CASE STUDY - 1

ON 15 September 2008 investment bank giant filed for bankruptcy sending shock waves across
the world markets that were already reeling from shocks in the wake of global economic melt
down. With more book assets and lesser book debts, Lehman’s bankruptcy filing was the largest
in the banking history their assets far surpassed those of previous bankrupt giants such as World
com and Enron, at the time of collapse with more than 25000 employees world wide . Lehman’s
demise also made it the largest victim of the US subprime mortgage induced financial crisis that
swept through global financial markets in the world . Record revenues from Lehman’s real estate
business enabled revenues in the capital market unit to surge 56% between 2004 to 2006 .This
was considered a faster rate of growth than any other business in investment banking . In
February 2006 the company’s stock reached a record high giving Lehman a market capitalization
of around 25 billion, however the US housing market were already becoming apparent as
defaults in subprime mortgage . Lehman’s high degree of leverage the ratio of total assets to
share holder’s assets to share holder’s equity was good and its huge portfolio of mortgage
security made it vulnerable to deteriorating market conditions . In June 2008 Lehman announced
its first second quarter loss and raised money from American Express to cover the same.
However the measures were perceived as being too little, too late over the summer Lehman’s
management made unsuccessful attempts to a number of potential partners, hopes of the Korea
Development bank would take a stake in Lehman was dashed in 9 September and the state
owned Korean bank put talks on hold. On Monday 15 September Lehman declared bankruptcy
resulting in creating a global financial crisis.

Questions

1 what were the reasons for Lehman brothers bankruptcy?

2 what lessons would you learn from the Lehman brothers bankruptcy?

CASE STUDY - 2

TATA NANO Tata motors have been eyeing the Indian passenger market for a long time.
During earlier times, their brands such as Tata Sumo were well received; the company had a very
low share in the Indian passenger car market due to stiff competition from Maruti . Tata motors
came up with Tata Indica , which mirrored Maruti’s products and challenged Maruti’s
dominance in small car market . Inspired by the success of Indica Tata launched the Tata Nano .
Critics were of the view it could not be possible due to the low cost of the car. Tata Nano’s
modular design is one of the most innovative aspects, it can be shipped separately and assembled
in any region. 3 However the fanfare with which Nano was launched did not show much result,
the car was not well accepted by the masses despite the low prices, it started selling in discounts
like any other car in the Indian market. Tata’s as a company are concerned about the same and
are still trying to rework out strategies for revival of the market share and to fit into the vision of
the com pany. Questions Q1 What was the type of strategy Tata’s adopted during the launch of
Nano. Q2 pl help the company in working out a suitable strategy for the success of the car. Q3
by using a SWOT analysis outline the failure of the car in the Indian markets. Q4 what in your
opinion is the future of such cars in Indian markets
CASE STUDY - 3

“Corporate Social Responsibility as a business imperative must not be accepted grudgingly or

half heartedly. Instead, it must be practiced with full vigor and straight from the heart passion
and this certainly helps the companies in the long run” – Critically analyse the statement with
Indian examples.

CASE STUDY - 4

Do a SWOT Analysis for Reliance Gio 4G services in Indian market and analyse the strategic
approach of reliance communication in this regard.

CASE STUDY - 5

Kia Motors India aims to add new sales outlets in smaller cities and towns by March 2020, as it
readies to launch its second product in India - the Grand Carnival MP Kia Motors India is on a
roll with the strong response received by the Seltos and the automaker is looking at aggressively
expanding its operations in India including its sales network. A report by PTI now states that the
company plans to expands its sales outlets to over 300 touchpoints in the country by the end of
the current financial year. The aim to enforce presence in areas where it is not well represented.
The Korean auto giant is currently the fifth-largest carmaker in terms of sales in India's domestic
passenger vehicles segment with just one offering in its product line-upThe report quotes
Manohar Bhat, Kia Motors India - Head Marketing and Sales, saying, "We started with 260 odd
touchpoints and now, we intend to increase the count by another 50. There are certain areas like
the northeast, the northern part of Telangana, Karnataka, western Rajasthan, etc., where we are
not very well represented.

Kia Cars

The company wants to be fully prepared in terms of the network before new products are
launched he he added.

