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The case is suitable for strategy or entrepreneurship modules. It is designed to teach students about the importance of implementing formal processes when entering a growth phase as well as the complexities, unexpected costs, and benefits that growing a business can bring.

The case is aimed at MBA or Master-level students or executive education programmes as part of a strategy or entrepreneurship module.

Lattice Towers is a South African company in the telecommunications infrastructure sector. They are struggling to generate sufficient cash flow to sustain operations as a result of poor strategic decision-making regarding tower-build site acquisition. To compound matters, the owner has been struggling with health issues related to the stress caused by the crises that Lattice Towers is going through. Recently, however, a multinational publicly listed behemoth in the telecommunications industry, Helios Towers, offered to acquire the company. The acquisition offer seems like a saving grace to the owner; however, Lattice Towers is deeply personal to the him and he would not like to lose the brand. Furthermore, there is a tremendous opportunity for business growth due to the imminent increase in demand for tower infrastructure. But based on the challenging financial position the business currently finds itself in, he might not have the option to keep the business.

To develop a decision-making framework and strategy to navigate the business life-cycle stages, from survival to growth

Understand the concepts of uncertainty, risk, and liquidity premiums that apply to entrepreneurship

Understand the stress-related implications for entrepreneurs

Understand the psychological costs and benefits of entrepreneurship

Understand the personal financial implications for entrepreneurship

This paper aims to explain the theory of stakeholder, value chain analysis and triple bottom line sustainability approach.

The present case was developed from both primary and secondary data sources. The primary sources included visits to Global Enterprises and collected data through a structured interview. The secondary sources included enterprise annual reports and websites.

This case presents the innovative approach adopted by a for-profit social enterprise, utilizing locally available resources, changed products and an improved business model to deliver the desired social impact. It highlights the challenges social entrepreneurs face and how the people at the grass-root level are uplifted through the success of a social entrepreneurial venture. The case study is based on an interview conducted with the founder and managing director of Global Enterprises and other stakeholders (farmers, women artisans and employees). An interview schedule was used for conducting the interviews. The researchers tried to understand the business model deployed, stakeholders involved, challenges faced, competencies needed and strategic decisions made by the social entrepreneur that helped the enterprise become sustainable. The social problems identified by the entrepreneur include unavailability of quality raw material at a reasonable price on time; financial scarcity and massive dependence on non-institutional financial sources; lack of product development, market research and production; and the high price of handmade products compared to factory-made products. The case explains how the entrepreneur addressed the problems of cotton farmers, women artisans and local youths through his enterprise. The case also explains how he could make a social venture sustainable in the long run.

This case targets graduate-level students and is designed to be taught in Entrepreneurship, Social entrepreneurship, Rural entrepreneurship, Business administration and Entrepreneurship development. It can also be used for other programmes, where problem identification, opportunity recognition, stakeholder analysis and porter's value chain analysis are taught.

The reading and discussion on case will enable participants to appreciate importance of reward management in performance management system for both employee and organizational good; to develop insight on the effect of perceived discrimination on the motivation of employees; to internalize the effect of perceived unjust, subjective, non-communicative, non-transparent policies on the behavior and productivity of employees and overall organizational culture and climate; and to comprehend the importance of HR and OB issues with respect to performance management system for the benefit of employee morale, motivation and organizational culture.

The effectiveness of an employee is the key factor for the employer. All the profit that the company or the organization makes depends on the employees’ productiveness. The case needs to be understood in the overall context of performance management system (Ferreiraa and Otley, 2009) with focus on elements of appraisal and compensation via rewards and recognition as per objective standards. Performance management systems (PMSs) is a more general descriptor if the intention is to capture a holistic picture of the management and control of organizational performance. Performance management policies and practices refer to the processes of setting, communicating and monitoring performance targets and rewarding results with the aim of enhancing organizational effectiveness (Fee, McGrath-Champ and Yang, 2011). PMS includes both the formal mechanisms, processes, systems and networks used by organizations, and also the more subtle, yet important, informal controls that are used (Chenhall, 2003; Malmi and Brown, 2008). Otley (1999) proposed a framework which highlights five central issues which need to be considered as part of the process of developing a coherent structure for performance management systems. The five areas addressed by this framework include identification of the key organizational objectives and the processes and methods involved in assessing the level of achievement under each of these objectives, formulating and implementing strategies and plans, as well as the performance measurement and evaluation processes, process of setting performance targets and the levels at which such targets are set, rewards systems used by organizations and the implications of achieving or failing to achieve performance targets and types of information flows required to provide adequate monitoring of performance. While the case touches upon all the aspects of the PMS framework, it revolves round the reward episode and elaborates on the way it affects all stakeholders, those who got the benefit, those who felt discriminated and those were mere observers to the episode. Objective performance appraisals are needed to ensure that every employee produces the best performance and that the work performed is rewarded with reasonable increases in pay scales or special additional allowances or incentives. This system carries crucial importance as it helps managers to decide which rewards should be handed out, by what amount and to whom. Additionally, performance appraisals may increase an employee’s commitment and satisfaction (Wiese and Buckley, 1998) The case readers need to notice that when organizations fail to follow objective appraisal or reward standards, the same rewards become a cause of contention. The reward which was handed over to the employees in this case was in addition to the annual appraisal. Though the role of rewards has been well-recognized in motivating the employees to continue performing at high level and encourage others to strive for better performance, what needs to be recognized that rewards’ per say does not serve purpose. They need to be dealt within the context of performance management system. Using rewards to favor or discriminate a few employees by using subjective standards backfires and does no good as the person who is favored cannot take pride in it and is not motivated to perform better or equally well as he/she also knows that the work has no relation to the reward, it is personal favor, on the other hand, the one who is discriminated feel discouraged and demotivated to perform. Rewards have the potential to both help and harm the organization if dealt in a callous and careless manner. Use of rewards to favor or discriminate certain people due to subjective preference can be suicidal for the organization and irreparably damage the trust of the employees in the management. It has been well stated that fairness and objectivity are the core principles using an assessment of the nature and size of the job each is employed to carry out (Torrington et al., 2005). If any organization decides to include rewards as a motivating mechanism, it needs to cull out unambiguous and transparent criteria for rewarding. If employees perceive procedural or distributive injustice from the management, it is not only detrimental for the employee’ relations and teamwork, it also tarnishes the reputation of the organization and jeopardizes the culture of the organization. Reward management needs to be closely related to performance appraisals, job evaluations and overall performance management systems. The current case elaborates on one such instance where unjustified inequity in reward system not only disturbed the employees concerned but it had bred a negative image of the organization among other employees too, organizational citizenship was replaced with contempt and feeling of apathy.

