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Traditional Craft Designs is a sole proprietorship located in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. The firm's owner, Ms. Debra Atwell was recently offered an attractive opportunity to lease space at the Crown Point International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago to establish a retail outlet. She then met with an officer of the National Entrepreneurship Development Company to discuss the opportunity and seek a $40,000 loan to finance the capital and operating costs associated with the proposed retail outlet. Students are required to assist Ms. Atwell with the preparation of historical financial statements and a financial analysis that must accompany her loan application.

Operations Management Quality Management.

The case can be used in a number of course contexts, including undergraduate and graduate courses in operations management and quality management.

Central Tobacco Plant (CTP) is a tobacco processing and packaging company, operating in the Central America and Caribbean region. This case focuses on a waste measurement exercise conducted in the cigarette production department of CTP, which was commissioned by George Edwards, the Secondary Manufacturing Department Manager. The reason for the exercise was the announcement that CTP could possibly face a plant audit, where a poor result could cause the shifting of manufacturing of some products, or, in the worst case scenario, all of it product lines, to one of the larger, and more efficient manufacturing plants in the Central America and Caribbean region. The waste measurement exercise is carried out as a three-week student–industry project by two students pursuing an MSc programme at the local university, who are mentored by both Edwards and by a university supervisor. At the end of the exercise, Edwards needs to consider the appropriateness of the current waste measurement system, the quantities of waste produced and opportunities to reduce waste.

The case has four primary learning objectives: to illustrate the role of performance measurement in process improvement, to explore the perspective of lean manufacturing in waste management, to apply basic quality tools in the analysis of a manufacturing process and to identify opportunities for process improvement.

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 9: Operations and Logistics

Naparima Company Limited (NCL) was an importer and wholesaler of grocery and household products in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. Following increasing competition and the adoption of more lavish lifestyles by its owners, the company had fallen on hard times. Its banker, First Republic Bank, had called its outstanding loans of $1.412 million and given the company 90 days to repay all sums outstanding. Also, several major creditors had threatened legal action to recover amounts payable. This had forced NCL to explore alternative financing arrangements and to devise strategies that would improve its financial situation.

The authors used both field interviews and secondary data when preparing this case. One of the authors was a consultant to the company as it worked to develop a restructuring plan. The primary data gleaned from that process, which included interviews with all three leaders of NCL and a review of the company's financial statements, was supplemented by the collection of secondary data about the industry and its competitors from interviews with the executive director of industry association, and information about the national economic environment from newspaper articles and library resources.

This case is suitable for senior-level undergraduate students in a capstone business course, and graduate students in small business management and family business management courses.

This case study deals specifically with the issue of manufacturing strategy, and business strategy.

The case can be used in a number of course contexts, including undergraduate and MBA programs. The focus is on both business strategy and manufacturing strategy issues. The case can be assigned as an opening vignette, during the initial phases of business strategy, since the case situations and concepts are both simple and clear. It can also be assigned for an in-depth treatment of manufacturing strategy.

The case focuses on Capital Mills Limited (CML), a flour milling company, and concentrates on whether the company should refurbish its two 40-year old flour mills at a cost of US$6 million or if the company should invest US$15 million in the construction and installation of a new, fully-automated “Lights out” flour mill. This decision is viewed as a “make or break” decision for CML, since for the first time in the company's 40 year history will it face significant direct competition, in the form of the impending entry of a second flour milling company.

The case has four primary learning objectives, namely to: illustrate the linkages between business level strategy and the functional level, manufacturing strategy; discuss the role of a company's history and internal resource structure in the decision making process; explore how operational issues influence capital expenditure decisions; and explore the perspective of managers in different functions in an organization that is facing a new competitive challenge.

Teaching notes are available – consult your librarian for access.

Hospitality and tourism management; strategic management; marketing, transportation system management and human resource management.

Undergraduate in business and management and hospitality and tourism management.

This teaching case outlines the historical background, successes and challenges of the national airline of Jamaica. It shows how a national airline, which is a heritage asset and one that has provided nostalgic and sentimental value to the Jamaican people and its passengers, had to be divested. The airline has been faced with several challenges; the major one being high-operating costs, especially in light of the global economic recession. The case also highlights the various procedures carried out by the Government of Jamaica before and after the divestment arrangement and also by the acquirer, Caribbean Airlines.

The student should be able to: first, differentiate among the various strategic management terms and concepts used in the case; second, explain the importance of strategic decisions versus emotional decisions; third, assess the environmental factors that impacted Air Jamaica's operation; fourth, analyse the environmental factors that should have been considered by Caribbean Airlines before making the decision to acquire Air Jamaica; fifth, carry out a comparative analysis of the various corporate-level strategies to identify the best option for the Government of Jamaica; sixth, propose reasons why Caribbean Airlines acquired Air Jamaica.

Teaching note.

