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Accounting and Finance (Performance Management and Management Control System).

Postgraduate Students in Business and Management.

This is a case of SmartBay System Integrator (SSI), an IT infrastructure system integrator based in Malaysia, a company that was facing declining profit margins. SSI was reputed to be a well-established locally owned system integrators in the northern region of the country, and the services it provided included building IT systems with high-end servers, networking solutions and software applications. Apart from the urgent need to improve sales, SSI intended to reduce the number of one-off customers and resolve the issue of increasing customer complaints. The complaints given to the company by customers revolved around the sluggish response to customers' requests, including delays in quotations and proposals, constant rescheduling of meeting with customers as well as unfavorable perceptions regarding the competency of SSI engineers. This case requires the analysis of the structure and control systems adopted by SSI to determine whether they are appropriate for the nature of the business and have suitable systems in place to resolve the issue of customer complaints.

This case can be used to teach the use of control systems in managing human resource issues in the context of highly specialised technical professionals in small service firms. In addition, the case also illustrates the need to match an appropriate control system to a specific type of organisational structure. In addition, the case can be relied upon to teach the differences between the various types of organisational structures and the different forms of control systems.

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Rachel Banning was assigned a new role in HR with the responsibility to update recruitment and orientation systems to meet the rapidly growing demand for manpower at McCune Contracting, an oilfield services provider in Alberta, Canada. McCune’s industry peers were competing to attract the same skilled employees, within a relatively small talent pool. The HR team was only a few short weeks away from the upcoming peak “turnaround season” when they would be expected to recruit and deploy 500 new temporary workers for their clients’ sites. Banning knew she had to take immediate actions to fix as many of the systems issues as possible and to eventually set the team up with a more permanent solution for systems integration.

The authors had access to McCune Contracting to complete field research for this case.

The case is designed for business students at both graduate and undergraduate levels. The case can be used in operations management courses to discuss the topic of process analysis and operations strategy or in management information system courses as a comprehensive case study for use at the end of the course. The case might particularly appeal to students who have worked in human resources management areas or the service industry.

Theoretical underpinnings include a process view of organizational performance, internal supplier and internal customer orientation, performance improvement, information systems integration and value chain analysis.

Strategy.

Post-Graduate and Executive Programmes in Management.

Mr Srinivas Kesineni has been chairman of Kesineni Tours and Travels for the last 19 years. Kesineni Tours and Travels is one of the fastest growing bus travel and transport organisations. The case describes the journey of Kesineni Tours and Travels since its inception. It also outlines different strategies adopted by the Chairman to reach newer heights, to survive and to grow in the turbulent times of changing technology and rising competition from different means of transportation. This unique organisation is run by family, friends and well-wishers of the owners, yet it is professional in its approach in operations. The board of directors of Kesineni Tours and Travels has approved the financial results of 2010, which shows 55 percent growth and Rs 86.71 crores turnover. This is a remarkable achievement and recognition for a company that has been in the business since 1992. In early 1992, entrepreneur Mr Srinivas Kesineni thought of a bus transportation business when he started with just two buses, and today when the organization is the largest tour and travel company in the region serving approximately 15 lack customers in a year covering 75 destinations with around 425 daily schedules. He and his team have been working tirelessly and the company has a remarkable presence in the tour and travel business in India with occasional innovative moves from optimising bus routing, initiating sleeper coaches, introducing Volvo buses to the fleet, entering the cargo transportation business and more. This business has grown at CAGR of 24.07 percent since 2000-2001. Students reading this case may come to the class with preconceived views that the journey of the organisation since its beginning is an ordinary story, but this case creates an opportunity for students to come to their own conclusion how different strategies and the synthesis is important for achieving desired outcomes form time to time. This case facilitates the deductive learning process by identifying different strategic elements form the case and to understand its synergy to explain McKinsey 7s framework.

These include: understanding different strategies and policies adopted by the organisation and its impact on performance; understanding the importance of alignment of processes and departments in achievement of organisational strategy; and analysing and understanding the concept of the McKinsey 7S Framework, which is a helpful tool to understand the performance of the organisation.

Teaching notes are available. Bradach, Jaffrey, Organisational Alignment: The 7S Model, Harvard Business School Publishing are useful for further reading.

The technical report released by the National Transportation Safety Board, along with the primary flight cockpit voice recorder data and archival interview data, were used as the basis for this case. Other available public data such as news reports were used to round out the synopsis of the case study.

United Express Flight 5925 was a scheduled commuter passenger flight operated by Great Lakes Airlines with a Beechcraft 1900 twin turboprop. It was a regularly scheduled flight from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Quincy, Illinois, with an intermediate stop in Burlington, Iowa. Drawing from various first-hand accounts (cockpit voice recorder) and secondary evidence (news reports, archival interview data, and online sources) of the tragedy, the case provides a detailed account of the key events that took place leading up to the accident at Quincy regional airport. The case describes how the radio interactions, a jammed door and degradation of situational awareness all contributed to the accident. Through many of the quotes in the text and eyewitness accounts, readers gain an understanding of the impressions and perceptions of the pilots, including how they felt about many of the critical decisions in the last minutes of the flight and the situation at the airport.

When the authors teach this case, the students are required to read it as pre-reading before class. Various readings and materials (see supplemental readings below and Exhibit 3) are made available to students before class, and the instructor can choose to use some of these materials to further explore areas of interest. This case is best explored over a 90-min session but could be expanded to take up one 3-h session. This case can be covered in an undergraduate senior capstone organizational behaviour seminar, any general organizational behaviour class (including introductory in nature), an undergraduate communication theory class or an MBA class that focuses on applied organizational behaviour concepts. It works particularly well in the MBA class, as students with work experience can make the links between the behaviours explored in the case and their everyday workplaces.

