case study on management process

• All Headlines

Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2017

We generated a list of the 40 most popular Yale School of Management case studies in 2017 by combining data from our publishers, Google analytics, and other measures of interest and adoption. In compiling the list, we gave additional weight to usage outside Yale

We generated a list of the 40 most popular Yale School of Management case studies in 2017 by combining data from our publishers, Google analytics, and other measures of interest and adoption. In compiling the list, we gave additional weight to usage outside Yale.

Case topics represented on the list vary widely, but a number are drawn from the case team’s focus on healthcare, asset management, and sustainability. The cases also draw on Yale’s continued emphasis on corporate governance, ethics, and the role of business in state and society. Of note, nearly half of the most popular cases feature a woman as either the main protagonist or, in the case of raw cases where multiple characters take the place of a single protagonist, a major leader within the focal organization. While nearly a fourth of the cases were written in the past year, some of the most popular, including Cadbury and Design at Mayo, date from the early years of our program over a decade ago. Nearly two-thirds of the most popular cases were “raw” cases - Yale’s novel, web-based template which allows for a combination of text, documents, spreadsheets, and videos in a single case website.

Read on to learn more about the top 10 most popular cases followed by a complete list of the top 40 cases of 2017.  A selection of the top 40 cases are available for purchase through our online store . 

#1 - Coffee 2016

Faculty Supervision: Todd Cort

Coffee 2016 asks students to consider the coffee supply chain and generate ideas for what can be done to equalize returns across various stakeholders. The case draws a parallel between coffee and wine. Both beverages encourage connoisseurship, but only wine growers reap a premium for their efforts to ensure quality.  The case describes the history of coffee production across the world, the rise of the “third wave” of coffee consumption in the developed world, the efforts of the Illy Company to help coffee growers, and the differences between “fair” trade and direct trade. Faculty have found the case provides a wide canvas to discuss supply chain issues, examine marketing practices, and encourage creative solutions to business problems. 

#2 - AXA: Creating New Corporate Responsibility Metrics

Faculty Supervision: Todd Cort and David Bach

The case describes AXA’s corporate responsibility (CR) function. The company, a global leader in insurance and asset management, had distinguished itself in CR since formally establishing a CR unit in 2008. As the case opens, AXA’s CR unit is being moved from the marketing function to the strategy group occasioning a thorough review as to how CR should fit into AXA’s operations and strategy. Students are asked to identify CR issues of particular concern to the company, examine how addressing these issues would add value to the company, and then create metrics that would capture a business unit’s success or failure in addressing the concerns.

#3 - IBM Corporate Service Corps

Faculty Supervision: David Bach in cooperation with University of Ghana Business School and EGADE

The case considers IBM’s Corporate Service Corps (CSC), a program that had become the largest pro bono consulting program in the world. The case describes the program’s triple-benefit: leadership training to the brightest young IBMers, brand recognition for IBM in emerging markets, and community improvement in the areas served by IBM’s host organizations. As the program entered its second decade in 2016, students are asked to consider how the program can be improved. The case allows faculty to lead a discussion about training, marketing in emerging economies, and various ways of providing social benefit. The case highlights the synergies as well as trade-offs between pursuing these triple benefits.

#4 - Cadbury: An Ethical Company Struggles to Insure the Integrity of Its Supply Chain

Faculty Supervision: Ira Millstein

The case describes revelations that the production of cocoa in the Côte d’Ivoire involved child slave labor. These stories hit Cadbury especially hard. Cadbury's culture had been deeply rooted in the religious traditions of the company's founders, and the organization had paid close attention to the welfare of its workers and its sourcing practices. The US Congress was considering legislation that would allow chocolate grown on certified plantations to be labeled “slave labor free,” painting the rest of the industry in a bad light. Chocolate producers had asked for time to rectify the situation, but the extension they negotiated was running out. Students are asked whether Cadbury should join with the industry to lobby for more time?  What else could Cadbury do to ensure its supply chain was ethically managed?

#5 - 360 State Real Options

Faculty Supervision: Matthew Spiegel

In 2010 developer Bruce Becker (SOM ‘85) completed 360 State Street, a major new construction project in downtown New Haven. Just west of the apartment building, a 6,000-square-foot pocket of land from the original parcel remained undeveloped. Becker had a number of alternatives to consider in regards to the site. He also had no obligation to build. He could bide his time. But Becker worried about losing out on rents should he wait too long. Students are asked under what set of circumstances and at what time would it be most advantageous to proceed?

#6 - Design at Mayo

Faculty Supervision: Rodrigo Canales and William Drentell

The case describes how the Mayo Clinic, one of the most prominent hospitals in the world, engaged designers and built a research institute, the Center for Innovation (CFI), to study the processes of healthcare provision. The case documents the many incremental innovations the designers were able to implement and the way designers learned to interact with physicians and vice-versa.

In 2010 there were questions about how the CFI would achieve its stated aspiration of “transformational change” in the healthcare field. Students are asked what would a major change in health care delivery look like? How should the CFI's impact be measured? Were the center's structure and processes appropriate for transformational change? Faculty have found this a great case to discuss institutional obstacles to innovation, the importance of culture in organizational change efforts, and the differences in types of innovation.

This case is freely available to the public.

#7 - Ant Financial

Faculty Supervision: K. Sudhir in cooperation with Renmin University of China School of Business

In 2015, Ant Financial’s MYbank (an offshoot of Jack Ma’s Alibaba company) was looking to extend services to rural areas in China by providing small loans to farmers. Microloans have always been costly for financial institutions to offer to the unbanked (though important in development) but MYbank believed that fintech innovations such as using the internet to communicate with loan applicants and judge their credit worthiness would make the program sustainable. Students are asked whether MYbank could operate the program at scale? Would its big data and technical analysis provide an accurate measure of credit risk for loans to small customers? Could MYbank rely on its new credit-scoring system to reduce operating costs to make the program sustainable?

#8 - Business Leadership in South Africa’s 1994 Reforms

Faculty Supervision: Ian Shapiro

This case examines the role of business in South Africa's historic transition away from apartheid to popular sovereignty. The case provides a previously untold oral history of this key moment in world history, presenting extensive video interviews with business leaders who spearheaded behind-the-scenes negotiations between the African National Congress and the government. Faculty teaching the case have used the material to push students to consider business’s role in a divided society and ask: What factors led business leaders to act to push the country's future away from isolation toward a "high road" of participating in an increasingly globalized economy? What techniques and narratives did they use to keep the two sides talking and resolve the political impasse? And, if business leadership played an important role in the events in South Africa, could they take a similar role elsewhere?

#9 - Shake Shack IPO

Faculty Supervision: Jake Thomas and Geert Rouwenhorst

From an art project in a New York City park, Shake Shack developed a devoted fan base that greeted new Shake Shack locations with cheers and long lines. When Shake Shack went public on January 30, 2015, investors displayed a similar enthusiasm. Opening day investors bid up the $21 per share offering price by 118% to reach $45.90 at closing bell. By the end of May, investors were paying $92.86 per share. Students are asked if this price represented a realistic valuation of the enterprise and if not, what was Shake Shack truly worth? The case provides extensive information on Shake Shack’s marketing, competitors, operations and financials, allowing instructors to weave a wide variety of factors into a valuation of the company.

#10 - Searching for a Search Fund Structure

Faculty Supervision: AJ Wasserstein

This case considers how young entrepreneurs structure search funds to find businesses to take over. The case describes an MBA student who meets with a number of successful search fund entrepreneurs who have taken alternative routes to raising funds. The case considers the issues of partnering, soliciting funds vs. self-funding a search, and joining an incubator. The case provides a platform from which to discuss the pros and cons of various search fund structures.

40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2017

Click on the case title to learn more about the dilemma. A selection of our most popular cases are available for purchase via our online store .

Case Studies of Business Process Management Transformation

By: Author Alex Lim

Posted on Published: September 10, 2020  - Last updated: October 26, 2020

Categories Process

Home » Case Studies of Business Process Management Transformation

Emerging industry processes will require businesses to learn to use automated tools, like low-code platforms, in order to streamline business process management. Read on this article which dives into the prevalence of low-code and 3 insightful case studies.

Table of Contents

Table of contents

The cloud widens the community of developers, automation and rules that write themselves, case study: modernization leads to self-service at bp, case study: asahi tekko achieves real-time production management, case study: bbva ramps up customer experience, digitally.

The cloud widens the community of developers Automation and rules that write themselves Case study: Modernization leads to self-service at BP Case study: Asahi Tekko achieves real-time production management Case study: BBVA ramps up customer experience, digitally Conclusion

Digital enterprises, employing artificial intelligence, cloud, and data analytics in innovative ways, are delivering superior customer experiences, faster response times, and more intelligent operations. Every company—no matter how large, how old, or in what industry— can potentially evolve into a digital enterprise, operating with the same agility of a startup.

Achieving this digital nimbleness requires relying on software and data resources that make use of legacy data, as well as the many new sources of data available today, and extend well beyond the traditional capabilities of IT departments. Digital nimbleness is an enterprise initiative, in which employees and executives from all parts of the business play an active role in designing and building solutions.

Enabling a wider group within the enterprise to design or redesign process-driven applications represents the most expedient and effective way to successfully navigate the digital transformation journey. Business processes evolve and change as rapidly as the business changes—meeting customer preferences, releasing new products, pivoting to new markets, and forging new partnerships. Today’s generation of business process management (BPM) and business rules management systems (BRMS) solutions offer a way to rapidly build modern applications with a minimum drain on precious and expensive IT resources.

The only way to advance and compete is to open up software innovation across enterprises— to business users who typically do not have traditional programming skills, but who need to be able to harness the power of technology. This means evolving the way applications are being built and deployed. Indeed, a survey of 324 companies found 76% indicating that at least some portion of their applications were developed outside of their traditional IT departments or IT service providers.

“Without low-code and no-code development, organizations are going to find it increasingly difficult to keep pace with their competitors,” reports SD Times, which quotes Rob Koplowitz, VP and principal analyst at Forrester3: “If we look at basic issues companies have now, what we often hear is, ‘I can’t build applications fast enough and by the time I build them the specs have changed.’

The rise of user-driven development and digital business process management is being made possible in two ways:

• The cloud makes application development accessible to a wider audience. Having online, easy-to-use, front-end tools available to non-developers opens up new ways of conceiving and building applications.
• Automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning enable a much wider variety of manual processes and tasks to be automated. AI-based engines are now being integrated into business process management, producing rules that write themselves. Low-level tasks also can be rapidly automated through robotic process automation (RPA), in which tasks are managed by intelligent software.

The path to digital transformation varies from organization to organization, of course, since they have invested in countless systems and applications over the years. But all successful efforts have certain common ingredients as well.

In every digital transformation project, new applications and next-generation architectures are built on today’s open standards, using on-demand resources.

For many organizations, digital transformation also means optimizing existing systems and application resources—integrating, replacing, or abstracting key pieces of their infrastructures into services.

