Case studies

International management control and organisational behaviour.

This case is suitable for final year undergraduate and Master's students as well as for the general practitioner. It is suitable for the university course program and for in-company training seminars. For company training seminars, the human resources department and finance would most probably benefit from the discussion of the case.

This case was about a company that was eager to expand its business internationally as it gains success in the home market. Having being entrusted by the company CEO to lead the project, the enthusiastic “project champion” lavishly spent the company investments with minimal control from the parent company.

After carrying out this exercise, students are expected to be able to: first, decide a firm mode of entry, scale of entry and strategic commitment; second, determine the market potential of a particular business venture; third, suggest the management structure and control for international subsidiaries; fourth, decide the possible exit strategy of a business venture.

Teaching notes.

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.

Operations strategy/global operations/value chain.

BA/Master level – the case can be applied to support operations strategy discussions related to the link between context, configuration and capabilities, and particularly to discuss internationalization strategy and global operations.

The case examines how Gabriel, a Danish textile company, transformed itself from being a traditional textile manufacturer to becoming an innovative virtual servi-manufacturer. The case covers the main milestones in Gabriel's recent history, explores the main reasons for the transformation that started in the late 1990s and studies how this transformation towards becoming a virtual servi-manufacturer was dealt with. The case closes with the sections examining the role of innovation activities in the newly transformed company.

The case is expected to build an understanding of the organisational and operational implications of the journey towards the virtual production company. While the case is broad in its scope, it provides an opportunity to go into details on a number of interrelated topics: operations strategy; global production networks; communication and coordination; interdependencies; and outsourcing and offshoring. The story of Gabriel illustrates a highly successful globalization journey and its underlying dynamics. The case highlights how the operations configuration and the relationships between key parties do not stay constant over time. They rather shift and adapt to internal and external stimuli. The case explores these stimuli in retrospect and describes how the company attempts to reconcile market requirements with its operations configurations and capabilities.

Teaching note.

Operations strategy/global operations/value chain.

BA/Master level – The case can be applied to support operations strategy discussions related to the link between context, configuration, and capabilities, and particularly to discuss internationalization strategy and global operations.

The case is initiated with an overview of the wider corporate and industrial context, which are included to supply contextual information pertinent to the understanding of competitive requirements and strategic choices of the company. The case then moves into establishing an understanding of the operationalization of these requirements and choices through a discussion of the structural configuration and organizational capabilities.

The case it expected to build an understanding of the fit between competitive priorities and their operationalization within structural and infrastructural decision areas.

Teaching note.

Innovation, privatisation and property development.

Undergraduate and MA level property development courses; modules covering privatisation within undergraduate, MBA and MA level management programmes.

This paper presents the genesis and motivating factors that stimulate a managing director of a housing development (D&B Private Limited Company) to introduce innovation as a strategic solution to the challenges which hinder his firm's growth. The recently launched Ten Malaysian Plan and the Sustainable Programme for Corporate Malaysia are identified as the two stimulating events that triggered the initiation and subsequent implementation of innovation into Design and Build Sdn Bhd. Innovation has been recognized as an endeavor that impacts positively and significantly the performance of the firm that innovates. There was a major focus on factors that enhance innovation of a firm: structure, culture, resources and how to address or react to external factors such as government regulation on innovation, environmental uncertainty and market competition. The quest to be an innovative firm has led to major changes in the structure, culture and review of the firm intangible resources. Coupled with some corporate responsibilities, Design and Build Sdn Bhd has been recognized for its unique performance resulting from the competitive advantage derived from this very idea of innovations.

Students are expected to be able: to present a basic understanding of the motivations and driving force behind the housing developer's keen interest to innovate, to present the multiple benefits of adopting innovation in the housing industry, to highlight the internal and external factors which positively influence innovation among housing developers?, to present how housing developers are able to manage challenges facing their companies through innovation.

Teaching notes.

Decision making, behavioural decision making, heuristics, optimistic bias, confirmatory bias, anchoring bias, ready mix cement (RMC) business in India.

Post graduate management course, executive training program in the subject areas.

