Volume 3, Issue 2 — October 2025
Authors: Colleen Sharen (Western University)
Category: Ethics
Topics: Non-profit; Governance; Ethics
Length: 18 pages
Data source: Field research
The Pillar Nonprofit Network (Pillar) board had unexpectedly terminated the employment of Mojdeh Cox, a woman of colour and Pillar's president and chief executive officer, in July 2022, with little public comment about the rationale for this controversial decision. Some people believed that implicit racism was a factor in this decision. After multiple unmet requests to the Pillar board for greater transparency by community members, Johnny Fansher, Samanta Krishnapillai, Louise Pitre, and others formed a stakeholder group to discuss their concerns about the board's decision making. On September 23, 2022, the group published an open letter that made the unprecedented request that the entire board resign. By early October, the board had responded; they would not resign, nor would they call a general meeting to discuss members' concerns. Fansher wondered how the group should respond to the board.
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Authors: Gelareh Farhadian (University Canada West); Dave Keighron (Douglas College)
Category: General Management
Topics: Strategy; Wine industry
Length: 9 pages
Data source: Field research
In early 2023, Bruno Gervers, a French-born wine expert and founder of Caudalys Wine Consulting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with fifteen years' experience navigating the most regulated and complex liquor market in North America (Government of British Columbia, 2025), had two weeks to present a growth strategy to his key Vancouver-based client before the Q3 fiscal planning session. Gervers' client wanted to explore new growth paths since the General Employees' Union (BCGEU) Liquor Distribution Board (LDB) distribution strike in 2022 had disrupted province-wide liquor distribution and exposed the vulnerabilities of private retailers in the centrally controlled LDB model. The client, heavily dependent on imported stock, suffered significant product shortages and a 20% decline in revenue during the strike. Although operations had stabilized, the experience prompted the client to reassess its growth strategy.
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Authors: Yolanda Sarason (Colorado State University); Claire Dallies (Universidad del Valle de Guatemala); Laura Robey (Colorado State University)
Category: Ethics
Topics: Social enterprise; Strategic growth
Length: 11 pages
Data source: Field research
Doña Amalia, matriarch of the Maya family and owner of the two popular Restaurante Chichoy locations in Tecpán, Guatemala, had just heard the news that newly elected President Bernardo Arévalo was sworn into office on January 15, 2024. The Maya family had agreed that once the outcome of the election was clear they would develop plans for the Restaurantes Chichoy expansion. They scheduled a meeting the next day to chart the future of their family venture. For Doña Amalia, it was crucial that their future aligned with their social mission of supporting the local community and preserving Maya traditions. As she prepared for the next day's family meeting, she thought about the two main options before them.
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Authors: Dustin Quirk (Red Deer Polytechnic); Kristy Fulton (Red Deer Polytechnic)
Category: General Management
Topics: Strategy
Length: 16 pages
Data source: Field research
In December 2024, the Formula One Group management team, under the leadership of Stefano Domenicali, CEO, celebrated the successful completion of the 2024 Formula 1 (F1) racing season. Having completed twenty-four races around the globe in the past ten months, they were engaged in the process of creating a strategic report to determine Formula One Group's current situation and future vision. Over the past five years, F1, a single-seat automobile racing series, had grown immensely in popularity and profitability. However, signs of market saturation and maturity were emerging. Domenicali knew it was a critical time to assess Formula One Group's ecosystem to better understand the current situation and determine how to influence the organization's performance, growth, and future vision as the pinnacle of motorsports.
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Authors: Ravi Sharma (Conestoga College); Rajul Singh (Conestoga College); Jane Gravill (Conestoga College)
Category: General Management
Topics: Sustainability certification; SDG
Length: 14 pages
Data source: Field research
On January 9, 2024, Harsh Bhardwaj, Managing Director of Hi-Tech Surfactants (HTS), Sikunderabad, Uttar Pradesh, India - an outsourcing partner of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) - faced a crucial decision regarding whether to invest further resources to attain a Sustainability Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) Certification. Bhardwaj met with his management team, Guarav Bhardwaj, Jr, Executive Director, Kamlesh Shukla, Director Supply Chain & Operations and the Company Secretary, regarding the upcoming March 31, 2024, registration deadline for the Sustainability Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) Certification program offered by the Government of India, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Bhardwaj had to decide whether the company should invest its time and resources in registering for the ZED program and which ZED certification level - bronze, silver, or gold- HTS would strive for. Each ZED certification level had associated increased registration costs, operational requirements and government financial incentives.