By enabling a wider group within the enterprise to do design or redesign process-driven applications represent the most expedient and effective way to successfully navigate the digital transformation journey. Business processes evolve and change as rapidly as the business changes— meeting customer preferences, releasing new products, pivoting to new markets, and forging new partnerships. Today’s generation of business process management (BPM) and business rules management systems (BRMS) solutions offer a way to rapidly build modern applications with a minimum drain on precious and expensive IT resources.

For decades, only individuals with “developer” or “programmer” in their job titles held the keys to the applications that ran their organizations. This was for good reason—most enterprise applications tend to be very monolithic, difficult to understand, and difficult to change. The move from monolithic to microservices, as well as a move from traditional developers to a diverse mix of developers and business people, are reshaping the way applications are created, developed and deployed.

• From monoliths to microservices : The process of application development is changing. And the technology employed to build applications is rapidly changing—to containers and microservices architectures that address the monolithic problem, making applications much easier to deploy, easier to change, and easier to understand. As a result, applications are becoming easier to create, deploy, and change. Cloud and container technologies now enable the breaking down of larger, monolithic applications into smaller components which can be managed and modified independently and deployed and scaled.
• From traditional developers to diverse mixes of developers and businesspeople : Self-service environments make it possible for business users to develop and maintain applications without going through IT departments. The next generation of applications won’t be built purely by IT or traditional developers, but rather by teams that include business users, all contributing their knowledge and experience to these new microservices-based applications. These applications won’t require hard-core coding skills to change or adapt — rather, they need to be interfused with business logic and business know-how. Business users can’t necessarily write code, but they can produce models of their business that include business rules, along with the policies and decisions they make. Essentially, these models serve as source code for applications that can automatically be deployed within a microservices architecture.

Automation is also changing the game, delegating routine manual tasks and decision management to machines, thereby reducing manual work. Digital BPM and BRMS pave the way to AI, machine learning, and robotic process automation, which is revolutionizing the handling of the countless routine and manual tasks that slow down productivity.

Here’s how today’s systems are taking on the heavy lifting of today’s enterprises.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning : Artificial intelligence and machine learning are dramatically reshaping the way enterprises approach business automation. With machine learning, rules are derived automatically from historical records. This is in contrast to traditional decision management and business rules approaches when rules are created based on users’ experiences, and then built out in applications. Machine learning leverages historical data to derive predictive models that can be applied to new information for the next set of decisions.

For example, an application that helps determine whether insurance claims should be paid or denied can leverage predictive models built from historical claims information. The historical data provides an understanding of how claims decisions were made in the past. The claims application can use the predictive model to make decisions about new claims, which will be consistent with past behaviour.

Evolving standards are also facilitating the integration of AI and machine learning into business automation solutions. Predictive Model Markup Language, or PMML, enables predictive models to be encoded and shared among different systems. A relatively new standard, Decision Model & Notation, or DMN, is a graphical language for encoding the rules that make up a decision. DMN makes it easier for business users to create the source code for their decision applications, and to encode complex business logic. In addition, DMN enables business users to incorporate a predictive model into their DMN diagrams as easily as they can incorporate business rules. They can combine both the output of a predictive model with a set of rules in order to arrive at a decision.

In the big picture of application development, this means business users can create DMN logic, which can be employed within a container as a decision service. Or they can automatically feed predictive models from training data into that same process.

Robotic Process Automation : A recent survey by Deloitte finds a majority of enterprises, 53%, are now employing robotic process automation, or RPA. That number is expected to increase to 82% within the next two years.4 RPA enables the creation of software robots that perform repetitive and routine work that might otherwise be done by human workers. The benefits to organizations are reduced costs and headcount by automating work.

In many workplaces today, much time is spent on simple repetitive tasks, such as copying and pasting information from a back-office database into a spreadsheet. RPA enables enterprises to automate many of these routine tasks and functions. Essentially, the software robot records the work people are doing and replays it, with varying levels of intelligence applied. Basically, building out RPA is another approach to developing applications. Ultimately, these robots will be deployed as microservices through containers, supported by the cloud.

4 The robots are ready. Are you? Untapped advantage in your digital workforce, Deloitte, 2018.

BP, a global energy company, had a complex operational management challenge, with hundreds of product teams using various delivery models, affecting application development and deployment. The company wanted to explore a robust, modern, open-source technology infrastructure that could operate worldwide and be accessed by thousands of business users and millions of end customers. It needed a reliable, modern technology infrastructure to speed application development and deployment.

To accomplish this, BP worked with Red Hat to simplify and modernize technology and processes, increasing security and agility and speeding provisioning from two to three weeks to seven minutes. BP used Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform running on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build the Application Engineering Services’ Digital Conveyor. This platform provides process automation that empowers product delivery teams with self-service capabilities, a DevOps approach, and a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline.

“The combination of microservices, containers, and a fully automated CI/CD platform provides what developers have been asking for years,” said Paul Costall, head of application engineering services at BP. “They now have full self-service to deliver change from the initial idea, through the innovation, right through to production, as quickly as humanly possible.”

To keep pace with orders, automobile parts manufacturer Asahi Tekko Co., Ltd., needed to speed just in time workflows without expanding its physical footprint. The company needed to replace manual data collection with automated machine monitoring to track and manage quality and productivity.

Achieving these improvements would require increasing machine capacity, but the manufacturer simply did not have the space to accommodate additional machines needed to fulfil larger order volumes. “Although we had a business potential to accept orders up to about three years ahead, the factory’s space was about 3,000 meters too short to accommodate manufacturing all of them,” said Tetsuya Kimura, president and representative director of Asahi Tekko.

To better understand its physical resource use, the company collected operational data from its factory machines, such as production quantity and downtime. However, machine production counters were reviewed and recorded manually, a time-consuming process that lead to incorrect or incomplete entries.

Asahi Tekko employed enterprise open source solutions from Red Hat to create an Internet of Things (IoT) mechanism and business rules engine for automated data collection and real-time insight into machine operations. As a result, Asahi Tekko has cut capital expenditure by around ¥300 million, reduced employee over-work, and even created a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering for other manufacturing companies.

The company created a cycle time monitor, an IoT mechanism that would automatically collect and display operational data to eliminate manual errors and improve productivity. Employees can use this data to focus on repairing or improving slow and broken machines instead of checking each machine’s data. The company deployed Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform as the foundation for this solution.

In addition, the company deployed Red Hat Decision Manager (formerly Red Hat JBoss BRMS) as its rules engine, which includes complex event processing (CEP) capabilities that detect the relationship between massive volumes of information in real time. With these capabilities, Asahi Tekko’s IoT solution automatically detects and visualizes necessary site data—such as line production number and stop time—in real time.

BBVA, a financial group that provides financial services to more than 73 million customers in more than 30 countries, needed to update its technology to better support its digital transformation goals and improve its customer experience. “Customers demand 24-hour-a-day functionality from anywhere,” said José María Ruesta, global head of infrastructure, service, and open systems at BBVA.

“We have to achieve a balance between innovation and reliability. But as a bank, trying to translate these values into technology is difficult. Imagine a datacenter full of different operating systems, languages, and interfaces. There’s no room for innovation.”

BBVA wanted to create a single, global, cloud-native platform that is fully automated and self-service, combining real-time and batch data to help developers work efficiently and to ensure high service availability and reliability. As new functions increased the transaction volume handled by BBVA’s backend systems and applications, the group sought to update its IT environment as part of its digital transformation journey.

The company turned to enterprise open source software—including Red Hat OpenStack Platform and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform—to build a unified global cloud platform that is fully automated, self-service, and data-centric. With this new platform, the company has increased efficiency and integration to provide a better customer experience and support innovation.

With a global open source platform, BBVA’s developers can quickly and easily deploy code across its branch network, speeding time to market for updates and new services. “Our proprietary platforms created isolation that prevented agile development of new products in line with customer demand,” said Ruesta.

“BBVA is a company with more than 150 years of experience, but the future is never certain. Digital transformation is critical to survival and competitive advantage,” said Ruesta. “Innovation means reinventing ourselves. It’s finding new ways to develop products and services that break the mold of traditional banking.”

The power to accomplish game-changing digital transformation is now available to the business user, who ultimately decides and directs what solutions the business needs. Ultimately, the purpose and intent of such transformation is to deliver value to the customer—quickly, with continuous delivery of quality and functionality. By empowering business users to engage in digital business process management and business rules management systems, enterprises can rapidly deploy and configure business technology to ever-changing processes, when and where it is needed.

Source: Red Hat

• +1 0234 56 7890
• [email protected]

Effective Decision-Making: A Case Study

Effective decision-making:, leading an organization through timely and impactful action.

Senior leaders at a top New England insurance provider need to develop the skills and behaviors for better, faster decision-making. This virtually delivered program spans four half-day sessions and includes individual assignments, facilitator-led presentations, and simulation decision-making. Over the past two months, this program touched over 100 leaders, providing them with actionable models and frameworks to use back on the job.

For one of New England’s most iconic insurers, senior leaders are challenged to make timely, effective decisions. These leaders face decisions on three levels: ones they translate to their teams, ones they make themselves, and ones they influence. But in a quickly changing, highly regulated market, risk aversion can lead to slow and ineffective decisions. How can senior leaders practice in a safe environment the quick, yet informed, decision-making necessary for the job while simultaneously learning new models and techniques — and without the learning experience burdening their precious time?

The Effective Decision-Making program was artfully designed to immerse senior leaders in 16 hours of hands-on experience, including reflection and feedback activities, applicable exercises, supporting content, and participation in a business simulation to practice the core content of the program. Participants work together in small groups to complete these activities within a limited time frame, replicating the work environment in which these leaders must succeed. Continuous reflection and group discussion around results create real-time learning for leaders. Application exercises then facilitate the simulation experience and their work back on the job. The program employs a variety of learning methodologies, including:

• Individual assignments that incorporate content and frameworks designed to develop effective decision-making skills.
• Guided reflection activities to encourage self-awareness and commitments for action.
• Large group conversations — live discussions focused on peer input around key learning points.
• Small group activities, including virtual role plays designed to build critical interpersonal and leadership skills.
• A dynamic business simulation in which participants are charged with translating, making, and influencing difficult decisions.
• Facilitator-led discussions and presentations.

Learning Objectives

Participants develop and improve skills to:

• Cultivate a leadership mindset that empowers, inspires, and challenges others.
• Translate decisions for stronger team alignment and performance.
• Make better decisions under pressure.
• Influence individuals across the organization.
• Better understand how one’s leadership actions impact business results

Design Highlights

Program agenda.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing, this program was delivered virtually. However, this didn't preclude the need to give leaders an opportunity to connect with, and learn from, one another. In response to those needs, Insight Experience developed a fully remote, yet highly interactive, offering delivered over four half-day sessions.

