Abstract
The second international case conference at LUMS, AJMC 2013 culminated successfully this year with approximately 130 participants and 30 case presentations. The conference continued Suleman Dawood School of Business’s (SDSB) aim of encouraging the teaching, writing and adoption of the case method in business schools all over the Region.
This two-day event brought together Pakistani and international case writers. Thirty cases were presented from which, six were presented through Skype since some delegates had to cancel their plans at the last minute. This was the first time that presenters out of Pakistan were able to participate in our Case Roundtables through this mode of communication. It was a big success and this is something we can look forward to build upon for AJMC 2014.
The first case in this issue, Broken Out and Bust: Ayub Khan Clothing Ltd is a small business strategy and entrepreneurship case which focuses on the strategic growth strategy associated with ethnic entrepreneurship. It shows what happens when a successful entrepreneur of an ethnic business relocates his clothing store from an ethnic enclave to the mainstream city centre. This is an interesting case that will surely encourage student participation.
In Engro Zarkhez Challenge 2011, the authors explore intra organizational negotiation challenges faced by the marketing team of an agricultural product. The case highlights the fact that differing perspectives increase the risk of conflict. The case also raises questions regarding the skills and competencies that are needed by the management and staff to institutionalize group negotiations within the marketing and sales team.
A public sector case series by Ahmad and Qureshi bring forth the organizational transformation challenges faced by the newly appointed Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, the Central Bank in the country. Case A identifies these challenges; Case B details the implementation plan; and Case C finds the protagonist assessing the results of his plan at the end of his six-year tenure. Another OB/HRM case, it brings out issues relating to change strategy, transformation, and participative decision making.
The last two cases of this issue are, Suprajit Engineering Limited by R. Srinivasan and In Search of Luxurious Slippers: The Birth of Edmini, An Entrepreneurial Venture in the UAE, respectively. The former highlights the reasons behind the success of this organization and demonstrates its rapid growth strategies and the latter illustrates the birth of an entrepreneurial business concept, Edmini, an online store specializing in customized slippers targeted to the Emirati male population.
We appreciate the input and feedback of our reviewers and contributors. We are obliged to our readership for their continued patronage. A reminder that you may contact the authors directly to obtain the teaching notes to the cases in our journal. I hope you enjoy reading and teaching AJMC 10:1 cases. Keep a look out for the Call for Cases for AJMC 2014 Conference in the forthcoming September 2013 issue.