Case Study :1

Today, Apple exemplifies strong ecosystem connectedness and cause-and-effect

understanding of their brands, products, and services in the marketplace, but the value
propositions for Apple and all companies are a continual challenge .Tim Cook was the COO
of Apple when they launched the iPhone in 2007 , he shut down Apple’s own manufacturing
and factory units and outsourced the production processes to other companies like Foxconn
Ltd .90% of Apple’s current market cap was added after Tim Cook took over as the CEO in
2011 . In 2011 , Apple had a market cap of 350 Billion compared to their market cap at 3.48
trillion $ now. When Apple launched iCloud, it enabled the development of the Apple
ecosystem, allowing all Apple products to interact with each other. This integration is
seamless because both the hardware and software are designed by Apple. Apple announced in
2023 that it will become a carbon-neutral company by 2030. This will be achieved through
innovations in: • Clean Electricity: Increased electricity consumption through its electricity
generated by renewable energy. Apple has implemented the 'Radiansolar project' in Brown
County, Texas. • Innovation in Materials: Increased use of recycled materials. All products
will have more than 30% recycled material by weight. The Apple Watch series 9 uses 100%
recycled materials in many of its components, such as gold in plating, rare earth element
magnets, and copper foil in the main logic board. • Low-Carbon Shipping: Shipping an Apple
product by ocean emits 95% less CO2 than shipping by air. This initiative was introduced for
the Apple Watch, with 50% or more of the total weight of all carbon-neutral Apple Watches
being transported via ocean shipping. Apple creatingSamsung already supplies OLED panels
for iPhones. Now, Apple is planning to shift even MacBooks and iPads to OLEDs. Samsung
will start offering Apple TV and iTunes on Samsung Smart TVs. Customers with Samsung
TVs can download movies and apps from iTunes to their devices and stream them.

Q1) Explain Apple’s global value creation strategy to enhance customer satisfaction, foster
sustainability and create value for all its stake holders ?
Case Study 2: https://hbr.org/2024/08/keep-strategy-simple?ab=HP-latest-text-8

At first, McDonald’s path into India was fraught with missteps. First, there was the nonbeef
burger made with mutton. But the science was off: mutton is 5% fat (beef is 25% fat), making
it rubbery and dry. Then there was the French fry debacle. McDonald’s started off using
potatoes grown in India, but the local variety had too much water content, making the fries
soggy. Chicken kabab burgers? Sounds like a winner except that they were skewered by
consumers. Salad sandwiches were another flop: Indians prefer cooked foods. If that was not
enough, in May 2001, the company was picketed by protesters after reports surfaced in the
United States that the chain’s fries were injected with beef extracts to boost flavor—a serious
infraction for vegetarians. McDonald’s executives in India denied the charges, claiming their
fries were different from those sold in America. Next, the Indian executives embarked on
basic-menu research and development (R&D). After awhile, they hit on a veggie burger with
a name Indians could understand: the McAloo Tikki (an “aloo tikki” is a cheap potato cake
locals buy from roadside vendors).
The lesson in the McDonald’s India case: local input matters. Today, 70% of the menu is
designed to suit Indians: the Paneer Salsa Wrap, the Chicken Maharaja Mac, the Veg
McCurry Pan. The McAloo, by far the best-selling product, also is being shipped to
McDonald’s in the Middle East, where potato dishes are popular. And in India, it does double
duty: it not only appeals to the masses; it is also a hit with the country’s 200 million
vegetarians.
Another lesson learned from the McDonald’s case: vegetarian items should not come into
contact with nonvegetarian products or ingredients. Walk into any Indian McDonald’s and
you will find half of the employees wearing green aprons and the other half in red. Those in
green handle vegetarian orders. The red-clad ones serve nonvegetarians. It is a separation that
extends throughout the restaurant and its supply chain. Each restaurant’s grills, refrigerators,
and storage areas are designated as “veg” or “non-veg.” At the Vista Processed Foods plant,
at every turn, managers stressed the “non-veg” side was in one part of the facility, and the
“vegetarian only” section was in another. As another example of positioning, also from a
well-known brand, catch this glimpse of McDonalds positioning on customer service: “For
individuals looking for a quick-service restaurant with an exceptional customer experience.”
Note that it is a position of the company not an action by an individual or an activity of a
department. McDonalds sees this as a key ingredient to its competitive edge. The protagonist
is Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald's Corporation. McDonald's is the world's largest
hamburger fast-food restaurant chain, with 40,000 restaurants in over 100 countries, $23
billion in annual revenue, and a net income of $6 billion. Since being appointed CEO in
2019, Kempczinski launched the Accelerating the Arches strategic initiative (MCD, also the
ticker symbol): maximize our Marketing, commit to the Core Menu, and double down on the
4 Ds of delivery, digital, drive-thru, and development. Although McDonald's has significantly
outperformed the broader stock market for most of the past decade, Kempinski wonders how
long this can last. McDonald's faces significant headwinds, including recessionary pressure,
high inflation, supply chain problems, rising wages, and significant labor shortages.
Q2) Explain how Mc Donalds has adapted its business model in different geographic market
segments ? Explain the AAA framework in detail .
Case Study 3 :
US retail giant Walmart has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 77% stake in India’s
largest e-commerce marketplace Flipkart with an investment of around $16 billion, making it
the largest transaction in the history of the online retail space globally. The deal, which wiped
away $10 billion of Walmart’s market capitalization as investors reacted negatively in early
morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange, stands out for several exits. The biggest was
Sachin Bansal selling his entire 5.96% stake for $1.23 billion and parting ways with Flipkart
that he had founded in 2007 along with a friend from IIT, Binny Bansal (not related). Sachin
was nowhere around at the Flipkart campus when the Walmart top team led by CEO Doug
McMillon addressed employees in a town hall meeting. Another significant exit is that of
Soft Bank, the largest investor in Flipkart. In a strange coincidence, the deal, valuing Flipkart
at $20.8 billion, was announced to the world by Soft Bank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son in
a webinar with investors hours before Walmart did so. He also confirmed that Soft Bank
would get about $4 billion from its $2.5-billion investment in Flipkart last August. Flipkart’s
valuation at $20.8 billion is a 75% increase over its previous valuation in the range of $11–12
billion last August. Out of the $16-billion investment, Walmart will put in $2 billion in new
equity funding, while the rest will be utilized to acquire stakes of existing investors in the
Bengaluru-based company. The case study focuses on Effect of regulatory restrictions in
Indian Ecommerce Markets for Global MNCs.