Interactive Virtual Learning Format

Effective Decision-Making was designed to promote both individual and group activities and reflection. Participants access the program via a video-conferencing platform that allows them to work together both in large and small groups. Learning content and group discussions are done as one large group, enabling consistency in learning and opportunities to hear from all participants. The business simulation decision-making and reflection activities are conducted in small groups, allowing teams to develop deeper connections and conversations.

Simulation Overview

Participants assume the role of a General Manager for InfoMaster, a message management provider. Their leadership challenge as the GM is to translate the broader IIC organizational goals into strategy for their business, support that strategy though the development of organizational capabilities and product offerings, manage multiple divisions and stakeholders, and consider their contribution and responsibility to the broader organization of which they are a part. 

Success in the simulation is based on how well teams:

• Understand and translate organizational strategy into goals and plans for their business unit.
• Align organizational initiatives and product development with broader strategies.
• Develop employee capabilities required to execute strategic goals.
• Hold stakeholders accountable to commitments and results.
• Communicate with stakeholders and involve others in plans and decision-making.
• Develop their network and their influence within IIC to help support initiatives for the organization

History and Results

Effective Decision-Making was developed in 2020 as an experience for senior-level leaders. After a successful pilot, the program was then rolled out to two more cohorts in 2021 and 2022. The senior-level leaders who participated in the program then requested we offer the same program to their direct reports. After some small adjustments to make the program more appropriate for director-level leaders, the program was launched in 2022 for approximately 100 directors.

Here is what some participants have said about this program:

• “ One of the better programs we've done here at [our organization]. Pace was very quick but content was excellent and approach made it fun .”
• “ Loved the content and the flow. Very nicely organized and managed. Thank you! ”
• “ Really enjoyed the collaborative nature of the simulation.”
• “ It was wonderful and I felt it is a great opportunity. Learnt and reinforced leadership training and what it would take to be successful.”
• “One of the best I've experienced — especially appreciated how the reality of [our organization] was incorporated and it was with similarly situated peers.”
• “This program was great! It gave good insight into how to enhance my skills as leader by adopting the leadership mindset.”
• “Loved the fast pace, having a sim group that had various backgrounds in the company and seeing the results of our decisions at the corporate level.”
• “Great program — I love the concepts highlighted during these sessions.”

Looking for results like these?

Leave comment, recent posts.

Leading Diffuse Teams: A Case Study

Emerging Retail Leaders: A Case Study

Improving Enterprise Business Acumen: A Case Study

Embracing Uncertainty: A Case Study

Taking Top Salespeople to Top Sales Leadership: A Case Study

Practice Makes Permanent: Microlearning on the Go

Transforming Leadership to Support Significant Change: A Case Study

Leadership Foundations for Individual Contributors: A Case Study

Connecting Category Management Decisions and Business Outcomes: A Case Study

Accelerate the Implementation of Manager Expectations: A Case Study

• About / Contact
• Privacy Policy
• Alphabetical List of Companies
• Business Analysis Topics

Walmart’s Operations Management: 10 Strategic Decisions & Productivity

Walmart Inc.’s operations management involves a variety of approaches that are focused on managing the supply chain and inventory, as well as sales performance. The company’s success is significantly based on effective performance in retail operations management. Specifically, Walmart’s management covers all the 10 decision areas of operations management. These strategic decision areas pertain to the issues managers deal with on a daily basis as they optimize the e-commerce company’s operations. Walmart’s application of the 10 decisions of operations management reflects managers’ prioritization of business objectives. In turn, this prioritization shows the strategic significance of the different decision areas of operations management in the retail company’s business. This approach to operations aligns with Walmart’s corporate mission statement and corporate vision statement . The retail enterprise is a business case of how to achieve high efficiency in operations to ensure long-term growth and success in the global market.

The 10 decisions of operations management are effectively addressed in Walmart’s business through a combination of approaches that emphasize supply chain management, inventory management, and sales and marketing. This approach leads to strategies that strengthen the business against competitors, like Amazon and its subsidiary, Whole Foods , as well as Home Depot , eBay, Costco , Best Buy, Macy’s, Kroger, Alibaba, IKEA, Target, and Lowe’s.

The 10 Strategic Decision Areas of Operations Management at Walmart

1. Design of Goods and Services . This decision area of operations management involves the strategic characterization of the retail company’s products. In this case, the decision area covers Walmart’s goods and services. As a retailer, the company offers retail services. However, Walmart also has its own brands of goods, such as Great Value and Sam’s Choice. The company’s operations management addresses the design of retail service by emphasizing the variables of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Walmart’s generic strategy for competitive advantage, and intensive growth strategies emphasize low costs and low selling prices. To fulfill these strategies, the firm focuses on maximum efficiency of its retail service operations. To address the design of goods in this decision area of operations management, Walmart emphasizes minimal production costs, especially for the Great Value brand. The firm’s consumer goods are designed in a way that they are easy to mass-produce. The strategic approach in this operations management area affects Walmart’s marketing mix or 4Ps and the corporation’s strategic planning for product development and retail service expansion.

2. Quality Management . Walmart approaches this decision area of operations management through three tiers of quality standards. The lowest tier specifies the minimum quality expectations of the majority of buyers. Walmart keeps this tier for most of its brands, such as Great Value. The middle tier specifies market average quality for low-cost retailers. This tier is used for some products, as well as for the job performance targets of Walmart employees, especially sales personnel. The highest tier specifies quality levels that exceed market averages in the retail industry. This tier is applied to only a minority of Walmart’s outputs, such as goods under the Sam’s Choice brand. This three-tier approach satisfies quality management objectives in the strategic decision areas of operations management throughout the retail business organization. Appropriate quality measures also contribute to the strengths identified in the SWOT analysis of Walmart Inc .

3. Process and Capacity Design . In this strategic decision area, Walmart’s operations management utilizes behavioral analysis, forecasting, and continuous monitoring. Behavioral analysis of customers and employees, such as in the brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce operations, serves as basis for the company’s process and capacity design for optimizing space, personnel, and equipment. Forecasting is the basis for Walmart’s ever-changing capacity design for human resources. The company’s HR process and capacity design evolves as the retail business grows. Also, to satisfy concerns in this decision area of operations management, Walmart uses continuous monitoring of store capacities to inform corporate managers in keeping or changing current capacity designs.

4. Location Strategy . This decision area of operations management emphasizes efficiency of movement of materials, human resources, and business information throughout the retail organization. In this regard, Walmart’s location strategy includes stores located in or near urban centers and consumer population clusters. The company aims to maximize market reach and accessibility for consumers. Materials and goods are made available to Walmart’s employees and target customers through strategic warehouse locations. On the other hand, to address the business information aspect of this decision area of operations management, Walmart uses Internet technology and related computing systems and networks. The company has a comprehensive set of online information systems for real-time reports and monitoring that support managing individual retail stores as well as regional market operations.

5. Layout Design and Strategy . Walmart addresses this decision area of operations management by assessing shoppers’ and employees’ behaviors for the layout design of its brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce websites, and warehouses or storage facilities. The layout design of the stores is based on consumer behavioral analysis and corporate standards. For example, Walmart’s placement of some goods in certain areas of its stores, such as near the entrance/exit, maximizes purchase likelihood. On the other hand, the layout design and strategy for the company’s warehouses are based on the need to rapidly move goods across the supply chain to the stores. Walmart’s warehouses maximize utilization and efficiency of space for the company’s trucks, suppliers’ trucks, and goods. With efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and cost-minimization, the retail company satisfies the needs in this strategic decision area of operations management.

6. Human Resources and Job Design . Walmart’s human resource management strategies involve continuous recruitment. The retail business suffers from relatively high turnover partly because of low wages, which relate to the cost-leadership generic strategy. Nonetheless, continuous recruitment addresses this strategic decision area of operations management, while maintaining Walmart’s organizational structure and corporate culture . Also, the company maintains standardized job processes, especially for positions in its stores. Walmart’s training programs support the need for standardization for the service quality standards of the business. Thus, the company satisfies concerns in this decision area of operations management despite high turnover.

7. Supply Chain Management . Walmart’s bargaining power over suppliers successfully addresses this decision area of operations management. The retailer’s supply chain is comprehensively integrated with advanced information technology, which enhances such bargaining power. For example, supply chain management information systems are directly linked to Walmart’s ability to minimize costs of operations. These systems enable managers and vendors to collaborate in deciding when to move certain amounts of merchandise across the supply chain. This condition utilizes business competitiveness with regard to competitive advantage, as shown in the Porter’s Five Forces analysis of Walmart Inc . As one of the biggest retailers in the world, the company wields its strong bargaining power to impose its demands on suppliers, as a way to address supply chain management issues in this strategic decision area of operations management. Nonetheless, considering Walmart’s stakeholders and corporate social responsibility strategy , the company balances business needs and the needs of suppliers, who are a major stakeholder group.

8. Inventory Management . In this decision area of operations management, Walmart focuses on the vendor-managed inventory model and just-in-time cross-docking. In the vendor-managed inventory model, suppliers access the company’s information systems to decide when to deliver goods based on real-time data on inventory levels. In this way, Walmart minimizes the problem of stockouts. On the other hand, in just-in-time cross-docking, the retail company minimizes the size of its inventory, thereby supporting cost-minimization efforts. These approaches help maximize the operational efficiency and performance of the retail business in this strategic decision area of operations management (See more: Walmart: Inventory Management ).

9. Scheduling . Walmart uses conventional shifts and flexible scheduling. In this decision area of operations management, the emphasis is on optimizing internal business process schedules to achieve higher efficiencies in the retail enterprise. Through optimized schedules, Walmart minimizes losses linked to overcapacity and related issues. Scheduling in the retailer’s warehouses is flexible and based on current trends. For example, based on Walmart’s approaches to inventory management and supply chain management, suppliers readily respond to changes in inventory levels. As a result, most of the company’s warehouse schedules are not fixed. On the other hand, Walmart store processes and human resources in sales and marketing use fixed conventional shifts for scheduling. Such fixed scheduling optimizes the retailer’s expenditure on human resources. However, to fully address scheduling as a strategic decision area of operations management, Walmart occasionally changes store and personnel schedules to address anticipated changes in demand, such as during Black Friday. This flexibility supports optimal retail revenues, especially during special shopping occasions.

10. Maintenance . With regard to maintenance needs, Walmart addresses this decision area of operations management through training programs to maintain human resources, dedicated personnel to maintain facilities, and dedicated personnel to maintain equipment. The retail company’s human resource management involves training programs to ensure that employees are effective and efficient. On the other hand, dedicated personnel for facility maintenance keep all of Walmart’s buildings in shape and up to corporate and regulatory standards. In relation, the company has dedicated personnel as well as third-party service providers for fixing and repairing equipment like cash registers and computers. Walmart also has personnel for maintaining its e-commerce websites and social media accounts. This combination of maintenance approaches contributes to the retail company’s effectiveness in satisfying the concerns in this strategic decision area of operations management. Effective and efficient maintenance supports business resilience against threats in the industry environment, such as the ones evaluated in the PESTEL/PESTLE Analysis of Walmart Inc .

