Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Balancing Social Goals and Financial Via...

Parikh, Margie

Case

Balancing Social Goals and Financial Viability: "Both Have to Coexist and Work Well—No Point Cribbing About It" (A)

Parikh, Margie

OB-1138 | Published February 28, 2010 | 12 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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This case is part of the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) curriculum. To see other material in the GVV curriculum, please visit http://store.darden.virginia.edu/giving-voice-to-values. In this case, a commissioner tries to fix the many problems of a public transport system. He faces values and communications challenges as he attempts to balance the goals and concerns of the political, social, and business sides of the municipal transport operation, a bureaucratic system driven by partial perspectives of stakeholders working at cross-purposes. The protagonist overcomes the feeling of hopelessness that can come with largely broken systems. The case deals with issues of stakeholder engagement; lack of transparency; issues of efficiency, power, and influence; short-term versus long-term gain; and political needs. It works well in organizational behavior, leadership, supply chain, human resources, and ethics courses, as well as in stand-alone workshops.