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Elon Musk was charged with contempt-of-court for tweeting that Tesla would produce about 500,000 vehicles in 2019. The lesson is obvious—even a rocket scientist can get into trouble using social media. However, seemingly rational social media interactions can also land a brand in hot water with consumers. While an organization can still exert some control over who speaks to the press, it is nearly impossible to control employees’ use of social media. Thus, the next best thing is a social media policy vetted and implemented by the board to provide guidelines. The goal of the authors’ research was to identify themes and elements of effective policies in order to offer a best-practice guide to help companies better manage the risks they face. Using corporate social media policies from 85 publicly traded firms in North America, they performed content analysis to identify keywords and phrases related to the use of social media by members of the firms. As the authors examined the social media policies, four themes emerged: representation, legal, control, and judgement. During a social media controversy, if it can be demonstrated that a) the employee was speaking on her or his own behalf, and that b) the employee was not following the company’s communicated policy, then the firm can limit its liability.

BP's horrible missteps after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded were almost predictable, given the culture of deceit and arrogance that executive actions had encouraged. While the accident could have been prevented, BP might have avoided its intense and deserved public flogging if only it had respected the best practices for managing a crisis and for managing. Readers of this article will learn what BP could and should have done differently.

The year 2007 had to have been one of the worst in the history of British Petroleum plc (BP). In the span of four months, two separate independent reports (the first one commissioned by BP itself) had identified a deeply rooted culture of risk within BP where money and profits were valued above worker and environmental safety. These reports were in response to an explosion in 2005 at an oil refinery in Texas City, in the United States, which killed 15 people and injured more than 180, but the reports also referred to pipeline leaks in Alaska as well as other serious safety lapses throughout BP's global operations. The Texas City explosion was the worst but not the first major incident at a BP facility, and the revelations in the reports severely damaged the credibility the so-called super-major oil company had earned over the last decade. The job of restoring investor and stakeholder confidence as well as the firm's reputation fell to the BP board and its star group chief executive, Lord John Browne. The B case, product 9B08M003, examines the role played by the board with respect to the personal integrity of Lord Browne. The teaching objectives are to introduce students to examining the role of the board with respect to risk management as well as its social responsibilities to various stakeholders.

This supplement to product 9B08M002 examines the role played by the board with respect to the personal integrity of Lord Browne, who had been several times identified as the chief executive officer of the year by the Financial Times.

The year 2007 had to have been one of the worst in the history of British Petroleum plc (BP). In the span of four months, two separate independent reports (the first one commissioned by BP itself) had identified a deeply rooted "culture of risk" within BP where money and profits were valued above worker and environmental safety. These reports were in response to an explosion in 2005 at an oil refinery in Texas City, in the United States, which killed 15 people and injured more than 180, but the reports also referred to pipeline leaks in Alaska as well as other serious safety lapses throughout BP's global operations. The Texas City explosion was the worst but not the first major incident at a BP facility, and the revelations in the reports severely damaged the credibility the so-called super-major oil company had earned over the last decade. The job of restoring investor and stakeholder confidence as well as the firm's reputation fell to the BP board and its star group chief executive, Lord John Browne. The B case, product 908M03, examines the role played by the board with respect to the personal integrity of Lord Browne. The teaching objectives are to introduce students to examining the role of the board with respect to risk management as well as its social responsibilities to various stakeholders.

In 2004 CCL Industries Inc. was a leading producer of value-added outsourcing custom products and packages for numerous large consumer packaged goods companies. CCL's chief executive officer and vice-chair faced an important strategic decision. The CEO was contemplating selling the custom manufacturing division of CCL that was the basis for its founding, and still contributed approximately 34 per cent of overall earnings. Although the firm had acquired and divested many business units throughout its history, this divestment was perhaps the most significant in terms of its historical importance. The divestment of this division represented a major change to the essence and strategy of the firm. CCL was fortunate to have a very active, supportive yet independent board of directors. The CEO had to ensure that if he recommended divesting the custom manufacturing division, he would need to be very well prepared for some intense questioning from the board regarding the soundness of his proposal. The board took their role as stewards of the corporation very seriously.

CCL Industries Inc. is one of the top packagers of consumer products in the world. Over its 50-year history the company had grown from a small room to a multinational firm employing 7,500 people with over $1.6 billon in sales. CCL faces an uncertain environment that had already led to a major strategic reorientation when its plan to sell its largest division was cancelled. A global economic slowdown and lower consumer confidence coupled with extensive international operations, significantly increased the risk to CCL's sales and already slim profits. In the past, the company prospered through product diversification gained through acquisition. The economic slowdown and increased uncertainty meant that this strategy may not be appropriate in the future. The chief executive officer recognizes the time, attention, advice, composition and operations of the board of directors would likely have to be altered to reflect this new reality.

