Abstract
The pandemic has been a sobering time for all of us. Almost everyone we know has been directly or indirectly affected by it. We have learned many things during this difficult time: We have learned to empathize, to take a breath and reflect, to appreciate what God has given us and what we are losing and, finally, to adapt. By the time this issue comes out, we would have globally made the transition to online learning. Online case teaching has been especially challenging but also rewarding. Cases lend themselves well to online teaching. A colleague of mine said it rather well, ‘Case method has the dual benefits of being a highly interactive pedagogy with a focus on the application of knowledge rather than mere dissemination of knowledge. Thus, it becomes engaging for students both in class and online’.
In this issue, we have a diverse line-up of cases for you to read and teach. The first case, ‘Dawlance (Private) Limited: The Air Fryer Microwave Oven Launch’, presents a situation in which the marketing head needs to finalize his marketing and pricing recommendations for the launch of the organization’s first microwave oven with air fryer technology. This case is best suited for graduate and executive courses on marketing management, new product marketing and marketing of durables. It covers key marketing topics such as new product development and launches, consumer behaviour for durables, push versus pull marketing, and pricing. A superb case for teaching!
‘Telecom in India in 2017: Uncertainty Calling’ is an analytical case set at a time when the Indian telecom industry was rapidly changing. A detailed case that comprehensively reviews the telecom industry and shows how the new entrant Reliance Jio disrupted the market by promising completely free voice calls. The case is ideal for business strategy and marketing courses that involve the industry life cycle, competitive strategies of leaders and challengers, inflection points, market disruptions and business models.
The third case of this issue, ‘WWF (Pakistan): A Major Shift Towards a New Appraisal and Compensation System’, is an organizational behaviour case that discusses challenges faced by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Pakistan, in its performance appraisal system. The case highlights a challenge faced by many organizations: vague and non-specific objectives/targets leading to demotivation and dissatisfaction amongst the employees. The new director-general decides to make a change and is contemplating how to move forward. Authors, Zahid and Khurshid have positioned this case for courses in organizational behaviour, human resource management, talent management and management of civil society organizations. It will enable the students to appreciate the importance of a fair and equitable appraisal system and also familiarize them with the underlying theories (goal setting theory and equity theory) behind an effective appraisal system.
‘Chenab Limited: Company in Decline’ focuses on a large vertically integrated textile company in Pakistan whose operations included the entire textile chain from cotton spinning to textile weaving and finished products such as garments. The company went public; however, the transition was beset with difficulties. The case discusses issues of corporate governance and white-collar crime.
In the case, ‘Growing the Sales of “Wondersmoke”: Overcoming the Retailers Capital Crunch’, the author, Jaydeep Mukherjee, discusses sales performance management, implementation of sales policies, sales policy effectiveness and credit policy. The case introduces us to Rajan, who needs to increase sales from retail outlets in Kendrapara, India. The case also discusses the challenges faced in implementing national sales policy in small territories where the market conditions are significantly different—an interesting case which I enjoyed reading.
The sixth case of this issue, ‘SEFAM (Private) Limited: A Credit Evaluation’, requires students to evaluate a company from the perspective of a potential lender. To make an effective evaluation, students will need to understand the business involving strategy identification, historical performance evaluation and assessing prospects. In the case, authors Dar and Alam demonstrate how much information can be obtained from financial statements with the appropriate financial analysis skills while simultaneously highlighting the limitations of such analysis. The case is intended for use towards the end of the financial reporting and analysis course in the first year of the MBA programme.
In the case, ‘Capital Budgeting: Maledia Broadcasting Ltd’, authors Purani and Jeesha introduce us to Samjad, Deputy CEO of the new venture, Maledia Broadcasting Limited, based in Cochin, India. Samjad has to prepare financial projections to justify the feasibility of the newly launched Malayalam news channel. He has to make the project attractive yet practical for his organization. The case is suitable for courses in financial management, project finance and financial valuation. An interesting case which I am sure you will enjoy teaching.
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.