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Volume 3, Issue 1 — April 2025
Authors: Sidney J Shapiro (University of Lethbridge); Priyanshi Mishra (Banasthali University); Andrii Fedorych (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Artifical intelligence; AI; Strategy; Competitive advantage
Length: 9 pages
Data source: Field research
This case study explores the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the voiceover industry, focusing on the career of JS Gilbert, a seasoned voice actor known for his diverse roles in video games, commercials, and animation.The traditional voiceover industry faced significant disruption as AI-generated voices gained prevalence, offering cost-effective and scalable solutions. The rise of AI voices challenged the viability of human voice actors, particularly in routine projects where efficiency and cost were prioritized. The case underscores key themes of adaptability, strategic decision-making, and the enduring importance of human creativity in an AI influenced landscape. It challenges students to analyze how creative professionals can sustain their careers amidst rapid technological changes and to consider broader implications for the future of work in industries disrupted by AI.
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Authors: Alexander Miller (Huron University at Western); Jessica Da Silva (Carleton University)
Category: Ethics
Topics: Conflict management; Human resource management; Communication management
Length: 6 pages
Data source: Field research
Juliet Stonic, Director of Major Gifts, Monroe Health Science Foundation, managed a small team focused on the fundraising branch for the Monroe Health Sciences Centre. The foundation had many departments whose responsibilities and jurisdictions often overlapped. Stonic was struggling to manage conflict and interpersonal relationships with two of the managers in the other departments.
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Authors: Sidney J Shapiro (University of Lethbridge); Alison Xiang Liu (University of Lethbridge)
Category: Human resources management
Topics: Entrepreneurship; Digital innovation; Strategy; System implementation
Length: 12 pages
Data source: Field research
The SoNormal Clothing Company was a start-up founded by Jonathan Mah in 2020 based in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. SoNormal specialized in direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, focusing on high-quality, custom apparel that integrated original artwork. The goal was to disrupt the conventional apparel market, dominated by mass-produced items, by offering personalized, artist-driven designs. Mah's entrepreneurial journey was deeply rooted in creativity, driven by his desire to integrate his father's artistic legacy into wearable art. Mah was balancing the high production costs and technical difficulties inherent in garment printing while maintaining the high product quality that set SoNormal apart. Mah built a loyal customer base while gaining the time and resources to refine SoNormal's operations. Now, in mid-June 2023, Mah's decision centred on whether to continue focusing on niche custom orders or scale up through strategic partnerships to reach a larger market.
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Authors: William Holmes (Royal Roads University)
Category: Entrepreneurship
Topics: Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Strategy
Length: 8 pages
Data source: Field research
In 2022, Shelley Langille launched the International Coach Coalition (ICC) website to serve as a platform for connecting executive coaches and clients. The ICC coaches gained a source of contract work through the platform and could determine their own fees. Langille received a percentage of the coaching fee in exchange for the marketing, promotion, client introductions, and invoicing services provided by her company, SeeShell Consulting. Langille recognized the opportunity for growth of the ICC platform. She decided to give herself one year to create and grow her online platform and execute her business plan. In her view, the biggest challenge would be developing a brand, a profile, and marketing the business, including social media strategies to help expand her ICC startup in this executive coaching 'gig' industry.
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Authors: Sidney J Shapiro (University of Lethbridge); Andrii Fedorych (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv); Priyanshi Mishra (Banasthali University)
Category: General Management
Topics: Strategy; Digital innovation; Information systems; Software development management
Length: 7 pages
Data source: Field research
Dominika Wojcik, Senior Director of Communications at Tourism Lethbridge, the official Destination Management Organization for Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, faced a decision in early 2023 regarding its digital transformation journey as she had to decide whether Tourism Lethbridge should continue using an existing third-party digital tourism application or develop a proprietary app.
