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Management fundamentals, public management, social responsibility, strategy.

This case may be used in undergraduate courses on management fundamentals, public management, social responsibility, or strategy. Also, it is useful for strategy courses in MBA level and MA in development practice.

In 1997, Corporación Picacho con Futuro (Picacho), a second-tier community organization created with the support of Fundación Social (FS) at Medellín's Comuna 6, stands at a crossroads. After promoting community development in the area for over ten years, FS announces that it will be withdrawing its financial support in the following year. As a result, self-sustainability mechanisms and strategies must be sought and formulated in preparation for FS' departure. The Corporation's accomplishments over its collaboration with FS were noteworthy: 16 grassroots organizations working together in one of Medellín's most violent districts proved the social fabric woven by Picacho. The young people who engaged in its projects had become examples of cohesion and civil resistance to armed groups' and drug-dealing networks' recruitment efforts. The Corporation's communication projects safeguarded these youths, providing them with a means to escape conflict. Would that all go down the drain without FS' support?

The intended focus of the case is to help students to understand: third sector organizations' complexity and structure; the notion of social value (how this value is created and measured); sustainability challenges facing social ventures, and, particularly, how to manage tensions between social and economic value creation in social organizations; support ecosystems for social ventures, and management strategies associated with base-of-the-pyramid businesses, introducing the concept of inclusive business.

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

Greenko, a renewable power generating company investing in biomass, small and medium hydro power and wind power projects, had projected to achieve 1GW (Giga Watt = 1000 Mega Watt) of installed capacity by March 2015. The company had been financing its projects with debt from Indian banks and financial institutions on a project finance basis and it had to now decide whether to refinance the project finance debt with an international bond issue of USD 550 million. The case provides an opportunity to discuss the public policy and financing aspects of renewable energy in India.

This case describes the growth of ReNew Power during its first decade of operation. Sumant Sinha, a first-generation entrepreneur and former banker, founded the company, which grew from a modest generator-cum-developer of wind energy-based electricity to one of India's largest companies in the renewable energy sector. With the entry of large, well-funded players such as Tata Power and Adani Green into the Indian renewable sector by the end of 2020, Sinha had to make a strategic decision: should ReNew continue to organically scale up its presence in an increasingly competitive yet expanding Indian renewable energy sector, should it diversify geographically, or should it pursue emerging opportunities for vertical or horizontal integration within the sector? The case provides an opportunity to discuss how alternative business models and competitive scenarios may facilitate or inhibit the growth of a player in the renewable energy sector.

In the wake of the December 2015 Paris COP21 (Conference of Parties), and India's announced renewable energy commitments, Reliance Power is reviewing its renewable energy investments to arrive at a long term strategy for the role of renewable energy in its power generation portfolio and the financing of renewable projects. The case reviews the Indian government's policies to promote renewable energy; the evolution of the renewable energy sector; and Reliance Power's financing of renewable energy investments. The case requires identification of alternative long term strategies and their financing implications. This case serves as an introduction to renewable energy from the perspective of Reliance Power, a large private power generator of the country. These projects also provide a learning opportunity for Reliance Power to deal with fast evolving renewable technologies.

Financial management, strategic management.

The study can be used by business schools, companies/organizations, individuals, students of business management, in the area of financial and strategic management to study and analyse management strategies by a Government organization that has to balance social objectives and commercial viability.

Indian Railways (IR) is one of the world's largest employers and there was a significant improvement in its financial performance during the period 2004-2008 without any reductions in its workforce. The main reasons for the poor performance of IR prior to this period were attributed to severe competition from other modes of transport, rigid pricing, investment in un-remunerative projects and other such practices. Various recommendations, including restructuring/corporatizing, reorganization, increasing passenger fares, unbundling of non-core activities, downsizing, and outsourcing, had been suggested by various management experts and it was declared that only major reform could rescue IR. However, IR met the challenges and attained unprecedented growth in traffic and earnings through certain strategic decisions. The study analyzes the strategies adopted by IR to improve its poor financial performance.

