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Business Management and Strategy.

The case study is relevant for undergraduate and post-graduate management degrees. It includes courses such as business management, corporate ethics and change management.

This case study illustrates one of the important initiatives that the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) has undertaken to help save the atmosphere and the environment. This case study describes the Paperless Day initiative that EAD launched in 2008 and how it was carried out for five years. The study also describes how EAD implemented this initiative internally.

Creating awareness and encouraging individuals in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere to reduce their use of paper, water and energy for a cleaner environment.

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

Sustainable development; business, government, and society.

The case is designed to be taught to students at MBA and MA level.

In February 2009, Justin Smith, manager of the good business journey at Woolworths, a leading South African department store, was a worried man. Woolworths had launched its five-year sustainability strategy just under two years before. After undertaking an impact assessment, Smith was concerned that the original targets – which covered transformation, social development, the environment and climate change – had been set without a clear understanding of exactly what it would take to achieve them. Woolworths had recently identified ten key risk areas that impacted on the achievement of its original goals. If the sustainability goals were not reached, Woolworths could lose credibility among its shareholders, staff, and consumers. What did Woolworths need to do to ensure that it achieved its sustainability goals? And had the company been too ambitious in the targets it had set initially, he wondered?

To examine the differences, if any, between sustainable development in South Africa and other developing nations and sustainable development in developed nations; to impart an understanding of sustainability in its broadest sense; to investigate the challenges in implementing sustainability strategies in business; to look at ways of measuring the success of sustainability strategies; and to explore whether and how sustainability strategies should differ across industry sectors and across companies.

Teaching notes.

Desai, a College Student, faced a job search dilemma. Desai applied for two internships – one with a company known for a good culture, Strategic Carrier Logistics (SCL), the other with Thijs Marketing, a company in an industry more familiar and desirable to Desai. After a number of recruitment interactions with both companies, Desai received an offer from SCL and was given two days to decide. Unsure whether Thijs Marketing would make an offer, Desai considered accepting the offer from SCL, but reneging if Thijs eventually offered a job.

The case was developed from primary sources, where “Desai’s” first-hand experience in searching for a job provides the true account of the events noted in the case. The names and demographic information for individuals were changed.

This case study is appropriate for graduate and undergraduate courses in organizational behavior (i.e. decision-making), human resources management (i.e. employee recruitment), and business ethics (i.e. ethical decision-making).

To examine and create an ideal pathway model that can implement aiming to change the current improper practices in managing municipal solid waste (MSW) to sustainable practices. To acquire a better understanding of public participation and community culture helps in achieving the aim of reducing the amount of waste generation, sending less waste to landfill sites and encouraging the reuse and recycling of materials instead. To help students whom the awareness in the community regarding the importance of protecting the environment and acting in a civilization way has increased. To improve the MSW sustainability practices and enhance the waste sustainability practices together with energy and material conservation. To have more extensive knowledge and awareness of issues in waste management and some of the dilemmas managers of strategic and operations face.

Abu Dhabi’s center of waste management is known as Tadweer is a governmental entity under the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Tadweer is responsible for managing every MSWs includes collecting, transferring, segregating, treating, recycling, reusing and tracking all kinds of wastes. CEO of Tadweer Dr Salem Alkabi called his team that manages various departments such as strategy, operations, projects and licensing. The meeting was to discuss Tadweer’s future directing and strategy for mismanagement of solid waste dumping into landfills in Abu Dhabi. Dumping in landfills is the main challenge Tadweer faced. Mr. Abdulrahman Albloushi’s strategy and business development executive director of Tadweer highlighted to Alkaabi how Tadweer could improve the waste management practices to make it more sustainable. Furthermore, assisting the center gets more benefit from the waste s instead of losing this valuable waste into landfills. Consequently, Mr. Abdulrahman must grapple with some difficult questions: how much the effectiveness in collecting waste from where it generated and removing it out-of-sight?

