Case studies

The case delves into the significant factors contributing to the steep decline of Sintex shares, examining both external and internal factors. Internally, the primary drivers were the expansion plan, the demerger decision, financial mismanagement and the delayed and inadequate integration of Information Technology (IT) into the business.

Sintex, a prominent private sector company listed in the Indian stock markets, operated in the textile and plastics sectors. However, in 2017, Sintex underwent a demerger into two separate entities: Sintex Industries Limited (SIL) and Sintex Plastics Technology Limited (SPTL). While SIL focused on textiles, SPTL dealt with plastics. However, soon after the demerger, the share prices of both companies began plummeting, leading to significant losses for investors. This case investigates the reasons behind this decline through a step-by-step analysis.

This case is suitable for postgraduate students pursuing an MBA, MMS and executive programs such as PGDBM and PGDM, with a specialization in business strategy. It is also beneficial for participants in management development programs (MDPs) designed for higher level executives. Additionally, the case can serve as training material for executives undergoing strategic role training within an organization. It is recommended to teach the case toward the end of the course, where the instructor can provide a summary of the previous classes’ teachings.

CCS7: Management Science

Tom Gould, an entrepreneur, had been operating Treadwell’s Ice Cream, a small ice cream restaurant since 2000. Treadwell’s Ice Cream had been preparing its financial statements under cash basis. Tom Gould turned over all his receipts, both personal and business expenses, to his bookkeeper who entered them into QuickBooks. At tax time, his tax accountant excluded non-qualifying expenses from the tax filing. Periodically, Tom met with his bookkeeper to determine the results of operations and financial position at the end of that period of time. Most of Treadwell’s transactions were easily recognized by Tom, who preferred to pay all expenses by cash rather than credit. However, the bookkeeper had not been separating operating from non-operating activities, and had been using multiple accounts to record the same or similar costs. Therefore, the current income statement and balance sheet were not appropriately categorized and organized. In addition, since the bookkeeper was not a tax account, business expenses had been mixed with Tom Gould’s personal expenses on the income statement. There were no adjustment to the income statement after the tax accountant identified non-qualifying expenses when preparing tax filing. As Tom and his wife were considering turning over more day to day operations to his son and hiring a non-family member as a manager to help his son, he would need the books to provide an accurate picture of the business.

Primary source materials included interviews with the owner, Thomas Gould, his son, Michael Gould, and their Accountant, Tom Mallas. Secondary source materials included monthly and annual financial data from QuickBooks (monthly data are available upon request but are not relevant to the case discussion). Other secondary source materials included geographic, economic, industry, and competitors’ information.

This case is well suited for an introductory level undergraduate financial accounting course, after accrual accounting and accounting information systems (accounting cycles) have been introduced. When analyzing this case, students will apply concepts and principles of financial statement preparation. The case is also appropriate to serve as a review of accrual accounting, and of income statement and balance sheet preparation at the beginning of an intermediate level financial accounting course. Students can be asked to reformat the income statement from the single-step format to the multiple-step format. By working through financial statements with common errors found in small businesses, students can practice identifying these errors, thus providing a review of the various sections of the income statement and prepare students for more in-depth discussions of each section. In a tax course, this case can stimulate discussions on non-qualifying expenses and common shortcomings in small business accounting.

Located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, Eastern Truss Company produced trusses used in construction of both large warehouses and custom homes. This case presents the student with the opportunity to analyze the critical factors associated with the decision of whether Eastern should adopt a new production technology and whether cash flows from reduction of temporary workers will cover adoption coasts. The student must evaluate the decision to adopt the production technology through the lens of operations management tools. This case is appropriate for undergraduate business studies in the field of operations management.

Case study.

Undergraduate operations management.

Controladora Comercial Mexicana, a Mexican retailer, had successfully managed the bankruptcy process and was ready to emerge from its problems, primarily caused by speculation and excessive debt, and begin operations anew. Was the restructured Comerci capable of regaining its position as a premier retailer, and more importantly, was the firm capable of repaying the high level of debt that it carried following bankruptcy reorganization? How strong was the reorganized firm? Had Comerci truly left its problems behind in bankruptcy court, or would history repeat itself? How could Comerci raise funds needed for growth – through additional debt? Though asset sales?

This case was researched using publicly available information, including the company's financial statements, bankruptcy filings, news stories about the bankruptcy and financial data bases (e.g. ISI Emerging Markets, Economática, Capital IQ, etc.) to obtain information about the competitors and from financial analysts.

This case is intended for advanced undergraduate or MBA electives in finance. Students should have a basic understanding of valuation and financing before attempting this case. The case could also be used in a corporate finance or banking class to illustrate bankruptcy and credit risk, or could be used in an international business class to illustrate the differences between USA and international bankruptcies.

During the downturn in the economy, EILEEN FISHER Inc., which had been experiencing significant growth in the years leading up to 2008, had to take some widespread organizational strategic action or potentially lose $11 million. Eileen Fisher and the Facilitating Leadership Team (FLT) met to reflect on the actions that were taken in the last 18 months in order to reshape their organization. From the beginning, the FLT had been transparent with the 800 employees in the organization, informing them that they were facing serious losses. They shared not only identified issues, but their deep faith in the EILEEN FISHER collaborative culture a faith that was reflected in their first step to planning. Turning to the employees, they had asked, What should we do? Teams throughout the company figured out new ways of working and recaptured EILEEN FISHER's profit. Reflecting on the reshaping of EILEEN FISHER and the many actions taken, the FLT team wondered if the creation of the new normal was sound and sustainable for the future. Students must evaluate the effectiveness of EILEEN FISHER's leadership system and determine whether the company can survive the economic downturn while remaining true to the company's core values.

