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Organizational Behavior and Strategic Management.

MBA, Management/Executive development programs.

This case study can be used effectively for understanding the nuances of employee loyalty, especially if there is a cost of employee loyalty. While Anand Finance is happy that its workforce has largely been loyal, the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times force it to chart new course of action. The newly appointed Business Head, Ashok Singh's challenges compound when he finds that there was not’t a single innovation or best practice adopted over the past three years. Given his mandate to make Anand Finance as the Walmart of financial services, can he aspire to rally the forces behind the new mission? This case study facilitates an interesting discussion on the significance of operational and strategic alignment at organizations in the backdrop of an interesting story of Anand Finance, one of the leading non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in India. The non-alignment was noticed by Ashok Singh (Singh) who took over as the Business Head of Anand Finance. While the company boasted of long-standing employees, Singh was quick to notice that the company had been paying a cost for employee loyalty. What was the cost of employee loyalty? Singh could also sense that the company was in a state of active inertia. Expected to make Anand Finance Walmart for financial services by 2025, Singh had a big task at hand given the lack of strategic orientation of the employees. What would be the likely course of Singh's actions? As the case study deals with strategic dilemmas related to the organizational culture, it can be suitably used for organizational behavior and strategic management courses. This case study is meant highlight that even if an organization is operationally sound and successful, it cannot afford to be strategically disoriented, as its strengths may prove to be its weaknesses with changing business conditions.

At the end of this case discussion, the participants are expected to know the merits and demerits of employee loyalty and the implications of the same for organizational change; whether employees’ relatively longer stints at companies would contribute to active inertia (as defined by Donald N. Sull in Harvard Business Review article, “Why Good Companies Go Bad”); and the ways to align operational orientation with strategic mindset, especially in the case of employees who rose through the ranks and had been serving the company for relatively longer period.

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This article aims at offering and validating a theory‐driven conceptualization of the cultural distance index.

First, the cultural distance index is conceptualized, its conceptual properties are discussed, and a generic formula is proposed. Subsequently, the generic formula is applied to Schwartz's and Hofstede's frameworks. Finally, using the new formula the cultural distance is calculated, its robustness is examined, and its advantages over the Kogut and Singh's measure are inspected.

Through this paper it is found that by considering issues such as cultural dimensions' alignment and their relative weight, it is possible to build a more accurate index of cultural distance. Moreover, based on the generic formula it is understood that collectivism/individualism and power distance in Hofstede's framework and conservatism, egalitarianism in Schwartz's model are important cultural dimensions and account for a considerable weight in the cultural distance index.

The index is based on cultural dimensions and naturally it carries all shortcomings attributed to dimensionalization such as symmetry, linearity, stability and causality. In addition, it can be recognized that while alignment is a legitimate method, it should be interpreted cautiously because cultural dimensions are essentially nebulous concepts.

Researchers may use the proposed index to test the implications of cultural differences for a wide range of cross‐national issues such as joint ventures, entry mode choices, mergers, negotiations, organizational behavior, and technology transfer.

This article offers a novel and theory‐driven approach to building the cultural distance index. Considering the popularity of the Kogut and Singh's index in international business, the paper is of major significance.

The purpose of this paper is to covenant with the cost assessment of a complex repairable system, consisting of two subsystems (Subsystem 1 and Subsystem 2) connected in series configuration and being operated by a human operator. Each subsystem has two identical units in parallel configuration and has different types of failure and two types of repairs (general repair and copula repair). Through the transition diagram, the system of first-order partial differential equations is derived and solved using a supplementary variable technique, Laplace transforms. All failures are assumed to follow exponential distribution, whereas repairs follow two types of distributions that are general and Gumbel–Hougaard family copula. In this paper, explicit expressions for reliability, availability, mean time to failure (MTTF) and cost analysis functions have been obtained. In this paper, two types of repairs (copula repair and general repair) have been studied, and it has been concluded that copula repair is more reliable as compared to general repair. Some computations are taken as particular case by evaluating: reliability, availability, MTTF and cost analysis, so as to capture the effect of both failure and repair rates to reliability measures. The results have been shown in tables and graphs. The convincing part has been discussed in last section of this study.