The new sales outlets will be opened in smaller cities and towns in order to reach out to
prospective customers. The new outlets will further help Kia maintain its strong position as it
works to bring in its second offering in India in February next year at the 2020 Auto Expo. The
automaker will be bringing in the Grand Carnival MPV to India next year, which will take on the
Toyota Innova Crysta, and will follow it up with the QYI (codename) subcompact SUV that will
share its underpinnings with the Hyundai Venue.
Kia Motors had previously announced that it plans to bring a new product to the market every six
months. The company has a total of six new cars planned over the next three years, all of which
will be produced atthe company's facility in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. The massive
production plant has a capacity of three lakh units and caters to both domestic and export
demands. Currently, Kia India is meeting the demand for the Seltos compact SUV. The
automaker has garnered over 62,000 bookings for the model and has delivered over 33,000 units
so far. The waiting period around the Kia Seltos stretches between six to eight weeks, depending
on the variant. In a bid to reduce the waiting period, Kia also commenced a second shift at the
plant producing around 13,000 units every month, up from 6500 units in the first month in a
single shift. The vendors and suppliers too have increased capacities to address the demand.

1. Explain with a suitable diagram Porter’s Five Forces Model (7)

2. Analyse status of Kia Motors by applying Porter’s Five Forces Model (7)

3. As CEO of Kia Motors in India,what would be your management strategy for the coming 2
years ?

CASE STUDY – 6

Jio and BSNL have together added more than 1.08 crore new mobile phone customers, whilerivals such
as Vodafone, Idea, Bharti Airtlel and Tata Teleservices lost more than 1.01 crorecustomers, according to
the data released by telecom regulator in January 2019

Question:

Do a SWOT analysis for BSNL and reliance Jio in Indian market and analyze the strategic approachof both
companies in this regard.

.CASE STUDY – 7

Several campaigns and demonstrations followed the publication of a report issued by the Indian NGO
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in 2003. The report provided evidence of the presence of
pesticides,to a level exceeding European standards,25 in a sample of a dozen Coca -Cola and PepsiCo
beverages sold in India.26 With that evidence at hand, the CSE called on the Indian government to
implement legally enforceable water standards. The report gained ample public and media
attention,resulting in almost immediate effects on Coca -Cola revenues. The main allegations made by
the NGO against Coca -Cola were that it sold products containing unacceptable levels of pesticides, it
extracted large amounts of groundwater and it had polluted water sources.27 Regarding the allegation
about Coca - Cola beverages containing high levels of pesticide residues, the Indian government
undertook various investigations. The government set up a Joint Committee28 to carry out its own tests
on the beverages. The tests also found the presence of pesticides that failed to meet European
standards, but they were still considered safe under local standards. Therefore, it was concluded that
Coca -Cola had not violatedanynational laws but Coca -Cola was also accused of causing water shortages
in – among other areas – the community of Plachimada in Kerala, southern India.
QUESTIONS: a) Do you think is the coco -cola socially responsible company? b) How can coco -cola
regain its market?

. CASE STUDY – 8

Apple has considered the GRI G3.1 indices relating to the economy, the environment, humanrights,
society and labour for its publication on Governance, Product Environmental Reports, Recycling and
Facilities Environmental Report and Supplier Responsibility. For Supplier Responsibility, Apple, for
example, has taken into account the indicator which reports on measures it has taken to contribute to
the elimination of child labour. With regardto Product Environmental Reports, Apple has used the EN26
performance indicator,115 and sets out initiatives to lessen the environmental impact of its products.
Apple designs its products with the aim of being as energy efficient as possible, and it is the only
company that can claim all electronic goods are Energy Star qualified.116 Apple’s products have become
more powerful while, at the same time, fewer materials are used and fewer carbon emissions are
generated. Almost all of Apple’s products are outsourced for manufacturing overseas. But the limited
transparency of Apple’s supplier sustainability policy has often been criticized in the media. In February
2010 Apple also turned down two shareholders‟ sustainability proposals to establish a sustainability
report on Apple’s environmental policies and the impact that climate change has on the company. The
other proposalwastoestablishaboardofdirectors‟sustainabilitycommittee. A well -known conflict
involving Apple’s suppliers is the suicides at Foxconn. It is the largest contracted electronics
manufacturer in the world, with dealings involving Dell and Sony. Foxconn is the manufacturer of
iPhones and iPads and employs over 900,000 workers, of whom 420,000 employees work at the
Foxconn Shenzhen plant. This plant covers 15 factories, including dormitories, a hospital, a bank, a
grocery store and restaurants. The workers live and work inside the complex. In 2006 the Chinese local
press reported on the excessively long working hours and the discrimination of mainland Chinese
workers by Taiwanese superiors. In May 2010 several media sources reported several cases of suicide at
Foxconn. From 2009 to 2010 a total of 13 workers had committed suicide. The first worker, Sun
Danyong, committed suicide after he had been interrogated on the loss of an iPhone 4 prototype that
he had in his possession. When the former CEO Steve Jobs was asked about the suicides at Foxconn, he
responded: „Foxconn is not a sweatshop. Comment on the above case study and give your viewpoints in
it.

