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The case study will help to learn about the importance of pre-sanction precautionary measures before lending to self-help groups (SHGs), to learn about the potential lapses and errors while sanctioning SHG finance and to learn about the importance of bank’s guidelines and compliance before sanctioning loans.

This case study details the tenure of Seema in a rural branch of Safe Bank of India located in Haryana which she joined as a manager in the year 2016. She overachieved the target given by the district collector office, and going by the tide, she kept her reliance on the references provided by non-government organization (NGO) without complying the bank’s instructions. She committed errors while sanctioning the loans, which led towards the upsurge of non-performing assets of the branch. Later on, after investigation it was discovered that she did not follow fundamental bank’s instructions. In wake of those lapses and errors, how she could have avoided those lapses and secure the public money? What were the most important documents while granting agriculture finance and what due diligence she should have taken? How did she treat calls from the government departments? Was she right in trusting the suggestions of the NGO?

This case study caters to students of various streams, namely, management, business administration and law, and can be targeted at both undergraduate and postgraduate students. It could be suitable for several types of courses and students. Furthermore, this case study can also be targeted for various training programmes for bank employees and employees of various lending institutions engaged in agriculture finance and credit linkage programmes.

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.

Operations and human resourcing.

This case study is intended for use in graduate, executive level management and doctoral programs. The case study illustrates a combined IT and HR driven participative management control system in a flexible organization structure. It is intended for a class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.

The case describes the situation of managing unskilled workforces (≥14,000 workers) during the construction phase of the 4 × 250MW power plants both for purposes of turnout as well as due compensation, in the event of an accident. The approved labour forces appointed for 45 × 8 h. Man-days after a rigorous fitness test and approvals of the safety officer are allocated housing and other necessary amenities and a commensurate compensation system.

These include: illustrating typical organizational responsibility structure at a construction site of a large power plant; illustrating the planning and administrative control mechanism in implementing strategy at a construction site of a large power plant; offering students the opportunity to understand and view a typical operational (project) structure; allowing students to speculate adaptations in the wake of an ever-changing business and company environment; and providing an opportunity to introduce a power scenario in India, Indian labour laws and radio frequency identification technology and to relate this to the case in context.

Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.

This failure case study tells the story of All World Media, a start-up offering internet-based media planning and buying tool created by ambitious Estonian entrepreneurs in 2011. A few years earlier the two founders had come up with an idea that in their opinion would revolutionize the process of media planning and buying for advertisers. They had noticed that the industry worked in an intransparent and inefficient way. Based on their own extensive experience in various internet ventures and following first consultations with key industry players they were confident that the market was ready for a self-service online media marketplace.

The (A) case focusses on the initial business idea and on the events before the launch of the internet platform. The case includes the entrepreneurs' concept, the main contents of the business plan, and the operational steps until the launch of the service on the market. The (B) case outlines the events after the launch of the online service, analyzes the possible reasons for the failure of the original business model and discusses potential strategic alternatives that are still open for the entrepreneurs.

The two-case sequence can be used for a 90-minutes session in marketing, entrepreneurship or strategic management courses in graduate and executive programs. The case is accompanied by an instructor's manual which also includes suggested assignment questions and proposed session plan.

This case study deals specifically with the issue of manufacturing strategy, and business strategy.

The case can be used in a number of course contexts, including undergraduate and MBA programs. The focus is on both business strategy and manufacturing strategy issues. The case can be assigned as an opening vignette, during the initial phases of business strategy, since the case situations and concepts are both simple and clear. It can also be assigned for an in-depth treatment of manufacturing strategy.

The case focuses on Capital Mills Limited (CML), a flour milling company, and concentrates on whether the company should refurbish its two 40-year old flour mills at a cost of US$6 million or if the company should invest US$15 million in the construction and installation of a new, fully-automated “Lights out” flour mill. This decision is viewed as a “make or break” decision for CML, since for the first time in the company's 40 year history will it face significant direct competition, in the form of the impending entry of a second flour milling company.

The case has four primary learning objectives, namely to: illustrate the linkages between business level strategy and the functional level, manufacturing strategy; discuss the role of a company's history and internal resource structure in the decision making process; explore how operational issues influence capital expenditure decisions; and explore the perspective of managers in different functions in an organization that is facing a new competitive challenge.

Teaching notes are available – consult your librarian for access.

