Week 13 – IT-Driven Competitive Strategy
Online discussion questions – Apr 20
- How does Uber’s pricing work? How different is it from pricing of traditional taxicabs?
- What would be reasons for city governments to ban AirBnb or Uber? How would you counter them?
- What would be reasons for online education to be valuable to education providers or students?
- Why are technologies of FreshDirect sophisticated and state-of-the-art?
Online discussion questions – Apr 17
- What were the roles of Samyojak (former CAs at Mandis) in eChoupal?
- Why did ITC allow farmers to continue doing business with CAs at Mandis as they used to, even if it could ban the farmers from doing so?
- Do you think ITC’s competitive advantages from eChoupal can be sustainable? Why or why not?
- Any other examples, in which a new entrant with IT disrupts the existing industry by eliminating “choke points” or market inefficiency?
In-class discussion questions for Apr 20
We will discuss these questions on Monday, Apr 20. Do not post comments on this.
- What is a long tail and how does this work?
- How do FreshDirect, Uber, Airbnb, and Khan Academy disrupt the existing industries by address which choke points?
Week 13 – IT-Driven Competitive Strategies – class slides and videos (UPDATED)
Week 13 – Strategy (color).pdf
eChoupal – YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RH8Xl1C8eE)
Historic Blockbuster – Onion News (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5o4oo_historic-blockbuster_news)
Jeff Bezos Interview – The Daily Show (http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/baettl/jeff-bezos)
FreshDirect – Business Insider (http://www.businessinsider.com/jason-ackerman-on-freshdirect-growth-2013-10)
How to Airbnb – Airbnb (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaOFuW011G8)
Salman Kahn – TED Talks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTFEUsudhfs)
Uber – YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq1HV2v3qZw)
Online discussion questions – Apr 15
- Any other example in which middlemen such as CAs in Mandis create inefficiency in an industry?
- What did ITC do in order to overcome regulatory challenges in implementing eChoupal?
- While eChoupal seems to be beneficial to farmers, they are not well-versed in using PCs and the Internet. How does ITC help them adopt eChoupal?
- Before accepting a job offer, what kind of research do you have to do?
In-class discussion questions for Apr 17
We will discuss these questions on Fri, Apr 17. Do not pose comments on this.
- With eChoupal, who are the losers? How did ITC embrace them as part of the system?
- Do you think if the farmers initially liked eChoupal?
- What have made this change successful?
- How could ITC achieve competitive advantages from eChoupal?
- Could ITC’s competitors copy this innovation quickly?
- What choke points have Amazon.com and Netflix eliminated?
In-class discussion questions for Apr 15
We will discuss these questions on Wed, Apr 15. Do not post comments on this.
- What is eChoupal? With eChoupal, what is ITC trying to accomplish?
- How did the old supply chain of soybean work? Who are the losers and the winners?
- What are the “choke points” in the old supply chain of soybean?
- What are the benefits of eChoupal to farmers?
- What is the other information from eChoupal to farmers?
- Is ITC a charity? Why is it concerned about farmers’ lives and well-being?
Week 13 – ITC eChoupal Case – Brief Guidelines
Due by Wednesday, April 15, 10AM
- Why was the supply chain for soybean so inefficient and how does eChoupal change it?
- What kind of information does eChoupal provide to farmers?
- What are the benefits of eChoupal to farmers and ITC?
Your brief may not cover page 11-16, but please DO NOT SKIP to read them.