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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2019

  Teaming Up To Win The Rail Deal At GE (B)

  Amy Edmondson, Ranjay Gulati and Rachna Tahilyani

  Citation:

  Edmondson, Amy, Ranjay Gulati, and Rachna Tahilyani. "Teaming Up To Win The Rail Deal At GE (B)." Harvard Business School Case 420-059, September 2019.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2019

  Teaming Up To Win The Rail Deal At GE (A)

  Amy Edmondson, Ranjay Gulati and Rachna Tahilyani

  In 2012, Nalin Jain, then head of GE aviation for South Asia, was given the added responsibility for GE’s transportation business in India, including bidding for a $2.5 billion contract to manufacture, service and maintain 1,000 diesel locomotives for state owned Indian Railways (IR). The deal, which would have been “the largest deal on the planet” for the transportation business, had been under discussion for six years, and many within GE had given up hope that it would materialize, but Jain persisted. In February 2015, when IR requested companies to submit a financial bid in six months, Jain quickly built an autonomous team, sequestered from the rest of GE, with people from multiple businesses and functions. His team overcame internal resistance from people at headquarters and stiff competition to help GE win the deal by a narrow margin. Jain was then tasked with executing the deal. As many of his earlier team members had moved on, Jain hired new people and built a new diverse yet integrated team for execution, with members able to put aside their many differences, look beyond their functional silos, and focus on the project deliverables. However, 2017 brought a series of challenges. GE changed India’s organization structure, making India business leaders report only to their respective global business leaders instead of reporting to both their business leaders and the India country leader. Jain’s mandate was expanded to include the entire international operations of GE’s transportation business. And, sub-optimal company performance forced GE to announce cost cuts of $2 billion. In the face of this turmoil, Jain wonders, “Have I created an agile team that can succeed in GE’s matrix environment and deal with the internal challenges? Do the team members have the maturity and motivation required for the project to succeed?”

  Keywords: Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; India;

  Citation:

  Edmondson, Amy, Ranjay Gulati, and Rachna Tahilyani. "Teaming Up To Win The Rail Deal At GE (A)." Harvard Business School Case 420-058, 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; luxury; 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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