Asian Journal of Management Cases

Abstract: Delafone International, a telecommunications company based in Denmark, was preparing a bid for cellular mobile licences in Pakistan. Harris Scott, the CEO of the mobile unit of Delafone and Ammar Ahmad, a financial consultant, had to recommend an initial bid price for this licence. Since the first bid price was only a qualifier for the following auction stage, they also had to develop a strategy for the upcoming auction and decide on a walk-away price.

Delafone International, a telecommunications company based in Denmark, was preparing a bid for cellular mobile licences in Pakistan. Harris Scott, the CEO of the mobile unit of Delafone and Ammar Ahmad, a financial consultant, had to recommend an initial bid price for this licence. Since the first bid price was only a qualifier for the following auction stage, they also had to develop a strategy for the upcoming auction and decide on a walk-away price.

This is an integrative case that brings out the intricacies of globalization and provides scope for discussion on the alternate strategies Shiv Industries can take to successfully operate in a new environment. The case highlights the problems of the organized sector in the changing market context where these companies face challenges from both ends—at the lower end competition comes from the unorganized sector whereas at the higher end of technology competition comes from more evolved industries in the current Indian scenario.

With an MBA from a well-known university in Pakistan, Ali had lucrative job offers from several multinational companies, but instead he decided to set up a stitching unit for manufacturing knitted garments. Based on his market research, he planned to operate and expand the stitching unit, which was expected to incur a cost of Rs 15 million and which was to be financed by equity. Based on changing market dynamics and calculation of data Ali had to determine whether the stitching unit was a financially viable project.

The new Housing Commissioner of the Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Board (UPHDB), V N Garg, faced the challenge of building the UPHDB into a brand that reflected customer responsiveness, quality consciousness and world-class standards in operations. This case on the UPHDB focuses on the process of initializing and implementing change in a government-owned organization that had for a long time been operating in a stable monopolistic environment, while lacking a long-term perspective and being subjected to frequent changes in top management. The case documents the various initiatives/interventions in the process of making changes, and articulating and implementing a vision for the UPHDB. Issues involved in consolidating the initiatives for change, the culture change and the pursuit of ISO certification are also discussed.

In 1998, Holcim, the world's second largest cement producer, acquired Siam City Cement, Thailand's second largest cement producer. The new management team focused on improving the company's performance to sell more cement in the mature Thai market. The case focuses on how Siam City Cement quickly developed its IT infrastructure and introduced inside of 24 months an Enterprise Resource Planning system, Customer Relationship Management tools and webSALES, an online distribution channel. The case raises the question of what else Siam City Cement needs to do beyond IT measures to achieve the full value of the significant IT investment. It also highlights the challenge of how to motivate management and employees to use information more effectively to improve customer services and to increase market share and profitability.