Determining Productivity at Walmart Inc.

One of the goals of Walmart’s operations management is to maximize productivity to support the minimization of costs under the cost leadership generic strategy. There are various quantitative and qualitative criteria or measures of productivity that pertain to human resources and related internal business processes in the retail organization. Some of the most notable of these productivity measures/criteria at Walmart are:

• Revenues per sales unit
• Stockout rate
• Duration of order filling

The revenues per sales unit refers to the sales revenues per store, average sales revenues per store, and sales revenues per sales team. Walmart’s operations managers are interested in maximizing revenues per sales unit. On the other hand, the stockout rate is the frequency of stockout, which is the condition where inventories for certain products are empty or inadequate despite positive demand. Walmart’s operations management objective is to minimize stockout rates. Also, the duration of order filling is the amount of time consumed to fill inventory requests at the company’s stores. The operations management objective in this regard is to minimize the duration of order filling, as a way to enhance Walmart’s business performance.

• Reid, R. D., & Sanders, N. R. (2023). Operations Management: An Integrated Approach . John Wiley & Sons.
• Szwarc, E., Bocewicz, G., Golińska-Dawson, P., & Banaszak, Z. (2023). Proactive operations management: Staff allocation with competence maintenance constraints. Sustainability, 15 (3), 1949.
• Walmart Inc. – Form 10-K .
• Walmart Inc. – History .
• Walmart Inc. – Location Facts .
• Walmart’s E-commerce Website .
• Copyright by Panmore Institute - All rights reserved.
• This article may not be reproduced, distributed, or mirrored without written permission from Panmore Institute and its author/s.
• Educators, Researchers, and Students: You are permitted to quote or paraphrase parts of this article (not the entire article) for educational or research purposes, as long as the article is properly cited and referenced together with its URL/link.

Short Case Study on Change Management

A short case study on change management can be very helpful in learning how to manage change effectively. In today’s business world, change is constantly happening and it can be very difficult to keep up.

Having a solid understanding of change management is essential for any manager or business owner.

A good case study will show you how one company successfully managed a major change and what lessons can be learned from their experience.

By studying short case study on change management, you will gain valuable insights into the importance of planning, communication, and employee involvement when managing change.

You will also learn about the different stages of change and how to overcome resistance to change.

These are all important topics that any manager or business owner should be familiar with. Learning about them through a short case study is an excellent way to gain a better understanding of these concepts.

Here are 05 short case studies on change management that offer you valuable insights on managing change.

1. Adobe- a transformation of HR functions to support strategic change

Many a times external factors lead to changes in organisational structures and culture. This truly happened at Adobe which has 11,000 employees worldwide with 4.5 billion $ yearly revenue.

Acrobat, Flash Player, and Photoshop are among the well-known products of Abode.

Due to new emerging technologies and challenges posed by small competitors Adobe had to stop selling its licensed goods in shrink-wrapped containers in 2011 and switched to offering digital services through the cloud. They gave their customers option of downloading the necessary software for free or subscribing to it every month rather than receiving a CD in a box.

The human resource (HR) function also took on a new role, which meant that employees had to adjust to new working practices. A standard administrative HR function was housed at Adobe’s offices. However, it was less suitable for the cloud-based strategy and performed well when Adobe was selling software items. 

HR changed its role and became more human centric and reduced its office based functions.

The HR personnel did “walk-ins,” to see what assistance they might offer, rather than waiting for calls. With a focus on innovation, change, and personal growth, Adobe employed a sizable percentage of millennials.

Instead of having an annual reviews, staff members can now use the new “check-in” method to assess and define their own growth goals whenever they find it necessary, with quick and continuous feedback. 

Managers might receive constructive criticism from HR through the workshops they conduct. The least number of employees have left since this changed approach of HR.

Why did Adobe’s HR department make this change? Since the company’s goals and culture have changed, HR discovered new ways to operate to support these changes.

2. Intuit – applying 7s framework of change management 

Steve Bennett, a vice president of GE Capital, was appointed CEO of Intuit in 2000. Intuit is a provider of financial software solutions with three products: Quicken, TurboTax, and QuickBooks, which have respective market shares of 73 percent, 81 percent, and 84 percent. 

Despite this market domination, many observers believed Intuit was not making as much money as it could.

Additionally, the business was known for making decisions slowly, which let rivals take advantage of numerous market opportunities. Bennett desired to change everything.

In his first few weeks, he spoke with each of the top 200 executives, visited the majority of Intuit’s offices, and addressed the majority of its 5,000 employees.

He concluded that although employees were enthusiastic about the company’s products, internal processes weren’t given any thought (based on Higgins, 2005).

He followed the famous Mckinsey 7S Model for Change Management to transform the organization. Let’s see what are those changes that he made:

By making acquisitions, he increased the products range for Intuit.

He established a flatter organizational structure and decentralized decision-making, which gave business units more authority and accountability throughout the whole product creation and distribution process.

To accomplish strategic goals, the rewards system was made more aligned to strategic goals.

He emphasized the necessity of a performance-oriented focus and offered a vision for change and also made every effort to sell that vision.

He acknowledged the commitment of staff to Intuit’s products and further strengthened process by emphasizing on quality and efficiency of his team.

Resources were allotted for learning and development, and certain selected managers were recruited from GE in particular skill categories, all to enhance staff capabilities concerning productivity and efficiency.

Superordinate goals:

Bennett’s strategy was “vision-driven” and he communicated that vision to his team regularly to meet the goals.

Bennett’s modifications led to a 40–50% rise in operating profits in 2002 and 2003.

8,000 people worked for Intuit in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, and other nations in 2014, and the company generated global revenues of nearly $5 billion.

3. Barclays Bank – a change in ways of doing business

The financial services industry suffered heavily during mortgage crisis in 2008. In addition to significant losses, the sector also had to deal with strict and aggressive regulations of their investing activities.

To expand its business, more employees were hired by Barclays Capital under the leadership of its former chief executive, Bob Diamond, who wanted to make it the largest investment bank in the world. 

But Barclays Capital staff was found manipulating the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and Barclays was fined £290 million and as a result of this the bank’s chairman, CEO, and COO had to resign.

In an internal review it was found that the mindset of “win at all costs” needed to be changed so a new strategy was necessary due to the reputational damage done by the LIBOR affair and new regulatory restrictions. 

In 2012, Antony Jenkins became new CEO. He made the following changes in 2014, which led to increase of 8% in share price.

Aspirations

The word “Capital” was removed from the firm name, which became just Barclays. To concentrate on the U.S. and UK markets, on Africa, and on a small number of Asian clients, the “world leader” goal was dropped.

Business model

Physical commodities and obscure “derivative” products would no longer be traded by Barclays. It was decided that rather than using its customers’ money, the business would invest its own.

Only thirty percent of the bank’s profits came from investment banking. Instead of concentrating on lending at high risk, the focus was on a smaller range of customers.

In place of an aggressive, short-term growth strategy that rewarded commercial drive and success and fostered a culture of fear of not meeting targets, “customer first,” clarity, and openness took precedence. Investment bankers’ remuneration was also reduced.

Beginning in 2014, branches were shut, and 19,000 jobs were lost over three years, including 7,000 investment banking employees, personnel at high-street firms, and many in New York and London headquarters. £1.7 billion in costs were reduced in 2014.

There was an increase in customers’ online or mobile banking, and increased automation of transactions to lower expenses.  To assist customers in using new computer systems, 30 fully automated branches were established by 2014, replacing the 6,500 cashiers that were lost to this change with “digital eagles” who used iPads.

These changes were made to build an organization that is stronger, more integrated, leaner, and more streamlined, leading to a higher return on equity and better returns for shareholders. This was also done to rebuild the bank’s credibility and win back the trust of its clients.

4. Kodak – a failure to embrace disruptive change

The first digital camera and the first-megapixel camera were both created by Kodak in 1975 and 1986 respectively.

Why then did Kodak declare bankruptcy in 2012? 

When this new technology first came out in 1975, it was expensive and had poor quality of images. Kodak anticipated that it would be at least additional ten years until digital technology started to pose a threat to their long-standing business of camera, film, chemical, and photo-printing paper industries.

Although that prediction came true, Kodak chose to increase the film’s quality through ongoing advances rather than embracing change and working on digital technology.

Kodak continued with old business model and captured market by 90% of the film and 85% of the cameras sold in America in 1976. With $16 billion in annual sales at its peak, Kodak’s profits in 1999 was around $2.5 billion. The brand’s confidence was boosted by this success but there was complete complacency in terms of embracing new technology.

Kodak started experiencing losses in 2011 as revenues dropped to $6.2 billion. 

Fuji, a competitor of Kodak, identified the same threat and decided to transition to digital while making the most money possible from film and creating new commercial ventures, such as cosmetics based on chemicals used in film processing.

Even though both businesses had the same information, they made different judgments, and Kodak was reluctant to respond. And when it started to switch towards digital technology, mobile phones with in-built digital camera had arrived to disrupt digital cameras.

Although Kodak developed the technology, they were unaware of how revolutionary digitalization would prove to be, rendering their long-standing industry obsolete.

You can read here in detail Kodak change management failure case study.

5. Heinz   – a 3G way to make changes

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the Brazilian private equity business 3G Capital paid $29 billion in 2013 to acquire Heinz, the renowned food manufacturer with $11.6 billion in yearly sales.

The modifications were made right away by the new owners. Eleven of the top twelve executives were replaced, 600 employees were let go, corporate planes were sold, personal offices were eliminated, and executives were required to stay at Holiday Inn hotel rather than the Ritz-Carlton when traveling and substantially longer work hours were anticipated. 

Each employee was given a monthly copy restriction of 200 by micromanagement, and printer usage was recorded. Only 100 business cards were permitted each year for executives.

Numerous Heinz workers spoke of “an insular management style” where only a small inner circle knows what is truly going on.

On the other side, 3G had a youthful team of executives, largely from Brazil, who moved from company to company as instructed across nations and industries. They were loyal to 3G, not Heinz, and were motivated to perform well to earn bonuses or stock options. 

“The 3G way,” a theory that 3G has applied to bring about change in prior acquisitions like Burger King, was the driving reason behind these modifications. Everything was measured, efficiency was paramount, and “nonstrategic costs” were drastically reduced. 

From this vantage point, “lean and mean” prevails, and human capital was not regarded as a crucial element of business success. It was believed that rather than being driven by a feeling of purpose or mission, employees were motivated by the financial gains associated with holding company stock.

Because it had been well-received by the 3G partners, those who might be impacted by a deal frequently saw a “how to” guide published by consultant Bob Fifer as a “must read.”

However, many food industry experts felt that while some of 3G’s prior acquisitions would have been ideal candidates for a program of cost-cutting, Heinz was not the most appropriate choice to “hack and slash.” The company had already undergone several years of improved efficiency and it was already a well-established player in the market.

