bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Bringing the young and old together: how to connect international youth work with intergenerational practice
Authors: Teffel Michael 
Published: November 2014

PurposeThis case study aims to describe the efforts of the Kreisau‐Initiative (KI) Berlin to connect the field of international youth work with intergenerational approaches.Design/methodology/approachThe study describes three projects of the KI, illustrating the general background of the intergenerational projects, dissussing opportunities and challenges, and highlighting some of the implications for practitioners.FindingsWhen offering international exchange projects for people of all ages, the paper has made one interesting finding. Generally speaking, it is more difficult to find younger people (aged 50 and younger) to take part in such activities than seniors. From this case study, the author learned that every project which aims to foster intergenerational dialogue needs a topic in which every participant (both young and old) is interested; it should be connected to them and to their daily lives. For organisations which would like to work both intergenerationally and internationally, it is difficult to obtain funding as there are only a few funds supporting international meetings for people of all ages.Originality/valueThe case study addresses intergenerational issues in international exchange projects.
Being a scholar in Iberoamerica: a long and winding road
Authors: Berrone Pascual 
Published: November 2014

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer the author's view about some of the challenges Iberoamerican scholars face in order to build a successful publication record.Design/methodology/approachThis is an individual review of some of the most common barriers Iberoamerican scholars encounter when trying to publish their work and examine the extent to which they are valid.FindingsThe paper presents some of the difficulties encountered by scholars located outside the main US/Anglo Saxon University environment, but introduces some principles to overcome these barriers.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on different strategies and tactics to overcome these barriers, including aspects like seeking research opportunities, academic crafting, co‐authorships, and targeting papers to specific journals.
Competitiveness: business model reconfiguration for innovation and internationalization
Authors: Casadesus‐Masanell Ramon , Ricart Joan E. 
Published: November 2014

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reflect on competitiveness by using the business model concept and to understand the need to adapt business models to changes in the environment.Design/methodology/approachUsing Catalonia as a context, the paper derives recommendations by presenting and analyzing examples of companies, referred to as “new generation companies,” that have innovated in their business models. The case studies illustrate the contributions of the business model notion to the competitiveness debate.FindingsReviewing the history and contemporary practice of Catalan firms, examples of “new generation” companies are analyzed to derive recommendations for managers seeking to reconfigure their business models to support innovation and internationalization. Since business models sit at the core of competitiveness, they must be the focus of managers aiming to create efficient firms that foster sustained competitive advantage.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis is based on a small number of case studies.Originality/valueThe business model approach described in this paper enriches the current debate on competitiveness by focusing the analysis at the level of the firm.
Do applicants' prior experiences influence organizational attractiveness prediction?
Authors: Roque Gomes Daniel , Gonçalves Neves José 
Published: November 2014

PurposeThe paper aims to clarify some incongruence between theoretical established grounds, that assume that an applicants' assessment of organizations is constrained by individual contextual factors, and dubious empirical findings. It seeks to propose that previous work experience (PWE) and previous response to job advertisements experience (PRA) interact with the vacancy elements of job and organizational attributes (OA) for the prediction of organizational attractiveness.Design/methodology/approachAn adapted employment advertisement describing a job and an organization was presented to 227 participants from the marketing area (72 professionals and 155 marketing undergraduates), who were asked to respond to a questionnaire containing the measures of the study variables. The hypotheses were tested using linear regression methodology.FindingsEmpirical evidence showed that the assessment of the vacancy is constrained by individual contextual factors. PWE and PRA moderated the relation between the OA and attractiveness. PRA moderated the relation between perceived knowledge of results (KR) of the job and attractiveness.Practical implicationsThe results imply different job searching profiles according to the type of applicants' prior experiences. A more experienced profile of applicants appears to have a job‐searching strategy based on the KR of the job itself and on the type of OA. A more junior profile appears to have a job‐searching strategy focused on the organization, and less related with the job itself.Originality/valueTheoretically, the paper discusses the influences of individual context factors in organizational attraction. Empirically, it provides evidence of the role of applicants' previous experiences when assessing organizations. In practical terms, it discusses directions towards employee attraction activities.
Do emotions matter?
Authors: Gabel‐Shemueli Rachel , Dolan Simon 
Published: November 2014

