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Quality management among multiple business units of a large organization is often difficult if each unit is run independently in terms on their quality standards. In this case, participants will discuss how Bukhari Group of Companies should establish a common brand image through standardized quality. Participants should also understand that common brand image for diverse products does not mean identical level of rejection or customer complaints. It should be understood that different markets have different tolerance for product failures. The participants can chalk out the measures the protagonist of the case should be able to take to effectively steer the Bhukari Group to achieve profits and excellence.

Strategy, strategic management, market and product analysis.

The case is intended for a business strategy course in management. The target participants are MBA students specializing in strategy area as well as middle level and senior level managers from the industry, who come for an executive programme in management science.

Year 2009, Mr Pawan Kumar (General Manager, Halonix Limited) was facing a decision-making situation in the organization. Being one of the most experienced and oldest employees of Halonix (incorporated as Phoenix Lamps Ltd in 1991), he had witnessed the tremendous growth of the company since its inception in 1991. The company was having a global brand image in automotive halogen lamps and became a dominant player in compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) market in India by 2007. With the increasing competition and change in market dynamics, the company needed to decide upon the future product portfolio mix and strategy to be adopted to gain the maximum benefit and win over the competition in both the product segments. The automotive halogen product segment was generating higher margins but having relatively slow growth. The CFL product segment was a growing market but was generating low margins due to increasing competition from entry of large number of players.

The theoretical concepts, which will be explored in this case, involve the following: the importance of industry structure analysis in understanding the basis of competition. The importance of value-chain analysis in strategic planning. The importance of Boston Consulting Group growth-share matrix in evaluating the product portfolio mix having different growth drivers and target segments?

Teaching notes.

Business management, quality management, service quality and customer service in public sectors.

This case is most relevant to upper-level undergraduate business students taking quality management, strategy and service management courses. It is also relevant to practitioners working in similar positions. The case is based on primary and secondary data, and all materials mentioned were taken from real work environments.

In contemporary competitive markets, all entities face a growing challenge to retain customers by satisfying them. In this case study of Ajman Free Zone Authority (AFZA), which is a public entity which was started in 1988 with the aim of boosting industrial development in Ajman, it is seen that the entity (AFZA) recognized a competitive advantage by improving service quality. However, AFZA focused on implementing various service quality improvement initiatives for not only customers, but also for other stakeholders as well (e.g. employees, strategic partners, suppliers and society). AFZA sought to understand stakeholders' needs, which led to service excellence. The purpose of this case is to highlight how AFZA differentiated itself by using initiatives that focused on disparate stakeholders to achieve customer satisfaction. The concepts of service quality (SERVQUAL), total quality management (TQM) and continuous improvement offer insights into how to improve organizational performance. It highlights how AFZA used Stakeholder Theory to identify and then collaborate with stakeholders to attain best service quality outcomes. The case study is developed using both secondary and primary sources.

After reading and analysing this case study, the student will be able to identify stakeholders in a service-based entity; apply Deming's Cycle or SERVQUAL to suggest improvement programmes; describe relationships among all stakeholders; and describe initiatives that contribute to service excellence.

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, management.

This case is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying topics related to human resources, decision making, managing in multinational companies and crisis management. In addition, the case is useful study for practitioners in non-governmental organizations (NGO).

Dr Manal Taryam, the Chief Executive Officer, was discussing with Ms Shurooq Al Banna, Marketing Specialist, the achievements and challenges faced at Noor Dubai over the past three years. Noor Dubai is an international charity for the prevention and treatment of blindness. The problem facing these decision makers is the prioritization of their resources to support logistics management, operations, human resources, funding and educational issues. In addition, to meet the needs of the visually impaired, a long-term mission is to establish permanent eye centers in areas of most need.

Students will be able to:

• Describe the problems facing Noor Dubai in relation to logistics management, operations, human resources, funding and educational issues.

• Explain how the management strategies of Noor Dubai prioritize logistics management, operations, human resources, funding and education.

Describe the problems facing Noor Dubai in relation to logistics management, operations, human resources, funding and educational issues.