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Volume 2, Issue 2 — October 2024
Authors: Richard Bloomfield (Huron University at Western); Mekhalaa Muraly (Huron University at Western)
Category: Marketing
Topics: Entrepreneurship; Indigenous entrepreneurship; Women-owned; Marketing management
Length: 15 pages
Data source: Field research
Flourish and Grow (F&G) was a sole proprietorship based out of London, Ontario, retailing handmade fine art, jewelry, and apparel that conveyed a narrative of the founder's Indigenous Mi'kmaq culture and values. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mikaila Stevens, founder of F&G, had ample time to spend at home and developed a newfound passion for beading and creating art as a way to connect with her Indigenous Mi'kmaq culture and values. In the next year, she created a collection of fine art products to expand her business. After obtaining government grants, Stevens was able to expand F&G and forge connections with her customers through her expression and personal creations. Stevens sought to explore her Mi'kmaq ancestry and had a strong desire to create unique introspective pieces that showcased techniques from her heritage. Reflecting on the next steps for F&G, Stevens recognized the urgent need to optimize the product, pricing, promotion and distribution of her sole proprietorship to remain competitive and increase revenue to sustain full-time F&G employment and continue her work of passion. Where should she start?
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Authors: Stephen D Risavy (Wilfrid Laurier University); Meredith Woodwark (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Category: Ethics
Topics: Fairness; Diversity; Ethics; Leadership
Length: 12 pages
Data source: Field research
Best-selling author and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell brought democracy activist Adam Cronkright to the Lawrenceville School in Princeton, New Jersey, for his podcast to debate the merits of student government elections versus democratic lotteries with 20 of the school's high school students. Based on his work implementing lotteries in schools in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Cronkright contended that democratic lotteries were a fairer way to select student representatives than elections because they resulted in student councils that better reflected the school's diverse population compared with traditional elections. He argued that whereas lotteries gave each student who wished to participate an equal chance to do so, elections privileged the few students who were comfortable performing during a campaign and willing to face peer rejection. According to Cronkright, elections amounted to popularity contests where few students participated, the students elected were not necessarily the best leaders, and the set of elected representatives did not reflect the diversity within the population they were representing. Cronkright outlined the findings of his tests of the lottery system in two schools where he found that lottery-selected councils took on more challenging issues, discovered unrecognized leadership talent, and were preferred by students and teachers. Interested in other possible applications of the concept, Gladwell explored its potential use for selecting the student government at the New Jersey private school, as well as for awarding research grants at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). After the debate, the Lawrenceville students must decide whether to retain the current election system or switch to lotteries, and students studying this case must decide whether contemporary organizations should seriously consider adopting democratic lotteries.
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Authors: Colleen Sharen (Western University)
Category: Ethics
Topics: Governance; Non-profit governance; Corporate structure; Charities; Non-profit organizations
Length: 38 pages
Data source: Field research
This case presents a public scandal involving government funding and WE Charity, a large international development organization with operations in Canada, the US, and the UK and in the global south. The charity, which had financial relationships with the families of the prime minister and finance minister, had received a contract to deliver a CAD534 million student grant program without a public tender process. As media coverage continued, the scandal evolved from concerns about politicians' conflict of interest and cronyism to concerns about the financial accountability and governance of WE Charity. The case is an example of the complexity of modern nonprofit organizations, with multiple entities and sometimes opaque organizational structures and governance, which can lead to public concern about financial accountability. The case provides learners with the opportunity to explore governance, accountability, and the role of corporate structure in the public's understanding and support of charitable organizations. It can be used as a capstone case in corporate governance or nonprofit strategy courses.
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Authors: Glenda Stump (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Meera Chandran (Tata Institute of Social Sciences); Omar Balli (Tata Institute of Social Sciences); Punam Medh (Tata Institute of Social Sciences)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: ICT implementation in education; Teacher agency; Innovation in education; Technology implementation
Length: 23 pages
Data source: Field research
The Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx) was an award-winning action research program for an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) project in education that was implemented in 461 state government schools across four states across India. The aim of the CLIx project was to introduce technology-based learning in state-run schools along with a student-centred pedagogy, which was counter to the more traditional pedagogies used in government schools in India. CLIx was envisioned at scale, aiming at students in higher grades - 8th, 9th, and 10th - and involved approximately 2000 teachers. Helmed by academics and experts in ICT in education, CLIx was supported by the state government in each implementation state. The case study examines the role that teacher agency can play in the implementation of an ICT innovation like CLIx. The narrative follows the dilemma of the protagonist, Gopika Jadav, one of the leads of CLIx whose personal details have been fictionalized to anonymize their identity. Jadav needed to provide data-supported evidence to state government officials demonstrating the centrality of teacher agency for successful implementation of CLIx, Phase 1. If she presented sufficiently convincing evidence to diminish state government concerns about teacher resistance, it was likely that the states would support the implementation of CLIx, Phase II, an expansion that would provide new technology and programs to additional schools. This was a challenging task for Jadav because teacher agency by itself does not lend itself to being measured directly. The state's prevailing attitudes towards teachers made the task of convincing government officials even more difficult. The case study urges the learner to examine the CLIx context along with the data provided and help Jadav build a compelling argument to convince state officials that teacher agency was an important criterion for scaling the CLIx intervention to additional schools. This case provides students with the opportunity to understand how the interpretation and analysis of data using different theoretical frameworks can offer insights into the role of factors such as teacher agency that promote or impede systemic change in the education sector in India and actions that serve as levers to bring about that change.
