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The case illustrates the social entrepreneurial journey of Ramdev who developed Patanjali Yogpeeth as a successful enterprise that provides low-cost physical and mental treatment through the ancient science of yoga. The case provides a perspective on the reasons for the success of Patanjali as a social brand in such a small time scale and also addresses the controversies associated with it.

Using secondary sources, the study describes the philosophy, infrastructure, innovations, marketing and promotional practices of the organization. It also seeks answers to the challenges faced by the social entrepreneur to fulfill his social mission.

The case is best suited for courses on entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship and marketing of non-profit organization in both MBA and executive programs. Students who have an interest in starting their own venture or social enterprise will find it more relevant and interesting.

The data used to present this case was collected from secondary data sources. These sources included media reports associated with Michael Jordan and his trajectory since entering the sport, as well as specific information published about his time at the Chicago Bulls. Another key source of information is the ESPN documentary conducted specifically on Jordan’s relationship with his National Basketball Association (NBA) team.

The case follows the story of Michael Jordan, who took his team, the Chicago Bulls, to fame in a rather controversial manner. To do so, Michael Jordan had to alter his leadership style over the years to be respected as a leader and motivate his team to win one NBA championship after another. On 20th April 2020, ESPN’s “The Last Dance”, a 10-part documentary about Michael Jordan and his time playing for the Chicago Bulls was released to much acclaim. The documentary became highly noted as Jordan himself, both directed and starred in the documentary. Jordan’s great achievements stood out, but so did the conflicts that the basketball star had with The Bulls’ management team and mainly, his teammates. Relationships between teammates were far from harmonious, which led to questions around whether Michael Jordan was as good a leader, as he was a star player. Cultural change within the organisation was primarily linked to the often-contested leadership of Jordan.

The case can be used at UG, MSc and MBA levels. It works for in-person teaching and for online teaching. It is most suitable in leadership, strategy and strategy in practice courses. However, it is critical to note that the case can shed light on the dynamics that leaders and teammates have within their teams. Therefore, this case may be valuable to students studying courses where they themselves must work in groups and oftentimes encounter challenges in managing their team. These challenges can arise at all levels of experience. As such, the case provides particularly useful reflection for decision makers who may be beginning to develop their leadership skill (UG), those who have already experienced working in teams (MSc) or leading teams themselves (MBA, Executive MBA). The case addresses the challenges associated with achieving high team motivation and performance. It also sheds light on the challenges associated with leading a cultural change within a team and the approaches of different actors involved. It may be best to introduce the case in the context of a (1.5–2 h) workshop once students understand the basic frameworks and tools used to analyse leadership styles and their characteristics.

This case is intended for use in undergraduate, MBA and Executive Education courses in Strategy, Business in Africa, Entrepreneurship and Investing in Emerging Markets.

Strategy, Business in Africa, Entrepreneurship and Investing in Emerging Markets.

Eric Kyere founded Brouges in 2015, an African brand, with the objective of designing, manufacturing and selling great shoes. His original plan was to produce Brouges’ shoes in Africa, but had several problems with suppliers (e.g. poor quality, poor raw materials, etc.). Therefore, Brouges had to partner with a European manufacturer to produce its first batch of shoes. Shortly thereafter, Eric partnered with Michael Asare Bediako, a young Ghanaian investor and entrepreneur, who had advanced plans to build a shoemaking factory in Ghana. The factory was likely to open in early 2021, following major delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This would be a major milestone for Brouges and a key step in Eric’s entrepreneurial journey. However, how can Eric and Brouges manage the challenge of growing and building a manufacturing and retail organization? How could they succeed where others had failed?

This case has five pedagogical objectives: strategic choices: evaluate the strategic choices that companies need to make (based on their predefined goals and aspirations) and show that they are effectively an integrated cascade of choices that need to be consistent and coherent; strategic planning: apply and analyze the key steps and key decision to be made as part of a high-level strategic plan; value proposition: apply and analyze the concept and key components of a company’s value proposition, leveraging Tovstiga’s framework; doing business in Africa: evaluate the specific generic challenges of doing business in Africa, particularly in the manufacturing sector; generalizability of frameworks: this case shows that the same frameworks that are used to analyze large firms and mature markets can be applied to smaller firms in less developed markets.

This case is intended for use in undergraduate, MBA and Executive Education courses in Strategy, Business in Africa, Entrepreneurship and Investing in Emerging Markets.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 3 Entrepreneurship.

Marketing, brand management, promotion management and corporate social responsibility.

Undergraduate and postgraduate.

How does the “country-of-origin” issue affect brands, and what do brands need to do? The case of unique and small corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and their impact on creating brand awareness.

Aamer Khan, Managing Director Hafet Electrical LLC, the sole distributor for of Haier in United Arab Emirates (UAE) was reviewing their half yearly results. Among the more unconventional strategies they had adopted was one where they used community engagement to get an insight into the local market and develop brand awareness as a caring top quality brand. The CEO of Haier, Zhang Ruimin stressed that “quality is and will remain the essence of business sustainable, whether in the past, present or future”. Aamer was evaluating the effectiveness of the strategy and considering its impact. Should he use a similar strategy next year?

