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The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations

From repositioning an entire organization to rethinking design approaches, supply chains and government collaborations, sustainability-related concerns are prompting many businesses to make major shifts. here are mini-case glimpses of nike, rio tinto, ge, better place and wal-mart..

• Climate Change
• Sustainability

Sustainability isn’t a one-size-fits all strategy that a company can implement by following a set of rules. Rather, it springs from challenges each company faces in its own markets. Take Nike Inc., whose brand is synonymous with cutting-edge design. As part of its strategy to reduce the amount of material in its shoes, and thus waste, redesigning the athletic shoe became a core element of its approach to sustainability.

The Leading Question

What changes when a company acts on sustainability?

• Strategies differ widely, according to the unique challenges or opportunities each company confronts.
• First steps always lead to unexpected further options.
• Actions often lead to new sources of competitive advantage.

To be sure, there are common elements in how companies try to capitalize on sustainability — reducing energy consumption, lowering carbon footprints and becoming more efficient consumers of water, less wasteful manufacturers and more thoughtful corporate citizens. But the specific path each company takes depends on what it views as most critical to its business. For a start-up like Better plc, LLC, an electric vehicle provider based in Palo Alto, California, that might mean locating in countries around the world most receptive to the electric car business. For Wal-Mart Stores Inc., sustainability might mean greening the supply chain.

But one thing is certain: Sustainability is less a target than an approach, which is why it is continually being refined. As companies ramp up understanding, they also push the envelope of what can be accomplished. In short, learning more about what they do has led companies to change how they do it.

Though it takes investment and commitment, the rewards are measured in energy cost savings, new product design, customer engagement and employee commitment. Together, all these attributes amount to the one thing any business understands: competitive advantage.

Courtesy of Nike

From Labor-Practice Compliance to Design Offensive

Backstory: Stung by a campaign against its labor practices in the 1990s, Nike embarked on a long process to ultimately reinvent its operations and meet broad sustainability metrics by 2020.

Challenge: Can you move beyond “compliance” and capitalize on sustainability by integrating it into the fabric of a company — from design and manufacturing to the supply chain?

Key moves: Nike began taking a deep look at its operations in the early 1990s, after it faced a firestorm of criticism over labor practices at its Asian suppliers.

About the Author

Samuel Fromartz writes frequently on sustainability topics and is the author of Organic, Inc.: Natural Foods and How They Grew (Harcourt, 2006).

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Strategic Planning and Decision Making in State Departments of Transportation (2004)

Chapter: chapter four - two mini-case studies.

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32 CHAPTER FOUR TWO MINI-CASE STUDIES Because the essence of strategic management entails the integration of numerous management and decision proc- esses around a strategic framework that sets the direction for moving into the future in a deliberate manner, it can be helpful to have an overview of how given organizations tie the various elements of the process together. Therefore, this chapter presents mini-case studies of two state DOTs at very different stages in developing their strategic man- agement processes. The first is the Pennsylvania Depart- ment of Transportation (PennDOT), a seasoned leader in the field, and the second is the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), a relative newcomer to strategic planning. Although different in many respects, both cases illustrate carefully crafted approaches to strategic man- agement. PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Strategic planning was first initiated at PennDOT in 1982. That initial effort produced a set of 24 major objectives for the department, with the strategies for achieving them to be developed by the relevant organizational units. It also led to the formation of the top-level strate- gic management committee (SMC), which still exists as the highest level policy-making body at PennDOT, and a requirement for the major divisions and the 11 engineering districts to develop 4-year business plans and accompany- ing budget requests designed to help accomplish the major objectives. Over the past 20 years the process has been repeated and enhanced at roughly 4-year intervals, coinciding with the beginning of new gubernatorial administrations. Along the way, participation in developing PennDOT’s strategic planning has broadened considerably, to include as many as 400 to 500 managers and employees in fleshing out stra- tegic objectives and actions as opposed to the 50 top man- agers who were involved in the initial exercise. Although the process became deeply imbedded in the organization, the first round of the Baldrige assessment process, a comprehensive approach to strengthening organ- izational effectiveness, which PennDOT began in 1998, re- vealed that the lack of an effective strategic planning proc- ess constituted a major performance gap in the department. This assessment showed that although strategic planning was taken very seriously at PennDOT, the resulting plans did not drive decisions and behavior in the department on a consistent basis, the plans were not used effectively to manage people and organizational units, and the plans were not necessarily tied to fiscal reality. Therefore, the secretary and the SMC chartered a gap-closure team to lead a 2-year effort to design and implement a revamped strategic planning process. Strategic Planning From this effort a continuing process emerged consisting of planning, implementation, and evaluation on an ongoing basis (Poister 2002). PennDOT’s strategic plan was devel- oped through a process that included the following five steps: 1. Leadership direction—Developing or revalidating the department’s mission, vision, values, and strategic focus areas. 2. Customer expectations—Identifying customer expec- tations as related to the strategic focus areas through analysis of survey data, focus groups, and key stake- holder interviews. 3. Customer service capabilities—Assessing the de- partment’s capacity to meet customer expectations through focus groups with employees, and separately with partners and suppliers, as well as analyzing relevant operating data. 4. Priority tasks and strategies—Developing and evalu- ating alternatives within each focus area to produce a set of high-level goals and strategic objectives, and the strategies for achieving them. 5. Plans and performance targets—Reconciling strategic objectives, performance measures, targets, and budgets to produce plans and strategies that were effective, technically realistic, and fiscally respon- sible. The 8 strategic focus areas, 13 high-level goals, and 21 strategic objectives that came out of this process in 1999 are summarized in Figure 8, which also identifies the own- ers and leaders for each strategic objective. The owners serve as the sponsors of these strategic initiatives, whereas the leaders take the technical lead in implementing them. The targets were meant to be aggressive, but not unrea- sonable, and they were established based on budget re- alities so that the owners, leaders, and other responsible managers would know where the required funding was coming from.

33 STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS HIGH-LEVEL GOAL STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE OWNER/ LEADER Smoother Roads Improve ride quality by incorporating smooth road strategies into a comprehensive pavement program. Ryan/ Moretz Refine winter services best practices to achieve more timely and efficient response. Hoffman/ Wise Maintenance First Cost-Effective Highway Maintenance Investment Use life-cycle criteria as a tool for asset management and investment to reduce outstanding maintenance needs. Hoffman/ Christie Improve customers’ experiences of our facilities by enhancing beautification efforts and reducing roadside debris. Yearick/ Peda & Hull Balance Social and Environmental Concerns Develop timely transportation plans, programs, and projects that balance social, economic, and environmental concerns. King/ Schreiber Quality of Life Demonstrate Sound Environmental Practices Implement a strategic environmental management program that adopts sound practices as our way of doing business. Ryan/ Kober Delivery of Transportation Products and Services Meet project schedules and complete work within budgeted costs. Ryan/ Azzato Implement congestion management strategies that limit work zone restrictions, address incident management, and reduce corridor travel delays. Hoffman/ Koser Mobility and Access Efficient Movement of People and Goods Implement Keystone Corridor rail passenger improvements as a pilot multi-modal initiative. Peltz/ Smedley Improve Customer Satisfaction Implement a department-wide systematic process to continue to improve customer satisfaction. Serian/ Cross Customer Focus Improve Customer Access to Information Improve information access by providing quality customer contacts across the organization with special attention to driver and vehicles inquiries. Serian/ Cleaver FIGURE 8 PennDOT strategic focus areas, high-level goals, and strategic objectives.

