Abstract
Welcome to the first issue of 2020. We continue our tradition of encouraging the adoption of the case method pedagogy in management education by publishing high-quality teaching cases in management sciences. I hope that these cases will find their way to your classrooms. We have an impressive line-up of cases for you to teach.
The first case, Advanced IT Systems Limited: Case of Ethics and Conflicts of Interest, presents a situation in which a business head champions a young computer science graduate for accelerated promotion, but keeps his personal relationship with the young lady discreet. In this case, the authors, Patanjali and Gupta, cover related issues of setting ethical and cultural standards, policy and pragmatism, and meeting client needs, and organizational propriety. As an HR case, it elaborates on the concept of living values within a company culture rather than just written policies.
TCS: Hazir SubKuch—Making Everything Present focuses on the decision of whether or not to run an ambitious new logistics service, that is, Hazir SubKuch (everything is available), meant to deliver anything non-prohibited that a customer wants on a crowdsourcing model. The case is best suited for courses related to logistics and innovation management. It provides the students with an opportunity to understand the pros and cons of crowdsourcing and discuss how a company should decide about using crowdsourcing as a strategic source. An interesting case which I am sure you will enjoy teaching in your classrooms.
In the third case of this issue, authors, Haroon, Ali, and Dar, look into an instance of an audit failure in the context of a Pakistani listed company, Tri-Pack. This case will help students to gain insight into an audit engagement as performed at a professional accounting firm. It will provide students with an opportunity to understand the mechanics by which an audit may fail, as it navigates through regulatory compliance performed by the auditor.
In the case, Managing International Communication: Ji Trading Co., Mobeen Ajmal, Rafay, and Moeen Ajmal focus on Zohaib Akhtar, the company secretary and personal assistant to the CEO of Ji Trading Company who had to analyse what went wrong during the day the Chinese team arrived in Pakistan. The company was trying to attract more investment from its existing Chinese partners and raise new capital from local investors. Zohaib and his associate, Sheng, had been working on this deal for more than a year. They had worked on understanding the Chinese culture as well as keeping in view the inherent differences between the cultures of Pakistan and China. Yet on the day, the Chinese partners came to the firm, it was an administrative disaster. He had to figure out what went wrong. The case can be effectively used in both general management courses and specialized courses on international management, intercultural communication and international human resource management—a very contemporary case dealing with current issues.
Decentralization Experience in Pakistan: The 18th Constitutional Amendment is a technical note by Muhammad Ahsan Rana that highlights the 18th Amendment passed in April 2010 in Pakistan. This note would be a good teaching instrument since it examines the Amendment and its implementation. It also helps in understanding the nature and extent of devolution of authority resulting therefrom.
A Tale of Mystery Shopping: Mausummery Perspective, written by Arif and Sarfraz, describes the growth challenges faced by Mausummery, a clothing manufacturer and designer, and the strategic growth options available to the firm. The company had opened a number of its own stores in the hope of providing outstanding customer service. However, mystery shopping research had shown the company stores performing poorly relative to the competition. The CEO and COO had to decide how to handle the situation moving forward. This case is comprehensive and versatile and can be used in several different courses, such as marketing, marketing research and retail management.
In the case Alliances Operational Framework, Initiatives and Key Challenges, Faheem Bukhari sheds light on the alliances and loyalty programmes that play an important role in building brand awareness and increasing customer loyalty. An effective alliance initiative in the credit card domain strengthens the product’s features by offering value to current and potential credit card users. This case highlights the holistic alliance roadmap developed by the local bank’s visa credit card team. Students can learn from this real-life example, which highlights several challenges and raises questions about how to measure success in alliance initiatives and the lessons acquired from the experience, especially regarding strategy modification.
We appreciate the input and feedback from our reviewers and contributors. We are obliged to our readership for their continued support and encouragement—a reminder that you may contact the authors directly for the teaching notes to the cases published in the journal.
I hope that you enjoy teaching and reading this issue.