ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR ISMS ONGOING EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED WHATSAPP 91 9924764558

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR ISMS ONGOING EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED WHATSAPP 91 9924764558

CONTACT:
Bachelors Program in Business Management (BBA) Year-I


Note :- Solve any 4 case study
           All case carries equal marks


CASE I

A DIAMOND PERSONALITY


Ask Suraj bhai about the dot-com burst and he may grin at you as if to say, ``What burst?’’ Suraj bhai, a 38-year-old entrepreneur, owns an Internet business that sells loose diamonds to various buyers. Business is becoming for Suraj bhai. In 2004, he had sales of INR 3,500 million. Needless to say, Suraj bhai is optimistic about his business venture.
The future wasn’t always to bright for Suraj bhai, however. In 1985, Suraj bhai moved from his native town Suraj, to New Delhi, with little ability to speak English. There, he attended language courses and worked at the local mall to support himself. After graduation, his roommate’s girlfriend suggested that he work at a local jeweler. ``I thought she was crazy. I didn’t know anything about jewelry,’’ says Suraj bhai, who took her advice. Though he worked hard and received his Diamonds and Diamonds Grading certification from the Gemological Institute, he wasn’t satisfied with his progress. `I quickly realized that working there, I was just going to get a salary with a raise here and there. I would never become anything. That drove me to explore other business ventures. I also came to really known diamonds – their pricing and their quality.’’
In 1997, tired of working for someone else, Suraj bhai decided to open his own jewelry store. However, business didn’t boom. `Some of my customers were telling me they could find diamonds for less on the Interest. It blew my mind’’ Surajy bhai recognized an opportunity and began contacting well-known diamond dealers to see if they would be interested in selling their gems online. Suraj bhai recalls one conversation with a prominent dealer who told him, `You cannot sell diamonds on the Internet. You will not survive.’’ Discouraged, Suraj bhai then says that he made a mistake. ``I stopped working on it. If you have a dream, you have to keep working harder at it.’’
A year later, Suraj bhai did work harder at his dream and found a dealer who agreed to provide him with some diamonds. Says Suray bhai, ``Once I had one. I could approach others. Business started to build. The first 3 months I sold INR 20 million worth of diamonds right off the bat. And that was just me. I started to add employees and eventually closed the jewelry store and got out of retail.’’ Although Suraj bhai does have some diamonds in inventory, he primarily acts as a connection point between buyers and suppliers, giving his customers an extraordinary selection from which to choose.
Suraj bhai is now a savvy entrepreneur, and his company, Abhisaz.com, went public in October 2003.
Why is Suraj bhai successful? Just ask two people who have known Suraj bhai over the years. Yogesh bhai, a realtor who helped build Suraj bhai building, says, ``Suraj bhai is a very ambitious young man. I am not surprised at all how successful he is. He is an entrepreneur in the truest sense of the world.’’ One of Suraj bhai former real-estate instructors, Arun Jain, concurs. `I am not surprised at all at his success,’’ says Arun. ``Suraj bhai has always been an extremely motivated individual with a lot of resources. He has a wonderful personality and pays close attention to detail. He also has an ability to stick to things. You could tell from the beginning that he was going to persevere, and I am proud of him.’’
Suraj bhai is keeping his success in perspective, but he also realizes his business’ potential: ``I take a very small salary, and our overhead in INR 25 million a year. I am not in debt, and the business is breaking ever. I care about the company. I want to keep everything even until we take off, and then it may be another ball game.’’

Questions:

1. What factors do you think attributed to Suraj bhai’s success? Was he merely ``in the right place at the right time’’, or are there characteristics about him that contribute to his success?
2. How do you believe Suraj bhai would score on the Big Five dimensions of personality (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to experience)? Which ones would he score high on? Which ones might he score low on?
3. Do you believe that Suraj bhai is high or low on core self-evaluations? On what information did you base your decision?
4. What information about Suraj bhai suggests that he has a proactive personality?






CASE II

BULLYING BOSSES

It got to where I was twitching, literally, on the way into work,’’ states Carrie Clark, a 52-year-old retired teacher and administrator. After enduring 10 months of repeated insults and mistreatment from her supervisor, she finally quit her job. ``I had to take care of my health.’’
Though many individuals recall bullies from their elementary school days, some are realizing that bullies can exist in the workplace as well. And these bullies do not just pick on the weakest in the group, rather, any subordinate in their path may fall prey to their torment, according to Dr. Gary Namie, director of the Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute. Dr. Namie further says workplace bullies are not limited to men-women are at least as likely to be bullies. However, gender discrepancies are found in victims of bullying, as women are more likely to be targets.
What motivates a boss to be a bully? Dr. Harvey Hornstein, a retired professor from Teachers College at Columbia University, suggests that supervisors may use bullying as a means to subdue a subordinate that poses a threat to the supervisor’s status. Additionally, supervisors may bully individuals to vent frustrations. Many times however, the sheer desire to wield power may be the primary reason for bullying.
What is the impact of bullying on employee motivation and behavior? Surprisingly, even though victims of workplace bullies may feel less motivated to go to work every day, it does not appear that they discontinue performing their required job duties. However, it does appear that victims of bullies are less motivated to perform extra-role or citizenship behaviors. Helping others, speaking positively about the organization, and going beyond the call of duty are behaviors that are reduced as a result of bullying. According to Dr. Bennett Tepper of the University of North Carolina, fear may be the reason that many workers continue to perform their job duties. And not all individuals reduce their citizenship behaviors. Some continue to engage in extra-role behaviors to make themselves look better than their colleagues.

