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The learning outcomes after reading and analysing this case study are dealing with the challenges of family business; learning the importance of succession planning; accepting the next generation and the role of the first generation; and understanding the decision-making skills and roles of the generations in family business.

Khushboo Pouch and Packaging was the first-generation initiative of Mr Bhavesh Udeshi. Mitesh Udeshi, son of Bhavesh Udeshi and the business’s sole successor, joined the firm in 2019 after graduating with a Master of Business Administration degree. Mitesh had desired to join his family firm since he was a teenager and aid the business with emerging business ideas. As a fresher, he applied his newly acquired theories to the company’s operations. He initiated several changes in the company; however, his actions were ineffective. He introduced modifications to the business premises, production units, marketing tactics, accounting department and product line extension for two years. Mitesh had intended to restructure his traditional firm in rational and innovative ways, but none of his plans had come to fruition. He failed because the firm’s change management was confronted with denial, rage, bargaining and melancholy from both his father and the employees. Amidst non-acceptance and inconsistency, he found himself in a quandary. He had two options: remain in the family firm and persevere in making his ambitions a reality or resign, find a job and embark on a new path. Unfortunately, leaving would indicate surrendering defeat after a two-year struggle.

Programmes: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) programmes, MBA in Entrepreneurship and small businesses, and Post graduate diploma in management (PGDM).

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

Upon completion of this case study analysis, the course audience is expected to achieve four learning outcomes. In particular, students should be able to conduct a comprehensive organizational diagnosis to uncover the peculiarities of managing a family business; analyze the specific challenges faced by family-owned enterprises in the context of emerging markets; evaluate the succession management practices in family organizations and design a profile of a successful successor; assess the effectiveness of managerial decision-making and provide recommendations for securing the sustainability of a family firm.

This case study unveils the tumultuous story of Vishwanath Shetty, an ambitious entrepreneur who transformed his small venture into a profitable family business with operations in Middle East, Asia and Africa. Since the early establishment of Qontrac International in 1989, he relied on the ownership and management participation of several members of his and his wife’s families. Over the years, Vishwanath was successful in pursuing a strategy of continuous growth and geographic diversification by taking advantage of the business opportunities in several regions and opening up branches in Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ghana and India. Yet, almost three decades after its launch, the company was confronted with a number of family, growth and succession management challenges that endangered its survival in the long run. The Shetty family experienced a serious rift due to financial reasons, the performance of the two branches managed by siblings declined, and the old firm structure and management style did not fit well with the newly enlarged and geographically dispersed Qontrac International. To deal with these organizational issues, Vishwanath was faced with an additional dilemma of securing the support of a suitable intra-family candidate who could join the family business and become his successor. By describing the strategic events and family dynamics that shaped the evolution of Qontrac International over time, the case provides an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of managerial decision-making in the context of family firms and provide viable recommendations for ensuring firm survival and longevity.

Upper-level undergraduate audience Graduate audience (in Master of Global Entrepreneurial Management program).

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Strategy.

PT. Bank Central Asia, Tbk. (BCA), the largest national private bank in Indonesia, won an award for the Best Bank at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence (Asia) 2014. During the same event, in several categories, haloBCA^TM and BCA employees also won several awards. Previously, a number of awards were received by BCA such as: Best Indonesia Local Private Bank in 2010, Contact Center World Champion in 2012 and 2013, and Best Mega Contact Center in Asia Pacific Region in 2014. BCA is currently facing a problem of an aging population. Since the economy crisis facing the country in 1998, BCA has recruited fewer employees. The company resumed recruiting in 2010. BCA’s human resource (HR) profile in 2013 showed that nearly half of BCA’s permanent employees were aged 45 years or older, 40 per cent of whom have been working for more than 20 years. At the time of their retirement, the Bank faces the potential of losing a significant number of employees from three different generations. BCA has raised its efforts to recruit new talent. However, recruitment is not easy, as BCA wants its new employees to continue maintaining BCA’s heritage, building the Bank to become an Indonesian company that they can be proud of. How have these values, which have been a common belief, a foundation to work passionately and the glue that bonds the Bank’s employees, executives and owners, been communicated outside of the BCA and have been used to attract the future successors of BCA in Indonesia?

Master Degree in Human Resources Management or MBA Program.

PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA), which was established on February 1957, is Indonesia’s largest lender by market value and the second largest bank by assets. The bank has experienced a remarkable recovery from the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s when the Indonesian banking system became almost bankrupt. It provides both commercial and personal banking services through its 1,000-plus branches across the country. As the largest national private bank, BCA is a well-known bank in Indonesia. BCA is managing more than 12 million customer accounts, processing hundreds of millions of financial transactions and fulfilling the needs of individual and corporate customers through various products and services. BCA Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) are located virtually and BCA’s Electronic Data Capture (EDC) machines are available at many merchants both in big cities or small towns across Indonesia’s archipelago. However, for a nation with a population of more than 240 million spread out over 34 provinces, the presence of BCA is still deemed unevenly distributed. In the next 10 years, BCA has no plan yet of expanding outside of Indonesia. BCA put its attention on developing its market in Eastern Indonesia. Funding sources, which usually becomes an issue for expanding companies, are not a source of concern for BCA. BCA is currently facing a problem of an aging population. Since the economy crisis facing the country in 1998, BCA has recruited fewer new employees. The company had recently resumed recruiting in 2010. BCA’s HR profile in 2013 showed that nearly half of BCA’s permanent employees were 45 years of age or older, 40 percent of whom have been working for more than 20 years. At the time of their retirement, the Bank faces the potential of losing a significant number of employees from three different generations. Currently, BCA has raised its efforts to recruit new talent and its future leaders through various programs, such as: BCA Development Program (BDP), one of the most acknowledged management trainee programs in the Indonesian banking industry, provides intensive and rigorous training to selected new recruits to ensure development of BCA key talents and future leaders. HR business partners that actively visit campuses in the eastern region of Indonesia. Socialization programs in state and private universities. Job fairs, Web recruitment, internships and employee referrals, job opportunity advertisements posted at BCA branch offices located near universities and in the leading mass media. Utilization of recruitment consultant services, especially to find candidates with specific qualifications. Utilization of communication media printed (poster, flyer, booklet, banners) and electronically. Provision of scholarships to high school graduates with excellent academic records but facing financial difficulties. However, recruitment is not easy for BCA because – like other well-known companies in Indonesia – the Bank only recruits the best people based on the prospective employees’ hard and soft competencies. BCA’s aim to project a positive perception toward its employees as “a fun workplace with family-oriented atmosphere, and commitment about employees’ development” has yet to strongly resonate in Indonesia’s labor market. BCA wants its new employees to continue maintaining BCA’s heritage, building the Bank to become an Indonesian company that they can be proud of. How have these values, which have been a common belief, a foundation to work passionately and the glue that bonds the Bank’s employees, executives and owners, been communicated outside of BCA and have been used to attract the future successors of BCA in Indonesia? How should BCA obtain a large number of qualified talent pools through an effective Employer Branding strategy?

By the end of discussing the case, the learner will be: conceptually: able to explain what is meant by employer branding, internal and external approach and able to explain the relationship of employer branding with business strategy, talent management strategies and HR management functions as a whole; practically: able to identify and analyze BCA Recent Condition – able to explain the BCA brand image in the eyes of public/external/job seekers in Indonesia and internal/current employees of BCA – able to identify strategies that BCA does to recruit potential job seekers – and able to explain the influence of innovative products and services that BCA has currently on BCA employer branding; able to identify BCA goals/needs; able to identify the characteristics, needs and preferences of BCA target group of workers, concerning to the latest issues arise such as: Gen Y and AEC (ASEAN Economic Community); able to evaluate the effectiveness of BCA employer branding strategy and communications and to identify the problems faced by BCA related to employer branding; able to generate ideas related to the improvement of BCA employer branding strategy and programs – what message to be branded (company unique employee value propositions – tangibles and intangibles) – what program to be implemented (internal and external) – and how is the integrated marketing communication strategy (segmenting-targeting-positioning, channels).

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CSS:6: Human Resource Management.

Family business.

Specialized undergraduate courses, Elective MBA courses.

This case study uncovers the remarkable story of the relentless growth and sporadic weakening of Nurul Ain (NA) Limited, a family business conglomerate with major operations in the Eastern region of Africa. The case provides an opportunity to follow the different stages of development of this family-owned organization through a sequence of strategic events and family dynamics that led to its recurrent success, decline and rejuvenation. Despite the numerous successes of NA Limited since its establishment in the early 1990s, the ambiguous relationship between family, ownership and management systems has caused a ripple effect of strategic, structural and governance challenges that threaten the sustainability of the family business. Nowadays, the founder faces the pressing challenge of ensuring his legacy remains intact and is passed over to his chosen successor, who, in turn, is confronted with the dilemma of joining the family business or pursing an independent career outside NA Limited. Shedding light on the complexity of today’s family-run organizations, the case allows examining the effectiveness of strategic decision-making in an emerging market context by applying a variety of family business principles, theories and frameworks.

Discuss the sources of competitive advantage and the typical challenges that family firms face in the context of emerging markets. Perform a comprehensive corporate diagnosis and examine the specificities of strategic management process in family businesses. Assess the succession management practices in family-run organizations and design a profile of successful successor. Discuss the effectiveness of various corporate governance mechanisms in the context of family-owned enterprises. Evaluate the strategic choices of the top management team and offer recommendations for securing the family business longevity.

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CSS 11: Strategy.