This paper is focused on the cost assessment of a system consisting two subsystem series configuration. Each subsystem has two identical units in parallel configuration. The performance of the system has been analyzed by supplementary variable techniques and Laplace transforms. Various measures of the reliability have been discussed by evaluations. Software called Maple 13 is used for computations.

In this research paper, the authors have evaluated the operational cost and incurred profit of the system together with other reliability measures for various situations and different types of failures and two types of repairs using Gumbel–Hougaard family copula distribution.

The present research focuses on the series and parallel configured complex systems that is used everywhere in industry and other sectors. The authors main aim is to claim that repair through the joint probability distribution copula is far better than general repair. Copula repair for a completely failed system is more beneficial for industrial system operations that will increase profit to the industrial sector.

The authors have observed that when repair follows general distribution the values of reliability obtained of the system are less compared to the those obtained when the authors apply copula repair, a joint probability distribution. It is a clear implication for industrial sector and organization to use the policy for a better generate revenue.

According to the best of authors’ knowledge, there is no social implication as this study is meant for reliability section. The study in management and case study matters is considered to have social implication.

This research is the original work of authors. Nothing has been copied from any paper or book. The references are cited according to the relevance of study.

This case study covers marketing concepts, including marketing mix, segmentation, targeting and brand positioning and communication. After completion of the case study, the students will be able to understand the importance of segmentation and targeting; recognize the differences between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customers (B2C) segments; gain knowledge about the points of parity and points of difference while positioning; and examine the elements of a marketing mix.

The case centered around Mr. Ashvinder Singh, founder and director of Uni Style Image (USI), who initiated the polo T-shirt business in 1990 in Okhla, Delhi. The brand expanded across the country, but from 2010, USI faced fluctuating demand due to the rise of online marketing and intense competition from global fashion brands. Revenues dropped massively, leading to a significant downsizing from over 300 employees to just 11 by the end of fiscal year 2016–2017. In 2018, Singh explored the B2B model; however, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 impacted many small- and mid-sized apparel businesses, including USI. In the fiscal year 2021–2022, the B2B segment accounted for 90% of total revenue, but the business size could not cover significant operating expenses. Despite only 10% of revenue coming from the B2C segment, Singh wanted to leverage the online space. In September 2022, Singh closed his factory in Noida, National Capital Region, Delhi. Amid the uncertainty, Singh explored various opportunities in the Indian market. In 2023, he even engaged a consultancy for expertise in marketing initiatives. He had to choose the target segment/s, develop a positioning strategy and create an effective marketing mix with very limited resources.

This case is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students, offering a valuable teaching tool for essential marketing concepts, such as the marketing mix, segmentation, positioning and brand communication. It can be used in both core marketing courses and elective courses like brand management, consumer behavior and integrated marketing communication. The decision dilemma presented in the case enriches the understanding of these concepts, making it a valuable resource for marketing education.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

Snow White is one of the most popular fairy tales worldwide. Therefore, it is not surprising that the story has been reconsidered multiple times during the current trend of producing fairy tale adaptations. Especially the Evil Queen has become an object of further examination in many recent instalments of the story. In this chapter, I analyse the revision of Snow White's stepmother in the book series The Lunar Chronicles (2012–2016), the films Mirror Mirror (2012), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), as well as the TV-series Once Upon a Time (2011–2018). Compared to other villains in recent fairy tale adaptations, who are, like Maleficent, redeemed, the queen remains an embodiment of evil and terror in most adaptations. I outline the depiction of the Evil Queen in present-day US-American fairy tale narratives, assessing what makes her the most villainous woman in all the fairy tale realms and questioning why many of these stories try to understand but do not forgive her. The focus of this investigation is on the backstory that she is equipped with, her crimes, and her ultimate fate. Although she has been abused, traumatized, and betrayed, she seems to remain an uber villain, not only attempting to kill her stepdaughter but also destroying nature, starving her people, and spreading a deadly virus. This kind of representation might result from the fact that her opponent is by the very name the purest fairy tale princess ever known.

