Consequences of Growth at Freedom AV Life Insurance

The case deals with ethical issues in marketing in a larger context encountered while managing channels. Freedom AV Life Insurance, established in 2002, was a laggard in terms of revenue generation among private life insurers in the country. A new CEO, Ramesh Ramachandran, was hired to improve revenues, which drastically improved post his joining and upon on him hiring a new sales head. However, customer grievances multiplied, and Rajesh Bhardwaj, the customer services head, was questioned by the CEO and was asked to submit an action plan to stem the rising complaints. Bhardwaj felt this was the result of mis-selling by agents and the salesforce of the company. Bhardwaj proposed a solution by emailing the sales head. Just as he had finished writing the mail, he was surprised to find a new mail from the CEO asking him to prepare a presentation before the company’s board of directors in two days. At the end of the case, Bhardwaj becomes engulfed with self-doubt and anxiety on what to present before the board members. The case deals with ethical issues in marketing financial products like life insurance and looks at solutions to the practice of mis-selling financial services. Students would attempt to find answers to the question of whether they can achieve sales goals without resorting to unethical practices.

SunPower: A Path Toward Strategic Development

SunPower Corporation is an American organization working in the solar energy sector specialized in power generation and solar energy storage. This case highlights the strategic growth path of SunPower corporation, which originated as an outcome of effective solar cells production. This case also discussed how the energy sector considers solar energy the vital energy source, and solar energy organizations grow to capture the energy demand. The case also highlights the various consolidations of SunPower in terms of different mergers and acquisitions as essential strategies to succeed. The case also discusses the competitors’ strategy of the top five solar power generation and storage firms, which give a clear view of how different solar firms are building their space in the solar energy sector. With competitors’ discussion, this helps to understand the challenge faced by SunPower to beat the competition among the other solar firms. In the end, the case focused on the ongoing and future strategic choices of SunPower as SunPower Corporation.

Mothers Delivery Kit: Antenatal Care Innovation in West Africa

The Mothers Delivery Kit discusses an innovative healthcare package sold in the poor West African region to aid with the delivery of expectant mothers. The package combines various necessary items used for proper and hygienic delivery of the rural and remote mothers with the help of a local midwife or medical practitioner. Antenatal care in the region is poor due to lack of infrastructure and government funding in healthcare. The Mothers Delivery Kit addresses that issue by providing a cheap and hygienic alternative to conventional delivery methods. The kit has decreased newborn death in the region noticeably. The founders have worked closely with local midwives to train them and enable them to use the Mothers Delivery Kit properly to improve delivery conditions. Regardless of the setbacks caused by local traditional beliefs and culture, the kit has proven to be an active effort to improve delivery conditions.

Efficiency and Effectiveness Evaluation of Micro-credit Programme in Transforming Rural Women Entrepreneurs: Experiences from Balasore District of Odisha

The micro-credit programme was introduced with multi-dimensional objectives and therefore was always under direct purview of various government agencies. Microfinance in Odisha works under umbrella of Mission Shakti and TRIPTI (a world bank initiated project). Balasore district is selected on the basis of MFPI index taking into consideration the saving, credit linkage and credit-deposit ratio indicators. The analysis had shown positive impact of programme on various economic, social and decision making dimensions. The linked financial institutions have undertaken SHGs as their major customers and therefore positive impact on loan disbursement and recovery rate is observed.

YES Bank Fiasco: Arrogance or Negligence

The present case study is based on the nation’s biggest-ever banking failure of India’s fastest-growing private bank, YES Bank. The YES Bank fiasco showcases the prevalent flaws of uprising NPAs and mounting bad debts in the financial sector. Post Asset Quality Review (AQR) conducted by RBI elucidate that the NPA of YES Bank is seven times higher than the actual reported amount in their audit book. The sudden trauma reflected the events unfolding in the bank as the share market plummets drastically and the losses enlarged exponentially. To stymie further deterioration, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stepped in and took over YES Bank management. The economy is already set to decelerate to an 11-year low following demonetization and the outbreak threatens to delay a revival in an emerging economy like India. The subject that this case will fit in is Capital Structure, Corporate Governance and Ethics and Auditing.

