Search results for: 'environment'

Sofia Lopez is a Spanish professional who founded “Servicios Ambientales” - an environmental services agency – twice. First in 2012, after her previous employer went bankrupt because of bad management and she lost her job. Sofia convinced four former colleagues to start their own company and brought a former client as a financial partner on board. Using her positive can-do attitude and convincing communication, she defended the attempt of her financial partner to fire her. Instead, she ousted him with the help of her partners. This made it necessary to start her company a second time in 2015. Sofia held on to her clear vision to deliver quality work. She addressed late payments with partial invoicing to manage cash flow. In late 2019, Sofia was still heading “Servicios Ambientales” which now had 20 employees and offered its services across Spain and other EU countries.

What obstacles did she need to overcome and how did she do so? What skills and techniques did she develop to “bounce back” twice?

How to make an effective contribution to a closely-knit board run by a longtime and rigid chair, and how to do so as the only woman? This is the predicament this fictional case study presents Jane Pruitt, a 54-year-old CFO coming in from another company under shareholder pressure. She is striving to make a much-needed impact on a privately-held formerly family-run metalworking machinery and equipment manufacturer overseen by five male board members (and financially interconnected friends) all about 70 years of age.
Jane begins to suspect that the intellectual, generational and gender diversity she was hired to provide was brought on board only for public show.

The case raises important questions about the value of diversity in a team environment and will engage any student who has been an outsider on an insular, club-like team.

This case presents several challenges that are relevant for organizations today. First, it explores a newcomer’s perspective on being an outsider in an insider-dominated setting. Second, the case presents a number of common board/team practices that undercut effectiveness. Finally, it gives students the opportunity to think and talk about board diversity, its merits and challenges, and possible paths forward to success.

Within that setting, several instructional objectives can be met:

• Diversity: The experience of the outsider, and the deep frustrations of not fitting in.
• Board Process: Board effectiveness requires both the right board composition and the right board process.
• Leadership: The next leader is often already at the table but may not match the stereotype of the old one.

The case describes the story of Meliá Hotels International in Magaluf, Mallorca, as a touristic destination that had an extraordinarily fast development. It became a reference destination, due to its climate and privileged environment. It turned into a reference of quality and cost-effectiveness in Spain for decades, driven by hotel investment and tourism in the area.

However, in the 90s the perception of the area, as a quality tourist destination, decreased and began a period of inflection. These actions led to the fall of prices and margins of hotels.

Faced with the situation of serious deterioration of the Magaluf area and the declining results of Meliá hotels in the area, Mark Hoddinott knew that they had to make a strategic decision about the positioning of Meliá in that destination. After detailed analyzes, reflections and a wide network of consultations with collaborators, Hoddinott concluded that the best alternative for the company was investing in the area and promoting a strategic repositioning to restart Magaluf as a tourist destination.

The case centers on Southlake Financial, a stylized company based on financial services in Canada. The case opens with a call to action from the company CEO, pledging the business will move toward a greater organization-wide focus on purpose (“purpose” meaning embedding more social and environmental intentionality in all aspects of the business). Traditionally, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Human Resources were managed separately at the company; however, the CEO’s announcement raises the question of whether greater integration of these functions will be needed. Specifically, the case examines how employee engagement can contribute to CSR objectives, while also questioning whether CSR initiatives have a positive and demonstrable benefit on employee engagement.

The case describes the foundation and development of Maximilian Busser and Friends (MB&F) a company that was established in Geneva with limited resources and was dedicated to manufacturing Horological Machines from its inception. One of the principal aims of the company was to produce the high-end watches that would be masterpieces, with limited edition.

MB&F is an example that illustrates how relevant it is to define a clear vision and idea of the product and the market and how to enter a closed and complex industry with limited resources. However, taking this creative approach in a traditional market was full of challenges.

Despite of these problems and challenges the company achieved a position as a player in the market. The case describes different reasons for that success, highlighting manufacturing, supply and distribution. Especially, the case remarks how the creativity approach best describes MB&F.

The case introduces a fundamental question for the company, particularly: if this success is sustainable or if MB&F represents a trendy product that will soon fade away.