What should you do if your boss is bullying you? Don’t necessarily expect help from coworkers. As Emelise Aleandri, an actress and producer from New York who left her job after being bullied, stated, ``Some people were afraid to do anything. But others didn’t mind what was happening at all, because they wanted my job.’’ Moreover, according to Dr. Michelle Duffy of the University of Kentucky, coworkers often blame victims of bullying in order to resolve their guilt. ``they do this by wondering whether maybe the person deserved the treatment, that he or she has been annoying, or lazy, they did something to earn it,’’ states Dr. Duffy. One example of an employee who observed this phenomenon firsthand is Sherry Hamby, who was frequently verbally abused by her boss and then eventually fired. She stated, ``This was a man who insulted me, who insulted by family, who would lay into me while everyone else in the office just sat there and let it happen. The people in my office eventually started blaming me.’’
What can a bullied employee do? Dr. Hornstein suggests that employees try to ignore the insults and respond only to the substance of the bully’s grip. `stick with the substance, not the process, and often it won’t escalate,’’ he states. Of course, that is easier said than done. 

Questions:
1) Of the three types of organizational justice, which one does workplace bullying most closely resemble?
2) What aspects of motivation might workplace bullying reduce? For example, are there likely to be effects on an employee’s self-efficacy? If so, what might those effects be?
3) If you were a victim of workplace bullying, what steps would you take to try to reduce its occurrence? What strategies would be most effective? What strategies might be ineffective? What would you do if one of your colleagues was a victim of an abusive supervisor?
4) What factors do you believe contribute to workplace bullying? Are bullies a product of the situation, or are they flawed personalities? What situations and what personality factors might contribute to the presence of bullies?




CASE III

THANKS FOR NOTHING


Thought it may seem fairly obvious that receiving praise and recognition from one’s company is a motivating experience, sadly many companies are failing miserably when it comes to saying ``thanks’’ to their employees. According to curt Coffman global practice leader at Gallup, 71 percent of U.S. workers are ``disengaged’’, essentially meaning that they could care less about their organization. Coffman states. ``We’re operating at one-quarter of the capacity in terms of managing human capital. It’s alarming.’’ Employee recognition programs, which became more popular as the U.S. economy shifted from industrial to knowledge-based, can be an effective way to motivate employees and make them feel valued. In many cases, however, recognition programs are doing ``more harm than good’’ according to Coffman.
Take Ko, a 50-year-old former employee of a dot-com in California. Her company proudly instituted a rewards program designed to motivate employees. What were the rewards for a job well-done? Employees would receive a badge which read ``U Done Good’’ and, each year, would receive a T-shirt as a means of annual recognition. Once an employee received 10 ``U Done Good’’ badges, he or she could trade them in for something bigger and better—a paperweight. Ko states that she would have preferred a raise. ``It was patronizing. There wasn’t any deep thought involved in any of this.’’ To make matters worse, she says the badges were handed out arbitrarily and were not tied to performance. And what about those T-shirts? Ko states that the company instilled a strict dress code, so employees couldn’t even wear the shirts if they wanted to. Needless to say, the employee recognition program seemed like an empty gesture rather than a motivation.
Even programs that provide employees with more expensive rewards can backfire, especially if the rewards are given insincerely. Eric Lange, an employee of a trucking company, recalls the time when one of the company’s vice presidents achieved a major financial goal for the company. The vice president, who worked in an office best of Lange, received a Cadillac Seville as his company car and a new Rolex wristwatch that cost the company $10,000. Both were lavish gifts, but the way they were distributed left a sour taste in the vice president’s mouth. He entered his office to find the Rolex in a cheap cardboard box sitting on his desk, along with a brief letter explaining that he would be receiving a 1099 tax form in order to pay taxes on the watch. Lange state of the vice president, ``He came into my office, which was right next door, and said, `can you believe this?’’ A mere 2 months later, the vice president pawned the watch. Lange explains. ``It had absolutely no meaning for him.
Such experiences resonate with employees who may find more value in a sincere pat on the back than gifts from management that either are meaningless or aren’t conveyed with respect or sincerity. However, sincere pats on the back may be hard to come by. Gallup’s poll found that 61 percent of employees stated that they haven’t received a sincere, ``thank you’’ from management in the past year. Finding such as these are troubling, as verbal rewards are not only inexpensive for companies to hand out but also are quick and easy to distribute. Of course, verbal rewards do need to be paired sometimes with tangible benefits that employees value – after all, money talks. In addition, when praising employees for a job well-done, managers need to ensure that the praise is given in conjunction with the specific accomplishment. In this way, employees may not only feel valued by their organization but will also know what actions to take to be rewarded in the future.

