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Zyne is a mid-sized Delhi-based firm engaged in the home linen business under the company’s brand name. Raman was the Managing Director of Zyne. In 2019, Prashanth the head of the second-best region (West) quit abruptly without grooming a successor. Prashanth’s team consisted of greenhorn executives whom he recruited from colleges. Raman has options of selecting a replacement for Prashanth from within the organization. Two candidates are in the reckoning, namely, Amit and Neha. Amit was 48 years old, a veteran in the business and associated with the Zyne group for over 15 years. He was a top sales performer in the Central region and was interested in relocating to the West. Twenty-seven-year-old Neha was industrious, talented and creative. Within three years of joining Zyne, she had proven herself as a go-getter with remarkable ability to develop strong channel partner relations. Raman had to decide whom to select from among the two or go for an outsider from the industry. Raman has to contend with selection issues related to insider vs an outsider. If one of the internal candidates is chosen how could he motivate the other to continue to perform and deliver? The case focuses on the challenges of recruitment of a Sales Manager (SM) in a small home furnishing business. Use of competency framing to validate the candidates is the high point of the case

By the end of case discussion participants should be able to understand the following: differentiate skills required in a sales leadership role as compared to that of a sales executive; evaluate the pros and cons of internal promotions versus hiring an outsider; apply the concept of competency framework to evaluate different candidates vying for the same position; and understand how a candidate not selected for the position understands the reasons thereof to enable improvements.

Started in 2010, Zyne Furnishings headquartered at Delhi, was in the business of selling home furnishings. Raman, a second-generation entrepreneur was Zyne’s Managing Partner. With help from his father Rajesh Gupta, Raman worked toward expanding Zyne’s business operations in India. Raman was facing a challenge because of the abrupt resignation of Prashanth, the Western Region SM. Prashant had done well in the region and assiduously built Zyne brand’s presence there. As Raman pondered over the ways of filling up the SM position, questions confronted him for which he did not have immediate answers. He had 30 days in which a replacement must be finalized. Raman looked at the file containing the applications of the two internal candidates, namely, Amit (Southern region) and Neha (Western region) who had applied for the position. What evaluation process should he adopt to ensure an objective assessment is done before deciding on which of the two candidates fit the bill? Given that it was the first week of January 2020 and the year-end targets had to be met by March, Raman knew time was running out. He had to take a quick call. Use of competency mapping to evaluate candidates is a high point of the case. This case can be used to enhance the participants understanding of the challenges of identifying the right candidate for a senior position and weigh the pros and cons associated with the selection. Motivating the rejected internal candidate through the procedural justice system adds value to the case.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Through the discussion of this case, students will have a better understanding of the managerial dilemma associated with the implementation of management control in an early-stage firm. Students will provide proposals to improving current management control. Finally, this case encourages students to think about the costs and benefits of implementing formal management control systems.

As the company grows, it becomes difficult to keep control of the organization. The organizational structure of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Carrefour Jordan is too centralized, and the top management is confronted with information overload, which inhibits their ability to pursue strategic goals. The department managers are also confronted with communication problems, and they are evaluated based on the indicators that were out of their control. Processes and rules do not permit managers sufficient autonomy, and neither do these motivate employees towards organizational strategic goals. It is obvious that many control issues needed to be addressed in MAF Carrefour Jordan. However, given the limited budgets, MAF Carrefour Jordan managers need to decide which control systems to implement first.

This case can be used in an introductory cost accounting and management control course at the undergraduate or postgraduate level. The case should be introduced after students attained a baseline understanding of management control system fundamental concepts. However, this case is equally effective in introducing concepts to students who are new to management control systems.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance

Ned Piper needs to improve the performance of Acme Lumber’s Broken Arrow store. There are two candidates for the store manager’s position, Larry Frazier and Chip Farmer. Larry has worked for Acme for 35 years in a variety of positions and is related to the Johnson family who has owned and managed Acme for three generations. Chip has worked for Acme for 19 years and has successfully helped to turn around another store. Chip is not related to the Johnsons. Ned is feeling pressure from the business and family to make the right decision. Which candidate should he select to become a manager?

