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Rede Alta Velocidade, SA (RAVE), the state-owned company responsible for planning and developing a major high-speed rail project in Portugal, must persuade both public officials and lenders that the project is worth undertaking. It must also make a recommendation on the appropriate organizational form for the enterprise. Specifically, it must determine the role of the Portuguese government in financing and operating the high-speed rail network, with options ranging from full development and management of the project by the public sector to completely private development and management. Lying in between these two polar cases were a variety of hybrid models, often referred to as public-private partnerships (PPPs). Using data in the case, students have the opportunity to perform a benefit-cost analysis of the project. They also must think carefully about the optimal role of the government in a major new infrastructure project.

After analyzing and discussing the case, students will be able to:

• Understand the nature of a global public good

• Perform a back-of-the-envelope benefit-cost analysis of polio eradication

• Discuss the appropriate strategy for eradicating an infectious disease

• Apply game theory to analyzing which countries would be likely to contribute funds toward global polio eradication

• Discuss the role of private organizations in the provision of global public goods

Understand the nature of a global public good

Perform a back-of-the-envelope benefit-cost analysis of polio eradication

Discuss the appropriate strategy for eradicating an infectious disease

Apply game theory to analyzing which countries would be likely to contribute funds toward global polio eradication

Discuss the role of private organizations in the provision of global public goods

Development of business models, base of the pyramid (BoP) markets.

This study can be used at Bachelor as well as on Master's level courses to reflect activities and practices within corporate sustainability, base of the pyramid and international expansion of MNEs.

This is a case study of Grundfos LIFELINK's development process, relating to the successful development of a business model for serving base of the pyramid (BoP) markets for potable water. Grundfos LIFELINK is a turnkey water solution that encompasses a solar-driven pump facility, a GPS-based monitoring system, and charges based on digital payments of water credits. Together, they represent the business model of Grundfos LIFELINK. At the same time the modules represent a business architecture that can be mixed and matched to match the skills and ensure the adaptive involvement of local partners in BoP markets. Since its cautious start in 2009, Grundfos has successfully expanded its operations to 30 villages in Kenya and LIFELINK systems will operate in 70 villages in Kenya within the next two years.

In an international business/international management context, especially the first and the last part of the case could be used as a showcase of the current transformation efforts multinational companies (MNCs) in the developed world are pursuing. Pressured by the cost advantages of Dragon multinationals from Asia, India and Brazil, MNCs search for new ways to provide value and at the same time utilize their existing knowledge. The Grundfos LIFELINK case shows some of the important consequences and challenges that multinational organizations are facing, once such business models needs to be integrated in the current MNC activities.

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Marketing.

The case is intended for students pursuing post-graduate program in management and studying courses like marketing, brand management and product management.

This case discusses marketing decisions taken by Royal Enfield Motors Ltd for its popular motorcycle brand Enfield. Starting from the genesis of the brand and the company, this case deliberates the stage when it faced the dilemma of whether to shutdown, sell-off or revive the business. The situation was the outcome of unfavourable environmental forces and inappropriate strategies adopted by the company. This case notes how the company evolved its marketing mix to revive the brand.

The case study has been documented with the aim of helping students to: understand the making of an aspirational brand, analyse how a static offer and positioning can become obsolete in a dynamic marketplace, appreciate how pertinent marketing-mix improvements may lead to the revival of a decaying brand and company, learn about the risks associated with entering into a new market segment at the cost of an existing segment, analyse the viability of the business strategy in light of the competition from international players.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The case will offer insight to the students regarding the idea generation and development of a viable sustainable venture. It will promote the understanding of students regarding SDGs and how SMEs can contribute towards their attainment. They will learn to develop the action plan for a green business venture and understand how each of the business activity in each phase of value chain contributes towards environmental, economic and social sustainability.

Rana Waseem, a young business graduate started a small ecopreneurial venture to offer sustainable food from raw material till disposal in developing nation context named as Dhuaan ‘n’ Dukhaan (D ‘n’ D) in Sargodha, Pakistan. He had an aim to create a model of business that not only supports the local economy in terms of offering decent employment but also promotes a food business that generates nutritional self-sufficiency as per the triple bottom line concept. This case gives an exploratory insight into the actual sustainable operations that have survived eight months successfully and on the path of growth without profit being the sole aim. D ‘n’ D has benefited the lives of people in Sargodha by offering job opportunities, a decent wage, healthy food at affordable rates, reduction in diseases, reducing food wastage and efficient resource usage with a positive impact on the environment.

The case is suitable for undergraduate and post graduate students studying entrepreneurship and small business management.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

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

Management Accounting and Financial Modelling.

Undergraduate and post-graduated levels.

