It describes the sustained efforts to unify employees under a common identity and align them toward the shared vision of becoming the best in the industry. The case provides an overview of the differentiated measures undertaken by Rai and his team to engage the different stakeholders, the governance structure for decision making and implementation, comprehensive measures to ensure transparency through communication and access to resources, meticulous planning, delegation, monitoring, and course corrections in the face of obstacles. One year after the AED, the financial performance of UBI testified to the success of the amalgamation. However, Rai had to foster a customer-centric and performance-oriented culture at UBI. He had to fortify the bank’s future prospects by institutionalizing the learnings from the transformation. As the bank embraced digital transformation more frequent changes were imminent. Rai had to tackle the challenge of building an agile, mission-driven, and learning-oriented organization.
Learning Objectives:
By analyzing the case, participants will learn to
- address the concerns of the different stakeholders in mergers and acquisitions,
- lead organizational transformation in general and overcome the challenges of transforming public-sector entities,
- promote collaborative cultures despite diverse backgrounds and priorities
- foster a learning culture in an organization -implement measures to enhance organizational agility.
Published: May 30, 2022₹399.00 -
Strategy Jet Airways: Tale of Their Takeoff and Crash Landing
The case, set in April 2019, follows the managing director of an investment firm that is deliberating whether to invest in Jet Airways. It is the day after the airline halted their operations, and our protagonist, Surjit Trivedi, Managing Director of a Mumbai-based private equity firm, the Agile Group, is headed for a meeting where his team of analysts and strategists are presenting their evaluation of Jet Airways. Trivedi must decide whether to invest in the airline or not as he is due to present the proposal to the board of the private equity firm he works for. He does not want to make a wrong investment and jeopardize the firm's future and his forthcoming promotion. The case follows the rise and fall of Jet Airways. Civil aviation in India has changed tremendously over the past 20 years, both from the consumer and service provider standpoints. This change was due to factors such as globalization, the higher disposable income of Indians, government initiatives, travel enthusiasm among millennials, and so on. With India expected to become third-biggest aviation market by the year 2025, the number of players in the market increased, with both indigenous and global competitors in the fray. Despite positive industry indicators, two major airlines were forced to halt operations in the last decade, Jet Airways being one of them. The case can be used to scrutinize the reasons for Jet Airways' downfall such as their acquisitions and alliances, the decisions of their founder Naresh Goyal, and Jet Airways' response to the challenge posed by low-cost carriers (LCCs) in India. Moreover, the case can be utilized to analyze how the consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) handled the Jet Airways crisis.
Learning Objectives:
Analyze and evaluate the rationale for and implications of alliances and acquisitions. Understand the concept of Porter's Five Force model and SWOT analysis. Analyze and evaluate various types of leadership styles. Calculate liquidity, profitability, and solvency ratios with an emphasis on the return on common equity ratio and DuPont analysis. Discuss the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India
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