Tesco: Entry and Expansion Strategy in India

The management was reviewing Tesco’s entry into India and its joint venture Trent Hypermarket Private Limited’s operations. After withdrawal from Thailand and Malaysia, India remained one of the most important retail destinations for Tesco. The management was pondering over the expansion of operations in India. The local leadership was entrusted with developing a Roadmap-2025 with an inclusive store expansion plan to build profitability by delivering high customer value.

Individual Freedom Vis-à-Vis Integrity of the State: A Study with Reference to Apple iPhone

Advancement in telecommunication and networking, especially the mobile-based communication systems, has contributed enormously towards the integration of nations and societies in the form of a ‘global village’. While the technological advancements have made connectivity across the globe so much easier, they have also raised concerns of comprising our privacy and security in the process. The case illustrates the conflict between a technology giant (Apple) versus a superpower country (United States) on sensitive issues of terrorism and national security. The business firm in the case decides to put its commitment to customers ahead of the government’s demands of unlocking the phone of a terrorist in question. The conflicting stands of the two parties highlight the issues of privacy (of a customer—who happens to be a terrorist in this case) versus national security. The government was of the opinion that the security of the nation is paramount and must be given precedence over anything else. Apple viewed the demand from the government as a breach of security assurances given to its customers at the time of product sale. The case raises sensitive issues like responsibility of a business firm to various stakeholders, the obligations of a firm to the customers, the obligations of the democratic government to its citizens, the value systems of a company, the privacy concerns of the citizens and so on. The case raises pertinent questions as to which concern is most urgent and paramount or which one should get preference—privacy of individuals, promises made by the companies or security of the nation? It also makes us ponder regarding the issues we may confront in future—Will incidents like these be more frequent in future? Can we sacrifice freedom of the citizens in the name of security? Can a government sneak into anyone’s private life at will? Are citizens being over-cautious and finicky? Do companies need to join the fight against terrorism rather than worrying about their company policies, protocols or impact on profits? The case provides a context for raising diverse perspectives on these issues and helps facilitate deliberations in focused manner.

Vistara: Turbulence for the Tatas?

This case talks about Vistara, an airline brand registered under the name of Tata Singapore Airlines (SIA) Airlines Limited, which started as a joint venture between Tata Sons and SIA Limited in 2013. While the company was founded with the intent to expand, as suggested by its brand name, the airlines has failed to register positive returns ever since its inception despite a 190% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in total revenue from financial year 2016 to financial year 2020. While company’s ratios have shown a dismal performance over the years, its competitors and the market leader have shown better performance or at least some form of leadership in one of the operating aspects. In an industry plagued with problems such as fluctuating crude oil prices, rising maintenance and leasing costs, and other operating costs, most of the airline companies have registered losses in recent years, the magnitude of which has further aggravated due to COVID-19. Vistara will need to revisit its short-term and long-term strategies to expand its position in the Indian as well as the international aviation market.

Senior Citizen Homes: Search for a Viable Business Model

The case pertains to the decision regarding business model to be decided by the developer of a proposed senior citizen homes. Due to a number of reasons, enumerated in the study, the elderly people prefer to live in community living projects. The protagonist Mr Pankaj Pawa, MD, Pawa Group, wants a scalable Old Age Home (OAH) concept, which can be replicated across India. Accordingly, he has identified upper-middle-class senior citizens as the potential segment. As per his surveys, this segment is neglected till date. The project will need to be planned as a community project, where the residents become part of the community by sharing common resources. The developer’s main concern is selecting the best business model, which allows him to expand. Simultaneously, the project should not lead to his capital blockage as the real estate market has faced liquidity crisis. Furthermore, he needs to be convinced that the senior citizens are a financially viable customer segment, and an exclusive project for them will be self-sustaining in the long term.

The Big Indian Dream Package and IIT JEE

This case study describes the macro-environmental factors responsible for the growth of coaching classes in India with particular reference to IIT JEE preparation. The case chronicles the explosive growth in the coaching classes industry fuelled by big dollar packages promised to IIT graduates. Consumer behaviour related to selecting a coaching class is analysed with particular reference to dissonance-reducing buyer behaviour that parents strive to achieve. The role of advertising appeals and sales promotion through admission and scholarship examinations in influencing consumer behaviour can be debated and analysed. The case study opens up a discussion on the effect of National Education Policy 2020 on the industry.