Questions
1) If praising employees for doing a good job seems to be a fairly easy and obvious motivational tools, why do you think companies and managers don’t often do it?
2) As a manager, what steps would you take to motivate your employees after observing them perform well?
3) Are there any downsides to giving employees too much verbal praise? What might these downsides be and how could you alleviate them as a manager?
4) As a manager, how would you ensure that recognition given to employees is distributed fairly and justly?




CASE IV

WILL GEORGE W. BUSH BE A GREAT PRESIDENT?

What does it take to be a great U.S. president? A survey of 78 history, political science, and law scholars rated the U.S. presidents from George Washington to Bill Clinton. Here are the presidents who were rated ``Great’’ and ``Near Great.’’
Great
George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)

Near Great
Thomas Jefferson
Andrew Jackson
James Polk
Theodore Roosevelt
Harry Truman
Dwight Eisenhower
Ronald Reagan
Among recent presidents, Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter were ranked ``Below Average’’ and Presidents G. H. W. Bush (the first President Bush) and Clinton were ranked ``Average’’.
So what explains these ratings? The following are some qualities of presidents who have stood the test of time.
1. Great presidents are transformational leaders who engender strong emotions – that is, you either love them or you hate them (it’s hard to hate someone who made little difference). And great presidents enact a vision that may not respond to popular opinion. Lincoln and FDR were beloved, and hated, by millions.
2. Great presidents are bold and take risks, and almost all great presidents emerge successfully from a crisis. A great president is perceived as ``being there’’ when a crisis emerges and taking bold action to lead the nation out of the crisis – for example, Lincoln in the Civil War and Roosevelt in WWII.
3. Great presidents are associated with a vision. Most people, for example, are able to associate the great presidents with defining moment where a clear set of principles was articulated – for example, FDR’s speech to Congress after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
4. Great presidents are charismatic. They are engaging, articulate, and expressive, which helps capture the public’s attention and rallies people around a president’s cause. One leadership expert argues that the best presidents create colorful personas with their language by using words with basic emotions – for example, good versus evil or love versus hate.
So what about President George W. Bush (the second President Bush)? Shortly after his second inauguration, President Bush embarked on an ambitious agenda of legal reform, transforming the Social Security system, tax reform, and revising immigration laws. One writer commented, ``Bush has always thought big, and always believed you earn political capital by expending it.’’ However, the closeness of the 2004 election (Bush received 51 percent of the vote and Kerry received 48 percent) suggests that Bush may not have overwhelming support.

Questions
1. How would you rate President George W. Bush on the four characteristics outlined at the beginning of the case? How would you contrast his reaction to Hurricane Katrina with his reaction to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001? What do you think his handling of these two events says about his leadership?
2. Do you think leaders in other contexts (business’, sports, religious) exhibit the same qualities of great or near-great U.S. presidents?
3. Do you think being in the right place at the right time could influence presidential greatness?



Case V

A UNIQUE TRAINING PROGRAM AT UPS


Mark Colvard, a United Parcel manager in San Ramon, California, recently faced a difficult decision. One of his drivers asked for 2 weeks off  to help an ailing family member. But company rules said this driver wasn’t eligible. If Colvard went by the book, the driver would probably take the days off anyway and be fired. On the other hand, Colvard was likely to be criticized by other drivers if he bent the rules. Colvard chose to give the driver the time off. Although he took some heat for the decision, he also kept a valuable employee.
Had Colvard been faced with this decision 6 months earlier, he says he would have gone the other way. What changed his thinking was a month he spent living in McAllen, Texas. It was part of a UPS management training experience called the Community Internship Program (CIP). During his month in McAllen, Colvard built housing for the poor, collected clothing for the Salvation Army, and worked in a drug rehab center. Colvard gives the program credit for helping him empathize with employees facing cries back home. And he says that CIP has made him a better manager. ``My goal was to make the numbers, and in some cases that meant not looking at the individual but looking the bottom line. After that 1-month stay, I immediately started reaching out to people in a different way.’’
CIP was established by UPS in the late 1960s to help open the eyes of the company’s predominantly white managers to the poverty and inequality in many cities. Today, the program takes 50 of the company’s most promising executives each summer and brings them to cities around the country. There they deal with a variety of problems- from transportation to housing, education, and health care. The company’s goal is to awaken these managers to the challenges that many of their employees face, bridging the cultural divide that separates a white manager from an African American driver or an upper-income suburbanite from a worker raised in the rural South.