In summarizing the situation, business journalists Jennifer Reingold and Daniel Roberts predicted that “the experiment now underway will determine whether Heinz will become a newly invigorated embodiment of efficiency—or whether 3G will take the cult of cost-cutting so far that it chokes off Heinz’s ability to innovate and make the products that have made it a market leader for almost a century and a half.” 

Final Words

A short case study on change management can be a helpful tool in learning how to effectively manage change. These case studies will show you how one company successfully managed a major change and what lessons can be learned from their experience. By studying these case studies, you will gain valuable insights into the importance of planning, communication, and employee involvement when managing change. These are all vital elements that must be considered when implementing any type of change within an organization.

About The Author

Tahir Abbas

Related posts.

Gleicher’s Formula for Change Management – Benefits & Limitations

Kubler Ross Change Curve Model

08 Types of Resistance to Change

We're here to power the doers who make social good possible.

The case management process: a step-by-step guide to success

Case management is a collaborative process that assesses, plans, implements, coordinates, monitors, and evaluates the options and services required to meet the health and human services needs of those you serve.

At its core, case management is about transforming lives through individualized care and services that help those you serve to meet their personal goals. In this guide, we’ll use industry best practices to break down the key components and core principles of the case management process for human services agencies. Let’s get started.

Components of effective case management

A successful case management process consists of four core components: intake, needs assessment, service planning, and monitoring and evaluation. Let’s explore how they can be incorporated into a  comprehensive case management system  to collect data, track client success, foster organizational change, increase funding, and accelerate impact.  

Intake is the initial meeting between a case manager and a new client.  During this time, the case manager gathers demographic information about them, identifies immediate needs, establishes trust, and builds a relationship. Case managers should collect the following information during this process: 

• Past and current health conditions.
• Socioeconomic and financial status.
• Living situation and environment.
• Prior social and health services accessed.
• Physical, emotional, and cognitive functioning.
• Health insurance coverage and benefits.

Intake helps a case manager to determine if a client would benefit from their organization’s services. If they are a good fit, the case manager will move on to assessing their individual needs. If their needs misalign with the organization’s service area, the case manager will refer them to an outside community resource.

How to level up your case management intake process:  As you intake new clients, use your case management software solution to  collect and organize the information  you need to create complete client profiles.

Needs assessment

A  needs assessment  builds on the information collected during the intake stage, going into greater depth about the client's challenges and goals.  During this stage, the case manager’s primary objective is to identify their problems, interests, and risks to success. While every client goes through this stage when they start working with a human services agency, it’s important to reassess over time as needs and circumstances change.

How to level up your case management needs assessment process:  With comprehensive case management software, leverage pre-made, evidence-based forms or create your own assessment tools to gauge client needs and accurately assign services.

Service planning

In the service planning stage, a case manager establishes goals for clients and the actionable next steps to meet those goals.  Generally, goals should include specific outputs, outcomes, and metrics that can be used to assess their success. 

After setting goals, case managers will draft a case management plan that outlines the monitoring, supervision, and activities of a client alongside a clear timeline. 

How to level up your case management service planning process:  Organize client information and case plans based on the programs and services they have been assigned. As their needs change, use your software to quickly update their records across services.

Monitoring and evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation are critical to understanding the impact specific programs and services have on a client.  Case managers should continuously monitor and evaluate their progress via the output and outcome metrics defined in the service planning stage to identify both obstacles and progress toward their goals. 

How to level up your case management monitoring and evaluation process:  Consistently monitor results to  achieve long-term outcomes . With built-in forms and reports, a comprehensive case management system can help you measure and manage client success with the push of a button. 

Human service organizations of all sizes require case managers to practice each of these four components to ensure client success, in addition to ensuring services provided are safe and helpful for each individual.

Core principles of case management

At the heart of every case management process are four core principles. These principles help protect clients and make your services and interventions more impactful:

• Build trusting relationships.  Whether a case manager plays a large or small role, a trusting relationship throughout the case management process is key to engaging clients. From intake to monitoring and evaluation, provide them with a confidential, understanding, and empathetic environment to share their stories, challenges, and feelings.
• Empower your clients.  In many ways, your relationship with clients should be a partnership. While you may take on the majority of the work at first, the ultimate goal of your case management practice should be to leave them with the confidence to assert their needs, articulate their story, and make healthy choices after your engagement is over.
• Use  evidence-based strategies .  Work collaboratively with clients to collect and analyze data through assessments, case notes, active listening, available research, and previous experience. Based on your analysis, you can determine what’s working for them and what could be improved. With these findings, you can adjust services and approaches as necessary.
• Leverage powerful tools.  To ensure your organization maintains quality data collection and evaluation practices, use  comprehensive case management software . With the tools to streamline intake and assessment, generate automatic reports, and share data according to industry standards, you’ll gather the information necessary to inform your practice.

By implementing these best practices, you can ensure the success of your entire community and ensure more positive outcomes for your clients.

Achieving success with the case management process

Case management is not a linear, straightforward process, but instead a cyclical, iterative one. In many cases, as you monitor and regularly evaluate clients, you’ll find that you need to re-assess their needs and plan new services to align with their evolving circumstances and achieve success.

Ready to Get Started ?

• Human services
• Public agencies
• Coordinating social services

Related Content

FedRAMP: Protecting public sector customer data

• Case Management

Impact Management for public health agencies

Impact Management for human services agencies

• Onsite training

3,000,000+ delegates

15,000+ clients

1,000+ locations

• KnowledgePass
• Log a ticket

01344203999 Available 24/7

Business Management Case Study: A Complete Breakdown

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the "Business Management Case Study" as we break down the concept from start to finish. Discover the incredible journeys of companies like Apple Inc., Tesla and Netflix as they navigate innovation, global expansion, and transformation. This detailed analysis will provide insights into the dynamic world of business management.

Exclusive 40% OFF

Training Outcomes Within Your Budget!

We ensure quality, budget-alignment, and timely delivery by our expert instructors.

Share this Resource

• PMP® Certification Training Course
• Introduction to Management
• Introduction to Managing People
• CAPM® Certification Training Course
• Business Management Training Course

Case studies play a pivotal role in understanding real-world challenges, strategies, and outcomes in the ever-evolving field of Business Management. This blog dives into the intricacies of a compelling Business Management Case Study, dissecting its components to extract valuable insights for aspiring managers, entrepreneurs, and students alike. Learn the study behind some of the most significant Business Management Case Studies & how an online business degree can help you learn more in this article. 

Table of Contents

1) What is Business Management? 

2) Case Studies in Business Management 

    a) Apple Inc. Innovation 

    b) Tesla’s EV revolution 

    c) Amazon retailer to e-commerce giant 

    d) McDonald’s global expansion 

    e) Netflix’s transformation 

3) Conclusion 

What is Business Management?  

Business Management refers to the set of activities, strategies, and practices employed to oversee and coordinate an organisation's operations, resources, and personnel to achieve specific goals and objectives. It encompasses a wide range of responsibilities to ensure an organisation's efficient and effective functioning across various functional areas. 

Try our Business Case Training Course today and start your career!  

Case Studies in Business Management  

Here are some of the notable case studies in the field of Business Management that have garnered attention due to their complexity, innovative strategies, and significant impact on their respective industries:  

Apple Inc. innovation  

a) Background: Apple Inc. is a global technology giant noted for its innovative products and design-driven approach. In the early 2000s, Apple faced intense competition and declining market share. The company needed to reinvent itself to remain relevant and competitive. 

b) Problem statement: Apple's challenge was revitalising its product line and regaining market leadership while navigating a rapidly changing technological world. 

c) Analysis of the situation: The Case Study dives into Apple's design thinking and customer-centric innovation to develop products that seamlessly blend form and function. The company's focus on user experience, ecosystem integration, and attention to detail set it apart from its competitors. 

d) Proposed solutions: Apple's strategy involved launching breakthrough products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad that redefined their respective markets. The company also invested heavily in creating a robust ecosystem through iTunes and the App Store. 

e) Chosen strategy: Apple's commitment to user-centred design and innovation became the cornerstone of its success. The strategy encompassed cutting-edge technology, minimalist design, and exceptional user experience. 

f) Implementation process: Apple's implementation involved rigorous research and development, collaboration among various teams, and meticulous attention to detail. The company also established a loyal customer base through iconic product launches and marketing campaigns. 

g) Results and outcomes: Apple's strategy paid off immensely, leading to a resurgence in its market share, revenue, and brand value. The company's products became cultural touchstones, and its ecosystem approach set new standards for the technology industry. 

Tesla’s EV revolution  

a) Background: Tesla, led by Elon Musk, aimed to disrupt the traditional automotive industry by introducing electric vehicles (EVs) that combined sustainability, performance, and cutting-edge technology. 

b) Problem statement: Tesla faced challenges related to the production, scalability, and market acceptance of electric vehicles in an industry dominated by internal combustion engine vehicles. 

c) Analysis of the situation: This Case Study examines Tesla's unique approach, which combines innovation in electric powertrains, battery technology, and software. The company also adopted a direct-to-consumer sales model, bypassing traditional dealership networks. 

d) Proposed solutions: Tesla's solutions included building a network of Supercharger stations, developing advanced autonomous driving technology, and leveraging over-the-air software updates to improve vehicle performance and features. 

e) Chosen strategy: Tesla focused on high-quality engineering, creating a luxury brand image for EVs, and promoting a community of passionate supporters. The company also bet on long-term sustainability and energy innovation beyond just manufacturing cars. 

f) Implementation process: Tesla faced production challenges, supply chain issues, and scepticism from traditional automakers. The company's determination to continuously refine its vehicles and technology resulted in incremental improvements and increased consumer interest. 

g) Results and outcomes: Tesla's innovative approach catapulted it into the forefront of the EV market. The Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y gained popularity for their performance, range, and technology. Tesla's market capitalisation surged, and the company played a significant part in changing the perception of electric vehicles. 

Amazon retailer to e-commerce giant  

a) Background: Amazon started as an online bookstore in the 1990s and quickly expanded its offerings to become the world's largest online retailer. However, its journey was riddled with challenges and risks. 

b) Problem statement: Amazon faced difficulties in achieving profitability due to its aggressive expansion, heavy investments, and price competition. The company needed to find a way to sustain its growth and solidify its position in the e-commerce market. 

c) Analysis of the situation: This Case Study explores Amazon's unique business model, which prioritises customer satisfaction, convenience, and diversification. The company continuously experimented with new ideas, services, and technologies. 

d) Proposed solutions: Amazon's solutions included the introduction of Amazon Prime, the Kindle e-reader, and the development of its third-party seller marketplace. These initiatives aimed to enhance customer loyalty, expand product offerings, and increase revenue streams. 

e) Chosen strategy: Amazon's strategy revolved around long-term thinking, customer obsession, and a willingness to invest heavily in innovation and infrastructure, even at the expense of short-term profits. 

f) Implementation process: Amazon's implementation involved building a vast network of fulfilment centres, investing in advanced technology for logistics and supply chain management, and expanding its services beyond e-commerce into cloud computing (Amazon Web Services) and entertainment (Amazon Prime Video). 

g) Results and outcomes: Amazon's strategy paid off as it transformed from an online bookstore to an e-commerce behemoth. The company not only achieved profitability but also diversified into various sectors, making Jeff Bezos the richest person in the world for a time. 

