Dec '20
Case Folio
The IUP Journal of Management Case Studies
Focus
The first case, "Amazon.com, Inc.: Tackling Challenges and Building Resilience Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic", by Hadiya Faheem and Debapratim Purkayastha, in this issue is about the strategy employed by Amazon.com Inc. during the pandemic. The company experienced a surge in orders for delivery, with consumers spending $11,000 every second on buying products or services on the company's e-commerce platform. Amazon leveraged its online infrastructure and supply chain capabilities to not only provide shoppers who were forced indoors with supply, but also provide its services to other businesses through its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services. However, the company also faced unique challenges-sudden spike in demand for certain products led to inventory problems and issues in delivery fulfilment. Product delivery was delayed due to a surge in demand resulting from panic buying by consumers. The company also faced social criticism and scrutiny from regulators for allegedly putting the safety of its warehouse workers at risk by continuing operations.
The second case, "Corporate Governance Issues at Fortis Healthcare-Religare Enterprises Group", by S Subramanian, in this issue is about the alleged unethical issues perpetrated by the promoters that continued to have a bearing on Fortis Healthcare Ltd. and Religare Enterprises Ltd., even after both the promoters had quit the firms. The case deals with the consequences of such unethical behavior, and goes a long way in emphasizing the need for better corporate governance in Indian companies.
The next case, "bKash Mobile Money in Bangladesh: Promoting Financial Inclusion for the Masses", by Anil Anirudhan and Sanjib Dutta, is on bKash, a mobile financial services company in Bangladesh that provided financial services to the underprivileged sections of society. The case documents the entrepreneurial journey of Kamal Quadir, who founded the company in 2011 and was responsible for its growth and success.
The final case, "Chick-fil-A: A Recipe for Success", by Benudhar Sahu and Indu Perepu, in this issue is about Chick-fil-A's innovative business practices that contributed towards making it the third largest restaurant chain in the US. The Atlanta-based fast food restaurant chain is known for its chicken sandwich, and over the year, it has also made a name for itself for its innovations in its products, services, and processes in order to better serve its customers and the society at large.
Consulting Editor
| Article | |||
| Amazon.com, Inc.: Tackling Challenges and Building Resilience Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic | |||
| Corporate Governance Issues at Fortis Healthcare-Religare Enterprises Group | |||
| bKash Mobile Money in Bangladesh: Promoting Financial Inclusion for the Masses | |||
| Chick-fil-A: A Recipe for Success | |||
Amazon.com, Inc.: Tackling Challenges and Building Resilience Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic
The case discusses American multinational conglomerate and technology company Amazon.com, Inc.'s strategy to survive and emerge successfully from the Covid-19 or Coronavirus pandemic. The Covid-19 outbreak that started in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, soon spread to countries across the world, and led to consumers and businesses taking precautions to prevent transmission of the disease. Many were forced to stay indoors. While this affected many industries, Amazon experienced a surge in orders for delivery, with consumers spending $11,000 every second on buying products or services on the company's e-commerce platform. Analysts felt that Amazon, which was already a hit with consumers doing shopping online and which controlled 40% of all the online retail sales in the US, as of March 2020, was better positioned to tackle the crisis due to its e-commerce prowess and its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS). Though the initial months of the pandemic led to sales increase due to a spike in demand, the retailer was facing issues with delivery fulfilment. Product delivery was taking weeks or even months due to a surge in demand resulting from panic buying by consumers. The company was also facing issues with its supply chain. Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, also attracted the ire of its warehouse workers who alleged that the company was putting their safety at risk by continuing operations. They alleged that Amazon was not being transparent about the Covid-19 cases in its facilities and that it was slow to provide them with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Some of the workers complained that the retailer was risking their lives, forcing them to work during the pandemic in a bid to keep its stores running when most people were being asked to stay indoors. The retailer was also criticized by the US Senators for firing whistleblowers who had raised concerns over warehouse conditions during the pandemic. With these being early days of the pandemic, some analysts opined that it could be a tough road ahead for Amazon as the company would have to grapple with the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. more »
Corporate Governance Issues at Fortis Healthcare-Religare Enterprises Group
The corporate fraud committed by brothers Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh created lots of uncertainty for Fortis Healthcare Ltd. and Religare Enterprises Ltd., although both promoters have quit the firms and relinquished control. The governance issues in Fortis-Religare group, earlier known as Ranbaxy group, started way back in 2008 when the promoters had sold their flagship company Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. to Daiichi Sankyo of Japan. Since then, the Singh brothers had expanded the business of both the other listed companies, Fortis Healthcare Ltd. and Religare Enterprises Ltd. Later it was found that Ranbaxy Labs was sold hiding information about the probes it was facing with the US FDA. Daiichi ended up paying a hefty fine to FDA for Ranbaxy and later selling it to Sun Pharmaceuticals. Daiichi also sued Singh Brothers and was awarded $350 mn damages in 2016. In 2017-18, the Singh brothers faced allegations that they had diverted funds from Fortis and Religare also, to the family-controlled holding companies. In parallel, their shareholding in Fortis and Religare had come down due to the loans they had taken. In February 2018, the Singh brothers exited both the companies and new managements were installed. The external shareholders of both Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises faced wealth destruction due to fraudulent transactions. Given the fraud cases faced by the Singh brothers, both Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises faced uncertain futures. more »
bKash Mobile Money in Bangladesh: Promoting Financial Inclusion for the Masses
The case is about bKash, a mobile financial services company in Bangladesh that provided financial services to the underprivileged sections of society in Bangladesh. It provided millions of un-banked customers in the country access to mobile banking services such as operating savings accounts, paying for goods and services, and sending or receiving money in a reliable and efficient mode. The growth of bKash is seen through the entrepreneurial journey of Kamal Quadir, who founded the company in 2011 and was responsible for its growth and success. Various factors contributed to bKash's success and its growth as the number one provider of mobile financial services in Bangladesh. In the future, bKash is poised to utilize the latest technologies such as face recognition technology, block chain technology and IoT to enable more people to come under the ambit of financial inclusion and sustainable development. The case brings to light the role of financial inclusion as a tool in bringing economically vulnerable people into the financial main stream; how mobile banking contributes to the financial inclusion of the masses; the business model in a mobile banking organization; and the channel strategy in mobile banking. more »
Chick-fil-A: A Recipe for Success
The case is about Atlanta-based fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A's innovative business practices that made it the 3rd largest restaurant chain in the US. Known for its delicious chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A witnessed consecutive years of growth since its founding in 1967. The success of Chick-fil-A was attributed to its simple ingredients, menu additions, efficient drive-thru performance, and single-owner franchise system, among others. Chick-fil-A took great care of its employees, offering a warm, familiar workplace environment, and this translated into the best customer service in the fast food sector in the US. The company focused on innovating and improving its products, services, and processes in order to better serve customers and communities. Innovation was the central part of Chick-fil-A's business. It continued to innovate through its innovation center that focused on digital technology. All these practices helped Chick-fil-A attract and retain customers, and made it the 'most beloved fast food chain in America'. Despite the challenges the company faced due to its beliefs and the competitive business environment, it maintained a leading position in the industry. However, with competitors fast catching up, it remained to be seen whether the fast food giant would be able to hold on to its position. more »