Explain how the management strategies of Noor Dubai prioritize logistics management, operations, human resources, funding and education.

Teaching notes.

The case study intends to depict the career plateau of an old committed and loyal employee of an organization. The deliberation on the case enables participants to understand the vitality of career planning for employees and organizations. The case helps to develop reflections on workplace ostracism, to arrive at the solutions to address the issues of career planning, to value the experience of the employee and give him a sense of satisfaction. Overall, to understand the importance of career planning for applying HR and OB concepts at the workplace.

It is an account of a real scenario in the automation industry, with slight modifications to hide the identity. The essence of the case study is when a loyal employee is branded as a “dignified clerk” and gets a feeling of ostracism. The employees’ makes the organization, terminations because of outdated skills shall be a debatable topic. However, such practices have a profound impact on the other employees who stays in the organization and affect their productivity level. Career adaptability helps to overcome termination issues; adaptability is a psychological process of assisting an individual in coping with the challenges of automation technologies (Zhang Wenguang et al., 2019), it is a process of showing concerns, providing controls, solving curiosity and developing confidence during the transition process. When technologies are implemented the employer needs to address specific challenges access to technology, access to information, provide required skills and competencies to use technology, integrate people, these challenges support the successful implementation of technology (Kettunen and Sampson Jr., 2019). Career planning is a joint effort of employee and employer that sets the development target and path; the process sets demands for both the parties; it places an irreplaceable role for individual growth and corporate strategy (Zhai Meng et al., 2018). The Findings are the frequent review of job analysis and career planning that are critical for the organization's success; if done inappropriately, it would make one's roles obsolete. The critical implications of this case are the essence of career planning and the upskilling of employees. The case is useful for teaching job analysis, career planning concepts. The story is original and explains the transition of an automation industry from labor to capital intensive. The transition to automation makes a loyal employee feel ostracized due to a lack of skill sets.

Post graduate students studying in business and management and working professional of human resources can use this case.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human resource management.

Emiratisation, dual bottom-line, destination policy making and strategic development, ecosystem perspective and human capital.

This case is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying policy; strategy and human resources. Practitioners from the human resource industry, government sector and destination marketing may also benefit from the case.

ATIC is an investment company with a dual bottom line mandate. This means besides the financial objective it has for its investors (which is largely the Government of Abu Dhabi), it must contribute to socio-economic objectives outlined by the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. For this perspective, ATIC had developed a unique approach looking at the “Ecosystem” perspective. Some key areas are destination development as an advanced technology hub and human capital development or “Emiratisation”. All these are key to long-term success of the country as the Middle East North Africa region has one of the youngest populations and an increasing unemployment rate. Most government organizations are saturated and it is vital that nationals start working and performing in the private sector. This case outlines the plans and efforts of ATIC towards those goals.

Management of “Emiratisation” at policy and implementation; scenario planning and strategy management especially looking at advanced technology sector; organizational values – development and implementation at recruitment and marketing; destination marketing and policy looking at the case of Abu Dhabi, stakeholder management.

Teaching notes.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the situation of Accurate and then to consider possible options for Accurate to face competition in future. Several opportunities are also linked with certain drawbacks and hence by studying the entire mechanism, the decision makers of Accurate may decide on its future direction and how to go about it.

Accurate Weld Arc was established in New Delhi in 1993, his son. The company focused on manufacturing wire drawings and selling to niche customer segment. Due to this, they were operating at a modest turnover. At this juncture, the organization took two critical decisions, first, to enter the welding electrodes market which had a bigger target segment, and second, to hire a Marketing Head who conducted an extensive marketing research to recognize the need of customers and to identify differentiating factors for the organization. Later, the company made further investment in middle-gauge welding electrodes and its turnover climbed in the first year. After that, the company had set up a manufacturing unit in Raipur, Chattisgarh which generated huge profit and is now looking forward to spread its wings in other parts of the country.

This case may be used for postgraduate students, who are doing their specialization in finance and accounting.

