In September 2015, VW had admitted to United States regulators that it had deliberately installed "defeat devices" in many of its diesel cars, which enabled the cars to cheat on federal and state emissions tests, making them able to pass the tests and hit ambitious mileage and performance targets while actually emitting up to 40 times more hazardous gases into the atmosphere than legally allowed. The discovery had prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to halt final certification of VW's 2016 diesel models, and VW itself had halted sales of its 2015 models. As fallout from the defeat devices developed, VW posted its first quarterly loss in more than 15 years, and its stock plummeted. Top executives were replaced, and VW abandoned its goal of becoming the world's largest automaker. Stakeholders around the world had been asking since the scandal broke: "How could this have happened at Volkswagen?"
Which sales candidate is a startup's ideal first hire? What marketing channels are best to invest in? How aggressively should an executive team align sales with customer success? Early stage founders, sales leaders, and marketing executives often face one, and sometimes all, of the above scenarios as they grow their ventures. This case presents three short vignettes, with three fictitious organizations, to facilitate a discussion around these important decisions.
This case study was prepared as part of a research project on Culture, Conduct, and Governance in Financial Firms. The objective of this project is to compare and contrast the efforts of U.S. and European banks to induce changes in organization culture in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Since this crisis, wide ranging regulations aimed at improving risk management and bankers' ethics have been promulgated in the United States and in Europe, and more rules are currently under discussion. Academics, regulators, and public officials have proposed many of these measures. At the same time, banks have been implementing their own company-tailored culture change programs. This project and the Morgan Stanley case in particular describes these change programs and banks' experience with them so far-with particular attention being paid to how banks are using compensation and other incentives to change and reinforce organization culture and conduct. One of the central questions of this case is whether or not the voluntary efforts of Morgan Stanley to strengthen their conduct and culture will prove to be "effective" or "adequate" according to bank regulators and the general public. This case lends itself to analysis and discussion in a variety of related graduate-level courses dealing with the management of financial institutions, financial regulation, corporate governance, organization behavior, and corporate accountability and ethics.
The case explores Hadi Partovi's mission to provide every K-12 student in the United States the opportunity to learn computer science. Students can assess how Partovi transformed his passion into an organization that reached millions around the globe through the launch of not-for-profit, Code.org, and its well-known awareness building event entitled "The Hour of Code." The case provides students the opportunity to consider the organization's multi-faceted approach, its team, and partnerships strategy. A particular focus is on the path taken by this relatively young social enterprise to address issues of scalability and sustainability.
Genentech, long the darling of the biotechnology industry, was acquired by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche in 2009. The combined company retains the name Genentech in the US, but must now move to achieve the promises made at the time of this merger-to build from made Genentech great. One of the key tasks for Genentech CEO Ian Clark and CFO Ashraf Hanna was to implement a new portfolio management process for the combined entity. This case explores the goals of the portfolio management process, and allows students to actively participate in the portfolio management exercise. The case includes cost and income projections for 12 products that need to be reviewed and approved.
Indonesia's Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), the world's largest pulp and paper company, was attacked in 2011 by Greenpeace in a global campaign against buyers of APP packaging, particularly Mattel. The managing director of APP's sustainability and stakeholder engagement (SSE) had to address lost sales and the accusation of greenwashing and devise an appropriate response to Greenpeace's challenge while implementing the APP Group chairman's goals to promote climate conservation, community, and commerce. In November 2014, the managing director of SSE had to assess the current progress of the Forest Conservation Policy and APP's relationships with its stakeholders.