These include: understanding the challenge of sustaining the current market growth and capturing additional traffic by IR with its peculiar product-mix (transport mix) and limited resources; understanding the main reason for the downtrend of IR finances; acquiring an understanding of the advantage of adopting a volume-focused strategy by IR instead of the existing tariff-focused policy of revenue generation; and understanding the turnaround phase of IR and innovative strategies to get back to the path of growth.

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

The Indian electricity sector was opened to the private sector under the IPP policy. The NTPC, India's largest and perhaps most efficient generator had to respond to the changing scenario. It set out to set up the Simhadri project in Andhra Pradesh, going beyond to original mandate. The IPP policy, its perversities, the background of the power sector, the problems there in and the response of NTPC are discussed. Case (B) discusses the issues related to Project Planning and Implementation.

The case provides valuable insights on challenges faced by otherwise-protected organisations which are made to face the global onslaught. What happens to an organisation when its own collaborators become competitors overnight? What happens when market leaders refuse to share their technology or dictate their own terms? In addition, this case study looks at the strategy of diversification desired in the business portfolio and the cost of non-diversifications. The case evaluates the environment in which a capital-intensive industry has to operate. It evaluates the combination of all the variables required for undertaking a comprehensive analysis and aims at identifying the best possible level to which the business can be expanded to maximise profits under the known constraints in which the business has to operate.

Target audience is corporate executives, students of MBA/postgraduate programme in management in strategic management and/or workshops for understanding the concept of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, competitor analysis, Porter's Five Forces Model, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, business environment analysis and growth strategies for future.

A combination of global competition and open access in the domestic market is putting pressure on the margins, as new players are likely to move towards gaining market share by bidding aggressively. This is threatening the competitive intensity for Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in the long-term. Raw materials, such as steel products, that are critical to production process are subject to substantial pricing cyclicality and periodic shortages of supply in India. The margins are thus continuously being impacted by movement in raw material prices, especially steel and copper. How BHEL hopes to sustain its growth story? Whether Chinese competition will kill BHEL? These are some of the pertinent questions the authors will try to answer in this case study.

Use of SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to a company and use it as a tool to strategic decision-making. Highlighting the importance of strategic tools such as Porter Model and BCG Matrix within an emerging economy backdrop; to illustrate the alternatives and difficulties/complexities involved in a strategic planning process of growth and cost cutting; and to analyse the financial statements of BHEL.

Analysing public sector undertakings (PSUs)/government companies involved in infrastructure build up/projects of strategic nature in the country, their performance, challenges and efficiency in pre-liberalisation era and post-liberalisation era, and identifying how many are visible today, including the reasons for their growth/decline in generating revenues and profits, has multiple social implications especially for an emerging economy like India. A look at the performance trends of such companies over the past years too would help them in their quest by assisting them to get an idea of business and the industry profile in which BHEL is operating.

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

General Management/Strategy.

Post-graduate/MBA.

Case A: Mr Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, founding chairman of GMR, was considering a proposal to bid for an upcoming international airport in Hyderabad, India. The strategic move would have marked GMR’s foray into the Indian airport infrastructure sector. GMR had been involved in the development and operation of power plants and had thrived on public–private partnerships for all its projects. Mr Rao is thinking: Should GMR make another major investment in infrastructure development by bidding to build the airport in Hyderabad, India? Further, how should the organization prepare itself for this strategic move? Case B: On April 4, 2013, the meeting of GMR’s Group Executive Council (GEC) was scheduled to take place. Srinivivas Bommidala, G.M. Rao’s son-in-law and Chairman of GMR’s airports business, was gearing up for the meeting. The meeting was called to discuss a proposal for bidding for an upcoming airport project in the Philippines. It had been more than a decade since GMR entered the airport infrastructure sector. The organization had built substantial airport operating expertise during that period. It adopted a joint venture (JV) model for expanding in the airport infrastructure business. Until now, the organization had always formed JVs for all its airport projects. JVs with existing airport operators were necessitated by the bid conditions that required a certain minimum airport operating experience for qualifying as a bidder for various projects. In some cases, a JV with a local player helped GMR with market knowledge for functioning in a foreign market. GMR also used JVs to access the capabilities it lacked for operating in this sector and gradually learnt from its partners for building capabilities in-house. The group now had the required operating expertise in the sector to qualify as a bidder. One of the key issues the GEC was contemplating was: Whether GMR should continue to form JV for bidding for the upcoming project or should it go solo? Further, if it had to form a JV then, in which areas should it seek a partner?