The case is a field-research case and was funded as part of a sabbatical to study leadership at EILEEN FISHER Inc. The primary goal of the long-term project was to research and write cases on socially minded women leaders through an inclusive conceptual lens. Extensive planning with the Chief Culture Officer at EILEEN FISHER resulted in an 18-month deep dive with over 40 in-depth interviews, extensive observation of many different teams and meetings particularly the monthly Leadership Forums, thorough review of internal communications as well as review of other secondary research.

This case was written for advanced undergraduate or graduate organizational management, retail management and strategic change students. The case is best taught later in the course where students are asked to connect various leadership or strategic change theories with organizations and outcomes. The theoretical readings are more suited for advanced leadership students and are a springboard for in-depth analysis and further assignments. The case demonstrates the power of a values-based organization and how this values-based leadership style can be used to reshape an organization. This case can also be used for a retail management course to look at a values-based organization in the retailing industry. Most retailers in the industry have traditional hierarchical organizations; this case shows that there are alternative business models and newer leadership frameworks that explain EILEEN FISHER's management. Retailers are also impacted by every downturn in the economy and challenge to consumer confidence. This case shows how a retail organization can reshape itself with a new value proposition as a result of a downturn in the economy. It also demonstrates how employees can take action and redefine an organization.

In January, 2015, Chipotle stopped serving pork at a third of its 1,800 restaurants due to its discovery that a pork supplier was not meeting Chipotle's “Food with Integrity” standards. This case examines the trade-offs Chipotle faced in maintaining its focus on sustainable ingredients as the chain grew rapidly. Demand for healthier ingredients by others in the industry and scalability problems in sustainable agricultural production suggested that supply shortages and higher prices were likely threats to Chipotle's continued rapid growth. Could Chipotle maintain its commitment to “Food with Integrity” when the supply of sustainable foods failed to meet demand or should the company just buy available ingredients regardless of farming methods?

This case was developed from both secondary and primary sources. The secondary sources included industry reports, company annual reports, news reports, social media sites and company websites. Primary sources included video interviews with Chipotle executives (available on the company's website) and visits to Chipotle restaurants in several cities. This case has been classroom tested with MBA students in a capstone course and with undergraduates in a strategic management course.

This case was written for use in Strategic Management classes at the undergraduate and MBA levels. The focus of the case aligns well with discussions of competitive advantage, firm performance and business level strategy. The case also has application in discussions regarding implementation of strategy. Instructors that choose to emphasize sustainability strategies could assign this case to explore trade-offs between profitability, sustainability and growth. Additionally, the case could be used in supply chain management courses.

This case utilizes a stakeholder analysis approach to examine the trade-offs between sustainability initiatives, growth and performance. The resource-based model of VRIO is used to analyze the firm's competitive advantage.

The case presents a financing dilemma at a fast growing, Brazilian construction company. The growing demand for residential and commercial real estate in Brazil, coupled with the capital intensive nature of the industry generates the need for a considerable external financing. The students are invited to take the perspective of the financial manager and evaluate three financing alternatives – an issue of debentures, a seasoned equity offering, and a capital-raising ADR offering. In their evaluation and final recommendation students need to consider the implications of each of the financing alternatives on firm value, equity risk, cost of capital, financial leverage, issuance costs, and ownership structure. The case also presents a valuable opportunity to discuss the interdependence between the institutional development of an economy and the development of its capital markets.

This case describes what happened when three Boston area hotels, the Hyatt Regency Boston, the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, and the Hyatt Harborside, decided, during the 2009 recession, to layoff all their housekeepers and replace them with employees from an outsourcing company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The action created a public relations nightmare for the company. In 2009 many other organizations had implemented layoffs with little reaction from the public. Students are asked to think about why the Hyatt Hotels had been singled out. Was the main problem their decision, or the communication and implementation of their decision, and what could they have done differently?

This case illustrates the tax implications of a movie produced in a foreign country that resulted in a loss. Teaching opportunities include the application of tax rules to a Schedule C business loss and a resulting net operating loss (NOL) deduction, the consideration of hobby and passive activity losses, the tax treatment of funds received in a divorce settlement, and how an individual might handle a possible IRS examination. Students are asked to prepare a revised Form 1040 for the movie business loss and the individual NOL deduction based on evidence provided in the case. Sufficient information is provided in the case to identify audit “red flags” in a tax return. Using the tale of an actual movie production in a foreign country and its consequent tax implications can provide an attractive alternative to teaching tax accounting rules that are often considered by students as “dry”.

This case features a county planning director as he approves or turns down a permit application for the Harvest Wind Farm Project, located in Klickitat County on the Columbia Plateau in Washington State. The utilities involved and Klickitat County stood to benefit through new revenue generation and a favorable federal construction grant associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and certain landowners stood to make substantial royalties. However, other landowners were also worried about declining property values, environmental groups had raised objections to the effect of turbines on the pristine Columbia River view, and uncertainty about health effects had recently become more of an issue. Nationally, “wind turbine syndrome” and “shadow-flicker” effects had been linked to wind farm operations. Given these concerns and the uncertainty, would the gains to stakeholders justify signing off on the project?