In 2019, Loblaw Companies Limited, a Canadian grocery chain headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, was mired in controversy over the "ethnic food aisle," which was a common feature in all its stores. The company was questioned about the aisle's role in creating a sense of otherness and divisiveness among the culturally diverse individuals it served. These issues related to discussions sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement alongside the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, during which broad social inequality and COVID-19's disproportionate impact on frontline employees became spotlighted in new ways. Loblaw Companies Limited had to decide if it should remove its "ethnic food aisle." It also had to consider the purpose of its acquired stores that were entirely dedicated to ethnic offerings, such as T&T Supermarket, which specifically offered products and a shopping experience tailored to Asian tastes. The company had several questions to resolve. Did its current corporate strategy reflect evolving expectations of equity, diversity, and inclusion? What actions should the company take with regard to its popular "ethnic food aisle?" Should it continue to expand by acquiring additional ethnic grocery store chains? Was Loblaw Companies Limited doing enough to support equity, diversity, and inclusion in the organization?
The case features Ina Botha, executive director for South Africa-based Commercial Cold Storage and Logistics (CCS Logistics), critically reflecting on the lessons learned during her tenure leading the organization. Botha initiated and led a three-and-a-half-year culture change journey, which helped improve accountability and results. Now that she was considering a larger role within the organization's parent company, Oceana Group, she reflected on whether the new culture had been embedded within CCS Logistics and if it would be sustainable in a new era under different leadership. What should she recommend the incoming joint executive directors of the business continue to do or do differently to ensure the new culture supported the business in achieving its strategic objectives?
The head of Agile Initiative Network (AIN) at TCS, an India based multinational IT services-consulting-business solutions enterprise, has been mandated by the company's CEO to lead the internal transformation of TCS at scale into an Agile enterprise. There is a three-year deadline beginning December 2017, and the transformation must be executed company-wide in a single leap. Midway into the execution of the strategy, the head of the Agile Initiative Network discovers that he had not factored in the need for change management at scale. The deficit needs to be quickly addressed to achieve the desired outcomes from the ongoing transformation. Students have an opportunity to step into the shoes of the case protagonist and resolve the managerial dilemmas he is facing in making course corrections.
He increased the sales of products such as Pulmicort RespulesTM after their patents expired, generating significant social benefits by making medical treatment and medicines more accessible in lower-tier markets. Wang was promoted to President less than two years after joining AZ. While working primarily to boost sales in China, Wang introduced another task not tied to performance targets: innovation. To facilitate innovation, AZ reached beyond the pharmaceutical sector and worked with partners in the "3D" (diagnostics, device, digital) industries to launch "a patient-centric, integrated disease diagnosis and treatment platform." This initiative enabled pharmaceutical companies, which had acted only as drug suppliers during treatment, to engage in all stages of the patient journey, from education and screening, diagnosis and treatment, to follow-up and rehabilitation. Their first innovation project was the construction of pediatric nebulization centers, which were equipped with smart nebulizers powered by IoT and digital technologies. Following the initial success, AZ co-launched the chest pain center (CPC) project and the prostate cancer integrated diagnosis and treatment (PiDT) project, which not only delivered benefits to patients and hospitals but also granted partners access to hospital resources. The integrated diagnosis and treatment platform focused on areas where AZ excelled, such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, so participating hospitals and patients could "naturally" choose AZ's products. However, a closer look at its sales revenue revealed that AZ was not always the primary beneficiary of the platform, and its return on investment proved to be modest.
<p align="justify">On Monday, September 12, 2016, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Agrium Incorporated announced a merger of equals: to combine Agrium with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PotashCorp). Agrium, based in Calgary, Alberta, and PotashCorp, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, were Canadian neighbours and direct competitors in the fertilizer industry. The two companies were structured differently, with Agrium having a strong focus on the retail market and a mixed approach to the three major fertilizer components. PotashCorp focused primarily on mining and production of fertilizer materials, especially potash (potassium fertilizer).<br><br\>The proposed all-stock merger would create the largest crop-nutrient company in the world and third-largest natural resource company in Canada. While the two companies’ boards of directors had approved the merger, the deal still had a number of hurdles to overcome, including regulatory scrutiny over the resulting control of 60 per cent of North America’s potash capacity, shareholder approval, and the go-ahead from the Canadian courts. In addition, there was no guarantee that the proposed US$500 million in annual synergies from the merger would be realized. Was the merger the best decision for Agrium, or were there other, better options? Were the current terms of the merger good for Agrium? What were the key factors to consider to ensure operating synergies were realized? What would Agrium need to do to close the deal?