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Authors: Fatih Yegul (Conestoga College); Jane Gravill (Conestoga College); Juliet Conlon (Conestoga College)
Category: Production & operations management
Topics: Supply chain management; Inventory management; Bullwhip effect; FIFO
Length: 12 pages
Data source: Field research
This case explains the challenges faced by Pipework Warehouse Inc (PWI) when the global supply chains had to endure several major disruptions caused by the global pandemic in 2020/2021. The sudden shifts in the supply and demand patterns forced PWI to make drastic changes to its business operations. Early in the pandemic, with unprecedented quick drops in demand, PWI had to shrink in size to remain financially stable. However, as the demand volume unexpectedly jumped back to its pre-pandemic levels within months, PWI found it hard to grow at the same pace due to shortages in the labour market. During the summer of 2021, PWI was dealing with new challenges. The bullwhip effect triggered by the sudden shifts in consumer preferences at the onset of the pandemic started to impact the supply and demand balance, causing price inflation and material shortages. PWI, in pre-pandemic times, received once-a-year price updates from suppliers; but now the updates were applied quarterly, amounting to 50% annual hikes for some items. Material shortages meant much longer lead times from vendors. PWI needed to develop a strategy identifying how the company would deal with the frequent price hikes and manage their sales channels and inventory at a time of limited supplies while trying to avoid considerable damage to the customer service levels.
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Volume 2, Issue 1 — April 2024
Authors: Lifeng Geng (Lakehead University)
Category: Entrepreneurship
Topics: Entrepreneurship
Length: 9 pages
Data source: Field research
On July 18, 2022, Peter Li and his girlfriend Gloria Chu departed Canada from Toronto Pearson Airport and landed at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China. Embarking on this trip was not an easy decision. After spending four years in the undergraduate business program and two years in the MBA program at a famous Canadian university, Li had worked for four years in the commercial mortgage department at a large Canadian bank. He loved his life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was enjoying his successful career in the fast-growing commercial mortgage business in Canada. Nevertheless, his parents were aging, and their family business, Fuxin Mining Machinery Inc (FMMI) (located in Fuxin, Liaoning province in the northeast region of China), was at a critical turning point, requiring Li to make a major decision regarding his future involvement in the family business.
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Authors: Venus Hosseinali-Mirza (ESSCA School of Management)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Communication; Ethics
Length: 10 pages
Data source: Field research
On Sunday, April 9, 2017, the overbooked United Airlines flight 3411 became infamous after social media videos showed a passenger being forcibly removed and dragged from his seat on the airplane by three security officers at Chicago O'Hare International Airport to make room for airline employees while other passengers on the plane shouted in protest. Subsequent social media posts showed the passenger running back onto the airplane with blood streaming down his face. On Monday, April 10, 2017, information about the incident spread throughout social sites and mainstream media, and a public relations nightmare was created for United Airlines that raised questions about the validity of the airline industry. One week after the United Airlines flight 3411 incident had sparked a public relations crisis, United Airlines CEO Munoz communicated that the airline was prepared to take full responsibility for the situation, adding that the airline had reached an undisclosed settlement agreement with the passenger involved, Dr David Dao. Due to Munoz's strategy for managing the Flight 3411 public communication crisis, he lost his opportunity to assume position of chair of United Continental Holdings. What could Munoz have done differently to better manage the Flight 3411 public communication crisis?
