Case studies

The Global Networks Company (GNC), headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, made its global footprint in India in 1994 by establishing a presence in Bangalore. Although mainly a sales support office, GNC grew name recognition from its contracts with India’s government to help build nationwide networks. Not quite 20 years later, GNC decided to further invest in India and tapped a manager from the Boston office, Jim Notrika, to establish and then manage GNC’s first global software center in Mumbai. Split between Mumbai and Boston, the project team successfully completed several minor projects, but only months into its first major project, the team was struggling to meet deadlines. Blame was being passed in both directions, and when three talented engineers in Mumbai quit, Notrika makes an emergency trip to Mumbai to better understand the problem.

This case describes three common cross-cultural communication obstacles in teams: a preference for direct versus indirect confrontation of problems; a clash of collectivist versus individualistic cultural values related to reporting bad news or giving negative feedback; and different expectations of team leaders based on power-distance values.

In the first case of a two-part series, a strategic finance manager at Wells Fargo with experience installing solar panel systems on bank branches crunches the numbers for a similar project in the Los Angeles area given the uncertain future of a government rebate.

The Vigeo case is used in Darden’s Global EMBA “Business Ethics” course. The case raises the issue of how we determine what constitutes a socially responsible business, and how to apply that idea in a global context. It therefore could also be used effectively in courses in marketing, finance, or global economies and markets.

With a global leadership and sustainability perspective, this field-based case uses Vigeo, a European leader among environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating agencies headquartered in Paris, to set the stage for an analysis of what it means to be a socially responsible business. It allows for an exploration of decision-making and moral overtones that are often difficult to resolve. The material also lets students explore the idea of global values-are there such things, and if so, what are they? The case opens with a summary of issues that include how CEO Nicole Notat plans to grow the company in 2012. She had to take a strategic view of where the SRI market was going and be prepared. The board had asked Notat to think more strategically about China. Would Vigeo adapt existing services and products to the Chinese market? Would entering an emerging market such as China mean rethinking the business model from the ground up? How would either strategy fit with the company’s overall mission?

This case is also available in French. Contact DBP to obtain the French version.

A 2010 MBA graduate explored her options for full-time employment. She found Ethical Business Company (EBC) and was instantly intrigued. Not only did the company consult on many of the ethical issues that were important to her, but it also had a flat organizational structure. Although it was a riskier choice than going with a larger and more established firm, she was excited about being able to use her skills in direct interaction with clients and senior executives, rather than having them hidden beneath multiple layers of hierarchy. But after three weeks at EBC, she wonders if a flat structure is right for all companies and all employees or if there are certain companies and people who fit better in the hierarchy more than others.

In this case, the situation is a classic duopoly. Two shipping firms are in a price war over the market for containerized shipping to and from a small Caribbean island. The case presents a table of contributions to both firms as a function of their prices. This table serves as a basis by which the class can explore the concepts of Nash equilibrium, price leadership, and prisoner’s dilemma. It is also available with the case as a student spreadsheet (QA-0355X). See also “Lesser Antilles Lines (B)” (UVA-QA-0641) and “Lesser Antilles Lines (C)” (UVA-QA-0670).

The organizers of a music festival may use video from the Friday concert to create a DVD to sell to those who come to the Saturday concert. Attendance on Saturday is uncertain, as is the percentage of those who attend on Saturday who will buy the DVD. Is this a good project? If so, what number of DVDs should be burned early Saturday morning and offered for sale at that evening’s performance? By that time, Friday attendance is known, as well as whether it rained on Friday, and there is a forecast for whether it will rain on Saturday. Historical information on these variables may help us predict Saturday attendance using multiple regression; together with the results of a marketing survey, such analysis will help us make better purchasing decisions. This case series (see also the B case, UVA-QA-0708) can be used to illuminate a multitude of concepts that are covered in basic decision-analysis courses. The series starts by examining the role of uncertainty in decision-making, proceeds through the estimation of probability distributions from sample data with multiple regression, culminates in the development of a full decision model, and ends with a qualitative and quantitative analysis (with a tornado diagram) of how to add value and reduce risk. Key pitfalls for students are failing to recognize both limits on sales (supply and demand), incomplete reasoning in the determination of the attendance probability distribution, and oversimplifying the full forecast model.

David Walker, a senior attorney in a busy white-shoe law practice is involved in an in-office dispute between his administrative assistant and a respected colleague. He had spent numerous hours listening to both sides tell their stories and has no answers. How was he ever going to help two people he valued greatly work out a compromise between their extremely polar positions? The case provides opportunities to explore the sources of interpersonal conflict, causes of escalation, and ways of diffusing and resolving it.

This case presents the dilemma faced by Danville Airlines’ management when one of its best pilots is found to have the inherited gene for Huntington’s disease. Although he inevitably will develop the physically and mentally debilitating disease, the pilot, who has yet to experience symptoms, does not want to step down from his position. Danville Airlines explores the complicated issues of employee rights versus public safety, employee rights to privacy, and genetic testing and its effects on employees and management.