. CASE STUDY – 9

Dr.Sukumar inherited his father’s Dey’s Lab in Delhi in 1995. Till 2002, he owned 4 labs in the National
Capital Region (NCR). His ambition was to turn it into a National chain. The number increased to 7 in
2003 across the country, including the acquisition of Platinum lab in Mumbai. The number is likely to go
to 50 within 2 -3 years from 21 at present. Infusion of Rs.28 crores for a 26% stake by Pharma Capital
has its growth strategy.The lab with a revenue of Rs.75 crores is among top three Pathological labs in
India with Atlantic (Rs.77 crores) and Pacific (Rs.55 crores). Yet its market share is only 2% of
Rs.3,500crores market. The top 3 firms command only 6% as against 40 - 45% by their counterparts in
the USA.There are about 20,000 to 1,00,000stand alone labs engaged in routine pathological in India,
with no system of mandatory licensing and registration. That is why Dr.Sukumar has not gone for
acquisition or joint ventures. He does not find many existing laboratories meeting quality standards. His
six labs have been accredited nationally whereon many large hospitals have not though of accreditation.
The of American Pathologists accreditation of Dey‟s lab would help it to reach clients outside
India.InDey‟s Lab, the bio - chemistry andblood testing equipments are sanitized every day. The bar
coding and automated registration of patients do not allow any identity mix -ups. Even routing tests are
conducted with highlysophisticated systems. Technical expertise enables them to carry out 1640 variety
of tests. Same day reports are available for samples reaching by 3 p.m. and by 7 a.m. next day for
samples from 500 collection centres located across the county. Their technicians work round the clock,
unlike competitors. Home services for collection and reporting is also available.There is a huge
unutilized capacity. Now it is trying top othersegments. 20% of tis total comes through its main
laboratory which acts as a reference lab for many leading hospitals. New mega labs are being built to
encash preclinical and multi – centre clinical trails

questions. 1. What do you understand by them Vision? What is the difference between„ Vision ‟and„
Mission‟? 2. What vision Dr.Sukumar has at the time of inheritance of Dey‟s lab? Has it been achieved?
(8 Marks) 3. For growth what strategy has been adopted by Dr. Sukumar ? (2Marks )

. CASE STUDY – 10

Perform an external environment analysis using Porters five force model in the purview of an
automobile company.

CASE STUDY – 11

Taking a firm of your choice, explain how competitive advantage is developed and sustained over a long
period of time.

CASE STUDY – 12

The Icarus paradox is based on the Greek myth of Icarus, who made himself a pair of wings from wax
and feathers and then flew so well that he went too close to the sun, which melted the wings, and he
plunged to his death. The paradox suggests that his greatest asset, his ability to fly, gave rise to his
demise. Many successful companies become so dazzled by their own early success that they believe that
operate in the same way will lead to future success. This attitude, finally leads a company to become so
specialized and inner -directed that it loses sight of market realities .Sooner or later failure
mustensue.Here a typical example is the DEC Company. By 1990, DEC‟s superiority in producing high
quality VAX minicomputers made it one of the largest corporations in the world However, the
company’s success carried the seeds of its destruction. An increasingly narrow focus on engineering
capability led to a neglect of other functions, such as marketing, servicing and so on. The firm became
dull to the dynamic customer needs and industry conditions. Then DEC went through a terrible change
of fortune in the early 1990s, and finally was acquired by Compaq in 1998. (Compaq was acquired by
Hewlett Packard in2001.)

• Explain the concept of IcarusParadox.

• Analyze what is the reason behind the failure of DECCompany.