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose emotional intelligence (hereinafter EI) competences as a key predictor for overall cross‐cultural adjustment of managers and professionals in its three respective dimensions: work, interaction and non‐work adjustment. This explorative study contributes to the assessment and selection of potential professionals for international assignments by identifying the combination of soft competences and selected pre‐existing personal factors that can predict cross cultural adjustment beyond traditional technical or functional skills.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered via a pre‐validated multi‐item questionnaire. The latter was administered in two languages: English and Spanish and two steps of multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted, in addition to the main variables (i.e. main effect). A total of 16 individual, organisational and context‐related control variables were used in this study.FindingsThe main findings indicate that EI is related to overall cross‐cultural adjustment measured in its three dimensions. However, EI was most strongly related to interaction adjustment following overall cross‐cultural adjustment. Furthermore, by isolating some important variables, the predictive role of EI on cross‐cultural adjustment above and beyond these control variables was shown.Research limitations/implicationsEI is still a new and debatable construct. Researchers are continuing to explore this construct from different angles. Moreover, there is keen interest in ascertaining whether the findings reported herein are sustainable. With the exception of one external source (culture distance), all data for the current study were collected via a self‐reported questionnaire and although additional effort was made to reduce some potential method‐variance problems, they cannot be entirely ruled out. The authors encourage future studies to improve the design by gathering data from multiple sources and from diverse settings.Practical implicationsThe paper reviews the possible advantages of including EI assessment in international postings selection process.Originality/valueThis paper fills the need to study the predictive role of key soft skills in understanding cross‐cultural adjustment of international assignees. This study analysed the role of emotions in cross‐cultural settings by specifically examining a set of competences stemming from the EI construct. Although EI has been extensively used in the organisational behaviour literature, to the best of the authors' knowledge, there is still a need to empirically explore the relationships of this construct within the context of overseas postings and cross cultural encounters.
Fast Trax – the Indian QSR chain
Authors: Nasreen Reshma , Siraj Sadaf , Beg Sana 
Published: November 2014

Subject area
Services marketing and marketing strategy.

Study level/applicability
The case is basically aimed at post-graduate management students; it can be used in strategic management courses. Students can understand McKinsey's 7S model with the help of this case as well as the seven Ps of service industry. Students can also gain an insight into the hub and spoke model. The case can also be used in courses of entrepreneurship.

Case overview
The case is primarily the entrepreneurial journey of Mr Samar Qureshi in a quick service restaurant business. The entrepreneur Mr Samar Qureshi at a very young age dreamt of opening up an Indian fast food chain. He worked hard to make his dream a reality. In a brief period of five years Qureshi's Fast Trax has reached the level of world-renowned fast food chains like McDonald's and KFC in terms of quality and ambience. Overcoming the hurdles and the challenges Fast Trax has 22 outlets in Delhi NCR. Samar has also introduced the fast food culture in a small town, Aligarh, and wishes to expand it further to other B class towns of India where people desire to go to fast food chains and to enjoy the high standards of food and service as are enjoyed by people living in metros. He has also been instrumental in changing the concept of canteen to restaurant in schools and colleges. The case discusses the challenges facing Fast Trax in the cut-throat environment of the fast food industry.

Expected learning outcomes
These include: highlighting the 7Ps of services in the context of a retail chain and establishing interlinkages between the seven Ss identified by McKinsey.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available. Please consult your librarian for access.
Innovation and development cooperation in Central America and Caribbean. Mission impossible?
Authors: Calvo Nuria , Villarreal Oskar 
Published: November 2014

Subject area
Strategic decision making in cooperation projects. The decision deals with the process of generating a strategy for R&D and technological innovation in developing countries, through international cooperation.

Study level/applicability
Students of programs of strategic management, business policy and management of international cooperation. Target courses include: strategic management seminars, international cooperation seminars, MBA.

