Case studies

HRM, training, strategic HRM.

The case is designed for undergraduate and graduate level business students (BBA and MBA) in human resource management, organizational behavior, strategic HRM, corporate leadership and general management. The case provides an overview of the importance of diffused HRM practices in developing countries on the basis of standardized rules and cultural values defining these rules. The case presents the situation of HR management practices in SIH, Islamabad on the basis of different styles followed by HR managers to develop an egalitarian model aspired on the basis of local values but at the same time is on the line of international standards.

In Shifa, It was observed that locally trained HR managers could better synchronize employees' aspirations with standards of diffused model as compared to foreign trained managers. It was found that the former group of professionals appreciated local values; therefore they considered these values while following standardized rules and regulation; whereas the latter group took it as a bunch of obsolete concepts which had nothing to do with employee management practices in urban/modern organization. Therefore, positive perception of locally trained managers' about the indigenous' wisdom and its consideration in employee management decisions enabled them to play a proactive role in developing cultural fit HR practices, besides winning the support of both, management and the workers. This also allowed them to “maintain balance” between local aspiration and international standards of operations. Although SIH is unique in terms of its mission, services, organization, and its use of technology, it is believed that this unique case may provide useful insights for organizations in similar situations. Many of the difficulties faced by SIH either support or help to understand situations prevailing of other organizations working in the context of Pakistan. For instance, any public or private organization or multi-national corporation following Western (diffused) HR model to regulate workforce in the local setting can get benefit from this research.

The teaching objectives of the cases are apprehend the importance of diffused HRM practices in developing countries context. importance of indigenous wisdom of flexibility and culturally fit HR practices as a proactive approach towards HR issues handling the case of Mr Shahbaz and Ms Aysha Ahmad. Importance of social networking and controlled personalized models for employee regulation, e.g. case of Mr Abid Elahi.

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The case primarily deals with the HR issues confronted by a US telecom company entering India for software development.

The case can be used of MBA and BA level courses in human resource management and international management.

The focus of the case is on the international HR issues that emerge and how this company goes about solving its challenges of charting an international course. The telecom company establishes an Indian subsidiary, USTC-I, for this purpose and recruits fresh graduates and experienced professionals for USTC-I. The case describes the human resources challenges faced by Todd Johns, an HR Manager with the US company as the company attempts to recruit professional for USTC-I. This case deals with specific HR tools and techniques that can, and perhaps, should be used in identifying, recruiting, hiring and retaining employees.

Students should be able to: evaluate the current situation of the organization and offer possible remedies and solutions for improving future human resource practices in a global context, identify and analyze the effectiveness of how HR tools (recruiting methods, interviews, selection methods, orientation programs, reward systems) are implemented, develop a plan for improvement of HR recruiting and selection in an international context, explain the factors and problems that can undermine an interview's usefulness, and techniques for eliminating these problems in an international context, explain the pros and cons of background investigations, reference checks, and pre-employment information services in an international context.

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Human resource management.

The case can be used on courses related to human resources management (HRM), which are offered in management programmes like MBA/PGDBM. The case could also be used in management development programmes, seminars and workshops that have HRM as a component of the programme. The case can be used effectively for classroom discussions as well as in distance learning programmes.

The case looks into the HRM practices at a leading Indian construction company – ABC Constructions. The case tries to explain the management perspectives behind the people practice initiatives undertaken by the company in order to recruit/retain and nurture talent. The case also explains the basic principles underlying its human resource policies. It tries to explain the initiatives taken by ABC Constructions to meet the challenges posed by the changing business environment, as the company moves beyond the borders of the country of its initial operations. The case provides an overview of unique challenges faced by a company in the Indian construction industry, where a significant number of people executing its projects are not its permanent employees.

The students would get a fairly good understanding of existing good practices in the field of human resource management, especially in the context of a multifaceted and labour intensive construction industry in the Indian corporate scenario. Anecdotes of actual experiences with respect to people management would facilitate greater understanding of the complexities involved at the grass root level of functioning and implementation. Theoretical inputs relating to training could be better understood through the customised programmes provided by the company for its diverse workforce. The HR challenges faced by the top management as a company grows and expands to new markets can better be understood.

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Human resource management.

Postgraduate and graduate management programs.

Watson and Lilly (W&L) Berhad is the subsidiary of Wanger Group of Company, established in 1822 by Wanger Watson Group, and engages with transportation and logistics, communication and media, and electricity storage activities. The company provides freight forwarding by air, sea, and land, warehousing and distribution, industrial logistics, and stevedoring and port services. The case is all about the issues related to operations and human resource management in W&L Berhad, company in Malaysia. The company management observed that there has been an increasing trend on the number of mis-shipment. The investigation report was too worrisome to the Managing Director. The mis-shipment recorded in September 2011 was 5.91 per cent and by the end of first quarter in November 2012, the mis-shipment increased to 6.71 per cent. On the second quarter starting from December 2012, the mis-shipment continues to increase to 6.99 per cent and by February 2013, the mis-shipment was at 7.56 per cent. An independent consultancy was assigned to analyze the root causes of the issues. The agency found that the business having high operating cost due to operational inefficiency, documentation issues and human resource issues. The case study proposed several solutions to enhance the manpower efficiency, operational effectiveness, and achieving customer's satisfaction.

Learning the nature of business: to explain the nature of freight and forward business and the base of W&L Berhad, Malaysia. Nature of business operation issues: the case can be used to examine the issues of business operations due to mis-shipment in freight and forward companies. Nature of manpower issues: the case can be used to examine the issues of manpower in correlation with a mis-shipment of freight and forward companies. Integrating business and operational issues with customer delight and business loss. Strategic intervention: instructor can explore varied strategic interventions that curb the operational and manpower issues that may lead to business growth and development in freight and forward companies, achieving customer's satisfaction.

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Tourism & Hospitality

Post graduate

The South African-based Sun International Group (SI) develops, operates and manages hotels, resorts and casinos. In its mission statement, SI describes itself as a “leisure group offering superior gaming, hotel and entertainment experiences”. In 1984, SI was listed in the travel and leisure sector on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. SI is looking for growth opportunities.