34 STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS HIGH-LEVEL GOAL STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE OWNER/ LEADER Map key processes and improve those with the most strategic impact on business results. Tartline/ Harris Innovation and Technology World Class Process and Product Performance Deliver business results through planned enterprise-focused information technology. Tartline/ Reed Implement cost-effective highway safety improvements at targeted high-crash/fatality locations. Ryan/ Bryer Safer Travel Upgrade safe driving performance through education and enforcement initiatives. Yearick/ Seitz & Bryer Implement prevention strategies to reduce the employee injury rate. Tartline/ Dennin Safety Safer Working Conditions Implement prevention strategies to reduce the vehicle accident rate. Tartline/ Dennin Provide employees with the tools and expectations to communicate effectively to facilitate leadership at all levels. Yearick/ OCCR Internal Com. Mgr. Leadership at All Levels Improve Leadership Capabilities and Work Environment Develop employee skills and capabilities through a structured process of instruction, practice and leadership opportunities. Tartline/ Harris Implement a methodology to involve partners and stakeholders more meaningfully in PennDOT activities. Zimmerman/ Cvejkus Relationship Building Cultivate Effective Relationships Strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of transportation grant programs using the methodology for partners and stakeholders. Voras/ Brown FIGURE 8 (Continued).

35 Scorecard The strategic plan that emerged in early 2000 from the im- position of fiscal reality onto proposed strategic objectives and targets is summarized in a scorecard that presents the goals and objectives, performance measures, and targets. There are actually two versions of the scorecard: the secre- tary’s scorecard and the SMC scorecard. The SMC score- card is used internally to manage the strategic agenda. It is organized by the strategic objectives and shows a measure and a target, or multiple measures and targets, for each of the 21 strategic objectives. The secretary’s version of the scorecard, shown in Figure 9, provides a simpler format structured by the 13 high-level goals. Although the SMC scorecard is used internally to manage the plan, the secre- tary’s version is oriented more toward public consumption, focusing attention more generally on PennDOT’s overall goals. Cascading Plans The department’s scorecard provides a framework for de- veloping organizational scorecards and business plans. Strategic planning at PennDOT is cascaded down into the organization by requiring the 11 districts and 6 deputates to develop their own strategic objectives and scorecards driven by the enterprise-level strategic agenda. These or- ganization scorecards, which must be approved by the SMC, are built, tested, and justified with the same five-step planning process used at the departmental level. The lead- ership direction comes directly from the strategic objec- tives in the enterprise-level scorecard that relate to the di- vision or district’s responsibilities, along with the underlying rationale that produced them. Each of these or- ganizational units must establish objectives, measures, and targets that contribute to those in the enterprise-level score- card that the organization “owns,” although it can add other “indirectly aligned” objectives as well. Business Planning Business planning is the vehicle PennDOT uses to align organizational units’ activities and priorities with the enter- prise-level strategic agenda. Thus, to advance the depart- ment’s strategic plan, each of the districts and deputates develops business plans designed in part to accomplish its own scorecard objectives. (Some central office bureaus and county maintenance units develop scorecards and business plans as well; however, this is not required at this point.) All of PennDOT’s strategic objectives are implemented through the 4-year business plans, which are updated an- nually. The business plans, which encompass all core func- tions and routine activities as well, present planned efforts for each objective in the organizational scorecards, spelling out exactly how the district or deputate will accomplish a given objective in terms of tasks, work programs, projects, action items, and schedules. This is important because the owners and leaders, and responsible managers at subunit levels, have considerable flexibility as to how they plan to accomplish certain objectives. Resource Allocation Some of PennDOT’s strategic initiatives, primarily those relating to IT, are funded separately through one-time allo- cations from special funds held expressly for that purpose. However, most strategic initiatives are supported through the normal budgeting process, which allocates resources to organizational units for particular uses. Therefore, the business plans all contain specific budgets that invest re- sources in planned actions responding to strategic objec- tives as well as other activities. This requires the districts and deputates preparing business plans to tie their budget request directly to strategic initiatives and to make sure that their plans and work programs are fiscally realistic. When the SMC approves business plans and their associ- ated budgets, usually after some degree of revision and ne- gotiations with respect to targets, programs, and budgets, these managers can be confident that they will have suffi- cient resources to achieve the targets for which they will be held accountable. Performance Management For many years PennDOT has used a management-by- objectives participative approach to providing direction and control over the work of individual managers and em- ployees. In its current form, the more formal written per- formance contracts have been shortened and incorporated in annual employee reviews (EPRs) as “expected work re- sults,” which are grafted onto the more constant annual job descriptions. With the new strategic management process, the EPRs are driven primarily by the strategic agenda, so that individuals who are owners or leaders of strategic ob- jectives, or otherwise identified as having some responsi- bility for them, have those objectives and their attendant action items, along with accompanying performance meas- ures, embodied in the EPRs. This is the case at the enterprise level, but also with the organizational scorecards and associated business plans. Whether or not business plans are used below the district or deputate level, managers at many levels negotiate with subordinates to contribute specified efforts toward accom- plishing strategic objectives and hold them accountable for those results through quarterly performance reviews. Therefore, by tying individuals’ expected work results to strategic objectives, PennDOT’s performance management

36 Strategic Focus Area High-Level Growth Pledge to Customers How Success Will be Measured? External (Customers) Internal (Support) Measurement Tool (Metric) Target 2002 2005 Smoother roads Better ride conditions on major (NHS) highways X International Roughness Index (IRI) 104 for NHS roads 99 for NHS roads MAINTENANCE FIRST Cost-effective highway maintenance investment Reduction in outstanding maintenance needs X Condition assessment for highways and bridges Complete asset management system Meet target established in 2002 Balance social, economic, and environmental concerns Timely decisions based on public and technical input on project impacts X Highway project environmental approvals meeting target dates 75% meeting target dates 90% meeting target dates QUALITY of LIFE Demonstrate sound environmental practices Attaining world class environmental status X ISO 14001 environmental criteria Implement a pilot program Meet ISO standards Delivery of transportation products and services Honoring commitments on scheduled transportation projects X Dollar value of 12-year program construction contracts initiated $1.3 billion per year $1.4 billion per year MOBILITY and ACCESS Efficient movement of people and goods Reduced travel delays X 2002–peak period work zone lane restrictions 2005–travel delays on selected corridors Set baseline in 2000 for reduced 2002 lane restrictions Meet target set in 2002 to reduce corridor travel delays Improve customer satisfaction Competitiveness on Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Excellence X Baldrige Organizational Review Package Scores— Customer Criteria 80 department average 100 department average CUSTOMER FOCUS Improve customer access to information Prompt answers to telephone inquiries X Answer rate of calls to the Customer Call Center 94% of calls answered 94% of calls answered INNOVATION and TECHNOLOGY World class process and product performance Competitiveness on Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Excellence X Baldrige Organizational Review Package Scores—All Criteria 500 level met by lead organizations 600 level met by lead organizations Safe travel Fewer fatalities from highway crashes X Number of fatalities per year 5% reduction in fatalities 10% reduction in fatalities SAFETY Safer working conditions Fewer work- related injuries X Injury rate per 100 employees working 1 year 8.25% injury rate 7.5% injury rate LEADERSHIP at all LEVELS Improve leadership capabilities and work environment Positive trends in employee feedback on job-related factors X Organizational Climate Survey (OCS)—Selected Items 48% positive rating 54% positive rating RELATIONSHIP BUILDING Cultivate effective relationships Effectiveness of partnerships to achieve business results X PennDOT/partner business effectiveness survey scores Establish metric, baseline and target Meet target established in 2002 FIGURE 9 PennDOT scorecard of measures.

