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Project Management, Entrepreneurship, Risk Management, Communication.

Study level: MBA and Executive Education.

Applicability: This case can be taught in the project management course. It will cover the project-planning phase, which is an iterative or progressive elaboration for the entire project lifecycle. The case will help in discussing how project management is an important discipline to manage projects and stakeholders effectively.

The case depicts the dilemma of a passionate entrepreneur who is setting up an ambitious dairy business but project execution goes awry. The case discusses the challenges related to project planning and execution.

It captures the essence of proactive risk management, measures that can mitigate risks and create opportunities. The case also discusses the entire project lifecycle from project initiation to closure and the challenges a manager has to face in terms of stakeholder engagement, risk management, stakeholder communication and scope change.

To understand the alignment of the project with the organisation strategy; to learn to create a project plan and monitor and control the scope, schedule, resources and costs; to accurately estimate project costs, timelines, and quality and schedule, using tools like MS Project; to learn the risk management techniques for managing projects, teams and stakeholders; and to manage stakeholder communication effectively.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 2: Built Environment.

The case will be useful in helping learners: to appreciate concepts in and develop the necessary understanding to apply relevant theories in crisis communications; to identify communications issues along with the evolution of a crisis; to understand the importance and role of a crisis communications team; and to develop skills in writing a crisis communications plan.

The case is a narration of the experiences of the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) as it launched the Kenya drought appeal in March 2019, and the unexpected media and public backlash that ensued. The background is that of an unusual-yet-previously-predicted dry spell, consequent drought and famine, alleged famine-related deaths, mixed signals from the national and county government and a hitherto well-regarded institution (the KRCS) coming in to launch an appeal aimed at raising funds to help alleviate the effects of the prolonged drought and consequent famine in the northern parts of the country. Unfortunately, a major media and public backlash that was not foreseen by KRCS ensued, and it threatened the reputation and very existence of the organization. Drawing on interviews and secondary material in the public domain, the case focuses on how the KRCS navigates the media and public backlash that ensued following the funding appeal. The case is interesting because of the type of organization involved (a not-for-profit institution set up as auxiliary to the government and of good repute), the nature of the problem (reputational crisis and attendant risk management), the setting (a LMIC in sub-Saharan Africa) and the level of analysis (organizational rather than individual decision-making).[AQ1]

Masters level – MBA, Executive MBA, Master’s in Public Management, Master’s in Communication and/or similar courses.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Risk literacy matters for business students. A significant aspect of decision-making is accurately evaluating the risks involved in a decision. Research shows that many people are challenged to understand simple, health-relevant risk rates and probabilities. It also shows that many people are functionally innumerate, even educated people like doctors. While there is much academic work in health aimed at understanding how to communicate health risks to patients, an important personal area for business students, there are many industries and organizations where understanding risk is important for business students’ careers. This case provides opportunities for business students to practice these skills.

This is a secondary-data, compact case. The impetus for the case was a blog and the data gathered is primarily from Aviation Safety Net, Worldbank, Airlines.org, International Air Transport Association and Statista.com.

Coming across a blog headline, a professor is dismayed at the message: 2018 saw a sharp increase in air crash deaths. Questioning that the headline is appropriate and that the number of fatalities is an appropriate measure, the professor sets out to analyze airline safety data.

This case is intended for undergraduate or graduate students in an introductory business analytics course. The focus is on using and communicating risk rates and visualization.

The case explicates a situation wherein an international flight from Newark to Ahmedabad, with a stopover in Mumbai, is delayed during the final leg of its journey between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that all international and domestic passengers are already on board when they face this five-hour delay. The case provides a rich context to discuss issues related to difficult communication and persuasion during crisis. The captain communicates with the passengers, through a series of announcements, with updates on the situation. He attempts to manage the escalating tension within the airplane and does succeed to a certain level. The case highlights the significance of timely and well-crafted messages during crisis situations. It also illuminates how the use of rhetorical strategies influence customer perception of credibility and at times, shift attribution of blame.

Against the backdrop of IBM Personal Computer Business's acquisition by Lenovo Group, this case introduces the remodeling process of Lenovo's HR organization and development team, during which the company's 5P principle, namely “Plan (think clearly before making promise), Perform (promise is to be fulfilled), Prioritize (company's interest is top priority), Practice (make progress every day in every year), Pioneering (venture any experiment to be a trailblazer), takes shape. After learning about Lenovo's recruitment of internationalized talents, cross-cultural coaches for senior leaders, cultural development in internationalization and risk aversion in international operations, we can understand what Lenovo's HR team does to avoid conflicts in corporate culture and ethnic culture in cross-border mergers and acquisitions and integration, and how to adjust and change the HR management system.