Case A: To understand the relationship between key concepts in strategic management, including diversification, capabilities and core competence. To help students understand the various factors managers consider when deciding on the diversification strategy of an organization. To create an understanding of the organizational processes required to facilitate diversification into a new segment. To teach students how to evaluate a potential market opportunity that may require a firm to take on a diversification strategy. Case B: To help students understand how companies use alliances as growth strategies. To understand the rationale for formation of various alliances. To explore various factors managers consider when deciding on alliance strategy of an organization. To understand the challenges associated with using alliances as a strategic option. To understand the pros and cons of internal development (i.e. going solo) vis-à-vis strategic alliances.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Reflect on the influence of different lifecycle stages on the strategy of a family business; evaluate the impact of family, industry and company dynamics on the evolution of a family firm; assess the impact of ownership, governance and succession considerations on the sustainability of a family firm; and develop decision-making skills to overcome specific dilemmas and secure the family business longevity.

Five industries, three generations and one family business. What started off as an entrepreneur’s ambition, Almajid Limited has proven itself to a sustainable source of revenue and a diverse portfolio of businesses for multiple generations of a Saudi Arabian family. This case study offers an exclusive opportunity to follow the tumultuous journey of a Saudi family business and analyze the different phases of its evolution over seven decades and three generations. In particular, the case aims to highlight the complexities surrounding the management of a family firm and illustrate how various lifecycle stages stemming from a number of areas (e.g. family, company, industry, ownership and governance) simultaneously influence the family business strategy. Being deeply embedded in the context of Saudi Arabia, the case unveils the unique challenges of managing a family business in a conservative cultural setting. The case study is divided into four parts, with each of them putting the emphasis on a different lifecycle area of significance for the evolution of the family business. Each part culminates with the identification of an area-relevant dilemma that needs to be addressed for the family firm to be able to move into the next stage of its development. Part A focuses on the family area or axis, the Part B on the industry axis, Part C on the company axis, while Part D is based on the sustainability axis, which embraces as many as three dilemmas in relation to the ownership, governance and succession in the family firm. Moreover, each part incorporates a timeline of critical events that contributed to the emergence of a specific dilemma and a culturally-rooted anime that helps the readers visualize the story, picture somebody else’s reality, and empathize with the key protagonists of the case to achieve optimal decision-making.

Graduate audience: Master of Business Administration or Master of Global Entrepreneurial Management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Strategy and finance.

MBA/MBA equivalent programme – finance specialisation.

In June 2009, Mr Rakesh Vora, CEO of Alpha Power Ltd, India was facing problems while deciding the appropriate business model of the company. Without the existence of an adequate business plan, the CFO, Mr Harish Gupta, could not decide the adequate capital structure and valuation of the one million shares the company planned to issue in the market through private placement.

Alpha Power Ltd is planning to start two power plants at Jatra and Chhapra. The plants are to be funded by a prudent mix of debt and equity; but, it has major issues regarding the financing arrangements. The management is undecided about how to fund these projects. Power sector in India is booming; however, the challenges faced by the company are numerous. They include possibility of a slowdown, different buying/leasing options for land, option of using better technology, decision regarding importing of superior quality, but high-cost coal and valuation of the company using various approaches, etc.

The case is intended to help future finance professionals understand the working of power plants in India and experience the decision-making process faced by managers, while making a business plan and raising funds for power projects.

Teaching notes.