In 2014, Transcend Coffee-an independent coffee shop and coffee bean roaster with several locations in Edmonton, Alberta-was selling premium coffee to a loyal base of customers. While it had taken several years to establish its presence in a marketplace that was filled with coffee retailers, Transcend Coffee's success was in part due to its direct trade supply chain strategy. By working closely with its coffee bean farmers, Transcend Coffee was able to assist in improving both the growing process of the beans and the quality of the coffee. When one of its farmers experienced a disastrous coffee bean season, the company was faced with several challenges that could have an impact on not just its profits but also the livelihood of its farmers. With demand for its coffee at an all-time high, Transcend Coffee had to consider how to mitigate a supply shortage without sacrificing quality. The founder was unsure if the current supply chain could guarantee a steady supply of high-quality coffee, or whether he could maintain transparency with consumers and suppliers if there was variability with the product. He had to quickly decide what to do about the poor harvest and his relationship with the supplier and also figure out how to meet customer demand.
Indonesia’s Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), the world’s largest pulp and paper company, was attacked in 2011 by Greenpeace in a global campaign against buyers of APP packaging, particularly Mattel. The managing director of APP’s sustainability and stakeholder engagement (SSE) had to address lost sales and the accusation of greenwashing and devise an appropriate response to Greenpeace’s challenge while implementing the APP Group chairman’s goals to promote climate conservation, community, and commerce. In November 2014, the managing director of SSE had to assess the current progress of the Forest Conservation Policy and APP’s relationships with its stakeholders.
In 2014, Transcend Coffee—an independent coffee shop and coffee bean roaster with several locations in Edmonton, Alberta—was selling premium coffee to a loyal base of customers. While it had taken several years to establish its presence in a marketplace that was filled with coffee retailers, Transcend Coffee's success was in part due to its direct trade supply chain strategy. By working closely with its coffee bean farmers, Transcend Coffee was able to assist in improving both the growing process of the beans and the quality of the coffee. When one of its farmers experienced a disastrous coffee bean season, the company was faced with several challenges that could have an impact on not just its profits but also the livelihood of its farmers. With demand for its coffee at an all-time high, Transcend Coffee had to consider how to mitigate a supply shortage without sacrificing quality. The founder was unsure if the current supply chain could guarantee a steady supply of high-quality coffee, or whether he could maintain transparency with consumers and suppliers if there was variability with the product. He had to quickly decide what to do about the poor harvest and his relationship with the supplier and also figure out how to meet customer demand.
Canada’s current weakness in commodity prices raises the possibility that public investment in private Canadian enterprises, absent in recent years, could make a dramatic return. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing. This article looks at the creation of two heavy-oil upgraders in Saskatchewan that were built to stimulate development of the local oil industry while creating jobs and maximizing royalty income. In both cases, the financial viability of the province was threatened along with the existence of the companies that partnered with government. For business, Saskatchewan’s two heavy oil upgraders show that government can be a risky, duplicitous and opportunistic partner — one with powers that most commercial partners lack. Even if government strives to be a good partner, its presence can politicize operations and increase media scrutiny. Further, people can assume they have privileges that they’d never dream of asserting without government participation. <br><br> If seeking or accepting government as a partner can be avoided, that advice is usually sound. However, government can raise large amounts of capital through non-commercial mechanisms, and can assume risks and provide funds for public policy reasons without regard for commercial targets. If a company has a project that will be solid in the long term, but cannot raise the money on the commercial market, then government can step in. But the author urges companies in this position to a) make sure the project is worth the risk, b) ensure that government partners avoid duplicity when structuring public-sector involvement, and c) make sure that the government has money in the venture first.
The protagonist, Jasper Wang, was originally from China, but had extensive risk management experience in overseas banks. With rapid Chinese economic growth, he was eager to return to China for the right opportunity, and was persuaded by the CEO of a domestic Chinese investment bank to head their Risk Management function. His remit was to introduce "international standards" in risk measurement and management to the firm. After the initial "honeymoon" period, he began to encounter more and more resistance from his colleagues at the trading desk, expressing skepticism for the new "Value at Risk" based market risk control framework he wants to set up. He must decide how he will push a more quantitative risk and control framework within the organization in the face of domain issues, dismissal of risk management measures used outside of China, and basic cultural differences about how things may get done within a domestic firm.