McDonald’s global expansion  

a) Background: McDonald's is one of the world's largest and most recognisable fast-food chains. The Case Study focuses on the company's global expansion strategy and challenges in adapting to diverse cultural preferences and market conditions. 

b) Problem statement: McDonald's challenge was maintaining its brand identity while tailoring its menu offerings and marketing strategies to suit different countries' preferences and cultural norms. 

c) Analysis: The Case Study analyses McDonald's localisation efforts, menu adaptations, and marketing campaigns in different countries. It explores how the company balances standardisation with customisation to appeal to local tastes. 

d) Solutions and outcomes: McDonald's successfully combines global branding with localized strategies, resulting in sustained growth and customer loyalty in various markets. The Case Study demonstrates the importance of understanding cultural nuances in international business. 

Netflix’s evolution  

a) Background: Netflix started as a DVD rental-by-mail service and became a leading global streaming platform. The Case Study explores Netflix's strategic evolution, content production, and influence on the entertainment industry. 

b) Problem statement: Netflix's challenge was transitioning from a traditional DVD rental business to a digital streaming service while competing with established cable networks and other streaming platforms. 

c) Analysis: The Case Study analyses Netflix's shift to online streaming, its investment in original content production, and its use of data analytics to personalise user experiences and content recommendations. 

d) Solutions and outcomes: Netflix's strategic pivot and focus on content quality and user experience contributed to its dominance in the streaming market. The Case Study illustrates how embracing digital disruption and customer-centric strategies can drive success.  

Conclusion  

These case studies offer valuable insights into different facets of Business Management, including innovation, strategic decision-making, customer-centric approaches, and market disruption. Analysing these cases provides aspiring managers and entrepreneurs with real-world examples of how effective strategies, risk-taking, and adaptability can lead to remarkable success in the dynamic business world. 

Try our Business Analyst Training today for a rewarding career!  

Frequently Asked Questions

Upcoming business skills resources batches & dates.

Fri 27th Sep 2024

Fri 29th Nov 2024

Fri 14th Feb 2025

Fri 16th May 2025

Fri 25th Jul 2025

Fri 29th Aug 2025

Fri 10th Oct 2025

Fri 28th Nov 2025

Get A Quote

WHO WILL BE FUNDING THE COURSE?

My employer

By submitting your details you agree to be contacted in order to respond to your enquiry

• Business Analysis
• Lean Six Sigma Certification

Share this course

Our biggest summer sale.

We cannot process your enquiry without contacting you, please tick to confirm your consent to us for contacting you about your enquiry.

By submitting your details you agree to be contacted in order to respond to your enquiry.

We may not have the course you’re looking for. If you enquire or give us a call on 01344203999 and speak to our training experts, we may still be able to help with your training requirements.

Or select from our popular topics

• ITIL® Certification
• Scrum Certification
• ISO 9001 Certification
• Change Management Certification
• Microsoft Azure Certification
• Microsoft Excel Courses
• Explore more courses

Press esc to close

Fill out your  contact details  below and our training experts will be in touch.

Fill out your   contact details   below

Thank you for your enquiry!

One of our training experts will be in touch shortly to go over your training requirements.

Back to Course Information

Fill out your contact details below so we can get in touch with you regarding your training requirements.

* WHO WILL BE FUNDING THE COURSE?

Preferred Contact Method

No preference

Back to course information

Fill out your  training details  below

Fill out your training details below so we have a better idea of what your training requirements are.

HOW MANY DELEGATES NEED TRAINING?

HOW DO YOU WANT THE COURSE DELIVERED?

Online Instructor-led

Online Self-paced

WHEN WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE THIS COURSE?

Next 2 - 4 months

WHAT IS YOUR REASON FOR ENQUIRING?

Looking for some information

Looking for a discount

I want to book but have questions

One of our training experts will be in touch shortly to go overy your training requirements.

Your privacy & cookies!

Like many websites we use cookies. We care about your data and experience, so to give you the best possible experience using our site, we store a very limited amount of your data. Continuing to use this site or clicking “Accept & close” means that you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more about our privacy policy and cookie policy cookie policy .

We use cookies that are essential for our site to work. Please visit our cookie policy for more information. To accept all cookies click 'Accept & close'.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

What the Case Study Method Really Teaches

• Nitin Nohria

Seven meta-skills that stick even if the cases fade from memory.

It’s been 100 years since Harvard Business School began using the case study method. Beyond teaching specific subject matter, the case study method excels in instilling meta-skills in students. This article explains the importance of seven such skills: preparation, discernment, bias recognition, judgement, collaboration, curiosity, and self-confidence.

During my decade as dean of Harvard Business School, I spent hundreds of hours talking with our alumni. To enliven these conversations, I relied on a favorite question: “What was the most important thing you learned from your time in our MBA program?”

• Nitin Nohria is the George F. Baker Jr. and Distinguished Service University Professor. He served as the 10th dean of Harvard Business School, from 2010 to 2020.

Partner Center

Smart. Open. Grounded. Inventive. Read our Ideas Made to Matter.

Which program is right for you?

Through intellectual rigor and experiential learning, this full-time, two-year MBA program develops leaders who make a difference in the world.

A rigorous, hands-on program that prepares adaptive problem solvers for premier finance careers.

A 12-month program focused on applying the tools of modern data science, optimization and machine learning to solve real-world business problems.

Earn your MBA and SM in engineering with this transformative two-year program.

Combine an international MBA with a deep dive into management science. A special opportunity for partner and affiliate schools only.

A doctoral program that produces outstanding scholars who are leading in their fields of research.

Bring a business perspective to your technical and quantitative expertise with a bachelor’s degree in management, business analytics, or finance.

A joint program for mid-career professionals that integrates engineering and systems thinking. Earn your master’s degree in engineering and management.

An interdisciplinary program that combines engineering, management, and design, leading to a master’s degree in engineering and management.

Executive Programs

A full-time MBA program for mid-career leaders eager to dedicate one year of discovery for a lifetime of impact.

This 20-month MBA program equips experienced executives to enhance their impact on their organizations and the world.

Non-degree programs for senior executives and high-potential managers.

A non-degree, customizable program for mid-career professionals.

Teaching Resources Library

Case studies.

The teaching business case studies available here are narratives that facilitate class discussion about a particular business or management issue. Teaching cases are meant to spur debate among students rather than promote a particular point of view or steer students in a specific direction.  Some of the case studies in this collection highlight the decision-making process in a business or management setting. Other cases are descriptive or demonstrative in nature, showcasing something that has happened or is happening in a particular business or management environment. Whether decision-based or demonstrative, case studies give students the chance to be in the shoes of a protagonist. With the help of context and detailed data, students can analyze what they would and would not do in a particular situation, why, and how.

Case Studies By Category

• Project Management

Top 15+ Project Management Case Studies with Examples 2024

Home Blog Project Management Top 15+ Project Management Case Studies with Examples 2024

Having worked for more than 9 years in the dynamic field of project management, I would strongly refer to real-world case studies as invaluable resources for both budding and experienced professionals. These case studies provide critical insights into the challenges and triumphs encountered in various industries, illustrating the application of project management principles in practical scenarios.   I have curated the project management case studies as a part of this article in such a way that it delves into a selection of compelling case studies, ranging from the healthcare sector to infrastructure and technology. Each case study is a testament to the strategic planning, adaptability, and innovative problem-solving skills necessary in today's fast-paced business environment. These narratives not only highlight past successes but also offer guidance for future projects, making them essential tools for anyone eager to excel in project management.

What is Case Study?

A case study refers to an in-depth examination of a specific case within the real-world context. It is a piece of content that sheds light on the challenges faced, solutions adopted, and the overall outcomes of a project. To understand project management case studies, it is important to first define what a project is . A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end, aimed at achieving a specific goal or objective. Case studies are generally used by businesses during the proposal phase. However, they are also displayed on the websites of companies to provide prospects with a glance at the capabilities of the brands. It can even serve as an effective tool for lead generation. In simple words, case studies are stories that tell the target audience about the measures and strategies that the organization adopted to become successful.

What is Project Management Case Study?

A project management case study is a piece of content that highlights a project successfully managed by the organization. It showcases the challenges that the organization faced, the solutions adopted, and the final results. Keep reading in order to explore examples of successful project management case studies.

Top 15 Project Management Case Studies and Examples 

Are you looking for some project management case study examples? If yes, here are some of the best examples you can explore. Let’s dive in! Before diving in, here is the list of top 15 project management case studies: 

• Mavenlink Helps Improve Utilization Rates by 15% for BTM Global
• Boncom Reduces Billing Rate Errors by 100%
• whyaye! Reaches 80% Billable Utilization
• Metova Increases Billable Utilization by 10%
• Appetize Doubles Length of Forecasting Outlook
• RSM Improves Client Satisfaction and Global Business Processes
• CORE Business Technologies Increases Billable Utilization by 35%
• Health Catalyst Improves Business Processes and Increases Consistency in Project Delivery
• Optimus SBR Improves Forecasting Horizon by 50%
• PlainJoe Studios Increases Projects Closing Within Budget by 50%
• RPI Consultants Decreases Admin Time by 20%
• CBI's PMO Increases Billable Utilization By 30%
• Butterfly Increases Billable Time by 20%
• TeleTracking Increases Billable Utilization by 37%
• Taylors Improves Utilization Rates by 15%
• Hospital El Pilar improves Patient Care With implementing Disciplined Agile
• British Columbia’s Ministry of Technology and Infrastructure (MoTI)

1. Mavenlink Helps Improve Utilization Rates by 15% for BTM Global

The case study is all about how Mavenlink helped BTM Global Consulting to save hours of work and enhance utilization with resource management technology. BTM Global Consulting offers system development and integration services to diverse clients. The challenges that the company faced were that tools like Netsuite OpenAir and Excel spreadsheets were not able to meet the customization needs as the company grew. It impacted their overall productivity.

BTM Global saw the following benefits: 

• 15% increase in utilization for project managers
• 10% increase in companywide utilization
• 4-hour resource allocation work reduced to 10 minutes
• 100% Company-wide time tracking adoption

In order to overcome the challenge, the solution they adopted was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was that it increased the utilization of the company by 10% and enhanced project manager utilization by 15%. It also reduced resource allocation work from 4 hours to just 10 minutes.

