The TOM Challenge: TOM Winners and Losers Assignment

December 09, 2015

Read The Full Prompt

The basic thesis of the TOM course is that company performance is driven by the alignment between the company’s business model and operating model. As defined in the “Introduction to the RC TOM Course” note, a business model is defined as how the firm creates and captures value, and an operating model refers to the processes that transform a firm’s assets (e.g., capital, labor, intellectual property, equipment, etc.) into valuable actions.

Please identify one organization in the global economy that you think is highly effective (or one that is highly ineffective) at driving alignment between its operating and business models

  1. Did you choose the company as an example of effectiveness or ineffectiveness? Why?
  2. Describe the company’s business and operating models. What is interesting about them?
  3. Do the models align and support each other?  How?  What specific features of the operating model are designed to create and sustain competitive advantage?  What features of the business model leverage unique capabilities of its operating model?  What are the implications for performance?

Submitted (929)

Yemeksepeti: Operational Excellence in Online Food Ordering
Ercu
Last modified on December 7, 2015 at 11:03 pm
Providing its customers with a simple, rich and well-working online food ordering portal, Yemeksepeti has been a global case study for successful investments in the field of online food delivery.
Simple, Fast Food…that Can Improve Your Health? That’s Clover
Rosalino
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 9:11 pm
Clover’s philosophy states that “We try to keep everything very simple, but very careful…This is Fast Food. We’re obsessed with speed and constantly time ourselves. Our average serve times are around 3.5 minutes, which makes us a little slower than [...]
Barrick Gold Corporation
Z
Last modified on December 4, 2015 at 7:36 pm
Barrick Gold Corporation is the largest gold producer in the world. Its stock price has suffered from gold price slump and high debt on its balance sheet. Is it an effective company or not?
Instacart
Abdulaziz
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 5:16 pm
By 2013 while one believed that digital on-demand startups ideas have been exhausted following the likes such as Uber, Freelance, Taskrabbit, Instacart unearthed another rather untapped errand, grocery shopping.
The rebirth of an iconic American manufacturer
BG
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 7:23 pm
From corporate execs to hipsters: How an American fashion icon reinvented itself
A Well-Oiled Generic Pharma Machine
cfpj
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 5:23 pm
A radically different business and operating model in the generic pharmaceutical industry
Clinkle: How to go from a soon-to-be unicorn to complete failure in one year
Patrick MacKenzie
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 5:53 pm
How to go from a soon-to-be unicorn to complete failure in one year
Blizzard Entertainment: Winner
Alex Topacio
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 10:21 pm
Blizzard Entertainment: Winner
SpaceX: Making Life Multiplanetary
J. Taylor Wiegele
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 8:17 am
Through cutting-edge innovation, vertical integration, and an emphasis on recruiting/retention, SpaceX will succeed at making life multi-planetary and enable humanity's survival.
GoPro: Hardware Enabled Content for the HERO in All of Us
shsenior
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 4:03 pm
What makes a hardware producer a content media company?
Amazon’s Razor Thin Margins – Poor Performance or Business Strategy?
Aparajita
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 6:44 pm
Amazon is a fascinating company to study from the point of understanding a business model, for it is continually evolving. Regardless of whichever business the firm has entered however, it’s customer value proposition has remained consistent to delivering price, convenience [...]
Emirates: Flying at its premium best
Usama
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 8:17 pm
A 30 year young carrier from the desert plains of UAE is taking over the international skies
Walmart: Save Money. Live Better. Retail for Everyone.
Jeff Lanes
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 6:58 pm
Walmart’s unrelenting focus on minimizing costs and low-priced items continues to create value for consumers. But how has the world’s largest retailer achieved its success? 
Topgolf Fore the Win
David Anderson
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 11:25 pm
Topgolf circumvents the declining trend of the golf industry by effectively aligning its business and operating models.
Trois Mec. Stirring the Pot in Fine Dining.
Hailey Sarage
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 5:21 pm
The alignment of business and operations never tasted so good.
Whole Foods: A Whole Package from Austin, Texas
wombat223
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 10:21 pm
Whole Foods: A Whole Package from Austin, Texas
Missed Opportunities at Coin
David
Posted on December 5, 2015 at 3:57 pm
Coin failed to take advantage of a unique but temporary niche in the consumer payments space by giving users a way to eliminate the need for carrying all their credit cards.  Due to development and other operating failures, competitors have [...]
DIRECTV pre-paid: how to wake up a sleeping giant
Dino
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 4:59 pm
Much is said about rising new technology companies, but how much more challenging is it to reinvent a mature business model that has been around for decades?
Barack Obama: Against the Odds
XG
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 11:32 pm
    2008: “There was a new actor in the campaign drama: Jim Messina. Obama convinced Messina to leave his political father, Sen. Max Baucus, by calling him the day after Hillary Clinton dropped out of the Democratic primary contest. [...]
Celgene – The Business of Performing Miracles
arlo
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 7:10 pm
The business model for biotech is simple: discover and develop therapies and sell them at high-enough margins to justify the costs until the patent expires. The larger the unmet need and the more effective the therapy, the more value is [...]
Gilead Sciences: Innovation for growth
Alonso
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 8:45 pm
Gilead Sciences is one of the top-performing companies in the biotechnology industry with an operating model that combines R&D with M&A strategies.
Inditex and Zara: Delivering fast (and more profitable) fashion
Katymar
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 8:20 pm
Through its flagship brand Zara, Inditex has revolutionized fashion retailing through its promise to design, produce, and deliver cutting-edge apparel in under 3 weeks. Read on to find out how Zara successfully delivers to over 2000 stores in 88 countries [...]
The Reese Group: Regional Appeal on a National Scale
dreese
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 2:40 am
Independent, regional broker competing with national brands through innovative solutions, technology investments, and extensive market knowledge.
Eataly: life is too short not to eat well
Marco De Curtis
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 12:51 pm
Italian Food and authenticity at scale: Eataly is leading the way #Italianfoodatscale
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