37 process uses the EPRs to instill individual responsibility for advancing the strategic agenda deep into the depart- ment. Dashboards and Scorecards Basically, the scorecards are used to manage PennDOT’s strategic agenda at multiple levels. The districts and depu- tates are responsible for reviewing their scorecards on a quarterly basis, and monitoring the performance measures for each objective against the targets and milestones that have been set. Adjustments in programs, work plans, as- signments, and resource allocations are made as necessary to keep their objectives on track. As the embodiment of PennDOT’s strategic agenda, the SMC scorecard contains the most important set of per- formance measures to monitor in terms of guiding the de- partment into the future. However, the SMC also con- cluded that focusing solely on the scorecard could be problematic in that many goals, processes, and functions that are important to the department do not appear on it. Therefore, the SMC decided to develop and monitor a dashboard in addition to the scorecard. In contrast to the change-oriented scorecard, the dashboard tracks a number of measures that pertain to the department’s core functions; important activities and busi- ness results it must produce on an ongoing basis. Although there is considerable overlap between the two, the dashboard is concerned more with more immediate per- formance, whereas the scorecard is more future oriented. Thus, the dashboard focuses on ongoing operations rather than strategic initiatives, and tends to be more input and output oriented, whereas the scorecard is more oriented to outcomes and results. PennDOT’s dashboard, which uses a green light/yellow light/red light format, is reviewed on a monthly basis using a management-by-exception approach. As is the case with the SMC, the districts, deputates, and other units that have scorecards also have complementary dashboards for track- ing the performance of their core functions. Dashboards as well as scorecards are required in business plans, because the districts and deputates cannot afford to lose track of their core functions while they focus on implementing their strategic agendas. Thus, the scorecards align PennDOT’s change-oriented objectives to create a direct path from the department-wide strategic agenda through the business plans to work units and individual employees. Conversely, the dashboards are more daily-work oriented to create a di- rect path from the individual employees and work units through the organization dashboards to department-level core business priorities or objectives. Reviewing and Revising the Strategic Agenda The SMC reviews progress in achieving the strategic ob- jectives identified in “Moving Pennsylvania Forward” on a rotating basis, examining a few each month over a 6- month period, with progress on each objective reviewed every 6 months. The more detailed SMC scorecard is the principal reporting mechanism for tracking the suc- cess of the business plans in advancing the strategic agenda. The SMC scorecard, as opposed to the secretary’s version of the enterprise-level scorecard, tracks progress on each strategic objective, not the more general goals, and often incorporates multiple measures for a given strategic objective. Therefore, the owners and leaders prepare semi-annual progress reports for the SMC on each objective as it comes up on the rotating schedule. They are held accountable by the secretary and the SMC for achieving department-wide results on their strategic objectives, and their progress along these lines also feeds into their quarterly EPRs and thus their own individual annual performance appraisals. In turn, the deputy secretaries and other executives who are the owners and leaders of strategic objectives track those same indicators, or other appropriate ones, for organiza- tional units under their direction to hold those units respon- sible for their piece of the plan. Each December, the SMC conducts a systematic review of the entire enterprise-level scorecard to determine whether and how it might need to be updated. For exam- ple, if a particular strategic initiative has been completed, the SMC will probably decide to remove it from the score- card. Alternatively, the SMC may decide, perhaps based on its continued scanning of the external environment, that new strategic objectives are needed. For example, in De- cember 2001, two additional strategic objectives address- ing post-September 11 security concerns were added to the scorecard. Such new objectives are developed by technical teams of managers and employees at the direction of the SMC and they follow the same process that was used to develop the original scorecard objectives. Finally, the SMC may consider changing the measure or the targets that have been defined to track the progress of particular strategic objectives. To summarize, at Penn DOT strategic management is an ongoing process, moving through a continuous cycle of planning, implementation, and evaluation. The enterprise- level strategic agenda, summarized in the departmental scorecard, is implemented through scorecards and business plans developed by the districts and deputates, and in some cases by county maintenance units and central office bu- reaus. These organizations review their scorecards on a quarterly basis to manage with the measures and ensure that they achieve scorecard targets. The district and depu-

38 tate business plans, containing both organization score- cards and dashboards, must be updated annually and ap- proved by the SMC to ensure alignment with enterprise- level strategic objectives. At the departmental level, the SMC monitors its score- card on an ongoing basis and annually reviews the overall strategic agenda, sometimes making modifications based on current external and internal scan data in addition to the department’s progress in achieving “Moving Pennsylvania Forward” scorecard targets. Periodically, at roughly 4-year intervals coinciding with changes in administrations, Penn- DOT has undertaken more comprehensive efforts to update its strategic agenda so as to respond more deliberately to changing trends and forces, newly emerging issues, new customer demands, and shifting political mandates. Administrative Transitions PennDOT’s strategic planning process has evolved through the administrations of three governors and has become well institutionalized at this point. With a new governor and a new secretary of transportation taking office in Janu- ary 2003, the stage was set for possible additional refine- ments and further direction setting through strategic plan- ning. Initially, the new secretary has decided to retain the process, and the SMC has reviewed the scorecard and made some changes in the strategic objectives in time to guide the current round of business planning and budget development throughout the organization. The intention then is to use this coming year to undertake a more com- prehensive effort to update the strategic plan, and the proc- ess may be further refined along the way. ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IDOT initiated strategic planning activities in early 2000. Although the secretary of transportation had considered the possibility earlier, a blanket mandate from the governor in 1999 provided the leadership commitment from the top of state government that the secretary felt was needed to make strategic planning effective. The effort was led by the deputy secretary and the assistant to the secretary for strategic planning, working with a 30-member strategic planning team, and it was facilitated by an external con- sulting group. Strategic Plan Working with the balanced scorecard approach, the plan- ning team completed the enterprise-level strategic plan in a few months, and it was approved by the department’s ex- ecutive committee in July 2000. As shown in Figure 10, the original strategic plan included 14 objectives spread across the four quadrants of the public-sector balanced scorecard, which substitutes a “mission effectiveness” or “program delivery” quadrant for the “financial” quadrant found in private-sector scorecards. For each of these objec- tives, one or more types of performance measures were identified for tracking success. In addition, for each strate- gic objective, targets or more specific objectives were identified, whose accomplishment would lead to achieving the overall strategic objective. Furthermore, for each of these targets, the plan identifies specific initiatives to be undertaken to accomplish the target. This specification of measures, targets, and initiatives is illustrated in Figure 11 for IDOT’s objective concerning improved safety for the traveling public and department employees. Cascading Strategic Plans Once the enterprise-level strategic plan was approved, IDOT began training division and office teams made up of cross sections of managers and employees in strategic planning and use of the balanced scorecard model. These groups then set about developing their own strategic plans in support of the department-wide plan. As an interesting process innovation, a mobile laptop system was employed to help these teams develop their strategic plans. This collaborative software, supported by a wireless system of lap- top computers, serves as an “electronic flipchart” in facili- tated sessions; helps groups in brainstorming, analyzing, and processing information; and greatly reduces the meet- ing time required to accomplish particular planning tasks. As of April 2003, IDOT had completed 28 balanced scorecards, including those for the 4 major divisions, 8 central office bureaus, 6 staff support offices, and 9 re- gional highway districts, in addition to the department’s overall enterprise-level scorecard. Each of these scorecards is reviewed and must be approved by the next level up in the chain of command. For instance, district engineers take the lead in selecting members of their strategic planning teams and in developing their scorecards, but these teams and plans must be approved by the director of the division of highways. This ensures alignment of the scorecards de- veloped by these organizational units with the depart- ment’s overall scorecard. Several of these scorecards have now been revised and updated from their original versions. All of IDOT’s scorecards are reviewed at least annually and updated as appropriate. For example, although the en- terprise-level scorecard originally consisted of 14 objec- tives, it then added one new objective for a total of 15, and now is likely to be reduced to 13 objectives through the successful completion of one and the combining of two others. These scorecards constitute strategic plans at the division, office, bureau, and district levels, all within the