Q) Highlight Problems faced by Flipkart in the advent of VUCA times and Strategies
devised by Walmart to acquire Flipkart .

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Case Study 4 :
If one assumes, as an economics textbook might, that consumers routinely calculate
opportunity costs, this anecdote should be revealing. All decisions involve opportunity costs,
but the way consumers reckon them has received little attention from decision theorists and
even less from marketers. Promotional messages often highlight the advantages of one
product over another (A is 50% faster than B; X is $300 cheaper than Y), but spelling out the
implications of those differences may be more persuasive: Price differences can look large or
small, depending on what else one imagines purchasing with that money. An ad by De Beers
did this brilliantly. It depicted two large diamond earrings with the tagline “Redo the kitchen
next year.” Clever. It implied that the cost of the diamonds was merely a slight delay in a
renovation. In fact, if a consumer spent the money reserved for the kitchen on the diamonds,
it might take him or her much more than a year to save that amount again. Investors
commonly neglect opportunity cost. In general, it refers to the hidden cost of failing to take a
different path of action. If a corporation follows a certain business plan without first weighing
the benefits of competing approaches, they may overlook their opportunity costs and the
chance that they could have achieved considerably well if they had chosen differently. The
possible gain that a consumer loses out on by opting one option over another is referred to as
opportunity cost. Since opportunity costs are invisible by nature, it is possible that they might
be ignored. Recognizing the benefits that may be lost when a person or company selects one
asset over another enables more informed decision-making. Simply said, the notion brings up
the point to consider all acceptable options before reaching a choice.
Investors commonly neglect opportunity cost. In general, it refers to the hidden cost of failing
to take a different path of action. If a corporation follows a certain business plan without first
weighing the benefits of competing approaches, they may overlook their opportunity costs
and the chance that they could have achieved considerably well if they had chosen differently.
Where, FO represents foregone option and Co represents chosen option.
When OC is negative, you clearly gain, implying that the option chosen (CO) provides you
with more benefits than the Forgone option (FO). Whereas you lose when OC is positive,
indicating that the Forgone option benefits you more than the CO. When FO and CO provide
the same advantage i.e. FO=CO, there is no loss and no gain.
Knowing if an event, investment, or transaction has a positive or negative OC might help you
make smarter decisions. Positive OC means that choosing the decision you've made may not
benefit you, while negative OC implies that the option you've selected is better than the
alternative you didn't pick. Consider the case of A, an employee who had a stressful week at
his place of work. Assume the weekend is approaching and now he has two choices. He can
binge-watch a popular web series to forget about his job stress or learn a new
stress-management skill. If he goes with Option 1 i.e. binge watching a web series, his
foregone option (FO) is learning a skill. As a result, his opportunity cost is FO - CO.
Simply put, the opportunity cost to his binge viewing is acquiring a skill that might help him
successfully handle stress and improve his work performance in the long term. Therefore, it
can be said that binge watching has a cost as the opportunity cost (OC) is positive.
To conclude, the notion beneath opportunity cost is that your resources as a consumer are
constantly restricted. That is, because you have limited time and other resources, you won't
be able to make most of all the options that come your way. If you choose one, you must
inevitably abandon the others. They can't exist at the same time. Opportunity cost is more
about the decisions you make than it is about money or resources. It's all about remembering
that one action or decision might prevent you from reaping the benefits of other possibilities.
Q) What is opportunity cost ? If you were a management consultant for de beers diamonds
how would you proposition the marketing campaign showcasing opportunity cost benefit the
consumer ?