Strategic options analysis to create new market spaces. Practical application of blue ocean thinking frameworks.

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Leadership development for strategic impact in high growth export driven organization.

The case is suitable for second and final year students of a two year post graduate management programme (Master's level) on the following courses: leadership – on development of organization wide leadership processes; talent management – for identifying, nurturing and retaining talent in an organization and for developing leadership capabilities in managers; and strategic human resources (HR) – regarding building leadership development and talent management initiatives for creating a strategic level impact in the organization and its joint ventures.

In about 45 years since its inception Anand Automotive Limited (AAL) has established itself as one of the premium firms in auto ancillary manufacturing and export. This case demonstrates how AAL built its leadership development programme. Further, the case elaborates on the coach/coachee mentorship programme at AAL. The case further explores the various initiatives under the broad umbrella of the Anand Leadership Development Programme (ALDP). The ALDP process has been woven into the fabric of HR practices of the organization. AAL sales turnover was USD1.2 billion in 2012 and it has a goal to achieve a turnover of USD2 billion by 2015. Mr K.C. Bhullar, the group head HR, had to plan an HR system which will embed leadership in the tapestry of AAL as an organization. The amalgamation of ALDP in AAL has to be disseminated across all levels at the 19 plants spread across different locations in India. The ALDP is expected to sprout a large number of leaders in AAL who can usher in an extremely quality focused and conscious organization. Such leaders would in their day-to-day demonstration of leadership at AAL help AAL to become an excellent manufacturing organization. This would help AAL to have a leadership position in the global automobile market. ALDP is also expected to create a band of leaders who would help the organization from very senior level strategic management positions and play leadership roles in its joint ventures.

This case can help students to understand how HR practices integrate leadership development programme for the strategic gains of an organization. Students would also understand the role of mentorship in coach/coachee processes.

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Human resource development/management and change management, leadership, entrepreneurial development and indigenous innovation.

The case is suitable for final year undergraduate human resource development/management, change management, indigenous innovation, or specialist HRM Master's program (strategic HRM/HRD) students.

The case study highlights the challenges of managing change and growth in India's dynamic business process outsourcing sector. The choice of a small organisation brings to the fore the impact of the strategic decisions owners of capital place on managers as they address issues of sustained growth to support short-term expectations of shareholders. The case highlights India's indigenous approach to frugal innovation or jugaad (finding a creative and improvised work around); how a group of managers consistently reinvented the business model and human resource management practices to stay afloat and meet shareholder expectations.

Depending on the teaching programme and the emphasis of this case in the class, one or more of the following learning outcomes (LO) can be achieved from this case study. These LO have been developed using Bloom's taxonomy and they progressively move from simple to complex LO. Following the case analysis, students should be able to: discuss the key challenges faced by Transcribe and Tally (T&T); identify and analyse the various influences of internal and external factors on training provision; understand the importance of an external network of service provision and identify the key training and organisational capabilities; analyse the dynamic interactions between the various factors and training provision; analyse the relationship between T&T's competitive strategy and its strategic choices (make versus buy) towards investing in training; evaluate the role of training in developing organisational capabilities; and strategize a way forward for Roy Thakur.

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Public management, sustainability.

The case is suitable for undergraduate and masters' courses.

The case is about the dilemma between the lucrative economic profit from swiftlet farming and the invaluable heritage and social wellbeing of the residents in a world heritage city. In 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued a letter to the Malaysian government expressing concern over the issue of the swiftlet industry in Georgetown, Penang. Swiftlet farming is a lucrative agriculture sector in Malaysia and is considered one of the key projects under the Malaysian Economic Transformation Program. Yet, this industry posed a threat to the well being of George Town due to its impact towards the city's heritage status. The operation of swiftlet farms in shop houses in George Town not only forces residents to coexist with thousands of swiftlets in the populated city, but also deteriorates the condition of its heritage buildings. A quick solution by the government authorities is needed in order to respond to UNESCO's enquiries. A fair consideration looking at the aspects of economy, environment and society is vital in ensuring the future of the city.

These include: understanding the complex issues of trade-offs between economic profit vis-à-vis the environmental social heritage; understanding and appreciating the conflicting governmental objectives and the way to address the conflicting demands of the stakeholders (NGOs, industry and business association and the general public); identifying and determining ways to align environmental interests with economic interests in order to formulate sustainable solutions; and formulating an action plan and providing practical recommendations to solve the problem.

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This case provides useful material for discussion on topics such as sustainability, business continuity, corporate social responsibility and green IT.

The case could be used in different areas of business management such as general management, information systems and business strategy.

The case presents the progressive evolution of Infosys Limited from its beginnings through different stages of innovation and consolidation in the IT services industry. Senior executives at Infosys believe that the sustainability initiative at Infosys is not a new movement, but a logical extension of the company's long standing commitment to society and environment. Sustainability was a key agenda at Infosys and it was deeply ingrained in the company's ethos and the way in which it operated. The case also articulates the company's commitment to sustainability as evidenced by the involvement of the top management in providing leadership. From an academic standpoint the case provides pointers to look at how the IT services industry has responded to sustainability practices and how sustainability practices are different or similar across various firms.

The case can help students to answer the following questions: How is sustainability different from corporate social responsibility? What is the context in which Infosys' attention turned towards sustainability? How is top management involved in Infosys' sustainability initiative? What are the elements of Infosys' sustainability strategy? How does it build on its core strengths? What are the structural mechanisms the company has provided to implement its sustainability strategy? What internal challenges to change while implementing green solutions were foreseen and overcome by Infosys? How competitive is Infosys' sustainability practices with respect to its competitors? How does it help the company in competing in the market?

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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 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?

Labour relations management, business management, HRM, focusing on the labour relations of Chinese enterprises.

This case is designed for students in schools of business or management, undergraduate MBA or executive MBA classes. Students should already have a basic knowledge about Chinese labour relations, HRM, and organizational development.

