In March 2022, the head of HR at P.N. Gadgil Jewellers Ltd., based in Sangli, India, was facing a dilemma. She was deliberating about the future of the company’s six-month performance improvement plan (PIP) initiative, which was created to support underperforming sales executives. The PIP label triggered anxiety among employees who saw it as a prelude to being dismissed them from the organization. The company’s goal was to positively rebrand the plan .....more

Teaching note for product W45593.

This is the B-case associated with W45593.

Teaching note for product W45955.

Scott McLaden was a senior product manager at Trustark, a business-to-business software-as-a-service company based in San Francisco. He was promoted directly from a level-three to a level-five role, where he initially thrived, but after a managerial change in the first half of financial year 2024–25, his performance declined sharply, leading his new manager to threaten him in October with either a formal performance improvement plan or a demotion. .....more

In January 2025, Kabeer Biswas—the founder of Dunzo, India’s first hyperlocal delivery platform and an early mover in the quick-commerce segment—joined the new quick-commerce vertical of Flipkart Pvt. Ltd. (Flipkart), Flipkart Minutes, which was backed by Walmart Inc. (Walmart). Dunzo’s business had just unravelled under financial strain and operational missteps, despite early traction and marquee investors such as Reliance Retail Ltd. (Reliance) .....more

Teaching note for product W46129.

West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) faced challenges in managing its day-to-day cash requirements. Substantial cash was often blocked in receivables from domestic customers and regulatory deferrals. The company regularly took short-term loans from banks to meet its day-to-day needs, resulting in a debt-trap that the company wanted to avoid. WBSEDCL considered offering a cash discount to domestic customers for expediting .....more

Teaching note for product W45939.

In January 2025, the managing editor and chief executive officer of Megatherm Induction Limited faced a critical enterprise-level decision. A year after the Kolkata, India company was listed on India’s National Stock Exchange for Small and Medium Enterprises platform at a premium over its issue price, shareholder expectations had intensified—particularly regarding operational transparency, efficiency, and scalability. As a mid-sized induction heating .....more