Questions
1. Do you think individuals can learn empathy from something like a 1-month CIP experience? Explain why or why not.
2. How could UPS’s CIP help the organization better manage work-life conflicts?
3. How could UPS’s CIP help the organization improve its response to diversity?
4. What negatives, if any, can you envision resulting from CIP?
5. UPS has 2,400 managers. CIP includes only 50 each year. How can the program make a difference if it includes only 2 percent of all managers? Does this suggest that the program is more public relations than management training?
6. How can UPS justify the cost of a program like CIP if competitors like FedEx, DHL, and the U.S. Postal Service don’t offer such programs? Does the program increase costs or reduce UPS profits?



MARKETING MANAGEMENT


Bachelors Program in Business Management (BBA) Year-II

Note :- Solve any four cases
             All cases carry equal marks.

Case No 1 :- MARKETING SPOTLIGHT- NIKE
Nike hit the ground running in 1962. Originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports, the company focused on providing high-quality running shoes designed especially for athletes by athletes. Founder Philip Knight believer that high-tech shoes for runners could be manufactured at competitive prices if imported from abroad. The company’s commitment to designing innovative footwear for serious athletes helped it build a cult following among American consumers. By 1980, Nike had become the number-one athletic shoe company in the United States.
From the start, Nike’s marketing campaigns featured winning athletes as spokespeople. The company signed on its first spokesperson, runner Steve Prefontaine, in 1973. Prefontaine’s irreverent attitude matched Nike’s spirit. Marketing campaigns featuring winning athletes made sense. Nike saw a `pyramid of influence’’ – it saw that product and brand choices are influenced by the preferences and behavior of a small percentage of top athletes. Using professional athletes in its advertising campaigns was both efficient and effective for Nike.
In 1985, Nike signed up then-rookie guard Michael Jordan as a spokesperson. Jordan was still an up-and-comer, but he personified superior performance. Nike’s bet paid off: The Air Jordan line of basketball shoes flew off the shelves, with revenues of over $100 million in the first year alone. Jordan also helped build the psychological image of the Nike brand. Phil Knight said. ``Sports are at the heart of American culture, so a lot of emotion already exists around it. Emotions are always hard to explain, but there’s something inspirational about watching athletes push the limits of performance. You can’t explain much in 60 seconds, but when you show Michael Jordan, you don’t have to.’’
In 1988, Nike aired its first ads in the ``Just Do It’’ ad campaign. The $20 million month-long blitz-subtly encouraging Americans to participate more actively in sports-featured 12 TV spots in all. The campaign challenged a generation of athletic enthusiasts to chase their goals; it was a natural manifestation of Nike’s attitude of self-empowerment through sports. The campaign featured celebrities and noncelebrities. One noncelebrity and featured Walt Stack, an 80-year-old long-distance nunnery, running across the Golden Gate bridge as part of his morning routine. The ``Just Do It’’ trailer appeared on the screen as the shirtless Stack ran on a chilly morning. Talking to the camera as it zoomed in, and while still running. Stack remarked, ``People ask me how I keep my teeth from chattering when it’s cold.’’ Pausing, Stack matter-of-factly replied, ‘’I leave them in my locker.’’
As Nike began expanding overseas to Europe, it found that its American style ads were seen as too aggressive. The brand image was perceived as too fashion-oriented. Nike realized that it had to ``authenticate’’ its brand in Europe the way it had in America. That meant building credibility and relevance in European sports, especially soccer. Nike became actively involved as a sponsor of soccer youth leagues, local clubs, and national teams. Authenticity required that consumers see the product being used by athletes, especially by athletes who win. The big break came in 1994, when the Brazilian team (the only national team fro which Nike had any real sponsorships) won the World Cup. The victory led Nike to sign other winning teams, and by 2003 overseas revenues surpassed U.S. revenues for the first time. Nike also topped $10 billion in sales for the first time in the year as well.
Today, Nike dominates the athletic footwear market. Nine of the 10 top-selling basketball shoes, for example, are Nikes. Nike introduces hundreds of shoes each year for 30 sports – averaging one new shoe style every day of the year. Swooshes abound on everything from wristwatches to golf clubs to swimming caps.
Discussion Questions
1. What have been the key success factors for Nike?
2. Where is Nike vulnerable? What should it watch out for?
3. What recommendations would you make to senior marketing executives going forward? What should they be sure to do with its marketing?




