This case deals with the “country-of-origin” issue, an important aspect in branding a key strategy of marketing. The Haier brand and its country-of-origin were investigated among the Emirati (UAE nationals) consumers. This was done as part of a capstone research project by Meerah, Sara and Azza at Zayed University, Dubai. Further, the group created a unique CSR program for the Haier, whereby they invited people to join them in a Walkathon to raise money for a charitable cause. Haier donated various products like refrigerators, air coolers and air conditioners towards this charity. By creating this event, the group raised awareness of the Haier brand among the local population.

What is:

• “Country of origin” (coo) in marketing and its effect on brands?

• The role of CSR in corporate marketing communication?

• The role of small events in building brands?

“Country of origin” (coo) in marketing and its effect on brands?

The role of CSR in corporate marketing communication?

The role of small events in building brands?

Teaching notes.

“Jessica’s dilemma: honesty or loyalty” is the true story of a Staff Accountant, Jessica, who discovered embezzlement by the controller, Michael. Jessica worked at a US subsidiary of a multinational organization. One of the company’s vendors contacted Jessica regarding unpaid invoices. Following up on the inquiry, Jessica found suspicious manual journal entries in the general ledger. When she questioned her boss, Michael, about her findings, he first denied the situation, then blamed another employee, and ultimately tried to intimidate Jessica so that she would not press the issue. Jessica’s investigation led to the discovery that Michael had been embezzling money from the company. To complicate matters, Jessica and her husband had a close relationship with Michael and his wife outside the office. Jessica had to make a choice between being loyal to a family friend and being honest and loyal toward her employer.

The authors obtained the information for this case from the staff accountant and her husband via a series of interviews. The information was verified via publicly available news articles on the presented case. Additionally, legal documents, which were publicly available, were also used for information. The name of the company and the names of the individuals in the case were changed to protect the identities and privacy of the involved parties.

An instructor can use this case in business ethics, introductory management, human resource law or accounting courses targeting undergraduate or introductory MBA students. This case is best used in the beginning of the suggested courses, as the instructor introduces ethical dilemmas, ethical frameworks, and stakeholder theory. The case is designed so that students do not need a background in business or business ethics to be able to successfully complete the case analysis. Additionally, the case provides a platform to discuss the differences in an ethical vs an unethical manager and how to respond to such a situation.

Many employees are afraid to report ethical wrongdoing to upper management, or to engage in ethical dissent. When upper management is receptive to reports of wrongdoing, ethical dissent within the organization to upper-level management has more organizational benefits than when the issue is shared with coworkers or external agencies. This is because upper management has the power to make a difference in the situation and may be able to keep the situation within the organization to eliminate possible reputation problems for the organization. The presented case can be utilized to discuss the importance of feeling safe in an organization as it pertains to reporting wrongdoing within the organization and how organizational culture and leadership can enhance or diminish that feeling.

The case presents a significant amount of information on the outbreak of COVID-19 and the expected impact on the economy. Although the case is necessarily concise, several links are given to the online articles and video material on which the case is based. This allows participants to deepen their knowledge of the virus and their understanding of its likely economic impact. To frame the discussion, several philosophies, ranging from Libertarianism to Marxism, are lightly expounded. Readers will need to consider divergent ideas; the sanctity of human life versus the monetary value of a life; the hysteria evoked by COVID-19 deaths versus the placid acceptance of an annual 66,000 deaths by another disease – TB; and the differential economic impact of the virus across extremes of inequality. Perhaps, the key issue relates to the skewness in the death rate: Should young people’s livelihood be sacrificed for a few old people about to die anyway? The case also illustrates the essence of a dilemma – a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.

In March 2020, South African President Cyril Ramaposa ordered a 21-day national “lockdown” to enable and enforce social distancing in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19. Many other countries had already taken similar steps, but in a country with 43,000 murders annually, South Africa’s response to only 11 COVID-19 deaths and 1,071 cases was both rapid and harsh. Schools, businesses, social areas and parks were closed. Medical emergencies, essential services and weekly grocery shopping were the only permissible activities. Two weeks after lockdown, there were 1,845 cases and 18 deaths, a far cry from the predicted 30,000 cases and 300 deaths, estimated on the basis of the three-day doubling rate at the start of lockdown. Many businesses, pulverised by closure, daily wage earners and those fearful of losing jobs were hopeful that the lockdown would not be extended. In a country with immense inequality, how would the masses under the age of 65 years, already in poverty and now with their lives pulled apart by an imported disease of the wealthy, respond to extended social and economic deprivation followed by bailouts for business?

MBA and Executive Education

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 11 Strategy.

