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I would recommend the following two readings: Kotter, J. P. 2001. “What leaders really do” Harvard Business Review, vol, December 2001, pp. 85-96 and MIntzberg, H. & Waters, J. A. 1985. “Of strategies, deliberate and emergent” Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 6, pp. 257-272 Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

This case study aims to provide following four learning outcomes: enhanced understanding of organizational leadership style/approach in terms of rigidness or flexibility to bring modifications in organizational vision to tap current opportunities, enhanced understanding of the use of emotions and rationality in organizational decision-making to strike a balance between organizational needs and community needs in the context of organizational priority framework, enhanced understanding of issue of integration to meet community needs smartly particularly in social development organizations and enhanced understanding of leadership strategies for successful business diversification.

This case study highlights and discusses three issues: first, it explores issues related to change in organizational vision and aims keeping in mind the needs of community rather than sticking to organizational needs (flexibility versus rigidity). Second, it explores the role of emotions and rationality in organizational decision-making by its leadership. Third, it discusses the role of leadership in successfully transforming one-dimensional organization into multidimensional organization by adding new avenues for future growth by mobilizing existing organizational strengths and competencies. Finally, this case discusses theories of leadership and change management in the context of social development organizations to align their activities with community’s emerging needs.

Master Level - Master of Business Administration and Master of Management. This case provides sufficient material to be discussed at master level courses such as change leadership and change management in social development organizations.

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Management science

Marketing management, consumer behaviour, rural marketing and integrated marketing communications.

The case is for the use of undergraduate and also postgraduate students of management in courses of marketing management, consumer behaviour, rural marketing and integrated marketing communications. This case may also be used in human resources’ management course lectures which focus on social capital.

This case on the Centre of Science for Villages (CSV), Wardha, attempts to identify how value can be co-created through innovative technology and how social capital can be developed for rural markets through the use of integrated marketing communications tools, particularly word-of-mouth and the influence of opinion leaders. Effective campaigns can be designed for the target audience based on the 3A framework (Awareness, Adoption and Addition of Value) and McGuire’s Model of Persuasion. The CSV has been typically chosen for the study because its products are unique, innovative and eco-friendly and blend well with the rural lives. It has been able to enrich the lives of rural population by generating employment and in creating entrepreneurial opportunities. The biggest challenge, however, lies in educating rural consumers to accept and adopt its innovative technology in their daily lives.

The case study has been written to enable students to understand the concepts of value co-creation and social capital in the context of Indian rural markets. The students will learn the dynamics of rural markets by pondering over these points: understand the concept of value co-creation for rural markets; comprehend the creation of social ecology for managing knowledge in an organisation; identify the development and role of social capital and use it as a promotional tool, particularly word-of-mouth and opinion leaders(reference groups); recommend the use of different marketing mix variables for an organisation, operating in rural markets; and connote designing of effective campaigns for the target audience, based on the 3A framework and the Persuasion Model (6 steps) suggested by McGuire.

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CSS 8: Marketing

The case includes theoretical references to family business, organizational culture, resource-based value and leadership.

The case combines primary and secondary data. There is ample public information about Martin Guitar including histories of the company and its instruments. These were used for background. Primary data were provided by the company in the form of customized data and interviews.. The case writer has served Martin Guitar as a consultant and also plays Martin instruments. The case writer had numerous opportunities to interview Chris and his key lieutenants.

In 2019, C.F. Martin IV (Chris) was in his fourth decade leading one of the America’s oldest family-owned companies, C.F. Martin & Co., Inc. Martin Guitar is a globally known maker of fine guitars that are prized by collectors, working musicians and amateur musicians. Chris was raised in the family business and took on the CEO’s position at the age of 30. The case describes the company’s management practices and the culture that has emerged from them. In 2019, at age 64, Chris confronted issues faced by his predecessors over multiple generations: how to prepare the company for succession, and maintain its strong performance as a family-owned company in a dynamic industry environment.

The case is designed for a management course for upper-level undergraduates.