In 2004, a deal transformed Anhui Xuanjiu Group from a state-owned enterprise (SOE) to a private company. Li Jian, the Chairman of Xuanjiu Group, focused on creating happiness for employees. Thanks to Li Jian's efforts, Xuanjiu emrged from its crisis which was formed in the planned economy system. After several years of development, the labour relations management of Anhui Xuanjiu Group became a model among private enterprises in China.

Students can gain new insights into labour relations in China. The case provides an example of building friendly labour relations to avoid labour disputes. It provides a set of measures for retaining and motivating workers.

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Organisational behaviour, business reengineering and management of change, human resources management.

This case study is intended for undergraduate and post-graduate management degrees. It includes courses on organizational behaviour, human resources management, marketing, business management, travel and tourism and strategic management.

Zim-Zum Welcome Hotel is a hotel in Zimbabwe in the travel and tourism sector. It was facing high turnover of employees and this was affecting the business through continuous hiring and training. The organization decided to introduce changes completely changing the way it does things, focusing on satisfying employees as well as customers. The new approach yielded favourable results, labour turnover dropped significantly and business improved greatly. In an effort to improve service, and increase profit, Zim-Zum has begun radically changing the way it hires, trains and deploys frontline workers. Management also examined how waiters and waitress do their job and concluded that there was supposed to be a division of labour between them and culinary staff. Management of Zim-Zum believe that companies that excel at managing frontline workers understand that excellent service is more than just a transaction.

Students can focus on: the importance of redesigning work so that superior service satisfies both the employee and the customer; human resources management is an important factor in improving employee performance and business performance; the importance of external and internal customers in improving company performance.

Mission and vision for strategic management of non governmental organizations.

This case can be used for strategic management course (with a focus on vision and mission), particularly for the management of non governmental organizations (NGOs) (with a focus on discovering and defining directions).

Shraddhanand Mahila Ashram completed 83 years of its existence in 2011. Sharadhanand Mahila Ashram has been managed by the Hindu women's welfare society. The organization for the last eight decades has been caring for destitute women, orphans up to six years old, and caring for girls till they reached 18 years of age. The Ashram has also been taking care of mentally and physically challenged orphans. The Ashram over the years changed its policies and practices to be in tune with the social requirements in the changing environment. Up to the close of the first decade of the 21st century the Ashram had been providing traditional training to the young ladies and then subsequently would marry them. In the last two decades beginning 1991, because of the economic development of India and the economic integration of India with the West, cultural changes had transpired in Indian society. Women in general have been becoming more empowered and economically independent. Given this context the committee members of the Ashram were contemplating on the future guidance to the girls of the Ashram for making them empowered and independent individuals. This would shift the established policies and practices of the Ashram and lead to a new vision.

The case would help students to reflect on the significance of mission and vision statement of an NGO. The case would further help students to understand the day to day working practices of an NGO as derived from mission and mission statements. The students will be able to comprehend the need for review and change in mission and vision statements. The students will also be able to understand how mission and vision statements aligned to the organizational practices and policies impact at ground zero and above.

Teaching notes are available.

Leadership, change management, knowledge transfer, quality, car manufacture, organisational culture, staff training and development.

This case study is intended for undergraduate courses on principles of management, cross-cultural management and organisational behaviour; postgraduate and MBA courses as above in addition to leadership studies and change management courses.

Globalisation inevitably led to attempts to transfer know-how and expertise to markets in different locations and cultures, where the particular organisation is willing to begin to operate. Hence, the need for understanding the conditions for successful knowledge transfer is especially important. The globalisation process in the Eastern bloc, which began in 1990, is a good example of knowledge transfer where the mutual meaning creation played a crucial role. This case study illustrates the process of international knowledge transfer between Western Europe and an emerging economy using the example of DAK Corporation and quality transfer to Poland. The case is especially useful for undergraduate and postgraduate students, including MBA students, studying general management as well as more specialised courses stemming from international management, for example, cross-cultural management and organisational behaviour. Since the material focuses on people management and development as well as organisational culture creation, current and future practitioners from the human resources department will find it particularly useful. Students considering a career in a multinational company can also use this case in their preparation for the challenges of operating in a global business environment.

These include: understanding of the process of international and cross-cultural knowledge transfer; identification of key cultural and organisational factors contributing to the success of international knowledge transfer; understanding of the organisational culture creation process; and exploration of the process of new staff development and training.

Teaching notes are available.

Human resources management, international human resources management.

The case is suitable for undergraduate or graduate/training programmes specialised in international dimensions of HRM.

The study aims to evaluate the experiences of hotel employees at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok's new employee centre. This centre, called the “O-Zone”, is an example of the hotel's commitment to the well-being of its staff. On a larger scale, it is an illustration of a method to maintain employee motivation and commitment in the luxury hotel industry. The case is particularly useful to investigate as the hotel has created a unique approach to employee well-being in a large urban setting where employees experience a stressful living environment, including long commutes. This is supported by studies in the literature which reveal that burnout and stress are important factors to consider for hotel employees.

The case study allows students to discover the following key learning points: an example of a well-being initiative for employees of a luxury hotel in the Thai context; an investigation of the need for employers in luxury hotels in Thailand to attract and retain talent; and an understanding of the use of incentives at work for employee motivation in the Thai luxury hotel industry.

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

AngloGold Ashanti: the dawning of a new age.

Change management, leadership, human resources management and organisational behaviour.

Business and organisational behaviour students at a Master's level of study.

This case study explores the challenges facing one of the jewels of corporate South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, as it seeks to introduce and implement vast changes across its global operations within a pre-established time frame. It explores those factors that impact the introduction and implementation of a successful and sustainable change initiative at AngloGold Ashanti.

By understanding the manner in which the company's new business improvement initiative is sought to be introduced at the organisation, students are better able to understand the role of leadership and the impact of change on a global workforce. Students will gain an appreciation of how to manage the change process, key actions that ought to be taken by all levels of management and staff, pitfalls that should be avoided and challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that the organisation can emerge stronger and take its rightful place in the competitive global arena.