This case is focused on the allegations of corrupt practices within the strategic leadership at the board level of an international sports organization – the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The theoretical premise is that the practices and decisions of the AFC’s leadership will have a profound impact on the AFC’s performance. However, because the AFC is the continental governing body, the impact is theorized to be far larger, across an entire industry. In writing the case, the authors were guided by upper Echelons theory (UET) (Hambrick and Mason, 1984; Hambrick, 2007; Hambrick et al., 2015), which argues that an organization’s strategic direction is directly influenced by its leader’s values. The authors selected UET for the theoretical framework, as it considered a spectrum of factors from industry, leader characters (values), their choices and the results of their actions. Such a comprehensive theory aligned with the complexities of the AFC and its leadership. In constructing the case roadmap using UET, the authors first adopted an ethnographic methodology. This was motivated by the fact that one of the authors had been embedded for many years as part of the leadership team at the AFC. His career work notes based on direct interactions and observations of these leaders helped in two ways: to identify the complex set of personal characteristics of these leaders (i.e. background, their careers outside football and financial standing) as they originated from 47 different nationalities. UET refers to these as observable factors to better theorize the hidden intentions of their alleged corrupt behaviors. UET identifies this second set of non-observable factors as psychological factors. These two different sets of observations combined helped to theorize their drivers, intentions and strategic decisions (options). For the second methodology, the authors accessed archival, publicly available media news and reports to understand the consequences of their actions to the AFC and the Asian football industry. This completed the final parts of the UET framework (Yamak et al., 2014).

This case relied on information that was widely reported within international media, press announcements by various organizations, published decisions by tribunals and publicly available information on the AFC. All of the names and positions in this case are actual persons.

This case focuses on the role and influence of the AFC as the Asian football governing body. The AFC is a member of the world football governing body – FIFA. With a US$1bn budget, the AFC has a strong impact on the future of football among Asia’s three billion people. Unfortunately, the AFC has been unable to create the value in its sports events or properties that attracts fans and investors. Central to this problem is the issue of corruption and corruption allegations within the AFC, especially with regard to its leadership. This case, therefore, attempts to highlight the various issues, discusses the circumstances around these challenges and brings forth the complexities of leading a truly international organization across 47 countries. Such factors are then tied to the value of the organization’s products or services in the marketplace.

The case is written and designed for a graduate level (MBA) class or an upper level undergraduate class such as corporate strategy, leadership, international management, international marketing, contemporary issues in management, cross-cultural management, sports management and sports marketing. In general, the case will also be a good fit for courses that discuss leadership, organizational strategy, organizational structure, organizational ethics and organizational behavior.

This case study can be used in the following subject areas: tourism management; tourism policy; tourism planning and development; destination marketing and management; hospitality and tourism management; special event planning and management; and attraction management.

This case study is useful to both undergraduate and graduate students specializing in hospitality and tourism management.

This case study explored the nature of two forms of tourism development; resort-based and resource-based, and aimed to determine which is the more viable and sustainable option for the future of tourism in Jamaica, an island destination in the Caribbean which depends highly on the tourism industry. The literature established that both forms of tourism are challenged by several and varying factors and so their synergistic integration appears to be the most functional option for sustainable tourism development in Jamaica along with the involvement of the relevant stakeholders.

The students should be able to:

• Distinguish between resort-based tourism and resource-based tourism by identifying the elements and attributes that make them different.

• Explain the usefulness and drawbacks of both types of tourism model.

• Discuss the nature of culture and heritage tourism and eco-tourism.

• Analyze Jamaica's tourism model from the nineteenth to the twenty-firstst century by assessing the changes and developments.

• Discuss the role of government in facilitating the development of a “wholisitic tourism model” that will facilitate the synergy of resort-based tourism and resource-based tourism.

• Assess the role of the private sector in encouraging and facilitating resource-based tourism.

Distinguish between resort-based tourism and resource-based tourism by identifying the elements and attributes that make them different.

Explain the usefulness and drawbacks of both types of tourism model.

Discuss the nature of culture and heritage tourism and eco-tourism.

Analyze Jamaica's tourism model from the nineteenth to the twenty-firstst century by assessing the changes and developments.

Discuss the role of government in facilitating the development of a “wholisitic tourism model” that will facilitate the synergy of resort-based tourism and resource-based tourism.

Assess the role of the private sector in encouraging and facilitating resource-based tourism.

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

This case study conceptually and empirically analyzed the tourism model in Jamaica to ascertain whether or not the future of Jamaica's tourism should remain dependent on resort-based tourism or should it opt for resource-based tourism as a more viable and sustainable option. The discussion however, indicates that resort-based tourism can synergize with resource-based tourism to achieve sustainable development along with the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders including the government, hotel operators and the residents. The case synopsis likewise presented a concise summary of the literature reviewed regarding the concepts of resort-based tourism and resource-based tourism; and the case of Jamaica's tourism.

The learning outcomes are intended to guide the teaching- learning process and stimulate students' understanding of the concepts of resort-based tourism and resource-based tourism and their specific implications in terms of tourism development in Jamaica. This knowledge can also be generalized to other destinations with similar historical background and tourism resources. The applied questions will guide the discussions and provide additional resources for assessment purposes. They will also help the students to critically assess the dynamics of tourism development.

The case synopsis is consistent with the learning outcomes, corresponding applied questions and course recommendations. A total of two to three-hours teaching session can be used to discuss the constructs, analyze the case in point and answer the applied questions.

CF Industries’ products nitrogen fertilizers are a crucial input to making agriculture productive enough to feed the world. However, its products are undifferentiated commodities. Throughout parts of its history, CF has struggled to be consistently profitable, yet over the last decade it has been very profitable. The case provides an opportunity to examine how CF manages to create value and capture it as profits despite being in a commodity business.