Search results

Located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, Eastern Truss Company produced trusses used in construction of both large warehouses and custom homes. This case presents the student with the opportunity to analyze the critical factors associated with the decision of whether Eastern should adopt a new production technology and whether cash flows from reduction of temporary workers will cover adoption coasts. The student must evaluate the decision to adopt the production technology through the lens of operations management tools. This case is appropriate for undergraduate business studies in the field of operations management.

Case study.

Undergraduate operations management.

This case was developed through secondary sources in response to the environmental concerns being raised in legal actions, company documents, online forums, trade press articles and academic research relative to Li mining practices, a key material in Li-ion batteries. The case focuses on Tesla’s actual and potential response to the environmental and humanitarian concerns being raised with its battery supply chain

Tesla was one of the world’s leading producers of Li-ion batteries which were critical to its EV and battery offerings. Unfortunately, sourcing rare earth metals, such as Co and Li, which are key components in these batteries, raise several environmental and social concerns. This case highlights senior leadership considerations critical to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, including environmental tradeoffs and issue management. The case highlights the complexity of strategic decision-making in innovative and ESG contexts and challenges the students to contextualize the trade-offs behind each decision and the potential impact to associated stakeholders.

Level: Upper undergraduate and masters. Majors: Management; technology & innovation management; environmental science; science, technology & society; supply chain management; business ethics. Courses: Strategic management (social issues in management, strategic management, technological innovation); technology & society; ethics, supply chain management. Time: 60- or 90-minute class session. Supporting texts (depending on course context): Strategic Management of Technological Innovation. Schilling, M. McGraw Hill, 2017. Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Grant, R. Wiley, 2017. Society, Ethics & Technology. Winston, M., Edelbach, R. Cengage, 2014. Principles of Supply Chain Management. Wisner, J., Tan, K., Leong, G. Cengage, 2019.

The case introduces student to basic understanding of banking sector in Tanzania as well as the strategies and struggle to raise capital through shareholders’ funds. Application of Banking theory and Pecking order theory is evidenced from the case. The case outlines why the bank struggled to raise capital and what triggers the capital raising strategies. It also give students an opportunity to think about applicable theories of capital structure and bank capital, and strategies the bank could use to rescue its capital crunch in the future.

The case provides details of how the Capital Community Bank (CCB) raised its capital through strategic financial engineering which enabled it to raise the minimum regulatory capital required to be licensed as a financial institution unit, to a regional financial institution, to a fully fledged commercial bank. The bank started with a paid up capital of TZS 472.3m in 2002, involving four Local Government Authorities and individual investors. Capital raised to TZS 31.3bn in 2014 and down to TZS 20.6bn at the end of 2016. The minimum regulatory capital required is TZS 15bn, while paid up capital was 16.9bn. With the change of the management team in 2017, the bank is looking for avenues to raise further capital to meet the regulatory limits and continue to survive as a commercial bank, given dramatic changes in the banking sector in Tanzania.

The case is suitable for third year students in Bachelor of Commerce/Economics specializing in banking/financial services. It also suits postgraduate/master's students seeking a Postgraduate Diploma or Master of Business Administration in financial institutions/banking course.

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 1: Accounting and Finance.

The case is focused to meet the following learning objectives: the readers will be able to recall basic cash flow estimation concepts; and the readers will be able to explain various features of capital cash flow (CCF). The participants will be able to implement the CCF model in real estate firm valuation. The participants will be able to compare CCF and free cash flow to the firm (FCFF) models. The participants will be able to evaluate the benefits of CCF over FCFF. The readers will be able to construct the CCF valuation model for firm valuation.

On 19th April 2019, Mr Kai, an analyst tracking real estate firms was excited to present to his team a new robust technique of firm valuation suitable for real estate companies, namely, the CCF technique and was also keen to deliberate on its application. Though the investment scope using this technique could be located in Godrej properties (GP), a reputed brand and the largest listed real estate developer by sales in 2018, yet, he was concerned about the assumptions of growth of real estate industry in India, in general, and the GP in particular. Importantly, this was because the real estate market in India was undergoing many structural changes. For instance, the buyers’ preferences were changing and unsold inventory in the industry was at its peak. Under these market conditions, an announcement was made by GP about a target return on equity of 20% in 2018–2023 expecting a dominant place in the real estate market in India, which also carried the threat of jeopardizing the reputation of GP, if under any circumstance the target was not accomplished.

Masters program.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 11 Strategy.

