Case studies

Teaching cases offers students the opportunity to explore real world challenges in the classroom environment, allowing them to test their assumptions and decision-making skills before taking their knowledge into the workplace.

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Case study
Publication date: 13 September 2023

Syeda Ikrama and Syeda Maseeha Qumer

Social implications are as follows: social activism; girls education; collaboration; collective action; and change agent.

Abstract

Social implications

Social implications are as follows: social activism; girls education; collaboration; collective action; and change agent.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are as follows: evaluate the role of a change agent in a nonprofit organization; understand collaborative partnerships in a nonprofit organization; examine how a nonprofit organization is promoting education in conflict-affected countries; understand the importance of education for girls as a basic human right; understand and discuss the threats to girls’ education in conflict-affected countries; analyze the role of Malala Yousafzai in supporting girls’ education globally; identify the challenges unique to educating girls; and explore steps that Yousafzai needs to take to ensure girls have equal access to the knowledge and skills they need to learn and lead in a world affected by the pandemic and climate change.

Case overview/synopsis

The case discusses social activist Malala Yousafzai’s (She) diligent efforts to promote girls’ education in conflict-affected regions globally through her not-for-profit organization Malala Fund. Co-founded in 2013, Malala Fund worked to ensure every girl globally could access 12 years of free, safe, quality education. The fund worked towards this goal by building creative partnerships and investing in its global network of education activists and advocates fighting for girls’ education in communities where most girls missed out. Malala Fund supported girls’ education programs in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, India, Brazil, Ethiopia, Turkey and Lebanon. The Fund’s projects were aimed at addressing gender norms, promoting the empowerment of girls through education, imparting gender-sensitive training for teachers and raising awareness about the need for girls’ education. In 2016, the fund created the Education Champion Network to support the work of local educators and advocates to advance.

Complexity academic level

Post-graduate level students.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CCS 11: Strategy.

Case study
Publication date: 12 September 2023

Sonya A. Grier and Bea V. Porter

The “Anti-Racism in my Pocket” case illustrates how collaborative entrepreneurial leadership can build on personal experiences, expertise and a desire to change the status quo to…

Abstract

Social implications

The “Anti-Racism in my Pocket” case illustrates how collaborative entrepreneurial leadership can build on personal experiences, expertise and a desire to change the status quo to support racial equity. The case will support students’ critical thinking skills and further heighten their understanding of the contributions of women in leadership, anti-racism and the role of technology. Moreover, the case is motivating for students with aspirations of using business skills and knowledge to contribute to social equity.

Learning outcomes

After completing this case, students should be able to identify the role of marketing in the development, implementation and evaluation of a behavior change initiative, the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets anti-racism training program; analyze qualitative and quantitative data to assess the impact of the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets Pilot using a logic model; identify marketing opportunities, challenges and strategies to scale the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets series for a broader impact; and discuss the relationship of gender in strategic positioning and marketing leadership to the development of the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets (Optional).

Case overview/synopsis

This case charts the development of an anti-racism training series by two friends, Allison Plyer (she/her) and Valerie (Val) Uccellani (she/her), called Anti-Racism Action Nuggets. The two protagonists aimed to change individual behaviors to reduce structural racism through lessons that were delivered in text messages to participants. Once the course is completed, they conduct a test pilot with members of NOW, LOVE, a women’s organization in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the end of the case, students are provided with the qualitative and quantitative pilot data for their analysis to recommend next steps and important marketing considerations for the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets series.

Complexity academic level

Undergraduate, graduate and executive education

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CCS 8: Marketing

Details

The Case For Women, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2732-4443

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 12 September 2023

Syeda Maseeha Qumer

This case is designed to enable students to understand the role of women in artificial intelligence (AI); understand the importance of ethics and diversity in the AI field;…

Abstract

Learning outcomes

This case is designed to enable students to understand the role of women in artificial intelligence (AI); understand the importance of ethics and diversity in the AI field; discuss the ethical issues of AI; study the implications of unethical AI; examine the dark side of corporate-backed AI research and the difficult relationship between corporate interests and AI ethics research; understand the role played by Gebru in promoting diversity and ethics in AI; and explore how Gebru can attract more women researchers in AI and lead the movement toward inclusive and equitable technology.