The authors used a case study methodology.

Human resources, selection, staffing, and family business management.

Socioemotional wealth perspective, and agency theory.

Aster Retail (AR) is the retail pharmacy division of the Aster Dr Moopen's Healthcare (ADMH) Group. The group delivers healthcare services across the Middle East, India and the Far East, with a portfolio of hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres and retail pharmacies. AR, under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jobilal Vavachan, is well known for its people-centric approach, unique culture and innovative human resource (HR) practices. AR has won multiple awards for HR practices, service quality and business performance. In a recent corporate restructuring (2018), “Aster Primary Care” was carved out by combining the group's Clinics and Retail businesses. This case discusses the evolution of AR's HR journey and the challenges associated with integrating culturally diverse businesses without compromising the values of ADMH and its promise, “We'll Treat You Well.”

This case is based on primary and secondary sources of information. These sources include interviews with senior executives as well as documents provided by Mondragon and Eroski. The interviews were conducted on-site. In addition, the authors researched the literature on both organizations.

Eroski is the largest of Mondragon Corporation’s coops. Since its founding, Eroski has faced numerous challenges. It has responded to each challenge with out-of-the-box thinking. In response to the pandemic, Eroski become an e-commerce supermarket as well as selectively continuing bricks and mortar stores. As the pandemic is winding down, Eroski is considering how to respond to the “new normal,” which is largely undefined. The question posited at the end of the case is, “Will Eroski be able to hold to its social principles, maintain its unusual governance model and other unusual practices, and survive this latest challenge?”

Eroski of Mondragon is a complex and unusual organization. To appreciate the challenges and how they were overcome by its unique business model, a student must have a minimum background in management, corporate finance and marketing. Thus, this case would fit well into a senior or graduate class on strategic human resource management. It is also recommended for the strategy capstone course usually offered during the last year of a business bachelor’s degree (senior level) to ensure that students are introduced to what Paul Adler refers to as an alternative business model. It can also be targeted for an advanced management course or a strategy course at the MBA and executive levels.

An industry adage held that “there are two types of rental car companies: those that lose money and Enterprise.” The company that would become Enterprise Rent-A-Car was started in 1957 in St. Louis, Missouri, by Jack Taylor. Taylor set up Enterprise offices in neighborhoods rather than at airports because he believed that Americans would welcome a local option for renting cars when their own vehicles were being repaired. In 2010 Enterprise had more than 6,000 rental locations in the United States and a fleet of 850,000 cars in service. Its parent, Enterprise Holdings (comprising Enterprise, National, and Alamo brands) accounted for nearly half of the car rental market and was more than twice the size of Hertz, the number two competitor. Enterprise's competitive advantage was the result of the combination of its practices in hiring, training, compensation, organization, customer service, IT, and fleet management, among others.

The case focuses on brief elaboration, importance, objectives and components. While there are many ways to elaborate a brief, the overriding goal is to outline the most relevant guidelines for campaign design, and the decisions required to launch an advertising campaign.

This case may be used for the first marketing course in MBA curricula, as well as in executive education programs addressing communications and advertising strategy issues.

On a cold July afternoon in 2005, Matías Ruiz faced a difficult challenge. After months of long presentations and detailed discussions, the budget for a new advertising campaign had been finally approved. Ever since its arrival in Argentina, the company had concentrated all its efforts on positioning its corporate brand. Now with a firm standing in the domestic market, the time had come to advertise Lubrax, Petrobras' lubricant brand. Bearing in mind that the goal was to build a unique and independent brand identity for Lubrax while preserving its links to Petrobras, Ruiz's team, along with Diálogo Publicidad, a local advertising agency, had prepared three TV advertisements. Ruiz had to choose the most suitable campaign with an approved budget of US$ 3 million – 40 percent below the sum he had hoped to raise. At least one of those ads had to be launched in late October 2005, in time for the category's seasonal consumer sales peak. To do that, Ruiz needed to make a decision and to present a complete proposal to Lubrax's Marketing Director. This case study describes the questions confronting Ruiz at that time – Which ad should we pick? What brand image do we want for Lubrax? What is it that we wish to communicate? What is our goal? What segment are we addressing?

