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The case was developed from secondary sources. This descriptive case was classroom tested in undergraduate organizational behavior courses.

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, which honored movies released in 2021, was held on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. Prior to Chris Rock announcing the winner in the category of best documentary film, Rock was assaulted on stage by Will Smith. On April 8, 2022, the Academy’s board of governors met to discuss disciplinary actions for Smith’s behavior. The Academy’s board decided to ban Smith from all Academy events for the next 10 years. Theories of individual behaviors and social processes can provide explanations for behaviors of Chris Rock, Will Smith, the producers and the Academy.

This descriptive case is most appropriate for undergraduate-level organizational behavior courses. The primary topics in this case align well with individual behaviors relative to emotional intelligence (EI) and motivation. The secondary topics in this case align well with social processes relative to decision-making, conflict and culture.

This case was developed via primary data collected from personal (one to one) interview with the CEO and founder of Dialogue in the Dark Malaysia (Dialogue Malaysia), Stevens Chan. With Stevens’ contact, the authors also conducted personal interviews with Kaye Chan (co-founder and wife of Stevens Chan), Lynn Foo (project manager since inception until early 2022) and Dr Foo Yin Fah (academic researcher in social entrepreneurship and advisor for Dialogue Malaysia). Secondary data included reports on visually impaired context in Malaysia, Dialogue Malaysia’s annual reports and online articles. Prior to the primary data collection, the authors obtained ethics approval from the University Human Ethics Committee (Project ID: 35461).

This case narrative focuses on Stevens Chan, a blind social entrepreneur who champions the empowerment of the disabled and marginalised community. Through a social franchising model, Stevens founded Dialogue in the Dark Malaysia in 2012. As a social start-up, Stevens showcases the strengths of blind and visually impaired individuals through transformative experiential encounters and reimagining future possibilities. Although there are constant challenges in securing financial and human capital, Stevens never lacks psychological capital, characterised by hope, self-efficacy, optimism and resilience. His vision is to educate society on the power of empathy (and not sympathy) and to create a holistic experience of celebrating diversity and inclusion through an innovative discovery centre, where the elderly and the disabled community (including the deaf, mute and those with mobility issues) share their lives with the public through fun activities. However, the future of this social enterprise is uncertain, and this case invites participants to embark on this journey with Stevens to uncover future pathways for growth and social impact.

The case is tailored for higher level undergraduates and entry-level and mid-level managers of executive education programs.

This case was developed through secondary sources in response to the environmental concerns being raised in legal actions, company documents, online forums, trade press articles and academic research relative to Li mining practices, a key material in Li-ion batteries. The case focuses on Tesla’s actual and potential response to the environmental and humanitarian concerns being raised with its battery supply chain

Tesla was one of the world’s leading producers of Li-ion batteries which were critical to its EV and battery offerings. Unfortunately, sourcing rare earth metals, such as Co and Li, which are key components in these batteries, raise several environmental and social concerns. This case highlights senior leadership considerations critical to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, including environmental tradeoffs and issue management. The case highlights the complexity of strategic decision-making in innovative and ESG contexts and challenges the students to contextualize the trade-offs behind each decision and the potential impact to associated stakeholders.

Level: Upper undergraduate and masters. Majors: Management; technology & innovation management; environmental science; science, technology & society; supply chain management; business ethics. Courses: Strategic management (social issues in management, strategic management, technological innovation); technology & society; ethics, supply chain management. Time: 60- or 90-minute class session. Supporting texts (depending on course context): Strategic Management of Technological Innovation. Schilling, M. McGraw Hill, 2017. Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Grant, R. Wiley, 2017. Society, Ethics & Technology. Winston, M., Edelbach, R. Cengage, 2014. Principles of Supply Chain Management. Wisner, J., Tan, K., Leong, G. Cengage, 2019.

This case study covers marketing concepts, including marketing mix, segmentation, targeting and brand positioning and communication. After completion of the case study, the students will be able to understand the importance of segmentation and targeting; recognize the differences between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customers (B2C) segments; gain knowledge about the points of parity and points of difference while positioning; and examine the elements of a marketing mix.

The case centered around Mr. Ashvinder Singh, founder and director of Uni Style Image (USI), who initiated the polo T-shirt business in 1990 in Okhla, Delhi. The brand expanded across the country, but from 2010, USI faced fluctuating demand due to the rise of online marketing and intense competition from global fashion brands. Revenues dropped massively, leading to a significant downsizing from over 300 employees to just 11 by the end of fiscal year 2016–2017. In 2018, Singh explored the B2B model; however, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 impacted many small- and mid-sized apparel businesses, including USI. In the fiscal year 2021–2022, the B2B segment accounted for 90% of total revenue, but the business size could not cover significant operating expenses. Despite only 10% of revenue coming from the B2C segment, Singh wanted to leverage the online space. In September 2022, Singh closed his factory in Noida, National Capital Region, Delhi. Amid the uncertainty, Singh explored various opportunities in the Indian market. In 2023, he even engaged a consultancy for expertise in marketing initiatives. He had to choose the target segment/s, develop a positioning strategy and create an effective marketing mix with very limited resources.

This case is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students, offering a valuable teaching tool for essential marketing concepts, such as the marketing mix, segmentation, positioning and brand communication. It can be used in both core marketing courses and elective courses like brand management, consumer behavior and integrated marketing communication. The decision dilemma presented in the case enriches the understanding of these concepts, making it a valuable resource for marketing education.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

The case revolves around a critical incident that took place at an Indian pharmaceutical company, in which various stakeholders had very different perspectives regarding the nature, causes and consequences of the incident. By illustrating the contrasting perceptions of the same event, the authors have shed light on the nature of perception and perceptual processes, including cognitive biases and errors in human judgement. The case provides insights into how these manifest in the organisational context and how managers could be made more aware of them to avoid errors in judgment and make choices that are more informed.