AZAAD BAZAAR

1. Azaad Bazaar literally meaning Free Market is the first Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) pride store in India that started in 2006. The
brand was then called Serapheena and was sold through gay parties,
exhibitions and other community events like pride marches. Started with
offering few products like jewelry for members of the LGBT community as a
mark of showing pride in their queer identity, Serapheena grew in terms of
product range from home dcor, t-shirts and accessories to disco balls and
fur handcuffs. Inspired by the pride march Queer Azaadi 2008 in Mumbai,
the brand evolved to be known as Azaad Bazaar. It also went online in July
2009, when the Delhi High Court decriminalized Section 377 of the Indian
Penal Code (IPC) on July 2nd 2009, making it the first LGBT online store.
2. Section 377 of the IPC, which was enacted by the British in 1861, treats
private consensual sex between same-sex adults as an act against the order
of nature and a crime. The law criminalizes homosexuals by imposing a
punishment of imprisonment up to 10 years for any kind of sexual
intercourse. However, with the repeal of the Section 377, the LGBT
community and the businesses that cater to their needs are rejoicing. They
are on the move from their closeted lives to the mainstream. However, as it
happens in the western world, would these people be received with respect
and welcomed with the same warmth in India? Would this lead to a wider
societal acceptance giving the business enough potential? For now, at least
the law (partially) has paved the way.
3. In addition, it is not just the law that matters, but also the peoples mindset
that plays a major role. For years, LGBT people have been considered
abnormal and as a blot on the society. In a conservative country like India
where public display of affection even among heterosexuals invites lewd
remarks, LGBT is a taboo and is subject to social stigma. It still faces
discrimination and is kept out of the mainstream society. Critics and religious
groups argue that homosexuality is a western concept and very vehemently
argue that decriminalizing homosexuality would increase child abuse and
spread HIV/AIDS.
4. Such homophobic attitude of the society would make it difficult for the
members of the LGBT community to come out. Then, how would Azaad
Bazaar, in such conservative market conditions, come out of all the shackles
to scale up its business and shore up its marketing activities, forms the crux
of the case study.
5. Objectives:
6. To have an overview of the motives voluntary and/or involuntary behind
LGBT communitys behavior
7. To establish the legal and societal status of LGBT community in India in the
wake of the New Delhi High Courts landmark judgement making
amendments to Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code

8. To debate and discuss the business potential and challenges of Indias first
online LGBT store, Azaad Bazaar

HUSK POWER SYSTEMS

Lack of electricity is still a major issue in many villages
in India. Many of the remote villages are not yet
electrified and even those that are, have power for just
a few hours in a month. Pandey and his friends, who
as children had lived without electricity, came up with a
unique social entrepreneurship model to offer power to
the poor who lived in the remote parts of India by using
an indigenously developed modified gasifier system
that runs on rice husk. The enterprise, Husk Power
Systems (HPS), won many awards for its innovative
business plan, social entrepreneurship, and clean
energy.
By working closely with the local communities, HPS positively impacted the social, economic,
environmental, and human development of the people it served. Despite low pricing, HPS achieved a
healthy profit margin which not only helped it to sustain itself but also to grow rapidly. By mid-2011, HPS
had impacted the lives of 200,000 people living in more than 325 villages and hamlets by installing more
than 80 power plants. HPS planned to expand its reach to 6,500 villages by increasing the number of
plants to 2014 by the year 2014. This would not only create 7,000 local jobs but would also help save
750,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and US$ 50 million in cash for more than 5 million people.
Issues:

Learn the unique technique and revenue model used by Husk Power Systems to produce and
distribute cost-effective electricity under a sustainable business model in the least developed
areas of India.
Understand how a social entrepreneur can build a sustainable business in developing markets,
to serve the population at the Bottom of the Pyramid.
Study the off-grid electricity development and distribution approach of Husk Power Systems
and compare and contrast it with the traditional grid power system.
Analyze Husk Power Systems factors of success and the need for social entrepreneurship in
developing countries like India.

MS OBEROI

This case is about Mohan Singh Oberoi

(Oberoi), the founder of the Oberoi chain of
hotels who is considered to be the father of the
hospitality industry in India. The case presents
the rags-to-riches story of Oberoi, the
entrepreneur. Oberoi was born in the late 19th
century in a small village (now in Pakistan).
From humble beginnings, Oberoi went on to
build a hotel empire spread across many
countries. The case discusses the rise of
Oberoi and how vision, business acumen,
leadership and management style played a role
in his success. He steadily and strategically
expanded his business and by the time he died
in the year 2002, at age 103, his empire
included not only a number of luxury hotels but
also a travel company, airline catering and a
business management school.