This chapter aims to make sense of the growing research that examines the role of culture in mergers and acquisitions. We provide a detailed review of the many related but distinct constructs that have been introduced to the literature. While each construct has contributed to our understanding of the role of culture, the lack of connections made among constructs has limited the consolidation of contributions. The review shows what these constructs mean for mergers and acquisitions, what major findings have been discovered, and, most importantly, how constructs interrelate. Our discussion provides several opportunities to foster the needed consolidation of this research.

Firms operate in a market for their corporate assets, wherein important assets being bought and sold are business units. This market is therefore a primary mechanism for firm reconfiguration, and offers the opportunity for firms to gain performance advantage as they prepare for and engage in their boundary-changing moves. This paper focuses on resource reconfiguration between firms, and examines internally and externally driven sources of performance heterogeneity in firms’ use of the market for firm reconfiguration. Viewing between-firm resource reconfiguration through three theoretical lenses surfaces several potential avenues for firm differentiation. For one, the necessity of firms’ possessing capabilities to execute both sides of the external resource reconfiguration transaction – acquisition and divestiture capabilities – is revealed. For another, the institutional prerequisites that are needed in the operating environment for a firm to build a sustainable resource reconfiguration strategy are brought to the fore, and are well illustrated by the private equity industry. Lastly, the potential benefits of using the transactional view of firm scope to animate the study of external resource reconfiguration are raised. Taken together, these elements lead to a research agenda around resource reconfiguration across firm boundaries.

The current manuscript is focused on evaluating the capabilities of green practices that affect various business performance (BP) parameters of small and medium scale Indian manufacturing enterprises (SME’s). This study aims to obtain multiple significant factors that influence the implementation of green practices.

The manuscript focuses on statistical testing of responses obtained from 168 Indian SMEs to determine the relationship between input parameters and BP parameters. This paper starts with deploying tests such as Cronbach alpha and inter-item covariance test to obtain confidence in data collected, followed by various statistical tests such as Pearson correlation, multiple regression, canonical correlation to extract various significant factors the study. Further Games-Howell post hoc test is deployed to evaluate the significant improvements in BP gained over a reasonable duration of time. Finally, a discriminant validity test is used to find out the success or failure of the organizations that participated in the survey.

This research contributes to the holistic effect of green manufacturing (GM) toward gaining improvements in terms of different BP parameters taken for the study. It has been found that various input factors such as customer attributes, adoption of new technology, social pressure and government pressure are the main parameters for GM implementation. Further, it is observed that those at the maturity phase of GM implementation are reaping higher benefits than the organizations at the transition and stability phase.

The current study has been accomplished in Indian SME manufacturing organizations to investigate the effects of GM implementation in the organization. Although research findings imply the effective use of green practices within the organization to reap BP parameters and improve the market’s competitive image, the study cannot be generalized and can be used as an insight for both academicians and end-users in understanding the overall achievements of GM.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and examine the role of accounting and accountants in customary land transactions between Indigenous peoples and foreign corporate entities. The paper uses the case of two accountants who utilised accounting technologies in lease agreements to alienate customary land from Indigenous landowners in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Employing a case study methodology, the paper draws on contemporary data sets of transcripts related to a Commission of Inquiry established in 2011 to investigate PNG’s Special Agricultural Business Lease system. Analysis of other publicly available data and semi-structured interviews with PNG landowners and other stakeholders supplement and triangulate data from the inquiry transcripts. A Bourdieusian lens was adopted to conceptualise how accounting was used in the struggles for customary land between foreign developers and Indigenous landowners within the wider capitalist field and the traditional Melanesian field.

This paper reveals how accountants exploited PNG’s customary land registration system, the Indigenous peoples’ lack of financial literacy and their desperation for development to alienate customary land from landowners. The accountants employed accounting technologies in the sublease agreements to reduce their royalty obligations to the landowners and to impose penalty clauses that made it financially impossible for the landowners to cancel the leases. The accountants used accounting to normalise, legitimise and rationalise these exploitative arrangements in formal lease contracts.

This paper responds to the call for research on accounting and Indigenous peoples that is contemporary rather than historic; examines the role of accountants in Indigenous relations, and examines the emancipatory potential of accounting.