This case study is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and executive MBA students of business management programs, especially for waste management, environmental management and strategic management courses.

Teaching Notes are available upon request.

CSS 4: Environmental management.

This case was developed to explore what social entrepreneurship looks like in an emerging market context. It tells the story of Neil Campher, a self-identified social entrepreneur working in South Africa, a country that has recently been awarded middle income status by the World Bank despite sharing a ranking with Syria on the Human Development Index. In environments of deep market failure, what does social enterprise look like? and can you sustain change in communities of extreme poverty? The case looks at the academic characteristics of social entrepreneurs and applies them to Neil to see if he “qualifies”. It has a particular focus on the bricoleur social entrepreneur. It explores concepts of poverty, and looks at sustainability, achieved through asset-based community development. It explores the need for organisations to transition in response to the environment and provides a tool to assess sustainability. The value of the paper is in exploring what social entrepreneurship looks like in an emerging market context. It also raises important questions on sustainability in environments which are inherently constrained.

This case study is aimed at students of social entrepreneurship, development studies, sustainable livelihoods and asset-based development. It is written at an Honours level and is therefore appropriate for use in customised or short programmes. The case study is a good introduction for students with a background in business (e.g. Diploma in Business Administration/MBA/custom programmes) who are wanting to understand social enterprise and blended theories of social and economic change.

The case study follows self-identified social entrepreneur Neil Campher in the grime and crime-ridden township of Helenvale, outside Port Elizabeth, in South Africa. Campher has given up his glitzy career as a financier in the economic hub of Johannesburg and returned to his home town, drawn by a need to give back. Helenvale used to be where he and his school friends would hide from the apartheid police, but as an adult, his friends are focused on strengthening and progressing the community. Campher’s entry point to change is a small waste recycling project, and the case study looks at how he uses this as a lever to achieve deeper structural change in the community. The teaching case exposes several questions around social entrepreneurship and change: what is social entrepreneurship in an emerging context and is Campher a social entrepreneur? What is community led change and can it be sustainable? Campher’s dilemma is around sustainability – has his extensive involvement of the community been enough to achieve progress in Helenvale?

The case study gives insight into social entrepreneurship in a developing country context. It highlights the nuances in definition and introduces the importance of context in shaping the social entrepreneur. The case is an opportunity for students to interrogate ideas on poverty and classical interpretations of social entrepreneurship and relate them to a small community that mirrors the macro country context in South Africa. The case study shows how asset-based approaches to development are interlinked with basic principles of social entrepreneurship. It shows that sustainability is more than a secure and predictable income stream and the need for community engagement and commitment to the solution. In tackling these issues, the case questions sustainability potential and the need for the organisation to transition to respond to opportunity and the changing environment.

Video X1 5minute video interview with Neil Campher 5min: YouTube Video of Campher from Interview 1 www.leadingchange.co.za (live from 01 April 2016) Video News report of gang violence in Helenvale 3min: YouTube. This is a quick visual introduction to Helenvale. It is a news clip, so is particularly focused on the angle of the story. It includes interviews with residents. The site www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluLpTuEq8I Northern Areas burning 2min: YouTube is a collection of video footage from a local reporter which shows Helenvale and its surroundings. The site www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCW-Hp24vMI shows the Text Global Competitiveness Report: South Africa; the first page gives additional information on social and economic development in South Africa, highlighting developed/developing country attributes. It also highlights how Helenvale is a microcosm of the negative social development indicators in South Africa (http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2014-2015/economies/#economy=ZAF). 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 3: Entrepreneurship.

The case helps to introduce some of the elements of strategic management process, which are vital for competitive advantage, particularly for the public utility services such as MSWM. It intends to achieve the following objectives: analyse the external environment for MSWM industry in India; analyse the internal organizational environment for a firm’s strategic competitiveness; introduce the concept of value and value chain understand the role of Stakeholder groups; understand the concept of public–private partnerships (PPP); and understand the role of technology in sustaining a competitive advantages.

