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Human resource development/management and change management.

The case is suitable for final year undergraduate human resource development/management or specialist HRM Master's programs (strategic HRM/HRD).

The case study highlights the challenges of managing change and growth in India's dynamic business process outsourcing sector. The choice of a large and complex organisation brings to the fore the complexity of decision making and how various factors shape the development of critical organisational capabilities and training provision.

Depending on the level of the class and the emphasis, one or more of the following learning outcomes can be achieved from this case study. Following thecase analysis, students should be able to: discuss the key challenges faced by BPOLAND; identify and analyse the various influences of internal and external factors on training provision; understand the importance of forging partnerships with key functional groups for shaping training and organisational capabilities; analyse the dynamic interactions between the various factors and training provision; analyse the relationship between BPOLAND's competitive strategy and its training choices (make versus buy); evaluate the role of training in developing organisational capabilities; and strategise a way forward for the person responsible for learning and development.

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

Human resource development/management and change management, leadership, entrepreneurial development and indigenous innovation.

The case is suitable for final year undergraduate human resource development/management, change management, indigenous innovation, or specialist HRM Master's program (strategic HRM/HRD) students.

The case study highlights the challenges of managing change and growth in India's dynamic business process outsourcing sector. The choice of a small organisation brings to the fore the impact of the strategic decisions owners of capital place on managers as they address issues of sustained growth to support short-term expectations of shareholders. The case highlights India's indigenous approach to frugal innovation or jugaad (finding a creative and improvised work around); how a group of managers consistently reinvented the business model and human resource management practices to stay afloat and meet shareholder expectations.

Depending on the teaching programme and the emphasis of this case in the class, one or more of the following learning outcomes (LO) can be achieved from this case study. These LO have been developed using Bloom's taxonomy and they progressively move from simple to complex LO. Following the case analysis, students should be able to: discuss the key challenges faced by Transcribe and Tally (T&T); identify and analyse the various influences of internal and external factors on training provision; understand the importance of an external network of service provision and identify the key training and organisational capabilities; analyse the dynamic interactions between the various factors and training provision; analyse the relationship between T&T's competitive strategy and its strategic choices (make versus buy) towards investing in training; evaluate the role of training in developing organisational capabilities; and strategize a way forward for Roy Thakur.

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

Business transformation processes, change management and business strategy.

The case can be used to study business transformation processes and would be relevant for courses on change management and business strategy. It shouldbe studied in the context of behavioral and organizational challenges in implementing an organization-wide change. The case is targeted at MBA students and/or executive participants with professional experience who would be able to link the learningto corporate experience. It can be used for courses on organizational change, business strategy, and change management.

The case, set in India in the year 2011, is positioned in the business consulting domain, and provides insight into managing change from the perspective of a consulting partner. The case discusses challenges and presents processes followed by Wipro Consulting Services (WCS) in conducting an integrated business transformation exercise at Brigade Enterprises Ltd (BEL), a leading firm in India's real estate sector. The BEL engagement had busted the myth that an integrated business transformation could not be conducted in an unorganized sector, and resulted in savings of overUSD 2 million for BEL. The case traces the journey of WCS into business transformation consulting, outlines the solution framework proposed by WCS, and discusses the decisive nature of the Brigade project for WCS' growth trajectory.

The case has been written with the following objectives, to: familiarize students with the processes and phases of a business transformation project; examine transformation barriers and challenges from a consultant perspective; and providestudents an appreciation of the complexities and challenges, decisional criteria and parameters of a large-scale, integrated business transformation exercise.

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

The case’s learning objectives to work on can vary according to the topic selected by the teacher. This case has been put forward with a particular interest in corporate strategy issues, specifically, on the joint management of businesses (in this case, academic programs). Therefore, students are expected to be able to understand the managerial dilemma on centralization and decentralization; recognize the peculiarities of a shared services center (SSC); and decide on which services to centralize in an SSC.

Centralizing or not centralizing is a frequent managerial dilemma. This is a challenge faced not only by business managers but also by corporate level areas responsible for jointly managing various businesses. Resources and capabilities allocation is an essential process for strategy execution, specifically in corporate strategy that must answer the question: How to jointly manage businesses? Sharing services is a collaborative strategy which aims to increase efficiency by centralizing some processes related to this joint business management. Mario, Dean of the Escuela de Administración in Medellín, Colombia, intends to optimize the school resource allocation processes so that there is more equitable support between the different academic programs. For this, he has thought of creating an SSC as it is a practice that he has seen in prominent companies in the city. His idea is to start operating the SSC in early 2018; however, the particular character of a management school leads him to ask himself: What to centralize and what not to centralize?

This case of decision (Ellet, 2007; Sánchez et al., 2013) can be used to promote student learning of strategy courses both at advanced undergraduate levels and in graduate programs. Likewise, it can be used in workshops with executives and administrative personnel of companies that face the centralize–decentralize dilemma. These types of topics are the subject of study by both corporate strategy theorists who address the question of how to jointly manage business (Menz et al., 2015; Michael Porter, 1987) and consultants (Deloitte, 2012). It is desirable, although not mandatory, that students have some knowledge or experience in strategic issues and challenges associated with the administration of companies made up of various businesses (multi-business firms).

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The learning outcomes of this study include: recognizing the strategic inflexion points and related business and strategic perspectives in the life of an organization; understanding sources of sustained competitive advantage and connect it with resource-based view for internal analysis; applying dynamic capability theory to identify capabilities that help an IT company stay relevant in an IT sector characterized by VUCA (an acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) environment; analyzing the multi-dimensional and multi-contextual challenge an organization faces, or is likely to face, in the foreseeable future and the possible ways it addresses or should address them; evaluating strategies adopted at various points of an organization’s journey for their effectiveness; and helping a company co-create value for its customers.