The key learning objectives are mentioned as follows: to understand the attractiveness of the co-living sector using Michael Porter’s five forces model; to do competitive analysis of ZOLO by understanding its objectives, strengths and weaknesses; to understand various competitive strategies which ZOLO’s competitors could apply against it; and to understand application of various defense strategies, which ZOLO would follow to retain its market leader position.

ZoloStays (ZOLO) was an Indian real-tech start-up based in Bengaluru. It was in the business of co-living, i.e. providing affordable accommodation for students and young professionals who had to leave their home and temporarily settle in other cities in search for jobs or education. ZOLO had grown 300% and had served over 50,000 customers across 10 Indian cities, since its inception in 2015. It had claimed to be the largest co-living brand in India in FY 2019. Nikhil Sikri (Sikri), who was a Co-founder of ZOLO, had big plans of expanding the firm to a million beds in 5 years. However, increasing awareness of a huge untapped market in the co-living sector had led to entry of a flurry of competitors. Notable among them were Nestaway, Colive, StayAbode, CoHo and OYO Life. Facing such intense competition Sikri had the challenge to be able to sustain his company’s early momentum. How would he retain ZOLO’s market leadership position? What would be the best strategy to achieve further growth? Should ZOLO diversify into allied services or apply a more focused strategy? Sikri was facing all these challenging questions and had to quickly address them to continue to lead in this competitive race.

The case can be taught in advanced undergraduate, MBA or executive-level programs dealing with marketing. This case study helps students in dealing with issues pertaining to a given market sector where a firm is operating, the strategies that could be used by the competitors and application of competitive strategies which the firm can apply.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing

Cristo Rey St. Martin College Preparatory (CRSM), a school with a unique educational model, has built a culture of accountability and student achievement. Founded in 2004 with a mission of serving “young people of limited economic means,” the school had a rocky start. It was plagued with student failure, high teacher turnover, and a total lack of accountability on the part of both students and teachers. In 2008, a new principal, Michael Odiotti, was hired to turn around the school. During his early years as principal, Mr. Odiotti faced many challenges, including poor academic results, lack of discipline, the threat of bankruptcy, and insufficient employers to support the school's work-study program. By 2018, the school had overcome some of these obstacles, and its metrics were exemplary. The question CRSM currently faces is how it can bolster a new culture of continuous improvement to avoid complacency while continuing to push accountability to achieve even greater results.

This case (though it may stand on its own) is a continuation of the events described in “Creating a Culture of Empowerment and Accountability at St. Martin de Porres High,” Cases #5-410-755(A) and (B) (KEL514 and KEL515) (Kellogg School of Management, 2010).

Strategic stakeholder engagement, entrepreneurialism, ecosystem, corporate social responsibility, event management, branding, marketing strategy.

Post-graduate level, practitioners interested in MENSA Region, entrepreneurship policy makers and NGOs.

Abraaj Capital Ltd (Abraaj), a highly reputed private equity investment and management company, strongly believed in corporate social responsibility, strategic stakeholder engagement and entrepreneurship ecosystem development. In November, 2010, Abraaj held the “Celebration of Entrepreneurship” (CoE) a two-day free entrepreneur event, in Dubai. CoE was attended by more than 2,400 participants. The purpose of CoE was to contribute to building an entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Middle East North Africa South Asia region (MENASA). Based on participant feedback, CoE Outcomes and stakeholder feedback, the event was very successful.

This case is a good example of community engagement and showcases entrepreneurship ecosystem development. This case also highlights the challenges of putting together a signature event in a very short time frame. The future management dilemmas are also raised on various issues like whether to make this successful event a regular part of their organizational activities, and issues concerning the funding of such events. This case can be used to teach event management, branding, marketing strategy, CSR and entrepreneurship (from the ecosystem point of view). It will appeal to both educationalists and practitioners interested in the MENASA region, policy makers who facilitate entrepreneurship, CSR managers, event management companies and marketing specialist. It can be used to teach both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Strategy students can focus on marketing and branding strategies; like stakeholder engagement, internal marketing, social media, positioning and brand architecture. Student of event management can learn about prioritizing, adaptability, funding and the complexity of layering a program.

Teaching notes, videos.

Cara Pils is the private label beer brand of Colruyt, the biggest supermarket retailer in Belgium. As a true private label brand, Cara Pils has never been advertised. In 2015, Colruyt undertook an initiative to reposition its numerous private label brands under two larger private label brands. Unexpectedly, customers were incensed by this initiative, came out in droves and took the matter to social media hoping to lament the demise of their beloved brand. This case study investigates the roots of this strong brand attachment and the consequences for its brand management.

This case is built on primary (one in-depth interview and two focus group) as well as secondary data sources (previous research and web information).

This case is designed to be used in a marketing management or brand strategy course for students that already followed an introduction to marketing course or for students at a master level.

This case should provide the basis of discussions on the topics of brand management, private-label brands, repositioning strategy, brand portfolio management, brand architecture, brand equity, brand elements, brand nostalgia, and consumers’ relationships with brands.