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Case Supplement for Case HEC315

Gibson and Fender, two of the biggest success stories in the guitar industry, were founded in 1902 and 1946, respectively. After both companies introduced their version of the electric guitar, their stories became intertwined, and they began a race for innovation interspersed with periods of financial crisis, corporate takeovers, and poor strategic decisions. But, over time, they captured a 70% share of the market between them and became world-renowned, producing legendary guitars that changed the face of popular music, and thus of culture. In response to declining sales of electric guitars in the mid-2000s, the two companies adopted very different survival strategies. Gibson opted for diversification, purchasing companies that expanded its product line, while Fender chose to attract new audiences with high growth potential. Gibson's overly ambitious strategy led it to bankruptcy, allowing Fender to retain its leadership status. Parts A, B, and C of this case present the two companies' history, their innovations, their evolving product lines, and the consequences of their strategies.

Case Supplement for Case HEC315

Founded in 1892, Boston-based General Electric (GE) has had a history of transformation, having pursued an impressive share of acquisitions, divestitures, and organic growth. From bolt-on acquisitions to enhance its existing platforms to sweeping changes in internal capabilities, GE has at times been considered the world's best-managed firm and at others, a large conglomerate in need of repositioning, rife for shareholder activism. In recent years, GE has faced critical decision point, with a growing pension deficit while funds were used for acquisitions, and a simultaneous series of management changes and growing investor concern. Since 2018, management has proposed a separation of the company into three entities. In this case, students are asked to analyze the businesses of GE, consider the pros and cons of a split, and make recommendations for the best path forward.

In late 2021, Darius Adamczyk, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell is considering the changes he has made to the company since he took over the top leadership position in 2017. The company he had inherited from his predecessor, David Cote, was seen by most as a high-performing, successful operation. Rather than rest on that success, however, Adamczyk had made a series of major moves-spinouts, exits, mergers, and reorganizations to refocus and reposition Honeywell. Against the backdrop of the breakup of GE, which many considered to be Honeywell's peer, Adamczyk wonders if he has done enough to prepare Honeywell to compete in the 21st century.

A former investment banking professional had her eureka moment when she noticed instances of assaults on single women travelling alone in taxi cabs at odd times of the day. The prevalence of these instances led her to begin a safe cab service run by women for women-Taxshe Services Pvt. Ltd. (Taxshe), located in Bengaluru, India. In March 2020, the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic began in India, and a lockdown was announced as a preventive measure. Taxshe, whose customers mainly comprised working women and school-going children, faced a significant challenge, as the sudden changes and stringent restrictions brought on by the lockdown precipitated a substantial drop in the need for cab services. Taxshe's founder contemplated the company's dilemma and consulted people from across her wide network of personal and professional acquaintances. How could she keep Taxshe up and running in spite of the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic? What value-added specialty services could Taxshe offer as a cab service during the pandemic that would benefit society at large?

In early June 2021, an independent investigation team released its report into the way Japan-based Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba) had conducted its 2020 annual shareholder meeting, finding that the company had mishandled the annual general meeting with respect to shareholder rights. As a result, Toshiba had to deal with the immediate problem of putting up a new slate of nominee board directors to be put to a vote at the next annual shareholder meeting to be held on June 25, 2021. Toshiba also had to deal with the long-term problem of improving the company's corporate governance and re-establish trust in the way the company was run. The board had one week in which to prepare a plan to present at the annual general meeting that would restore trust in the company.

Paytm was India's first digital wallet service provider. It revolutionized the country's digital payments landscape, but it was slow to adopt Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The entry of WhatsApp into the digital payments industry on November 6, 2020 intensified the competition in the UPI segment of the market that Google Pay and PhonePe already dominated by focusing on person-to-person (P2P) transactions. With a strong 400-million user base, WhatsApp threatened to be a formidable competitor in the P2P segment. Paytm was in third position in the UPI-based payments market, but maintained a firm hold on the person-to merchant (P2M) segment. Should Paytm continue to focus on that segment or should it expand to P2P, which was a larger market with big competitors?

After the 2008-09 financial crisis, the Chinese shipping industry grew markedly and took on a more dominant role in global shipping. As a result, it was felt by some that China's state-driven economic model had possibly created an unequal playing field. Under the political agenda of the Belt and Road Initiative, specifically the Maritime Silk Road, Chinese state-owned enterprises acquired strategic infrastructure assets, establishing a global network of shipping infrastructure through investments in strategically important ports and terminals. The growth of China's shipping industry raised several concerns in Europe and for AP Moller-Maersk, the largest container shipping conglomerate in the market. By late 2020, some European governments were becoming more cautious; the European Union had increased restrictions on investments by Chinese companies, and European governments had become increasingly outspoken about China's geopolitical ambitions. How could AP Moller-Maersk use non-market strategies to better position itself relative to increasing competition from China?

Three college friends-Rijin John, Vivek George and Arun Ghosh-came together to realise their decade-old dream of starting an enterprise. They launched Santa Express, an on-demand delivery service, for the pickup and delivery of handy and nonperishable goods in Kochi. Their idea of Santa serving customers was based partly on market research and intuition. However, lately, things have been difficult for Santa Express because of scaling issues, lack of an able/reliable workforce, funding, lack of long-term planning, co-founder's shifting commitments and pricing. The time had come for the co-founders to decide whether to continue the venture or shut it down. The case poses a real-life situation for students considering or planning to establish new ventures. They will have to struggle with many of the questions facing Santa Express. Some students may be naturally inclined to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Others may allow all the uncertainties and associated risks-real and imagined-to give them an excuse to take the safe road. This case allows the students to experience both the appealing facets and bothersome ambiguities of a start-up.

