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1 – 10 of 58Upon completion of this study, students will be able to define, explain and describe sustainability and its application in the business context; learn and demonstrate their…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this study, students will be able to define, explain and describe sustainability and its application in the business context; learn and demonstrate their understanding of current practices, processes and operations in companies that are aligned to business sustainability by identifying such in the case study to enable them to provide relevant examples; discuss and describe sustainable operations and practices across different industries; identify sustainable themes in manufacturing sectors and other related industries; and identify sustainable strategies for production and manufacturing processes.
Case overview/synopsis
This case study focused on Gunung Raja Paksi (GRP), a steel manufacturing company in Indonesia, with a portfolio in steel trading, cement plants and carbon markets. The case study covered the COVID-19 crisis period, especially the year 2020, which disrupted the normal operations of businesses and subjected the community to economic challenges. The emergence of GRP’s prominence in sustainable business attributed to the initiatives advanced by Kimin Tanoto, the chief executive officer (CEO) and chairperson of the Indonesia Iron and Steel Association (IISIA). Kimin Tanoto assumed leadership of GRP, a family-owned business, in 2018, despite being the second son. At the time of Kimin’s induction into the board of commissioners, two main challenges – the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted the supply chains, and the company culture that resisted sustainable business approaches – acted as detriments to profit-making. Sustainable efforts, however, contributed to noticeable success during and after the COVID-19 crisis.
Complexity academic level
The case is suitable for instructions in undergraduate courses in Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Sustainable Resources, Engineering and Management, Bachelor in Sustainable Environmental Management, Bachelor of Culture and Arts in Smart and Sustainable Design, Bachelor in Sustainable Solutions and Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, and other instructions on sustainable practices.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
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Sanjay Kumar Kar and Subrat Sahu
Marketing - value proposition and value delivery, switching cost, customer acquisition and retention, positioning, pricing, distribution and retailing, role of trust and…
Abstract
Subject area
Marketing - value proposition and value delivery, switching cost, customer acquisition and retention, positioning, pricing, distribution and retailing, role of trust and transparency to build sustainable relationship in B2B context, and efficient service delivery.
Study level/applicability
Undergraduate and graduate students in marketing, business administration, strategy, retailing, B2B marketing, services marketing and general management courses. Also, it can be used for executive management/training programmes.
Case overview
The case focuses on an existing scenario of a natural gas business in Gujarat, India, in order to provide understanding of marketing challenges, especially in the B2B context, faced by organisations in this evolving business environment. The case examines the strategies and policies implemented by the company and their impact on the customer. The case presents reactions and responses from the concerned customers. The case illustrates the criticalness of understanding customer expectations and designing and delivering customer centric strategies to sustain market leadership in an evolving and competitive market.
Expected learning outcomes
The case study enables the students to understand and analyse: the current business environment; the important factors impacting natural gas business; economic analysis of energy; opportunity and challenges for doing cleaner and greener business; role of cleaner fuel to reduce carbon footprint; and carbon credit impacting top line and bottom line of a customer. The case provides students the opportunity to understand and analyse the importance of switching costs to acquire a new customer; and devising and implementing marketing strategies to expand customer base and enter into new territories.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes.
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Samuel E. Bodily and Akshay Mittal
The managing director of a steel plant faces the decision of how much of each raw material to order for the plant for the following month. Due to lower and upper bounds on the…
Abstract
The managing director of a steel plant faces the decision of how much of each raw material to order for the plant for the following month. Due to lower and upper bounds on the amounts of each raw material in a batch and varying amounts of electricity and time consumed for different raw materials, one can't simply use the cheapest raw material. A linear program and the solver optimization function of Excel will provide the optimal amounts that meet the constraints. Interestingly, the best mixture for a batch is not the best mixture for a monthly plan. Shadow prices indicate the value of relaxing constraints. The typical monthly model from a student will be nonlinear, although it can be written as a linear model. This case provides the basis for an introductory class on linear programming and linear versus nonlinear models.
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Vishwanatha S.R. and Durga Prasad M.
The case was developed from secondary sources and interviews with a security analyst. The secondary sources include company annual reports, news reports, analyst reports, industry…
Abstract
Research methodology
The case was developed from secondary sources and interviews with a security analyst. The secondary sources include company annual reports, news reports, analyst reports, industry reports, company websites, stock exchange websites and databases such as Bloomberg and CMIE Prowess.
Case overview/synopsis
Increasing competition in product and capital markets has put tremendous pressure on managers to become more cost competitive. To address their firms' uncompetitive cost structures, managers may have to consider dramatic restructuring of their businesses. During 2014–2017, Tata Steel Ltd (TSL) UK considered a series of divestitures and a merger plan to nurse the company back to health. The case considers the economics of the restructuring plan. The case is designed to help students analyze a corporate downsizing program undertaken by a large Indian company in the UK and to highlight the dynamic role of the CFO and governance issues in family firms. It introduces students to issues surrounding a typical restructuring and provides students a platform to practice the estimation of value creation in a restructuring exercise. While some cases on corporate restructuring in the context of developed economies are available, there are very few cases written in an emerging market context. This case bridges that gap. TSL presents a unique opportunity to study corporate restructuring necessitated by a failed cross-border acquisition. It illustrates the potential for value loss in large, cross-border acquisitions. It shows how managerial hubris can prompt family firm owners to overbid in acquisitions and create legacy hot spots. In addition, the case can be used to discuss the causes of governance failures such as weak institutional monitoring and poor legal enforcement in emerging markets that could potentially harm minority shareholders.