CASE STUDY – 13

Everyone was made to wear identical shirts to work, with the Pepsi logo emblazoned on the pockets,
right across their hearts. There were no „bosses‟ or „sirs‟. Suman would be addressed as Suman by the
entire team. In every visit to the market, in every conference Suman would make sure that he projected
salesman as the real heroes of PepsiCo. Even the television commercials showed salesman doing
everything possible for the company. Everyone including the truck drivers was made to believe that
he/she is out on a battle ready to kill the enemy Coke. People say that is what made Pepsi win the battle
in India against Coke. In fact, if you stopped a Pepsi truck and asked the salesman what he was doing,
chances would be high that he would say he is helping Pepsi win the Cola war. Not just selling Pepsi.
Remember what the then President of America, John F Kennedy was greeted with when he posed a
question to the janitor working at the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, „what do you do here?‟ She
replied “I am helping America put a man on the moon!” And that is what is called as Vision sharing.
When employees share the vision, they can scale new heights continually and put the company on top
of the world, quite easily. Questions: a) How PepsiCo India did have won the war withCoke? b) What
kind of strategy had adopted by Mr.Suman to get success for PepsiCoIndia?

CASE STUDY – 14

Obviously, a well -known transformational story is APPLE, Jobs has successfully transformed APPLE from
a PC firm to a promising diversified organization, this has great strategic flexibility to innovate in the
market. This revolution process is certainly full of adventure and difficulties. In the PC industry where
the product has become a commodity, it is the low cost player which can deliver the best quality at the
lowest cost will win. Historically this has been Dell, Lenovo and HP. However, Apple is protected in the
sense that it has a uniquely differentiated product in a commodity industry. It has the advantages of
brand loyalty, ease of use, and design elegance. After the early year‟s failure of marketing PC, Apple has
been very successful with the iPod, iTunes and iPhones. In a decade APPLE has gone from a computer
manufacture to a world beater in personal music players, mobile phones, music retail, tablet computing,
TV hardware manufacture. Especially, the firm has actually dominated the market for mobile phone
applications by being open and rewarding developers with generous profit sharing. In 2010 it hosted
over 250,000 „„apps‟‟ from outside developers, and while it is criticized for being „„closed‟‟ in
operating a strict policy in monitoring the content of these apps, it is generating almost $1bn a year
throughthe innovation and has made many developers millionaires. There are a number of reasons for
Apple‟s successful organizational transformation. Firstly, the iPod itself was technologically
sophisticated and cool, the design elegance helped to drive demand. Secondly, iTunes files could only be
played on the iPod created a closed world in which copyright violations were less likely to occur. This
helped to allay the fears of music publishers regarding illegal file sharing. Last but not the least, Apple
offered the music companies a great deal – of the$0.99 paid for every download, $0.89 reportedly goes
straight to the music companies. They capture most of the economic profit. With regards to iPhone,
although the iPhone was not the first smart phone, its market share is growing rapidly. The reason is
clear now: Apple has realized the importance of applications for sales of the iPhone, and is creating
incentives for third part developers to make and sell applications through its appsstore. Essentially,
Apple is leveraging a network effect successfully. The more valuable apps offered on the
iPhoneplatform, the greater the utility of owning an iPhone, the greater demand will be created, and the
more apps will be offered. Previously, Microsoft utilized such a network effect with Windows, now
Apple is trying to utilize it with its iPhone. The successful organizational to win what is rapidly becoming
a format war in the smart phone . To dothat, it must exploit network effects, and so far Apple seems to
be doing a better job than itscompetitors.

Questions:

Do a SWOT analysis for the AppleInc.

2.Assume a company of your own and conduct a ETOP and GAP analysis.

3.Explain Mckinsey’s 7 S framework and its utility to strategists.

4.Perform a SWOT analysis for an Indian telecom company.

CASE STUDY – 15

The MSIL has a market share of about 55% in the Indian passenger car segment and is the largest
manufacture of small cars in India. The company has been voted as first by Indian customers for level of
customer service and customer satisfaction. The company manufactures affordable small cars which
serve the needs of average Indian customers faithfully and hence have a strong brand image as the
common man‟s car in India, which an average Indian customer identifies with. Such a strong brand
image and huge customer base can sustain the position of the company as the market leader in the
Indian small car segment. Well Developed Sales and Service Network throughout India: The Maruti
Suzuki India and a huge service network of more 2,750 franchises of service outlets spreading about
1,300 cities throughout India. Such a widely distributed sales and service network can help the company
to relate with its Customers across India, also facilitates bargaining power with suppliers and increases
profitability. Very Strong Knowledge of Indian Market: The Maruti Suzuki India has a strong knowledge
of the Indian market which has helped them to grow their sales and market share in India.