Case overview/synopsis

The case discusses how Timnit Gebru (She), a prominent AI researcher and former co-lead of the Ethical AI research team at Google, is leading the way in promoting diversity, inclusion and ethics in AI. Gebru, one of the most high-profile black women researchers, is an influential voice in the emerging field of ethical AI, which identifies issues based on bias, fairness, and responsibility. Gebru was fired from Google in December 2020 after the company asked her to retract a research paper she had co-authored about the pitfalls of large language models and embedded racial and gender bias in AI. While Google maintained that Gebru had resigned, she said she had been fired from her job after she had raised issues of discrimination in the workplace and drawn attention to bias in AI. In early December 2021, a year after being ousted from Google, Gebru launched an independent community-driven AI research organization called Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research (DAIR) to develop ethical AI, counter the influence of Big Tech in research and development of AI and increase the presence and inclusion of black researchers in the field of AI. The case discusses Gebru’s journey in creating DAIR, the goals of the organization and some of the challenges she could face along the way. As Gebru seeks to increase diversity in the field of AI and reduce the negative impacts of bias in the training data used in AI models, the challenges before her would be to develop a sustainable revenue model for DAIR, influence AI policies and practices inside Big Tech companies from the outside, inspire and encourage more women to enter the AI field and build a decentralized base of AI expertise.

Complexity academic level

This case is meant for MBA students.

Social implications

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CCS 11: Strategy

Details

The Case For Women, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2732-4443

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 11 September 2023

Shwetha Kumari and Jitesh Nair

This case is designed to achieve the following learning objectives: recognize the impact of personality traits on leadership style; identify the key elements in a turnaround…

Abstract

Learning outcomes

This case is designed to achieve the following learning objectives: recognize the impact of personality traits on leadership style; identify the key elements in a turnaround strategy; examine leadership best practices from a gender perspective; and assess the role of strategic decision-making on company growth.

Case overview/synopsis

The case study describes how Lisa Su (Su), the first woman CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, helped turn around the debt-laden semiconductor firm within a decade through her transformational leadership, vision and values. The case first touches upon Su’s early life and education and the influence of her parents in shaping her personality. It then focuses on the first half of Su’s career, during which she was working on semiconductor projects and was involved in research and product development, and how she made the gradual shift to a people management role in her stint of over a decade at IBM followed by a leadership opportunity at Freescale Semiconductor Inc. The case then describes Su’s move to AMD in 2012 as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the company’s global business divisions at a time when AMD was nearly US$2.5bn in debt and revenues had increased only once in the previous five years. There were also rumors of bankruptcy and spin-offs after the company lost more than US$1bn in the year 2012. The cas

Complexity academic level

This case is meant for MBA students as part of their Organizational Behavior, Leadership, and Strategic Management curriculum.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes Student feedback details.

Subject code

CCS 11: Strategy.

Details

The Case For Women, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2732-4443

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 11 September 2023

Jennifer Cherneski

This case presents some of the entrepreneurial challenges faced by a female leader in the technology sector who conceived a new product based on her passion to help others…

Abstract

Social implications

This case presents some of the entrepreneurial challenges faced by a female leader in the technology sector who conceived a new product based on her passion to help others especially those most disadvantaged.

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this case study, students should be able to prepare supply chain and distribution analysis that considers ethics and sustainability, integrate philanthropic efforts as part of an organizational strategy and recognize strategies to promote equity within and beyond an organization.

Case overview/synopsis

Connie Stacey (she/her) is an entrepreneur and president of Growing Greener Innovations, an award-winning battery energy storage company based in Alberta, Canada, with a mission to end energy poverty globally. With the emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic in 2020, Stacey turned her attention to an innovation called Project Rescue, a ventilator that uses non-identifying patient vitals to track data. It serves as a pandemic early warning system, addressing two key challenges: pandemic data are prone to error, and real-time information is non-existent after the pandemic has spread. This new product was conceived based on her passion to help others, especially those most disadvantaged. This multi-faceted case focuses on the many challenges that Stacey and her team needed to address. The dilemma in this case centres on establishing supply chains amid a pandemic, as well as prioritizing the corporate social responsibility elements of philanthropy and equity within her organization (and beyond).

Complexity academic level

This case is appropriate for third- or fourth-year undergraduate or graduate-level students.

Supplementary materials

In addition to “call out boxes” throughout the case and teaching note, additional readings/links/videos are outlined below. (These supplementary materials, “Teaching Tips”, are included in the teaching notes as well.)

Subject code

CCS 11: Strategy.

Details

The Case For Women, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2732-4443

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 11 September 2023

Danielle Sponder Testa

This paper aims to describe the cross-channel challenges experienced by a leading US fashion retailer and illustrates the adaptation to consumer needs as led by a female…

Abstract

Social implications

This paper aims to describe the cross-channel challenges experienced by a leading US fashion retailer and illustrates the adaptation to consumer needs as led by a female divisional head and female executive.