Case overview
The case shows the process carried out by a team led by Braulio Perez Astray, manager of the innovation department of the Foundation University of A Coruna (Spain) and Radhames Mejia, executive vice-rector of the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra (Dominican Republic) to design the strategy for R&D and Technological Innovation of the Dominican Republic. It describes the tasks and responsibilities undertaken in the INPOLTEC Project, the result of the international cooperation between Spain and the Dominican Republic. It included the involvement of the Administration of Government of both countries, the contributions of the scientific community and a significant sample of Dominican companies, as well as the advice of Spanish experts and technologists in the field of innovation and technology policy. The case arises from the position of Braulio Perez Astray, leader of the project. The objective of this case is to analyze the potential transfer of this experience to other countries in Central America and Caribbean.

Expected learning outcomes
The learning objective is to facilitate students to investigate the decisions in the strategic process in the field of innovation and to reinforce the focus of international cooperation as a mechanism for strategic support in stimulating the flow of knowledge in science and technology.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available. Please consult the librarian for access.
AngloGold Ashanti: the dawning of a new age
Authors: Gihwala Anita 
Published: November 2014

Title
AngloGold Ashanti: the dawning of a new age.

Subject area
Change management, leadership, human resources management and organisational behaviour.

Study level/applicability
Business and organisational behaviour students at a Master's level of study.

Case overview
This case study explores the challenges facing one of the jewels of corporate South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, as it seeks to introduce and implement vast changes across its global operations within a pre-established time frame. It explores those factors that impact the introduction and implementation of a successful and sustainable change initiative at AngloGold Ashanti.

Expected learning outcomes
By understanding the manner in which the company's new business improvement initiative is sought to be introduced at the organisation, students are better able to understand the role of leadership and the impact of change on a global workforce. Students will gain an appreciation of how to manage the change process, key actions that ought to be taken by all levels of management and staff, pitfalls that should be avoided and challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that the organisation can emerge stronger and take its rightful place in the competitive global arena.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.
Financial turnaround of Indian Railways (A)
Authors: Singhania Monica , Sharma Sanjeev 
Published: November 2014

Subject area
Financial management, strategic management.

Study level/applicability
The study can be used by business schools, companies/organizations, individuals, students of business management, in the area of financial and strategic management to study and analyse management strategies by a Government organization that has to balance social objectives and commercial viability.

Case overview
Indian Railways (IR) is one of the world's largest employers and there was a significant improvement in its financial performance during the period 2004-2008 without any reductions in its workforce. The main reasons for the poor performance of IR prior to this period were attributed to severe competition from other modes of transport, rigid pricing, investment in un-remunerative projects and other such practices. Various recommendations, including restructuring/corporatizing, reorganization, increasing passenger fares, unbundling of non-core activities, downsizing, and outsourcing, had been suggested by various management experts and it was declared that only major reform could rescue IR. However, IR met the challenges and attained unprecedented growth in traffic and earnings through certain strategic decisions. The study analyzes the strategies adopted by IR to improve its poor financial performance.

Expected learning outcomes
These include: understanding the challenge of sustaining the current market growth and capturing additional traffic by IR with its peculiar product-mix (transport mix) and limited resources; understanding the main reason for the downtrend of IR finances; acquiring an understanding of the advantage of adopting a volume-focused strategy by IR instead of the existing tariff-focused policy of revenue generation; and understanding the turnaround phase of IR and innovative strategies to get back to the path of growth.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.
To die with dignity — hospice care for the poor in India
Authors: Shyam Kamath , Jyoti Bachani 
Published: November 2014

Subject area
Non-profit management and corporate strategy.

Study level/applicability
The case is appropriate for teaching undergraduate students, executive MBAs and graduate students. The case is useful for an overview of hospice and palliative care in the developed and developing world, and for class room discussions of external analysis of non-profit organizations' ecosystems, funding needs and industry analysis.

Case overview
Hospice care in the developed parts of the world is well established but in most developing countries, there are no organized hospice care facilities. This case focuses on a charitable organization, Brthya – Add Value to Life (Brthya – AVTL), that established and operates hospice care in Chennai, India. The Indian context for hospice care, and the ecosystem needed to sustain ongoing operations, are described along with a summary of four different models of hospice care used in other parts of the world.