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Authors: Hamid Shaker (Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University); Ali Tezer (HEC Montréal)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Information systems
Length: 12 pages
Data source: Field research
Jade Charette-Côté was a graduate student in a North American business school who recently started working on her dissertation. Charette-Côté's objective was to replicate the main finding of previous research upon which her dissertation was based using an experimental study. Following her supervisor's suggestion, she prepared an experimental study using the online survey software Qualtrics and ran the experiment on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). However, inferential statistical tests revealed that she was unable to replicate the expected effect. Disappointed with the results, Charette-Côté took a careful look at the data and realized some unexpected patterns, which may have led to the failed replication attempt. Indeed, these patterns made her question the quality of the data, but she was not sure what the main issues were and therefore did not know how to address them in future experiments. Charette-Côté's supervisor asked her to find best practices for collecting data using MTurk so that she could identify the issues that needed to be fixed and learn how to fix them before running a follow-up survey. She wondered how she could redesign the survey to improve reliability. Where should she start?
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Authors: Sidney J Shapiro (University of Lethbridge); Alison Xiang Liu (University of Lethbridge)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Information systems; Entrepreneurship
Length: 13 pages
Data source: Field research
Rajesh Kutty, CEO and co-founder of the U Got Game online dating application start-up, was thrilled with the successful showcase that he and his team presented at the Collision Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June 2023. After the showcase, the U Got Game founders were presented with several funding offers from partners interested in investing in their online dating application start-up. The founders were excited to proceed with funding decisions and were aware that choosing the best funding strategy to support development and promotion of their novel dating app was a pivotal decision for their start-up. The founders wanted to ensure the funding strategy they adopted was aligned with the focus and culture of their firm and would allow them to develop the novel software product as they had envisioned it. Kutty estimated the team would require USD5 million to deliver the desired end-product dating application and knew that choosing the right funding strategy was key for the start-up's success.
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Authors: Sidney J Shapiro (University of Lethbridge); Alison Xiang Liu (University of Lethbridge)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Information systems; Entrepreneurship
Length: 9 pages
Data source: Field research
On April 21, 2023, the Global Mining Market Report 2023 was released, indicating that global metals and mining industry revenues had soared to USD5,799.4 billion.1 Having read the news release about the report, the Sofvie executive team, responsible for managing the Sudbury, Ontario, Canada-based software firm specializing in occupational health and safety software, met to discuss the growing market opportunity in the mining industry and the ethical occupational safety imperative the industry was facing. Reports on growing occupational health and safety issues and significant increases in workplace injury rates and fines had placed the role of digital technology at the forefront of enhancing occupational health and safety in the mining sector to address workplace safety concerns. Sofvie's vision was a 'zero harm' workplace and the firm's goal was to facilitate an occupational health and safety transformation in the mining industry through implementation of their software. Sofvie Chief Operating Officer, Gus Minor, was tasked with creating a marketing strategy to motivate adoption of the Sofvie software platform within the rapidly growing mining industry to help organizations better manage workplace occupational health and safety protocols.
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Authors: Mustafa Fatih Yegul (Conestoga College); Stephen Thomson (Conestoga College); Joshua Hunchak (Conestoga College)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Operations; Information systems
Length: 27 pages
Data source: Field research
In May 2022 operations were running smoothly for Kye Allen, Inventory and Logistics Manager, Sienci Labs (SL), Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, when he was introduced to the idea of switching to a visual pull production system by his former professor, Dr Fatih Yegul, at Conestoga College, Kitchener, Ontario. SL was struggling with supply disruptions causing delays in product shipments. Allen was working on new material requirement planning (MRP) system implementation, now ready to go live. SL launched an applied research project to optimize SL's production capacity based on lean production principles under the guidance of Yegul and Stephen Thomson, Director of the Centre for Supply Chain Innovation, Conestoga College. With the new MRP system, Allen aimed to control the assembly operations and supply of materials based upon a make-to-stock push production flow through work orders issued to shop floor employees. Yegul and Thomson asked Allen to explore moving to a visual make-to-order production management system based on pull principles instead of using work orders. Allen was in favour of the pull system but wasn't sure if it was the right time to make the switch? Could he convince Andy Lee, Chief Executive Officer, SL, to move to the pull system?