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

Operations and human resourcing.

This case study is intended for use in graduate, executive level management and doctoral programs. The case study illustrates a combined IT and HR driven participative management control system in a flexible organization structure. It is intended for a class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.

The case describes the situation of managing unskilled workforces (≥14,000 workers) during the construction phase of the 4 × 250MW power plants both for purposes of turnout as well as due compensation, in the event of an accident. The approved labour forces appointed for 45 × 8 h. Man-days after a rigorous fitness test and approvals of the safety officer are allocated housing and other necessary amenities and a commensurate compensation system.

These include: illustrating typical organizational responsibility structure at a construction site of a large power plant; illustrating the planning and administrative control mechanism in implementing strategy at a construction site of a large power plant; offering students the opportunity to understand and view a typical operational (project) structure; allowing students to speculate adaptations in the wake of an ever-changing business and company environment; and providing an opportunity to introduce a power scenario in India, Indian labour laws and radio frequency identification technology and to relate this to the case in context.

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

The proposed areas of study for this case are strategic management, marketing, tourism planning and development, hospitality management, attraction management and special event planning and management.

The case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing courses in the areas of strategic management, marketing, tourism planning and development, hospitality and tourism management, attraction management and special event planning and management.

The Denbigh Showground located in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica, is the venue of the annual Agricultural and Industrial Show. Three separate studies conducted indicated the need for its development to enable the use of the facility all year round and to contribute to the socio-economic development of the parish. Suggested development options from these studies included a fun and amusement park, a site for eco-tourism and a multi-purpose agri-cultural facility with linkages to the parish's cultural legacies and places of interest. The large land acreage could facilitate its development, making the property a leading “agri-cultural” attraction concept.

he students should be able to: identify the typology of the Denbigh Showground as an attraction; categorize the product offerings of the Denbigh Showground from a marketing perspective; explain the factors to consider regarding the development of the showground; analyze the socio-economic contributions of the facility to the parish of Clarendon and the community's attitude towards the development of the showground; discuss the potential uses of the Denbigh Showground that can make it a leading international “agri-cultural” attraction; synthesize the concept of sustainable tourism development and its importance to the development and viability of the attraction for future generations; and assess other tourism concepts such as community-based tourism, special interest tourism and alternative tourism and how they relate to the development of the Denbigh Showground.

This case study will help students understand the concept of an agri-cultural attraction and its impact on the socio-economic development of the surrounding communities and the country as a whole. The case will contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the areas of community development and residents’ perception regarding tourism development. It offers insights to both potential and current investors; provides practical guidance to the government and other tourism planners to enable better planning for the areas’ future growth and development; and serves as a reference for academicians as well as undergraduate and graduate students.

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The recruitment and selection process, human resource planning, talent management and succession planning.

The case has been tried and tested in the classroom setting with management students pursuing a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM).

The case is set in the southern part of India in a manufacturing organization, Plomsom Ltd (a disguised organisation). Plomsom Ltd manufactures tractors and has a pan-India presence. The sale of tractors in India fluctuates over time. Sales are largely dependent on the seasonal harvests which in turn are heavily dependent on the monsoon rains. The case is designed for understanding the importance and necessity of finding the right man at the right time with the right skills in a manufacturing set up where production output is a factor of many interdependent variables.

The learning objectives of the case are: critical analysis of recruitment and selection; importance of job analysis in recruitment and selection; understanding the role of HR planning in running the operations; understanding problems in the manufacturing sector in an Indian context.

Teaching notes are available. Consult your librarian for access.

This case is suitable for undergraduates, MBA students and students from business administration departments in the teaching of human resources management and performance management.

Luodian Electric Power Construction Corporation Group (LEPCC Group) is a state owned enterprise transformed from a construction unit of Luopu Power Supply Bureau (LPSB), a governmental organization in charge of all the electricity supply in Luopu City. The general manager of LEPCC, Gu Ming tried to set up a modern market-oriented management system for LEPCC. Unfortunately the problems that had accumulated in the past two decades during which LEPCC was a governmental organization made his reforms very difficult. The first headache for Gu Ming was the performance appraisal reform in LEPCC. The existing performance appraisal system seemed to have at least three problems in practice: unclear appraisal objectives, an improper assessment system, a different appraisal standard for similar positions. What should Gu Ming do to build a proper performance appraisal system to help the fast-growing LEPCC Group to make LEPCC a competitive market-oriented player?

The first objective of this case is to enable students to understand that the issues of working performance are issues of people first, rather than issues of the management system. If the management focuses on the system instead of on the staff of the company to design the performance management system, the system will be fruitless and inefficient. The second objective is to cultivate students' capability to apply the basic theories of human resource management and the knowledge of performance appraisal in case analysis and practical management. This case, seemingly about performance appraisal, is in fact about the organizational structure and processes of the organization. Reform should start with organizational analysis, job analysis and job descriptions. Only when all these have been done correctly, can the performance management system be designed more reasonably, scientifically and efficiently.

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

Management sciences (organizational behavior).

The case is suitable for MBA students, employees of any organization, human resource practitioners, organization administrators, human resource directors and senior line management.

The study deals with unethical or “haraam” practices at the workplace. It is based on the observation of the researchers. The business organization was selected and the behavior of employees was observed for two months. An interesting behavior of an employee was observed and the change in behavior was followed. The study describes the various factors influencing the behavior and performance of the employee and emphasis is made on the “haraam” practices of drinking alcohol and unacceptable behavior. The focus is on the performance of the employee. Major events and changes were elaborated to deduce the descriptive cause and effect results based on observation. It was found that behavior as well as performance was reduced due to “haraam” practices, which can be a lesson for other employees to follow as well as for managers to devise strategies in order to improve the most important resource of their organization, i.e. the human resource.