This case is designed to facilitate students to comprehend the challenges an e-commerce firm faces when it attempts to monetize data network effects. The challenges faced by Zomato are ideal for in-class debate and discussion. The following learning objectives can be fulfilled through this case: understanding the promises and issues raised by data network effects; comprehending the problems an e-commerce firm faces in re-configuration; illustrating the responsibility of an established e-commerce firm towards its stakeholders; and discussing how a firm should navigate its relationship with its stakeholders.

Zomato.com, the largest Indian food aggregator and delivery platform, was contemplating the launch of Zomato Instant, a 10-min food delivery. Currently, the company’s delivery model pivoted around delivering food within 30 min. Recently, Zomato acquired Blinkit, an online grocery shopping app that was positioned to deliver groceries in 10 min. Deepinder Goyal of Zomato felt that customers would soon be more discriminant in demanding quicker services, as they might not be comfortable with 30-min deliveries. Hence, Zomato’s business model must also be re-configured to provide 10-min deliveries. Armed with access to customer data, Goyal predicted items that could be prepared and delivered within 10 min from its dark stores and automated kitchens. Although the model seemed promising and the company was upbeat about it, Zomato Instant faced challenges on several fronts. From the human angle, the decision was criticized on social media, mainly around the violation of road regulations, road safety issues and pressure on the delivery personnel to perform. Many delivery personnel had fled this gig work to join their pre-COVID jobs. Even the Competition Commission of India had established an inquiry into Zomato’s anti-competitive practices using customer data.

This case is best taught as part of a curriculum in management programmes at the post-graduate level, in courses such as e-commerce, e-retailing, business models for electronic commerce and online entrepreneurship/new age entrepreneurship. In terms of the positioning in the course, this case could be used to demonstrate the challenges of re-configuration of an online platform.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Addresses the issue of Gender Equality – UN Sustainable Development Goal No.5. Discusses the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion. Presents the challenges faced by women of color in workplace and shows the capabilities needed to overcome these challenges.

Analyze the capabilities that women of color need to become successful leaders. Explore the importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in organizations and the role played by leaders in promoting DEI. Understand what inclusive leadership is. Examine the strategic leadership skills that leaders need to possess.

In March 2021, one of the largest drugstore chains in the USA, Walgreens Boots Alliance, a US$140bn company, announced that Rosalind Brewer (Brewer) (she) would be its new CEO. With the announcement, Brewer became the third black woman in history to lead a Fortune 500 company. After graduating in organic chemistry, Brewer joined Kimberly Clark and went on to lead the Nonwovens business. She then joined Walmart as Vice President. Brewer then moved to Starbucks as Head of Operations. Being an inclusive leader, Brewer brought in several changes to smoothen the operations and make the organizations employee-friendly. At the same time, as a black woman in a leadership position, she faced several challenges, which she overcame. As an advocate of DEI, Brewer strove to take diversity beyond just numbers. After becoming the CEO Boots Walgreens, Brewer was looking at taking medicines to masses and making healthcare affordable and available.

MBA/MS/Executive Education.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CCS 6: Human Resources.

The subject areas are strategy, general management, health-care management, change management and inclusive growth model and application of technology to manage health care.

The case can be used to teach challenges in managing change in a health-care facility.

Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) is dedicated to provide best health-care services in the field of cancer cure. TMC established its credentials for service, education and research, which contributed to it being rated among the ten best hospitals year on year. Starting from humble moorings, TMC has grown to an institution of high repute from an 80-bed hospital to a 700-bed hospital. TMC held a number of pioneering efforts, which included bone marrow transplantation, external beam radiotherapy (linear accelerator), tumor tissue bank and bio-imaging to name a few. The management team of TMC had ensured that the growth had been orderly and appropriate to the changing needs of the community. Managing a hospital with disparate skill sets in the face of ever-increasing demand for services had always been a challenge in itself. As a government-run facility and well funded by the trust, TMC offered excellent services and post-operative care to the patients. So, it became imperative for the hospital to adopt technology to improve its hospital services and maintain transparency. Patients came to the hospital from different states in India and across the globe. TMC registered international and national patients online. Online medical reports were checked before the patients visited the hospital. TMC has developed an e-system that will allow patients around the world to send their tissue samples that are suspected to be cancerous for medical advice to the hospital. This case study is developed to provide insights into the transformation of TMC into an e-health-care service and explains the process of change management.

