Ivey Decision Point

Professor Torben Pedersen, a prominent scholar in international management at Bocconi University, joins host Matt Quin to explore what went into his best-selling case study, Lego Group: An Outsourcing Journey. In order to survive the large st internal financial crisis in its roughly 70 years of existence, management had, among many initiatives, decided to offshore and outsource a major chunk of its production to Flextronics. Only three years into a ten-year contract, the two companies decided to part ways. Quin and Pedersen discuss how LEGO was able to not only weather this crisis but come out stronger. Consider reviewing Professor Pedersen's latest case: TELENOR GROUP: DEVELOPING A NEW BUSINESS MODEL Frank Elter, Marcus M. Larsen, Torben Pedersen 10/04/2019 View all cases authored by Torben Pedersen

Professor Charles Dhanaraj explains how he modified a heavily tested and adjusted teaching plan once again, this time for the virtual classroom. How do we connect synchronous and asynchronous approaches, design breakout groups, and wrap-up a case method class successfully in what is a new environment for many instructors? Dhanaraj is Evelyn & Jay G. Piccinati Endowed Chair in Teaching Excellence, professor and chair of the Department of Management at the Daniels College of Business, University of Denver. Eli Lilly in India: Rethinking the Joint Venture Strategy Charles Dhanaraj, Paul W. Beamish, Nikhil Celly Eli Lilly in India documents the evolution of an international joint venture (IJV) over a 10-year period (1991 to 2001) between • Eli Lilly, a leading U.S. pharmaceutical company and • Ranbaxy, the Indian partner that marked Lilly’s entry into an emerging market, India. The case highlights three distinct phases of the evolution of the IJV and raises relevant management issues at different phases of the IJV's growth. Review the case here.

In this episode, we speak with Jury Gualandris, an associate professor of operations management and sustainability at Ivey Business School. Jury serves as the associate director of Ivey’s Centre for Building Sustainable Value, and leads the Network for Business Sustainability, a global network of over 35,000 business leaders and researchers that aim to mobilize more sustainable business strategies and practices worldwide.

Jury shares his definition of sustainability, discusses the importance of teaching sustainability in business schools, and explains how Ivey is uniquely equipped to meet the demand for sustainability education. Additionally, Jury talks about the new partnership between Ivey’s Centre for Building Sustainable Value and Ivey publishing, Ivey’s curated sustainability case collection, and the future of sustainability in business education. Enjoy!

Resources featured in this episode:

New Ivey initiative integrating SDGs into management educationHP Canada Co.: A Circular Supply Chain for Recycled PlasticA&W Canada: Serving Great Taste with Minimal WasteHuawei: Struggling to Develop a More Sustainable Supply NetworkCradle-to-Cradle Design at Herman Miller: Moving Toward Environmental SustainabilityPolyface: The Farm of Many FacesIvey, City of Guelph to unlock value of food ‘waste’

We speak with Robert D. Austin, Professor, Information Systems at Ivey Business School, and an affiliated faculty member at Harvard Medical School about his best-selling case, Digital Transformation at GE: What Went Wrong? This case examines the digital transformation that GE had been attempting and the challenges it encountered, and is especially timely as many organizations accelerate their digital transformation efforts as a result of COVID-19.

Our conversation also touches on such topics as: strategy disruption, looking for – and following – compelling case stories, translating and scaling complex issues into a readable and easily understandable case, and teaching cases in tandem. We conclude our discussion with Rob’s thoughts on the evolution of the case method and Rob’s advice for new case authors.

Review the case here

Robert D. Austin is a professor of Information Systems at Ivey Business School, and an affiliated faculty member at Harvard Medical School.

Before his appointment at Ivey, he was a professor of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Copenhagen Business School, and, before that, a professor of Technology and Operations Management at the Harvard Business School. At Harvard, he chaired the executive program for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) for more than ten years.

Professor Austin has published widely, in both academic and professional venues, such as Harvard Business Review, Information Systems Research, MIT Sloan Management Review, Organization Science, Organization Studies, and the Wall Street Journal. He also is the author of nine books, more than 50 published cases and notes, three Harvard online products, and two popular Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) running on the Coursera platform. His “Cyberattack!" Simulation won the 2020 International Serious Play Gold Medal. His research on neurodiversity employment programs is funded by SSHRC.

In this episode we talk to Cheryl Gladu, Researcher-in-Residence, Thompson Rivers University, and author of Dessa: Growing a Diverse and Inclusive Artificial Intelligence Company. This case follows Dessa’s founder and chief operating officer, Vince Wong, as he develops hiring practices to create a diverse workforce while fostering a culture supportive of diversity. Cheryl discusses the importance of having uncomfortable conversations in the classroom, co-creating ground rules with students to approach these difficult conversations, the difference between dialogue and debate, defining implicit bias, and the value of workshopping a case before submission. Review the case here