A Confrontation of Mindsets: French Retailers Operating in Poland traces the history of French retailers setting up operations in Poland in the mid 90s. The case, however, is set in 2006 when a top retailing executive recalls the important watershed period of 1996-97 when the expatriate managers in charge of setting up the first hypermarkets encountered great difficulties with their new Polish recruits. The managers were not succeeding in transferring the practices and routines that were an essential part of their business model on the home market in France: their Polish employees displayed work attitudes that were the contrary of the initiative and responsibility for enlarged jobs that characterized employees back home. This situation called into question the very viability of their business model in Poland. The case poses very clearly the question of what actions the expatriate managers should decide to take to ensure the store launchings in Poland and future growth. The issues raised concern global versus multi-domestic internationalization strategies, business models, paradigms, corporate culture, management of expats, knowledge transfer and the link between strategic implementation and organizational behavior.

The Performance Management at IRD Corporation case series is designed to be an in-depth study of performance appraisal in the R&D context. The case series can be used as a platform for discussing the rationale of performance appraisal system, system design and implementation, the differences between R&D and other work contexts (manufacturing, services, etc.), and the challenges involved in R&D management. This case revolves around the Chairman of IRD Corp and his dilemmas, providing an insight to the participants into the challenges of performance management and also R&D management. The series highlights the complex dilemmas associated with managing performance and the necessity of having a new performance evaluation system.

The Performance Management at IRD Corporation case series is designed to be an in-depth study of performance appraisal in the R&D context. The case series can be used as a platform for discussing the rationale of performance appraisal system, system design and implementation, the differences between R&D and other work contexts (manufacturing, services, etc.), and the challenges involved in R&D management. This case revolves around the Chairman of IRD Corp and his dilemmas, providing an insight to the participants into the challenges of performance management and also R&D management. The series highlights the complex dilemmas associated with managing performance and the necessity of having a new performance evaluation system.

Human resource management and organizational change.

Students on an introductory course on Human Resource Management or a specialization course of HRM such as change management and organizational development. This case study can be taught at the MBA level.

This case study can serve as the base for understanding and identifying the various characteristics that relate to revolutionizing HR functions with the help of digitalization. It can also be elaborated further to include the challenges that a company has to face after it decides to establish IT software based on operations. This case is an evolutionary story of a large-scale Pakistani company, Pak Electron Ltd. (PEL) which has been in operation for almost 60 years. The top management decided to move from a traditional administrative system towards setting up an HR department for the first time. The case states the salient features of the traditional administrative system, issues faced by the company in the setup of a new HR system and digital HR system along with the employees’ views and perceptions on these systems.

Students are expected to learn the following: the various characteristics of a paper-file based traditional administrative system; the various features of an IT-based modern HR system; the decision background and basis for making the switch to the new contemporary HR system; and the reaction of employees against changes in organizational systems.

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.

I would recommend the following two readings: Kotter, J. P. 2001. “What leaders really do” Harvard Business Review, vol, December 2001, pp. 85-96 and MIntzberg, H. & Waters, J. A. 1985. “Of strategies, deliberate and emergent” Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 6, pp. 257-272 Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

This case study aims to provide following four learning outcomes: enhanced understanding of organizational leadership style/approach in terms of rigidness or flexibility to bring modifications in organizational vision to tap current opportunities, enhanced understanding of the use of emotions and rationality in organizational decision-making to strike a balance between organizational needs and community needs in the context of organizational priority framework, enhanced understanding of issue of integration to meet community needs smartly particularly in social development organizations and enhanced understanding of leadership strategies for successful business diversification.

This case study highlights and discusses three issues: first, it explores issues related to change in organizational vision and aims keeping in mind the needs of community rather than sticking to organizational needs (flexibility versus rigidity). Second, it explores the role of emotions and rationality in organizational decision-making by its leadership. Third, it discusses the role of leadership in successfully transforming one-dimensional organization into multidimensional organization by adding new avenues for future growth by mobilizing existing organizational strengths and competencies. Finally, this case discusses theories of leadership and change management in the context of social development organizations to align their activities with community’s emerging needs.

Master Level - Master of Business Administration and Master of Management. This case provides sufficient material to be discussed at master level courses such as change leadership and change management in social development organizations.

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Management science

Organizational ethics and related issues.

Graduate course on Strategic Human Resource Management and specialization courses in Banking.

This case details the account of a human resources (HR) manager of a multinational bank in India who “used” his position to bring on board his cronies to secure his position and utilize the inherent powers in the position to further his own ends. The case elaborates how the Manager HR went about his job soon after taking over and the consequences this had on the Indian operations and the morale of officers. The case requires the students to analyze and suggest ways in which this organization can prevent such occurrences in future.

The primary learning objective is to help the student understand the significance of organizational ethics values and react to issues arising from dealing with unethical practices. It will also make them aware of what can happen if systems are deliberately flouted and reporting protocol relating to information flows are ignored. Specifically, it will help them to select the right people, who are aware of the culture of the organization and what this culture implies in terms of working ethically. Communicate the working standards expected of its employees, especially newly trained ones. Analyze the challenges an employee can face when he or she tries to do things in the organization which are not ethical. Evaluate the different ways in which errant employees should be handled.

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