In late 2019, Dr. Hiroaki Kitano, the president and director of research at Sony Computer Science Laboratories (Sony CSL), had decided he would be stepping down from his position soon. Sony CSL, a small blue-sky fundamental research facility funded by Sony, had always operated on the strength of the trust between Sony's CEO and the lab's director. Sony had been hands-off in its management, leaving Kitano to hire, fire, fund, and evaluate the lab's researchers and project portfolio at his own discretion. Now that he was stepping down, however, he worried that Sony CSL could not withstand his departure. Kitano wanted to make a transparent plan for the organization's future before he handed off Sony CSL to his successor. That plan involved three key decisions. First, what should be the optimal structure and governance of Sony CSL? Should it maintain its independence and autonomy, or should it align more closely with Sony's business priorities? Second, how could Sony CSL scale its impact on Sony and society at large, given its small size? Finally, should Sony CSL establish some standard methods of measuring project success and strength of the portfolio? In making these decisions, Kitano wanted to ensure that he preserved the unique culture that had allowed Sony CSL to pursue path-breaking research and innovation.

This case provides an opportunity to develop criteria for the selection of a leader who would lead a well established conglomerate. It provides details about the initiatives of the predecessors, the changing environment of businesses, internal concerns and the challenges before the new leader. A list of the contenders for the top position in Tata Sons Ltd is given to facilitate evaluation. The participants are required to review the strategy and functioning of Tata Sons Ltd and develop their criteria for selection.

This case study can be used in graduate- and executive-level.

This case study can be used in entrepreneurship, leadership, crisis management, business succession, organizational behaviour and business expansion.

In 2020, the EtonHouse International Education Group (EtonHouse) celebrated its 25th anniversary. Under the leadership of Ng Gim Choo, founder and managing director, EtonHouse has become a renowned education provider noted for its well-designed inquiry-based curriculum. Since its initial expansion in Singapore, the institution has spread across the world. Throughout its history, EtonHouse has faced many crises. However, employing paradoxical leadership, Ng Gim Choo has managed to accommodate conflicting demands and guide EtonHouse away from adversity. In early 2020, the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) posed an unprecedented challenge to EtonHouse. In addition to developing business strategies in response to COVID-19, Ng Gim Choo has been considering whether the time is ripe to hand over the reins to Ng Yi Xian, her son and EtonHouse successor.

By presenting the dilemma of business succession in crises, the case study facilitates in-depth discussion of several issues related to family business succession, succession planning and crisis management. Students will be able to explore the following issues: 1. The concept and implications of paradoxical leadership and its application in business decisions. 2. How to lead during crises. 3. The tension between succession plans and crisis management. 4. The characteristics and implications of woman entrepreneurship.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The learning outcomes of this case will help the participants to assess values, motivations and interpersonal relations that exist and evolve in a family firm; analyze individual-level strategies in absence of business growth strategy and succession plan; expose trade-offs associated with natural inheritance or merit-based succession; reveal alternate strategies of coping with conflicts in multi-generation multi-family firms.

This case focuses on leadership, succession and conflicts at Dalal Group, a 50 years old textile yarn trading family-run business. The trading business has 10 members across three generations working in it. The business is making profits but the growth of the business is not synchronous to the number of family members working in it. As revenues are stable and buyers’ network is not growing, an internal tussle has begun among the members to preserve business resources available to them. The founder, who is also the Managing Director of the Group, is about to retire in a couple of years but there is no clear successor to his position. In the absence of a business growth plan and uncertainty about the next leader, members are clueless about their own future and that is affecting their interpersonal relations at work. This has triggered the need for decision and action by the founder, failing which the business might disintegrate. The case author has used personal interview methods and secondary sources like annual reports and manuals of the company to collect data and information.

Senior Undergraduates, MBA (Entrepreneurship and Family Business), MBA.

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CSS 6: Human resource management.

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.

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CSS 11: Strategy.

• Develop an understanding of how to institutionalize a family business. • Define the dynamics of the family business decision-making process in emerging markets. • Assess the cultural differences between founders and successors in an emerging markets context. • Identify the role of intergenerational differences in deciding the future strategy of a family business in emerging markets.

This case addresses El Batraa Manufacturers for Chemicals and Paints S.A.E., a privately owned family business operating in the coloring paste industry in Egypt. The main dilemma of the case is the existence of different visions about the business between the old and new generations. Also, it addresses the importance of understanding family dynamics to resolve existing challenges. The necessity of having governance in a family business is highlighted, together with a clear succession plan to secure family unity and business sustainability. Sandra the main protagonist within the case is trying to arrive to a resolution that can guarantee a motivating environment for her to join the family business. Her main dilemma is whether to choose to join the family business, with all the existing challenges or not. Accordingly, she proposes some steps to make the family business more appealing.

Under Graduate and Master of Business Administration level.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.