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In January 2005 Dr. Mean Chhi Vun, director of the Cambodian National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs (NCHADS), needed to decide how to control the spread of HIV/AIDS and save the lives of thousands of Cambodians who were dying from it each year. In the seven years since Dr. Vun had been appointed director, NCHADS had built an organization that was transparent and efficient, had implemented a nationwide 100 percent Condom Use Program, had established a system that allowed individuals to voluntarily seek confidential counseling and testing, and had instituted a set of guidelines and procedures for staff at health facilities to refer HIV-positive patients to treatment clinics and link them with NGOs providing financial and psychosocial support. Now, however, Dr. Vun faced decisions about three initiatives that were critical to expanding care and treatment programs in his country. First, he needed to decide how to quickly and cost-effectively improve the national HIV/AIDS laboratory support infrastructure. Second, Dr. Vun needed to improve logistics and supply management in order to get the best prices and ensure patients had access to life-saving medicines. Finally, he needed to figure out how to provide sustainable care and treatment to the thousands of Cambodian children living with HIV/AIDS.

Create innovative solutions for large-scale, socially relevant challenges. Understand how to start, scale, and lead cross-sector public health initiatives, or any initiative requiring behavior change by a range of players on a large scale over the long term. Discover and implement operating models that balance the needs of for-profit, non-profit, and government organizations. More effectively manage situations where required resources are not under one's direct control.

This case study has been developed based on the primary data obtained through a series of interviews held with the senior management of Cargills, and the secondary data obtained from the company’s corporate website www.cargillsceylon.com/,annual reports and publicly available sources of information such as newspaper articles.

This case study focuses on the strategic responses employed by Cargills (Ceylon) PLC – a leading business conglomerate in Sri Lanka – in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The duration of this case study is from January 2020 to September 2021. The case study particularly examines the key business sectors of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC – retail, food manufacturing and quick service restaurants – which elaborate on the change management practices and strategies deployed by the company in each of these sectors during this challenging period. This study is based on the primary data gathered from the interviews held with the Cargills (Ceylon) PLC team, and the secondary data obtained from the corporate website of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC. This case study is most suitable to be taught in academic courses related to strategic change management.

The case is most suited to be discussed with undergraduates (3rd year and 4th year) following business and management studies related disciplines. While the pivotal area around which the case has been developed is strategic change management, covering environmental analysis, strategic analysis and process of change management, the case could also be used in strategic management classes, to discuss environmental analysis, strategic planning approaches and business and corporate level strategies.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Non-profit management and corporate strategy.

The case is appropriate for teaching undergraduate students, executive MBAs and graduate students. The case is useful for an overview of hospice and palliative care in the developed and developing world, and for class room discussions of external analysis of non-profit organizations' ecosystems, funding needs and industry analysis.

Hospice care in the developed parts of the world is well established but in most developing countries, there are no organized hospice care facilities. This case focuses on a charitable organization, Brthya – Add Value to Life (Brthya – AVTL), that established and operates hospice care in Chennai, India. The Indian context for hospice care, and the ecosystem needed to sustain ongoing operations, are described along with a summary of four different models of hospice care used in other parts of the world.

The case will help students to understand: what hospice care is and its various forms; management issues related to funding and operating hospice care in particular and a non-profit in general; ecosystems that make non-profits sustainable in emerging economies; and managing expansion and growth in non-profit organizations, in emerging economies and globally.

Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.

The case “Corporate Governance Failure at Ricoh India: Rebuilding Lost Trust” discusses the series of events post disclosure of falsification of the accounts and violation of accounting principles, leading to a loss of INR 11.23bn for the company, eroding over 75 per cent of its market cap (Financial Express, 2016). The case provides an opportunity for students to understand the key components of corporate governance structure and consequences of poor corporate governance. The case highlights the responsibility of the board of directors, audit committee and external auditors and discusses the changes required in the corporate governance structure necessary to ensure that such incidents do not take place. The case also delves into the classic dilemma of degree of control that needs to be exercised by the parent over its subsidiaries and freedom of independence given to the subsidiary board, which is a constant challenge all multinationals face. Such a dilemma often leads to the challenge of creating appropriate corporate governance structures for numerous subsidiaries.