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Volume 1, Issue 2 — October 2023
Authors: Anne Paulson (University of Waterloo); Jane Gravill (Conestoga College)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Information systems; Project management
Length: 9 pages
Data source: Field research
As Julie Jones drove into work early on Monday morning, April 4, 2017, she reflected upon the difficult decision that lay ahead in preparation for her team meeting later that day. She had been Manager of Accommodation Services (AS) for only a few short months and had taken on the role in the middle of a systems implementation project for the department. She did not know much about implementing a new software, but she knew that her decision of whether to proceed with the long-awaited AS system go live date of May 9, 2017, would have a major impact on her staff and the students at International Business and Technology Academy (IBTA) who relied upon their services.
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Authors: Ron Babin (Toronto Metropolitan University)
Category: Ethics
Topics: Ethics; Information technology; Cybersecurity
Length: 12 pages
Data source: Field research
This teaching case describes a ransomware cyber attack in 2019 at LifeLabs, a Canadian health diagnostic company. During the attack, LifeLabs decided to pay a ransom amount to the attackers. This case explores the pros and cons of making that decision and asks the reader to consider the implications of the decision. The case describes the chronology of the attack, which began in 2018 and was discovered one year later. The case describes the investigations by privacy commissioners in Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan; the latter investigation being the only public document fully available. LifeLabs, through court orders, has prohibited the full publication of investigation reports by privacy commissioners in Ontario and British Columbia. Court documents created during the class action lawsuit provide detailed information about what LifeLabs did and did not do in responding to the cyber attack. The key case question to be answered is this: Is it ethical and appropriate to pay ransom in a cyber attack?
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Authors: Richard Bloomfield (Huron University at Western)
Category: Ethics
Topics: Sustainability; Entrepreneurship; Finance
Length: 23 pages
Data source: Field research
In early summer 2022, Shivansh Skuta wished to assess the projected financial position of Friendlier, a reusable food container company, in order to review the company's request for seed funding. As a seasoned investor, Skuta wanted to ensure that the valuation was appropriate and the request was fair for other potential investors. Kayli Dale and Jacquie Hutchings the founders of Friendlier, had just graduated the University of Waterloo and were eager to make a positive environmental impact by reducing single-use plastics and expanding their reverse logistics firm.
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Authors: Alexander Miller (Huron University at Western)
Category: Entrepreneurship
Topics: Entrepreneurship; Finance
Length: 15 pages
Data source: Field research
On a hot July evening in the summer of 2022, Payton Mackey was walking back to her summer sublet in London, Ontario, Canada, frustrated and leafing through her prototype sketches. She had several product designs for her business, Fidgetry, and was anxious to get a physical product in her hands to show prospective customers. Her entrepreneurship program mentor had asked her why a prototype was so important. 'I need to physically hold it; I need to know exactly what it will be before I can proceed', Mackey had proclaimed. 'How can I get customer feedback, build marketing materials, or do forecasting if I don't have one?'. Mackey is a student in an entrepreneurship incubator who is exploring how to get a physical prototype made for her business idea. She explores various means of production, including CNC, mold and additive production and the use of CAD files. She also explores the benefits and drawbacks of local, national, and international manufacturing and the idea of outsourcing as part of a business model.
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Authors: Ravi Sharma (Conestoga College); Mustafa Fatih Yegul (Conestoga College); Jane Gravill (Conestoga College)
Category: Production & operations management
Topics: Operations
Length: 29 pages
Data source: Field research
Hi-Tech Surfactants Ltd (HTS), India, was a private limited company, operating as a supply chain partner (a contract manufacturer) of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever, the global giant in the consumer products market. HTS manufactured and shipped assorted sizes of Wheel brand laundry detergent for fabric wash. HUL supplied the raw materials and sent production plans through the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system - SAP. In late 2021 Harsh Bhardwaj led HTS since the early 90s, maintaining a growing relationship with HUL. Bhardwaj invited a management consultant, Professor Ravi Sharma, Conestoga School of Business, Ontario, Canada, to review the HTS operations and present recommendations for improvement. Sharma suggested processes to improve quality and productivity and reduce material usage. He proposed using statistical process control (SPC) and related concepts of process capability and target-oriented quality. HTS Team members were satisfied with their current level of quality and productivity. They operated within norms set by HUL and received no complaints. A recent audit by SGS on behalf of HUL and the British Retail Consortium gave HTS an AA rating. Bhardwaj was in a dilemma. He needed to decide whether to maintain the status quo or consider implementing the recommendations Sharma proposed.
