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The subject areas are business communication, human resource management and health care.

The case was designed for use in a first-year MBA-level course in business communication but would serve well in a course for executives or for advanced undergraduates. It might also be assigned in general management courses to evoke discussion on communication skills required in sensitive and critical situations; human resource courses; and course on health care.

Palliative care is a specialized medical care focussing on improving the quality of life of patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses. It addresses symptom management and psychosocial and spiritual concerns of the patient and its caregivers. With the intent to alleviate the sufferings of terminally ill patients, Rajbala Foundation, a non-government organization (NGO), works at the psychosocial and spiritual levels. While training their volunteers in effective palliative care communication, it often encounters challenges such as socio-cultural variations, organizational challenges, appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication, etc. This teaching case focuses on the communication challenges faced by the volunteers of Rajbala Foundation. It would lead to a broader discussion on communicating empathically during critical situations. The case has a focus on NGOs, and non-profit organizations, public sector management, health-care management and human resources management. There is significant literature on communication skills for medical practitioners in palliative care. As an increasing number of NGOs step in to provide the second level of care to critically ill patients in non-physical domains, there is a need to understand the role of effective communication for such care providers. This case deals with non-medical care providers in palliative care; the issues of communication they face as they interact with patients; and the skills they require to address the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their families.

The aim of this case is to raise awareness of the complexities involved in the communication process during an emotional and sensitive interaction. It aims to encourage volunteers involved in palliative care to reflect on good communication practices when communicating with patients and family members. After reading this case, the students should be able to discuss the complexities involved in the communication process when communicating in situations with high emotional involvement; understand the core elements of emotional interactions for effective practice; and emphasize the need for the development of communication skills within palliative care.

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

After completion of this case study, students will be able to help participants appreciate how the personal experiences of the founder(s) shape the inception of a social venture and impact its ongoing evolution; elucidate the intricacies and challenges inherent in managing a mission-driven organization dedicated to serving the underserved segments of society; emphasize the difficulties associated with exploring opportunities for scaling up a social venture; and facilitate comprehension of the various options and strategies available for achieving scalability.

The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), founded in 1992–1993 by Prof. Achyuta Samanta in Bhubaneswar, was a pioneering institution with a distinctive focus on providing high-quality education at all levels, exclusively to tribal students. From its inception, KISS remained unwavering in its commitment to the holistic development of marginalized tribal communities. It offered not just free education but also comprehensive support, including accommodation, food and health care, to thousands of students spanning from kindergarten to post-graduation levels. Remarkably, KISS held the unique distinction of being the world’s only university dedicated to tribal education. Over the years, KISS witnessed remarkable growth, evolving from a modest 125 students in 1992–1993 to a thriving community of 30,000 students. Its success garnered attention from federal and state governments, public institutions, philanthropists and corporations, all intrigued by the prospect of replicating its transformative model in diverse regions of the country. KISS even received invitations to establish similar campuses in neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. What set KISS apart was its self-sustaining approach. While it did receive support from like-minded organizations and government schemes, it operated without charging any fees to its students. This ethos posed a unique challenge for Samanta: determining the nature and extent of support and resources required should KISS choose to expand its impact beyond its current boundaries.

This case study is suited for inclusion in courses pertaining to social innovation and non-profit management, particularly in modules around the theme of scaling social innovation. It provides an illustration of the growth trajectory of social innovation-oriented ventures and the key factors underlining their success and sustainability. Furthermore, this case study delves into the inherent tensions that often emerge during the process of scaling up such initiatives.

In addition to the MBA-level courses, this case study can also be used as a resource for executive education programs with a specific focus on social purpose organizations and those dedicated to fostering partnerships in pursuit of social goals. It offers insights into the dynamics of these organizations and their collaborative efforts towards achieving social impact.

To effectively explore and analyse the case material, instructors should allocate approximately 70–90 min of class discussion time.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS11: Strategy.

Organisational behaviour; Leadership; Organisational development; Public–Private partnership; Health care management; Public health.

Masters students in Business Administration, Post Graduate Diploma, Clinical Training of Medical Professionals, Health Leadership Programme.

Prof Jannie Hugo, the protagonist in the case, was considering his dilemma of aligning the multiple partners involved in public health care. A high level of collaboration was required of a multitude of stakeholders in developing the Daspoort clinic into a pilot site for the Tshwane district’s implementation of the National Health Insurance system. In addition, the re-engineering of primary health care with the focus on the patient and community orientated approach were launched on this site.