On June 24, 2021, Keppel Corporation (Keppel) and Sembcorp Marine Limited (Sembmarine) announced that they had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to enter into exclusive talks to merge Sembmarine and Keppel Offshore and Marine (Keppel O&M), a division of Keppel. Separately, but on the same day, Sembmarine also announced an intention to raise S$1.5 billion through a three-for-two renounceable rights issue (up to 18.83 billion new shares) at an exercise price of S$0.08 per share, which was a 35.7 per cent discount to the theoretical ex-rights price and a 58.1 per cent discount to the June 23 closing price of S$0.191.<br><br>Based on the share price reaction to the announcement of the restructuring, what was the market’s perception of the merger? Would it create value? Should Sembmarine raise capital via a rights issue and should shareholders subscribe to the rights issue?
After merging with Commerce Bancorp Inc., TD Bank NA (TD Bank) continued to wow its customers by providing free lollipops, pens, and dog-friendly services and staying open longer than major competitors in the region. Through social media campaigns, it emphasized the importance of having a human touch in banking and showcased its appreciation for customers who had lent a helping hand to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. It introduced innovative services such as curbside pickup for debit cards, and it increased its digital offerings by providing various digital financial services, platforms, and mobile applications (apps). It also enhanced its social media footprint and engagement with various hashtags such as #TDThanksYou. While TD Bank was doing all this, major competitors such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo responded with improved online and offline services. Having successfully differentiated itself as a bank with a human touch, TD Bank was forced to shutter 81 branches in the first quarter of 2021 due to the prolonged effects of the pandemic. Now, in September 2021, it has to recalibrate and provide more digital banking services as most of its customers are demanding the safety and convenience of digital banking. Can TD Bank build upon its slogan, “America’s Most Convenient Bank,” by consistently delivering humanized and seamless “phygital” banking experiences?
Since its establishment in 1994 in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, Sterlite Copper was mired in several controversies, including flagrant violation of compliance norms, causing extensive environmental degradation and health hazards. Sterlite Copper faced stiff opposition from the local community when it announced expansion of its production capacity in 2018. On May 22, 2018, the agitation took a violent turn when the police fired at protesters demanding the permanent closure of the plant, resulting in the death of 13 people. Using Wilson's interest group matrix, this case examines the impact of interest group activity on the policy politics process, the importance for businesses to interpret the policy politics process and its transitions, and how the strategies of different actors need to be responsive to the policy politics to prevent conflicts from escalating into crisis and tragedy.
Since its establishment in 1994 in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, Sterlite Copper was mired in several controversies, including flagrant violation of compliance norms, causing extensive environmental degradation and health hazards. Sterlite Copper faced stiff opposition from the local community when it announced expansion of its production capacity in 2018. On May 22, 2018, the agitation took a violent turn when the police fired at protesters demanding the permanent closure of the plant, resulting in the death of 13 people. Using Wilson's interest group matrix, this case examines the impact of interest group activity on the policy politics process, the importance for businesses to interpret the policy politics process and its transitions, and how the strategies of different actors need to be responsive to the policy politics to prevent conflicts from escalating into crisis and tragedy.
With the rapid growth of venture capital ("VC") in recent decades, we might wonder: who succeeds at VC and why? This is a complicated question, as many factors come into play. VC partnerships are comprised of individual investors with varying backgrounds, experiences, and skillsets. VC firms also feature a wide range of investment philosophies, goals, history, and resource sets. Finally, external factors such as geography and culture seem to be correlated with VC activity. This note summarizes some VC research at the individual, firm-wide, and national levels.
On Monday, September 12, 2016, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Agrium Incorporated announced a merger of equals: to combine Agrium with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PotashCorp). Agrium, based in Calgary, Alberta, and PotashCorp, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, were Canadian neighbours and direct competitors in the fertilizer industry. The two companies were structured differently, with Agrium having a strong focus on the retail market and a mixed approach to the three major fertilizer components. PotashCorp focused primarily on mining and production of fertilizer materials, especially potash (potassium fertilizer). The proposed all-stock merger would create the largest crop-nutrient company in the world and third-largest natural resource company in Canada. While the two companies' boards of directors had approved the merger, the deal still had a number of hurdles to overcome, including regulatory scrutiny over the resulting control of 60 per cent of North America's potash capacity, shareholder approval, and the go-ahead from the Canadian courts. In addition, there was no guarantee that the proposed US$500 million in annual synergies from the merger would be realized. Was the merger the best decision for Agrium, or were there other, better options? Were the current terms of the merger good for Agrium? What were the key factors to consider to ensure operating synergies were realized? What would Agrium need to do to close the deal?
