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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2019

  Engineering Company Culture at Zaimella Ecuador

  Francesca Gino, Gary Pisano and Mariana Cal

  Keywords: company culture; organization culture; culture; strategy; management;

  Citation:

  Gino, Francesca, Gary Pisano, and Mariana Cal. "Engineering Company Culture at Zaimella Ecuador." Harvard Business School Case 920-015, September 2019.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2019

  Humanistic Capitalism at Brunello Cucinelli

  Francesca Gino and Gary Pisano

  This case explores one company’s attempt to experiment with a different underlying model for a capitalist enterprise. Brunello Cucinelli, S.p.A. is a leading manufacturer of luxury fashion apparel. Despite being a publicly traded enterprise with annual revenues exceeding 500 million, the company follows a somewhat unique human resource and cultural model. The company’s founder, Brunello Cucinelli, has striven to create an enterprise that follows principles of what he calls “humanistic capitalism”. Human capitalism, according to Cucinelli, means pursuing growth and profitability in a “gracious way.” At the company, humanistic capitalism manifests itself in a very specific set of policies and behavioral norms. Workers are paid wages that exceed 20% of the market norms; the workday (even for senior executive) is limited to the hours of 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM; emails are not to be sent after hours or on weekends; lunch breaks are one and half hours long to allow workers to have lunch at home should they choose. There are also strong cultural norms emphasizing respect and dignity. As part of this culture, employees are expected to keep their workspaces clean; eating at desks is not permitted; water can only be drunk from cups (not bottles); speaking should be done in hushed tones so as not to disturb colleagues. None of these cultural norms, however, are explicitly described in any written documents. The company has adopted this model in both its Solomeo, Italy headquarters and in its North American headquarters located in New York City.
  The case allows students to explore the strengths and weakness of this culture and human resource model. A particular focal point of the case concerns the question of whether such a model is scalable and transferable across geographies. Does this model contribute to the company’s success or is ‘humanistic capitalism’ only possible because of the company’s underlying success? Is this model sustainable? The case invites discussion of deeper issues concerning alternative models of modern capitalism.

  Keywords: corporate culture; Human Resource Practices; Growth; growth strategy; motivation; values; fashion; Capitalism; Organizational Culture; Values and Beliefs; Human Resources; Management; Business Model; Policy; Behavior; Growth and Development Strategy; Luxury; Italy;

  Citation:

  Gino, Francesca, and Gary Pisano. "Humanistic Capitalism at Brunello Cucinelli." Harvard Business School Case 920-007, August 2019.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2019

  Paradigm Capital Value Fund

  Luis M. Viceira and Elena Corsi

  Karl Jan Erick Hummel had founded Paradigm Capital Value Fund in 2007 together with Columbia Business School Professor Bruce Greenwald, an expert in value investing and now chairman of the fund. The fund followed the principles of value investing to their target universe: publicly traded companies with market capitalization between €100 million and €4.5 billion based in Germany, the Nordic countries, the U.K., and Ireland. Hummel and Greenwald believed they had developed an investing edge in that universe, ignored by large U.S. and U.K. based funds, through deep research and by locating their headquarters close to companies and their management. Hummel and his team of six analysts were based in a small suburb of Munich, Germany. Paradigm Capital Value Fund was highly concentrated, with 60% of its assets invested in four stocks, and held its positions for long periods of time. Hummel had to decide if it was time to divest from one of their main investments, a German manufacturer of roll-over car washing systems, and instead invest in a German truck equipment supplier. At the same time, Hummel was concerned by how to grow the fund.

  Keywords: Investment Activism; Investment Portfolio; Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy;

  Citation:

  Viceira, Luis M., and Elena Corsi. "Paradigm Capital Value Fund." Harvard Business School Case 220-014, August 2019.  View Details

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