Learning outcomes

The teaching objectives include to understand the assortment planning complexities experienced by merchandise managers; address critical issues surrounding channel strategies; identify the data needs for assortment improvement and cross-channel management; investigate responsive solutions for customer-focused assortment diversification; and explore the challenges associated with continual retail channel adaptation.

Case overview/synopsis

The fashion retailer Spirit & Free (S&F) (pseudonym) is a Fortune 500 retailer. As a multi-channel retailer, S&F is proud of the consistency of the brand’s identity across channels. However, recently, S&F has noticed a difference between their mobile (m-commerce, social commerce) and in-store/e-commerce customers. Through this case study, students will follow the Women’s Apparel Divisional Merchandise Manager and explore how the business will maintain a consistent brand identity and capture both sets of customers through assortment planning. Resources will be provided for assortment planning analysis, and students will be asked to consider assortment opportunities regarding category mix and pricing strategy.

Complexity academic level

The case would be relevant to upper-level undergraduate courses or introductory master's level course in retail, management, fashion merchandising and omni-channel retail.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CCS 8: Marketing

Case study
Publication date: 8 December 2022

Lesego Tladinyane, Lungelo Gumede and Geoff Bick

This case study is intended to supplement postgraduate business learning with the facilitation of an academic practitioner. The case draws on a culmination of subjects, and the…

Abstract

Subject area of the teaching case:

This case study is intended to supplement postgraduate business learning with the facilitation of an academic practitioner. The case draws on a culmination of subjects, and the participants are encouraged to juxtapose the case information with their professional experiences; however, the primary focus of the case material will be centred on strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Student level:

The primary audience for the teaching case is management education programmes including: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip), specialist Masters in Management, and certain Executive Education programmes.

Brief overview of the teaching case:

This case is about protagonist Ndabenhle Junior Ngulube, the cofounder of an innovative technology-enabled insurance intermediary company called Pineapple. The company has identified an opportunity to resolve the inherent conflict of interest within the insurance industry, as well as the grudge association of non-life insurance purchases. While the competitive landscape of the sector is traditionally dominated by a few large incumbent market participants, Pineapple's digital distribution strategy is more effective at converting ‘clicks-to-clients’, at a fraction of the typical customer acquisition cost. The peer-to-peer business model also allows for superior risk-selection, greater affinity, and lower incidents of fraudulent claims. Ndabenhle and the team develop the company's customer acquisition strategy by drawing on technological trends, reputation drivers, and a concentrated social media approach that focusses on trust, access, product, and value. But, as 2020 begins, Ndabenhle faces choices about the means and methods of scaling the business operation. The case documents the first few years of Pineapple's operations, with a strong focus on business model innovation, distribution, scalability, and technological integration.

Expected learning outcomes:

To analyse the role disruptive technologies play within sectoral business model innovation

To evaluate the industry-specific competitive business landscape and complexities of building and maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage within a niche market segment

To assess the strategic growth opportunities for an emerging market Insurtech disruptor

To critically appraise the entrepreneurial complexities faced by decision-makers when looking to challenge incumbent market leaders

Details

The Case Writing Centre, University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2633-8505
Published by: The Case Writing Centre, University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 12 May 2022

Syeda Maseeha Qumer and Syeda Ikrama

This case is meant for MBA students as a part of their leadership/information technology and system curriculum. It is suitable for classes in both offline and online mode.

Abstract

Study level/applicability

This case is meant for MBA students as a part of their leadership/information technology and system curriculum. It is suitable for classes in both offline and online mode.

Subject area

Human resources management/information technology and systems.

Case overview

The case discusses how Poppy Gustafsson (Gustafsson) (she), Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Darktrace plc, one of the world’s largest cyber-AI companies, is reinventing enterprise security by using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and respond to cyberthreats to businesses and protect the public. Darktrace’s technology leverages the principles of the human immune system to autonomously defend organizations from cyberattacks, insider threats and AI warfare. In addition to leading a cutting-edge cybersecurity company, Gustafsson evangelizes gender diversity at Darktrace where 40% of employees and four C-level executives are women, a number nearly unheard of in the tech sector.The case chronicles the journey of Gustafsson and how she led the company to growth and success. Under her leadership, Darktrace has grown into a market leader in the AI cybersecurity space serving 5,600 customers in 100 countries, as of June 2021. Gustafsson not only redefined the cybersecurity space but also inspired women to pursue a career in the field of cybersecurity. She also collaborated with a social enterprise called WISE to encourage more girls to consider STEM careers.However, along the way, she faced several challenges including growing competition, procuring funds from investors, cybersecurity talent shortage and training personnel. Going forward, some of the challenges before Gustafsson would be to meet the changing cyber protection demands of customers; hire, train and retain highly skilled cybersecurity personnel; beat the competition in a saturated cybersecurity services space; sustain revenue growth; and post profits as Darktrace had incurred losses every year since its inception.