As this case was designed for an executive education programme, no detail regarding where it fitted into the curriculum is applicable as would be the case with cases designed for students. The case is intended to develop skills in students to creatively approach a common and wide spread problem and to think about the solution in an innovative way. The overall purpose of the case is to engage human resource practitioners (students) in creatively constructing innovative solutions to address the problem of compulsive drinking in the organizational environment.

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

Human resources (compensation, total rewards, employee engagement, training and development), strategy.

Undergraduate HRM majors and postgraduate business and management.

This case highlights the strong growth and expansion of a former small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) in the United Arab Emirates, Tips & Toes. The company is a leader in the beauty and fitness service industry, and much of its growth and success is attributable to the leadership of its general manager and her implementation of a differentiation strategy, a market innovator in concepts, products and services, and a total rewards system for engaging and retaining employees. Tips & Toes is planning for continued, aggressive growth and expansion over the next five years. This case also highlights an underrepresented area of focus for case studies: women-led businesses, SMEs, and entrepreneurship and innovation.

The main focus of this case is for students to examine the beneftts of using a total rewards strategy to engage and retain employees, and more importantly to see the links between such a strategy and business and revenue growth. This is particularly a salient learning point for students in emerging markets, where more traditional types of compensation and views of the employment contract tend to prevail. In addition, this case could be used as a supplementary learning experience regarding strategy and strategic focus of an organization (i.e. the Treacy and Wiersema model of product leadership, customer intimacy, or operational excellence as a strategic discipline for a firm). And finally, this case provides an example of a woman-led organization which grew out of SME status into a market leader; this example provides students with insight into workable entrepreneur opportunities to which they might not see a direct linkage when reading case studies of large multinational organizations or conglomerates.

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

Non-profit management and corporate strategy.

The case is appropriate for teaching undergraduate students, executive MBAs and graduate students. The case is useful for an overview of hospice and palliative care in the developed and developing world, and for class room discussions of external analysis of non-profit organizations' ecosystems, funding needs and industry analysis.

Hospice care in the developed parts of the world is well established but in most developing countries, there are no organized hospice care facilities. This case focuses on a charitable organization, Brthya – Add Value to Life (Brthya – AVTL), that established and operates hospice care in Chennai, India. The Indian context for hospice care, and the ecosystem needed to sustain ongoing operations, are described along with a summary of four different models of hospice care used in other parts of the world.

The case will help students to understand: what hospice care is and its various forms; management issues related to funding and operating hospice care in particular and a non-profit in general; ecosystems that make non-profits sustainable in emerging economies; and managing expansion and growth in non-profit organizations, in emerging economies and globally.

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

Human resource development/management and change management.

The case is suitable for final year undergraduate human resource development/management or specialist HRM Master's programs (strategic HRM/HRD).

The case study highlights the challenges of managing change and growth in India's dynamic business process outsourcing sector. The choice of a large and complex organisation brings to the fore the complexity of decision making and how various factors shape the development of critical organisational capabilities and training provision.

Depending on the level of the class and the emphasis, one or more of the following learning outcomes can be achieved from this case study. Following thecase analysis, students should be able to: discuss the key challenges faced by BPOLAND; identify and analyse the various influences of internal and external factors on training provision; understand the importance of forging partnerships with key functional groups for shaping training and organisational capabilities; analyse the dynamic interactions between the various factors and training provision; analyse the relationship between BPOLAND's competitive strategy and its training choices (make versus buy); evaluate the role of training in developing organisational capabilities; and strategise a way forward for the person responsible for learning and development.

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

Human resource management, strategic management, organisational behaviour.

Graduate and post graduate students of management, organisational behaviour and strategic HRM.

This case is about a small company named Pointsoft Pvt. Ltd, which is a 25-year-old software company situated in Pune, India. Thanks to the IT boom, the company grew well under the leadership of Aravind, who is the managing director. Aravind took care of all matters related to human resources (HR) directly. So far, the company never had any HR manager, but now Aravind thought about handing over HR matters to an HR manager. After much scrutiny Meenaxi was appointed as HR manager. The case then proceeds narrating a series of incidents after the arrival of the new HR manager and how there began a clash between the new HR manager and the senior management team of the firm. A situation then arose where the HR manager, after one year of service, submitted her resignation quoting that she was being harassed by the senior management team. The core issues in this case are whether Pointsoft's decision of having an HR manager was right and whether the decision of having appointed Meenaxi was right.

The case brings out the necessary characteristics of an HR manager by showing the undesirable characteristics of an HR manager. The case also highlights typical issues of working in a small Indian firm which is trying to rise to a globalised setting. The case will also help the students understand about organisational culture and the importance of gelling with the same.

Teaching notes are available. Please consult your librarian for access.

Leadership.

The case is suitable for MBA, Executive level courses.

Yongye Group is a biotechnological enterprise in Inner Mongolia, China. In China, people lack trust in economic transactions due to the transitional state of the economy, especially regarding food safety. To respond to this situation, Wu Zishen, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Yongye Group, was determined to build trust among employees, distributors, farmers, and consumers towards the company. To this end, he started using a creative incentive system with employees and stakeholders: the pay-before-performance incentive system. According to this system, the reward is delivered in advance, contrary to be paid after the fulfillment of the task. This practice is meant to transform employees' work attitude from a passive “being told to work” to a more proactive “I want to work” mentality. When such an incentive system is practiced with customers and external distributors, it sends a message that the company is “treating customers as company employees”, which means that they are trusted as if they were part of the company itself. Wu Zishen also introduced a coherent series of leadership practices that generate a truly proactive culture in the organization.

From this case, students will learn how to create a proactive culture in business organizations and the effect of pay-before-performance on employees' work motivation.

Teaching notes and an exercise for class-based discussion are available.

Organisational behaviour, strategic management and management of change, human resources management, business management.

Undergraduate and post-graduate management degrees: including courses on organizational behaviour, human resources management, marketing, business management and strategic management.

Dandiraz an electric appliance manufacturing company in Zimbabwe has an aggressive marketing director who had increased exports from 15 percent of the company's production to 40 percent and the company had won the National Exporter of the Year Award twice as a result of his efforts. The chairperson was uncomfortable with the outbursts of the marketing director when he talked to him about the production department. There was a disagreement between the marketing director and production director in the way certain issues were to be implemented. The chairperson was undecided on whose suggestions to follow since both directors were giving valid contributions but opposing each other.

