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Manufacturing, Western management theories and Japanese management practices.

This case can be used in project management or management-related courses at tertiary institutions at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level.

This case provides students with an opportunity to find out what make Toyota so successful in manufacturing through its famous production system as well as the underlying Toyota Way principles. All students are expected to understand the Toyota Way model with a balanced view that goes beyond a set of lean tools such as just-in-time. This case opens a historical account for the Toyota Way model by connecting with possible Western management theories and Japanese management practices.

It is expected to significantly benefit students with industry experience with the intention of initiating appropriate changes in their own industry and/or organization by applying what they have learnt from the Toyota Way, through bridging with Western management theories.

Teaching notes.

Todd Wilson, manager of partner development at Educational Technology Corp., needed to determine the targeting, positioning, and selling strategy for its innovative Interactive Mathematics software for the college market. This required determining what types of colleges to target and which stakeholders to focus on within institutions. His task was complicated by the unclear objectives of nonprofit institutions and the differing motivations of teachers, students, and college administrators in adopting software-based learning technology. Highlights the difficulties in innovation adoption within large nonprofit institutions and the challenges in marketing to institutions with complex decision-making processes, multiple influencers, and conflicting motivations.

Strategic innovation through the deployment of a sophisticated collection of information systems and technologies to help accomplish financial inclusion for the urban poor.

This case is suitable for graduate courses on strategic planning and innovation.

Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS) is a microfinance company that seeks to serve the financial service needs of the urban poor, a market segment with huge growthpotential. This operation involves large numbers of cash transactions making effective control mechanisms necessary. However, small margins make an innovative strategy necessary. JFS states that information technology (IT) is its DNA. The way in which the leadership team used a variety of ITsolutions to create an integrated set of well managed operations provides a very useful lesson in managing the process of strategic innovation.

The primary learning objective is to help the student understand the impact of strategic innovation through the use of information systems and technologies. This is achieved by helping the student to: connect the abilities provided by information technology to the social objective of financial inclusion; understand what financial inclusion means to the urban poor and how this segment differs from other microfinance and banking segments; assess the approach (related to organizational design as well as systems) JFS has employed to accomplish the objective of financial inclusion among the urban poor in India; analyse the systems and processes JFS has used to deliver services to its target market while making processes more transparent and efficient at JFS; and assess the risks to which JFS is exposed throughits business activity as well as the use of information technology.

Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.

Entrepreneurship, Corporate sustainability, CSR, Supply chain.

Master's courses: Entrepreneurship, Strategic management.

In 2002, potential risks deriving from emerging normative demands in the CSR debate prompted Axel Springer (AS) to rethink their supply chain strategy for Russian wood. Being one of the first movers in CSR in the publishing business, AS realized that current practices could spark future public discussion that might put pressure on AS, a key player in these supply chains. In early 2002, AS and one of their main suppliers, Stora Enso, started a joint initiative to redesign the supply chain processes in two of the major Russian logging regions to improve their social and ecological performance. Sometime later, other major players in the publishing sector as well as critical reviewers from several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were invited to participate in the design of the new voluntary sustainability initiative called “Tikhvin Chalna project”, the second phase of which was accomplished by the end of 2006.

Learn that organizations (specifically high-brand owners) are responsible for practices within their entire supply chains (social as well as environmental performance).

Explore proactive corporate sustainability, CSR strategies are market but also institutional driven; Strategizing involves forming and transforming the rules, norms and standard models of customers as well as institutions such as NGOs or governmental bodies. Whether the initiator of such strategy is successful in increasing or manipulating demands is dependent on its resources and capabilities as well as on its network position. The case supports students in understanding resources being used to successfully transform or create institutional arrangements.

Discover that the value of a business' relationships and its network position.

Teaching note, Video files

Entrepreneurship, finance, technology and innovation, general management.

This case is suitable for students in finance, entrepreneurship and general management. The case seeks to understand the challenges of funding in technology startups and how they vary from product to service areas.

