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)

Southwest Airlines: Operating Efficiency Funds Customer Service
George
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 8:36 pm
Southwest Airlines powers its business model of customer service with operational excellence.
Delta Airlines
Charlie
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 9:45 pm
Delta has outperformed its competition and is now the best airline for both passengers and investors.
Prosper Marketplace – 21st Century E-Peer-to-Peer and Institutional E-Lending
boris
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 10:48 pm
Prosper Marketplace is a modern peer-to-peer and e-institutional lending marketplace, efficiently matching borrower and lender supply and demand.
Clover Food Lab: Fast Food That’s Good For You
MM
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 4:30 pm
How Clover's innovative processes enable the company to offer healthy fast food to customers
Disney: Commercializing Creativity
M. Mouse
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 8:56 pm
For a long time, movie-making has been viewed as a very risky, unpredictable enterprise: you can have a blockbuster one day and a flop the next, with very little visibility to distinguish the two a priori. A number of companies [...]
FedEx Ground’s Remarkable Ride to the Top
ErikR
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 3:11 pm
Over the last 15 years, FedEx Ground has grown from nothing, into being widely viewed as the preeminent ground courier transportation provider. This success is largely attributable to the unique operating decisions the company has made.
Partner’s Health Care: The Doctor will Hustle you now
rbot
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 8:24 pm
According to the U.S Department of Commerce, health care spending in the US amounted to 17.4 percent of GDP in 2013. [1] At this level of spending, an unaware observer might assume that Americans consumed a platter of world class, [...]
Blue Bottle Coffee: Managing Expectations for Rapid Growth One Cup at a Time
Rafiq
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 11:37 pm
Blue Bottle Coffee - The Craft Alternative to Starbucks? Only time will tell...
Build-A-Bear Workshop: Smarter Than Your Average Toy Store
Charlie Hymen
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 8:47 pm
While toy stores sell products and movie theatres sell entertainment, Build-A-Bear sells both through aligned business and operating models and an innovative, process-driven approach that appeals to Mama Bears, Papa Bears, Sister Bears, and Brother Bears alike.
SpaceX: A First Principles Company
Brandon
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 7:33 pm
SpaceX is using first principles to lower costs to launch rockets into space with the end goal of making human life multi-planetary.
The TJX Companies: A Tried and True Model Continues to Drive Results
Kari O'Neil
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 6:11 pm
As the number of low cost retail outlets grows, TJX stands out from the crowd.
Disney: Enabling the Most Magical Place on Earth
Bryan A. Coburn
Last modified on December 5, 2015 at 10:17 pm
Disney goes through great lengths to put you in a whole new world.
Patagonia’s Trek to Social Responsibility
Lily He
Last modified on December 7, 2015 at 2:52 pm
Patagonia has included sustainability and social responsibility into its definition of success. How did it design its operating model to become a winner?
Ocean Optics: Miniaturized Spectrometers – A tiny solution looking for big problems
Hao Wu
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 5:19 pm
Ocean Optics make spectrometry measurement easier and more accessible than ever. Given a myriad of possible applications, how can they find the right customers and the right problems to solve?
Petrobras: Government Mandated Operation Model is a Misfit
Anas
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 6:41 pm
Government mandate to operate all pre-salt fields is model at odds with Petrobras' stakeholders' interests, including those of government.
Why WeWork works so well
AVA
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 4:46 pm
WeWork’s finely-tuned operating model has helped fuel its rapid ascension into the leading provider of co-working space
TESSEI: The 7 minute miracle of the bullet train cleaning crew
Yukako
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 10:34 pm
Japan’s bullet train cleaning crew elevates “cleaning” to an “art”
Jumia: Short term success without long term vision
E$
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 7:53 pm
A study on how Jumia's business model is dependent on long term growth, yet the operating model sacrifices long term gains for short term success
#Kaylascult – From passion project to full fledged, multi-national fitness empire
Purple haze
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 2:45 pm
A business born on social media simplicity #Kaylascult
23andMe: Evolution of a genomics company
Maggie
Last modified on December 3, 2015 at 11:00 pm
What started as at-home DNA testing has evolved into the next generation of personalized medicine.
Drybar: “Turning Hot Air Into Big Business”
Norawessel
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 2:51 pm
Building a blowout empire with a stellar brand, stylist team, and customer experience
iMatchative and the power of AltX
Marcus
Last modified on December 14, 2015 at 4:19 pm
Can big data, behavioral finance, adaptive learning technology, and proprietary algorithms replace humans when searching for and investing in funds?
Peloton: the Netflix of boutique fitness
Emily
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 6:02 pm
Peloton provides an example of symbiotic business and operating models, in which this boutique fitness studio has maximized ROA and brand effectiveness by offering both live and online subscriber-based spin classes.
Netflix — Winning the Moment of Truth
Garrett
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 6:51 pm
Netflix consistently delivers fresh, compelling, value-creating content to its users with support from its investments in technology and human capital.
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