Post graduate students and working professionals can benefit from this study.

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

Human resource management.

Fixed Income markets, Financial Markets and Institutions.

This case can be used in a postgraduate finance course such as an MBA and executive program for courses such as Fixed Income Markets and Financial Markets and Institutions.

In late August 2015, the sudden downgrade and eventual default of Amtek AUTO Ltd (Amtek) on its debentures upset mutual fund investors and regulators. Questions were raised about the credit rating agencies and their lack of timely action as well as about the independent credit analysis followed by fund houses to protect the interests of investors. One such investor, Suresh Nair, decided to gather all possible available information on Amtek to determine whether it was sheer negligence on the part of all parties involved or if Amtek was in fact in a situation of sudden distress. The case seeks to highlight the credit analysis process, while looking out for red flags to identify potential default or financial stress in a company.

To understand the credit analysis process through a fundamental analysis process. To analyze and interpret the financial position of the company through various financial ratios. Identifying “red flags” while evaluating a potential credit that pose as “risks” to credit assessment. Understanding the role and relevance of credit rating agencies in the bond 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.

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance

Entrepreneurship.

MBA level – entrepreneurship courses, MA level – women empowerment issues, MBA – thriving in unstructured environments.

Saundarya Rajesh, was the founder-president of AVTAR Career Creators (ACC) a talent consulting firm that offered solutions in training, hiring, selection process outsourcing and human resource information studies to over 400 clients. The case describes the progressive journey of Saundarya as an entrepreneur in discovering and exploiting opportunities as they arise at different points of her career. Saundarya did pioneering work for creating flexi-career opportunities that included tools for Flexidizing® and Unbundling® of jobs. She has won many accolades for her work that included Tie Stree Shakti Awards 2011 for excellence in entrepreneurship, Cavinkare's Chinnikrishnan Innovation Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship 2011 and India Today's Business Wizards of Tamil Nadu, 2011. Saundarya was happy with the fact that there were 23,000 women currently on the AVTAR I-WIN network and there were 13-15 lakh more women whose talent could be harnessed. She dreamt of ensuring that 1.2 million Indian women, who had dropped out of the workforce in the past 10-15 years, could be brought back to contribute productively. While there appeared to be an acceptance of the flexible working concept among the potential employees and employers, several questions about the future potential of such a work-force needed to be answered.

To understand the factors that constitute entrepreneur's alertness such as personality traits, social networks and prior knowledge. To understand the importance of entrepreneur's alertness for identifying business opportunities. To understand types of entrepreneurial opportunities. To understand the opportunity identification triad: recognition, development and evaluation. To understand how to develop a business model in under-defined contexts.

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

A midsize community hospital must choose a strategy to compete with an expanding regional rival. The strategy, focused on acquiring patient volume, includes expanding investment into integrated care, setting the reimbursement structure for revenue collection, and moving to a capitation-based payment system. The case presents an evaluation of revenue models to select that which best supports a given business strategy.

This case is designed to introduce a health care audience to financial analysis. It provides a straightforward introduction to hospital financial-statement ratio analysis and hospital operating statistics, so it can also serve to introduce any audience with a business or medical background to hospital finance.

The central issue in the case is opportunity identification and decision making. While the literature on direct selling is limited, much has been written about ideation, effectuation, causality and opportunity identification and assessment. Scholars of entrepreneurship debate whether entrepreneurial opportunities are identified and assessed primarily through effectuation or causation.