Students can focus on the importance of how departmental conflicts can harm an organisation if not managed properly. Students will also appreciate the importance of making quality decisions by top management as an important ingredient for the success of an organisation.

Teaching notes are available. Consult the librarian for access.

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.

Human resource management, Training and development, Competency development and team spirit.

The case is intended for MBA/PGDM level students as part of a human resource management curriculum. The case is more diagnostic in nature and should be discussed in the same spirit. The case is suitable for developing conceptual thinking and community orientation of professionals aspiring or pursuing a career in the area of human resource management.

The case examines the imperatives behind Sterling Tools Limited (STL), a leading fasteners manufacturing Indian company's decision and strategy adopted to inculcate team spirit through outdoor experiential training (OET). The case explores in detail the process undertaken to execute the OET at STL. The case also briefly mentions the tangible benefits of OEL. The case is structured to enable readers to: understand the basic objectives of OET; understand the innovative approach adopted by STL; and understand how an organization responds to changes and challenges in the external environment.

This case is structured to enable students to: understand the meaning and significance of outdoor experiential training (OET); analyze the challenges faced by HR managers in modern day organizations; learn the conceptual framework and understand the principles of OET; examine the measures that can be taken by management to ensure a smooth induction and socialization process of employees; and understand the need of inculcating team spirit among employees.

Teaching notes are available.

Performance management, human resource management.

This case is appropriate for undergraduate and post graduate studies.

A premier business school in Central India decides to offer the Best Teacher Award to a faculty who gets the highest feedback from the students. The idea is to motivate the faculty and also help them improve their teaching pedagogy/style, etc. A feedback form is designed and administered in the last session of the course. The average across all the sections and courses is calculated and displayed on the institute's intranet. Soon doubts are raised on the validity of the decision to give away the Best Teacher Award based on students' feedback. The case makes an attempt to highlight that performance is a function of several factors. What apparently seems to be a great performance may not be a great performance and similarly what apparently appears to be poor performance may not necessarily be poor performance. One needs to dig deep into this to arrive at any meaningful conclusion.

Performance should not be judged at face value. Performance analysis is necessary for any meaningful decision.

Teaching notes.

The case throws light on performance management in general and performance appraisal in a specific Indian context, its linkages with various other HR systems in an organization and the various issues and challenges attached with it. The case is especially suited for understanding people management in small organizations and organizations in emerging markets.

This case has been tried and tested in the classroom setting with management students pursuing a post graduate diploma in business management (PGDBM). The case has been administered to students in Chennai Business School, Chennai in their core course human resource management (first year PGDBM) and to second year students specializing in HR in their course “Performance management and compensation management” in G D Goenka World Institute, Sohna.

The case is set in the southern part of India in a retailing organization which grew from a small retail store catering to the daily needs of the student community to a four store retail store (Bolts'). Mr Andrew (Head, HR), introduced performance management and appraisal at Bolts'. Since the appraisal was interrelated with various other HR systems like motivation, compensation, training and development and promotions, it generated a lot of excitement among the employees. After implementation of performance appraisal, the organization seems to experience one problem after another. There were complaints from customers, followed by a range of challenges such as discontented employees, unprofessional behavior, low motivation in the organization and loss of profit.

Understand and analyze the performance management in general and performance appraisal in a specific Indian context, its linkages with various other HR systems in organization and the various issues and challenges attached with it. Understand people management in small organizations and organizations in emerging markets. Assess and identify HR practitioners' problems in studying SMEs' HR related problems in an Indian context.

Teaching notes are available to faculty. Please consult with your librarian.

The given case deals with the fact that primary objectives of services producers and marketers are identical to those of all marketers: to develop and provide offerings that satisfy consumer needs and expectations, thereby ensuring their own economic survival. To achieve these objectives, service providers need to understand how consumers choose, experience, and evaluate their service offerings. It also talks about employing innovative techniques at the basic level by optimizing available resources offering quality service at value based pricing, thereby, increasing customer retention by developing the trust of the consumer.

Graduation or post graduation level students studying subjects pertaining to the services aspect of marketing, namely innovative service offerings, value for money, service experience and evaluation, challenge of integrating the 4 A's of services marketing and offering them in sustainable quality, promotional or communication mix for services and consumer behaviour.

Today's dual-career couples, single-parent families, and two-job families are realizing a burning consumer need: more time. Individuals in these and other non-traditional family configurations are overstressed with their work and home obligations and find that dealing with many of life's everyday tasks is overwhelming. For many customers, all types of shopping have become “drudgery or worse.” The antidote to this time deficiency is found in many new services that recover time for consumers. One such professional service is catering. The present case study deals with grass root level innovations in this service offering that adds flavour to our lives.

Understanding the catering services offering and its features in evolving consumer's world; analyzing the importance of optimizing available resources and offering customer satisfaction, ensuring marketers own economic survival; realizing the significance of value offering and related value based pricing for services; comprehending the importance of word of mouth in post experience evaluation in services; the effect of quality and quantity consciousness in marketers while offering catering services; and understanding obstacles and challenges faced by small and medium service industries at the initial level.

Teaching notes.

Susan works for a small S-Corporation that is experiencing issues with its incentive program. Specifically, employees find that the company's incentive program is rather ambiguous and confusing. Susan is in a position to do something about it but she is not sure what to do. Students are challenged to design an incentive program for the small company. This case exercise is appropriate for undergraduate students in Organizational Behavior or Management courses and should coincide with discussions of motivation and employee incentives. This case is based on the author's personal experiences.

Reverse logistics, environment, CSR.

Bachelor and Graduate students.

