Case studies

In 2012 several retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, experimented with same-day delivery. Home delivery of pizzas had been a very successful model in the United States and had been copied all over the world. In contrast, home delivery attempts by companies like Kozmo and Urbanfetch had failed and both companies went bankrupt. The goal of this case is to build a framework that helps students identify the factors that influence the success or failure of home delivery models.

After analyzing and discussing the case, students should be able to:

• Build a basic framework identifying supply chain drivers that are influenced by a firm's decision to offer same-day home delivery

• Understand the tradeoffs that influence the success of a same-day home delivery model

• Identify qualitative factors to be considered when deciding between non-U.S. facility locations, including transportation time variability, consumer perceptions, and cultural differences

Build a basic framework identifying supply chain drivers that are influenced by a firm's decision to offer same-day home delivery

Understand the tradeoffs that influence the success of a same-day home delivery model

Identify qualitative factors to be considered when deciding between non-U.S. facility locations, including transportation time variability, consumer perceptions, and cultural differences

Provides a narrative description of the price war in the U.S. airline industry that broke out in Spring 1992.

To use in competitive strategy or microeconomics classes to explore the root causes of price wars.

Pancho’s Burritos is a high-end fast-food restaurant located in Charlottesville, Virginia. Due to a recent surge in customers, the lines at the restaurant during peak hours are becoming very long and causing excessive customer waiting. To improve current customer wait times and plan for future growth requirements, Francisco “Pancho” Escoba, the proprietor, wants to get a better understanding of the current operational capacity. The key decision Escoba must make is how to redesign his burrito-making process to increase the capacity and reduce customer wait time.

Suitable for an undergraduate or MBA course, the case can be used in an introductory operations course to teach capacity analysis and queuing. The case provides a relatable and understandable setting for students without an operations background to gain a better grasp of basic course concepts and illustrates how interactions between capacity and queuing affect one another. As an exam or review case it works well because it contains standard process calculations that all students should know how to perform.

Joe Smith, senior director of merchandise management at Beautiful Bags (BB), was about to place a large order for the upcoming winter season. He had to decide how many pieces he should order of each product. But another big question whether BB should source the product from its domestic manufacturing facility, its Chinese suppliers, or some combination of the two given the timing needs, labor costs, minimum order requirements, and BB's expanding product assortment?

This case is an updated version of “Netflix Inc.: DVD Wars” (UVA-M-0763), and was written as a replacement for it.

A financial analyst is asked to appraise the value of Netflix’s stock at a time of unprecedented turmoil for the company. This case introduces customer lifetime value (CLV) as a useful metric for subscription-based businesses.

Business management, corporate ethics and management of change.

The case study is relevant for undergraduate and post-graduate management degrees. It includes courses such as Business Management, Corporate Ethics and Management of Change.

AMARA, a leading parts dealer and a subsidiary company of MTD Holdings has been hit by allegations of corruption which involved a ring of senior employees who are said to have swindled the company out of spare parts worth millions of US dollars with the help of a few security guards who were authorising illegal movements at check points. The workers' committee who blew the whistle on the scandal were now impatient that the investigations ordered in December last year 2011 have not taken off as management appears not keen on them. Management was dragging its feet when it comes to dealing effectively with the allegations. There was no proper strategy on how the allegations were going to be dealt with. There was also victimisation of workers. Senior managers who have been tasked to investigate the issue were suspected to be involved in the scandal thus that is why they were dragging their feet in the investigation.

Students can focus on the importance of good corporate governance as a cornerstone of good business practice. The importance of an active board of directors is also vital for the smooth running of a business. Students will also appreciate the importance of making quality decisions by top management as an important ingredient for the success of an organisation. The issue of an effective control system in an organisation is also important to avoid leakages which will cost an organisation millions of dollars.

Teaching notes are available, please contact your librarian to access.

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.

The paper covers strategic planning and strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.

This paper is applicable to undergraduate and graduate management students.

In November 2009, Mr Vaidya Raghwan, one of the founders of AquaChemie LLC was contemplating the company's expansion into Qatar. The recent financial crisis had affected the company's growth plans. He wondered if this was the right time to move forward. This case examines the decisions taken by AquaChemie LLC and strategic analysis undertaken in preparation of entering a new market.

This case is suitable for the introductory section of the strategic planning course. The case is intended to expose students to the process of developing a business plan. Students are expected to carry out an analysis of the SWOT of the business and identify possible options of expansion. Students are also expected to identity the additional information they require to evaluate the expansion options identified.

A teaching note is available on request.

This paper looks at logistics and supply chain strategy.

The paper is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate management students.

By November 2009, realising the competitive pressures created by the regional and global players, Mr Khalid Ahmed, SVP, Economic Zones World (EZW), decided to strategically re-position EZW in the global supply chain map. He knew it would be very challenging in view of changing landscape of international business and he was eager to start formulating his plans.

This case can be used to teach logistics and supply chain strategy as well as the understanding of the development of country level strategy. A better understanding of the demographics and geography of UAE is required.

A teaching note is available on request.

Strategic management, international business, branding, innovation and retail management

Undergraduate, postgraduate business and management students.

Emerging Technologies was the first United Arab Emirates software application developer of Arabic (also available in English and Hindi) voice recognition solutions. Emerging Technologies developed and deployed fully automated voice recognition applications to meet specific business wants and needs. The case provides a practical example of a company which position itself well to be a raising star through proper strategy.

The students will be able to learn various business strategies that could be applied in emerging markets.

Teaching note available upon request.