This field-based case describes the approach and decisions used by Harris Corporation's vice president of supply chain management and operations to establish a set of financial benchmarks. It requires students to use those benchmarks to decide what areas need focus to potentially raise the company's financial results and elevate its financial performance through specific actions within its supply-chain group.

We have used data mostly from published sources like The Economic Times, Forbes, The Times of India and the annual reports of Nestlé India Ltd. Because we classify it as a Teaching Case Study as per the guidelines of Emerald Publishing, we have ensured that any data presented in the case has been acquired only from published sources and is not internal company data. Citations have also been provided wherever necessary.

On 6 June 2015, Nestlé India’s top product Maggi instant noodles was banned nationwide for an unspecified period. The ban was imposed due to allegations of Maggi containing high amounts of lead and message, and consequently violating the food safety standards. What followed was the destruction of massive stocks of Maggi which had been taken off from shelves of stores countrywide. Furthermore, the company faced a huge blow financially as its sales plummeted. This case delves into how Nestlé India adopted relevant strategies to successfully avert the Maggi crisis. Some remedial measures included appointing a Managing Director who understood the market, improving the communication channel and boosting the churn out of new products along with greater emphasis on marketing and advertising.

This case is aimed mainly at undergraduate level students in the field of management studies and public relations management. This case is also relevant for students pursuing a specialization in Crisis Communication, Public Relations, Marketing and Organizational Change.

Following are the learning outcomes: recognize the significance of project management as an integrated approach for managing projects in an unprecedented situation. Identify the issues related to managing contemporary projects such as shorter product life cycles, changing customer preferences and last-minute risks. Evaluate the role of sub-domains of project management such as project prioritization, project negotiation, project portfolio system, project risk assessment and management and project stakeholder management.

It is the year 2020, and the entire world is struggling to cope up with the crisis caused by the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic. Normal life has come to a standstill. All industries have realized the significance of developing innovative strategies to move to the new normal situation. This case describes the plight of TVR Cinemas, a business vertical of Tiya Group, which caters to the business of production and distribution of Bollywood and Hollywood movies in India. With the lock-down of the Indian subcontinent, the multiplex business is badly hurt. With new norms of sanitation, social distancing, and a ‘stay home stay safe policy’ the company has to devise new ways to sustain in the market. This case invites students to put themselves in the shoes of the company project manager, Mr. Ramchandani, to provide recommendations about deciding ways to release seven pipe-lined Bollywood movie projects, deciding on the appropriate over-the-top (OTT) partner for tie-ups, and devising strategic steps to recover the reputation of the company by launching an OTT platform themselves.

The case is useful for introducing basics of project management along with decision making for projects in an uncertain situation. This case can be used for the students of undergraduate/postgraduate/executive level across the modules of project management/project risk management and negotiation management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 9: Operations and logistics.

This case is intended to introduce participants to basic personality types and the role they play in group decision making situations. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) framework is used as the theoretical foundation to explore various personality types. The complexities involved in decision making in a group with divergent personalities are explored through a dilemma faced by Suvasi Textiles. The management team of Suvasi Textiles is grappling with a critical decision which can decisively change the future of the organisation; the case illustrates how the different personality types are impacting the decision making process. The case can serve to highlight the impact of type dynamics on team effectiveness, conflict negotiation, response to change and stress management.

This case was researched using publicly available sources, including Mercury Systems financial filings and press releases, news stories about the seasoned equity offering, financial information from Bloomberg and industry information from IBISWorld Industry Reports and articles related to seasoned/secondary equity offerings, intangible asset valuation and the use of revolving lines of credit. Quotes are taken from Mercury financial reports and press releases and express the (optimistic) opinions of company executives.

Mercury Systems, a technology company in the aerospace and defense industry, announced a six million share seasoned stock offering in June 2019. This resulted in a 6% stock price decrease. A stock price decrease is a typical event when a firm announces the issuance of new common shares, but with Mercury Systems, there were concerns about how much money the firm needed to fund its strategy of growth through acquisitions. If internally generated funds were not sufficient, should the firm issue debt or have another seasoned equity issue? Students will look at the objectives and success of the most recent seasoned equity issue, determine future funds needs and how the firm should finance these needs.

This case is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students in corporate finance electives. Typically, topics such as seasoned equity offerings are not covered in introductory courses, so this is recommended for finance electives. Even in advanced finance courses, sometimes there is insufficient time to cover seasoned equity offerings.