This case is based upon a combination of interviews with the protagonist, her staff and secondary research.

This case explores the opportunity identification, assessment and decision making of an energetic, African American, female founder and CEO in the rarely-researched direct selling channel. Dr Traci Lynn Burton founded her company at 24 with an investment of $200. In 2008, in its second incarnation, Traci Lynn Jewelry became a direct selling company and has taken bold steps. By 2018, the company was a direct selling leader and was preparing to launch a new product line. The case supports undergraduate students in understanding effectuation and causation, opportunity identification and assessment, and direct selling.

This case is primarily for upper division undergraduates. It is suitable for courses in entrepreneurial strategy, entrepreneurial marketing, general entrepreneurship emphasizing opportunity identification, opportunity assessment and/or effectuation.

Leadership, change management, knowledge transfer, quality, car manufacture, organisational culture, staff training and development.

This case study is intended for undergraduate courses on principles of management, cross-cultural management and organisational behaviour; postgraduate and MBA courses as above in addition to leadership studies and change management courses.

Globalisation inevitably led to attempts to transfer know-how and expertise to markets in different locations and cultures, where the particular organisation is willing to begin to operate. Hence, the need for understanding the conditions for successful knowledge transfer is especially important. The globalisation process in the Eastern bloc, which began in 1990, is a good example of knowledge transfer where the mutual meaning creation played a crucial role. This case study illustrates the process of international knowledge transfer between Western Europe and an emerging economy using the example of DAK Corporation and quality transfer to Poland. The case is especially useful for undergraduate and postgraduate students, including MBA students, studying general management as well as more specialised courses stemming from international management, for example, cross-cultural management and organisational behaviour. Since the material focuses on people management and development as well as organisational culture creation, current and future practitioners from the human resources department will find it particularly useful. Students considering a career in a multinational company can also use this case in their preparation for the challenges of operating in a global business environment.

These include: understanding of the process of international and cross-cultural knowledge transfer; identification of key cultural and organisational factors contributing to the success of international knowledge transfer; understanding of the organisational culture creation process; and exploration of the process of new staff development and training.

Teaching notes are available.

This case talks about the role that can be expected to be played by a disabled woman in an organization and shows how a disabled woman can assume a leadership position and be a role model.

This case identifies the qualities that help a person from a minority group succeed in the corporate environment; examines the contribution that a disabled person, especially a woman can make to an organization; analyzes transformational leadership; assesses the importance of inclusive design in today’s products; and recognizes the corporate role in ensuring an inclusive culture that encouraged disabled people.

The case “Sumaira Latif at P&G: pioneering inclusive design and accessibility to all” provides an in-depth look at the efforts of Sumaira “Sam” Latif (she), Accessibility Leader at P&G, to incorporate inclusive design in the company’s product packaging. Sam – a blind woman and mother of three – had always struggled to use various everyday products. Her personal struggles drove her to find ways to fix such problems for people with disabilities. So, after a decade of experience at P&G, when she got an opportunity to interact with the top management, she convinced them that catering to the disabled was not charity, but a smart business move. Sam also put forth the role she could play in helping P&G make products with an inclusive design. Impressed with her, P&G made her Special Consultant for Inclusive Design, a position specifically created for her. Sam created the widely lauded tactile indicators which helped the blind differentiate between shampoo and conditioner bottles. P&G then promoted her to the position of Company Accessibility Leader, wherein she played a pivotal role in bringing inclusive design to more of P&G’s products. Sam also played a critical role in making P&G adopt certain technologies to help the blind shop for the company’s products independently, apart from ensuring that all P&G ads were audio-described. However, Sam had an ambitious vision to infuse inclusive design into all products, which required her to bring about a culture change in the CPG industry. She was also faced with the predicament of how to ensure that audio-described ads became a media buying standard, considering the wide-scale resistance to it. How can Sam succeed in making the CPG industry develop inclusive design, the way she convinced P&G to do it?.

Graduate and post-graduate programs.

Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

The learning outcome is that it will help to sustain your startups in the ever-changing business environment especially in the context of emerging markets.

The present case is about Dilkhush Kumar from village Bangaon, India who developed a cab booking platform “AryaGo”, an innovative platform completely dedicated for rural road transport connectivity. AryaGo is the service line of Aryan Cabs and Rural Trans-solution Pvt. Ltd., a Startup founded in the year 2016 under Startup Bihar, a seed capital support scheme of State Government. The idea was to provide comfort, convenience, safety and affordability to all the commuters travelling from or within far-off villages. The biggest challenge during implementation in villages includes availability of updated geo-mapped images for app development and vehicle tracking. Company was foremost in providing the kiosk-based booking facility for its customers. It took the decision based on the profiling of customers and their preferred booking methods. When a customer booked a cab using IVR, they did not had access to app-based customer panel and hence they could not avail services such as, location tracking, SoS, real time tracking of vehicle. However, heavy invest in IT has put the company in financial stress and Kumar is wondering whether to expand fast or penetrate in the given target market. Should he re-design his business model so as it can really make a difference in terms of service delivery?

Post Graduate/ MBA.

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 8: Marketing