Search results

Siemens Medical Solutions (SMS) offered innovative products and systems, clinical solutions, and services for medical professionals. Its latest project, transforming a hospital to digital records and processes, was experiencing serious delays that had damaged the relationship with the client. Management believed the underlying problem was that SMS was not using the correct approach to organization and processes for solutions marketing. The executives in charge of on-time completion and successful delivery of the project must now agree on a different recommendation.

Students will examine the infrastructure, customer offerings, and competitive landscape for Seimens Medical Solutions, as well as evaluate three potential organizational models (transient solutions, solutions streamlined enterprise, and adaptive solutions) to determine which represents the ideal structure for SMS. They will be able to identify the role of leadership in the organization, recommend how SMS should prepare for this change, and recommend how it would measure the transformation's success.

Public Sector Management and Strategy

This case will be useful for courses in information technology (IT) innovation, public–private partnership (PPP) and strategic management. However, the use of the case will differ on the basis of the target audience who could be students of master's course or executive development course. Detailed discussion can be done on co-innovation strategy followed in a public–private partnership and to understand how a PPP can be successful in enterprise solutions. Further, the understanding on how e-procurement and e-tendering solutions work can be gained through this case. This case should be positioned when the discussion for the planning strategy of IT innovation takes place.

SAP was a market leader in enterprise application software and empowered people across the globe to work more efficiently. The e-procurement solution for OILGIAN was managed by SAP LABS India. OILGIAN entrusted SAP with the task to design and implement the e-tendering solution. SAP appointed Ramakrishna Potluri, Lead Consultant, SAP, to manage the design and implementation of the e-tendering module as a part of e-procurement solution for the public sector. The reporting and the security concerns were stated by OILGIAN, and Potluri reassured that his competent team would comply with the needs. The main predicaments that he was going through were that how best he could take the proposition forward. Should he create the innovative solutions in-house or co-create with the customers? Which business models should he follow for this public–private co-innovation to be a predecessor of successful projects?

The case illustrates the following objectives: to discuss the co-innovation strategy followed in a public–private partnership; to understand how a public–private partnership can be successful in enterprise solutions; and to understand how e-procurement and e-tendering solutions work.

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

In this return on investment (ROI) for customer relationship management (CRM) case scenario, students must calculate the ROI for analytic CRM enabled by an enterprise data warehouse. The case is based upon a real-life consulting engagement with a major Fortune 100 telecommunications company. In this case the executive management team's strategic objective is to grow the customer base by 5 percent annually by customer acquisition. The internal rate of return calculated from the data given in the case is more than 800 percent for one year, and sensitivity analysis shows this is a robust projection, suggesting it should be funded without question. However, the strategy of the firm is customer acquisition in an environment of high customer churn. As a result of these dynamics, the revenues and net income of the firm are actually decreasing by hundreds of millions of dollars each year. A better solution would realize that the executive team has the incorrect strategic objective. Customer acquisition is the wrong approach in an environment of high customer churn and executives should focus on customer retention and cross-sell and up-sell to high-value customers. The case discussion therefore takes students beyond CRM ROI to focuses on the key strategic concepts of customer relationship management.

Students learn how to calculate return on investment (ROI) for analytic customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives. The case also discusses in detail the difference between operational CRM and analytic CRM. The case solution is relatively straightforward with a very good ROI. However, the true learning of the case is for students to understand the strategic context of analytic CRM and to question assumptions in any ROI model.

The case primarily revolves around the establishment, alignment and maintenance of expectations within a work environment. Specifically, the case focuses on the challenges that were created by the expectations that Kofi Nyarkoh had of his employee, Kwame Owusu, and the expectations that Kwame in turn formed based on the process surrounding his employment relationship with Kofi. The case is intended to help students assess a business situation and define the perceptions and expectations of stakeholders; assess the impact of differences in perceptions and expectations on the attitudes, behaviors and motivation in the workplace and develop appropriate recommendations.