Case NO. 2
MARKETING SPOTLIGHT- DISNEY
The Walt Disney Company, a $27 billion-a-year global entertainment giant, recognizes what its customers value in the Disney brand: a fun experience and homespun entertainment based on old-fashioned family values. Disney responds to these consumer markets. Say a family goes to see a Disney movie together. They have a great time. They want to continue the experience. Disney Consumer Products, a division of the Walt Disney Company, lets them do just that through product lines aimed at specific age groups.
Take the 2004 Home on the Range movie. In addition to the movie, Disney created an accompanying soundtrack album, a line of toys and kid’s clothing featuring the heroine, a theme park attraction, and a series of books. Similarly, Disney’s 2003 Pirates of the Caribbean had a theme park ride, merchandising program, video game, TV series, and comic books. Disney’s strategy is to build consumer segment around each of its characters, from classics like Mickey Mouse and Snow White to new hits like Kim Possible. Each brand is created for a special age group and distribution channel. Baby Mickey & Co. and Disney Babies both target infants, but the former is sold through department stores and specialty gift stores whereas the latter is a lower-priced option sold through mass-market channels. Disney’s Mickey’s Stuff for Kids targets boys and girls, while Mickey Unlimited targets teens and adults.
On TV, the Disney Channel is the top primetime destination for kids age 6 to 14, and Playhouse Disney is Disney’s preschool programming targeting kids age 2 to 6. Other products, like Disney’s co-branded Visa card, target adults. Cardholders earn one Disney ``dollar’’ for every $ 100 charged to the card, up to the card, up to $75,000 annually, then redeem the earnings for Disney merchandise or services, including Disney’s theme parks and resorts, Disney Stores, Walt Disney Studios, and Disney stage productions. Disney is even in Home Depot, with a line of licensed kid’s room paint colors with paint swatches in the signature mouse-and-ears shape.


Disney also has licensed food products with character brand tie-ins. For example, Disney Yo-Pals Yogurt features Winnie the Pooh and Friends. The four-ounce yogurt cups are aimed at preschoolers and have an illustrated short story under each lid that encourages reading and discovery. Keebler Disney Holiday Magic Middles are vanilla sandwich cookies that have an individual image of Mickey, Donald Duck, and Goofy imprinted in each cookie.
The integration of all the consumer product lines can be seen with Disney’s ``Kim Possible’’ TV program. The series follows the action-adventures of a typical high school girl who, in her spare time, saves the world from evil villains. The number-one-rated cable program in its time slot has spawned a variety of merchandise offered by the seven Disney Consumer Product divisions. The merchandise includes:
 Disney Hardlines – stationery, lunchboxes, food products, room décor.
 Disney Softlines – sportswear, sleepwear, daywear, accessories.
 Disney Toys – action figures, wigglers, beanbags, plush, fashion dolls, poseables.
 Disney Publishing – diaries, junior novels, comic books.
 Walt Disney Records – Kim Possible soundtrack.
 Buena Vista Home Entertainment – DVD/video.
 Buena Vista Games – Game Boy Advance.
``The success of Kim Possible is driven by action – packed storylines which translate well into merchandise in many categories,’’ said Andy Mooney, chairman, Disney Consumer Products Worldwide. Rich Ross, president of entertainment, Disney Channel, added: ``Today’s kids want a deeper experience with their favorite television characters, like Kim Possible. This line of products extends our viewer’s experience with Kim, Rufus, Ron and other show characters, allowing (kids) to touch, see and live the Kim Possible experience.
Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse in 1928 (Walt wanted to call his creation Mortimer until his wife convinced him Mickey Mouse was better). Disney’s first feature-length musical animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, debuted in 1973. Today, the pervasiveness of Disney product offerings is staggering – all in all, there are over 3 billion entertainment-based impressions of Mickey Mouse received by children every year. But as Walt Disney said. ``I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.’’

Discussion Questions
1. What have been the key success factors for Disney?
2. Where is Disney vulnerable? What should it watch out for?
3. What recommendations would you make to their senior marketing executives going forward? What should it be sure to do with its marketing?



