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Learning outcomes are eliminating usual options for a turnaround, understanding how organizations can respond to adverse industry /market changes through cost and productivity management, managing strategic cost control turnaround deployed across a company, turning a huge threat into an opportunity and the role of leadership in driving strategic cost management and importance of internal communication and buy-in for a successful implementation.

Ashok Leyland Ltd. is the 2nd largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India, the 4th largest manufacturer of buses in the world and the 12th largest manufacturer of trucks globally. Vinod Dasari joined this company in 2005, and since 2011, he has been the MD and CEO of the company. This case is about restaging of this company that commenced in the year 2013 when the company was heading toward a loss for the very first time in its 65 plus years of history. Ashok Leyland was heaving under its own weight, saddled with overheads, grappling with intense competition from old and new players and struggling to become agile and meet the new challenges in the market. A potential loss of up to Rs 750 crores (US$123m) looked inevitable. The challenges were that major structural changes were required and the company needed not only a transformational change but also a surgery. The company had to come up with savings of Rs 750 crores (US$123m) annually to avoid making losses. The projection of 54,000 unit sales volumes be achieved. Internal communication and buying in by all employees. This case outlines the path chosen by Dasari to restage, turn around, overcome the challenges and deal with employee resistance.

This study is applicable for MBA programs in business strategy, strategic marketing, international marketing and BBA programs in business strategy, strategic marketing and international marketing.

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CSS 11: Strategy.

The learning outcomes are as follows: understanding issues involved in the employee motivation, particularly those engaged in social change and development in emerging economies; develop insights into how to motivate team members by drawing on relevant theories of motivation; and orient students towards the application of these theories in the organization.

Resource cell for juvenile justice (RCJJ) was initiated as a field action project at the centre for criminology and justice, Tata Institute of Social Sciences with the objective of working on issues of children with a special focus on juveniles in conflict with law (JCL). RCJJ aimed at highlighting the socio-legal issues of juvenile children who were in conflict of law providing aid to these children and their families, and working towards their eventual social reintegration. RCJJ also trained stakeholders in the juvenile justice system and facilitated rehabilitation and social integration of JCLs as directed by the juvenile justice boards (JJBs). RCJJ had teams at six places within India. These teams worked with various government institutions, parents and JCLs to eventually effect change in the conditions of JCLs. The social workers engaged by RCJJ had a challenging task of facilitating social integration of the children, in coordination with the police, JJBs, families and lawyers. They had to actively manage help desks at the judicial observation homes where JCLs were housed. The social workers were under great stress because of antagonism from lawyers and police. The JJBs were prejudiced against them for being “outside watchdogs”. This resulted in high demotivation and attrition among employees. Jyoti Mhatre, project manager, interviewed past and present field workers to gauge the extent and reasons for demotivation. This intervention highlighted the positive and negative aspects of the organizational culture and the stress points that were causing demotivation. The situation was alarming and Jyoti had to develop an action plan to improve the motivation of the social workers to bring down the attrition.

Courses in human resource management, organizational behaviour and general management as part of masters-level programmes in business administration and management, and executive development programmes on employee motivation for middle/senior management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human resource management.

Change in culture brought about by effective leadership is at the core of this case. Therefore, two broad topics can be discussed using this case: organizational culture change and Change Leadership OR Role of leaders in organzational change.

The case was prepared using primary data collected through a series of interviews conducted with participants of the change process. The participants included R. Sivanesan, Senior Vice President (Quality, Sourcing and Supply Chain) of Ashok Leyland, many members of the quality team, production department, HR executives and members of the marketing team. Secondary data in the form of an interview of Mr Vinod Dasari published in a popular magazine Autocar Professionals and organizational documents/presentations used during the change process were also used to build the case.

In 2011, when Vinod Dasari took over as the Managing Director and CEO of Ashok Leyland (AL), he hired R. Sivanesan. The quality standards of the vehicles produced in the AL plants in 2011 was far from satisfactory. He decided to change this. Part A of the case discusses the challenges faced by Sivanesan and Vinod Dasari in bringing about a change in the quality management practices at AL. Part B discusses the steps they actually took and the change that resulted from it.

At the end of the case discussion, the participants will be able to develop an understanding of the various aspects of organizational culture and how it manifests itself; become aware of the underlying causes of resistance to change; critically evaluate and apply various theories of change management; create an action plan for changing the culture of any organization; and appreciate the role of leaders as change agents.