The case was written based on a combination of field and telephone interviews and other communication between one of the authors and Kofi.

The case presents the story of Rococo LLC's founder and one of his key employees. Both men were originally from Ghana. They met in the USA through a mutual friend, and Kofi hired him to work on a client site for Rococo LLC despite Kwame's insufficient work experience.

This case is intended for students of organizational behavior, human resource management and management both at advanced undergraduate and graduate levels.

Kaleidofin was co-founded in 2017 by Puneet Gupta and Sucharita Mukherjee; former CFO and CEO of IFMR (Institute for Financial Management and Research) Holdings Pvt Ltd. As part of their roles at IFMR, Gupta and Mukherjee focused on designing products and developing technology to push for financial inclusion. In their field interactions, the co-founders had an epiphany of the challenges faced by people while trying to save towards important life goals. They saw an opportunity in the large segment of financially under-served people in India and quit their jobs to start Kaleidofin. Kaleidofin was conceptualised as a digital platform that offers customised financial solutions to help customers meet their life goals. The start-up partnered with mutual fund companies for solutions on one hand and network partners (NGOs, microfinance organizations, cooperative banks) on the other for access to their existing customers.

Kaleidofin grew from 50 customers in January 2018 to 15,000 customers by March 2019. Aiming to grow to 1 million customers in the next 30 months Kaleidofin faces a dilemma about its future course. The start-up could continue to grow by expanding its current target segment which is the low-income households and preserve its vision at the risk of increasing costs. The second option would be to look at other potential target segments, such as, middle-income households and risk diluting their vision. The case study highlights the unique customer-centric model of Kaleidofin and the need for start-ups to understand the value proposition of their products/services.

The case would be relevant to undergraduate level or an introductory master's level course in operations management (OM), supply chain management and production.

The case can be used as part of a core OM course in the MBA curriculum or any OM or supply chain elective.

As a highly diversified manufacturing services company, Jabil's S&OP solution supports customers across many industries such as automotive, cloud computing, consumer packaging, healthcare, mobile, retail and telecommunications. Jabil's customers expect a rapid and accurate response to their demand within hours. Previously, Jabil used a series of legacy disconnected planning tools, unsynchronized data required time-consuming manipulation with Excel. Processes were conducted in siloes leading to a “load and chase” approach, which resulted in excess inventory, component shortages and inadequate capacity. The case focuses on one of the Jabil executives, Lizet Tymon (she). Struggling with the issues caused by the disconnected planning tools, Lizet champions implementing a fully integrated suite of services (built on top of the Kinaxis' RapidResponse software platform). The technology solution proposed by Lizet was ultimately implemented across the company, and the project received high marks, and it opened up career opportunities for her. However, it was not a smooth ride at the very beginning. The case focuses on the issues experienced by Lizet, as she is introducing a new technological solution approach and trying to earn support from her team, her peers, her immediate supervisor, her customers and her higher-level executives.

The teaching objectives include: understanding and appreciating the supply chain complexities experienced by a global contract manufacturer; helping students think critically regarding the issues around the sales and ops planning; identifying the data needs for the operation and management of a worldwide, connected supply chain; investigating agile solution approaches for information sharing, decision-making and decision-sharing; and exposing the challenges associated with a large-scale technology adaptation.

This case study describes the supply chain challenges experienced by a global manufacturing solutions provider and illustrates the technology adaptation led by a female executive.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 9: Operations and Logistics

Management, Information technologies.

Courses at the senior university level in social and organizational sciences.

This case aims to observe modes, levels and specific problems in application of information technologies in informing, information sharing and collaboration as important aspects in ensuring quality in control of the processes that occur at school. Some deficiencies in application of information technology within these processes have been identified and alternatives to solving them have been offered. The discussion concerning the solutions was performed according to the parameters that were singled out as important in the analysis of the problems. A school that is recognized in Zlatibor region and elsewhere in Serbia for its advanced development tendencies was selected for the case study. The proposed solutions are practically applicable in any work collective.