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Authors: James H W Siew (Conestoga College)
Category: Marketing
Topics: Marketing; Sustainability; Entrepreneurship
Length: 8 pages
Data source: Field research
This case revolves around entrepreneurs Chris Yong and Adam Baodunnov as future leaders and the behaviours and traits that they demonstrated or exhibited in April 2021. Analysis of sustainable leadership is based on the framework of Jacob Morgan's 'Nine Skills and Mindsets for Future Leaders' for tackling the challenges of buying and making an e-Commerce start-up business successful and profitable in a relatively new field, such as sustainable fashion. Local Threads was a Melbourne-based start-up aimed at providing a marketplace website for sustainable fashion and ethical fashion, which represented Australia's independent brands in the sustainable fashion space and had a clear value proposition that sustainable fashion was a strategic differentiator. Yong and Baodunnov saw an opportunity to scale up this start-up and to employ what they do best: combining entrepreneurial start-up know-how with e-Commerce and marketing savvy. They also had the challenge of balancing two very different stakeholders: the more e-Commerce-savvy investors and the sustainability-oriented producers, who were on opposite ends of a continuum. How would they do this as future leaders?
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Authors: Ashley Doyle (Acadia University); Stephen Maclean (Acadia University); Ryan Stack (Acadia University); Daphne Rixon (Saint Mary's University Nova Scotia)
Category: Entrepreneurship
Topics: Entrepreneurship
Length: 14 pages
Data source: Field research
As Tracey McGillivray looked over the newest technical specs for her company's prototype, the Ibex Lift, early one chilly morning in January, 2020, she couldn't help but smile. After several years of hard work, the prototype designed to assist individuals experiencing mobility challenges was almost ready. As Chief Executive Officer of Axtion Independence Mobility Inc (Axtion), McGillivray knew that a lot of work lay ahead for herself and the company's other co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Liam Maaskant. The Ibex Lift had the potential to positively impact many people's lives as a revolutionary mobility aid. However, McGillivray knew that many high-potential products didn't succeed. McGillivray, Maaskant, and the team had already raised over USD355,000 in non-dilutive, non-repayable grants and over USD170,000 in founder funding. This funding would cover the costs to complete product development and prepare a product for market. But what market? The team needed to make some critical decisions to get the product to market and commercially sustainable; it was time to identify the quantitative and qualitative benefits for stakeholders and potential market segments and determine an appropriate price point to analyze the product's financial viability.
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Volume 1, Issue 1 — April 2023
Authors: Jane Gravill (Conestoga College)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Information systems; Project management
Length: 7 pages
Data source: Field research
It was early morning November 2, 2020. Kelly Green, IT Manager, Woodland Supply Inc (Woodland) was preparing for an annual budget meeting in two weeks with the leadership team to present his recommendations on 2021 IT projects for approval. The IT department worked tirelessly to implement systems that would allow Woodland Supply to continue operations under the demands of COVID-19. These IT projects, including e-Commerce, business intelligence, call centre, online training platforms, and strategic device deployment, played a major role in Woodlands' ability to operate, innovate, and even excel during the pandemic. Green must determine how to evaluate the potential IT projects for 2021 in the changing dynamic. He had to act fast, as his annual budget meeting was two weeks away.
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Authors: Paul W Thurston Jr (Siena College); Erik R. Eddy (Siena College); Daniel C Robeson (Siena College)
Category: Entrepreneurship
Topics: Entrepreneurship; Finance
Length: 24 pages
Data source: Field research
Ron Mancini and his wife Jacki had owned and operated Mother Myrick's Confectionery, located in Manchester Vermont, USA for 35 years. In 2005, they closed their downtown shop, shed the ice cream business, and relocated the retail store to the edge of town. In the process, the company took on USD205,000 in notes payable. The move reduced revenues but increased their bottom line. Company revenues topped USD800K for 2012 for the first time since they closed the ice cream parlor. Ron thought about the balloon loan payment due on February 20, 2013. He had sufficient cash to pay it off, but that could leave him short in the fall when they were busy making product for the holiday season. Ron developed a one-page business plan in January and provided it to several area banks. Beyond the loan, Ron and Jacki had decisions to make about the company's future. Ron had children from previous marriage, but they had careers of their own, and were not interested in the confectionery business. He could sell the organization outright. Taking on new debt now, however, would make the company less attractive. He also thought about bringing on new partners and teaching them the business.
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Authors: Kevin McDermott (Conestoga College)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Human resources; Organizational behavior
Length: 7 pages
Data source: Field research
It was early in March 2021 when the offices of Learning Management Pro (LMP) were preparing to reopen, after two years during COVID-19 pandemic. Employees had been working from home and all of the hiring and onboarding completed by the HR team had been conducted online. The switch to online hiring and onboarding had advantages and disadvantages and Asha Jemerson, director of human resources at LMP was not sure that they should switch back to their pre-pandemic approach to hiring and onboarding. This case, based on real people and real organizations, is meant for HR undergraduate or graduate courses, and explores concepts related to moving traditionally in-person business functions to an online environment
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Authors: Kimberlee Carter (Conestoga College); Jane Gravill (Conestoga College); Mustafa Fatih Yegul (Conestoga College)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Project management
Length: 11 pages
Data source: Field research
This case is based upon events that took place during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kim Carter, Professor in School of Business at Conestoga College, was the project lead for a multi-institutional collaboration project, along with her counterpart Marie Rutherford, from Georgian College. Months of preparation had taken place to get to this phase in the project. Carter and Rutherford had anticipated delays and challenges. Still, they did not anticipate a sudden stop to the project that would derail plans to the point that the resources would not be completed in time for fall delivery. Carter's first reaction to the team was, 'this is only temporary, this can't go on indefinitely; we will just take a pause and then get back on track in a few weeks'. However, as they learned more, it became apparent that it would take some time to get back to 'normal'. Carter knew the Fall 2020 delivery would be remote, and access to digital resources would be essential. As this case closes, Carter and Rutherford had to re-evaluate the project plan and determine what would be possible, given the limited resources and shortened time.
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Authors: Jane Gravill (Conestoga College)
Category: Knowledge, information & communications systems management
Topics: Information systems; Entrepreneurship
Length: 17 pages
Data source: Field research
As Dastiger Khan, CEO of Guard-Ex Corp, sat in his office on a chilly Monday, February 4, 2019, morning sipping his cup of steeped tea he wondered what strategy Guard-Ex should implement to achieve the firm's goal of becoming a leader in the emerging marijuana screening device industry. Guard-Ex was part of The Accelerator Centre's JumpStart program and was located in the Laurier LaunchPad incubator. The firm had designed and developed their own GX420 cannabis screening device. Khan and his team were meeting that morning to prepare for an important presentation with the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police the following week. Khan urgently needed to finalize an effective implementation strategy for their presentation because he knew that the association was expecting to learn how the device would be implemented in the field. Khan reflected upon an article he had read recently that indicated almost 70% of most IT projects fail, and many of those project failures were due to poor implementation strategies. He did not want the GX420 to become another statistic. The Guard-Ex team was aware that the implementation phase of the GX420 project would be the most delicate phase of the project, and that their next steps in the GX420 project were likely to determine whether the Guard-Ex impairment screening device would become a leader in the industry or become a victim of the factor of substitution. The race was on.
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Authors: Mustafa Fatih Yegul (Conestoga College); Azim Shamshiev (Conestoga College)
Category: Production & operations management
Topics: Operations
Length: 5 pages
Data source: Field research
This case study covers the dilemma Pat Liew, Director of Business Development, experienced in 2014 when Ecostrat's first shipment of woodchips to one of its key customers was rejected because it did not fit the boiler. The customer, a particular location of a Fortune 500 corporation in North America, acquired and installed a woodchip boiler as part of its sustainability program. The customer sent out RFQs to supply whole tree chips (WTC), and Ecostrat won the long-term contract. As a biomass aggregator, Ecostrat made deals with local WTC providers to regularly replenish the customer's WTC stock. Things got complicated when the customer figured out that the specifications of the WTC in their region were significantly different from what the boiler provider recommended. The biomass industry was not mature enough, and the definition of WTC varied from region to region. Unaware of this complication, the customer did not mention detailed specifications in its RFQ and ended up receiving incompatible material. Liew had to decide whether to take the easy exit and cancel a valuable sales contract, or to put some effort into working out alternative solutions for the customer.
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