This case focuses on entrepreneurial venture of Gaurav Sharma and his team who intend to transform the landscape of Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) industry in the country. THANKYOU (letsthankyou.com) is a Jaipur, India-based enterprise offering waste management solutions across different verticals. It was founded in 2016, following an opportunity in the waste management industry unleashed by the Government of India’s (GOI) new MSWM 2016 rules making it mandatory for the waste generators to manage (segregate, process, transport and disposal) their own waste. After initial examination of MSWM service scenario in the country, Gaurav and his two team members realize that a lack of integration among the multiple entities of waste management value chain is the root cause of the current poor state of affairs. So, they come up with an online marketplace, which offers a one-stop solution for the waste management of general households, residential settings and corporate. With initial projects implemented in the decentralized mode offering unit-level services such as door-to-door waste collection, on-demand waste pick-up and waste audits for corporate, the company has eventually got an opportunity of working on a centralized MSWM project for a leading hotel. Indeed, the company has the first mover advantage of entering the government controlled MSWM industry. However, to move forward, the THANKYOU team must address some fundamental issues in the industry: How to integrate the informal and formal sectors involved in waste management to achieve economies of scale? How to make land-filling the least preferred option of waste management? How to use technology to enhance the efficiency of MSWM value chain?

The case can add value to a course on strategic management at the post-graduate level. It highlights the role of external and internal environment analyses in the formulation of business strategy, ultimately leading to a firm’s strategic competitiveness. In a strategic management course, the case can be used to discuss introductory topics such as the analysis of internal and external environment; value creation by leveraging internal resources and capabilities; analysis of a firm’s dependence on its stakeholder groups; ascertainment of the profitability driver for a firm’s business model; and the concept of PPP.

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

Upon completion of this case study analysis, students should be able to: perform a detailed diagnosis of an entrepreneurial venture, applying relevant strategic management tools and techniques; evaluate the effectiveness of managerial actions and decisions at different stages of organizational lifecycle; and demonstrate the importance of strategic adaptation of organizations through the deployment of viable decision-making skills.

This case describes the story of Multimedia Ventures, a small business located in the UAE that provides media solutions to cleaning and hygiene-related technology sectors. The company was founded through a partnership arrangement and later transformed into a family enterprise. The case study illustrates the firm operations from its grass root stages to being a well-known name in the cleaning industry, both within the Middle East and beyond. Since its establishment in 2008, Multimedia Ventures has embarked on a path of continuous growth with the ambition of globalizing activities to offer various media solutions to customers worldwide. To achieve this objective, the company engaged in collaborations with many international partners to facilitate the exchange of expertise and increase the scale of operations. Yet, the Managing Director of Multimedia Ventures, Mr Arjun Khatri, was currently faced with two difficult strategic decisions that were critically important for the future development of his enterprise.

Undergraduate courses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The case specifically discusses the role of stakeholders and non-market forces and how they can potentially influence the strategic choices of firms. Participants need to have some basic understanding of non-market forces, and stakeholder theory. The case is suitable for courses on sustainable supply chain management, closed loop supply chain management, reverse logistics, green business, environmental management, strategic management and business in emerging economies.

The target audiences for the case are bachelor and first-year MBA students and trainees who are interested in learning the relevance of non-market forces in sustainable growth of an industry and the importance of stakeholder management in the smooth conduct of business.