Case NO. 3
MARKETING SPOTLIGHT- HSBC
HSBC is known as the ``world’s local bank.’’ Originally called the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, HSBC was established in 1865 to finance the growing trade between China and the United Kingdom. HSBC is now the second-largest bank in the world, serving 100 million customers through 9,500 branches in 79 countries. The company is organized by business line (personal financial services; consumer finance; commercial banking; corporate investment banking and markets; private banking), as well as by geographic segment (Asia-Pacific, U.K./Eurozone, North America/NAFTA, South America, Middle East).
Despite operating in 79 different countries, the bank works hard to maintain a local feel and local knowledge in each area. HSBC’s fundamental operating strategy is to remain close to its customers. As HSBC chairman Sir John Bond said in November 2003, ‘’Our position as the world’s local bank enables us to approach each country uniquely, blending local knowledge with a world-wise operating platform.’’
For example, consider HSBC’s local marketing efforts in New York City. To prove to jaded New Yorkers that the London-based financial behemoth was ‘’the world’s local bank, ``HSBC held a ‘’New York City’s Most Knowledgeable Cabbie’’ contest. The winning cabbie gets paid to drive full-time for HSBC for the year and HSBC customers win, too. Any customer showing an HSBC bankcard, checkbook, or bank statement can get a free ride in the HSBC-branded Bankcab. The campaign demonstrates HSBC’s local knowledge. ‘’In order to make New Yorkers believe you’re local, you have to act local,’’ said Renegade Marketing Group’s CEO Drew Neisser.
Across the world in Hong Kong, HSBC undertook a different campaign. In the region hit hard by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, (SARS) outbreak, HSBC launched a program to revitalize the local economy. HSBC’’ plowed back interest payments’’ to customers who worked in industries most affected SARS (cinemas, hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies). The program eased its customer’s financial burden. The bank also promoted Hong Kong’s commercial sector by offering discounts and rebates for customers who use an HSBC credit card when shopping and dining out, to help businesses affected by the downturn. More than 1, 5000 local merchants participated in the promotion.
In addition to local marketing, HSBC does niche marketing. For example, it found a little-known product area that was growing at 125 percent a year: pet insurance. In December 2003 it announced that it will distribute nationwide pet insurance through its HSBC Insurance agency, making the insurance available to its depositors.
HSBC also segments demographically. In the United States, the bank will target the immigrant population, particularly Hispanics, now that it has acquired Bital in Mexico, where many migrants to the United States deposit money.
Overall, the bank has been consciously pulling together its worldwide businesses under a single global brand with the ‘’world’s local bank’’ slogan. The aim is to link its international size with close relationships in each of the countries in which it operates. The company spends $600 million annually on global marketing and will likely consolidate and use fewer ad agencies. HSBC will decide who gets the account by giving each agency a ‘’brand-strategy exercise.’’ Agencies will by vying for the account by improving on HSBC’s number 37 global brand ranking.

Discussion Questions
1. What have been the key success factors for HSBC?
2. Where is HSBC vulnerable? What should it watch out for?
3. What recommendations would you make to senior marketing executives going forward? What should they be sure to do with its marketing?















Case NO .4
MARKETING SPOTLIGHT- KRISPY KREME
Krispy Kreme makes 2.7 billion donuts a year. But it took more than fresh, hot donuts to earn Krispy Kreme the title of ‘’hottest brand in America’’ in 2003. Krispy Kreme’s stock price quadrupled in the three years following its IPO in 2000, and the entire chain now generates a billion dollars in annual revenues across more than 300 outlets.
How did Krispy Kreme turn donuts into dollars? Careful brand positioning and local marketing tell the story. ‘’We have a humble brand and product,’’ says Krispy Kreme CEO Scott Livengood. ‘’It’s not flashy.’’ The company is not new – it was founded in 1937- and part of its brand image is an old-fashioned feel. The plain red, green, and white colors and retro graphics evoke the squeaky-clean Happy Days of the 1950s, as do the Formica-filled, kid-friendly shops. ‘’We want every customer experience to be associated with good times and warm memories,’’ Livengood says.
That company’s brand image also rests on its fresh, hot donuts – a freshness that’s measured in hours. In a world of processed, prepackaged food, nothing beats a fresh, hot donut. The company’s marketing is grassroots local. Krispy Kreme has no traditional media advertising budget. Rather, local ‘’community marketing managers’’ enlist the aid of local groups and charities. For example, the company helps charities raise money by selling them donuts at half price which they can re-sell at full price. Local bake sales become a promotional tool for Krispy Kreme.
Another tactic is giving away free donuts to TV, newspapers, and radio stations before entering a market. Krsipy Kreme scored a publicity coup in 1996 when it opened its first store in New York City. The company delivered boxes of donuts to the Today Show, garnering millions of dollars worth of national exposure for the price of a few donuts. Even the day of the IPO relied on the buzz from free Krispy Kreme donuts on the floor of the stock exchange.
Each local outlet is an emissary for the brand, and Krispy Kreme’s signature Doughnut Theater defines the brand image. A multisensory experience, Doughnut Theater occurs several times a day at each shop. When the store flicks on its ‘’Hot Doughnuts Now’’ sign, the performance is about to begin. A large plate glass wall lets customers watch the whole process.
The Doughnut Theater experience works on three levels. On a direct level, the performance entertains customers and draws them into the donut-making experience. On an indirect level, it shows that the products are freshly made in a clean environment. On a subliminal level, as CEO Livengood describes it, ‘’The movement of the products on the conveyor through our proofbox has this relaxing, almost mesmerizing effect. The only other thing like it is standing on the oceanfront and watching the tide come in. it has that same consistent, relaxing motion that is really positive to people.’’ People flock to the store to see wave after wave of donuts emerge hot and deliciously fresh. They happily stand in long lines around newly opened outlets to get the aroma of the donuts being made, the sight of the vanilla glaze waterfall, and the warmth of the hot donut that ‘’just melts in your mouth and tastes so good,’’ Livengood says.
Doughnut Theater is a bit of show business that draws customers into the baking experience and makes them feel like they are a part of the process. Another aspect of show business is product placements on hit shows like. The Sopranos and Will & Grace and movies like Bruce Almighty. Finally, international expansion is fueled by celebrities like Dick Clark, Hank Aaron, and Jimmy Buffet, who clamored for Krispy Kreme franchises of their own. Krispy Kreme doesn’t just grant franchise rights to anyone.
Krispy Kreme makes 65 percent of its revenue selling donuts directly to the public through its 106 company-owned stores. Another 31 percent comes from selling flour mix, donut-making machines, and donut supplies to its 186 franchised stores. The final 4 percent of revenue comes from franchisee licenses and fees.
Krispy Kreme is now expanding and selling donuts through convenience stores. Will this hurt the brand? Stan Parker, Krispy Kreme’s senior vice president of marketing, says it won’t because the company continues to emphasize freshness. It replenishes the packaged donuts daily from the local Krispy kreme store and removes any unsold packages. The donuts’ presence in convenience stores will help remind people of the taste of a fresh, hot Krispy Kreme donut, and that brings them back into a Krispy Kreme shop.
The success of Krispy Kreme has been a wake-up call for competitor Dunkin’ Donuts, which had become complacent. The one-two punch of Krispy Kreme in donuts and Starbucks in coffee led Dunkin’ Donuts to revamp its menu and its stores, neither of which had changed in years. Rather than innovate, Dunkin’ Donuts looked at what customers were already eating elsewhere. It brought in basic products like bagels, low-fat muffins, and breakfast sandwiches. Dunkin Donuts still dwarfs Krispy Kreme in size, with 2003 revenues of $3 billion, but it must work to find new ways of creating excitement that builds customer pride, because one thing is sure: Krispy Kreme refuses to be dull.

