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After it introduced the extremely successful Droid smartphone into the market in 2009, Motorola quickly moved to develop the next-generation Droid 2 before the next wave of smartphones (including the rumored iPhone 4) flooded the market. The development process was moving smoothly for the company when Verizon, its biggest partner, dropped a bombshell. It wasn't happy with the mechanical camera button on the Droid 2 (citing customer feedback) and wanted it to be changed to a software button like the iPhone's. This request immediately placed Motorola in the proverbial horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, it couldn't brush away the request of its biggest and most important partner. On the other hand, changing the camera button now would mean delaying the Droid 2's entry into the market. Should the Droid 2 team remove the camera's hardware button in favor of a software button per Verizon's request, or not?

John Smith, the product manager, leads the cross-functional Droid 2 team. The case setting is an emergency “war room” meeting to address this critical issue, just weeks prior to launch. John's objective is to obtain the salient facts and opinions of team members quickly so he can make an informed recommendation to his boss by the end of the day. He is concerned that this last-minute request for a design change will not only threaten to delay the launch, which would have significant financial implications, but could potentially create deep fissures in a hitherto effective team that had been running like a well-oiled machine.

The case puts students in a situation that simulates a real-world discussion and allows them to experience what it is like, as a product manager, to orchestrate a meeting with cross-functional teams that have conflicting priorities and agendas. It illustrates the challenges a product manager faces while striving to make important decisions with little or no direct authority over the various teams.

After reading and analyzing this case, students will be able to:

• Experience the dynamics of cross-functional teams in product management

• Practice running effective and productive meetings

• Practice bringing together various personalities and points of view

• Understand the importance of setting goals and clear expectations

• Internalize the importance of building relationships and influencing teams, even when you do not have direct authority

Experience the dynamics of cross-functional teams in product management

Practice running effective and productive meetings

Practice bringing together various personalities and points of view

Understand the importance of setting goals and clear expectations

Internalize the importance of building relationships and influencing teams, even when you do not have direct authority

This case describes how eight entrepreneurs discover different opportunities for new businesses to exploit a single technological invention. The case focuses on the process of entrepreneurial discovery and its implications for the creation of new firms. Many of the teaching materials on entrepreneurship assume that entrepreneurs have already discovered an opportunity. While these materials provide useful information about the process of creating new enterprises, they miss the crucial first step in the entrepreneurial process: identifying an opportunity. The case illustrates the theoretical concept of the role of information in the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. It can be used in a class on entrepreneurship or management of technology.

Upon completion of the case study, the students will be able to find the challenges and underlying structures that cause the problem; the students will be able to identify the dynamic variables and develop the interconnection and interlinkages among the time-delayed variables to build the story of the business case; the students could develop the block diagram and could build the system dynamics model using the simulation software STELLA, and if they do not have the simulation software, even then they could have a mental model to understand the problem well; the system dynamics students can design the policies to make the system better behaved and recommend solutions; and the students could make mind maps and develop the mental model and could recommend solutions and way forward to overcome the challenges and solve the issues.

Tradeasia is a small-scale manufacturing firm that had started its business activities near Sundar Industrial Estate, Raiwind, in September 2007. The company’s prime focus was to buy the potato starch from chips manufacturing companies and, then, extract the potato starch from the waste potato using its own machinery and sell it as a sizing agent to textile mills. Quality characteristics in terms of better millage and enhanced gullibility made it compatible with Rafhan corn-based starch. The major challenge linked to potato starch was its degree of wetness; the potato starch either extracted from rotten potato or procured from the potato chips manufacturing companies had a high degree of wetness and moisture content. Wet potato starch sometimes had more than 60% moisture content, which was really a challenge. Owing to the high degree of wetness, the wet starch was prone to fungus growth, and within hours, the fungus created toxins if it was not dried immediately, and then after 24 h, toxins acquired a black colour, and they became hardened like pebbles. The starch then was unusable even for sizing purposes for textile products. Reduction in the degree of wetness was really a big challenge and demanded prompt action and high productivity of the operational staff to make that product dry for sale purposes. This was the biggest challenge that ended up in huge inventories of wet starch. Capacity constraints and operational inefficiency killed the company’s productivity and affected the company’s profit.

This case study is written and developed for MBA and MS-level supply chain students of the system dynamics course or those studying management of supply chain complexities. This case study discusses the operational challenges while running the business; huge inventories, capacity constraints and inefficiency in production operations were the challenges associated with almost all manufacturing industries. This case study discussed not only why such challenges are appearing in the business but also the solution that resided in the wisdom shared by the employees in the board meeting. An integrated system dynamics model could be used to design the policies to overcome such challenges. Even the block diagram of the model and causal loop diagram could help to conceptualize the problem and explore the way forward.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 7: Management science.

In 2014 WMS Gaming, a manufacturer and seller of slot machines to casinos, was considering a redesign of its existing revenue model. As technology evolved and customer demand for gaming solutions intensified, new and innovative revenue models were being adopted in other technology markets. Most notably, the subscription revenue model, in which customers paid a monthly subscription fee rather than a large upfront fee, was becoming widely adopted in the software industry. Product manager Dayna Stone had the task of evaluating several revenue models and recommending one that most suited WMS's business needs and at the same time took customer needs and wishes into consideration. Complicating this decision were several factors that would have to be kept in mind. Americans' love of gaming had led to a mushrooming of casinos, which meant increased competition for casino dollars. Yet the financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath had weakened demand for casinos. In addition, casinos, depending on the type of customers they attracted, differed in their appetite for innovation and maintenance of their slot machines. Students will step into the shoes of Dayna Stone as she undertakes the task of weighing these factors and selecting the right revenue model.