The central theme in this case is managing culture change within organizations through effective leadership. Instructors teaching courses in organizational theory, organization structure/culture and leadership will find this case relevant. It is primarily intended for use in MBA and Executive Education programs in Management.

Learning outcomes of this study are as follows: formulate an external analysis of INAPOL; and develop a strategic analysis to identify strategic alternatives.

INAPOL is a manufacturing company dedicated to the production of polyethylene sleeves and the manufacture of plastic bags, which faced a crisis because of the new environmental regulations in Chile. This rule prohibits the delivery of plastic bags in commerce, which leads directly to a decrease in the demand for bags by its main customers. This is why it is necessary to conduct a strategic analysis and reformulate a development plan. The reader is expected to be able to identify the external factors that limit the company and the internal factors that affect the company. In addition, the reader is expected to develop strategic analysis tools such as PESTEL and SWOT and identify background information to propose strategic alternatives.

The present case study presents a low complexity and can be applied in introductory courses of strategy or management for undergraduate students in administration.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

After working through the case, the students should be able to understand Indian political economy and the brand building process of NaMo; identify the media mix strategies used to build the brand NaMo in India; evaluate possible future growth strategies for brand NaMo; and compare and contrast brand NaMo with business brands.

Narendra Modi popularly called as NaMo was the current Prime Minister of India. He belonged to Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) which won India’s general elections in two consecutive terms 2014 and 2019. NaMo was recognised worldwide for his prudence in leading the country to greater heights of achievement. NaMo started his political journey as the worker of BJP at a tender age. His rise in political career was akin to flagship brand overtaking the parent brand. All the steps taken in the past to position himself as a cult brand, will it fortify to NaMo’s victory in 2024 general elections? Business firms may follow NaMo’s strategies. What can the business brands emulate from NaMo to market and position themselves? Can political success be transpired to business success?

This case is designed for use in a graduate-/postgraduate-level marketing course in segments on brand management, brand expansion and the marketing strategies of a market leader. The case can also be used in a brand management course to discuss brand management models (e.g. Keller’s brand resonance pyramid and brand value chain). This case has particular application for classes that focus on brand equity, STP for any brand (segmentation, targeting and positioning) and brand value chain. The case looks in detail at the Indian political market and brand building process of NaMo and examines competitive moves since its inception. This case can be used in brand management, media management courses. The dilemma can be explained as part of a marketing course for postgraduate and executive programmes.

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.

Appendixes for the case study, teaching notes with figures and suggested chart plan schema.

Students are expected to learn the use of networks for market growth; types of network connections; and ways to achieve international expansion through networks’ relations.

This teaching case describes the internationalization of an emerging country artist, the Brazilian singer Anitta, who seeks to expand her audience in foreign markets, while dealing with maintaining the public in her home country.

Recommended to International Business disciplines in specialization courses.

CSS 5: International Business.

The case is suitable for undergraduate and MBA courses: strategic management, social entrepreneurship.

Masters, Bachelors.

In Fortaleza, January 2008, an urban microfinance manager and the planning committee of Crediamigo, Brazil's largest microfinance institution need to devise an entry strategy to Rio de Janeiro's microfinance market. A part of the Banco do Nordeste, and a regional development bank for ten years, Crediamigo has 400,000 clients in the Northeast of Brazil. Its objective is to double its clients base for 2011; Rio de Janeiro's market was the next priority. Crediamigo has two options. The first consists of partnering with VivaCred, a small experienced microcredit non-governmental organization (NGO) which operates in Rio de Janeiro's slums. VivaCred was a microfinance NGO with relatively low organizational capabilities and with a low performance in terms of loan repayment. Its lending methodologies were different from Crediamigo's experience. The second option was to set up a new branch of Crediamigo in Rio and to shape it in Crediamigo's image. The committee was aware that this, “far away from home”, would be a costly and slow venture.

After using this case, students will: have been exposed to the strategic, managerial and operational challenges of microfinance expansion in an emerging country; understand better the market entry strategy (acquisition/integration of an organization vs green field) in such a context; have discussed the conditions related to the replication of microcredit methodologies (individual, group and village lending methodologies) in their contexts of operations.

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Marketing Channels.

The case was developed to stimulate the discussion about decisions and strategies of channel and was recommended for MBA students in courses such as Marketing Channels or Trade Marketing in Business Administration.