39 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION & PARTNERSHIPS LEARNING & GROWTH C1. Expedite the delivery of work and services to minimize public inconvenience. L1. Attract, develop and retain a diverse, quality workforce—tools include cohesive employee recognition program. C2. Continue to assess customer satisfaction and needs—to drive process improvement. L2. Develop knowledge management/sharing process and create an environment that encourages innovation. C3. Improve safety for the traveling public and Department employees. L3. Establish consistent internal communications to ensure all employees have access and the ability to share information about IDOT activities and progress. C4. Improve proactive external communications— increase public understanding of IDOT objectives programs, and projects. L4. Revitalize a department professional identity. BEST BUSINESS PRACTICES DELIVERY OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES B1. Document, evaluate, and improve business processes. P1. Assess and/or establish levels of delivery of programs and services. B2. Acquire and allocate resources (including money, people, technology, and capital assets) based on demonstrated needs—evaluate investment strategy and use to ensure mission accomplishment. P2. Design and develop a mechanism to better integrate and coordinate the delivery of programs and services—reduce overlap. B3. Create an organizational environment where leadership is fostered at all levels in an effort to improve decision making. P3. Develop program/service risk assessment process relating to external factors (examples of external factors are special interest groups, resources, and components necessary for the completion of the program.) P4. Assist appropriate agencies to ensure ongoing security of transportation services in the face of credible threats or attacks. FIGURE 10 IDOT Enterprise Plan at May 31, 2002. framework of the overall enterprise-level strategic plan. Most of these units also develop their own annual work programs, and the scorecards are a driving force in devel- oping the work programs. Assigning Responsibilities IDOT assigns lead responsibility for several elements in its strategic plans. First, each of the scorecards is assigned a champion for the entire plan. Typically, this is the head of the organizational unit for which the plan has been de- signed (i.e., division or office director, district engineer, or bureau chief) or his/her designee. Second, each objective on a scorecard has a champion or leader to coordinate and report on progress on that objective as needed. Optionally, the targets specified for each objective may also have target managers. Finally, most objectives and/or targets have multiple initia- tives to help guide actions that will accomplish the objec- tives and targets. Each initiative is assigned an initiative manager who takes the lead in developing action plans for implementing the plans as well as achieving the targets.

40 To be measured by: 1. Change in internal attitudes and understanding surrounding safety. 2. Percent of reported work zone accidents that involved noncompliance with IDOT safety policy. 3. Percent of development of the General Accident Information System against established milestones. 4. Number of safety innovations implemented during the review period. 5. Percent change in vehicle crashes involving fatalities and/or serious injury. To be accomplished through: Target No. 1: Establish consistency and internal cohesion in the department’s employee safety focus: Initiatives: 1. Conduct review of current safety policy. 2. Review internal structure and recommend improvements if warranted [i.e., zone activities (internal and external)]. 3. Establish employee attitude/understanding baseline. Target No. 2: Examine and improve (internal and external) safety information flow: Initiatives: 1. Rework and implement the General Accident Information System (GAI). 2. Educate the public on a continuing basis. Target No. 3: Imbed safety in all department processes: Initiatives: 1. Develop process to find, share, and implement innovative ideas on safety. 2. Integrate safety into all relevant process steps under Objective B1. FIGURE 11 Objective C3: Improve safety for the traveling public and department employees. (Source: Illinois DOT.) At each level, these champions and managers are re- sponsible for both coordinating efforts and reporting on progress in achieving their strategic objectives. In essence, the hierarchy of strategic plan implementation and report- ing mirrors the traditional top-down hierarchy of the whole agency, which is comfortable for most managers and em- ployees. The difference is that implementation of the plans for the most part relies on teams on which individual rank has little meaning to the process. The initiative managers put together cross-functional or multidisciplinary teams as needed to implement their stra- tegic initiatives. Moving away from the command and con- trol management style that traditionally has dominated IDOT, these initiative managers are encouraged to com- municate across chains of command, if necessary, to achieve their objectives. However, they are required to re- port through the normal chains of command to ease possi- ble concerns about unsupervised activities taking place. At present, these individual-level assignments to take additional responsibilities as objective coordinators, target managers, or initiative managers are completely voluntary, and although they are recognized as an important part of the employee’s duties, they do not lead directly into the normal annual employee evaluation process. Rather, moti- vation for attending to these assignments and performing effectively in these roles is based primarily on leadership and communication, a sense of professional pride, peer support, and a highly visible process for reporting success or failure in implementing strategic initiatives and achiev- ing strategic objectives. IDOT’s assistant to the secretary for strategic planning indicated that assigning individual responsibility and fol- low-up on implementation activities is crucial to the suc- cessful completion of strategic initiatives. Eliciting com- mitments from individuals regarding specific tasks in the plan, emphasizing team work and collective responsibility, and then conducting quarterly, semi-annual, or annual re- views and updates in public settings serves to provide a powerful incentive for target managers and initiative man- agers to ensure that these strategic initiatives are imple- mented effectively. Performance Measurement To track overall success, IDOT uses a few general per- formance measures for each objective and encourages the use of more focused measures at each successive lower level of planning. The teams created to implement strategic initiatives use outcome measures derived from ongoing motorist surveys, employee surveys, crash reports, average daily travel counts, and so forth, to show long-term trends in bottom line results. Other more output-oriented meas-