Discussion Questions
1. What have been the key success factors for Krispy Kreme?
2. Where is Krispy Kreme vulnerable? What should it watch out for?
3. What recommendations would you make to senior marketing executives going forward? What should they be sure to do with its marketing?















Case NO. 5
MARKETING SPOTLIGHT- SOUTHWEST AIRLINES 
Southwest Airlines entered the airline industry in 1971 with little money, but lots of personality. Marketing itself as the LUV airline, the company featured a bright red heart as its first logo. In the 1970s, flight attendants in red-orange hot pants served Love Bites (peanuts) and Love Potions (drinks). With little money for advertising in the early days, Southwest relied on its outrageous antics to generate word-of-mouth advertising.
Later ads showcased Southwest’s low fares, frequent flights, on-time arrivals, and top safety record. Throughout all the advertising, the spirit of fun pervades. For example, one TV spot showed a small bag of peanuts with the words, ‘’This is what our meals look like a Southwest Airlines…. It’s also what our fares look like.’’ Southwest used ads with humor to poke fun at itself and to convey its personality.
Southwest’s fun spirit attracts customers and employees alike. Although Southwest doesn’t take itself seriously, it does take its work seriously. Southwest’s strategy is to be the low-cost carrier. Indeed, the strategy takes on epic proportions. An internal slogan, ‘’It’s not just a job, it’s a crusade,’’ embodies the company mission to open up the skies, to give ordinary people a chance to fly by keeping costs so low that it competes with ground transportation like cars and buses. Employees see themselves as protecting ‘’small businesses and senior citizens who count on us for low fares.’’
Southwest can offer low fares because it streamlines operations. For example, it only flies one type of aircraft, Boeing 737s, which have all been fitted with identical flight instruments. This saves time and money by simplifying training pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics only need to know procedures for a single model of Boeing 737. Management can substitute aircraft, reschedule flight crews, or transfer mechanics quickly. The tactic also saves money through lower spare-parts inventories and better deals when acquiring new planes. Southwest also bucks the traditional hub-and-spoke system and offers only point-to-point service; it chooses to fly to smaller airports that have lower gate fees and less congestion, which speeds aircraft turnaround. Southwest’s 15- to 20- minute turnaround time (from flight landing to departure) is half the industry average, giving it better asset utilization (flying more flights and more passengers per plane per day.) The point is, if the plane and crew aren’t in the air, they aren’t making money.
Southwest grows by entering new markets that are overpriced and underserved by current airlines. The company believes it can bring fares down by one-third to one-half whenever it enters a new market, and it grows the market a every city it serves by making flying affordable to people who previously could not afford to fly.
Even though Southwest is a low-cost airline, it has pioneered many additional services and programs like same-day freight service, senior discounts, Fun Fares, and Fun Packs. Despite Southwest’s reputation for low fares and no-frills service, the company wins the hearts of customers. It has been ranked number one in terms of customer service, per the Department of Transportation’s rankings, for 12 years in a row, yet the average price of a flight is $87. Southwest has been ranked by Fortune magazine as America’s most admired airline since 1997, as America’s third-most-admired corporation in 2004, and as one of the top five best places to work in America. Southwest’s financial results also shine: The company has been profitable for 31 straight years. Following 911, it has been the only airline to report profits every quarter, and one of the few airlines that has had no layoffs amid a travel slump created by slow economy and the threat of terrorism.
Although the hot pants are long gone, the LUVing spirit remains at the heart of Southwest. The company’s stock symbol on the NYSE is LUV and red hearts can be found everywhere across the company. These symbols embody the Southwest spirit of employees ‘’caring about themselves, each other and Southwest’s customers’’, states an employee booklet. ‘’Our fares can be matched; our airplanes and routes can be copied. But we pride ourselves on our customer service,’’ said Sherry Phelps, director of corporate employment. That’s why Southwest look for and hires people who generate enthusiasm. In fact, having a sense of humor is a selection criteria it uses for hiring. As one employee explained, ‘’We can train you to do any job, but we can’t give you the right spirit.’’
Southwest is so confident of its culture and its employees that in 2004 it allowed itself to be the subject of a reality TV show called Airline. It’s not worried about competitors copying the company. ‘’What we do is very simply, but it’s not simplistic,’’ said president and COO Colleen Barrett. ‘’We really do everything with passion.’’

