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)

OYO Rooms: India’s largest budget hotel brand built in less than 3 years!
Anish Nahar
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 3:29 pm
Learn how OYO is disrupting India's budget hotel industry and growing at breakneck speed!
Wegmans: The New Frontier in Grocery
AG
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 1:54 am
Wegmans is battling competitors on all fronts - from Whole Foods to Trader Joe's to Walmart. Even so, it's winning the battle to keep prices low and quality high.
To Infinity and Beyond
Roxy
Last modified on December 14, 2015 at 3:27 pm
Pixar, as a business, teaches us a lot about what is possible and that business models and processes can be vehicles for humans to move beyond possible.
Uber – Reinventing The Taxi Station Operating Model
YaelS
Last modified on November 28, 2015 at 9:40 pm
Can Uber sustain its business model and success while competition increase?
HBS – Harvard = Business School
David
Last modified on December 5, 2015 at 3:53 pm
Yeah, it's meta.
Patagonia: A Different Way of Defining Value
Pete Mitchell
Posted on December 6, 2015 at 5:18 pm
Patagonia aligns its business and operating models to "do good for the world" as opposed to generating profit.
American Tower Company: An Operational Beauty in Ugly Masses of Steel!
Brighton Mudzingwa
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 8:47 pm
How a simple operational model has turned a boring business model into a fascinating cash cow.
Flexible Business Model vs. Standardized Operating Model
abc123
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 8:46 pm
Can a business succeed that aims for flexibility, but is build on standardization and centralization?
GitHub: Development in a Networked Age
AC
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 8:35 pm
The Business Model   GitHub has revolutionized the software development process.  Not only has it created a category-defining tool for coders to address a severe pain-point, version control, but it also hosts a platform through which developers can leverage the [...]
FinTech in Latin America: The New Age of Lending with Kueski
sdarling
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 6:14 pm
Fintech has arrived in Latin America! Kueski is well on its way to revitalizing how consumer loans are made in Meixco and the rest of Latin America. Best-in-class technology and smart credit practices help Kueski offer fast, quality loans online.
BorrowLenses.com – Smooth Bokeh starting at $50
Dallin Rosdahl
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 4:08 pm
One company that disrupted the photography industry one rented lens at a time.
OYO Rooms: Disrupting the Indian hospitality industry
Adwaita
Posted on December 5, 2015 at 6:08 pm
OYO rooms is India’s largest branded network of hotel rooms with 14,000 rooms across India. It’s an incredible feat given that OYO was founded 2 years ago by a 21-year-old and  hasn’t built a single hotel! So how do they [...]
Aravind Eye-Care System – McDonaldization of Eye-Care
Aravind Krishnan
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 11:29 pm
Developing a replicable model which delivers high-quality eye-care to India's poor
Redbox – “Disruptor” Finally Disrupted
Cozean
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 8:31 pm
Redbox pursed a high-fixed cost, capital-intensive model that - due to superior pricing and alignment with customer needs - allowed it to disrupt Blockbuster and other brick-and-mortar rental firms but crippled its ability to compete in an industry now dominated [...]
Category Offense at Nike
Pedro
Last modified on December 6, 2015 at 8:33 pm
Nike's 2008 shift to focus on sports and athletes rather than product categories has led to massive sales growth for a corporation of their size.
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 [...]
State Bank of Chile (Banco Estado): Guaranteeing access to banking services at a minimal cost
Rene
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 11:01 pm
A profitable bank that aspires to serve every citizen with competitive prices through a smart operation
P&G – a giant hungry for growth
Karen Morven
Last modified on December 2, 2015 at 11:26 pm
Procter and Gamble is a giant hungry for growth, willing to invest its vast resources to foster innovation and world-class execution
REVOLVE: Mass Market Need Not Apply
Pandalisa
Posted on December 8, 2015 at 6:52 pm
Revolve has become the trendiest and most profitable e-commerce startup in the recent past - all by excluding the majority of the market and keeping laser focused on solving for early fashion adopters
Did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?
Tyler T.
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 5:11 pm
Holiday Inn Express provides a reasonably priced, no-hassle experience for everyday travelers.
Eventbrite: A foolproof service for the event-organizing layman
Felix J
Last modified on December 2, 2015 at 11:22 pm
Eventbrite's service allows users to seamlessly manage and attend events all at one low fee per ticket. As its growing feature-heavy product spins off into apps with mobile payment functionality, and easy-to-use seating chart arrangements, organizers and consumers continue to [...]
One Medical: The Doctor’s Office. Reinvented.
Pia Gugnani
Posted on December 5, 2015 at 6:47 pm
One Medical Group is bringing back service and patient-centricity to healthcare by focusing on design, technology, and building a great team of doctors!
BHP Billiton – Remotely Resourcing the Future
LeeSun
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 10:52 pm
Technology development as the key driver of continuous productivity improvement for the world’s largest miner
LSE’s model
VincentP
Last modified on February 19, 2016 at 1:45 pm
Breaking away from the traditional vertically integrated "silo", the London Stock Exchange Group is building its growth from a new open-access model.
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