In entrepreneurship courses, the case would allow discussing the contribution of social innovation. On the other hand, in strategy courses the case would allow proposing the business model for a social enterprise, to evaluate the creation, delivery and capture of value of a social enterprise. Depending on the course and approach you want to give to the case discussion, it can serve as support for the following objectives: arguing the contribution of social innovation to solve problems in a region; propose the resources and value proposition of the business model of a social enterprise; and attitudes promotion: understand the importance of ethics and responsibility in the development of social enterprises.

The case addresses the opportunity of the school “Brillo de Luna,” when developing social entrepreneurship, which requires projection, evaluation and management support. In this context, the director of the school must propose a business model that is sustainable in the long-term in the market and that generates shared value. The institutional relationship of the school “Brillo de Luna” with the Cristalchile company, through the social entrepreneurship of glass recycling, could generate economic, environmental and social value to the school community and the company.

Courses in which the case could be applied: entrepreneurship and strategy.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

After completion of this case, students would be able to understand the challenges faced by social entrepreneurship in a time of pandemic, as well as gain a perspective of the background, history, evolution and the setup of such organizations; appreciate the role of marketing methods in tackling the challenges faced and how the management of such enterprises could use them on the ground; evaluate possible future options/pathways that could be taken in the backdrop of a pandemic and, more importantly, in a developing country context; and apply the elements of social entrepreneurship theory and suggest a way ahead for ThankUfoods (TUF).

TUF is a social enterprise that empowers visually and physically challenged people by using while profitably selling food products. Few years of existence, it was facing a major dilemma regarding strategies to continue its existing business and the way forward. Because of the pandemic, the traditional offline business models became redundant on which TUF was heavily dependent. At the same time, TUF had to balance providing support to its employees, staying financially afloat and upholding its parent organization’s core objectives, the India Association for Blind (IAB). IAB was founded to rescue and provide livelihood for specially abled people. TUF was formed as a sister concern that combined charitable work and profit earning to make visually challenged people self-sufficient. At this juncture, the protagonist of the case Mr Abdul Raheem, chief executive officer of TUF and vice president of IAB, approached consultants to chart the way forward. He was forced to explore novel options ranging from conceptual ones, such as setting the right objectives and revisiting mission and vision, to more operational ones, such as venturing into online space, increasing advertisements and achieving breakeven sales. This case study highlights the overall journey of TUF, the underlying constraints, the new challenges faced and the dilemma ahead. Further, it covers the context and challenges peculiar to an emerging market setting. More importantly, it provides a setting for the students to be in the protagonist’s position and ponder – how should a social enterprise functioning in an emerging market function in times of pandemic crises? If it decides to explore novel options, what should be those, how can it proceed, and what to be cautious about.

The target audience for the case study are students from MBA and BBA courses, management trainees who are interested to learn about the challenges social entrepreneurship face at the time of crisis. This case study could be used to explain concepts about social entrepreneurship, brand positioning, e-commerce marketing and decision-making in the time of pandemics/crises. The case is also suitable for senior management personnel who participate in executive education programs.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

Illinois Superconductor Corp. a technology start-up, came up with an innovative new superconducting filter for use in cellular base stations. It needed to estimate the demand for its filters. The manager came up with a simple chain-ratio-based forecasting model that, while simple and intuitive, was too simplistic. The company had also commissioned a research firm to develop a model-based forecast. The model-based forecast used diffusion modeling, analogy-based forecasting, and conjoint analysis to create a forecast that incorporated customer preferences, diffusion effects, and competitive dynamics.

To use the data to generate a model-based forecast and to reconcile the model-based forecast with the manager's forecast. Requires sophisticated spreadsheet modeling and the application of advanced forecasting techniques.

This paper looks at logistics and supply chain strategy.

The paper is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate management students.

By November 2009, realising the competitive pressures created by the regional and global players, Mr Khalid Ahmed, SVP, Economic Zones World (EZW), decided to strategically re-position EZW in the global supply chain map. He knew it would be very challenging in view of changing landscape of international business and he was eager to start formulating his plans.

This case can be used to teach logistics and supply chain strategy as well as the understanding of the development of country level strategy. A better understanding of the demographics and geography of UAE is required.

A teaching note is available on request.

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.

Operations Management

MBA/Post Graduate

This case attempts to highlight a very common resource allocation dilemma in a real-life scenario. The majority of today’s problems are solved by the methodology of trial and error. This case shows how a generic trial-and-error solution, if buttressed by a proper quantitative methodology, can have substantial impact on the bottom-line of an organization. The case concentrates on three disparate focus areas in a didactic fashion, namely, the ability to retrieve raw data and convert it into a utilizable form if a quantitative method is to be applied; the ability to comprehend the resource constraints of a typical real-life situation; and the skill required to develop and solve an optimization problem in Excel Solver, a product which can easily be accessed by any practitioner.

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: students learn to formulate a Mixed-Integer programming model; to interpret optimal solutions and appreciate the application of “Optimization”; to recommend a resource allocation strategy; and to understand the importance of cost minimization in organizations.

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: 9: Operations and Logistics