Discussion Questions
1. What are the key success factors for Southwest Airlines?
2. Where is Southwest Airlines vulnerable? What should it watch out for?
3. What recommendations would you make to senior marketing executives moving forward? What should they be sure to do with its marketing?



Case NO. 6
MARKETING SPOTLIGHT- WAL-MART 
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is the largest retailer in the world, with sales of $259 billion in 2003, 1.5 million employees, and 4,300 facilities. Each week, over 100 million customers visit a Wal-Mart store. Sam Walton founded the company in 1962 with a simple goal: Offer low prices to everyone. His notions of hard work and thrift continue to permeate Wal-Mart today, although he died in 1992. Employees see their jobs as a mission ‘’to lower the world’s cost of living.’’ Wall –Mart’s philosophy is to enable people of average means to buy more of the same products that were previously available only to rich folks. The company works hard at being efficient and using its buying clout to extract lower prices from suppliers, and then passes those savings on to customers.
Wal-Mart succeeds in the competitive American retail market for several reasons. First, its low prices, vast selection, and superior service keep the customers coming in the door. But one of Wal-Mart’s biggest strengths is not even inside the store. Its unrivaled logistics ensure that it can keep prices low while keeping the right goods on the shelves. As the biggest retailer in the United States. Wal-Mart’s logistics demands are considerable. The company must coordinate with more than 85,000 suppliers, manage billions in inventory in its warehouses, and bring that inventory to its retail shelves.
To streamline these tasks, Wal-Mart set up a ‘’hub-and-spoke’’ network of 103 massive distribution centers (DC). Strategically spaced across the country, no store location is more than a day’s drive away from a DC. Wal-Mart is known as ‘’the king of store logistics’’ for its ability to effectively manage such a vast network.
Sam Walton was something of a visionary when it came to logistics. He had the foresight to realize, as early as the 1960s, that his goals for company growth required advanced information systems to manage high volumes of merchandise. The key to low-cost retail is knowing what goods would sell and in what quantities – ensuring that store shelves never have too much or too little of any item. In 1966, Walton hired the top graduate of an IBM school and assigned him the task of computerizing Wal-Mart’s operations. As a result of this forward-looking move, Wal-Mart grew to be the icon of just-in-time inventory control and sophisticated logistics. By 1998, Wal-Mart’s computer database was second only to the Pentagon’s in terms of capacity.
Wal-Mart’s logistics success is astounding considering its size: Over 100 million items per day must get to the right store at the right time. To accomplish this goal, Wal-Mart developed several IT systems that work together. It all begins at the cash register or point-of-sale (POS) terminal. Every time an item is scanned, the information is relayed to headquarters via satellite data links. Using up-to-the-minute sales information, Wal-Mart’s Inventory Management System calculates the rate of sales, factors in seasonal and promotional elements, and automatically places replenishment orders to distribution centers and vendor partners.
Wal-Mart uses its information systems for more than just logistics. Suppliers can use its voluminous POS database to analyze customers’ regional buying habits. For example, Proctor & Gamble learned that liquid Tide sells better in the North and Northeast while Tide powder sells better in the South and Southwest. P & G uses information such as this to tailor its product availability to specific local regions. This means that it delivers different Tide products to different Wal-Mart locations based on local customer preferences. Wal-Mart’s may look the same on the outside, but the company uses its information systems and logistics to customize the offerings inside each store to suit regional demand.
Wal-Mart continues to grow. Despite already having 3,200 stores in the united States, Wal-Mart plans to add another 220-230 Super centers, 50-55 discount stores, 35-40 Sam’s Clubs, and 25-30 Neighborhood Markets in the United States alone, and an additional 130 units internationally. If Wal-Mart maintains the average growth rate of the past 10 years, it could become the world’s first trillion-dollar company.
Discussion Questions
1. What have been the key success factors for Wal-Mart?
2. Where is Wal-Mart vulnerable? What should it watch out for?
3. What recommendations would you make to senior marketing executives going forward? What should the company be sure to do with its marketing?