This case describes the role played by the company in linking various processes and taking the lead in the development of a unique “circular” flow of recycling activity which includes recovery, reuse and recycling schemes. Traditionally businesses were not held responsible for the product after use by the consumer. But, with growing stakeholder expectations in the area of corporate social responsibility and sustainability, businesses are more conscious about managing their social and environmental impacts. Today businesses are beginning to look at reverse logistics not only in terms of economic impacts but also environmental impacts. While consumers and other stakeholders want businesses to be more responsible in the way the product is produced such as to minimize waste production, the expectations have also changed to recovery of products after use in order to reduce cost and environmental impact of recycling. Businesses are becoming more responsible about collecting, reusing, refurbishing or dismantling used products to minimize environmental damage.

The case is significant for teachers and students of “environment management”, corporate social responsibility, “supply chain” and “the importance of networks”. It can be used to understand how reverse logistics helps to minimize waste.

Teaching notes.

Crisis management, reputation and brand management, corporate communication, logistics, organization strategy.

Post-graduate and executive education.

The Eyjafjallajökull Iceland Volcano erupted on April 14, 2010, causing an estimated loss of US$1.7 billion for the aviation industry. At one stage in this weeklong event, 1.2 million passengers were affected with 100,000 flights being grounded across Europe. This case documents the way Etihad, a leading global airline company managed the crisis and continues to learn for future scenarios.

Adaptation strategies, reputation management, brand management, crisis planning and implementation, communication and stakeholder management, scenario analysis.

Teaching notes.

Strategic management and social innovation

Undergraduate and graduate level management/business school students. It can be taught in strategic management and social innovation courses.

GOONJ is a non–profit organization which has life and dignity for lakhs of people in India over the last decade. It aimed at bringing up clothing as one of the important aspects of human life and make it available for the needy keeping their dignity intact. The case begins with Anshu Gupta, founder of GOONJ thinking deeply about the high–priority meeting to take GOONJ to the next level and scale up the operations of his social innovation. It then tries to bring up the potential problem of clothing and menstrual hygiene in India followed by explanation of the present working model of GOONJ which allows them to manage the operations with 97 paisa per cloth. With the dream of taking GOONJ to the next level and converting it into a nation–wide phenomenon, will the present model work?

This case will cover two important aspects: social innovation process (themes, challenges and implications for practice); and strategic management concepts (stakeholder theory, internal–external factor evaluation).

Teaching notes.

The case study aims to investigate human resource management issues of national importance, and specific recruitment issues important to the company.

Students studying, e.g. Human Resource Management/Developing Human Resources as courses within an undergraduate business degree program. The audience is also targeted through courses that include the study of cross cultural management/diversity.

An industrial organization in the United Arab Emirates has a multinational workforce, where many employees are recruited from overseas. The recruitment process necessitates liaison with recruitment agencies at a distance, and locally with the government labor office.

Students will be able to:

• analyze that companies exist in an external environment that impacts on their internal policies;

• describe the importance of quality assurance to the HR function in an organization; and

• explain how the HR department works closely with all departments in an organization.

analyze that companies exist in an external environment that impacts on their internal policies;

describe the importance of quality assurance to the HR function in an organization; and

explain how the HR department works closely with all departments in an organization.

Teaching notes.

Brand strategy, marketing strategy, service marketing, hospitality management and international marketing strategy.

Post-graduate-level students; practitioners from the hospitality sector, brand management, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the arts and culture field may also benefit from the case.

Jumeirah Group is a luxury hospitality company that is implementing a global brand strategy after developing a strong-regional reputation. Jumeirah's strong cultural alignment to its Dubai heritage in the form of its hallmarks and communication tag line “Stay Different” is being translated into events, activities, sponsorship and more importantly in terms of service to create a symbolic and experiential brand strategy. For Alice Royton, the Director of Branding for Jumeirah Group, the dilemma was how to maintain the thrust forwards as a top luxury brand and keep brand synergy especially as Jumeirah was increasing its portfolio and the competitive arena heats up in the international market place.

Creation of stakeholder value, brand strategy looking at various brand levels, using arts and culture as part of CSR initiative; communication strategy, emotional touch points and moment of truth as part of interactive service strategy; CRM and loyalty.

Teaching notes.

Marketing strategy; services marketing; tourism.

Upper year undergraduate business/management, MBA, marketing/international business.

Memento Park is a large open air museum on the outskirts of Budapest, that houses statues, and related ephemera related to the communist period in Hungary. The park opened in 1993, four years after Hungary had shaken off its yolk of communism as part of the Iron Curtain, in 1989. This case presents a classic example of a business enterprise that sprang from a concept and access to inexpensive materials directly resulting form a changing external environment. The case presents the issues involved in making Memento Park a sustainable part of the Budapest tourist experience.

This case challenges students to decide how best to determine a sustainable advantage. Arguably the value proposition that is being offered by Memento Park has a number of identifiable benefits to the target consumer. It is not replicable (at least in Hungary), has a truly unique content, and does not have large fixed or variable costs in terms of operations. The question is how to best develop a plan of attack for such a firm?

Teaching notes.

Human resource management.

The case might be used in teaching International Management or Russian society at a Master's level, including MBA.

Quotas for the employment of disabled people exist in many countries, including Russia. Many companies in Russia, however, are “forced” to find “creative solutions” to avoid this quota. This attitude is caused not by the unwillingness of companies to support disabled people, but rather by their moral and technical unreadiness to do so. Using one example of a company providing freight services, the case illustrates this. The company is faced with additional challenges: it is a 100 percent subsidiary, dependant on its parent company in many respects – especially in financial matters.

Students: learn some informal practices (legislative norms and networks) in the Russian business context;, discuss how organizations are faced with informal practices and establish problem solving techniques; and receive some additional information on the business environment in Russia.

Teaching notes.

Sustainable development (in under-developed rural communities).

Bachelor's degree.