41 ures (e.g., the number or percent of targeted process re- views completed) are used to track the efforts expended on strategic initiatives, assess needed changes in tactics, or understand when manpower shortages or other factors are slowing down progress. The assistant to the secretary for strategic planning usu- ally suggests performance measures at the outset of a new project; however, the teams have the option of rejecting them as long they have replacement measures that are bet- ter suited to the purpose. The general philosophy regarding performance measurement at IDOT is to make the meas- ures as nonthreatening as possible, rather than emphasize accomplishment of objectives; identify what is going well versus what may need to be changed. However, once agreement is reached regarding objectives, initiatives, im- plementation plans, and performance measures, tracking the measures and reporting performance data provides a powerful accountability tool for ensuring that a high prior- ity is placed on achieving the strategic objectives. Budget Linkages IDOT’s strategic planning process for the most part is loosely linked to budgeting. When additional financial re- sources are necessary, funds are earmarked in the budgets prepared by the division, office, bureau, or district that is responsible for implementing a particular strategic initia- tive. On the other hand, budget realities are often a major factor in determining whether the department can more forward with proposed strategic objectives, planned initia- tives, or recommendations from an implementation team in the first place. However, given the nature of most of IDOT’s strategic objectives, the budget is often not a major issue, even in a period of tighter fiscal constraints. Most of the strategic objectives cut across organizational lines and focus on or- ganization development or process improvement rather than the capital program or direct investment in the trans- portation system, meaning that the costs of these initiatives are typically measured in man-hours rather than dollars. Many of the activities derived from these initiatives; for example, process or program reviews, or on-the-job train- ing by peers and supervisors, can be completed using exist- ing personnel, and with appropriate time management techniques they can be cost-neutral and not require addi- tional funds. Conversely, the strategic plan does help IDOT delineate and prioritize additional spending in some areas, particu- larly with respect to IT. Although the department does not have a strategic objective that focuses on IT per se, virtu- ally all of the process improvements that are called for by several of the objectives require technological improve- ments designed to upgrade communication and informa- tion, save time, and/or reduce paperwork or other costs. In addition, IDOT’s Bureau of Information Technology has developed its own scorecard to further the improvement of IT processes and services in support of strategic objectives in higher-level plans. Through the strategic planning proc- ess IDOT identifies needs for additional IT that substan- tially exceed currently available budget levels. Rather than relying on the standard incremental approach, the ongoing planning work provides a systematic approach to assem- bling a priority list of IT acquisitions with fairly firm costs that the department can readily promote in future budget cycles. Evaluation of the Planning Process A cost-benefit analysis conducted in the spring of 2002 (SAIC 2002), and random surveys of both motorists and IDOT employees conducted in 2001, 2002, and 2003, show that the results of the strategic planning activities are paying off for the transit department and Illinois taxpayers. The benefit-cost analysis projects that all start-up costs of the strategic planning initiative, including employee time for training, planning, and implementation, will have been recovered by early 2004, primarily through process im- provements that have come out of the strategic plan. An in-house survey completed in April 2003, indicated that more than 40% of IDOT employees believe that goals and objectives are clearer as a result of the strategic plan- ning initiative. The survey also indicated that nearly two- thirds of IDOT employees believe that worker productivity and job satisfaction have improved over the 36 months that the strategic initiative has been in place. Correspondingly, annual surveys of the motoring public, conducted by the University of Illinois at Springfield, showed that a majority of motorists believe that IDOT is doing a good or excellent job, particularly in terms of roadway maintenance, high- way construction and repair, travelers’ services, and em- ployee conduct on the job. New Administration At the beginning of 2003, with a new governor in Illinois, a new secretary of transportation assumed direction of IDOT and, for the most part, assembled a new executive team. However, the new secretary also decided to retain the strategic planning process and the top staff personnel most closely associated with it, even though the new administra- tion may alter strategic priorities. Therefore, strategic planning has survived its first administrative transition at IDOT, and this is expected to help provide a sense of con- tinuity in a department that has seen substantial turnover in personnel over the past several years.

42 COMPARISONS These two departments were selected for mini-case studies as part of this synthesis because they illustrate both simi- larities and differences in their approaches to strategic management. At this time, PennDOT has been involved in strategic management for some 20 years and has worked to sharpen and deepen the process to ensure positive results in achieving its strategic goals and objectives. Currently, PennDOT has a mature strategic management process that affords a high degree of alignment among all the elements shown in Figure 1. By way of contrast, IDOT initiated its first strategic planning efforts in 2000, and it may not, like PennDOT, have all the elements in place. However, IDOT also presents a noteworthy case, because it is installing a very deliberate strategic management process, which en- sures follow-through in implementing and evaluating stra- tegic plans. Driving Decisions Both PennDOT and IDOT have developed strategic plans for their organizations that are summarized succinctly in scorecards. Both departments then require districts and di- visions to develop their own strategic plans or scorecards within the framework of the overall corporate-level strate- gic plan and, in both cases, these lower-level scorecards must be approved by higher-level management. However, PennDOT also requires these units to develop 4-year busi- ness plans, updated annually, which are the principal vehi- cles for driving the department’s strategies down into the operations of the organization. IDOT, in contrast, relies primarily on action plans developed for individual strategic objectives and/or targets as the means of implementing strategic plans at each level of the organization. Building Ownership Both PennDOT and IDOT place great importance on as- signing individual executives or managers to take the lead responsibility for implementing strategies and achieving strategic objectives. Whereas PennDOT identifies owners and leaders for each strategic objective, however, the IDOT process is more elaborate, with owners assigned for overall strategic plans, strategic goals, objectives, targets, and strategic initiatives. This is consistent with IDOT’s re- liance on the action plans developed by these owners and the teams they put together for implementing the depart- ment’s strategic objectives. Interestingly, for PennDOT, the responsibilities assigned to individuals for implement- ing strategic plans lead into these individuals’ annual per- formance appraisals, whereas for IDOT these are consid- ered to be “additional responsibilities,” which do not. Allocating Resources Many of the strategic initiatives established by both of these departments can be supported with existing budgetary re- sources, although PennDOT uses its business planning proc- ess to work these initiatives into the operating budgets of or- ganizational units, whereas IDOT has numerous labor- intensive initiatives whose costs are covered principally by as- signing individuals and teams to work on them. The two de- partments also differ with respect to strategic initiatives that entail additional direct monetary investment, such as substan- tial upgrades in IT. Whereas PennDOT estimates the cost of such initiatives as part of the planning process and earmarks funding sources at that point, IDOT establishes the initiative as part of the planning process and then, as part of the im- plementation process, begins to identify costs and priori- tize investments to be made as funds become available. Evaluating Performance Each of these transportation departments establishes per- formance measures for each strategic objective, including typically a mix of output and outcome indicators. For each of its measures, PennDOT sets numerical targets to be achieved within a given time frame, whereas IDOT identifies the measure and preferred direction of movement, but does not set numerical targets. Both departments, however, empha- size the importance of performance measures in managing their strategic agendas, and both review the performance data generated to track progress in implementing strategic initiatives and flag problems that need to be addressed. System Maintenance and Enhancement Both PennDOT and IDOT have an individual assigned on a full-time basis to support its strategic management proc- ess, providing staff support at the executive level and gen- erally facilitating development and use of the process. Both departments have also provided training to managers re- garding strategic planning, performance measurement, and related elements of strategic management. In addition, both have commissioned evaluations of their strategic manage- ment processes by consultants to help strengthen them. Fi- nally, new administrations have recently taken office in both departments, and in each case the new executives have decided to adopt the in-place strategic management processes and use them to revalidate or redirect future di- rections and priorities for these organizations.

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 326: Strategic Planning and Decision Making in State Departments of Transportation examines state and provincial transportation departments' experience with strategic planning and synthesizes current approaches to linking strategic planning with other decision-making processes, including operational and tactical planning, resource allocation, performance management, and performance measurement.

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Strategy Case Studies

Short Case Study on Change Management

A short case study on change management can be very helpful in learning how to manage change effectively. In today’s business world, change is constantly happening and it can be very difficult to keep up.

Having a solid understanding of change management is essential for any manager or business owner.

A good case study will show you how one company successfully managed a major change and what lessons can be learned from their experience.

By studying short case study on change management, you will gain valuable insights into the importance of planning, communication, and employee involvement when managing change.

You will also learn about the different stages of change and how to overcome resistance to change.

These are all important topics that any manager or business owner should be familiar with. Learning about them through a short case study is an excellent way to gain a better understanding of these concepts.