The case is intended for MBA courses on corporate governance, business ethics and also for the strategic management courses in the context of multinational corporations. The case can be used to develop an understanding of the essential of corporate governance with special focus on the role of the board of directors, audit committee and external auditors. The case highlights the consequences and cost of poor corporate governance. The case can also be used for highlighting governance challenges in the parent subsidiary relationship for multinational corporations. The case can be used for executive training purposes on corporate governance and leadership with special focus on business ethics.

This case presents the challenges faced by the newly appointed Chairman Noboru Akahane of Ricoh India. In July 2016, Ricoh India, the Indian arm of Japanese firm Ricoh, admitted that the company’s accounts had been falsified and accounting principles violated, leading to a loss of INR 11.23 bn for the financial year 2016. The minority shareholders were agitating against the board of directors of Ricoh India and were also holding the parent company responsible for not safeguarding their interest. Over a period of 18 months, Ricoh India had been in the eye of a storm that involved delayed reporting of financials, auditor red flags regarding accounting irregularities, a forensic audit, suspension of top officials and a police complaint lodged by Ricoh India against its own officials. Akahane needed to ensure continuity of Ricoh India’s business and also act quickly and decisively to manage the crisis and ensure that these incidents did not recur in the future.

The case provides an opportunity for students to understand the key components of corporate governance structure and consequences of poor corporate governance. More specifically, the case addresses the following objectives: provide an overview of corporate governance structure; highlight the role of board of directors, audit committee and external auditors; appreciate the rationale behind mandatory auditor rotation; appreciate the consequences of poor corporate structure; explore the interrelationship between sustainability reporting and transparency in financial disclosures of a corporation; understand management and governance of subsidiaries by multinational companies; and understand the response to a crisis situation.

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 11: Strategy.

The case data are from a mix of secondary sources, which included company documents, webpages and blogposts, autobiographies co-written by Schultz, newspaper stories, news media and other publicly available videos, magazine articles, photographs of signed unionization statements, and webinar interview.

In late autumn 2021, the global retail coffee and foodservice company Starbucks dealt with employees at a few USA stores who initiated unionization efforts in an attempt to change their workplace. Their actions triggered a wave of similar attempts at Starbucks stores across the USA over the next few years. Employees amplified their voices on social media, stating both their love for the company and their disenfranchisement. They claimed to have little input about policies and workplace decisions that affected them and that leadership had not heard or adequately responded to concerns with staffing, safety, equipment, and abusive customers. Walkouts were staged and employees at numerous stores pursued unionization. In 2023, Laxman Narasimhan replaced Howard Schultz as CEO. His tenure started with the challenge of reengaging employees who claimed their collective voice was unheard by leadership Readers will consider what employee voice means in the context of baristas working for a large corporation, and how their emotions, commitment to and respect for the organization, and their desire to be heard, related to efforts to unionize and maintain employment.

This case can be used as a unit review to cover several organizational behavior topics or can be used with specific concepts for graduate or undergraduate students. The placement within the semester plan depends on which unit/concepts the instructor will pair with it, such as emotions in the workplace, a module on loyalty, voice and exit, or the introduction of employee voice and engagement. It can also be used in conjunction with cross-level concepts such as trust and leadership. For courses focused on talent management, employee relations, or human resource development, the case could be used to introduce multiple concepts or as a concluding assessment. It would best pair with topics such as employee satisfaction, exit, voice and loyalty, inclusive decision-making or emotions in the workplace. For a course in labor relations, the case could introduce the idea that employees’ experiences, emotions, and perceptions may be related to efforts to unionize.

Gender Roles, Human Resource Management.

HRM-related courses at undergraduate and MBA level. Can be used in executive training.