This case provides an opportunity to identify and discuss issues in sustenance of an incumbent's strategy in the changing environment. The context is the practice of Nadi Nidan (pulse diagnosis) and treatment of disorders based on this according to Ayurveda, the ancient system of Indian medicine. It describes the functioning of Bharadwaj Aushadhalay, an Ayurveda clinic run by Vaidyaji since 1955 and presents the history of the clinic, the process by which Vaidyaji learnt the practice of Nadi Nidan, the profile of the patients, the mode of treatment, restrictions imposed by Vaidyaji on the patients, their response and competitive pressures on the system. The case also provides a brief sketch of Ayurveda, its principles, currents trends in the education and research in Ayurveda, and recent advances in diagnostic tools and techniques. The case can be used in courses of Strategic Management in the module on Strategies for Sustainable Competitive Advantage and Knowledge Management.

Key State Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan (a disguised case of an actual BCBS Plan) is the merged product of three state plans. Initially burdened with a reputation of poor customer service, Key State's executives decided to invest heavily in service improvement, eventually achieving superior levels. Key State's high-quality customer service emerged as a true competitive advantage for its customers, who were primarily businesses and health benefits consultants who influenced corporate purchasers of health insurance. The Key State brand came to be synonymous with personal service, security, choice, and dependability. But the health care insurance market was changing under Key State's feet. Spiraling costs meant that high-quality service became less of a competitive advantage as employers were lured by low-cost, low-service providers. Many employers cut or dropped health care benefits entirely, swelling the ranks of the under- and uninsured, who in turn were extremely price-sensitive when shopping for health insurance on their own. Finally, the health care insurance market was being revolutionized by financial institutions willing to hold health benefit accounts and pay providers directly, thereby eliminating the need for Key State as a mediator. Key State executives were aware of these changes but were challenged by the mindset, culture, and organizational design custom-fit to their business accounts. The case asks the reader to consider whether Key State has the right number of target markets, whether it should have one brand or several for its different target markets, what it should do for the uninsured, and how it should improve its brand experience in light of the industry's changing landscape. All of these decisions will have significant implications for the organizational design of Key State.

To better understand the challenges involved in a successful health insurance company to cope with a rapidly changing and unpredictable environment; to formulate a new strategy and a new organizational design to accomplish this adaptation.

In 2006, four successful entrepreneurs decided to establish a world-class mega university. Initially, the project progressed slowly until Vineet Gupta was able to locate a small plot of land in Sonipat, Haryana. Forty-eight hours before the payment deadline, Ashish Dhawan and Sanjeev Bikchandani agreed to invest in their personal capital to kick start the project. They however suggested a pivot in favour of a smaller private liberal arts college. Meanwhile, Pramath Sinha, with prior experience in establishing the Indian School of Business launched a pilot through the Young India Fellowship (YIF). Dhawan and Bikchandani, through their extensive entrepreneurial networks, raised scholarships for the first two batches of the fellowship in the hope of attracting other donors to the board and getting a buy-in for Ashoka University. The team faced a number of challenges: managing the new model of collective philanthropy, recruiting faculty and finding jobs for the first undergraduate batch. At Ashoka University's first graduation ceremony in 2017 they wondered whether this model could revolutionise the higher education space like the IITs and IIMs had done for the country.

This case describes the challenges faced by Amul in organising dairy farmers into a co-operative and creating continuous opportunities for value addition. Participants in the case discussion are required to review the developments in the organisation and recommend a strategy for the future.

Manufacturing, Western management theories and Japanese management practices.

This case can be used in project management or management-related courses at tertiary institutions at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level.

This case provides students with an opportunity to find out what make Toyota so successful in manufacturing through its famous production system as well as the underlying Toyota Way principles. All students are expected to understand the Toyota Way model with a balanced view that goes beyond a set of lean tools such as just-in-time. This case opens a historical account for the Toyota Way model by connecting with possible Western management theories and Japanese management practices.

It is expected to significantly benefit students with industry experience with the intention of initiating appropriate changes in their own industry and/or organization by applying what they have learnt from the Toyota Way, through bridging with Western management theories.

Teaching notes.

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.

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.