The Dallara Automobili case describes the success of a family run company that designed and built chassis for racing and sports cars. Established in 1972 by the legendary Gian Paolo Dallara, the company provided winning chassis for almost all major racing formulas. Initially the company's success was based on two core capabilities: aerodynamics and carbon fiber manufacturing, a combination that allowed the company to produce fast, light and safe chassis. In 2007, when the founder turned 70, he brought on board a new CEO, Andrea Pontremoli (former CEO of IBM Italy), to support and develop the company's long-term vision. Pontremoli led the company through an innovation journey that transformed Dallara from a pure high-end craftsmanship company into a modern engineering firm. Dallara pursued its original vocation and capabilities but it also developed new revenue streams, entering new customer segments beyond motorsports. The case describes the steps of this journey, focusing on how innovation impacted the traditional workflow within Dallara, opening up new business opportunities while maintaining the lead in its core business.
On January 21, 2015, a trading halt was placed on the shares of Keppel Corporation (Keppel Corp) and Keppel Land Limited (Keppel Land). On January 23, 2015, Keppel Corp announced an offer to take its subsidiary, Keppel Land, private. At the time of the offer, Keppel Corp already owned 54.6 per cent of Keppel Land. The buyout offer used a two-tier pricing approach with a higher price paid if Keppel Corp acquired a threshold number of shares. Keppel Corp would have the right to receive any distribution that might be declared, paid, or made by Keppel Land on or after the purchase date. The offer was scheduled to close on March 12, 2015. On February 2, 2015, Keppel Land appointed KPMG Corporate Finance Pte. Ltd. as the financial adviser to the independent company directors regarding the offer. Minority shareholders of Keppel Land were interested in evaluating Keppel Corp’s offer and examining its motivations. This would require that they compute the premium and net present value of the company, as well as analyze the revenue and cost synergies of the buyout.
The electric-vehicle market in India had never grown to its expected potential. Environmental uncertainties, structural challenges, lack of consumer awareness, and high costs all served as major deterrents to customer acceptance of electric cars. In 2014, Mahindra Reva launched the e2o, a completely revamped version of its previous electric vehicle, the Reva. Although the car was highly advanced and loaded with innovative features, sales remained stagnant. Should Mahindra Reva attempt to strengthen its market position or completely change its strategy and pursue other options, such as the hybrid-vehicle market.
In 2015, the general manager of Maritimes Credit Union based in Atlantic Canada was faced with a merger proposal that involved amalgamation with another, much larger credit union. The major concern was how co-operatives and credit unions could compete while retaining the values and mission that were at the core of their foundation. The credit union was dealing with the issue of competing in a modern world where technology was changing at a rapid pace, where the value demanded by younger customers had evolved, and where the competitive landscape was more intense, even in rural areas. The values and culture of a credit union were called into question as it coped by developing strategies that resembled those of investor-owned firms.
Teracom Limited was a medium-sized engineering manufacturing firm in India whose product portfolio included modems. The company catered to the various telecom service providers across India, including Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited , a major state-owned telecommunications company. Teracom’s customers were primarily business-to-business entities such as government organizations and telecom operators. However, it was considering selling its modems to retail customers. After seeking applications for new distributors of Teracom modems, the company narrowed the list down to four candidate firms. In December 2014, Teracom’s president of corporate business had to use a distributor selection model and undertake a distributor performance appraisal. What were the main criteria for evaluating the four applicants, and which firm was the best fit?
The electric-vehicle market in India had never grown to its expected potential. Environmental uncertainties, structural challenges, lack of consumer awareness, and high costs all served as major deterrents to customer acceptance of electric cars. In 2014, Mahindra Reva launched the e2o, a completely revamped version of its previous electric vehicle, the Reva. Although the car was highly advanced and loaded with innovative features, sales remained stagnant. Should Mahindra Reva attempt to strengthen its market position or completely change its strategy and pursue other options, such as the hybrid-vehicle market.