Nida Akhtar, a 29-year-old factory unit supervisor and a labor union leader of one of the biggest private textile manufacturing companies of Pakistan, faces a crucial decision regarding her personal and professional life. She is getting married in a few months and may need to move to another city. She has been working at Shanza Textile Limited (STL) for the past nine years. In spite of several social pressures and sometimes unfavorable circumstances, she has continued working because of her determination and endurance. She has earned appreciation and respect from her organization as well as from her family and friends. She has an option of moving to STL’s female hostel if she wants to continue working. However, she will have to gain her husband’s consent to do this. Alternatively, she can look for another job in the new city, but in this way, she will not be able to enjoy the same rank and position which she currently enjoys. She is exploring possibilities, and she knows that this decision will not only affect her own future life but will also have a significant impact on her married life and on her future generation.

Introducing students to an important aspect of labor economics: determinants and demographics of female labor force participation rates, in the context of an emerging market like Pakistan. Enabling students and other participants to engage in a meaningful unbiased discussion regarding gender roles in workplaces of emerging markets. To make students familiar with related characteristics, issues and challenges faced by working women in developing and emerging economies. To devise and present policy suggestions for making work environment more conducive for the female workers.

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 6: Human Resource Management.

The subject area is operations management.

The case is to be used at master’s level, for example, MBA courses on operations management, operations research, logistics management and supply chain management.

It was the morning of 20 September 2012 and the three directors of Distromed Bioclean Pvt. Ltd. were in the office discussing the developments from past night’s meeting with the Rajkot Chapter of the Indian Medical Association. They are a bio-medical waste treatment facility involved in collection, treatment and disposal services and charge yearly subscription fees. On 13 September 2012, fuel prices had gone up consecutively for the second year. Last year, the doctors resisted the fee hike and seemed reluctant this year again. In response, management of the company was looking for ways to minimize the total distance travelled by its fleet to reduce the operating cost.

The paper enables illustration of concepts of routing/scheduling and generation of optimal solutions in a realistic setting; and developing the understanding regarding the travelling salesman problem, Chinese postman problem and the entire family of vehicle routing problems and vehicle scheduling problems.

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.

The case study will help to learn about the importance of pre-sanction precautionary measures before lending to self-help groups (SHGs), to learn about the potential lapses and errors while sanctioning SHG finance and to learn about the importance of bank’s guidelines and compliance before sanctioning loans.

This case study details the tenure of Seema in a rural branch of Safe Bank of India located in Haryana which she joined as a manager in the year 2016. She overachieved the target given by the district collector office, and going by the tide, she kept her reliance on the references provided by non-government organization (NGO) without complying the bank’s instructions. She committed errors while sanctioning the loans, which led towards the upsurge of non-performing assets of the branch. Later on, after investigation it was discovered that she did not follow fundamental bank’s instructions. In wake of those lapses and errors, how she could have avoided those lapses and secure the public money? What were the most important documents while granting agriculture finance and what due diligence she should have taken? How did she treat calls from the government departments? Was she right in trusting the suggestions of the NGO?

This case study caters to students of various streams, namely, management, business administration and law, and can be targeted at both undergraduate and postgraduate students. It could be suitable for several types of courses and students. Furthermore, this case study can also be targeted for various training programmes for bank employees and employees of various lending institutions engaged in agriculture finance and credit linkage programmes.

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 1: Accounting and finance.

The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech and expression to its citizens. This freedom is not absolute and the State can impose reasonable restrictions. Of late, certain incidents have shown this freedom to be under threat. The case highlights some of such events. It makes the readers think about the importance of this right, reasonableness of restrictions, and the measures needed to protect it.

Roger Cagle, the co-founder and deputy CEO of SOCO International, watched the dreary London rain outside his office window one February morning in 2015. Never had SOCO, the oil-and-gas exploration and production player that ranked among Britain’s top 200 companies, experienced such a public backlash against its operations. For nearly 20 years, Cagle had helped steer his company’s projects around the world—often in volatile regions where others feared to tread, such as Vietnam, Russia, and Yemen—while delivering significant returns to investors. But the international uproar surrounding SOCO during the past year had been nothing short of mind-boggling.