The case provides an insight into the use of advertising campaigns as a marketing tool, describing the company's competition, consumers, distribution channels and organizational hurdles. As a result, it may be used to help students: understand communications complexities, delving into each step in the process and taking stock of relevant decisions involved; learn about the research studies and data analyses required to build a communications plan that fits in with a company's strategy; manage a specific marketing budget; gain experience on advertising campaign development and subsequent evaluation; and survey the mix of marketing drivers needed to boost business sustainability. It will enable students to realize both the significance of thorough brief preparation to pursue a company's strategic goals and the importance of ensuring the ad chosen matches that brief.

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

This case enables students to understand the nature of a typical crisis and manage a crisis drawing insights from the protagonist handling of the crisis and from the various crisis management models in the literature. The rich description of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the world in this case enables students to understand the nature of a typical external crisis. The critical appraisal of the protagonist’s plans and actions to overcome the crisis enables students to appreciate the various crisis management frameworks or models. In addition, students get perspectives about the leadership skills and competencies required during a crisis. In this way, students will not only learn about the theoretical concepts related to the crisis but also the practical know-how to effectively handle the crisis.

This case study describes the functioning of the International Delhi Public School (IDPS) Akhnoor, Jammu, and Kashmir, India, through the COVID-19 global crisis. The IDPS academic operations were disrupted because of the COVID-19 global crisis in March 2020. The protagonist, KCS Mehta, the school principal of IDPS, faced with the crisis, takes various steps to ensure the smooth transition of school’s academic operations from the physical mode to the online mode. This case explains the nature of an external crisis that completely crippled the organization’s day-to-day operations and how the organization’s leader tried to manage the crisis to revitalize the organization’s operations. The case can be used for teaching of alternate Models of Crisis Management and Change Management.

The case is developed to teach the courses of Executive training programs and MBA programs in business schools.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The Director, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow is preparing to face two challenges: maintaining the educational purpose of transforming students into down-to-earth managers and lifelong champions of the institute, and attracting and retaining good faculty. The case illustrates the institutional processes that a school which is part of a chain needs to consider. The tension between autonomy and conformity, and the concept of a corporate office, which is new to educational settings, are illustrated.

Organizational behavior.

Upper-level undergraduate courses, introductory MBA courses.

This case study unveils the story of Al Qatef Holding, a Gulf-based real estate company that was created on the vision of one ambitious businessman. The case begins in 1999 when Faisal Al Qatef decided to pursue his dream of establishing a full-fledged corporation to serve the mounting real estate needs in the Gulf region. Faisal started his company by launching a number of residential and commercial property developments in his home country, Kuwait. During its early years of operation, Al Qatef Holding witnessed an impressive success and an increasing appetite for growth. A couple of years down the road, the founder made the strategic decision to open a new branch in Doha to seize the opportunity that the Qatari real estate market presented at that time. Yet, along with the rapid expansion came the company’s incapacity to deliver on its promises, generating many customer complaints and a damaged reputation owing to poor construction quality and significant delays in project delivery. The case describes the multiple challenges experienced by Al Qatef Holding throughout its evolution and portrays the external and internal dynamics that led to its initial success and subsequent decline.

Assess the internal dynamics and challenges that are associated with the management of small firms; discuss how leadership styles and characteristics affect the organizational climate and employee performance; demonstrate understanding of how corporate culture drives human behavior in the workplace; perform an analysis of firm structure to estimate its impact on individual and organizational outcomes; apply different techniques for enhancing employee motivation in organizations; and evaluate the effectiveness of managerial decisions and provide recommendations for securing corporate survival.

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CSS 6: Human Resource Management.