Availability of capital, short term and long term, is a major constraint faced by entrepreneurs. In India, in the technology sector, services companies have been able to innovate and grow whereas product-based companies that survived the challenges of funding have been scarce. Aluru Karthik Prasanth is presented in the case as a young entrepreneur with passion and drive to pursue the commercialization of an idea he developed during his undergraduate studies in engineering. Leaving behind the beaten paths ofMTech and employment, he decides to pursue MS entrepreneurship at IIT Madras. As he starts with his program, he analyses the challenges faced by previous technology start ups, Karthik has a dilemma – deciding whether to follow a product idea or change his plans to a technology service.

A detailed analysis of the case would help students address the following questions in entrepreneurial decision making: should an entrepreneur in technology in India pursue a product idea or service idea?. What are the pros and cons of each choice in financing? How can an entrepreneur pursue a product idea and minimize his/her risks? How does an entrepreneur's personal attributes influence his/her course? (e.g. family background, need for control) What are the challenges and opportunities in each kind of funding: debt, venture, angel, etc. in the Indian context?

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

Emerging markets – marketing and business strategy; social entrepreneurship; opportunity identification; frugal innovation.

MBA; marketing management; specialis ed courses such as entrepreneurship and international marketing. Data rich case, but analytical difficulty is only moderate.

Reboot Systems was conceived as a reverse engineering/refurbishing company for used computers when Rahul Chowdhury and Subbarao came in contact with Anand Tater who had started a small business in the used computer market. The team recognised the potential of the refurbished computer market in India, which was largely unorganised with penetration of personal computers pegged at less than 5 per cent. They identified the opportunity to address the digital divide, caused by lack of affordability and accessibility, by providing inexpensive “as good as new” used computers to those who aspired to own a computer. Additionally, in extending the life of used computers on a large-scale through “frugal innovation”, they hoped to reduce the extent of e-waste generated in the economy. This case provides a rich description of an emerging market characterised by market heterogeneity, social-political governance with poor policy measures, unorganised markets, chronic shortage of resources and inadequate infrastructure. Entrepreneurs hoping to address social issues must tackle these problems at the grass-root level and come up with improvised solutions that address the unique needs of the heterogeneous and resource constrained market. Some of Reboot Systems pressing challenges were in building a viable strategic approach to the market and ensuring scalability in a sustainable way.

An understanding of the characteristics of an emerging market from a macro (environmental) as well as micro (industry specific) perspective, an appreciation of opportunity identification and improvisation in emerging markets as well as differentiating “frugal” innovation from the idea of “Jugaad”, an understanding of the role of strategic vision and mission in accomplishing social and business objectives, an understanding of how to develop sustainability and competitive advantage from a social as well as business perspective.

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 study aims to provide students an opportunity to analyze the financial performance of a publicly listed real estate company and estimate its instinct value by applying appropriate financial models and approaches.

Three major valuation models/approaches generated by financial theory and practice to estimate the intrinsic value of a security: discounting cash-flows valuation (DCF and NPV) – valuation through adjusted net asset and liquidation value (NAV) – relative valuation through price and value multiples (valuation multiple analysis and precedent transactions analysis). Wholly owned subsidiaries versus and joint venture ones.

Analyze financial information of all segments in a multiple-business firm, and apply suitable financial models and approaches among net asset value model (NAV), discounted cash flow (DCF) or net present value (NPV) model, valuation multiple analysis and precedent transactions analysis to estimate the intrinsic value of the whole firm.

This decision-based case allows students to explore the business valuation process for a public listed real estate company, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE: ALEX). Based on financial statements analysis and forward-looking financial expectation on ALEX, this case elevates students' understanding and practice of valuating this multiple-business firms by applying appropriate financial models and approaches among NAV, DCF or NPV, valuation multiple analysis and precedent transactions analysis and enable students to make their investment decisions of buying, holding or selling the company’s stocks.

This case is most appropriate for graduate courses such as corporate finance, investments, personal finance, real estate finance and financial markets and institutes.