Aiman, the Area Manager of GEZ Berhad, realised the importance for petrol station operators to have an understanding of fundamental management accounting concepts such as cost behaviour and cost–volume–profit (CVP) analysis. He also believed that the petrol station operators should be proficient in using Microsoft Excel functionality and able to construct “intelligent” financial model with extended sensitivity analysis. Being a manager responsible for training the petrol station operators, Aiman would like to introduce the CVP concepts and spreadsheet model-building process to the petrol station operators, to aid them in planning and decision making. To construct the Excel spreadsheet model, Aiman sought the assistance of Rizal, a university lecturer in accounting, who in turn gathered the relevant operational and financial data from Baron Service Station, a typical petrol station under GEZ stable. The model should be flexible enough to allow the petrol station operator to anticipate, for example: What will happen to overall profitability of the petrol station if the fuel prices go up? What is the minimum volume of fuel that needed to be sold to break even? How much extra profit can be generated if credit card sale is reduced? and Is it viable to install an automated teller machines (ATM) kiosk and incurring administrative charges from bank to lure more customers to visit the petrol station? As the petrol station sells multiple products (petrol, diesel and convenience goods), the owner is also interested to know which product lines are the most and least profitable. Thus, the model should be able to generate segmented income statement with appropriate allocation of the common fixed costs to the each of the products.

The case discussion is intended to achieve the following learning outcomes: students are able to prepare a financial model which include a segmented contribution income statement based on the information on product mix; students are able to calculate the break-even point and distinguish between fixed and variable costs; students are able to differentiate between traceable fixed costs and common fixed costs; students are able to build a financial model that is sufficiently flexible to allow various what if analysis to be performed; and students are able to use what if analysis tools in Excel such as Goal Seek and Data Tables.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The first company under the Amara Raja Group was established in 1984, i.e. Amara Raja Electronics Limited (AREL) followed by Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL). Its founder leveraged the presence of his family in Renigunta, a rural village in South India, and chose to start the industry there to create employment opportunities. Preference is given to local population in all ARG enterprises. Despite its strong people orientation, the HR department/function at ARG got strengthened only after Jaikrishna strived to make it central to business. The department's evolution has been demarcated in three phases. The first and second phase saw few initiatives, and during the third phase the HR department was structured according to the Dave Ulrich Strategic HR Model. While this structure had been successful until now, certain sections in ARG still doubted its sustainability.

Identify the influence of contextual variables (i.e. politics) in the strategy of a military organisation. Analyse and evaluate strategic change options of a military organisation. Decide on a strategic change from the resources and capabilities model.

Colombia Aeronautics Industry Corporation (CIAC) is a Colombian mixed economy company that commercialises, maintains and repairs civil and military aircraft and aeronautical components. The case presents the decision that the manager must make regarding a change in corporate strategy because of the entry into force of the peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This agreement assumes that the main line of business of the CIAC would be weakened (i.e. repair of military aircraft used in the internal armed conflict with FARC), because in a new peace scenario, the aircraft would not need as much maintenance as in the most critical stages of the conflict.

Master of Business Administration level (suggested courses: strategy, strategic management and organisational change). Undergraduate level (suggested courses: strategy and organisational change).

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CSS 11: Strategy.

How does a mature business develop new growth markets, assuming it already has new products? That was the challenge facing The Coca-Cola Company and its global system of bottlers in the 2000s when demand for its core line of carbonated soft drinks flattened. The Australian bottler, Amatil, pinned its hopes on energy drinks, a fast-growth, youth-oriented category that was capturing headlines and share away from traditional products. To wrest control from the upstart brands that originated them, Amatil was targeting the retail context where young people congregated and formed their preferences, in pubs, nightclubs, healthclubs, and sporting events. This international case explores the challenges encountered when a mature company with considerable distribution assets, well-honed systems, and entrenched operating procedures attempts to sell into an underserved retail channel with requirements quite unlike those of the company's mainstream buyers. How does it attract market interest? How does it develop new routes-to-market without undercutting the cost efficiencies and delivery value that have earned it dominant position elsewhere? How does it win over what could be its core customers of the future without alienating today's faithful? These are just some of the questions that Amatil management was determined to solve.

Understand issues related to retail channel strategy development in fast-changing international consumer markets, and the challenges of adapting legacy routes-to-market systems to changing consumer demands.

The Case takes place at the headquarters of Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. (GWI), one of the leading short line railroads in the United States. The Case revolves around three executives - Mortimer B. Fuller III, Chairman and CEO, Mark Hastings, CFO and Treasurer, and Alan Harris, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Office - and the dilemma over whether to pursue international expansion.

GWI has generally pursued a strategy of diversification through acquisition. However, there are other approaches to diversification, including international expansion. With increasing deregulation and privatization of railroads around the world, GWI and its competitors must weigh the risks of internationalization with the rewards. GWI fears that a failure to move quickly might result in missed opportunities as competitors acquire railroads around the world.

An opportunity has recently arisen in Australia, where the government is selling Australian National Railway. GWI believes Australia might be a good initial foray into the international market given the similarities of the country and its railroad industry to the United States and its railroad industry. The Case asks the question, “Should GWI enter the bidding?”