Arco is a Projects and Infrastructure-sector company. Some of its key officials, believing that entering the RMC can be beneficial for Arco, plan entry into the manufacturing of RMC but order a feasibility report. The report confirms the hunch and Arco starts the business under the aegis of its associate, EG Ltd (EGL) which is into equipment rental business. At this time a new dimension of reality opens up but the senior officers refuse to accept a revised proposal which is adjusted to the new realities. After a few months and some losses, EGL closes down the RMC plant and rents it out.

This case study is developed with a purpose to provide a basis to discuss how decisions are taken in real life and how various behavioural elements affect the quality of decisions that affect not only the decision makers but many others and their organizations. Focus is especially on prejudice, heuristics and bias that creep into important organizational decisions such as venturing into new business.

Teaching note.

Entry of a service sector company based in Europe into the Middle East market with focus on Saudi Arabia.

The students should have some familiarity with case studies and should be able to successfully solve easy cases. This case can be used in all courses of general economics and management. It is best suited for courses on market entries, risk management in international business, intercultural management or developing and emerging markets.

Two market entry options are discussed: joint venture set-up with partner and independent direct investment without local partner. A tangible real life experience of the Middle East market will enhance the theoretical presentation and help students to gain practical solutions.

The students should be aware of risks and opportunities in the Middle East and Saudi Arabian markets for western companies from the service sector. He/She should be able to prioritize relevant economic data and simultaneously discuss several different options by dealing with complex situations.

Teaching note.

Finance, entrepreneurship, general management.

MBA/Postgraduate.

This case is about Precision Air Services, a small profitable airline in Tanzania, which is in the middle of a changing airline industry. In less than ten years, Mr Michael Ngaleku Shirima, the founder and then holding two-thirds of the shares together with an option to buy the remaining one-third, had seen the airline grow to a major player in the domestic market. His plans to expand to regional routes were still on the drawing board when he received a US$2 million cash offer from Kenya Airways, a much larger airline, for a 49 percent equity stake. At the same time, South African Airways – another heavyweight in the African airline industry, was in the process of acquiring a controlling stake in the state-owned Air Tanzania Corporation. To Mr Shirima, giving up a significant stake in an airline he created from scratch was a dilemma. But if that was to be, he was also interested to see that he is getting the right price for his efforts.

This case can be used to teach elements of merger and acquisition, business valuation, negotiation, strategy (corporate, international, growth), strategic scoping and planning.

Teaching notes.

Property development, the built environment and privatisation.

Undergraduate and MA level property development courses, modules covering privatisation within undergraduate, MBA and MA level management programmes.

Property development is complex and diverse. It involves many agents with diverse roles, strategies and actions that affect the return. In a way, privatisation reduces government's financial burdens and offers ease of procedures to agents. This case study investigates privatisation of property development projects by a local authority in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In particular, the study focuses on modes of privatisation (MOP) and the extent to which it affects the return of the projects. The MOP studied are the land swap, land lease and the joint venture development on 15 selected privatisation projects.

Students are expected to be able to understand the MOP for land development projects using Malaysia as an example; evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these MOP; assess the benefits and impacts to the local Malaysian authority, landowners and land developers of MOP; and apply suitable MOP to alternative development projects.

Teaching note.

Organizational change.

Undergraduate and Masters level management programmes, particularly in management accounting, public sector accounting or organizational change.

This case study reflects organizational changes when Fijian Post and Telecom Company (FPTL) made a transition from a government department to a corporate entity. The focus of this case study is to examine some of the intra-organizational or micro-level changes that took place at the company. While the impetus for change may have originated in the Fiji Government's policies of public sector reform, the objective here is to outline the often slow pace of intra-organizational change within FPTL.

FPTL is a sole provider of postal and telecommunication services in Fiji. The organizational actors faced tensions and initially resisted the change to private business routines. However, with wider education and training on the change process, the resistance was reduced. At FPTL, a management team was set up to introduce commercial norms which were subsequently stabilized by the team through the ongoing process of educating employees on the benefits of changes and routinisation of new practices.The learning outcomes are to understand the difficulty of the change process and be aware of some of the resistance that may persist owing to cultural and political circumstance of a specific country.

Teaching note.