Expected learning outcomes

This case is designed to enable students to: understand the issues and challenges women face in the field of cybersecurity; understand the qualities required for a woman leader to lead a technology firm; study the leadership and management style of Gustafsson; understand the importance of transformational leadership in management; understand the role of Gustafsson in Darktrace’s growth and success; analyze the traits that Gustafsson possesses as a tech leader in an emerging cybersecurity space; understand the importance of gender diversity in cybersecurity; and analyze the challenges faced by Gustafsson going forward and explore ways in which she can overcome them.

Subject code

CSS: 11 Strategy.

Details

The Case For Women, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2732-4443

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 3 May 2022

Amy Fisher Moore and Tracey Toefy

The case can be used at undergraduate and postgraduate level, in management development programmes or in Executive Education programmes.

Abstract

Study level/applicability

The case can be used at undergraduate and postgraduate level, in management development programmes or in Executive Education programmes.

Subject area

Social entrepreneurship, social inclusion, business model innovation, sustainability, strategy design and strategy execution.

Case overview

The case explores the development of MITTI Café, an organisation that trains and employs individuals with intellectual, physical and/or psychiatric disabilities to work in inclusive kitchens and cafes in India. The protagonist is the founder of the café, Alina Alam, who has won several international awards for her work. The case highlights Alam’s approach and how she is trying to challenge societal and business perspectives relating to disability. From 2017 to 2021, Alam has scaled and operationalised the business, building her core team, leveraging several partnerships with stakeholders and putting into place offerings, processes and procedures that created a sustainable business model and blueprint.MITTI Café aligns itself with several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with sustainability and social impact at the core of its strategy. As Alam considers the future in July 2021, what else needs to be taken into consideration to scale either within India or abroad?

Expected learning outcomes

Following reading and exploring the case, students should be able to identify how social exclusion and inclusion manifests in a business context, and how social entrepreneurship ventures such as MITTI Café can address this challenge; identify capabilities in the context of people with disabilities; recognise how stakeholder relationships can be leveraged as a force for good and for growth, and address SDGs through social enterprise; identify and categorise resources and capabilities within organisations; evaluate opportunities for growth and scale.

Social implications

The case explores how the protagonist is challenging the concept of “ability” and through her work with the differently abled providing scalable opportunities for social inclusion and dignity.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy.

Case study
Publication date: 29 June 2021

Sebastian Prim and Mikael Samuelsson

The case is suitable for strategy or entrepreneurship modules. It is designed to teach students about the importance of implementing formal processes when entering a growth phase…

Abstract

Subject area of the teaching case:

The case is suitable for strategy or entrepreneurship modules. It is designed to teach students about the importance of implementing formal processes when entering a growth phase as well as the complexities, unexpected costs, and benefits that growing a business can bring.

Student level:

The case is aimed at MBA or Master-level students or executive education programmes as part of a strategy or entrepreneurship module.

Brief overview of the teaching case:

Lattice Towers is a South African company in the telecommunications infrastructure sector. They are struggling to generate sufficient cash flow to sustain operations as a result of poor strategic decision-making regarding tower-build site acquisition. To compound matters, the owner has been struggling with health issues related to the stress caused by the crises that Lattice Towers is going through. Recently, however, a multinational publicly listed behemoth in the telecommunications industry, Helios Towers, offered to acquire the company. The acquisition offer seems like a saving grace to the owner; however, Lattice Towers is deeply personal to the him and he would not like to lose the brand. Furthermore, there is a tremendous opportunity for business growth due to the imminent increase in demand for tower infrastructure. But based on the challenging financial position the business currently finds itself in, he might not have the option to keep the business.

Expected learning outcomes:

To develop a decision-making framework and strategy to navigate the business life-cycle stages, from survival to growth

Understand the concepts of uncertainty, risk, and liquidity premiums that apply to entrepreneurship

Understand the stress-related implications for entrepreneurs

Understand the psychological costs and benefits of entrepreneurship

Understand the personal financial implications for entrepreneurship

Details

The Case Writing Centre, University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2633-8505
Published by: The Case Writing Centre, University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business

Keywords

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