Modern management strategy in education; the importance of process management in insuring quality of whole management system; the importance of implementation of modern information technologies in school management system.

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

Marketing.

This case study can be taught in a marketing course MBAs students: (communication trends analysis, sales models analysis, strategic marketing decision). It can also be taught in a sales management course with focus on sales process analysis and financial risk analysis. Students should use quantitative criteria for the analysis: potential sales revenue, market potential and qualitative criteria: risk analysis, customer satisfaction.

Vision of the owner of the company was to improve modern marketing communications using high end technologies – mainly touch sensitive technologies, by which the company was named. The case study “touché solutions” describes the example of new start up business as a small enterprise involved in high tech marketing interactive communication solutions in Serbia. Set in 2007, the company is having problems with profitability, sales negotiation and choosing priority business clients in 2009. Lazar Stojkovic, CEO has recently identified influences on the Internet, “Y” generation needs and new communication challenges, that led to conclusion that interactive technology provides the possibility of dialog with consumers and response to company's offer.

Understanding the differences between habits and customer behavior of X and Y generation; being able to understand the influence of media mix investments on marketing and sales effects globally, in EU and Serbia; understanding the obstacles and benefits of small enterprise and partners for financial sales agreement – new financial model; recognizing the differences between traditional sales model and innovative sales partnership model; being able to analyze and identify sales and market potential for business clients; understanding the model of accepting the innovation on the market.

Teaching note.

This case provides useful material for discussion on topics such as sustainability, business continuity, corporate social responsibility and green IT.

The case could be used in different areas of business management such as general management, information systems and business strategy.

The case presents the progressive evolution of Infosys Limited from its beginnings through different stages of innovation and consolidation in the IT services industry. Senior executives at Infosys believe that the sustainability initiative at Infosys is not a new movement, but a logical extension of the company's long standing commitment to society and environment. Sustainability was a key agenda at Infosys and it was deeply ingrained in the company's ethos and the way in which it operated. The case also articulates the company's commitment to sustainability as evidenced by the involvement of the top management in providing leadership. From an academic standpoint the case provides pointers to look at how the IT services industry has responded to sustainability practices and how sustainability practices are different or similar across various firms.

The case can help students to answer the following questions: How is sustainability different from corporate social responsibility? What is the context in which Infosys' attention turned towards sustainability? How is top management involved in Infosys' sustainability initiative? What are the elements of Infosys' sustainability strategy? How does it build on its core strengths? What are the structural mechanisms the company has provided to implement its sustainability strategy? What internal challenges to change while implementing green solutions were foreseen and overcome by Infosys? How competitive is Infosys' sustainability practices with respect to its competitors? How does it help the company in competing in the market?

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

Accounting and finance, entrepreneurship and business strategy.

The case is suitable for the following courses: post graduate programs in entrepreneurship; executive training programs for middle and senior level employees; and MBA/post graduate programs in management in strategic management.

The case deals with an entrepreneurship venture whose initial business model appeared to be faltering with the founder wondering about the future of the company. After Ommune Solutions' (founded 2010) initial business plan failed, the company started offering IT outsourcing services to Indian customers. However, the company was spending more that it was earning and the CEO generated additional revenues through independent consulting. By 2012 a customer relationship management (CRM) tool was also ready for release. The company was another IT start up yet to find a firm footing. The CEO wondered whether he should continue to build the company and, if so, in which direction?

These include: the use of SWOT analysis as a tool to aid strategic decision making along with Porter's five competitive forces model and the BCG matrix; using cost benefit analysis for evaluating business decisions; understanding the complexities involved in a strategic planning process; and identifying unnecessary cost and increasing revenue generation for expansion and maximizing profitability.

The case provides insight on challenges faced by a venture at an early stage in the business environment and the venture is analyzed in depth. It gives students a perspective on decision making and adapting to scenarios where initial business plans appear not to have succeeded.

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