Enterprise-wide risk management contributes to better governance, yet despite the pressures, many companies are in no hurry to implement ERM. Despite pressures to do so, many companies have yet to implement practices for better risk management. Such practices, whether implementing Enterprise-wide Risk Management or putting better information in the hands of directors, greatly improve corporate governance, these authors discovered. Moreover, they make the risk manager's job much more important.
Capital One, a credit card company, has built its business on a strategy with a clear customer focus: The company systematically gathers and analyses information on its customers in order to correctly assess their individual credit risk and to offer products and services tailored to their individual needs. The case is designed to illustrate how the concept of customer relationship management (CRM) can be translated into strategy, organizational design, hiring, marketing processes, and IT infrastructure of a company.
APL (Australian Pork Limited) is a not-for-profit company focused on securing a profitable future for the Australian Pork Industry through R&D and export development. The case describes the March 2000 introduction of Airpork chilled Australian pork that is air-freighted into Singapore daily, following the outbreak of the Nipah virus and foot-and-mouth disease in neighboring Malaysia (which supplied most of Singapore's pork requirements). The timing of the case is a year after the launch of the product. The top management are involved in rationalizing the performance of Airpork over the year and developing its future strategy.
In June 1998, The Board of Directors of INSEAD, a leading international business school based in Fontainebleau (France) had to decide to proceed with an investment in a second campus in Singapore. Over the past 20 years INSEAD had established an international reputation and had developed some expertise on Asian business. The case presents the history of the project, the process by which the idea was transformed into an investment proposal and presents various views on the potential and risks of such development.
This is the first of a two-case series. When Renault sent Carlos Ghosn to turnaround its alliance partner Nissan, observers were skeptical of his chances. After soliciting recommendations from the employees, he unveiled a three-year plan involving plant closures, job cuts, and a refocus on design. Within two years, the company had achieved a dramatic recovery, posting record profits and proposing a dazzling array of new models. Note that there are two versions of the case: 'Redesigning Nissan (A) & (B)' covers the dynamics of taking charge (case A) and the process of leading change (case B). There is also a combined and condensed version of the cases: 'Nissan's U-Turn: 1999-2001', for instructors wishing to cover the material in a single session.
The problem set contains three problems designed to help students practice their ability to build math programming models. Problem # 1 is a portfolio problem where the student is asked to find a portfolio that minimizes risk (variance) subject to a required rate of return; as such, it is nonlinear. Problem # 2 is aggregate production scheduling; hence, linear. Problem # 3 involves determining how to source a fixed quantity from a menu of vendors with differing fixed- ordering charges and per-unit prices; it is a mixed integer model. All are sufficiently small that they can be easily optimized with standard math programming software (such as Excel's standard Solver).
Well-designed incentives, more than checks and balances, will help reduce the information asymmetry between senior management and the board of directors. Information asymmetry may never be more pronounced than in the imbalance between managers and board members. Simply put, management knows more than the board. To level the playing field, the board can implement performance-based incentive systems. But as these authors point out, to what extent should boards integrate financial and non-financial measures of performance in corporate incentive plans?
Fix the audit committee -- make it stronger and more independent -- and you'll fix what's wrong with corporate governance. Not so, says this highly expert governance consultant. Audit committees are a strange invention. They are supposed to provide the independence that their master-the full board-does not provide, but their accountability is often unclear. So, how did this peculiar state of affairs come to be? And what are the chances of real change?
The case describes Microsoft's first significant acquisition in Europe and its first in the telecom equipment (software) market. SendIt is a publicly listed Swedish start-up, which offers the only Windows based solutions to the IP-based mobile phone services market. The acquisition starts in high tone, loses momentum and is finally integrated with some degree of success.
This is the first of a two-case series. When Renault sent Carlos Ghosn to turnaround its alliance partner Nissan, observers were skeptical of his chances. After soliciting recommendations from the employees, he unveiled a three-year plan involving plant closures, job cuts, and a refocus on design. Within two years, the company had achieved a dramatic recovery, posting record profits and proposing a dazzling array of new models. Note that there are two versions of the case: 'Redesigning Nissan (A) & (B)' covers the dynamics of taking charge (case A) and the process of leading change (case B). There is also a combined and condensed version of the cases: 'Nissan's U-Turn: 1999-2001', for instructors wishing to cover the material in a single session.
The company's management is considering the possibility of launching a rebranding campaign around the promises "What you need. What you need to know." The questions are whether and when to launch the campaign in view of the large number of training efforts and supporting technologies needed to deliver on the promises.
Paybox.net, founded in 1999, is a frontrunner in providing mobile payment services in Germany and other European countries. The case discusses the development and roll- out of the m-payment services, the business model and marketing approach used, the technological and organizational challenges that the company faced as well as the sustainability of the paybox competitive position.