Case Protagonists Research Articles

Life on heels and making deals

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to discuss issues related to entrepreneurial undertakings of women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the purpose of contributing to the development of context-dependent knowledge of entrepreneurship. Focussing on the life narratives of two expatriate female business-owners who created a common enterprise, the case permits to uncover and critically assess the different stages of the entrepreneurial process in a unique cultural setting.Design/methodology/approach– The authors employed a narrative case study approach to allow for a rich contextual information to emerge from the detailed accounts of individual lives and entrepreneurial experiences of case protagonists. Data were gathered from multiple sources (e.g. interviews, e-mail exchanges, web sites) and subsequently analyzed and coded into prevalent themes by two researchers and one assistant independently, permitting to achieve both data and investigator triangulation.Findings– This case elucidates the entrepreneurial journey of two female expatriates who launched their individual businesses and joined efforts in the establishment of Heels and Deals (H & D), a network that helps UAE-based women-entrepreneurs reach their professional aspirations within a patriarchal society. The cofounders are now at a cross-roads where they have to make a choice between running their own businesses to secure their sustainability and focussing on H & D to lead its international expansion. The narratives of the case protagonists allow contrasting the discovery and creation views of entrepreneurship and examining the role of leadership skills and personality characteristics in entrepreneurial success.Originality/value– Despite an increasing number of businesswomen in the UAE, little is known about the way they approach the complex entrepreneurial process and deal with challenges and opportunities faced on the road. The case bridges this gap by offering the possibility to reflect on how expatriate female entrepreneurs in a Middle-Eastern context balance multiple trade-offs to succeed in their business-related endeavors.

The tax man cometh

Synopsis For four years, Valerie Thorpe was Director of Accounting for Taurus Construction. She was fired by the company's owner, Vic Bullard, when she refused to falsify accounting entries. Bullard's directive would have lowered profits, thereby deceiving his business partner and committing tax evasion. Until her firing late in the spring of 2011, Valerie had a few concerns about Bullard's lack of ethics in his business dealings. However, she has not questioned him previously because of her own emotional condition after the unexpected death of her husband. During the spring 2011 semester in graduate school, Valerie was inspired when her classmates recounted their own experiences of resigning from jobs because of unethical managers and owners. Valerie had thought of resigning from Taurus; but, Bullard fired her first. Six months after her firing, Valerie is seriously contemplating whether she should report Bullard's tax evasion to the Internal Revenue Service. Research methodology Field Based Research. Interviews with the case protagonist. Relevant courses and levels The case is suitable for graduate and undergraduate courses in business ethics, accounting ethics, entrepreneurship, income tax accounting and an undergraduate auditing class. Theoretical basis This is a real-life case applying ethical frameworks coverage of which can be challenging as students perceive those theories and frameworks as “dry.”

Protecting scientists, science, and case protagonists: a discussion of the Taus v. Loftus commentaries.

This article is a discussion of the articles by Nicole Taus Kluemper, Erna Olafson, Frank Putnam, Laura Brown, Ross Cheit, and Gerald Koocher. The papers center on the issues raised by a decision by two psychologists to break the confidentiality of a case study published by David Corwin and Erna Olafson to gather information to support an alternative theoretical view of the case. The article reviews best understandings of the justifications proposed by the psychologists, who saw themselves as investigative reporters, discusses the papers that have been submitted, and proposes enhanced ethical guidelines and increased professional discussion of these issues.

COSMOS Service Centre: Service Recovery Using Distribution Channels

COSMOS is a technology solutions provider offering IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services, imaging, and printing for consumers and enterprises. The company uses a mix of distribution channels (both online and offline) to deliver its products and services. COSMOS uses authorized intermediaries to increase offline reach — both for sales and service. To offer seamless customer service, COSMOS has a complaints website for customer logs. COSMOS service centres have well defined processes and policies to guide them in service delivery. However, this has not helped the case of Amer (the case protagonist), a business graduate student, who has faced multiple issues in service recovery after the purchase of his laptop from COSMOS. Why is Amer facing this slew of problems because of the service failure from COSMOS? Is it because of the negligence of B'Devlop, the COSMOS Service Centre or are COSMOS's policies and processes flawed? Can COSMOS offer a permanent solution to Amer's problems? How can COSMOS rectify the situation and prevent it from recurring? What should be the service recovery strategies for the company, and its distribution channel members that have a direct interface with the customers? These are some of the key questions that the case highlights, and can bring up for discussion in the classroom.

Decision Processes in Introducing Hybrid Agricultural Plants: ECOM Coffee Group Case Study