Here are 05 short case studies on change management that offer you valuable insights on managing change.

1. Adobe- a transformation of HR functions to support strategic change

Many a times external factors lead to changes in organisational structures and culture. This truly happened at Adobe which has 11,000 employees worldwide with 4.5 billion $ yearly revenue.

Acrobat, Flash Player, and Photoshop are among the well-known products of Abode.

Due to new emerging technologies and challenges posed by small competitors Adobe had to stop selling its licensed goods in shrink-wrapped containers in 2011 and switched to offering digital services through the cloud. They gave their customers option of downloading the necessary software for free or subscribing to it every month rather than receiving a CD in a box.

The human resource (HR) function also took on a new role, which meant that employees had to adjust to new working practices. A standard administrative HR function was housed at Adobe’s offices. However, it was less suitable for the cloud-based strategy and performed well when Adobe was selling software items. 

HR changed its role and became more human centric and reduced its office based functions.

The HR personnel did “walk-ins,” to see what assistance they might offer, rather than waiting for calls. With a focus on innovation, change, and personal growth, Adobe employed a sizable percentage of millennials.

Instead of having an annual reviews, staff members can now use the new “check-in” method to assess and define their own growth goals whenever they find it necessary, with quick and continuous feedback. 

Managers might receive constructive criticism from HR through the workshops they conduct. The least number of employees have left since this changed approach of HR.

Why did Adobe’s HR department make this change? Since the company’s goals and culture have changed, HR discovered new ways to operate to support these changes.

2. Intuit – applying 7s framework of change management 

Steve Bennett, a vice president of GE Capital, was appointed CEO of Intuit in 2000. Intuit is a provider of financial software solutions with three products: Quicken, TurboTax, and QuickBooks, which have respective market shares of 73 percent, 81 percent, and 84 percent. 

Despite this market domination, many observers believed Intuit was not making as much money as it could.

Additionally, the business was known for making decisions slowly, which let rivals take advantage of numerous market opportunities. Bennett desired to change everything.

In his first few weeks, he spoke with each of the top 200 executives, visited the majority of Intuit’s offices, and addressed the majority of its 5,000 employees.

He concluded that although employees were enthusiastic about the company’s products, internal processes weren’t given any thought (based on Higgins, 2005).

He followed the famous Mckinsey 7S Model for Change Management to transform the organization. Let’s see what are those changes that he made:

By making acquisitions, he increased the products range for Intuit.

He established a flatter organizational structure and decentralized decision-making, which gave business units more authority and accountability throughout the whole product creation and distribution process.

To accomplish strategic goals, the rewards system was made more aligned to strategic goals.

He emphasized the necessity of a performance-oriented focus and offered a vision for change and also made every effort to sell that vision.

He acknowledged the commitment of staff to Intuit’s products and further strengthened process by emphasizing on quality and efficiency of his team.

Resources were allotted for learning and development, and certain selected managers were recruited from GE in particular skill categories, all to enhance staff capabilities concerning productivity and efficiency.

Superordinate goals:

Bennett’s strategy was “vision-driven” and he communicated that vision to his team regularly to meet the goals.

Bennett’s modifications led to a 40–50% rise in operating profits in 2002 and 2003.

8,000 people worked for Intuit in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, and other nations in 2014, and the company generated global revenues of nearly $5 billion.

3. Barclays Bank – a change in ways of doing business

The financial services industry suffered heavily during mortgage crisis in 2008. In addition to significant losses, the sector also had to deal with strict and aggressive regulations of their investing activities.

To expand its business, more employees were hired by Barclays Capital under the leadership of its former chief executive, Bob Diamond, who wanted to make it the largest investment bank in the world. 

But Barclays Capital staff was found manipulating the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and Barclays was fined £290 million and as a result of this the bank’s chairman, CEO, and COO had to resign.

In an internal review it was found that the mindset of “win at all costs” needed to be changed so a new strategy was necessary due to the reputational damage done by the LIBOR affair and new regulatory restrictions. 

In 2012, Antony Jenkins became new CEO. He made the following changes in 2014, which led to increase of 8% in share price.

Aspirations

The word “Capital” was removed from the firm name, which became just Barclays. To concentrate on the U.S. and UK markets, on Africa, and on a small number of Asian clients, the “world leader” goal was dropped.

Business model

Physical commodities and obscure “derivative” products would no longer be traded by Barclays. It was decided that rather than using its customers’ money, the business would invest its own.

Only thirty percent of the bank’s profits came from investment banking. Instead of concentrating on lending at high risk, the focus was on a smaller range of customers.

In place of an aggressive, short-term growth strategy that rewarded commercial drive and success and fostered a culture of fear of not meeting targets, “customer first,” clarity, and openness took precedence. Investment bankers’ remuneration was also reduced.

Beginning in 2014, branches were shut, and 19,000 jobs were lost over three years, including 7,000 investment banking employees, personnel at high-street firms, and many in New York and London headquarters. £1.7 billion in costs were reduced in 2014.

There was an increase in customers’ online or mobile banking, and increased automation of transactions to lower expenses.  To assist customers in using new computer systems, 30 fully automated branches were established by 2014, replacing the 6,500 cashiers that were lost to this change with “digital eagles” who used iPads.

These changes were made to build an organization that is stronger, more integrated, leaner, and more streamlined, leading to a higher return on equity and better returns for shareholders. This was also done to rebuild the bank’s credibility and win back the trust of its clients.

4. Kodak – a failure to embrace disruptive change

The first digital camera and the first-megapixel camera were both created by Kodak in 1975 and 1986 respectively.

Why then did Kodak declare bankruptcy in 2012? 

When this new technology first came out in 1975, it was expensive and had poor quality of images. Kodak anticipated that it would be at least additional ten years until digital technology started to pose a threat to their long-standing business of camera, film, chemical, and photo-printing paper industries.

Although that prediction came true, Kodak chose to increase the film’s quality through ongoing advances rather than embracing change and working on digital technology.

Kodak continued with old business model and captured market by 90% of the film and 85% of the cameras sold in America in 1976. With $16 billion in annual sales at its peak, Kodak’s profits in 1999 was around $2.5 billion. The brand’s confidence was boosted by this success but there was complete complacency in terms of embracing new technology.

Kodak started experiencing losses in 2011 as revenues dropped to $6.2 billion. 

Fuji, a competitor of Kodak, identified the same threat and decided to transition to digital while making the most money possible from film and creating new commercial ventures, such as cosmetics based on chemicals used in film processing.

Even though both businesses had the same information, they made different judgments, and Kodak was reluctant to respond. And when it started to switch towards digital technology, mobile phones with in-built digital camera had arrived to disrupt digital cameras.

Although Kodak developed the technology, they were unaware of how revolutionary digitalization would prove to be, rendering their long-standing industry obsolete.

You can read here in detail Kodak change management failure case study.

5. Heinz   – a 3G way to make changes

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the Brazilian private equity business 3G Capital paid $29 billion in 2013 to acquire Heinz, the renowned food manufacturer with $11.6 billion in yearly sales.

The modifications were made right away by the new owners. Eleven of the top twelve executives were replaced, 600 employees were let go, corporate planes were sold, personal offices were eliminated, and executives were required to stay at Holiday Inn hotel rather than the Ritz-Carlton when traveling and substantially longer work hours were anticipated. 