Gaining insight into international and national landscapes and principles of health care systems. Critically analyse the role of technology in delivering innovative health and social services. Present judgment of Prof Jannie Hugo’s contextual leadership effectiveness in enhancing collaboration between the multiple stakeholders and recommend next steps.

2 × DVDs on Vimeo, Slides and teaching plan with discussion or exam questions with model answers.

CSS 7: Management Science.

Mission and vision for strategic management of non governmental organizations.

This case can be used for strategic management course (with a focus on vision and mission), particularly for the management of non governmental organizations (NGOs) (with a focus on discovering and defining directions).

Shraddhanand Mahila Ashram completed 83 years of its existence in 2011. Sharadhanand Mahila Ashram has been managed by the Hindu women's welfare society. The organization for the last eight decades has been caring for destitute women, orphans up to six years old, and caring for girls till they reached 18 years of age. The Ashram has also been taking care of mentally and physically challenged orphans. The Ashram over the years changed its policies and practices to be in tune with the social requirements in the changing environment. Up to the close of the first decade of the 21st century the Ashram had been providing traditional training to the young ladies and then subsequently would marry them. In the last two decades beginning 1991, because of the economic development of India and the economic integration of India with the West, cultural changes had transpired in Indian society. Women in general have been becoming more empowered and economically independent. Given this context the committee members of the Ashram were contemplating on the future guidance to the girls of the Ashram for making them empowered and independent individuals. This would shift the established policies and practices of the Ashram and lead to a new vision.

The case would help students to reflect on the significance of mission and vision statement of an NGO. The case would further help students to understand the day to day working practices of an NGO as derived from mission and mission statements. The students will be able to comprehend the need for review and change in mission and vision statements. The students will also be able to understand how mission and vision statements aligned to the organizational practices and policies impact at ground zero and above.

Teaching notes are available.

The subject area is entrepreneurship.

Graduate and executive education level in leadership, entrepreneurship and strategic management are used to discuss leadership, entrepreneurship and strategy in health services.

This case talks about the passionate journey of a pediatrician practicing in the Mumbai city of India, who as an individual private practitioner is contributing to the fulfilment of the global health agenda and the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) – “reduce child mortality”. His vision is to make quality and affordable expert pediatric care accessible to all the individuals, right from pre-birth to adulthood. Surya Mother and Child Care Hospital (SMCH) is being strengthened as a nation-wide network of mother and child hospital offering patient/consumer-centric integrated collaborative quality care, and it needs to be seen how this model can be made sustainable as it enlarges in scale for the future.

The case is structured to achieve the following learning outcomes: to understand about effectuation as a logic for entrepreneurial success through the lens of Dr Avasthi and his venture SMCH; To understand and apply Porter’s Principles of value transformation that essentially focus on outcome-driven cost-efficient work practices in a collaborative integrative fashion, where transformation must come from within (some practices suggested can be applied to the Indian Healthcare Services Delivery systems); to critically analyze the overall strategic position of SMCH as an organization and its competitive environment; to discuss the factors influencing health-care delivery capacity build up, given the MDGs 2015, Every Newborn Action Plan and Indian Newborn Action Plan framework, as applicable to India; and to discuss and analyze mechanisms for future sustainable service delivery options for SMCH. Although each of these principles is important, possibly, the instructor could emphasize and encourage more discussions on potential models of shared partnerships that can help quality health-care services reach the unreached and the incorporation of technology in achieving this. The learning process can also facilitate discussions about leadership qualities in the creation of health-care entrepreneurs, for the “Change That They Would Want To See”.

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:3 Entrepreneurship.

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.

Entrepreneurship in emerging markets; the planning of survival and competition strategies of small businesses run by entrepreneurs against well established larger brands.

The case can be used at the post graduate level in principles of marketing, entrepreneurship or emerging markets courses.

The case looks at the antecedents and process of transformation of a small-scale firm into a marketing-oriented organization, through the lens of holistic marketing. The case focuses on a small-scale Bangalore based Indian company, Vishaal Natural Food Products (I) Pvt. Ltd that had used the concept of marketing orientation and holistic marketing to effectively make use of the advantages of its “smallness” and the characteristics of its entrepreneurial setup.

How can an entrepreneur survive in a dynamic environment? How should the company conceptually finalize its growth avenues? How can holistic marketing have an impact on the entire functioning of the organization when radical changes to handle the environmental changes, are made? How does the concept of holistic marketing which in textbooks fits in with the complexities of large corporations when they plan their strategies, have an impact on the functioning of these small businesses. The case delves into the conceptual linkages posed by these questions.

