Firing Jill Abramson : Whats good for the goose is not good for the gander ?

The case discusses the various aspects of the sudden and surprise firing in 2014 of Jill
Abramson (Abramson), executive editor of the New York Times (NYT), who had served the
paper since 1997. In May 2014, the publisher of the company, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., suddenly
announced the unceremonious exit of Abramson, without quoting the exact reasons, and
thereby attracted a lot of media attention.
Various theories were put forward to explain Sulzbergers decision; journalists, reporters,
analysts, and industry insiders across the globe raised questions on the transparency of the
organization. The action raised concerns over gender disparity and how behavior and a
management style acceptable for men could became questionable where women at the
workplace were concerned.

About : Organizational behavior; Disciplinary Action; Termination of service; Firing; Women in

the workforce; Women in leadership positions; Gender inequality; Sexism; Gender disparity in
compensation; Salary negotiations; Office politics; Management tussle; Management style;
Leadership; Communications.

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

Understand the issues and challenges related to disciplinary action and termination of service.
Understand the issues and challenges faced by women in the workforce and also in leadership
positions gender inequality, gender disparity in compensation, sexism, what is considered
acceptable behavior for women executives, etc.
Debate on various aspects that led to the firing of the NYTs first woman executive editor.
Discuss and debate issues related to salary negotiations, management style, and tackling office
politics.
Discuss ways in which the senior management of NYT could have handled the situation
better.
Pope Francis a Radical Reformer: Rebranding the
Church
The case discusses the efforts of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope
Francis, to rebrand the traditional Roman Catholic Church. Ever since Pope
Francis, born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected as the 266th Pope of the
Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013, he had been making efforts to
reposition the church. He wanted to make the Catholic Church an inclusive
institution, and toward this end, he encouraged priests to be more welcoming
toward single parents, divorced couples, and gay people groups which till
then, had been shunned by the 2,000-year-old Church. While rebranding the
Church, Pope Francis had to deal with the scandals rocking the Church
financial corruption, child sex abuse cover-ups, and allegations of a gay sex
scandal. Despite establishing the Vaticans first pontifical commission dedicated
specifically to the protection of minors in the Church, Pope Francis came under
severe criticism for not speaking out on the subject more strongly and not
acting more forcefully against the abusers and those who were covering up the
abuse. Experts felt that Pope Francis should bring in more transparency and
responsibility while tackling child sex abuse. In addition to this, Pope Francis
also had to deal with several other issues facing the Vatican, such as gay
marriage, the role of women in the church, and the ban on artificial
contraception.

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

Analyze the nature of reforms that Pope Francis tried to bring
about in the church and the strategy he followed.

Explore and understand the similarities and differences in

managing a corporate organization and managing a religious
organization.

Discuss how principles and frameworks of managing change

could be applied to the change management process in the
church.

Critically analyze the leadership style of Pope Francis and

how he tackled the challenges. Discuss the management
lessons business leaders can learn from this.
Alphabet Inc.: Reorganizing Google
The case discusses the restructuring of global technology giant Google Inc. as it
takes on a holding company structure that separates its highly profitable search
and advertising business from its non-core other bets. The new slimmed down
Google will focus primarily on its core search business with many of its former
subsidiaries being spun off under the aegis of a parent holding company named
Alphabet Inc. (Alphabet). The case discusses the rationale behind the move and
how it had become inevitable for Google to opt for a change in its structure as it
pursued potentially new businesses in industries far from its search-engine
roots. The case highlights the benefits of the reorganization to the company, its
employees, customers, and shareholders. The reform is likely to breathe new
life into the company by making its investments and spending on research
transparent and allowing for cleaner operations and more accountability while
keeping investors happy. Though Googles decision to restructure itself with a
holding company has been lauded by investors, it is a risky bet that may create
some problems for the company down the road.

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

Understand key issues and concepts in reorganizing and the
strategy behind Googles restructuring.
 Understand the strategy/structure relationship.

Understand the pros and cons of a holding company

structure.

Discuss and debate whether Googles reorganization efforts

will bear fruit for the company.

Examine the future strategy of Alphabet.

Zappos' Values-Based Culture

This case discusses the values-based work culture at Zappos.com, Inc. (Zappos), an e-retailer based in
the US time it was founded in 1999, the company differentiated itself from other e-retailers by providing
customer friendly services like free two-way shipping, a 365-day return policy, and an extremely friendly
customer service team, which went out of its way to delight customers. At the same time, the company
was recognized time and again as the best employer, for providing employees a fun filled atmosphere,
where each employees individuality was recognized and valued. The culture at Zappos was guided by
ten core values. These core values guided the company in every sphere. The case discusses in detail the
emergence of the core values at Zappos and the way they were used to recruit, train, retain, and
appraise employees. The case also discusses how the values helped the company in maintaining its
unique work culture.

Issues :
Examine the work culture at a company that was recognized as one of the best companies to work for
in the US.
Understand the core values and how they played an important role in HR policies of Zappos.
Study the positive elements in the company's culture and understand how they contributed to employee
morale, innovation, and productivity.
Analyze whether the company's culture would be put at risk as it grew in size.
Understand how the work culture enabled the company to maintain high levels of customer service.
Abstract

The present case study deals with the multiple organizational issues faced by a
mid-sized retail firm. The case study is based on real-life experiences
encountered by a newly appointed HR manager while introducing initiatives to
bring about change in the overall organizational culture, how she faced resistance
from the existing employees, and what she did to make change a way of life in
the company.
The case study, which is fictionalized, discusses how Shop-n-Shop started from
humble beginnings in 2000 and grew to a mid-sized company in Hyderabad,
necessitating a new perspective on managing employees.

Issues

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

 To understand the importance of making an organization ready to accept change
To understand the process of bringing about change into an organization
To understand the application of John Kotters 8 step plan for implementing change in an
Organization.
To learn to identify different personality styles through individual working patterns
To understand the importance of Person-job fit