Dean Lynn, of Augustine State University's School of Business Administration, has been asked to develop online offerings as a prototype for the rest of the university. The decision he faced was whether to (A) take on the project alone or (B) make a ten-year commitment to a specialized vendor. If option B was selected, the further choice was whether to allow the vendor to handle everything short of instruction with a customized program or to handle only the marketing elements of the task. In the course of considering what to do, Dean Lynn was faced with the financial as well as the qualitative dimensions of the choice. The purpose of this case is to provide students a vehicle to explore the myriad considerations inherent in every organization's decision making process… qualitative as well as quantitative.

Alice Handy, an investment professional with 30 years' experience as head of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company, has opened a new asset management firm targeted at midsize endowments and nonprofit institutions in January 2004. Her business, Investure, LLC, offered outsourced investment services to institutions with $150 million to $1 billion in assets and access to top-performing managers at lower cost than a fund of funds (FoF). Smith College, a prestigious liberal arts college with a nearly $1 billion endowment, is interested in increasing its current allocation to private equity. Handy and her partner are preparing to meet with Smith's trustees in an attempt to win Smith College as Investure's first client. The case presents three different approaches to private equity investing: direct investment through a traditional limited partnership, investment through a FoF, or investment through Investure's outsourced model. The class discussion presents an opportunity to evaluate advantages and shortcomings of each approach, introduce key terminology, and discuss the current trends in the private equity market. Students are given the cash inflows and outflows for a representative investment in a venture capital fund of the type Handy hopes to invest in on behalf of Smith College. The main analytical task requires students to evaluate the expected gross and net returns generated by the representative investment under each of the different approaches and fee structures.

This case was written for an early class in courses on entrepreneurial finance, venture capital, or private equity. It can also be used in specialized courses for fund trustees interested in alternative assets.

The learning objectives have been prepared in accordance with the Blooms Taxonomy (Engelhart et al., 1984). After completion of this case, students would be able to examine and expand the concept of institutions (i.e. a sport as an institution in this case) and understand how important it is to incorporate them in the policy level decision-making (Knowledge); understand a different form of the social institution (i.e. Jallikattu) and capture its relevance for all the involved stakeholders by taking into consideration the challenges that could stem from their interplay (Application); analyze the interests of various stakeholders and their concerns that add to the complexity of a socially relevant issue (Analysis); and integrate the developments of an event (i.e. Jallikattu) over its timeline and develop an action plan for being prepared or for resolving such exigencies, especially for public policy decision making (Synthesis).

The case is centred on Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation whose primary aim is conservation and breeding of native breeds of cattle. The protagonist of the case, Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, managing trustee of this foundation, has invested significant efforts to create awareness on the importance of Jallikattu. Jallikattu is an ancient Indian sport played in the rural regions of Tamil Nadu state in India and has been in existence for over 5,000 years. This issue has come into limelight due to its initial ban by the Supreme Court of India in 2014 and its subsequent stay on the ban in 2016. While there are several arguments surrounding this controversy, the arguments can be broadly classified under those who support the ban (i.e. oppose Jallikattu) and those who oppose the ban (i.e. support Jallikattu). Due to the involvement of various stakeholders (government supreme court, animal welfare boards and breed saviour groups) with conflicting objectives, the dynamics of decision-making to settle this issue became very complicated, confusing and time-consuming for Karthikeya. By using the lens of institutions and stakeholder theory, the authors explain the issue around Jallikattu in this teaching note. Teaching note also documents the unfolding of events that happened after 12 January 2017 which succeeded in lifting the ban on Jallikattu.

The case is written for undergraduate and graduate-level students pursuing business programmes and for senior management professionals participating in the executive education programmes. The case is suitable for those who are expected to work in an environment where there is a multitude of complex, formal as well as informal institutions. This case can be used to teach the concepts of institutions, the dynamics involved and to give the flavour of the interactions between these different institutions in solving a social issue. It will fit well into courses on strategic management, social movement and institutional theory.

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.