Introduction In early 2010 executives of an international coffee exporting firm approached the agribusiness faculty of a well-known Central American business school for assistance in a decision to continue investing in the research and production of hybrid plants. The faculty assigned a five-person team of students to analyze the agribusiness chain and make recommendations. Based on the student analysis, a case study (shown in the Appendix) was developed for classroom discussion. The case was subsequently discussed among the faculty, the student research team, and the case protagonists. This paper is organized as follows. The first section describes the research design, which was developed by the students in response to the situation faced by the case protagonists. The second section presents the results of the research, based upon an analysis of the data in the appended case study. The third section is a discussion of the informing outcomes. Section four offers conclusions. The Research Design Given the low productivity of coffee growers in Mexico and Central America and the importance of this region to ECOM as a major coffee exporter in the region, company executives decided in 2003 to invest in a coffee renovation project using hybrid plants. The focus of the project, based in a research station in Nicaragua, was to achieve higher yields, greater economic benefits for producers, improved harmony with the environment, enhanced characteristics in the cup (tastes and aroma of brewed coffee), plants with a higher resistance to pests, and longer harvest periods through the use of hybrid plants. In undertaking this project, ECOM executives were searching for a strategy that would generate profits for the company while increasing monetary incentives for participating producers. To this end, they approached members of the agribusiness faculty of a well-known Central American business school for assistance. The faculty assigned a five-person team of students to gather data, conduct an analysis of the alternatives, and prepare recommendations. This research was conducted under faculty supervision. Based on their analysis of the data, two alternatives were identified. The first alternative, an increase in the current price of the hybrid coffee plants, resulted in an unfavorable outcome for producers, since the price at which the project would become profitable would leave producers with a negligible increase in profit margins; therefore, producers would have no incentive to opt for the renewal with hybrid coffee plants. As a second alternative, the student research team proposed that ECOM retain a percentage of the increase in production that the producers would obtain by renewing with hybrid plants. This alternative showed positive results for producers. The percentage retained, at which the project would become profitable, would leave the producers with a twenty percent increase in profit above that obtained by renewing with conventional plants. As a third alternative, ECOM could implement a mixed strategy that included increasing prices and defining a rate of retention. An analysis of the impact on profits for different participants in the agribusiness chain of the project revealed that by selling its hybrid plants in the final phase of plant development rather than at intermediate phases, investments in fixed assets for the members of the agribusiness chain would be diminished. These members did not have to invest in nursery facilities, but ECOM did, making it more difficult for the ECOM Project to become profitable. Thus an analysis of a strategy to recover ECOM's investment was performed. Finding that ECOM could ask a higher percentage of retention of the increases in production, the result was that the producers would have 18.6 percentage points more than if they renewed with conventional plants. Producers would now have an incentive to buy the product. To gather the information needed for this project, the student research group visited the laboratory in Nicaragua and the farm in charge of the production and distribution of the hybrid coffee plants. …

Meanings for Case Protagonists of the Informing Process Occurring During Case Production and Discussion: A Phenomenological Analysis

This study is concerned with how the protagonists of case studies —carried out by researchers of business schools with commitment to the case method— experience the informing process occurring during case production and discussion. The focus is both on how protagonists personally experience this informing process as well as on how protagonists interpret its impact on their relation with the larger social system. This was explored through in-depth interviews with two managers who had been co-protagonists in a case study produced by a well-known Latin American business school in 2004. A descriptive phenomenological method was used for data analysis. Results show that for protagonists, the informing experience was more emotional than intellectual, more significant for its symbolic meaning than its rational content; they also show that in the lived experience of the protagonists, the informing process increased their legitimacy and authority in the face of other stakeholders located in their relevant field of action. Finally, in the interpretation of the researchers, the protagonists related the informing flows from the case production and discussion to the evolution of their own practice.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd

In early 2008 an analyst at a prominent Investment Bank in India was analyzing the dividend policy of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a well-known multinational. The case's protagonist, an equity analyst, must figure out the implications of the firm's dividend policy on the investment and financing activities and the valuation of the firm. She also has to decide what investment recommendation she should give in the light of the analysis. The case describes the Indian FMCG industry as India enters the new millennium. The case details HUL's financial position in an era of increasing competition. Priya must decide whether the dividend policy of HUL is sustainable.

Engaging Nursing Students and Community Partners in the Development of Decision Cases

Decision case method teaching uses open-ended cases to stimulate decision making and critical thinking skills in the classroom. The cases are taken from actual practice experience and are developed in great detail with the goal of engaging learners in the actual dilemma as encountered by the case protagonist. This method has proven effective in preparing students for actual practice in fields such as medicine, nursing, and social work, but one barrier to this pedagogical approach is the lack of available relevant cases. This article describes how senior nursing students partnered with community practitioners to develop cases and subsequently used the cases in teaching activities with their fellow students. Outcomes of the project supported such an approach as a valuable learning assignment and method for improving critical thinking abilities.

Gibson Insurance Company

This case provides students with an opportunity to practice a set of activity-based costing calculations. More importantly, it provides an instructor with the opportunity to challenge students to think about and to discuss the rationale used by the case protagonist to revise the means by which the company allocates corporate support costs to the product lines and to the business units. It is best used as an introduction to activity-based costing and/or the more general topic of cost allocations. As such, it is effective for undergraduate and graduate managerial accounting courses, as well as executive education financial management programs.

Gibson Insurance Company

This case provides students with an opportunity to practice a set of activity-based costing calculations. More importantly, it provides an instructor with the opportunity to challenge students to think about and to discuss the rationale used by the case protagonist to revise the means by which the company allocates corporate support costs to the product lines and to the business units. It is best used as an introduction to activity-based costing and/or the more general topic of cost allocations. As such, it is amenable to undergraduate and graduate managerial accounting courses, as well as executive education financial management programs.

Management Communication Strategy in Case Assignments: The Double-Message Approach

Case studies, used extensively in business communication classes, offer an advantage by presenting students with real-life situations to which they can respond using writ ten business genres. Cases, however, limited by their cryp tic and condensed nature, may not fully communicate the context of the event. Understanding context has become increasingly important as issues of race, gender, and mul ticultual communication have emerged in the workplace. The double-message approach offers a solution by asking students to write a context memorandum along with their response to the case protagonist.