This case of Nitor Infotech Private Limited (Nitor), a mid-sized software product outsourcing company, outlines its decade-long journey, highlighting its achievements. While the company has consistently grown by leveraging its expertise in software product engineering and its domain knowledge in the healthcare segment, it entered into a stage of its life cycle where it had to develop a long-term strategy to effectively compete in the product engineering market. Nitor’s strategy was built around product engineering and outsourced product development. The two major choices for a software company were either to develop its own product and thereby own the intellectual property (IP) or to develop modules which would be part of a product that would be owned by a client. In the latter case, the IP would be held by the client. So far Nitor chose to follow the second option by developing components for its client’s products. Although this strategy allowed it to develop expertise in a particular domain, and serve different customers in a particular market, the chances of a competitor attacking its position was high. On the other hand, if it developed its own product, it can create its own brand name and can sell packaged software to several different customers. However, the challenge with the latter is that the cost of marketing could be very high. The choice for the company in the future is to decide on selecting a specific strategy to expand its international business.

This case is appropriate for an undergraduate and postgraduate management course in the area of strategic management. The level of difficulty can be from medium to high depending on the learning level. Knowledge of management fundamentals is not a prerequisite but is desirable for case analysis.

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

The first company under the Amara Raja Group was established in 1984, i.e. Amara Raja Electronics Limited (AREL) followed by Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL). Its founder leveraged the presence of his family in Renigunta, a rural village in South India, and chose to start the industry there to create employment opportunities. Preference is given to local population in all ARG enterprises. Despite its strong people orientation, the HR department/function at ARG got strengthened only after Jaikrishna strived to make it central to business. The department's evolution has been demarcated in three phases. The first and second phase saw few initiatives, and during the third phase the HR department was structured according to the Dave Ulrich Strategic HR Model. While this structure had been successful until now, certain sections in ARG still doubted its sustainability.

General management/strategy.

Case B: On April 4, 2013, the meeting of GMR’s Group Executive Council (GEC) was scheduled to take place. Srinivas Bommidala, G.M. Rao’s son-in-law and Chairman of GMR’s airports business, was gearing up for the meeting. The meeting was called to discuss a proposal for bidding for an upcoming airport project in the Philippines. It had been more than a decade since GMR entered the airport infrastructure sector. The organization had built substantial airport operating expertise during that period. It adopted a joint venture (JV) model for expanding into the airport infrastructure business. Until now the organization had always formed JVs for all its airport projects. JVs, with existing airport operators, were necessitated by the bid conditions that required a certain minimum airport operating experience for qualifying as a bidder for various projects. In some cases, JV with a local player helped GMR with market knowledge for functioning in a foreign market. GMR also used JVs to access the capabilities it lacked for operating in this sector and gradually learnt from its partners for building capabilities in-house. The group now had the required operating expertise in the sector to qualify as a bidder. One of the key issues the GEC was contemplating was: Whether GMR should continue to form JV for bidding for the upcoming project or should it go solo? Further, if it had to form a JV then, in which areas should it seek a partner?

Case B: To help students understand how companies use alliances as growth strategies; to understand the rationale for formation of various alliances; to explore various factors managers consider when deciding on alliance strategy of an organization; to understand the challenges associated with using alliances as a strategic option; and to understand the pros and cons of internal development (i.e. going solo) vis-à-vis strategic alliances.

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.

Against the backdrop of IBM Personal Computer Business's acquisition by Lenovo Group, this case introduces the remodeling process of Lenovo's HR organization and development team, during which the company's 5P principle, namely “Plan (think clearly before making promise), Perform (promise is to be fulfilled), Prioritize (company's interest is top priority), Practice (make progress every day in every year), Pioneering (venture any experiment to be a trailblazer), takes shape. After learning about Lenovo's recruitment of internationalized talents, cross-cultural coaches for senior leaders, cultural development in internationalization and risk aversion in international operations, we can understand what Lenovo's HR team does to avoid conflicts in corporate culture and ethnic culture in cross-border mergers and acquisitions and integration, and how to adjust and change the HR management system.

Strategy.

The case study is intended for organization theory and strategic management courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate (MBA) levels.

The case describes a company located in a fictitious developing country. The main activity of the company is the exploitation and production of tin, which it has developed over its 40-year history (1971-2011). During the first 33 years, it developed three capabilities: namely, technical, productive and the generation of trust among employees. The case illustrates three characteristics of capabilities: problem solving and complexity, practicing and succeeding, and reliability over time. The case also illustrates a paradox related to capabilities and shows three of its causes: path dependency and lock-in to a given course of action, structural inertia, and the absence of a capability dynamization function. In 2009, the company was faced with the need to reshape its capabilities and the arrival of a new President to the company provided the appropriate occasion to analyse this option.

These include: understanding what an organizational capability is and what its main characteristics are; understanding the process by which an organizational capability emerges and develops, and how it may be eroded in a given scenario; understanding a paradox an organization faces when capabilities are developed; and understanding why the concept of dynamic capabilities does not add power to the concept of capabilities.

Teaching notes are available, please consult your librarian for access. Videos with interviews of employees of the case company are also available.

On a fine afternoon in January 2015, Divakar Kaza, President, Human Resources, at Lupin Ltd., took a sip of coffee from his cup, and shared the good news he had just received, with Rituraj Sar, head of Learning & Development. Lupin had just won the ‘Outstanding Company of the Year’ Award at the CNBC-TV18 India Business Leadership Awards, 2014-15¹. The accomplishment was heartening, given that it reinforced similar recognitions in the recent past. Lupin had won the NDTV Business Leadership Award for the Indian Pharmaceutical Company of the year in 2012, backed up by the same acclaim in 2010 by Frost & Sullivan².