The case study details how the plastic industry in Kerala faces a non-market threat and how it affects the progress of the industry by using the example of Ashiyana Pipe. Though plastic is a unique material by virtue of its reusability and non-perishable characteristics, it has invited a lot of criticism, as there is a wide spread perception regarding its detrimental impact on the environment (such as choking drains, preventing the degradation of solid waste because of its impermeability, etc.). But the reason for experiencing the detrimental impact of plastic can also be attributed to the inability of the supply chain of the plastic industry to reach a closed-loop status, especially in developing countries such as India, as all categories of post-consumer plastic are not reaching recycling plants. Lack of awareness, lack of community participation in proper segregation and aggregation at the source, absence of incentive systems, weak regulations and poor monitoring are discussed as the common barriers hindering the achievement of closed loop status of plastic supply chain. Detailing the barriers, the case study explains the failure of informal and formal recycling markets in Kerala. Finally, the case study proposes a model with involvement of all the key stakeholders to reposition the hate toward plastic into love through recycling initiatives.

Expected learning outcomes of the case are listed below: illustrate the importance of stakeholder involvement in achieving a sustainable business and to stress the importance of a decentralized approach. Illustrate the relevance of non-market forces in sustainable growth of an industry that has significant impact on the surrounding environment and society. Critically analyze the existing business models (based on market mechanism) and suggest possible improvements and alternatives. Understand the challenges that will be faced while implementing an inclusive model with involvement of all stakeholders to reduce the negative impact of non-market forces.

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.

Teaching formats for both BA/MA students and MBA/PhD students in sustainable entrepreneurship and strategic management are offered in the teaching notes.

This case juxtaposes the company’s core values of gender equality, sustainability and inclusivity, with the financial pressures of expanding global operations in COVID-19 times.

This case illustrates the founding and growth of i-did in the broader context of the global circular textile industry. Being the first company that reclaims value of discarded textiles by making design products out of felt, the dilemma is on how i-did can create a blueprint for sustainable leadership in a scalable (financial) business case.

The learning outcomes of this case are as follows: to understand the concepts of circular economy and social impact and how they can be translated to business; to apply their knowledge of strategy and entrepreneurship for sustainable business innovation; to be able to analyze a company according to the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically around gender issues, inclusivity and diversity; to evaluate opportunities for multiple value creation in business; and to have the knowledge and capacity to create a circular business with the help of the Business Model Template.

This case engages students in critically reflecting on sustainability concepts in relation to i-did (theoretical value) and applying novel business model innovation tools to a real-world enterprise (practical value). The students get the chance to explore the ethical challenges the two entrepreneurial leaders face between short-term economic gains (or maybe even survival) and their core values of (gender) inclusivity, circularity and diversity.

Teaching notes and a summarizing two-pager are available for educators.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Upon completion of the case, students will be able to reflect the forces, which may disrupt the art industry through Artientifique initiatives and the ability to apply Phoenix encounter method with proactive scanning to remain competitive; create various multi-functional roles as a youth entrepreneur in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) capacity and be able to understand the level and review the competition and business trends from an art industry perspective; analyze how innovation clubbed with sustainability will create a competitive advantage in a circular economy; determine the leadership style most appropriate for MSMEs to indulge in innovation and sustainability in the fine arts business; and design and discover opportunities to promote women’s entrepreneurship in the art industry, especially in emerging markets.

On a cold Friday morning in November 2020, Aisha Mir was in utter confusion written all over her face. She had to decide on a prosperous pathway. Should it be customization or standardization of artwork? Also, whether she should continue investing in the existing in-house supply chain or outsource this to a third party. Being practicing sustainability in her personal and professional life, she had designed her art studio herself by using upcycled materials. While enjoying the pigeons and sparrows chirping and eating grains on her wide windowpane, she looked at the world map with keen interest and imagined herself flying to each country along with her gray and white pigeons. While sitting in Madina city, Saudi Arabia, she was concerned about the expired makeup collection hub being set up in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The collection and the painting processes had to be monitored; the artworks needed auditing, framing and packing before they were shipped to a customer. Centralizing would add unnecessary hassle, and outsourcing needed distribution of authority. Keeping the challenges in mind, she was struggling to find a solution for efficient community engagement.

This case has been particularly focused on undergraduate and postgraduate early-stage level students pursuing business or commerce programs, particularly those studying entrepreneurial and management courses in innovation and sustainability.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.