South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases

In an effort towards business survival, an executive team considers progressive options for the future of their organization. The external business environment continues to change with fierce competition, a battle for talent, budget pressures and changing customer demands. What does it take for a large multinational Fortune 500 ‘logistics’ organization based in the USA to modify the culture and become an acclaimed learning organization? A decision to conduct employee ‘culture’ surveys in combination with other efforts was implemented. The authors share the experience of an organization’s odyssey to a learning organization through a change of culture.

Tuan Haji Mohamed Taib bin Ibrahim, chairman of Muhibbah Engineering Bhd (MEB), called a meeting of the board of directors to discuss the issue of Asia Petroleum Hub (APH) project on 27 July 2012. The construction works for APH were stopped as APH financier of CIMB Bank Bhd, suspended its financing in 2009. Asia Petroleum Hub was later wound up under a winding-up petition filed by a creditor in October 2012. Muhibbah board decided to pay net debt exposure of RM 245 million certified claims from APH keeping Muhibbah’s right to pursue recovery. Mac Ngan Boon, the managing director, suggested drastic changes in the company’s structure, roles, responsibilities and organizational culture to put the company on a path to sustainable profits. Datuk Zakaria bin Abdul Hamid, vice chairman and independent non-executive director, and Abd Hamid bin Ibrahim, another independent non-executive director, endorsed Mac Ngan Boon’s suggestions. The board has to decide the way forward.

With a firm determination, the CEO of a small family owned company, operating in a stagnating market, starts to work to bring in change. Finding the situation to be tough to manage, CEO suggests appointing a consultant to support his initiatives. Rigidity of the systems and procedures followed in the past hinders his change initiatives. In every murky situation, the team always huddled together to reflect on their efforts. After all, it makes the unnoticeable problems noticeable and builds trust worthy relationships among all.

Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) Limited was incorporated in 1953 by the Government of India as a machine tool manufacturing company. In the later years, the company diversified into other products including watches. Its watch division, known as the HMT Watches Limited, started in 1961 with the support of Japan’s Citizen Watch Company. Over the years, HMT made tremendous progress in all business dimensions to emerge as a market leader in the Indian watch industry. The company also earned the reputation of ‘the time keeper of the nation’ for its profound impact on the country’s watch business. Hindustan Machine Tools established itself as a strong brand in the Indian market. However, post-liberalization in 1991, HMT’s performance started dwindling. The policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization paved the way for the entry of many private brands, both domestic and foreign, into the Indian watch market that became hyper-competitive. The HMT management did not show enough agility to make necessary changes in its business models to cope with the changing business environment. Gradually, HMT lost its numero uno position to Titan Watches of the Tata Group. Hindustan Machine Tools inability to understand the needs of modern-day customers and its less-than-adequate attention towards new product development made things even worse for the organization. With losses accumulating over the years, HMT became financially unviable. After several failed attempts to turn around, the government finally closed down HMT Watches in early 2016. With this, HMT became a brand of the bygone era. This case portrays the long and eventful journey of HMT Watches and then analyzes the major reasons behind its failure. It implies a few important strategic lessons for the management students.

Jobseekers, considered as long-term unemployed in Lapland, are under the risk of social exclusion. This group of people is lacking ways for identifying the advantages of relevant networking opportunities in the society with respect to access to the labour market. In particular, this article explores the opportunities for facilitating and enhancing public services in customers’ demands and promoting employment services during the transition of the target group via establishing social enterprise (SE)/cooperatives (coops). The research focuses on the concept of coproduction and network theory for supporting social innovation in the Arctic city. The objective of this explorative research is to analyze the combine recourses of coproduction and network modelling for achieving the necessary sociopolitical determinants for SE/coop to function as an alternative instrument for employment in Lapland. This research article suggests a sustainable social network model for identifying collective social beliefs and values for hindering long-term unemployment by operating SE/coops successfully in the sparsely populated Arctic region.