2. Boncom Reduces Billing Rate Errors by 100% With Mavenlink

Boncom is an advertising agency that collaborates with different purpose driven brands to create goods worldwide. The challenge was that the company relied on several-point solutions for delivering client-facing projects. However, the solutions failed to offer the required operational functionality. An ideal solution for Boncom was to adopt Mavenlink. The result was that the billing rate error got reduced by 100%. Accurate forecasting became possible for Boncom, and the company could generate reports in much less time.

3. whyaye! Reaches 80% Billable Utilization with Mavenlink

Here are the top benefits whyaye got: 

• 6% increase in utilization
• Tripled company size
• Doubled in number of new clients every quarter
• Support through constant business scaling

whyaye is a digital transformation consultancy delivering IT transformation solutions to businesses operating in diverse sectors. The challenge was that whyaye used to manage resources and projects using tools such as emails, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Excel. However, with the growth of the company, they were not able to access project data or gain insights for effective management of the projects . The ultimate solution to this challenge was to make a switch to Mavenlink. The result was an increase in the utilization by 6%, doubling of new clients, tripling of the company size, and seamless support through business growth.

4. Metova Increases Billable Utilization by 10% With Mavenlink

If you are looking for a project planning case study, Metova can be the right example. Metova is a technology firm, a Gold Partner of Microsoft, and an advanced consulting partner of AWS. The challenge was that the company handled several projects at a time. However, its heavy dependence on tools like Google Sheets limited the growth capabilities of the organization. So, the company looked for a solution and switched to Mavenlink. The result was that it was able to increase its billable utilization by 10%, increase its portfolio visibility, and standardize its project management process.

5. Hospital El Pilar improves Patient Care With implementing Disciplined Agile

If you are looking for an example of one of the best hospital related project management case studies, then Hospital El Pilar can be the ideal one. Hospital El Pilar is a private hospital in Guatemala City, Guatemala, that provides comprehensive care to patients in various medical specialties. The challenge was that the hospital’s application development team faced several obstacles in managing and delivering projects, such as unclear priorities, a lack of visibility, little interaction with users, and competing demands. The solution that the team adopted was to use Disciplined Agile® (DA™), a flexible and pragmatic approach to project management that optimizes the way of working (WoW). The result was improved project outcomes, increased user satisfaction, greater transparency, and more trust from stakeholders and customers.

6. British Columbia’s Ministry of Technology and Infrastructure (MoTI) gets its principal corridor for transportation up in 35 days

Reconnecting Roads After Massive Flooding (2022) is a case study of how the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) used a project management approach based on the PMBOK® Guide to restore critical routes after a catastrophic weather event. It is one of the examples of successful project management case studies you can look into. The challenge was that an atmospheric river caused severe flooding, landslides, and bridge collapses, cutting off the lower mainland from the rest of Canada2. The solution was to prioritize the reopening of Highway 5, the principal corridor for transportation of goods and people, by creating scopes, work breakdown structures, and schedules for each site3. The result was that Highway 5 was reopened to commercial traffic in 35 days, despite additional weather challenges and risks4. The construction project management case study we discussed demonstrated the benefits of flexibility, collaboration, and communication in emergency response.

7. Appetize Doubles Length of Forecasting Outlook with Mavenlink

Here the the benefits Appetize got with Mavenlink: 

• Forecasting horizon increases to 12 weeks
• Management of 40+ major projects per quarter
• Support for rapid companywide scaling
• Salesforce integration supports project implementation

Appetize is one of the leading cloud-based points of sale (POS), enterprise management, and digital ordering platform that is trusted by a number of businesses. The challenge of the company was that its legacy project tracking systems were not able to meet the growing needs of the company. They experienced growth and manual data analysis challenges. The solution they found was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was an increase in the forecast horizon to 12 weeks, support for effective companywide scaling, easy management of over 40 major projects, and Salesforce integration for project implementation.

8. RSM Improves Client Satisfaction and Global Business Processes with Mavenlink

RSM is a tax, audit, and consulting company that provides a wide array of professional services to clients in Canada and the United States. The challenge of the company was that its legacy system lacked the necessary features required to support their work- and time-intensive projects and delivered insights relating to the project trends. An ideal solution to this challenge was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was better to risk mitigation in tax compliance, improved client-team communication, templatized project creation, and better use of the KPIs and project status.

9. CORE Business Technologies Increases Billable Utilization by 35% with Mavenlink

Here are the top benefits CORE Business Technologies got with Mavenlink: 

• Simultaneous in-progress projects doubled
• 100% company-wide time entry compliance
• 35% Increase in Billable Utilization
• 50% Increase in Team Productivity

Another top project management case study is the Core Business Technologies. CORE Business Technologies is a reputed single-source vendor self-service, in-person, and back-office processing to the clients. It offers SaaS-based payment solutions to clients. The challenge faced by the company was that its tools like spreadsheets, Zoho, and Microsoft Project led to a hectic work schedule owing to a huge number of disconnected systems. The solution to the challenge was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was the enhancement of team productivity by 50%, time entry compliance by 100%, and enhancement of the billable utilization rate by 35%.

Discover the leading KnowledgeHut's Project Management Courses:

10. Client Success: Health Catalyst Improves Business Processes and Increases Consistency in Project Delivery with Mavenlink

Here are the top benefits Health Catalyst saw with Mavenlink:   

• Consistency in Successful Project Delivery 
• Improved Interdepartmental Communication 
• Deeper Resource Data Insights 
• Stronger Resource Forecasting

Health Catalyst is a company that delivers data and analytics services and technology to different healthcare organizations. The firm provides assistance to technicians and clinicians in the healthcare sector. The challenge of the company was that the tools like Intacct and spreadsheets that is used for project management were not able to provide the required data insights and clarity for better project management. It also limited effective resource management. The solution was to embrace Mavenlink. The result was better resource forecasting, enhanced interdepartmental communication, consistency in project delivery, and better resource data insights .

11. Client Success: Optimus SBR Improves Forecasting Horizon by 50% with Mavenlink

Optimus SBR is a leading professional service provider in North America. It offers the best results to companies operating in diverse sectors, including healthcare, energy, transportation, financial services, and more. The challenge was that legacy software tools that the firm used gave rise to project management issues. The company was not able to get a real-time revenue forecast or gain insights into its future financial performance. The solution that the company adopted was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was better data-driven hiring decisions, efficient delivery of remote work, and enhancement of the forecasting horizon by 50%.

12. Client Success: PlainJoe Studios Increases Projects Closing Within Budget by 50% With Mavenlink

Here are the benefits how Mavenlink helped PlainJoe: 

• Improved data insights for project success
• Enablement of fast shift to remote work
• Improved budgeting
• Increased rates in billing

PlainJoe Studios is an experimental design studio that focuses on digitally immersive and strategic storytelling. The company has a team of strategists, architects, and problem solvers to create value for the clients. The challenge of the company was that the manual processing of the company affected its ability to grow and manage the diverse project effectively. They lacked clarity about their project needs and profitability. The solution to deal with the challenge was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was an enhancement in the billing rates by 15%, better project closing within budget by 50%, better data insights for the success of different projects, and a faster shift to remote work.

13. Client Success: RPI Consultants Decreases Admin Time by 20% With Mavenlink

If you are looking for an example of one of the best software project management case studies, then RPI Consultants can be the ideal one. RPI Consultants offer expert project leadership and software consulting services for enterprise-level implementation of solutions and products. The challenge was that the task management solutions adopted by the company gave rise to a number of complications. It resulted in poor interdepartmental transparency and time-consuming data entry. The ultimate solution that the company embraced was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was a rise in the utilization rate by 5%, lowing of admin time by 20%, better forecasting and resource management, and a single source for gaining insights into the project data.

14. Client Success: CBI's PMO Increases Billable Utilization By 30% With Mavenlink

CBI is a company that is focused on protecting the reputations, data, and brands of its clients. The challenge that the company faced was that the solutions used were unable to meet the growing needs of the organization. The systems were outdated, data sharing was not possible, and time tracking was inconsistent. The solution to the challenge was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was better interdepartmental alignment, enhancement of time tracking to support business growth, an increase in the billable utilization rate by 30%, and detailed insights for a greater success of the projects.

15. Client Success: Butterfly Increases Billable Time by 20% with Mavenlink

Butterfly is a leading digital agency that provides digital strategy, website design and development services, and ongoing support to businesses across Australia. The challenge was that the different legacy systems used by the agency limited its capability of effective project management and reporting. The systems were time consuming and cumbersome. In order to deal with the challenge, the solution was to make a switch to Mavenlink. The result was the enhancement of billable time by 20%, fast reporting insights, enhancement of productive utilization by 16%, and better Jira integration.

16. Client Success: TeleTracking Increases Billable Utilization by 37% With Mavenlink

TeleTracking Technologies is a leading provider of patient flow automation solutions to various hospitals in the healthcare sector. The challenge of the company was that it used different systems such as Microsoft Excel, Sharepoint, MS Project, Jira, and Netsuite. The use of a variety of solutions created a number of challenges for the company. It had poor forecasting capability, an insufficient time tracking process, and unclear resource utilization. The solution was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was the enhancement of time tracking compliance by 100%, rise in hours to date by 18%, and enhancement of billable utilization by 37%.

17. Client Success: Taylors Improves Utilization Rates by 15% with Mavenlink

This is a perfect example of a construction project management case study. Taylor Development Strategists is a leading civil engineering and urban planning organization in Australia. The challenge that the company faced was that the systems that it used were not able to support the growth of the business. There were a lot of inefficiencies and limitations. The solution to the challenge was to switch to Mavenlink. The result was better global collaboration, an increase in the utilization rate by 15%, consistency of timesheet entry, and in-depth insights relating to utilization and project targets.

Top Cities where Knowledgehut Conduct Project Management Certification Training Course Online

Transform your management approach with our online agile courses . Discover how to adjust, cooperate, and create like never before.

Start Creating Your Project Management Case Study

Not that you have a detailed idea about project management case studies, it is time to prepare your own. When doing the project management case study exercise, make sure to focus on covering all the important elements. Clearly stating the challenges and the solutions adopted by the company is important. If you want to get better at project management, getting a PMP Certification can be beneficial.

Case Study Best Practices and Tips 

• Involve your clients in the preparation of the case study. 
• Make use of graphs and data. 
• Mix images, texts, graphs, and whitespace effectively.

Project Management Case Study Template 

To create a well-crafted and highly informative case study template in the realms of project management, you should start by providing a brief overview of the client's company, focusing on its industry, scale, and specific challenges. Follow with a detailed section on the challenge, emphasizing the unique aspects of the project and obstacles faced. Next, you might want to describe the solution implemented, detailing the strategies, methodologies, and tools used. Then, you would need to present the results, quantifying improvements and highlighting objectives achieved. Finally, please conclude the case study with a summary, encapsulating key takeaways and emphasizing the project's success and its implications for future endeavors. By following this structure, you can present a comprehensive yet concise analysis that is ideal for showcasing project management expertise and insights. You can also refer to the template for crafting a better case study on project management – Template for writing case studies .

