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)

ClassPass: Serving a Two-Sided Marketplace with Class(Pass)
Jean
Last modified on December 14, 2015 at 1:51 pm
ClassPass (‘CP’) is a two-sided marketplace that connects the end consumer, a fitness class attendee, with classes at boutique fitness studios.
IKEA: cutting costs, creating value
Perry
Posted on December 5, 2015 at 11:04 am
The home-furnisher who gets their customer do the heavy lifting
LinkedIn: Connecting Professionals to their Dream Jobs
VMF
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 10:44 pm
How to monetize network effects and create the largest professional network in the world.
40K – a sustainable approach to delivering impact
Jesse Whelan
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 11:11 pm
Business Model The 40K group is an Australian social enterprise that operates two separate entities, PLUS and Globe.[1] 40K PLUS PLUS runs after school english literacy programs in rural India. The challenge they are trying to overcome is: how do you provide [...]
Aligning McKinsey to impact
Cynthialiu
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 6:26 pm
How McKinsey is shifting its operating model to maintain alignment with client service
The misalingment of elections and representation
Luca de Angelis
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 7:48 pm
Diffusion of power through representation is the main guarantor against abuses of power. A misaligned democratic operating system can lead to substantial distortions and to defeating the purpose of representation itself.
Dafen Village: Factory of Fine Art
Tina
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 11:02 pm
Want to decorate your new apartment with Starry Night but don’t have the millions? Dafen is the village behind the $10 hand-painted replica available at your local Walmart.
Iora Health — Working Together to Improve Health
SC
Posted on December 5, 2015 at 12:20 am
Iora Health's team-based, patient-centered care model is putting the focus of health care back on the patient.
Delivering on the Purple Promise
Carlo Scott
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 11:19 pm
The combination of a broadened business model, operational innovation, and a strong corporate culture has allowed FedEx to secure its position as one of the world's most admired companies.
Chipotle Nation
MZheng
Last modified on December 13, 2015 at 11:10 am
The genius of Steve Ells and Chipotle is contained within a simple mission of "Food with Integrity" and experienced every day by 750,000 hungry diners. The restaurant's meteoric rise begs the question- what really lies underneath that golden foil?
Red Hat: Bringing Open Source to Enterprise IT
Will Newell
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 9:08 pm
Red Hat is leveraging its open source expertise to grow in a rapidly changing Enterprise IT market.
Rise of the Machines: Is Betterment a Better Business for Wealth Management?
PNolan2015
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 2:25 pm
Betterment leads the fray in a group of financial technology (FinTech) companies known as Robo-Advisers who seek to use automated investment platforms to disrupt the wealth management industry as we know it.
Instacart – The future of grocery delivery is here! But is it sustainable?
Lior
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 4:24 pm
The future of grocery delivery is here! But is it sustainable? Founded in 2012, the on-demand grocery delivery startup Instacart, was chosen as the number one company in Forbes’s 2014 America’s Most Promising Companies list. As the company is valued [...]
Handy Mandy: Your cleaner is here
pvuong
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 10:26 pm
Handy, the “Uber for handy tasks” such as cleaning and handyman, is an example of ineffectiveness for three reasons. Firstly, as a platform connecting cleaners and customers, it has little power to prevent disintermediation. Secondly, Handy’s insistence on its subscription [...]
UP Education Network – dramatic results through people and process
K.R.M.
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 4:54 pm
School by school, UP Education Network is proving that school turnaround is possible through its thoughtful investments in human capital and data management.
The Islamic State
Ian C.
Last modified on December 11, 2015 at 3:46 pm
The Disciplined, Well-Organized & Violent Push for the Revival of the Caliphate
Trader Joe’s: Groceries for the “Overeducated and Underpaid”
M
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 7:56 pm
How a Caribbean-themed wine shop turned into an high-performing grocery business.
Wealthfront – Why Automated Advising and Millennials Were Made For Each Other.
Monica
Last modified on December 22, 2015 at 10:45 am
FinTech at its finest.
Combatant Gentlemen – vertical integration so you can #DressSmarter
Carolyn Geller
Last modified on December 3, 2015 at 5:21 pm
Combatant Gentlemen's vertically integrated supply chain enables them to offer stylish, quality menswear at an affordable price.
RPX Corporation: First Defense Against Patent Trolls
lyang
Last modified on December 7, 2015 at 3:41 pm
This is an example of an effective company because RPX not only identified a strong customer need but also devised a novel approach to addressing that need and then capturing some that value for itself. Background Since the late ’90s, [...]
Pottery Barn–Inspire beautiful decorating for every room
Sierra
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 10:50 pm
Pottery Barn offers unique products and free design services to "inspire beautiful decorating for every room".
Amazon: Taking over the (Retail) World
Amy Shi
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 1:23 am
Amazon is the undisputed leader in the competitive e-commerce space by providing customers with a huge selection, low prices and unparalleled convenience. It is able to do this through aligning its processes, investments and culture to its customer value proposition.
Xiaomi: China’s Threat to Apple and Samsung
ghong
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 8:31 am
It’s Not About the Phone!
AB InBev: Getting High on Growth
Anirban Datta Gupta
Last modified on November 29, 2015 at 3:07 pm
The world’s largest brewer has been able to drive sustainable growth throughout its merger-filled history. What’s the secret brew behind all this success?
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