Questions: A. How core competencies of MSIL are explained in above case?

b.What kind of strategy can be adopted by MSIL to get commercial success of car in domestic as well as
global market?

1. Who is called the Father of Strategic Management?

a. Chandler
b. Igor Ansoff
c. Michael Porter
d. John Nash
2. What is the starting point of Strategic Intent?
a. Goal
b. Objective
c. Vision
d. Mission
3. Hierarchy of Strategic Intent:

i. Vision > Mission > Goals > Objectives > Plans

ii. Mission > Vision > Goals > Objectives > Plans

iii. Plans > Vision > Mission > Goals > Objectives
 iv. Goals > Vision > Mission > Objectives > Plans

a. i)
b. iii)
c. iv)
d. ii)
4. SWOT stands for
a. Services worldwide optimization and transport
b. Special weapons for operations for timeless
c. Strength weakness opportunities and threats
d. Strength worldwide overcome threats
5. Which of the following is not a major element of the strategic management process?
a. Formulation strategy
b. Implementing strategy
c. Evaluating strategy
d. Assigning administrative tasks
6. Competitive advantage can be best described as
a. Increased efficiency
b. What sets an organisation apart
c. A strength and the organisations
d. Intangible resources
7. An organisation strategy ___
a. Remains set in place longer than the mission and objectives
b. Generally forms over a period of time as events unfold
c. Trends to be formed at the same time the mission is developed
d. None
8. The primary focus of strategic management is
a. Strategic analysis
b. The total organisation
c. Strategy formulation
d. None
9. The corporate level is where top management directs
a. All employees for orientation
b. Its efforts to stabilise recruitment needs
c. Overall strategy for the entire organisation
d. Overall sales projections
10. Selling all of a company’s assets for their tangible worth is called
a. Divestiture
b. Concentric Diversification
c. Liquidation
d. Unrelated integration
11. What are the guides to decision making?
a. Rules
b. Procedures
c. Goals
d. Policies
12. Low cost, Differentiation and Focus are examples of
a. Corporate strategies
b. Operational strategies
c. Business strategies
d. Functional strategies
13. Which environment can create new markets and new business segments?
a. Political environment
b. Economic environment
c. Sociocultural environment
d. Technological environment
14. The word tactics is most likely to be associated with
a. Business strategy
b. Corporate strategy
c. Operational strategy
d. All of the above
15. How many cells are there in a SWOT matrix?
a. 6
b. 9
c. 5
d. 2
16. Strategic Management handles
a. External issues
b. Administrational issues
c. Internal issues
d. Management issues
17. The following are considered grand strategies, except for
a. A retrenchment strategy
b. Strategic business unit
c. A growth strategy
d. Related diversification
18. Strategic business units
a. Are found in one-business organisations
b. Carry out strategies assigned by the CEO
c. Implement the marketing function’s strategic planning and management decisions
d. Develop their own unique way of competing
19. Retrenchment is
 a. When a company experiences declining profits and makes cutbacks to improve
efficiency.
b. When a company adopts a new strategic position for a product or service
c. The sale of the complete business, either as a single going concern or piecemeal to
different buyers or sometimes by auctioning the assets
d. Implement the marketing function’s strategic planning and management decisions
20. When does horizontal integration occur?
a. When a firm acquires or merges with a major competitor
b. When a firm acquires or merges with a an unrelated business
c. When a firm acquires or merges with a distributor
d. When a firm acquires or merges with a supplier firm
21. Divestment is what kind of strategy?
a. An asset-reduction strategy
b. A weakness-reduction strategy
c. A product-reduction strategy
d. A cost-reduction strategy
22. Sustained survival implies
a. that a turnaround is achieved, but there is little further growth
b. that a turnaround is achieved, and there is potential for further growth
c. that a turnaround is achieved, and there is a clear opportunity to employ a new
growth strategy
d. that a turnaround is achieved, and it is appropriate to diversify soon
23. In which of the following scenarios is a joint venture likely to be more attractive than
acquisition?
a. Horizontal integration
b. Vertical integration
c. New market entry
d. Larger resource pool
24. McDonalds is deciding whether to expand into manufacturing kitchen equipment in China. At
what level is this decision likely to be made?
a. Business
b. Corporate
c. Functional
d. International
25. The three organisational levels are
a. Corporate level, business level, functional level
b. Corporate level, business unit level, functional level
c. Corporate strategy level, business unit level, functional level
d. None