Search results

Rick Jamison, as Project Manager for the highly profitable Mega-Yacht division of Thorsby-Wando Marine Refit, Inc., has been assigned the task of revamping the supplier evaluation and selection tool used by the company in view of the evolution of the business from a small boat storage and repair facility into a full-service large boat and mega-yacht repair and refit facility. Rick gleans ideas from a colleague at another facility in preparation for re-crafting the current supplier evaluation tool. Rick becomes acquainted with how the Delphi method could be used to achieve consensus among members of the buying center to arrive at key factors and their proportionate weights for use in the supplier evaluation tool.

The case is based upon interviews with the company that is represented by Thorsby-Wando Marine Refit, Inc.

This case is targeted primarily at undergraduate students in purchasing, materials management and supply chain management courses. The case works best when it is employed in connection with a discussion of the major methods for evaluating vendors.

Mr D M Patel, Senior Manager, Mobile Fish-selling Vans project, Gujarat Fisheries Central Co-operative Association Limited (GFCCA), had to present a plan to the Governing Body for the project which had been making losses for the last few years. He had GFCCA's annual accounts for 2009-2010 with him, but did not have specific details on the financial performance of the three vans. He needs to decide whether the project should be wound up or should undergo some modifications, while taking into account the objectives of the Governing Body. This case is meant for use in an introductory class in decision making for postgraduate or undergraduate management students to illustrate the process of rational decision making. It is also aimed at helping students write decision reports. The case requires the student to intuitively arrive at an understanding of the problem of fixed costs not being covered by the margin that the project is allowed to make, thus making sales volume a critical factor in breaking even. A second aspect that the students will have to identify is the possibility of reducing fixed costs by addressing cost inefficiencies or by making operational changes.

Derived from field interviews and secondary research, the case describes the dilemma that the Marketing Manager Bentley Collins of Sabre Yachts faces in developing a profitable marketing mix given the firm's current product line, competitors, industry and national economic trends. Sabre had always been a niche boat builder. Their product line was divided into two distinct categories; sail boats and power boats. Their sailboats were targeted toward boaters interested in the comfort desired for cruising but also the capability of competitive racing while their power boats were designed to be modern yachts that could cruise 20 knots or better. A majority of sales came from the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions with only sporadic success in other areas. Bentley worried that slower phone traffic in Spring of 2001 would be indicative of slower sales and wanted to know what actions the firm should take to continue their regional growth as well as their push to become a more nationally-based firm. The case has a difficulty level appropriate for a junior or senior level course. The case is designed to be taught in one class period and is expected to require between five to seven hours of outside preparation by students.

Learning outcomes of this study are as follows: conduct a comprehensive organizational diagnosis to uncover the peculiarities of managing a family business; evaluate the spirit of innovation of the new generation to drive rejuvenation initiatives in the family firm; reflect on the concept of stealth innovation and its manifestation in the context of transgenerational entrepreneurship; and assess the effectiveness of managerial decision-making and provide recommendations for securing the sustainability of a family firm.

This case starts with the entrepreneurial beginnings of Jack Misakyan, who transformed the small blacksmith venture of his father into a large and profitable family enterprise with operations across different countries and industrial sectors. Since the establishment of Misakyan Technical Solutions (MTS), Jack relied on the help of his brothers, Ara and Hovik, who have joined the ranks of owners and managers to drive the expansion efforts of the family firm. Over the years, the brothers were successful in pursuing a strategy of continuous growth and diversification by taking advantage of opportunities in several industries and regions of the world. They opened branches in Kuwait, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Armenia, and operated in industries of heavy-truck maintenance, pharmaceuticals, marine shipping, construction materials, quarry and restauration. Yet, four decades after its launch, the company was entering in a phase of stagnation and was in need for entrepreneurial rejuvenation. The members of the third generation, who have recently joined the family firm, believed that it was their obligation to restructure the operations and revive the entrepreneurial spirit in their fathers’ organization. Moreover, after several months of market analysis and investigation, two of the cousins came up with a new business idea that was pursued entirely in a stealth mode. By describing the strategic events and family dynamics that shaped the evolution of MTS over time, the case offers an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of managerial decision-making and provide recommendations for ensuring the longevity of the family enterprise.

Upper undergraduate classes.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Marketing-managing customer relationship, market positioning, target marketing, product strategy, distribution, retailing and supply chain management, integrated marketing communications.

Undergraduate and graduate students in international marketing; business administration; strategic decision making and general management courses.

The case study focuses on the current scenario within the Indian automotive lubricants industry, in order to provide an understanding of the marketing challenges, especially in retailing and distribution, faced by organisations within this highly competitive sector. The case examines the implementation of marketing strategies into practice and provides an insight into the importance of branding, market segmentation, market positioning, product and pricing strategies and customer relationship management (CRM).

The case study enables the students to understand and analyse: the current business environment and dynamics of emergence in the Indian automotive lubricants market; the critical success factors for doing business in the Indian automotive lubricants market and the associated opportunities and challenges; the importance of distribution and retailing strategies in the Indian context; Izo's growth and expansion strategy in India; and Izo's sales management and CRM systems and there importance to the success of the business.

