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Organizational restructuring strategy such as downsizing and rightsizing and their effects on organizational performance.

The case can be taught to graduate students of a business administration program for change management or human resources management courses.

The case discusses a structural change strategy followed by a crisis management situation of a Pakistani state-owned enterprise with hierarchical structures, unclear work roles and workplace corruption and its shift toward a profitable company with rebranded mission and values. With the management takeover by the Abraaj Group, several issues were identified as major blocks to K-ELECTRIC’s performance. Drastic changes included information technology advancement, investment in infrastructure of generation capacity, marketing campaigns and corporate social responsibility initiatives with a record profit in 2011-2012, for the first time in 17 years. But, the greatest challenge to quality service and profitability was faced by the human resources department, to retrench 4,459 workers by offering a voluntary separation scheme to non-core management staff in 2009. However, disregarding the successful impact on business performance, only 300 workers (approximately) had accepted the package in early 2010, while the rest questioned the decision of outsourcing non-core jobs and demanded reinstatement with the company, followed by a series of protests in January 2010. K-ELECTRIC needed to make some sensitive and timely decisions to ensure efficient and quality service to its customers as its top agenda.

The outcomes include: to understand the challenges faced by a recently privatized public utility service to become lean and efficient without compromising on its public mission of providing electricity to the residents of the city; to analyze the factors that influence choice of restructuring strategies and their effects on the employment relationship and organizational performance; to recognize the critical role of leadership in choosing a voluntary downsizing strategy and analyzing the sense of urgency needed to execute the decision; and to recognize the role of legal and organizational consultancy needed in critical decision-making to prevent workplace violence.

Teaching notes and teaching guide.

Upon completion of the case study, students are expected to identify the characteristics that differentiate a family business from other businesses, understand the life cycles of family businesses and evaluate the significance of succession planning and leadership development in a family business.

In May 2023, when the sultry afternoon had settled down, Bijan Dam, a first-generation entrepreneur and a septuagenarian, was in a pensive mood. Introspecting life events, he ruminated that if he could rewind the tape of life, go back in space and time, would things be different. “I wish life gave me a second chance,” he lamented! Perhaps he could have planned better. Since founding the printing business in 1985, Ruby Art Press had scaled up significantly from letter press to full-fledged computer printing technology unit. The press had made inroads in job orders, government contracts and screen printing. Its client base was large. It also attracted repeat clients from adjoining states. With a successful business history of three and half decades, he had assumed the business would thrive perpetually. Today the business he had built, sustained and raised was practically gone. Why had he not anticipated the future potential of the business? Why had he not dwelled upon the successful business progression? Regardless of impeccable client service and personalized vendor management, what were the missing cues in the business? Deep agony and heavy burden of remorse were mentally excruciating. This had pestering effect on his health condition. Given these challenges, how could Dam ensure business continuity?

This case can be used in entrepreneurship, family business management and human management courses. The dilemma can be explained as part of the courses for undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Organizational behavior.

Upper-level undergraduate courses, introductory MBA courses.

This case study unveils the story of Al Qatef Holding, a Gulf-based real estate company that was created on the vision of one ambitious businessman. The case begins in 1999 when Faisal Al Qatef decided to pursue his dream of establishing a full-fledged corporation to serve the mounting real estate needs in the Gulf region. Faisal started his company by launching a number of residential and commercial property developments in his home country, Kuwait. During its early years of operation, Al Qatef Holding witnessed an impressive success and an increasing appetite for growth. A couple of years down the road, the founder made the strategic decision to open a new branch in Doha to seize the opportunity that the Qatari real estate market presented at that time. Yet, along with the rapid expansion came the company’s incapacity to deliver on its promises, generating many customer complaints and a damaged reputation owing to poor construction quality and significant delays in project delivery. The case describes the multiple challenges experienced by Al Qatef Holding throughout its evolution and portrays the external and internal dynamics that led to its initial success and subsequent decline.

Assess the internal dynamics and challenges that are associated with the management of small firms; discuss how leadership styles and characteristics affect the organizational climate and employee performance; demonstrate understanding of how corporate culture drives human behavior in the workplace; perform an analysis of firm structure to estimate its impact on individual and organizational outcomes; apply different techniques for enhancing employee motivation in organizations; and evaluate the effectiveness of managerial decisions and provide recommendations for securing corporate survival.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.