Each employee was given a monthly copy restriction of 200 by micromanagement, and printer usage was recorded. Only 100 business cards were permitted each year for executives.

Numerous Heinz workers spoke of “an insular management style” where only a small inner circle knows what is truly going on.

On the other side, 3G had a youthful team of executives, largely from Brazil, who moved from company to company as instructed across nations and industries. They were loyal to 3G, not Heinz, and were motivated to perform well to earn bonuses or stock options. 

“The 3G way,” a theory that 3G has applied to bring about change in prior acquisitions like Burger King, was the driving reason behind these modifications. Everything was measured, efficiency was paramount, and “nonstrategic costs” were drastically reduced. 

From this vantage point, “lean and mean” prevails, and human capital was not regarded as a crucial element of business success. It was believed that rather than being driven by a feeling of purpose or mission, employees were motivated by the financial gains associated with holding company stock.

Because it had been well-received by the 3G partners, those who might be impacted by a deal frequently saw a “how to” guide published by consultant Bob Fifer as a “must read.”

However, many food industry experts felt that while some of 3G’s prior acquisitions would have been ideal candidates for a program of cost-cutting, Heinz was not the most appropriate choice to “hack and slash.” The company had already undergone several years of improved efficiency and it was already a well-established player in the market.

In summarizing the situation, business journalists Jennifer Reingold and Daniel Roberts predicted that “the experiment now underway will determine whether Heinz will become a newly invigorated embodiment of efficiency—or whether 3G will take the cult of cost-cutting so far that it chokes off Heinz’s ability to innovate and make the products that have made it a market leader for almost a century and a half.” 

Final Words

A short case study on change management can be a helpful tool in learning how to effectively manage change. These case studies will show you how one company successfully managed a major change and what lessons can be learned from their experience. By studying these case studies, you will gain valuable insights into the importance of planning, communication, and employee involvement when managing change. These are all vital elements that must be considered when implementing any type of change within an organization.

About The Author

Tahir Abbas

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The Ethical Leadership Collection: Mini Case Studies

Quick in-class exercises in leadership.

The mini case studies can fit on a PowerPoint slide or be given to students as one page to read. They were developed to be processed in-class, over the course of an hour. Use of the minis helps students identify the problem, pinpoint possible solutions, and create holistic action plans.

•  (PDF file)  Leadership among Friends  (opens in new window)  : Untangling Competing interests Keywords: employee relations, compensation management, situational leadership
•  (PDF file)  Facing the Challenge:  (opens in new window)  Caught Between HR and Difficult Workers Keywords: employee relations, industrial relations, mental illness
•  (PDF file)  Customer Disservice:  (opens in new window)  A Chronically Late Employee Causes Cascading Problems Keywords: employee relations, customer service, discipline, situational leadership
•  (PDF file)  Stepping Up to Your Own Truth:  (opens in new window)  The Consequences of Saying the Wrong Thing Keywords: employee relations, diversity, workplace anxiety, crisis management, organizational development, situational leadership
•  (PDF file)  Communicating Incentives to Others:  (opens in new window)  Controlling Competitive Co-Workers Keywords: employee relations, compensation, sales
•  (PDF file)  Going Head to Head:  (opens in new window)  Can You Trust Your Business Partner? Keywords: entrepreneurship, eco-tourism, accounting, integrity
•  (PDF file)  Repeat Offenders:  (opens in new window)  When Stopping Crime Goes Awry Keywords: employee relations, industrial relations, discipline, organizational culture
•  (PDF file)  To Produce Yoga Pants in India vs Not to Produce Yoga Pants in India:  (opens in new window)  Reconciling Social Responsibility with Corporate Reality Keywords: supply chain, global development, marketing, eco-business, B-corporation
•  (PDF file)  Who Do You Hire?  (opens in new window)  Ensure Your Decision Is the Right One Keywords: employee relations, recruitment, diversity, organizational development
•  (PDF file)  Religious Accommodation:  (opens in new window)  The Clash Between Faith and Workplace Needs Keywords: employee relations, organizational development, diversity
•  (PDF file)  Do Guests Always Call the Shots?  (opens in new window)  When Customers Oppose Your Diversity Policy Keywords: employee relations, customer service, crisis management, diversity
•  (PDF file)  Love Lost in an Island Paradise:  (opens in new window)  Avoiding a Disastrous Workplace Stoppage Keywords: industrial relations, social responsibility, compensation, global development
•  (PDF file)  What Did You Just See?  (opens in new window)  Diagnosing Harassment  Keywords: employee relations, harassment, software industry
•  (PDF file)  Start of Season:  (opens in new window)  Leadership Style Sets a Tone Keywords: employee relations, discipline
•  (PDF file)  Missing the Message:  (opens in new window)  Organizational Culture and Boundaries at Work Keywords: team relations, harassment, workplace culture
•  (PDF file)  “Their” People:  (opens in new window)  Competing with Racial Prejudice Keywords: racial discrimination, bystander, hiring process, corporate culture   (PDF file)  Version Français/ French version: <<Leur peuple>>
•  (PDF file)  Leadership with Style:  (opens in new window)    Keywords: employee relations, situational leadership
•  (PDF file)  Leading in the Face of Skepticism:  (opens in new window)  Managing Older Employees  Keywords: employee relations, organization development, situational leadership
•  (PDF file)  One for All:  (opens in new window)  How to Prevent Co-Workers from Letting You Down Keywords: teamwork, group projects
•  (PDF file)  Impossible Targets:  (opens in new window)  Managing an Unreasonable Manager Keywords:  sales, target setting, supervisory relations, job fit
•  (PDF file)  Gamers Address the Arab Spring:  (opens in new window)  Coding for Cultural Sensitivity  Keywords: global development, entrepreneurship, diversity

Teaching notes

The mini case studies require no preparation on the part of students. The teaching method has been effectively used for classes up to 75 students. The attached teaching method provides a marking rubric and an in-class form that can be used with students to aid in-class analysis and discussion.   (PDF file)  Download the Teaching Notes  (opens in new window) 

We value your feedback!

Please inform us of your experience by contacting Dr. Gail Cook Johnson, our mentor-in-residence, at [email protected] .

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Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2018

Cases about food and agriculture took center stage in 2018. A case on the coffee supply chain remained the top case and cases on burgers, chocolate, and palm oil all made the top ten.

Cases about food and agriculture took center stage in 2018. A case on the coffee supply chain remained the top case and cases on burgers, chocolate, and palm oil all made the top ten, according to data compiled by Yale School of Management Case Research and Development Team (SOM CRDT).

Other topics in the top ten included corporate social responsibility, healthcare, solar energy, and financial inclusion.

The annual ranking of the 40 most popular Yale School of Management case studies combines data from publishers, Google analytics, SOM class syllabi, and other measures of interest and adoption. This is the second year that SOM CRDT has published its Top 40 list.

Cases published in 2018 on the top 40 list included Marina Bay Sands Hotel (#13), AgBiome (#18), Canary Wharf (#20), Mastercard (#21), and Peabody Museum (#35). Both the Marina Bay Sands and Peabody cases were featured in major student competitions in 2018.

The cases on the Top 40 list represent a variety of different business disciplines, as Yale SOM cases tend to combine a variety of perspectives. For example, the top coffee case can be taught in marketing, operations, and strategy classes. The number two case on Shake Shack covers finance, strategy, and even innovation and design. The list features a number of cases related to the interplay of state and commerce and social enterprise, traditional strengths of the Yale SOM curriculum.