The case reports the dilemma experienced in 2013 by Osmar Buzin, one of the partners of Cervejaria Noi, whose specialty beers had achieved prestige among their customers, mainly in the city of Niterói, RJ, where the company was born. This success aroused the interest of other markets that wanted to sell their products. The opportunity for expansion brought together the need to decide how to meet these new markets: deliver directly to the points of sale, as it did before; or use distributors. Osmar knew that he could count on Gilmar Gutbrodt, his partner and brewmaster, along with Bianca Buzin, the General Manager of the brewery to evaluate together the best strategy for reaching new markets.

It is expected that at the end of the discussion of the case, students will be able to achieve the following learning outcomes: to design the path-to-market, identifying the role of intermediaries; to identify distribution alternatives and key channel members; and to perceive the advantages and disadvantages of intermediation and its unfolding in channel management.

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.

The case seeks to meet the following educational objectives: provide an understanding of the problems and opportunities faced by a company doing business in a rapidly expanding emerging market. Understand how the foreign environment and industry practices impinge on the company’s strategic conduct. Develop the ability to evaluate strategic internationalization decisions in light of considerations related to uncertainty, risk and commitment. Provide for the application of internationalization theories to a real case involving an emerging country company. Discuss new strategies for international market expansion.

This case study is about the strategic change of the Usaflex brand and how it impacted its national and international expansion. Usaflex is a Brazilian footwear company founded in 1998 and acquired in 2016 by a group of partners. The new managers started an accelerated process of national and international expansion. In the domestic market, the company adopted the franchise system and in the international market used licensed stores. In addition, the new management implemented a series of modifications, changing the positioning, design and product variety, as well as the communication strategy. This process took place in a highly negative context, with the domestic market suffering the impact of a strong recession and Brazilian footwear exports losing competitiveness in the international market.

The targeted audience of this case is undergraduate and MBA students of Business Management courses, specifically on International Business courses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International Business.

Strategic management is the focus area in this case study, so it is important to consider different sources of information to make strategic decisions. Considering the different options of Wine Cooperative of Vidigueira Cuba & Alvito (ACVCA), it is necessary to know the strengths and weaknesses of each option and identify respective opportunities and threats. Additionally, it is important to know the case study object (such as operating specific characteristics, products and management model); the competition; the evolution of the wine sector in Portugal and worldwide; the evolution of the tourism sector in Portugal and worldwide; and new trends in wine and tourism.

In January 2018, Mr Jose, leader of the Board of Directors (BD) of the ACVCA, one of Portugal’s oldest wine cooperatives, located in the south of the country, in the Alentejo region, is preparing the first meeting with the newly elected BD. Addressing the strategy and sustainability for the next term of the BD is mandatory! Mr Jose will have to open the game and lift the veil. Should all their eggs be put in one basket? Or could diversification be the way? Sustainability, in its three pillars (economic, environmental and social), is mandatory, never forgetting that the cooperators want respective income guaranteed. “We can’t risk everything”, thinks Mr Jose! But ACVCA’s affirmation undoubtedly depends on its ability to take risks, to innovate and seek new answers for new audiences! The BD will have to make decisions that lead not only to the affirmation of the brand but also to its renown and to the ACVCA’s sustainable growth. There are several possible options. However, it is necessary to define a path that guarantees the stability achieved, but that allows new markets to be reached and new challenges embraced: increase production capacity, invest in internationalisation, focus on segmentation through innovation, diversification of product or diversification of business area. Wine tourism is a possible way, but how can it be done sustainably and differently? We will have to use creativity and take advantage of our strengths, traditions and customs, intangible and tangible capital and our material and immaterial heritage. It can be done through Amphora wine, produced from its exclusive centuries-old grape varieties. These issues will have to be discussed with all the BD members in the next meeting. Considering the crucial role of cooperatives in the development of the regions where they are located, the success of the strategy is extremely important not only for ACVCA, but also for all its stakeholders. Strategic management decisions in a cooperative always have a double objective: on the one hand, to satisfy the interests of the cooperators and, at the same time, to meet the interests of the market and assert its positioning in an increasingly competitive sector.

This case study is intended for:▪ undergraduate students in management, agricultural economy and tourism;▪ executive management course students;▪ Master’s students in strategy, marketing, tourism and agricultural economy; and▪ PhD students in social economy and tourism.This case can have different levels of difficulty depending on the scientific area of the students and whether the cycle of studies is more or less advanced. Resolution of the case may require the following pre-requisites:▪ basic-level knowledge on statistics;▪ medium-level knowledge on managerial accounting, economics and finance; and▪ good level of knowledge on strategic management and on cooperativism theories.