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In May 2022, BharatPe, a startup,announced a revamp of its governance framework to address any potential risks associated with suspicious transactions in response to a prolonged dispute with its Co-founder and former Managing Director (MD), Ashneer Grover. The company, in December 2022, filed a civil case at the Delhi High Court, and a criminal complaint with the Economic Offenses Wing alleging misappropriation of funds, embezzlement, and other misconduct. As the controversy unfolded, BharatPe's board, primarily comprised of multinational venture capital funds, came under scrutiny, with governance experts questioning their responsibilities and level of accountability. Did the board allow governance issues to persist for an extended period?

The case explores the challenges faced by the leader of the El Dandara tribes in Egypt, as he confronts the disappointing results of an assessment on the status of women within his tribe. Despite being praised for his leadership style, the assessment reveals a significant gap in female empowerment within the tribe. Hashem, known for his transformative initiatives, had initiated a project to uplift women in his tribe. Now faced with the need to reassess and improve the project, Hashem must navigate the complexities of tribal leadership, cultural norms, and the urgent need for female empowerment. This case helps students understand the importance of culture for leadership by providing insights into Western and Arab leadership practices.

Nitin Kapoor, the managing director of Saera Electric Auto Pvt. Ltd. (Saera Electric), a leading three-wheeler electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in India, was excited to capture the opportunity brought about by some recent favourable regulatory developments in the Indian EV sector in early 2015. Although Nitin, along with his father, Vijay, had spearheaded the growth of Saera Electric despite several difficulties, the new developments were compelling Nitin to reevaluate Saera’s playbook. This case examined the strategies adopted by Saera Electric for transforming an innovative idea into a final product and explored the various opportunities and challenges associated with competing in a BoP market segment in a larger emerging-market context.

Casing Petrochemicals was a leading importer of Petroleum Derivatives (such as Base Oil), Chemicals and Refrigerants in India. With 90% of the firm's revenue and profits contributed by the Petroleum Business, the other businesses were secondary in nature. The firm through procurement contracts with refineries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East imported base oil and then sold in bulk to institutional buyers across various industries such as automobiles, steel, and consumer companies. . Covid cases had begun to rise again and Indian states had already declared lockdowns. With Crude Oil prices also expected to remain volatile, the future of the firm was at stake.

An investment proposal reached the offices of Brookfield Renewable Partners (BRP) that outlined an opportunity for BRP to invest $300 million in Entropy Inc., a carbon capture and storage (CCS) company based in Calgary, Alberta. A subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, BRP specialized in clean power investments and invested with clear environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria and company culture principles. As the investment team reviewed the materials, two key questions were at the top of mind. First, did Entropy’s business model align with BRP’s ESG investment criteria? Second, would the investment generate sufficient financial returns, and how would changes to Canada’s carbon pricing regulation impact the viability of CCS?

Spreadsheet to accompany product W36251.

In October 2022, Licious, the market leader in India’s meat industry, launched its new brand UnCrave in the plant-based meat market segment. The launch was aligned with the company’s portfolio diversification strategy, leveraging its strong core brand equity. Unlike typical plant-meat brands that sold to vegan and vegetarian customers, Licious wanted to offer UnCrave to its core meat-consuming customers as an occasional alternative to meat options. However, several new competitors soon entered the market, while some people questioned the health benefits of plant-based meat. Was it a mistake for Licious to enter the plant-based industry at a time when a sizable portion of the organized meat business was still unexplored. Was the consumer segment Licious had targeted the right choice? Was it a good decision to increase the company’s product mix by including plant-based meat?

Hopeworks Camden (Hopeworks), a small non-profit organization based in Camden, New Jersey, with a $4.7 million annual budget in 2022, was looking ahead to 2024. It was mid-July 2023, and the board of directors tasked Don Rhoton, Hopeworks’ chief executive officer, and Onome Pela-Emore, their chief operating officer, to develop an expansion plan that is financially viable and increases their geographic reach, beginning as early as the second quarter 2024. Rhoton and Pela-Emore believed in their mission and knew that to grow they would need to increase in spatial geography, obtain new business opportunities, increase recruitment and training, and be competitive in the marketplace. They also knew that to make this all happen they would have to question how they market, determine who they would market to, and how the market will recognize them as a competitor.

A year had passed since implementing digitalization of the direct lending process at Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and the committee gathered on January 2, 2023, to reflect on its success and identify any issues. During the meeting, the team discovered that some businesses faced issues with loan sanctioning due to the need for relaxation of certain policies. Because the system-driven processes were based on standard procedures, the committee faced a dilemma in how to handle these relaxations. Although the system was automated, there were still certain areas that required manual interventions. As a result, the team deliberated whether SIDBI should move toward hyperautomation.