The case follows six young adults from Quebec, who are mandated with a three-month agro-environmental project in the fight against desertification and poverty, in Kamaka, a village in the Sahel region of Mali. The project's central element is the development of a community garden that would ensure the diversification of the community's nutritional diet, and the rehabilitation of the environment. The mandate also consists of various environmental awareness workshops pertaining to efficient energy consumption, composting, and solar food drying techniques. The project, in its fourth year of collaboration between the Quebec organization and their local Malian partner, does not seem to have been yielding the desired results. The team is faced with the challenges of understanding the opportunities and limitations of the project so that they can try to succeed where previous teams have failed; while overcoming the organizational and logistical shortfalls that they faced prior to the start of their work, as they simultaneously struggled to adapt to their totally new context.

How to prepare for, approach, and carry out local community development projects – environmental and/or social – in under-developed regions such as Mali. Mainly, how to create a shared vision with the concerned community; build an effective multi-stakeholder network; and ultimately co-create sustainable value (as per the proposed Senge model).

Teaching notes and short documentary online link.

Higher education leadership and planning.

Postgraduate/higher education.

Professor Rob Whelan was appointed President of the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) from the University of Wollongong in Australia (UOW). Professor Whelan brought to the job in Dubai the perspective that public-good benefits flow from a comprehensive institution engaged with the larger community and these are led by academic staff members who produce research that serves the national interest. To apply this model to UOWD meant a thorough analysis of the organization in terms of both its culture and its broader environment. This case explores the various processes through which a new leader takes stock of an existing institution, identifies the potential for development in a particular direction, draws upon a range of stakeholders to refine the vision and develop it into a strategic plan, gains support for the plan, and then implements change through close collaboration with the institution's constituents.

This case can be used to explore a number of issues in leadership and management including: identifying the various internal and external stakeholders in a complex organization; analysing strategies for mobilization for change, including the assessment of inclusive versus exclusive approaches; reviewing the opportunity costs of change; and assessing types of leadership.

Teaching notes.

Strategic management, sustainable development, business economics, construction management, energy management.

Undergraduate and Master's level business and management programmes with a focus on environmental or strategic management.

Fewer than two percent of Guinea Bissau's rural households had access to electricity from the grid. Efforts by the state monopoly to improve that figure by expanding the grid have had little effect, in part because the rural population was sparse. Central Electronics Limited, a public sector based company in India, was assigned to develop economic solar systems as a safe and eco-friendly substitute for the diesel gensets under IBSA (a trilateral, developmental initiative among India, Brazil, and South Africa) with the help of United Nations Development Program. The case provides an opportunity to examine the strategy of a small and poor nation to meet the needs of modern energy sources needed for improvement in health, education, transportation, and commercial development. The case focuses on Guinea Bissau's use of a trilateral partnership to achieve its rural electrification objectives despite several push backs.

Students will demonstrate ability to analyse, comprehend, and evaluate the essence of solar energy as an alternate for costly grid energy in the initial stage of development. It will also provide students to converse with the specific advantages of solar systems over conventional power generating systems and construct a novel solution that serves the needs of various stakeholders at the bottom of the income pyramid.

Teaching note.

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

Social entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Human Resource.

The case study is relevant for students of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. This case can be used as a case in strategy (growth strategy), marketing and innovation subjects as well.

The case study revolves around Mr Harish Hande and his efforts to build a for–profit social enterprise Solar Electric Light Company (SELCO) to provide electricity to poor and under–served. Harish focused on providing cheap, clean and sustainable energy sources to rural customers at bottom of the pyramid of the society. From the conception of SELCO, Harish has been on a roller–coaster ride of success and failure. Harish has used the problems as a learning ground and improved his business model successfully. But, when Harish tried to scale his operations in 2005–2006 he failed miserably. Some errors in the decision coupled with external pressure had brought SELCO to a verge of collapse. Owing to the determination of Harish and his team, SELCO was able to revive from the difficult times to generate profits again. Harish now again wants to expand but this time he would not take any chances. He wants to analyze and discuss every possible issue, he might face during his expansion plans.

The key learning aspects of this case is to understand importance and practice of talent management. The case also highlights the best practices that SELCO uses to reach its clients and provide them complete solution.

Teaching note.

Tourism and hospitality.

This case has been developed to suit the pedagogical needs of undergraduate and post-graduate students of management in the area of strategic marketing management in the service industry.

The case describes the challenge faced by Gautam Raj, Executive Vice President, Strategic Development, The Oberoi Group, in making submissions to the Chairman, P.R.S. Oberoi for giving shape to the company's future strategic plans and developing the blueprint for further growth. The Oberoi Group is a leading India-based hospitality company, which was looking at selective expansion in the five-star deluxe segments by seeking new opportunities for its luxury leisure business in order to achieve a greater geographic spread. The case gives detailed information related to “The Oberoi” resorts ranging from their genesis to their branding and marketing strategies to put into perspective the challenge faced by the protagonist in making appropriate recommendations regarding the optimal choice of location for new-luxury leisure resorts.

The case is designed to give students an opportunity to demonstrate understanding of generic strategies for sustaining competitive advantage and market selection strategies and to analyse prospective location choices for making recommendations regarding appropriate markets to enter.

Teaching note.

International management strategy.

Graduate and upper undergraduate classes.

This case deals with an information technology (IT) outsourcing company based in Egypt which has ventured into the international market right from the start without establishing itself first in the local market. Its record of success was due largely to a group of young Egyptian entrepreneurs with an international orientation. Their strongly held values were translated into an organizational culture that was manifested in the company's relationships with its clients, whether multinational companies or regional governments. This mutual trust has generated work through referrals and has saved the company the need, at least initially, to adopt a proactive marketing strategy. In addition to culture the company's structure has shown considerable agility in dealing with the unexpected demands from clients through developing strong functional departments supported by numerous cross-functional teams. The case also presents the development of the human resource function which is considered the backbone of IT outsourcing companies.

Students are expected to learn the following: internationalization of business start ups in developing nations can take place even in the face of limitations of the local markets; the importance of leadership and culture in fostering trusting relationships with clients; the need to constantly reconfigure resources to meet challenges of competition and the needs of clients; the viability of a defensive strategy for newly established companies if supplemented by trusting relationships with clients; and the role of an evolving structure to fit the growth stages of the company.

Teaching note.