California telecommunications company Wireworld is considering an acquisition of Nusantara Communications, a subsidiary of Indonesian conglomerate Bakrie & Brothers. Nusantara had invested $50 million in developing the advanced rural telephone system, which had the potential to provide much-needed telecommunications services to the mostly rural Indonesian population. If if were exported, the worldwide market for this product in the next five years was projected to be in the billions. Should Wireworld acquire this small company halfway around the world? Was it prepared to enter the Indonesian marketplace and beyond?

Students will examine a variety of data, including financial projections, in order to decide whether acquiring Nusantara will add value to Wireworld.

Fingerhut, based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, is a direct-marketing company that sells a smorgasbord of consumer goods through an array of specially targeted catalogs. In November 1996, an article in the Star Tribune, a major Minneapolis newspaper, drew attention to a class-action lawsuit pending against Fingerhut that suggests the firm made its profits by exploiting the poor. Several civil rights groups rallied around the suit and submitted amicus curiae in favor of the litigation. The case illustrates issues in ethics and management communication. Discussions focus on the constituencies. Is Fingerhut exploiting its customers or providing them with an affordable method of obtaining valued consumer goods on credit? Do retailers have a duty to offer products at reasonable prices? Are the high interest rates reasonable given the risk? What are the options: pawn shops, rent-to-own? What is the profile of the typical Fingerhut customer? Discussions also focus on the issues communicating to the constituencies. How much damage will the lawsuit do to Fingerhut's image as an ethical, socially conscious company? What communication strategies can the firm employ? Should it react to the lawsuit? What should it tell its employees?

This case was designed to facilitate discussion of how a cyberattack was remediated by a major public university. Students are challenged to think through how to best manage the remediation project, including the application of best practices such as risk management, stakeholder management, communication plans, outsourcing/procurement management, and cyberattack remediation. The Phoenix Project was a success from multiple perspectives, and as such provides a useful example of how to manage an unplanned, mission-critical project well.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), marketing/branding, strategic management.

The case can be used in master, MBA and executive programs in courses on the following topics: CSR; strategic management; or strategic marketing.

The case describes the CSR initiatives at the Slovenian mobile phone operator Si.mobil d.d., with the two pillars of taking care of employees and taking care of the environment. The main protagonists describe the process of initiating, developing and communicating the initiative, as well as the individual actions taken. In a strategy meeting, Si.mobil's top management set out to discuss the strategic challenges that the company was facing, trying to find ways out of the potentially deadly price war and commoditization spiral. Specifically, the discussion in the management meeting revolved around how Si.mobil can position itself in the market, how it can find a sustainable USP and whether and if yes, how the company's CSR initiatives can play a significant role therein.

To foster critical thinking about the reasons for and effectiveness of CSR initiatives; to be able to assess the role that CSR initiatives can play in brand building and differentiation; to understand how CSR affects company performance through its effect on and feedback reactions from different stakeholder groups; to critically discuss the preconditions for effective CSR initiatives, and to see exemplarily how they can be initiated and managed; to understand the crucial role that leadership and communication are playing in CSR initiatives; to identify the vital links between internally oriented (employee-focused) and externally oriented (societal-focus) CSR strategies and actions.

Teaching note

The case will familiarize students to TEARS model and No TEARS approach for brand endorser selection. It will enable the students to understand the extent of influencer impact on the brand. It will make students to realistically assess the pros and cons of ambassador marketing using celebrities. It will also enable the student to devise brand strategies to mitigate the risk associated with ambassador-based marketing.

The case explains the strategic challenge the brand faces in ambassador marketing due to the uncontrollable personal crisis of the celebrity. Brand ambassador is an integral element of the brand persona and is appointed to boost the brand’s unique proposition and sales. The selection of the brand ambassador is a strategic decision with direct implication on the brand equity. A strong celebrity–brand congruence is ideal to establish credibility, but it can backfire if anything negative occurs on either side. This case evaluates the crisis faced by Fortune oil which has been positioned as “the heart healthy oil” when its celebrity ambassador suffers heart attack. In the backdrop of the case, the students can analyse brand strategies with respect to ambassador marketing, TEARS model with No TEARS approach for endorser selection and endorser-related credibility risk management.

MBA BBA PG/Graduation in Marketing/Advertising.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.