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

Corporate social responsibility, specifically nonprofit business collaborations from a nonprofit’s perspective.

Graduate level programs in nonprofit management, corporate social responsibility and development management; it can also be used for executive education.

Social enterprises and nonprofits at present increasingly look to corporate firms for grant funds to finance their activities and assets. This case features the experiences of one of the largest nonprofit eye care providers in India, LV Prasad Eye Institute based in Hyderabad in accessing corporate financial support in the form of corporate social responsibility funding. The case deals with the organization challenges, stresses and strains that arise in a nonprofit–corporate partnership. Specifically, it focuses on the strategic and operational challenges that emerge from the partnerships. The partnerships reviewed in the case pertain to rehabilitation.

After solving the case, the participants will be able to understand the stages in developing collaborations between nonprofits and businesses for corporate social responsibility. They will also be able to understand the internal implications for nonprofits operations and strategy from such collaborations.

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

CSS11: Strategy.

Human Resource Management and Business Strategy.

Postgraduate.

The case provides a holistic perspective of organizational transformation, management of change impact on employees and leader behavior. The challenge at Govind Milk and Milk Products Pvt. Ltd. a mid-size company, in the dairy industry was to transform itself into a pan India and global company from a regional organization. The case study outlines how the organization took on the transformation journey under a strong leadership and managed change by focusing on creating a brand, implementing technology and creating a culture of meritocracy. Having made the successful transition from being a family run business to a professionally managed company and having built significant internal capacity the big question is – Can the company strive and thrive in the VUCA business environment?

To highlight the process and management of organizational change. To highlight the role of leadership in the process of organizational change. To understand how the environmental factors or the VUCA environment impacts the performance of an organization. To highlight internal capacity building as a strategy to deal with the VUCA environment.

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.

This case focuses on the scaling up of the business. The students/the users of the case will be able to understand the following:1. to analyse the present state of the business to identify the actions necessary for scaling up;2. awareness of the leadership styles demonstrated by the entrepreneurs to grow the business;3. the concept of pivoting for business expansion; and4. organisation building and life cycles for business growth.

Shamika was a lawyer by profession and had a successful career with leading law firms in India, North America and Hong Kong. She was passionate about beauty and skincare and developed a keen interest in that business. Shamika extensively researched brand management, supply chain and production. She had a burning desire to be an entrepreneur in the skincare business. So, she founded the brand “d’you”.The skin care industry in India had seen massive growth. There was a huge increase in people’s interest in cosmetics because of the rapid rise of the middle class. The skincare industry was dominated by firms offering various herbal products. Multiple product categories and a large amount of information confused the end-consumers. Shamika identified an opportunity to offer a skincare product to eliminate the need for a consumer to use multiple serums and compete with products of repute from the international market.South Korea was the top manufacturing hub for skincare products for all leading international brands. Shamika approached many manufacturers there to produce a unique formulation for her. It was challenging to get them interested because of the lack of big orders and the language barrier. Phoenix Cosmetics, a top R&D lab, agreed to partner with Shamika.In spite of severe opposition from her family, Shamika established d’you. She had to figure out customs duties, imports and food and drug regulations. She had to get specialists on board early to avoid time and cost overruns. To be cost-effective, Shamika innovated her promotion strategy. A special airless pump packaging from South Korea was finalised for the product.The pandemic outbreak, national lockdown and pressures of trying to run the business alone were very taxing for Shamika. She struggled to manage the timelines with various agencies, engage with Phoenix and maintain a steady flow of imports from South Korea.After the relaxation of lockdown, Shamika launched “Hustle”, an age- and gender-neutral solution to the skincare woes, in October 2020. She extensively used digital marketing and social media for product promotion and set high service standards. Hustle was recognised in micro beauty awards as the best serum in India. The leading fashion magazines reviewed it very positively. The sales zoomed up.Shamika initiated discussions with venture capitalists (VCs) to scale up. VCs, though positive, were surprised that she had no prior background in skincare. She strategised to create new products with Phoenix, who now desired to collaborate with her after the success of Hustle.Shamika felt the need to expand her team because of the workload stress. She followed the rolling business plan, allowing an immediate course correction because of the dynamic business scenario. She desired to delegate day-to-day operations to the professionals. She would mainly focus on strategising. Shamika was raring to grapple with the challenge of scaling up the business.

This case can be used in courses on organisation behaviour and human resource management in postgraduate and graduate management programmes. It can also be used in general and development management courses and during executive education programmes to teach entrepreneurial leadership and organisation theory.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human resource management