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 given case deals with the fact that primary objectives of services producers and marketers are identical to those of all marketers: to develop and provide offerings that satisfy consumer needs and expectations, thereby ensuring their own economic survival. To achieve these objectives, service providers need to understand how consumers choose, experience, and evaluate their service offerings. It also talks about employing innovative techniques at the basic level by optimizing available resources offering quality service at value based pricing, thereby, increasing customer retention by developing the trust of the consumer.

Graduation or post graduation level students studying subjects pertaining to the services aspect of marketing, namely innovative service offerings, value for money, service experience and evaluation, challenge of integrating the 4 A's of services marketing and offering them in sustainable quality, promotional or communication mix for services and consumer behaviour.

Today's dual-career couples, single-parent families, and two-job families are realizing a burning consumer need: more time. Individuals in these and other non-traditional family configurations are overstressed with their work and home obligations and find that dealing with many of life's everyday tasks is overwhelming. For many customers, all types of shopping have become “drudgery or worse.” The antidote to this time deficiency is found in many new services that recover time for consumers. One such professional service is catering. The present case study deals with grass root level innovations in this service offering that adds flavour to our lives.

Understanding the catering services offering and its features in evolving consumer's world; analyzing the importance of optimizing available resources and offering customer satisfaction, ensuring marketers own economic survival; realizing the significance of value offering and related value based pricing for services; comprehending the importance of word of mouth in post experience evaluation in services; the effect of quality and quantity consciousness in marketers while offering catering services; and understanding obstacles and challenges faced by small and medium service industries at the initial level.

Teaching notes.

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: to understand the nature of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) manufacturing industries based on Al Junaid Industrial group when considering entering such businesses. To understand how unexpected short-term shocks such as a global pandemic may require long-term changes in a company’s outlook and planning. Discuss the marketing mix strategy that the Al Junaid Industrial group business products and services elements follow. To understand the competitiveness of Al Junaid group’s business environment and to identify the potential for business growth. To gain skills at developing a marketing strategy using the products, price, place and promotion model.

Al Junaid Industrial group is a small to medium-sized HVAC manufacturing company created over 12 years ago, in the United Arab Emirates. It has a production line company in the Sharjah industrial area with a capacity of 5,000 ft. The company not only manufactures air conditioning and its accessories but also provides installation and maintenance services. As for its international connections, it imports raw materials such as aluminum and exports air conditioning grills and accessories, offering installation services to many destinations, including Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The company has recently suffered a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020 its net revenue and profits decreased by an average of 40%. As a result, Al Junaid Industrial group currently faces several internal and external challenges affecting its business performance such as high operating expenses, low market demand and stiff competition. Due to these challenges, this case study argues that Mr. Obaid Al Junaid, the Chief Executive Officer, should develop a new marketing strategy aimed at raising revenues to levels closer to those observed before the onset of the epidemic.

This case could be used in undergraduate and graduate classes of the business management field, as well as in development programs for managers in small to medium-sized enterprises (SME). Students (final year students of an undergraduate program for a bachelor’s degree) are expected to have a basic knowledge of Strategic management and business in general. It is preferred that the students have basic knowledge about small-to-medium businesses. Additionally, the managers in SME should be familiar with operational management, business management and marketing strategy and some of the challenges faced by managers in industrial businesses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Operations management.

Management post graduate and corporate executives.

ProdVal Flow Controls Pvt Ltd was company in the SME sector in India. The company focused on quality products and timely delivery. The major challenge for ProdVal was increasing their production capacity. They had no control over their existing suppliers resulting in delay in raw materials delivery. Retention of vendors had an effect on inventory carrying cost. The company had limited production facilities and the workers were outsourced. The company operated with unskilled workers. The case presents the various issues faced by the company based on which strategies to practice and plan the company's future plans could be designed. This is a disguised case and all excerpts from interviews have been anonymized.

This case study will give an insight to students to understand how inventory management; impacts production. It even gives an idea about how ProdVal has used the strategy of outsourcing of technology and labour and maintained a good growth rate.

Production-related outsourcing.

Production management in small scale industry.

Organization structure of a manufacturing unit.

Concept of outsourcing HR and technology in an SME.

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