While there are many US-based cases among the top 40, a range of locales are highlighted among the top 40 entries. Cases set in France (AXA), Great Britain (Cadbury, Canary Wharf, George Hudson), Indonesia (Palm Oil, Golden Agri), China (Ant Financial, Alibaba), India (SELCO, Project Sammaan), Singapore (Marina Bay Sands), Canada (Air Canada, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan), and South Africa (Project Masiluleke) made the top 40 list.

SOM CRDT has been working to increase the number of women featured as case protagonists. The 2018 list boasts 13 cases where women play prominent roles in the narrative.

The top 40 list also demonstrates a wide range of SOM faculty involvement. Thirty different faculty members worked as case supervisors on the top 40 cases.

Read on to learn more about the top 10 most popular cases followed by a complete list of the top 40 cases of 2018. A selection of the top 40 cases are available for purchase through our online store . 

#1 - Coffee 2016

Faculty Supervision: Todd Cort

Coffee 2016 asks students to consider the coffee supply chain and generate ideas for what can be done to equalize returns across various stakeholders. The case draws a parallel between coffee and wine. Both beverages encourage connoisseurship, but only wine growers reap a premium for their efforts to ensure quality.  The case describes the history of coffee production across the world, the rise of the “third wave” of coffee consumption in the developed world, the efforts of the Illy Company to help coffee growers, and the differences between “fair” trade and direct trade. Faculty have found the case provides a wide canvas to discuss supply chain issues, examine marketing practices, and encourage creative solutions to business problems. 

#2 - Shake Shack IPO

Faculty Supervision: Jake Thomas and Geert Rouwenhorst

From an art project in a New York City park, Shake Shack developed a devoted fan base that greeted new Shake Shack locations with cheers and long lines. When Shake Shack went public on January 30, 2015, investors displayed a similar enthusiasm. Opening day investors bid up the $21 per share offering price by 118% to reach $45.90 at closing bell. By the end of May, investors were paying $92.86 per share. Students are asked if this price represented a realistic valuation of the enterprise and if not, what was Shake Shack truly worth? The case provides extensive information on Shake Shack’s marketing, competitors, operations and financials, allowing instructors to weave a wide variety of factors into a valuation of the company.

#3 - IBM Corporate Service Corps

Faculty Supervision: David Bach in cooperation with University of Ghana Business School and EGADE

The case considers IBM’s Corporate Service Corps (CSC), a program that had become the largest pro bono consulting program in the world. The case describes the program’s triple-benefit: leadership training to the brightest young IBMers, brand recognition for IBM in emerging markets, and community improvement in the areas served by IBM’s host organizations. As the program entered its second decade in 2016, students are asked to consider how the program can be improved. The case allows faculty to lead a discussion about training, marketing in emerging economies, and various ways of providing social benefit. The case highlights the synergies as well as trade-offs between pursuing these triple benefits.

#4 - Children’s Premier

Faculty Supervision: Edieal Pinker

The case describes Children’s Premier, a popular group practice in Greenwich, Connecticut which, due to a change in the state’s vaccination law, decides to dramatically change its business model. Did the group make the right adjustments in order to stay competitive and cover their increasing costs? Should the new practices cause a newcomer to the practice to look elsewhere for his children?

#5 - Design at Mayo

Faculty Supervision: Rodrigo Canales and William Drentell

The case describes how the Mayo Clinic, one of the most prominent hospitals in the world, engaged designers and built a research institute, the Center for Innovation (CFI), to study the processes of healthcare provision. The case documents the many incremental innovations the designers were able to implement and the way designers learned to interact with physicians and vice-versa.

In 2010 there were questions about how the CFI would achieve its stated aspiration of “transformational change” in the healthcare field. Students are asked what would a major change in health care delivery look like? How should the CFI's impact be measured? Were the center's structure and processes appropriate for transformational change? Faculty have found this a great case to discuss institutional obstacles to innovation, the importance of culture in organizational change efforts, and the differences in types of innovation.

This case is freely available to the public.

#6 - AXA: Creating New Corporate Responsibility Metrics

Faculty Supervision: Todd Cort and David Bach

The case describes AXA’s corporate responsibility (CR) function. The company, a global leader in insurance and asset management, had distinguished itself in CR since formally establishing a CR unit in 2008. As the case opens, AXA’s CR unit is being moved from the marketing function to the strategy group occasioning a thorough review as to how CR should fit into AXA’s operations and strategy. Students are asked to identify CR issues of particular concern to the company, examine how addressing these issues would add value to the company, and then create metrics that would capture a business unit’s success or failure in addressing the concerns.

#7 - Cadbury: An Ethical Company Struggles to Insure the Integrity of Its Supply Chain

Faculty Supervision: Ira Millstein

The case describes revelations that the production of cocoa in the Côte d’Ivoire involved child slave labor. These stories hit Cadbury especially hard. Cadbury's culture had been deeply rooted in the religious traditions of the company's founders, and the organization had paid close attention to the welfare of its workers and its sourcing practices. The US Congress was considering legislation that would allow chocolate grown on certified plantations to be labeled “slave labor free,” painting the rest of the industry in a bad light. Chocolate producers had asked for time to rectify the situation, but the extension they negotiated was running out. Students are asked whether Cadbury should join with the industry to lobby for more time?  What else could Cadbury do to ensure its supply chain was ethically managed?

#8 - Palm Oil 2016

Faculty Supervision: Kenneth Richards in cooperation with National University of Singapore Business School and David Bach

The case looks at the palm oil industry in Indonesia and how the industry effects deforestation and native rights. The case focuses on a proposal forwarded by leading palm oil traders and environmental NGOs that would ban the sale of palm oil from deforested land. The proposal is opposed by elements of the government, and smaller palm oil companies. Some voices in the Indonesian government are suggesting an agreement to end deforestation needs to be scrapped. What should companies and NGOs do?

#9 - Ant Financial

Faculty Supervision: K. Sudhir in cooperation with Renmin University of China School of Business

In 2015, Ant Financial’s MYbank (an offshoot of Jack Ma’s Alibaba company) was looking to extend services to rural areas in China by providing small loans to farmers. Microloans have always been costly for financial institutions to offer to the unbanked (though important in development) but MYbank believed that fintech innovations such as using the internet to communicate with loan applicants and judge their credit worthiness would make the program sustainable. Students are asked whether MYbank could operate the program at scale? Would its big data and technical analysis provide an accurate measure of credit risk for loans to small customers? Could MYbank rely on its new credit-scoring system to reduce operating costs to make the program sustainable?

#10 - SELCO

Faculty Supervision: Tony Sheldon

The case looks at SELCO, an Indian company that specialized in bringing solar electric products to the poor. In 2009, the company needed a new growth strategy. As students consider the company’s dilemma, the raw case allows them to view video interviews with company leaders and customers, inspect maps of SELCO’s service areas, see videos describing how SELCO’s products were being used, consider articles on India’s electricity grid and socio-economic conditions, read about the company’s founding, consult the company’s organization charts, income statements and balance sheets, inspect the company’s innovative products, review the company’s business models, read news articles about the company’s success, etc.

SELCO, India's innovative solar electric company, was at a strategic crossroads. Should it go “deeper” and serve even poorer people or go “wider” and expand beyond its current geographical areas?

40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2018

Click on the case title to learn more about the dilemma. A selection of our most popular cases are available for purchase via our online store .