On July 15, 2022, the senior marketing manager of Prabhu Murthy Industries Limited participated in a high-priority meeting attended by all of the company’s executives to discuss a pressing issue. The company’s unstable financial position and disappointing results had tarnished its reputation among investors. The company had to quickly raise funds by promoting itself as a favourable investment option for the public and investors, and the senior marketing manager was entrusted with developing an advertisement that would fulfill this purpose. As he contemplated the challenging week ahead, the senior marketing manager grappled with determining the most effective course of action to achieve the company’s objective. How would he convey the right advertising concept to effectively inspire confidence in investors and stakeholders? His contemplation would also underscore the importance of ethical communication in the financial services industry.

By 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in Santa Clara, California, had been successfully providing financial services to venture capitalists and private equity firms for 40 years. The bank, which catered to clients from the innovation and technology sectors, ran into problems and was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on March 10, 2023, becoming the second largest US bank to fail after Washington Mutual collapsed in 2008. The US Federal Reserve System (FRS), while being criticized for having lax standards that contributed to the catastrophe, maintained that it had provided several warnings. The United States Senate Banking Committee planned to organize a formal congressional hearing to investigate the nature of SVB’s failures and flaws and to question the FRS and evaluate the regulator’s response to the same. Everyone involved was shocked by the collapse of a large bank like SVB. Was it an erroneous business model that concentrated on sector-specific clients that had led to SVB’s downfall? Or was the failure due to lax banking rules? Could a poor regulatory environment be held responsible? Another possibility was that SVB’s weak risk management oversights and controls could be blamed. What could SVB have done to avoid the disaster? What lessons could the banking sector learn to avoid such collapses in the future?

This exercise presents common size financial information, from which students identify seven anonymized major US companies in the following business areas: railway services, meat product processor, telecommunications service provider, technology consulting provider, aerospace engineering, natural resources mining, and retail drug and convenience store. Students identify the companies using their skills in interpreting financial statement data.

Arconic Inc. was an international aluminum parts manufacturing and lightweight composite engineering conglomerate. In early 2019, it was set to be sold to Apollo Global Management Inc., a premier private equity firm; however, the deal fell apart due to a dispute over the valuation of pension obligations. The board of Arconic Inc. still demanded structural changes to maximize shareholder value, and in February 2020, the company engaged Bulge Bracket Bank (Bulge Bracket) to explore other options. The managing director of Bulge Bracket saw that there was a case to be made for spinning off Arconic Inc.’s Global Rolled Products division as a new company, to be called Arconic Corporation. He assigned a promising second-year analyst the task of conducting a comparable companies analysis to determine a fair valuation for Arconic Corporation. By drawing up a list of other companies in the materials industry and conducting a qualitative and quantitative analysis on them to identify comparable companies, the analyst was able to determine a reasonable implied valuation range ahead of the stock market listing of the spun-off company on April 1, 2020.

Spreadsheet to accompany product W32370.

Prabhakar Hegde, plant head at Ashmilro Engineering Limited, a prominent player in the diesel generator industry, faced a critical challenge of addressing delayed product delivery that threatened the company’s competitiveness. Hegde recognized that this delay could hinder the organization’s plan to increase market share by 15 per cent within the next two years. In a competitive industry where timing was everything, the company was targeting to reduce its delivery lead time from six weeks to two weeks. The misalignment between the departments was coupled with challenges in the order-fulfilment process, parts shortages, performance measures, and long lead times. Hegde’s top priority was to find the root cause of the production problems and to recommend a comprehensive solution.

Corporate ownership structure shapes corporate governance in profound ways, impacting decision-making speed, risk management, strategic alignment, and firm performance. The effectiveness of governance mechanisms varies with ownership structures, from sole proprietorships to shareholders in public firms, as each structure entails unique challenges in balancing control, oversight, and incentive alignment. This note explores governance strategies across various ownership structures—grounded in theoretical insights from agency, stewardship, and stakeholder theory—offering recommendations to create stability, promote strategic alignment, and foster trust.

A balance sheet is a key financial statement that provides a snapshot of a company’s financial position at a specific point in time. This note offers a concise overview of the basics of the balance sheet.

Instructor spreadsheet for product W34781.

Student spreadsheet for product W34780.

Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), a leading global travel agency based in Australia, faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Known for its extensive network of physical stores and diverse travel services, FCTG experienced severe disruptions due to global travel restrictions and reduced demand. In response, it implemented a strategic transformation, focusing on digital enhancement, cost reduction, and securing additional liquidity. The company streamlined its operations, invested in technology, and formed strategic partnerships to adapt to evolving consumer behaviours. By diversifying its service offerings and making strategic acquisitions, FCTG positioned itself for recovery and growth in the post-pandemic travel industry. However, as international and domestic travel began to recover after 2023, new challenges emerged in the form of persistent inflation and rising living costs. FCTG now faced the question of how to maintain its competitive edge and expand its business while navigating these economic pressures, prompting a re-evaluation of its strategies for sustainable growth amid a rapidly changing market landscape.