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The learning objectives to be drawn from the case are to evaluate the various biases that women face in organisational life, understand the challenges facing women at all organisational levels, understand the importance of adopting a proactive approach to change perceptions and discriminatory behaviours and processes and appreciate the role that an inclusive culture within an organisation can play in advancing and championing women’s progression to senior management roles.

The case highlights the challenges facing women in leadership positions in emerging economies and societies in transition like South Africa and explores the role that gender plays in the world of work. It focuses on the dilemmas faced by Alison Bourne, newly promoted to the CEO role at Bergmann Engineering Works (SA).The case shows that, despite the positive contribution resulting from the inclusion of women in organisations, women experience a multitude of obstacles. Some of the limitations highlight that women must work even harder to be perceived as legitimate leaders. These challenges come about despite research showing that the inclusion of women in the workforce improves company performance, enriches the knowledge base and improves the decision-making quality of company boards.

Postgraduate business students at the master’s level.

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CSS 6: Human Resource Management

Founded in 1971 and acquired by CEO Howard Schultz in 1987, Starbucks was an American success story. In forty years it grew from a single-location coffee roaster in Seattle, Washington to a multibillion-dollar global enterprise that operated more than 17,000 retail coffee shops in fifty countries and sold coffee beans, instant coffee, tea, and ready-to-drink beverages in tens of thousands of grocery and mass merchandise stores. However, as Starbucks moved into new market contexts as part of its aggressive growth strategy, the assets and activities central to its competitive advantage in its retail coffee shops were altered or weakened, which made it more vulnerable to competitive threats from both higher and lower quality entrants. The company also had to make decisions on vertical integration related to its expansion into consumer packaged goods.

Understand how strategy needs to be adapted to new contexts. Understand how to manage tradeoffs involved in growth. Be able to identify possible threats to competitive advantage as a result of growth.