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)

CVS Health: Fully Adherent to Its Prescribed Strategy and Winning
Marlene
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 8:44 pm
Through compliance with its mission of “helping people on their path to better health”, CVS has created a winning alignment between its business and operating models to grow into a success story.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals: Disruption or Destruction?
AdamRago
Last modified on December 4, 2015 at 3:58 pm
Valeant Pharmaceuticals has introduced a new operating model in R&D based on mergers and premium pricing. Is it sustainable?
Zappos: Delivering Happiness, Powered by Service
W. Zhang
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 1:42 am
A story of the unwavering focus on exceptional customer experience.. and the success that follows
Rolling into eCommerce: The Tire Rack pioneers eCommerce Tire Sales
Michael Yaro
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 10:25 pm
Founded as a family business in 1979 in Indiana, the Tire Rack successfully pioneered a shift in the $17 billion tire industry, once dominated by in-person purchases, to mail order and, later, in 1997, ecommerce. In order to achieve this, [...]
Iora Health: Redefining primary care medicine
Nicole
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 8:42 pm
Iora Health’s innovative and well-aligned business and operational models are setting a new standard for what is possible in healthcare.
CommonBond: Disrupting the $1.3 Trillion Student Loan Market
Aaron Rosenberg
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 7:42 pm
How three MBA students went from disgruntled borrowers to co-founders of a marketplace lending platform that is restoring the element of community in finance
Some Go to Church, Others Go to SoulCycle
LC
Last modified on December 14, 2015 at 5:50 pm
Inside the business of a modern day cult brand.
New Balance: Keeping America Running
Carol
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 4:12 pm
In an industry that has gone overseas for manufacturing, New Balance is made in America and on track for success.
TOMS – A Probationary Winner
LH
Last modified on December 5, 2015 at 2:54 pm
Is TOMS one-for-one model a social mission winner?
Tata Global Beverages: Chai and more!
Ameya Bhangle
Last modified on December 1, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Transforming a vertically integrated India-focused tea business into a leading global horizontal player, upholding the legacy of a 147 year-old business empire
Eastman Kodak: From Market Leader to Bankruptcy
AFZ
Posted on December 7, 2015 at 6:08 pm
How did Eastman Kodak plummet from being the fourth most valuable brand in the U.S. with $15 billion of revenue in 1996 to bankruptcy by 2012?
Microstar: Untapping Growth in Craft Beer
Ian
Last modified on December 7, 2015 at 11:29 pm
Microstar leans on interconnected business and operating models to help craft breweries achieve their potential.
Tesla Motors – A Car Manufacturer with a Difference
Saaket
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 8:35 pm
With an action plan in place to address the key inhibitions towards electric cars, Tesla Motors is a blockbuster in the making.
Hermès: The ultimate luxury company
NMA
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 11:56 pm
Hermès is a unique example of a highly successful premium business model
The Citizenry: Beautifully Crafted Home Goods for Globally-Conscious Consumers
Safiya
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 11:56 pm
How a sustainable, pro-social, supply chain can create a highly effective e-commerce business delivering globally-sourced, unique, high-quality products direct to consumers’ doors.
Rent The Runway: Giving You the Chance to Wear the Dress of Your Dreams
Theresa Glaser
Last modified on December 3, 2015 at 9:36 pm
Rent The Runway provides women with the opportunity to rent expensive clothing and accessories, which are typically outside of their budget, for a fraction of the cost
M-Pesa: How Sub-Saharan Africa Bred the Global Leader in Mobile Money
Farhaz
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 9:45 pm
M-Pesa set the global bar for mobile money innovation in one of least sophisticated financial services sectors through operationally leveraging an existing mobile phone user base and 3rd-party distribution network
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
TED: Changing the World, 18 Minutes at a Time
Kathy Wang
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 10:48 pm
Power posing. Underwater sea creatures. Reinventing the education system. Most of us have watched a TED Talk - but how did it grow into a global phenomenon, and is it really just one big bubble?
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
M.O.M – A Star in Retail
Sabrina Yessayan
Last modified on December 7, 2015 at 4:31 pm
Macys is a leader in retail through its strategies of localization, omnichannel, and magic selling
Harry’s: Shaving Men in an Age of Razor Robbery
Jon Wu
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 10:48 pm
How an upstart shaving company is upending the way men shave while uplifting design.
Blue Bird School Buses
Christa Cunningham
Last modified on December 13, 2015 at 5:18 pm
Why Blue Bird Corporation is the fastest growing school bus brand.
Tractor Supply Company: Delivering growth to stockholders and everything but tractors to those living the rural lifestyle
SAM
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 5:20 pm
Growing stores and sales while staying focused on the target consumer and maintaining disciplined alignment of between business and operating models to drive efficiency.
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