Vinod Ramanlal Didwaniya, son of a marginal farmer, had the only worries of sustenance of his family members after he was a postgraduate in commerce from a local college. He started a small retail shop named Vinod Provisions in July 1993 in a rented space of 7 × 11 sq. ft area with a meagre working capital of ₹17,800 only. It was run by his family members including his father and wife with a daily turnover of ₹1,000 approximately (annual turnover of ₹0.30 million). Vinod reared a distinguishing character of sense of ownership and drew immense pleasure out of everything, every decision that he owned. This drove his small family business to rise to Vinod Super Shop in about 20 years’ time which is run today in 3,000 sq. ft area with a working capital investment of ₹7 million besides ₹15 million invested on creating owned infrastructure for this supermarket. Its annual turnover has grown from ₹0.30 million to ₹15 million (50 times growth), and it has 18 employees today. By heart a poet, Vinod feels within him every stakeholder of his business in whose interest he has been taking decisions involving management fundamentals and ethical issues. The present case study attempts to capture this unique entrepreneurial saga amidst highly competitive retail sector that leaves a number of lessons to learn.

Small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) have been recognized as a critical segment and lifeline to push development and social improvement in Sri Lanka. Several studies have pointed out that people involved in some informal sector SME activities are opposing to develop that sector due to many reasons. Further, it will be same for the gem mining sector too. Along these lines, this examination may be directed towards recognizing those essential trademarks of gem mining SMEs. This study discusses the primary issues which thwart those improvements in this industry and will suggest necessary arrangements. Methodology should also overcome these imperatives. This study is composed of an investigation in Ratnapura locale with organized questionnaire surveys and meetings with magic stakeholders. Furthermore, this creates far-reaching expositive expression audit. The vicious cycle of the SME model may be utilized to study the prevailing barriers in this industry. Discoveries of the exploration demonstrate that this business is male-dominated. Different ages are also included. Marketing, technology, data and administration and administrative issues are identified as main barriers and basic problems in gem mining industry. Furthermore, gems prices are kept at falsely low level toward those purchasers who come for repeat buys. This is the major barrier in the development of lifestyle of the gem mining people who spend a miserable life, while cunning gem buyers are living a luxurious life on the shoulders of poor. This research endeavour will be directed towards a situational examination.

This teaching case narrates the entrepreneurial journey of Meena Bindra, the founder of the Indian apparel retail brand (BIBA), from 1983 to 2014. Her enterprise achieved incredible growth and has developed a magnificent vision for the future. The case describes the entrepreneurial outlook and decisions that helped tap opportunities and achieve rapid growth amidst the changing business environment. Her success story breaks many myths related to small start-ups by women entrepreneurs and highlights the immense potential and economic contributions by women. It serves as an example and provides support to the call for the active promotion of women’s economic empowerment. The case is based on both primary and secondary data.

Patanjali Ayurved Limited (PAL) is a company in India that deals in Ayurveda and herbal products in food, personal care and home care categories. The company started with an aim to link the rising destiny of millions of rural masses on the one hand and many more suffering and leading an unhealthy lifestyle on the other. The company within a very short span of time had succeeded in getting its foothold in the competitive Indian fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market and has reached a gross revenue of ₹25,000 million (about US$380 million) in the fiscal year 2015. The case discusses the marketing mix strategy adopted by PAL and how it helped the firm get a competitive advantage over other players in the industry. Further, the case also discusses the challenges and road ahead for the PAL.

Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s Eureka Forbes has reached 15 million customers in 550 cities of India and 35 countries globally (Sharma, 2014). Harvard Business Review has cited Eureka Forbes among six most successful sales and marketing companies in the world (Legal Era, 2012). This home appliances company has expanded its footprint by introducing a mobile water purifier Aquaguard-on-the-Go under the brand Aquaguard. Marzin R. Shroff, Eureka Forbes CEO, has claimed that Aquaguard-on-the-Go is ‘an important milestone in the history of brand Aquaguard which will take their market leadership in India to the next level’ (Business Line, 2014). The company is excited about this product, but the question is how the company should reach target customers of this product in Indian market.