In 2018-19, Jet Airways stood nearly grounded. An airline that, just 5 years ago, had spread its wings across the world witnessed a stunning turnaround in its fate. The company appeared to face a perfect storm, with competition from low-cost carriers and increasing fuel prices. To excel and be a market leader, Jet Airways made big-ticket acquisitions and floated multiple low-cost offerings. However, none of these efforts seemed to have paid off as the company faced complete suspension of its operations. The case examines possible causes for the decline in the company's fortunes.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) had been working on a new brand campaign to attract visitors to Singapore. However, instead of highlighting the country's attractions and listing the reasons why it would be a good destination, they wanted to roll out a different kind of campaign that would resonate with consumers. Working with the Economic Development Board (EDB), STB developed a country brand to deliver a more compelling message to tourists and investors alike. Drawing on Singapore's early history, STB focused on telling stories that showed how Singaporeans overcame adversity on their road to success. STB worked with many people and organisations before launching the campaign about people following their passions. After the launch of the 'Passion Made Possible' campaign, STB hoped for widespread adoption of the country brand and a useable framework for future campaigns.

This three-part case focuses on Le Manoir, an income-sharing intentional community in the Gaspésie region. A self-managed, self-sufficient community, Le Manoir is run by people striving to implement an alternative lifestyle based on pooled time and resources rather than personal ownership. The case highlights the challenges faced by the community, notably that of reconciling personal and group interests, that is, ensuring both the survival of the community and the individual well-being of its members.

Case Supplement for Case HEC309

Case Supplement for Case HEC309

Petrobras is a multinational oil and gas company publicly traded in Brazil and international stock markets including the New York Stock Exchange. The company's controlling shareholder is Brazil's federal government. Political influence was at the centre of Petrobras's participation in a massive corruption scheme revealed in 2014. Brazil's Federal Police launched Operation Car Wash, a series of investigations disclosing a wide-ranging corruption scheme involving Petrobras, many politicians, and the country's leading construction firms. The case focuses on how corruption spread at Petrobras and the company's responses to the crisis beginning in March 2014.

The Edmonton Opera Association (Edmonton Opera) was founded in 1963 as a not-for-profit arts organization with the aim of providing audiences with compelling productions that combined music, song, and theatre. Over the years, Edmonton Opera had been successful in providing its services, but, in 2020, it was challenged. Just when it had almost recovered from a deficit, reported in 2012, the global COVID-19 pandemic occurred, and an economic slowdown followed. The board of directors knew that many organizations, in addition to Edmonton Opera, had had to suspend their operations temporarily due to COVID-19 restrictions, and they wanted to know how the pandemic had affected Edmonton Opera's operations. A newly minted board member with a background in finance and accounting was assigned the task of conducting a financial statement analysis. Because not all members of the board had the necessary skills to provide oversight of the association's accounting matters, this new board member was also asked to address Edmonton Opera's specific accounting issues.

On the evening of June 4, 2021, the Nigerian government ordered the suspension of business operations for Twitter in Nigeria, accusing the social media company of spreading misinformation and fake news and allowing activities that could undermine the corporate existence of Nigeria. The suspension caused anger and outrage in Nigeria and sparked reactions around the world. Four months later, on October 1, 2021, the Nigerian government stated that it was ready to revoke suspension if Twitter agreed to certain prescribed conditions. Twitter was keen to resolve the issue and resume operations in Nigeria, but accepting some of the requirements could compromise its core values. Should Twitter agree to the government's conditions?

Dr. Timnit Gebru-a leading artificial intelligence (AI) computer scientist and co-lead of Google's Ethical AI team-was messaging with one of her colleagues when she saw the words: "Did you resign?? Megan sent an email saying that she accepted your resignation." Heart rate spiking, Gebru was shocked to find that her company account had been cut off. She scrolled through her personal inbox to find an email stating that the company could not agree to the conditions she had stipulated about a research paper critiquing large language models and also expressing disapproval of a message she had sent to an internal listserv about halting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts without accountability. Therefore, Google was accepting Gebru's "resignation," effective immediately. Gebru who hadn't submitted a formal resignation realized she had been fired. Gebru had been concerned that large language models were racing ahead with little appraisal of their potential risks and debiasing strategies. Her ousting sent shockwaves through the AI and tech community. Thousands of people signed a petition against what they characterized as unprecedented research censorship. Nine members of congress would write the CEO of the company-Sundar Pichai-questioning his commitment to Ethical AI. The outspoken Gebru's experience raises fundamental questions about countering AI bias. Could tech companies lead the way with in-house AI ethics research? Should that type of work reside with more objective actors outside of companies? On the other hand, shouldn't those who best understand the technology at play be the ones to investigate the bias or ethical challenges that might creep up? The answers to these questions remain central to the exponentially growing AI domain that companies have to consider.

This case covers TikTok's purchase of Musical.ly and the reaction of the United States government, including the review of the purchase by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the reaction of the presidential administration of Donald Trump. The case delves into the mechanics of CFIUS' legal mandate and its review process, in order to shed light on how the United States views data security in the context of rising geopolitical tensions, particularly with China and Russia. The case also looks at how China and Russia, among others, are seeking to establish their own versions of "internet sovereignty" in order to expand their domestic control and international influence. The case asks how these countervailing forces impact a company such as TikTok that seeks to become a global platform and how it can respond.