They are to provide insights into the challenges in health-care management, to illustrate the challenges faced by organization in implementing information and communication technology- managing change and to bring about best practices in the case organization and find solutions to the following questions: What are challenges faced by health-care officials in providing health care using new technological innovations? How can hospitals equip themselves with new technology? With the advent of improved and modern communication methods, medical practices and cases are more easily shared. Cases are discussed, recorded and, in many cases, put up for general public viewing through the electronic media. How can hospitals manage change? How can hospital administrators manage speed of delivery, quality healthcare, innovation and brand image?

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:11 Strategy.

Subject area information and communication technology (ICT) for development.

Master of Business Administration Program’s Management Information Systems courses. Or introductory courses in Masters in ICT for Development.

The paper aims to highlight the endeavour of public distribution system (PDS), a food security scheme for under-privileged people in India, towards excellence, using ICT in the state of Chhattisgarh. It presents two important roles of ICT: one, as a system improvement tool, through supply chain integration (in Phase 1) and, the other, as tool for empowerment, by providing choices through computerized online real-time electronic (CORE) PDS (in Phase 2). CORE PDS was intended to provide choices of retail outlets to poor beneficiaries for collecting their food entitlement, breaking the retail outlet’s monopoly. The project was successfully implemented in some urban areas of Chhattisgarh, providing motivation for its mass scale roll-out. But, the contextual differences between rural and urban settings were raising questions on the ultimate value expected to be delivered by the project in rural areas.

Two major learning outcomes of the case: students will appreciate the multi-faceted role of ICT in improving the performance of a system meant for a financially poor section of the society; students will understand the role of contextual settings in a developing economy in the endeavour of ICT projects for societal development.

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 10: Public Sector Management.

The purpose of this study is to make students understand the logic behind and implications of the “Socio-Technical Imbrication Framework” that can help them understand the importance of aligning workforce motivation and capabilities with the modern technology deployed in the organization. Moreover, students will understand the essentiality and criticality of customer satisfaction for the organization.

The technical services operations team at Cotton Web Limited formerly relied on JS Node, e-coordination system, to address customer complaints. There were many bugs in that system as it did not carry along the complaint tracking protocol, was slow in response, fundamentally structured upon manual complaint record keeping that resulted in piling up un-resolved complaints for a longer period of time. The team under the leadership of Mr. Hasan Ali, a competent expert working as GM Research and Data Analytics, undertook detailed analysis of recurring glitches in this system and replaced it with a novel Web-based automated complaint management system at Cotton Web Limited. This entire diagnosis and intervention process took almost three months till completion. The case is written for use in courses in the curriculum of BBA, BBIS, BSIT and BSCS programs at undergraduate level. It is most suitable for the courses in leadership, change management, business process reengineering, soft engineering, team building and business communication.

The case is suitable for teaching at Undergraduate level to the students of BBIS, BBA, BSCS and BSIT students in the last year of their degree programs. Teaching faculty can use case-based methodology for student learning by putting them into a real-life situation faced by an organization and letting them think critically and identify following points for further discussion and clarity: individual or in groups; problem identification through discussion; the stakeholders involved in the company’s situation through presentation or one-pager presentation; case analysis with reaching best solution to prevailing issue at hand through group discussion; reaching a decision or solution with reasonable logic and justification through group discussions; and create further dilemma on the basis of questions unanswered within this case story.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 7: Management Science.

The value of the DeLone & McLean model for planning actions before IS design and implementation can guarantee its success.The value of the DeLone & McLean model for IS auditing in critical dimensions of project success, including both hard and soft elements.Information and information systems are essential organizational resources that must be viewed in an interconnected way with the rest of the organization's resources and capabilities that systemically guarantee the achievement of the export objectives.The role of management commitment in the success of voluntary Information Systems.

The case deals with Luis's decision to continue a Competitive Information System project. For his PhD research project, Luis designed and implemented an information system to support the export goals of the business school for which he worked. Three months later, the System obtained positive feedback and user satisfaction but deficient System usage levels. Luis does not know whether to continue with the project or not. If he decides to continue, further steps are needed to increase the System's use for contributing to the export goals.

The case is suitable for use with MBA students and executive education short courses.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International Business.