Experts felt that he had left behind a legacy that his son, PRS Oberoi, and the third generation Oberois
were trying to take forward.
Issues:
Understand various issues and concepts in entrepreneurship.
Study how Oberoi build a hotel empire (a luxury brand) in the highly demanding hospitality industry.
Study Oberoi's efforts to institutionalize service quality and how he established the quality segment of
hospitality which did not exist in India.
Study the personal characteristics and traits of Oberoi that contributed to his success.
Study the leadership and management style of Oberoi.
Understand issues and challenges in succession planning to prepare the next generation in a family
business.
Explore strategies that the second and third generation Oberois could adopt to take forward the legacy
of Oberoi.

SAUDI ARABIA
The global economic crisis has also affected the opulent and extravagant Gulf
countries. Experts correlated the regions economic crisis to factors such as the
explosion of the real estate boom which was basically built on borrowed funds, and
to a sharp fall in oil prices. As a result, almost half of the construction projects in
Dubai were interrupted. This led to a large number of construction workers from
India losing their jobs, and as a result, returning home. Around the same time, a
member of the Saudi royal family urged the Arab and Gulf countries to give
preference to their own people while providing work. Since the Gulf countries were
one of the largest employers of Indians outside India, their attempt to trim the expat
population would affect Indias labor market, according to experts.

Issues:
Labor market
Human resource
Immigration

Introduction

On February 3, 2009, Prince Turki al-Faisal Bin Abdullah (Abdullah), a member of the
Saudi Royal family, said at a human resource conference in Abu Dhabi that the Arab
and Gulf countries should employ their citizens rather than people from other
countries...
Questions for Discussion:

1. Critically analyze the impact of the reverse migration on the Indian labor
market.

2. Discuss the measures the Indian government could take to accommodate the
large number of skilled and unskilled workers.

COAL MINES
Coal mines in China have become virtual death traps for the workers as mine
owners allegedly pay scant attention to workplace safety. According to
analysts, the disaster at a coal mine owned by Rui Zhiyuan Company in 2007
was yet another example of what was wrong with the Chinese coal mines. It
raised some serious ethical issues and led critics to insist that the Chinese
coal mine owners were putting profits ahead of the safety of its employees.
Issues:
Workplace safety.
Process safety.
Ethics and social responsibility.
Introduction
On December 5, 2007, an explosion occurred at the coal mine owned by Rui
Zhiyuan Company (RZC) in China. It was yet another deadly coal mining
explosion in China reported that year. The earlier explosions had occurred at
Yujialing Coal Mine killing 26 workers in March 2007 and Pudeng Coal Mine
where 28 mine workers had died in May 2007...
Questions for Discussion:
1. Analyze the underlying reasons for the disaster at the coal mines in China
in general and at Rui Zhiyuan Company in particular? Do you think that the
companies running the coal mines in China are putting profits before the
safety of its employees?
2. According to you what concrete steps should be taken by the
company/companies to address this issue? What should be the role of the
government?

ICICI Bank
Customers and the public were crying foul at the increasing instances of highhandedness by banks recovery agents. They alleged that the banks were
hard selling their financial products, but in cases of default by customers they
were using unethical methods to recover their loans. The policy makers too
woke up to this problem and issued guidelines and directives as a crack-down
on the banks adopting unethical tactics to recover their loans.
Issues:
Ethics and social responsibility.
Management Control.
Customer relationship.
Introduction
In September 2007, Prakash Sarvankar, a customer of India's second largest
bank, ICICI Bank, committed suicide after being publicly humiliated by the
bank's loan recovery agents. ICICI Bank was compelled to pay Rs. 1 million in
the form of a fixed deposit as compensation to the victim's family.
In a similar incident, another customer Yadaiah from Hyderabad died of a
cardiac arrest after the recovery agents forcibly tried to recover a personal
loan of Rs. 15,000 from him. ICICI Bank ended up paying a compensation of
Rs. 0.3 million to the victim's family. In November 2007, the Delhi State
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission fined ICICI Bank Rs. 5.5 million after
ICICI Bank's recovery agents hired goondas to recover their loan amounts.
Justify this act.