By now, you must have gained a comprehensive knowledge of preparing a project management case study. This article elaborately explains the significance of real life project management case studies as vital tools for demonstrating a company's expertise in handling complex projects. These case studies, showcasing real-world scenarios, serve as compelling evidence of a firm's capability to navigate challenges and implement effective solutions, thereby boosting confidence in potential clients and partners. They are not only a reflection of past successes but also a lighthouse guiding future project endeavors in the discipline of project management within the fields of construction, pharmacy, technology and finance, highlighting the importance of strategic planning, innovation, and adaptability in project management. If you are aspiring to excel in this field, understanding these case studies is invaluable. However, you would also need to learn from project management failures case studies which would provide a roadmap to mastering the art of project management in today's dynamic business landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

In order to write a project management case study, keep everything brief but mention everything in detail. Make sure to write it with clarity and include graphs and images. 

A project study must include information about the client, how your company helped the client in resolving a problem, and the results.

The best-case studies on project management have been listed above. It includes BTM Global, Butterfly, Boncom, and more.

Kevin D.Davis

Kevin D. Davis is a seasoned and results-driven Program/Project Management Professional with a Master's Certificate in Advanced Project Management. With expertise in leading multi-million dollar projects, strategic planning, and sales operations, Kevin excels in maximizing solutions and building business cases. He possesses a deep understanding of methodologies such as PMBOK, Lean Six Sigma, and TQM to achieve business/technology alignment. With over 100 instructional training sessions and extensive experience as a PMP Exam Prep Instructor at KnowledgeHut, Kevin has a proven track record in project management training and consulting. His expertise has helped in driving successful project outcomes and fostering organizational growth.

Avail your free 1:1 mentorship session.

Something went wrong

Upcoming Project Management Batches & Dates

Advanced Manufacturing Process Management: Product Case Study -

Information

• Author Services

Initiatives

You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .

Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Original Submission Date Received: .

• Active Journals
• Find a Journal
• Proceedings Series
• For Authors
• For Reviewers
• For Editors
• For Librarians
• For Publishers
• For Societies
• For Conference Organizers
• Open Access Policy
• Institutional Open Access Program
• Special Issues Guidelines
• Editorial Process
• Research and Publication Ethics
• Article Processing Charges
• Testimonials
• Preprints.org
• SciProfiles
• Encyclopedia

Article Menu

• Subscribe SciFeed
• Recommended Articles
• Google Scholar
• on Google Scholar
• Table of Contents

Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.

Please let us know what you think of our products and services.

Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.

JSmol Viewer

An innovation management approach for electric vertical take-off and landing, 1. introduction, 2. status of electric vertical take-off and landing, 2.1. introduction to the evtol, 2.2. classification of evtol, 3. technology roadmapping, 3.1. introduction to technology roadmapping, 3.2. policy–technology roadmap, 4. main layers of the technology roadmap, 4.1. technology, 4.1.1. status of key evtol technologies, distributed electric propulsion technology, low aerodynamic noise technology, flight control technology, 4.1.2. future prospects of evtol key technology development, 4.2. product, 4.3. market, 4.3.1. target users, 4.3.2. application scenarios, 4.3.3. evtol operation, 4.3.4. further market segmentation dimensional analysis, 4.4. policy.

• R&D Support: The government will allocate funds and establish research grants to facilitate advancements in eVTOL-related technologies, aiming to enhance safety and efficiency;
• Financial Support and Incentives: Tax breaks, subsidies, and loan guarantees will be provided to alleviate enterprise expenses, encouraging investment in eVTOL research, development, and manufacturing;
• Planning and Policy Guidance: Comprehensive industrial plans will be formulated to delineate goals for the eVTOL sector, fostering an environment conducive to investment and innovation;
• Market Access and Regulation: Stringent regulations and industry standards will be developed to ensure the quality and safety of eVTOL products, promoting standardization and instilling consumer confidence;
• Infrastructure Development: Significant investments will be made in eVTOL infrastructure, including charging stations and landing facilities, to bolster operational efficiency and facilitate the expansion of eVTOL transportation networks;
• Market Incentives: Subsidies and incentives will be offered to consumers to encourage the adoption of eVTOL technology, thereby accelerating market penetration and uptake.

5. The Construction of the Technology Roadmap

5.1. policy role dimensions at different commercialization stages, 5.2. technology–product dimensions at different commercialization stages, 5.3. products at different stages of commercialization—market dimension, 6. further analysis of the trm, 6.1. analysis by dematel, 6.1.1. brief introduction to dematel, 6.1.2. dematel for roadmap of evtol.

6.2. Crossing the Chasm

7. challenges in evtol development and commercialization, 8. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

• Goyal, R.; Reiche, C.; Fernando, C.; Serrao, J.; Kimmel, S.; Cohen, A.; Shaheen, S. Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Market Study ; 20190001472; National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Washington, DC, USA, 2018.
• Hideki, K. Development Trends and Prospects for eVTOL: A New Mode of Air Mobility ; Global Strategic Studies Institute Monthly Report; Mitsui & Co.: Tokyo, Japan, 2018. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wei, D.; Na, S. Research on development status of eVTOL. Aeronaut. Sci. Technol. 2021 , 32 , 1–7. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• EASA. Proposed Special Condition for Small-Category VTOL Aircraft ; European Aviation Safety Agency: Brussels, Belgium, 2018; Volume SC-VTOL-01.
• Ugwueze, O.; Statheros, T.; Bromfield, M.A.; Horri, N. Trends in eVTOL aircraft development: The concepts, enablers and challenges. In Proceedings of the AIAA Scitech 2023 Forum, Reston, VA, USA, 23–27 January 2023; AIAA: Reston, VA, USA, 2023. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Deng, J.H. Technical status and development of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Acta Aeronaut. Et Astronaut. Sin. 2024 , 45 , 529937. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang, X. The Future of Urban Air Mobility Market Development. Aerosp. Power 2019 , 4 , 18–21. Available online: https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=mjz80qGfPOXWapJAsY5ylA9PstP2yiehilg3vUsarXUPQqk6nCXrgYX6woouXZ8UDecB_8zcpEx82saY4iAj0Mf1AMWx8W0EAstyWE-xcRHDvn518zLES14e0wsKhNjoOm4Br8yb03U=&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS (accessed on 30 April 2024).
• Garcia, M.L.; Bray, O.H. Fundamentals of Technology Roadmapping ; Sandia National Laboratories: Albuquerque, NM, USA; Livermore, CA, USA, 1997. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Phaal, R.; Farrukh, C.J.; Probert, D.R. Technology roadmapping—A planning framework for evolution and revolution. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 2004 , 71 , 5–26. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Kostof, R.N.; Schaller, R.R. Science and technology roadmaps. IEEE Trans. Eng. Manag. 2001 , 48 , 132–143. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Phaal, R.; Farrukh, C.J.; Probert, D.R. Strategic roadmapping: A workshop-based approach for identifying and exploring strategic issues and opportunities. Eng. Manag. J. 2007 , 19 , 3–12. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Phaal, R.; Muller, G. An architectural framework for roadmapping: Towards visual strategy. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 2009 , 76 , 39–49. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Huang, C.; Xu, L.; Zhong, X.-T.; Su, J. A Framework of Integrated Policy-Technology Roadmap (P-TRM) and Its Use: Examples of Wind Turbine and Solar PV Industries. China Soft Sci. 2014 , 5 , 76–84. Available online: https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=mjz80qGfPOWjAjMWliskn2afH5rNiBstflMScY1YZ_XPPswEEyYubMBhzt_ooGa85RGVCVekkBfI1kTFzKUvCplap7LmyNuELH0FtYZ3JYIwpmOGaOSSzIMyEGM-czvs&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS (accessed on 30 April 2024).
• Hu, W.; Xia, B. A Framework of Policy-technology Roadmap of Disruptive Technology: A Case of New Energy Vehicle Industry in China. Sci. Technol. Prog. Policy 2024 , 41 , 25–34. Available online: https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=mjz80qGfPOU_2e9EHapjNr97rVUgaLOpHL7A9do9OYQvru0JGlU2-F8lE_I2E9gRjGnk0779tfpF783asVNB8KXRBi61LVDcyL0qZN0ufDx5TNOKLlMY9Xs5FWH1RNbwdIStVR_DEko=&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS (accessed on 30 April 2024).
• China Southern Airlines General Aviation Co., Ltd.; Shanghai Volant Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. White Paper on Passenger eVTOL Applications and Markets ; Shanghai, China, 2023; Available online: http://www.volantaerotech.com (accessed on 30 April 2024).
• Rogers, E. Diffusion of Innovations ; Free Press: New York City, NY, USA, 1962. [ Google Scholar ]
• Moore, G.A. Crossing the Chasm , 3rd ed.; HarperCollins Publishers: New York, NY, USA, 2014. [ Google Scholar ]
• Han, Q.; Xi, Q.; Liu, H.; Zhang, B. Based on unmanned aerial vehicle (uav) control technology development trend of flight safety study. J. Mod. Electron. Technol. 2014 , 37 , 22–25. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Si, S.-L.; You, X.-Y.; Liu, H.-C. DEMATEL technique: A systematic review of the state-of-the-art literature on methodologies and applications. Math. Probl. Eng. 2018 , 2018 , 3696457. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Huang, C.-Y.; Shyu, J.Z.; Tzeng, G.-H. Reconfguring the innovation policy portfolios for Taiwan’s SIP mall industry. Technovation 2007 , 27 , 744–765. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ren, J.; Manzardo, A.; Toniolo, S.; Scipioni, A. Sustainability of hydrogen supply chain. Part I: Identifcation of critical criteria and cause-efect analysis for enhancing the sustainability using DEMATEL. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 2013 , 38 , 14159–14171. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Seyedhosseini, S.M.; Taleghani, A.E.; Bakhsha, A.; Partovi, S. Extracting leanness criteria by employing the concept of balanced scorecard. Expert Syst. Appl. 2011 , 38 , 10454–10461. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Alinezhad, A.; Khalili, J. DEMATEL method. In New Methods and Applications in Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) ; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2019; pp. 103–108. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Hussaina, M.; Tapinosb, E.; Knighta, L. Scenario-driven roadmapping for technology foresight. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 2017 , 124 , 160–177. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• de Weck, O.L. Technology Roadmapping and Development: A Quantitative Approach to the Management of Technology ; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2022; pp. 215–222. [ Google Scholar ]

Click here to enlarge figure

Share and Cite

Li, T.; Xu, X.; Shen, L. An Innovation Management Approach for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 7135. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167135

Li T, Xu X, Shen L. An Innovation Management Approach for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing. Sustainability . 2024; 16(16):7135. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167135

Li, Tingyou, Xia Xu, and Luyi Shen. 2024. "An Innovation Management Approach for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing" Sustainability 16, no. 16: 7135. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167135

Article Metrics

Article access statistics, further information, mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.

Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals