Indian Entries Shine At EFMD Case Writing Competition

The Brussels-based EFMD, a global, non-profit organisation dedicated to management development, has been conducting the annual EFMD Case Writing Competition. The results for the 2018 competition was announced in April for 17 entries on various topics.

At least four of the entries that won the competition were on Indian business entities.

• India makes a mark at EFMD Case Writing Competition 2018 with at least four entries on Indian business entities
• “Turning sand into gold – Service Transformation – A Case of Delhi International Airport,” co-authored by Professor DVR Seshadri, Clinical Professor, Marketing at the Indian School of Business (ISB) with Gandhali Divekar and Prachee Javadekar, Parigha Research and Consultancy won under the Indian Management Issues and Opportunities category.
• In Corporate Social Responsibility, the award went to Craig Smith of INSEAD and freelancer Erin McCormick for the study titled “Tata Motors (A): A History of Service in a New Era of Corporate Social Responsibility – Tata Motors (B): More from Less for More.”
• In the Family Business category, the case study titled “Yes Bank – The Case of Unrecognized Promoter” written by Pooja Gupta and Semila Fernandes of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bengaluru won the award.
• In the Sustainable Production Systems, “Dalmia Bharat: Social Return on Investment,” written by Utkarsh Majmudar and Namrata Rana, Indian Institute of Management Udaipur emerged the winner.

“Turning sand into gold – Service Transformation – A Case of Delhi International Airport,” co-authored by Professor DVR Seshadri, Clinical Professor, Marketing at the Indian School of Business (ISB) with Gandhali Divekar and Prachee Javadekar, Parigha Research and Consultancy won under the Indian Management Issues and Opportunities category. The award carries a cash component of €2,000.

The case study is on the Delhi International Airport’s transformation from a poorly serviced airport to one of service excellence. It is the first Indian airport to be listed in the world’s best airports.

The case covers the airport development timeline from the year 2007 to 2016. It discusses the challenges faced by the GMR Team to transform the mundane airport service to the holistic service experience for the passengers. In January 2006, the consortium was awarded the concession to operate, manage and develop the IGI Airport following an international competitive bidding process.

This case narrates how the protagonist GM Rao, Chairman GMR Group led this transformation to create an airport of world-class service standards. It is also the first airport venture under Public Private Partnership Policy, by Government of India.

The team undertook the extremely challenging task of bringing in Customer-centric service approach/mindset, customer service culture among the various service providers in the value chain which also included the government agencies.

So, the other objective of this case is to elaborate responsibility and mindset of the multiple stakeholders in creating ‘The Service Experience’ for the customers.

“This case is based on Experience economy principles with the backdrop of emerging policy model and socioeconomic diversity in India. It helps us to understand how the leader, GM Rao with his team-built service transformation strategy which is a combination of the airport Policies, Processes and People as the part of the organization design (the organization’s physiology and anatomy).

“And the rituals, actions and pride as part of the organization structure, values and symbols which are embedded in the employees’ heart (the organization’s psychology),” EFMD said in the case summary.

“The importance of high-quality cases focusing on Indian businesses can’t be overstated. Asian students have been taught with examples of western firms, employing western management concepts. Many of these do not translate well into the local business climate.

“As Indian commerce powers forward to a new place in the world order, it will be important to continue to learn from the experiences, successes and even failures of the Indian managers of today,” said Professor Philip Zerillo, Deputy Dean – Corporate and International Relations, ISB.

The Centre for Learning and Management Practice (CLMP) at ISB develops and promotes high-quality case studies and case innovations called CaseApps, specific to India and the emerging markets, with the support of ISB faculty as well as faculty from other business schools worldwide.

The competition also had other winners in India-related cases. In Corporate Social Responsibility, the award went to Craig Smith of INSEAD and freelancer Erin McCormick for the study titled “Tata Motors (A): A History of Service in a New Era of Corporate Social Responsibility – Tata Motors (B): More from Less for More.”

This case tells the story of India’s fascinating experiment in mandating corporate social responsibility and how one company has responded. Tata companies have been committed to corporate social responsibility for over 150 years; Tata Motors Ltd. is no exception. Nonetheless, the new law helps prompt substantial changes in what it does on CSR, EMFD said in the case summary.

In the Family Business category, the case study titled “Yes Bank – The Case of Unrecognized Promoter” written by Pooja Gupta and Semila Fernandes of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bengaluru won the award.

The case revolves around the ongoing power struggle in Yes Bank between the two promoter families.  Rana Kapoor, co-founder of the bank and currently the Managing Director and CEO of Yes Bank who holds 13.72% shares in the bank, is on one side of this dispute.

On the other side is his sister-in-law, Madhu Kapur (wife of late Ashok Kapur) who owns 12% of the shares. Yes Bank was incorporated in 2004 by Rana Kapoor and Late Ashok Kapur and was set up as a new age private sector bank. The dispute started after the death of Ashok Kapur in the terrorist attack on 26th November 2008.

Madhu Kapur and her family believe that as promoter shareholder they have an equal right to nominate members for the board of directors and have proposed their names on various occasions. The court in its judgement has upheld the rights of Madhu Kapur and her family in having a say in the appointment of independent directors, the case summary said.

In the Sustainable Production Systems, “Dalmia Bharat: Social Return on Investment,” written by Utkarsh Majmudar and Namrata Rana, Indian Institute of Management Udaipur emerged the winner.

Dalmia Bharat Foundation had been using a variety of metrics for measuring water harvested and water used by the company. The Foundation required a measure that valued water in financial terms to help justify the foundation’s targets and funding. The case explored the possible use of the metric Social Return on Investment as a tool for measurement and investment decisions.