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Information technology, management science and strategic management.

The case has been developed for use in “e-government Management and Leadership” and “Strategic IT management” courses and is appropriate for MBA and Executive Development Programs, as well as corporate training programs incorporating information system and e-government dilemmas. The case is appropriate for courses that deal with e-government development.

Ajman Digital Government (ADG) was established in 2017. It is a new government entity intended to deliver the Ajman e-Government Project to increase government efficiency and productivity, as well as transforming public services to meet citizen expectations of digital experiences and satisfying the UAE Federal e-government standard. The current UAE federal e-government ranking includes only two emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. ADG intends to be part of the UAE federal e-government ranking and participating in the world digital competitiveness ranking. Many challenges lie ahead for ADG, which intends to add Ajman’s e-government to UAE’s federal e-government, supporting the digital competitiveness of UAE worldwide and participating in increasing the ranking for UAE federal government in IMD’s World Digital Competitiveness Ranking; in addition to this challenging goal, there are significant new obstacles to the implementation of the new digital government in Ajman. ADG requires specific ingredients for the maintenance and support of the UAE e-government standard to position the project toward the success. Study of the strategic positioning of ADG would help support success of the development of e-government and weigh which technology should be used and how the project should proceed strategically. The case also provides a very useful ground for discussing all challenges faced and how the innovative business model of e-government will address these issues and create a sustainable e-government environment.

The case is structured to achieve the following learning objectives: Students can recognise the dilemma faced by the Ajman Government in managing citizen expectations, stakeholder expectations and the wider implications of its actions on developing a coherent communication strategy. Students can recognise and critically evaluate the role of leadership and communication in using e-government strategies in hyper technology market. To bring out the challenges in the digital government and repositioning strategies in a highly competitive and dynamic technology environment. Differentiation and repositioning strategies in a highly competitive technology market. Learn how to effectively communicate the value of a digital government to the targeted citizens. Understand how to strike a balance between short-term objectives and long-term goals in e-government development. Analyse the environment, competition, industry and IT product positioning. List alternative IT strategies and e-government positioning. Understand the primary drivers of interaction in e-government.

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 7: Management Science.

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.

Trouble was brewing for Nestle in India with a lab test finding MSG in Maggi noodles, a product brand which had been adjudged ‘most powerful’ and ‘most trusted’ in India;it was being banned in different parts of the country. Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestle SA, arrived in New Delhi to face the heat and take necessary damage control measures. The case challenges the participants to review the events leading to a total ban on all the nine variants of Maggi noodles imposed by FSSAI, the Indian Regulator, by Nestle India. It also challenges them to suggest ways of taking care of the business in future in India as well as its effects in other countries.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to analyze the multidimensional and complex crises, and market stature of a company that was a market and industry leader in a developing country; to evaluate and interpret the outcomes of decisions pertaining declining profits, outstanding receivables, branding, marketing and radical reforms to overcome the challenges of sustainable growth, customers and employees’ loyalty, market stature and leadership crises; and to design strategic solutions for sustaining its leadership position and combating severe challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to ponder upon various crises that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) was facing, so that learners can critically analyze, assess and design strategic solutions for it. PSO was the state-run market leader in the petroleum industry. The company had been struggling to combat multiple types of turmoil at a time. Its huge fund of receivables was blocked in circular debt that caused the company budget constraints and deficits. Due to a government policy shift, the demand for its furnace oil substantially reduced and profits plummeted. The countless internal and external crises posed severe menace to its competitive position vis-a-vis its rivals. This qualitative case study garners data from eight interviews from senior managers in the petroleum industry and adds content analysis technique to acquire pertinent data from renowned media sources and subsequent analysis. The drastic crises left PSO with dearth of funds and declining profitability. Consequently, due to limited marketing budget, creativity of its marketing team for devising effective marketing programs to raise market share was compromised. PSO underwent the issues of brand sustainability, sustainable growth, customers and employees’ loyalty, and market stature to financial and leadership crises. However, despite limitations, it still enjoyed a market leadership position among its rivals in the industry by occupying more than half of the chunk of market in the petroleum industry. This is a unique case study of a state-owned giant company facing multidimensional menaces. It offers tremendous learning opportunities for students who can devise creative strategic solutions and link theories and models with practice.

Graduate (MBA), MS, PhD (management and administrative sciences); Suitable for teaching in chapters: Anywhere but ideally near the middle or end of the above courses.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 11: Strategy.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to analyze the driving forces that lead non-government organizations (NGOs) to develop need-based programs; to evaluate the strategy adopted by NGOs in attaining the organization’s mission and creating a social impact, corporate social responsibility, inclusion, labor market, social enterprise, strategy and vocational learning; to apply social business canvas for analyzing the business model deployed by NGOs to develop market linkages; to analyze the challenges in setting and scaling NGO programs and strategies designed to address the same; and to enable students to brainstorm in creating future growth options for scaling up and replicating NGO programs.