Complexity academic level
The case was developed from secondary sources and interviews with a security analyst. The secondary sources include company annual reports, news reports, analyst reports, industry reports, company websites, stock exchange websites and databases such as Bloomberg and CMIE Prowess.
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K. V. Sandhyavani, Arun Kumar, G. Taviti Naidu and Goutam Dutta
This is a case of a crisis project management which showcases the unpredictable nature of the project and the role of management in handling the crisis. It is the case of a very…
Abstract
This is a case of a crisis project management which showcases the unpredictable nature of the project and the role of management in handling the crisis. It is the case of a very severe cyclonic storm hitting the city of Visakhapatnam plant during October, 2014. The whole city was devastated and so was the situation in the Steel plant as it was under zero power conditions for around 10 days. This case gives need for managing an integrated steel plant in case of very severe cyclonic storm and documents the sequence of events and managing unforeseen uncertainty using NTCP concepts.
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Arunachalam Narayanan, Malini Natarajarathinam and Brandon Winn
BP has interest in both upstream and downstream segments in over 100 countries worldwide. The United States subsidiary of BP is the nation's largest producer of oil and gas. This…
Abstract
BP has interest in both upstream and downstream segments in over 100 countries worldwide. The United States subsidiary of BP is the nation's largest producer of oil and gas. This case focuses on the upstream procurement activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Mr. Sajjan Jindal, MD of JVSL (nos JSW) wanted to bring the latest technology of iron making into India. His project went to several cost overrun and time overrun due to several…
Abstract
Mr. Sajjan Jindal, MD of JVSL (nos JSW) wanted to bring the latest technology of iron making into India. His project went to several cost overrun and time overrun due to several foreseen and unforessen circumstances. This case discusses the issues new technology introduction in iron making area, problem faced by inexperienced contractor. It shows the need for proper risk management is required. It also shows the criticality of the project does not mean time cost trade off, but many other factors like reliability of the equipment, process and reliability of the equipment and plants.
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Narender Lal Ahuja and Sweta Agarwal
Financial management, corporate finance, strategic management, managerial accounting and project management.
Abstract
Subject area
Financial management, corporate finance, strategic management, managerial accounting and project management.
Study level/applicability
The case is suitable for courses such as MBA, Bachelor level business courses (in finance, business strategy) and training programs for working executives.
Case overview
The case study deals with financial and strategic appraisal of a unique coal-to-liquid project. India imported about two thirds of its crude oil requirements resulting in huge outflow of precious foreign exchange. As a result, it became necessary for the country to look for alternative sources of energy. The coal-to-liquid (CTL) technology of coal gasification offers a credible alternative source of fuels as proved by Sasol of South Africa. The Government of India short-listed Global Synfuels Company (name changed) as one of the selected few companies to build a CTL project. While the project is strategically important to the company and highly desirable for the country, there are serious doubts about the commercial viability of the project because of which the company is in dilemma whether to go ahead with the project. The case study presents this decision dilemma in a very interesting way and will be useful for teaching courses in corporate finance and strategic management.
Expected learning outcomes
The case can be used to engage participants to make a SWOT analysis for a new business opportunity, discuss environmental and financial issues facing a company, use DCF techniques to evaluate the project viability, carry out scenario analysis of the project to the changes in variables as well as challenge the participants to generate strategies for the success of a new project. Participants would also develop a better understanding of: environmental issues involved in CTL projects and new technologies to deal with such issues; and the employment impact of large projects such as the CTL.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.
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Nabil Al-Najjar, Sandeep Baliga and Chris Forman
Studies the impact of tariffs, subsidies, and quotas on the U.S. steel market. Focuses on “winners” and “losers” from different policies. Applications to the events in the U.S…
Abstract
Studies the impact of tariffs, subsidies, and quotas on the U.S. steel market. Focuses on “winners” and “losers” from different policies. Applications to the events in the U.S. steel market in 2001 illustrate the impact of these policies.
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Gaurav Shobhane, Bhaumik Jain, Gautam Anchalia and Ayush Agrawal
In December 2015, 196 countries will meet in Paris to reach a new global climate change agreement. This case looks at the climate negotiation process from the eyes of India's…
Abstract
In December 2015, 196 countries will meet in Paris to reach a new global climate change agreement. This case looks at the climate negotiation process from the eyes of India's environment minister Mr Prakash Javadekar. In India's context, the energy sector has a big role to play in emission reduction as it is the largest emitter of the GHGs. When compared to US and China, India's per-capita emissions are miniscule but they are expected to rise substantially as the GoI is investing heavily in the infrastructure sector which has a substantial carbon footprint. The case discusses the mandatory emission cuts that India will announce considering the fulfillment of sustainable development goals. The case also points out, the government's promise of providing 24*7 electricity by 2019 which it feels can be an impediment in setting an aggressive emission cut target. The case questions if changes in the portfolio mix can be a part of the solution.
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