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)

IKEA’s business and operating models: a match made in heaven
Amine M.
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 9:14 pm
“For us, good design is the right combination of form, function, quality, sustainability and a low price. We call it ‘democratic design’, because we believe good home furnishing is for everyone. It’s why we’re constantly exploring smarter, thriftier ways to [...]
GrubHub: The Alignment is…SEAMLESS!
itallett
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 7:33 pm
Seamless alignment no unicorn can touch
Harry’s: Not Your Dad’s Razor
michellebrous
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 11:28 pm
Disrupting the razor blade industry
VisionSpring: Providing eyeglasses to millions
acoravos
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 5:45 pm
703 million people need, but don't own, eyeglasses. How does a company solve a social mission at scale? By having strong business and operating models associated with it.
Delta Air Lines
James
Last modified on December 7, 2015 at 4:32 pm
Why Delta Air Lines is the best domestic air line.
Jet.com: Bring it On, Amazon!
danielleeven
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 11:46 am
How a new entrant in the e-commerce space has already “taken-off”
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 [...]
Chick-Fil-A: A model that has us all EATING MOR CHIKIN!
changeme_27
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 7:28 pm
Since its founding in 1946, Chick-Fil-A (or “the Company”) has been serving up America’s favorite fried chicken sandwich for nearly seventy years. With over 1,900 locations and $6 billion in annual sales, the Company has grown to become the largest [...]
Enterprise Holdings – Three Brands under One Roof!
Chris Fuller
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 5:25 pm
Enterprise Holdings offers car renters three distinct brands while maximizing the benefits of economies of scale as the largest car rental company in the world
De Beers: “From Discovery to Desire”
Mondli
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 3:47 pm
[Winner] De Beers: How to create a multi-billion dollar industry from the ground up
MiniLuxe – “Starbucking” the nail salon
Andrew Fu
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 11:20 pm
MiniLuxe - a Boston-based company aiming to "Starbuck" the $9 billion dollar nail salon industry by providing self-care services with great quality and consistency.
Swissair – meltdown of a national icon
Rahesch
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 10:40 pm
How an aggressive expansion plan led to the grounding of a 71 year old airline conglomerate
Bonobos: Changing Menswear, One “Khaki Diaper Butt” at a Time
Anonymous
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 10:07 pm
In 2006, roommates Andy Dunn and Brian Spaly (now CEO and co-founder of Trunk Club) set out to solve the problem of ill-fitting men’s pants, aka the “Khahi Diaper Butt”. The pair started selling brightly-colored, tailor-made pants from the back [...]
RadioShack: Yes, It Still Exists
TOM123
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 10:59 pm
The story of a retailer with thousands of products but nothing anyone actually wants to buy.
Emirates Airlines: the International carrier
Bass
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 11:23 pm
Emirates Airlines: Enabling Customer Service Excellence through Cost-efficient Operations
BRING BACK THE TWINKIES! Saving an iconic American brand from bankruptcy
Stevie G
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 7:37 pm
“What they’ve done at Hostess should be a Harvard Business School case study on how to turn around a business” – Perella Weinberg Partners
Peloton: Breaking Away from the Pack
RealJLevine
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 10:31 pm
“We feel like we’re more akin to a Facebook or an Apple than a Soulcycle"
Jet.com: A Lesson in Adapatability
Kelsey Boyd
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 5:02 pm
In the first few months after its launch, Jet.com isn't afraid to experiment to get its business model right
How Chipotle Revolutionized Fast Food
Tyler
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 4:05 pm
Chipotle broke all of the fast food industry's rules and created a wildly successful restaurant concept by delivering high quality food fast with an operating model rooted in a unique culture, assembly line approach and simple menu.
Reprogramming cells to fight disease: Rewriting the rules of biopharma R&D
MLefferts
Last modified on December 7, 2015 at 7:13 pm
Moderna is a pioneer in the revolutionary new field of RNA therapetutics - a technology which allows the human body to help heal itself. No only are they delivering a new technology, but they're doing it in a novel way. [...]
One Medical Group: Curing the process of healthcare delivery
displayname
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 11:30 pm
One Medical Group leveraged user-centric design principles to build a patient management platform, office processes, and physician teams that provide immediate, affordable, personalized care for mass customers.
Bain & Company: What we can learn about operating models through a services firm
Matt McKenna
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 1:50 pm
We tend to think about operating models as they relate to fixed asset or repeatable process businesses. But operating models are as important if not more with services firms, where your competitive advantage may walk out the door every day. [...]
Quest Diagnostics: From factory for testing to big data company
Marie
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 11:27 pm
When a health care company resembles much more a factory or a big data firm
Bain & Company: A people-oriented approach to driving impact
Roger Zhu
Last modified on December 7, 2015 at 8:22 pm
How a consulting firm used its greatest asset to differentiate from its competitors.
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