The case describes the journey of Salaam Bombay Foundation (SBF), a national-level NGO registered in 2002 in Mumbai, India. In March 2020, SBF had an annual budget of INR 13.98 crores (US$1.84m). It addresses the challenging environments children from economically constrained families face by engaging them in continuing school education and providing vocational training. Since its inception, SBF has launched and executed many in-school and after-school programs. To successfully transit skilled adolescents and teenagers into the labor market and help them make informed career decisions, SBF launched “DreamLab,” a stipend-based “internship” model, in August 2018. Gaurav Arora, Vice President SBF, was assigned the responsibility to scale up skills@school and DreamLab internship programs. With disruptions caused by the pandemic in March 2020, Arora struggled to operationalize DreamLab as initially planned. The case is at a crucial decision point where clouds of uncertainty have made Arora and his team anxious about their future course of action.

The case is intended for students of undergraduate and graduate programs in Business Management, Social Entrepreneurship and Social Work programs. Executives of management development programs can also use the case to analyze the effectiveness and management of the skill development program.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Property development, the built environment and privatisation.

Undergraduate and MA level property development courses, modules covering privatisation within undergraduate, MBA and MA level management programmes.

Property development is complex and diverse. It involves many agents with diverse roles, strategies and actions that affect the return. In a way, privatisation reduces government's financial burdens and offers ease of procedures to agents. This case study investigates privatisation of property development projects by a local authority in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In particular, the study focuses on modes of privatisation (MOP) and the extent to which it affects the return of the projects. The MOP studied are the land swap, land lease and the joint venture development on 15 selected privatisation projects.

Students are expected to be able to understand the MOP for land development projects using Malaysia as an example; evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these MOP; assess the benefits and impacts to the local Malaysian authority, landowners and land developers of MOP; and apply suitable MOP to alternative development projects.

Teaching note.

The case discusses the issues related to Zee Tele Films Limited's claims that the Board of Cricket Control of India was “state” and could act arbitrarily in the award of telecasting rights. The “state” as defined in Article 12 includes “other authorities”, and these are subject to the constitutional limitations. The right to equality requires them to not act arbitrarily. A body which is an instrumentality or agency of the government is “other authority”. The term has been subject to judicial interpretation. The Supreme Court, by a majority judgement, in the Zee Tele Films Case ruled that the Board is not “other authorities” within Article 12 of the Constitution.

The Fundamental Rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of India, are very substantive rights. The rights, however, are available only against the State as defined in Article 12 of the Constitution. The definition of State includes the Union and States' legislatures and executive. The meaning of these terms is clear and definite. The last entry in the definition is Other Authorities. This term has been subject to judicial interpretations. The Airport Authority of India Case was a landmark judgement expanding the scope of Other Authorities. It formulated that a public corporation, which was an instrumentality or agency of the government, should be considered as Other Authority.

From a pedagogical point, the case may fulfill following objectives: First, to understand Vodafone’s position in the current environment. Does the environment present the elements that are necessary for them to thrive (as analyzed using a PESTEL framework)? Second, to understand the resources needed to build competitive advantage in an emerging market context (as analyzed using the Porter five forces model); and third, to understand the competitive challenges of conducting business in a highly (and sometimes capriciously) regulated industry.

The Indian Telecommunication sector is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. There are nine telecom operators who are pioneering this growth; however, five private companies: Bharti, Idea, Reliance, Aircel and Vodafone make up 78.86 per cent of the market. These five companies have the opportunity to increase their market share by expanding the services provided to rural India; however, the Indian Tax Authorities have caused some hesitation. Aside from being known as heavy handed and unpredictable, the authorities have also demanded that Vodafone pay them billions in taxes. These court cases have challenged the way that other telecom operators look at investing. The arrival of Reliance Jio as a new player in the Indian wireless space with deep pockets has not helped the already fierce competitive landscape. Reliance Jio is forcing all wireless companies including Vodafone to reevaluate their India strategy.

This case could be used in both MBA and executive education programs.

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.

One of the major issues present in this case is whether there is significant industry pressure to internationalize. Yip’s (1989) global strategy drivers are a helpful approach for examining this issue. This case also applies two important marketing concepts – the product life cycle and diffusion of innovation theory – and how differences across international markets impact these concepts. Finally, there are significant cultural issues at play in this case as well. Theoretical models of national culture, such as Hofstede, Hall and others, can be used to examine cultural influences on an industry that is not often associated with culture.

The case is based upon a combination of secondary research and primary research. The lead researcher and a team of graduate students conducted interviews with Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) executives in the USA and Chile in 2017.

This three-part case examines the internationalization of LP into South America. Case A begins in 1999 as LP attempts to decide whether to take its oriented strand board product international. The reader is asked to consider where LP should go in South America. Case B examines the factors LP used to decide to enter Chile and then outlines the key decisions that led to its impressive growth between 2000 and 2015. Case C begins in 2015 as LP now considers whether to expand its markets into Argentina or Colombia.

Given the complexity of issues raised in the case and the need to narrow these issues down to an implementable decision, this case is most appropriate later in the schedule of a graduate or executive-level business course in international business or international marketing.