Expected learning outcomes
The case will help students to understand: what hospice care is and its various forms; management issues related to funding and operating hospice care in particular and a non-profit in general; ecosystems that make non-profits sustainable in emerging economies; and managing expansion and growth in non-profit organizations, in emerging economies and globally.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.
Yongye Group: trust-based management
Authors: Cardona Pablo , Bao Jiming , Ng Isabel 
Published: November 2014

Subject area
Leadership.

Study level/applicability
The case is suitable for MBA, Executive level courses.

Case overview
Yongye Group is a biotechnological enterprise in Inner Mongolia, China. In China, people lack trust in economic transactions due to the transitional state of the economy, especially regarding food safety. To respond to this situation, Wu Zishen, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Yongye Group, was determined to build trust among employees, distributors, farmers, and consumers towards the company. To this end, he started using a creative incentive system with employees and stakeholders: the pay-before-performance incentive system. According to this system, the reward is delivered in advance, contrary to be paid after the fulfillment of the task. This practice is meant to transform employees' work attitude from a passive “being told to work” to a more proactive “I want to work” mentality. When such an incentive system is practiced with customers and external distributors, it sends a message that the company is “treating customers as company employees”, which means that they are trusted as if they were part of the company itself. Wu Zishen also introduced a coherent series of leadership practices that generate a truly proactive culture in the organization.

Expected learning outcomes
From this case, students will learn how to create a proactive culture in business organizations and the effect of pay-before-performance on employees' work motivation.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes and an exercise for class-based discussion are available.
VNFPP Ltd: using holistic marketing in a small enterprise context
Authors: Kumar S. Ramesh , Bhattacharyya Arun 
Published: November 2014

Subject area
Entrepreneurship in emerging markets; the planning of survival and competition strategies of small businesses run by entrepreneurs against well established larger brands.

Study level/applicability
The case can be used at the post graduate level in principles of marketing, entrepreneurship or emerging markets courses.

Case overview
The case looks at the antecedents and process of transformation of a small-scale firm into a marketing-oriented organization, through the lens of holistic marketing. The case focuses on a small-scale Bangalore based Indian company, Vishaal Natural Food Products (I) Pvt. Ltd that had used the concept of marketing orientation and holistic marketing to effectively make use of the advantages of its “smallness” and the characteristics of its entrepreneurial setup.

Expected learning outcomes
How can an entrepreneur survive in a dynamic environment? How should the company conceptually finalize its growth avenues? How can holistic marketing have an impact on the entire functioning of the organization when radical changes to handle the environmental changes, are made? How does the concept of holistic marketing which in textbooks fits in with the complexities of large corporations when they plan their strategies, have an impact on the functioning of these small businesses. The case delves into the conceptual linkages posed by these questions.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available, please consult your librarian for access.
“Doing” the act: Lenovo and corporate reputation
Authors: Kaul Asha 
Published: November 2014

Subject area
The case is positioned in the domain of building, managing and communicating corporate reputation. It discusses the entry of Lenovo in the Indian market where the company faced reputational challenges. Definition of a corporate reputation strategy which was aligned to the overall strategy of the company, helped Lenovo traverse difficult terrains. The case would be relevant for courses on corporate reputation, communication and strategy.

Study level/applicability
The case is targeted at MBA students, corporate and PR professionals. The case can be used for MBA courses or management development programmes on corporate reputation, communication, and strategy.

Case overview
The case brings out key elements of entry into an emerging market flooded with international, well-positioned players and discusses the entry of Lenovo in the Indian market where the problem was compounded by perceptions of Chinese origin. How does Lenovo bring about a turnaround in positioning, building, communicating and managing reputation, how does it steer stakeholder opinion in its favour? Will Lenovo India be able to replicate the success model in China? The case presents the challenges and discusses the strategies adopted by Amar Babu, MD Lenovo to bring about a change in the existing perceptions of stakeholders.

Expected learning outcomes

To discuss strategies for building corporate reputation.
To critically examine and analyze the strategies adopted by Lenovo India to build reputation and gain market share.
To analyse links between strategy generation and reputation management.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available, please consult your librarian to access these.