Attempt All Case Study
CASE – 1
The Indian Railways' ambitious Kashmir Railway Project. This was
one of its most important and difficult projects as it aimed to build a
railroad connection through the Himalayan foothills linking Kashmir with the
rest of India. The main objective of this project was to provide an alternative
and more reliable mode of transportation system to the people of Kashmir than
the existing mode of travel by road. Officially, this track was named as the
Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund-Baramulla link (JUSBRL). The unique features of
this line, according to observers, were the presence of a major earthquake
zone, extreme environmental conditions in terms of temperature, and the most
extreme geological profile throughout the entire terrain.
Some experts lauded the Indian Railway's initiatives and how it
had overcome some of the challenges associated with the project and said that
once accomplished it would be an engineering miracle. However, it was also
criticized on many fronts and some experts believed that the project had been
bungled at the planning stage itself.
Question:
» Understand issues and challenges in executing a large
infrastructure project by studying the ambitious Kashmir Railway Project which
once accomplished would be an engineering miracle.
» Appreciate the difficulties before the project managers due to the fragile
geology and steep topography - presence of a major earthquake zone, extreme
environmental conditions in terms of temperature, etc.
» Appreciate the difficulties involved in the execution of large infrastructure
projects in developing countries, and how these can be overcome.
CASE
– 2
Spain-based Mango MNG Holding SL (Mango), the flagship of a group
of companies involved in design, manufacture, and distribution of garments and
fashion accessories, sold garments for men and women and accessories through
exclusive stores. The company was started in 1984 in Spain, and expanded
rapidly to more than 107 countries across the world by 2012. Mango went on to
become the second largest textile exporter in Spain. Mango was one of the
pioneers of fast fashion. The company was able to design the garments and send
them to the stores within a span of three months.
It could also bring designs with slight modifications within
just two weeks. The case discusses Mango’s business model under which it
retained some of the core activities of its value chain in-house while
outsourcing the rest of the activities. Important activities like design and
distribution were managed completely by the company, while manufacturing, which
was a labor-intensive task, was outsourced. The company retailed through its
own outlets as well as through franchisees. This business model helped the
company expand rapidly and also minimize the risks.
Question:
» Analyze Mango's
business model.
» Study the design, production, distribution, and store management processes at
Mango.
» Evaluate Mango's core and non-core activities.
» Understand which processes can be managed in-house and which ones can be
outsourced..
CASE
– 3
Tthe Just-in-Time
(JIT) implementation at Harley-Davidson Motor Company (Harley-Davidson), a
US-based motorcycle manufacturing company. JIT, a philosophy developed by
Japanese companies, aims at reducing inventory and advocates the production of
only what is needed when needed and no more. After World War II,
Harley-Davidson faced fierce competition from Japanese automobile companies which
were able to produce better quality motorcycles at comparatively lower cost.
Harley-Davidson visited some of the Japanese companies and found that Japanese
companies were following three main practices: employee involvement, use of
statistical process control, and JIT. The company soon realized that in order
to beat Japanese competition, it had to implement these practices as well. The
company successfully implemented JIT practices and reaped several
benefits.
After spectacular growth in the 1990s and the early 2000s, Harley-Davidson
again faced hard times from 2007. The case also looks at the challenges faced
by the company in the latter part of the first decade of the new millennium,
and how it was trying to focus on ‘continuous improvement' in a bid to bring
itself back into profits.
Question:
» To understand
Just-in-time philosophy and its importance in reducing overall production cost
and enhancing product quality.
» To understand how the JIT philosophy requires the alignment of operational
strategies to achieve the goal.
» To understand the important role of having a stable supplier network for
achieving JIT.
» To understand that besides the use of statistical techniques in achieving
JIT, employees' involvement is equally important.
» To discuss the challenges faced by Harley-Davidson since 2007.
» To explore operational strategies that Harley-Davidson can adopt to overcome
those strategies.
CASE
– 4
The case discusses the master franchise model of the US-based
Domino's Pizza Inc (Domino's). Domino's, which was started in the 1960s,
expanded in international markets mainly through its master franchise model.
Under this model, the franchisees were provided with exclusive rights to
operate stores, or to sub-franchise them in a particular area. Domino's
recruited franchisees with business experience and knowledge of local markets
as master franchisees, and was able to mitigate the risks associated with
entering and operating in international markets. Under master franchising, in
markets where there was high potential for development, Domino's transferred
market exclusivity to an individual/company, who had a significant presence and
knowledge about the local markets.
These individuals/companies in turn invested in establishing the
master franchise, whose responsibilities include building stores,
sub-franchising, operating distribution system, etc. The case discusses in
detail the store operations of Domino's and the benefits of its master
franchise system.
Question:
» Understand the
master franchise model of Domino's and its advantages.
» Examine some of the unique features of the master franchise model of
Domino's.
» Analyze the store operations of Domino's.
» Examine the training/support provided by Domino's to the franchisees.
» Understand how the master franchise model helped Domino's in facing the
adverse impact of global economic slowdown successfully.
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