Teaching note.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to analyze the multidimensional and complex crises, and market stature of a company that was a market and industry leader in a developing country; to evaluate and interpret the outcomes of decisions pertaining declining profits, outstanding receivables, branding, marketing and radical reforms to overcome the challenges of sustainable growth, customers and employees’ loyalty, market stature and leadership crises; and to design strategic solutions for sustaining its leadership position and combating severe challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to ponder upon various crises that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) was facing, so that learners can critically analyze, assess and design strategic solutions for it. PSO was the state-run market leader in the petroleum industry. The company had been struggling to combat multiple types of turmoil at a time. Its huge fund of receivables was blocked in circular debt that caused the company budget constraints and deficits. Due to a government policy shift, the demand for its furnace oil substantially reduced and profits plummeted. The countless internal and external crises posed severe menace to its competitive position vis-a-vis its rivals. This qualitative case study garners data from eight interviews from senior managers in the petroleum industry and adds content analysis technique to acquire pertinent data from renowned media sources and subsequent analysis. The drastic crises left PSO with dearth of funds and declining profitability. Consequently, due to limited marketing budget, creativity of its marketing team for devising effective marketing programs to raise market share was compromised. PSO underwent the issues of brand sustainability, sustainable growth, customers and employees’ loyalty, and market stature to financial and leadership crises. However, despite limitations, it still enjoyed a market leadership position among its rivals in the industry by occupying more than half of the chunk of market in the petroleum industry. This is a unique case study of a state-owned giant company facing multidimensional menaces. It offers tremendous learning opportunities for students who can devise creative strategic solutions and link theories and models with practice.

Graduate (MBA), MS, PhD (management and administrative sciences); Suitable for teaching in chapters: Anywhere but ideally near the middle or end of the above courses.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 11: Strategy.

There had been many pieces of research on international expansion approaches, and they continued to grow. However, research about the firms belonging to emerging nations and that went global were still in the early stages. It had been argued that most theories on international expansion had focused on explaining the internationalization of large firms, majorly originating in developed countries. This case study offers an intriguing reading about an Indian MNC, successfully entering the developed markets and competing thereof amidst tough and complex world. Moreover, the leaders like Baba Kalyani met the stiff challenge from complexities and disruption successfully through entrepreneurial mindset. The case study offers insights into “Creating Value Through Entrepreneurial Leadership Framework”.

The case study has been developed through secondary data sources. The published online resources, the firm's annual reports formed the basis of the research work. Author accessed online news articles, auto component industry experts' views and reports from global consultancy firms, and auto industry body such as SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) reports helped the research. The views and interviews by promoters of the company are available online for deeper insights and analysis.

An Indian multinational, Bharat Forge Limited (BFL), was a shining example of achieving global manufacturing standards through perseverance and entrepreneurial leadership. For more than the past four decades, BFL faced complexities, uncertainties and disruptions multiple times, and every time, the business world saw a resurgent company, Bharat Forge. The company achieved growth through diversification, related and unrelated, acquisition, product innovation, portfolio expansion and expansion in domestic and global development. Competitive market, economic slowdown, innovation and technology disruption had not deterred BFL from growing into a worldwide auto component giant. BFL overcame all hurdles with grit and enterprise. It achieved a paradigm shift with over half the revenue from non-automotive sectors such as defence, electric vehicle components, e-mobility, power electronics and aluminium light-weighting.

This case is planned for MBA students, primarily in the second half of the course curriculum. It can be executed in marketing, strategic marketing and strategic management courses. The conceptual framework pertaining to corporate strategy, global expansion, diversification, product development, innovation, disruption, market development and entrepreneurial leadership can be taught through the case. The case is suitable for MBA executive students as well, in courses mentioned above in addition to courses such as strategic leadership.

This case examines the formation of an alliance between Fiat and Chrysler during the height of the financial crisis as a mechanism to save Chrysler from liquidation. The case traces the events leading up to the alliance, discusses the early stage issues with which the partners have to deal, addresses some of the governance issues, and examines the past merger between Chrysler and Daimler that ended in a failure. The case presents a normative approach to alliance management and conjectures about the success of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance. We address whether Chrysler is a suitable partner and whether there is a strong enough rationale for the alliance and whether the two partners are compatible. Finally, the case explores the lessons learned and the cautions that might derail the alliance.

Kolkata Port (KoPT) had achieved a turnaround from having made a loss of Rs 7.5 crores (cr) in the year 2000–01 to a net surplus of Rs 465.1 cr in the year 2006–07. A variety of initiatives had been taken during the intervening years with a focus on tariff rationalization, revenues from alternate sources, infrastructure development and productivity improvements. While these had yielded results, there was a fundamental issue of operational complexity and inability to compete due to the locational disadvantage. KoPT was a riverine port with two locations, 232 kms and 115 kms upstream on the Hooghly with draft limitations.

Two significant studies having implications for future strategies of KoPT had recently been submitted in March and November 2007. The top management of the port, including the Chairman who was responsible for driving many of the initiatives, was concerned that it may not be possible to achieve long term sustainable growth continuing with the strategies used so far. A well thought out future roadmap, breaking away from the present thinking, was essential sustained growth.