Having a criminal record can be a major barrier to employment. When companies implement programs and policies that support the hiring of justice-impacted talent, including the formerly incarcerated, both they and the affected individuals stand to benefit. The author describes some of the efforts underway by nonprofit organizations and major employers to tap into this underutilized talent pool and provide people with a second chance to thrive in today's workforce.
When asked to identify an example of a circular economy business model that has generated billions in revenues for a company, ChatGPT, the famous chatbot that in 2022 rocked the world with its ability to perform a variety of tasks, immediately identified and highlighted Apple's iPhone trade-in program. The trade-in program encouraged customers to trade in their old devices, which were then refurbished and resold, or recycled for valuable components. With about 80% of the second-hand smartphone market comprised of iPhone and an increasing percentage of materials being recycled and reused in manufacturing, Apple was making progress towards circularity.
New Twitter CEO Elon Musk had been aggressively cutting costs since he acquired the company in October 2022, claiming that the company could collapse if he had not done so. Much of this had been accomplished by retrenching huge numbers of staff. Meanwhile, Musk's controversial moves to restore banned accounts had eliminated a host of key advertisers, causing its main source of revenue - advertising earnings - to plummet as they suspended their advertising activities on the platform. To pivot away from the firm's over-reliance on advertising revenue, Twitter had begun backing all things related to cryptocurrencies. First, it allowed cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets to run advertisements. It subsequently facilitated discussions about cryptocurrencies on its platform and allowed users to tip content creators with Ether. The company further allowed users of its Twitter Blue service to connect their Twitter accounts to their cryptocurrency wallets where their non-fungible token (NFT) holdings were held. Twitter then went on to facilitate the buying and selling of NFTs through tweets. Musk knew that the only way out for Twitter was to open up new steady revenue streams. Were cryptocurrencies and NFTs the answer? Only time would tell.
In late 2019, Nicole Haney was considering the next strategic step for her business, Boho Bars Bake Shop, based in London, Ontario. Boho Bars Bake Shop produced energy bars made with simple ingredients and whole foods. Haney, who had left her corporate job with the goal of achieving a more flexible lifestyle that would allow her to live in Hawaii for six months of the year, had successfully scaled the business to distribute her product across major retailers in Canada in just four years of operation. She had a supportive partner and no children, allowing her to focus on her business and career. She was considering several alternatives, including implementing automated production and commercializing with a co-manufacturer. If she chose not to pursue one of these opportunities, Haney could also consider maintaining the status quo or selling the business, possibly maintaining an income stream through a royalty deal.
After merging with Commerce Bancorp Inc., TD Bank NA (TD Bank) continued to wow its customers by providing free lollipops, pens, and dog-friendly services and staying open longer than major competitors in the region. Through social media campaigns, it emphasized the importance of having a human touch in banking and showcased its appreciation for customers who had lent a helping hand to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. It introduced innovative services such as curbside pickup for debit cards, and it increased its digital offerings by providing various digital financial services, platforms, and mobile applications (apps). It also enhanced its social media footprint and engagement with various hashtags such as #TDThanksYou. While TD Bank was doing all this, major competitors such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo responded with improved online and offline services. Having successfully differentiated itself as a bank with a human touch, TD Bank was forced to shutter 81 branches in the first quarter of 2021 due to the prolonged effects of the pandemic. Now, in September 2021, it has to recalibrate and provide more digital banking services as most of its customers are demanding the safety and convenience of digital banking. Can TD Bank build upon its slogan, "America's Most Convenient Bank," by consistently delivering humanized and seamless "phygital" banking experiences?
On June 24, 2021, Keppel Corporation (Keppel) and Sembcorp Marine Limited (Sembmarine) announced that they had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to enter into exclusive talks to merge Sembmarine and Keppel Offshore and Marine (Keppel O&M), a division of Keppel. Separately, but on the same day, Sembmarine also announced an intention to raise S$1.5 billion through a three-for-two renounceable rights issue (up to 18.83 billion new shares) at an exercise price of S$0.08 per share, which was a 35.7 per cent discount to the theoretical ex-rights price and a 58.1 per cent discount to the June 23 closing price of S$0.191.<br><br>Based on the share price reaction to the announcement of the restructuring, what was the market's perception of the merger? Would it create value? Should Sembmarine raise capital via a rights issue and should shareholders subscribe to the rights issue?