CCL Industries Inc. is one of the top packagers of consumer products in the world. Over its 50-year history the company had grown from a small room to a multinational firm employing 7,500 people with over $1.6 billon in sales. CCL faces an uncertain environment that had already led to a major strategic reorientation when its plan to sell its largest division was cancelled. A global economic slowdown and lower consumer confidence coupled with extensive international operations, significantly increased the risk to CCL's sales and already slim profits. In the past, the company prospered through product diversification gained through acquisition. The economic slowdown and increased uncertainty meant that this strategy may not be appropriate in the future. The chief executive officer recognizes the time, attention, advice, composition and operations of the board of directors would likely have to be altered to reflect this new reality.

The music industry has changed dramatically as a result of technological and business innovations that have transformed how music is acquired, and how value is created and distributed. Napster, Inc. operated one of several Web sites that allowed Internet users free access to MP3 music files--which eventually led to lawsuits around issues of the protection of intellectual capital. These issues lead to the examination of the forces at play in the transformation of the music industry, the strategic alternatives for players in the industry and the legal context underpinning the strategic alternatives, with a particular focus on the protection of intellectual capital.

The music industry has changed dramatically as a result of technological and business innovations that have transformed how music is acquired, and how value is created and distributed. Napster Inc. operated one of several Web sites that allowed Internet users free access to MP3 music files -- which eventually led to lawsuits around issues of the protection of intellectual capital. These issues lead to the examination of the forces at play in the transformation of the music industry, the strategic alternatives for players in the industry and the legal context underpinning the strategic alternatives, with a particular focus on the protection of intellectual capital.

Workbrain Corporation was a young firm that offered Web-based time and attendance management systems solutions to companies with a blue-collar workforce. The company was the only player in a market niche that it created, offering proprietary systems that relied on technological excellence and alliances with third party vendors. Currently, it was developing a product at the same time as it was preparing a Request for Proposal for a large potential client. Workbrain Corporation didn't have the human resources, organizational infrastructure or external alliances they needed to present the product they envisioned or grow the company into what the chief executive officer envisioned. The newly-hired vice-president of corporate development was responsible for the strategic growth of the firm both internally and externally. He was faced with the task of organizing and re-orienting the company, and needed to develop a plan to grow the company into a market-oriented organization from the project/product-oriented one it was.

One of Canada's high-tech success stories, Bombardier, changed the airline industry with the introduction of its short-haul turbo-prop planes and jets in the early 1990s. By the mid-1990s, a new player from Brazil, Embraer, had entered the market and was capturing a lot of business from Bombardier. Bombardier claimed that the success of Embraer was due to unfair subsidies through a government program, so Bombardier challenged the policies through the WTO. Embraer charged back that Bombardier had long received subsidies through Canadian government loans and grants. In an industry which was expected to double in the next five years, the stakes were high. This case discusses the dispute resolution process within the WTO, and the impacts that subsidies and WTO subsidy restrictions may have on industry structure.

Through acquisitions and innovative management, Moscow Joint Stock Commercial Bank Vozrozhdeniye (V.Bank), had grown to be one of the largest banks in Russia. In a market with many competitors of varying strength and reliability in an unstable business environment, V.Bank was attempting to become a true commercial bank, fashioned after the operations of western banks. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had undertaken a World Bank contract to assist V.Bank in this process. However, in October 1998, as the Russian economy grew worse, management of V.Bank wondered if it would be able to survive the crisis, let alone continue towards its goal of transforming its operations into those that were competitive with the western banks. This case is appropriate for courses where the goal is to provide students with the ability to understand and forecast broad economic forces and incorporate this information into a decision-making process. The student is forced to make strategic decisions in a situation of uncertainty and instability, and in crisis mode, in an emerging market. Issues that need to be resolved include privatization, economic and monetary policy, IMF and World Bank intervention, societal stability, and government regulation.

A major threat to the existence of the CAW is the trend towards outsourcing the production of components to non-unionized, hence lower-cost manufacturers, by the Big Three Automakers (GM, Ford and Chrysler). This trend is costing Canadian Automobile Workers Union (CAW) members their jobs. The typical retaliation is CAW strikes, and negotiating job security agreements. This short-term strategy in fact encourages the move to offshore production in order to remain competitive. The purpose of the case is to discuss issues concerning the evolution of the Canadian economy from one which is manufacturing-based to one based on services, and to try to find answers to questions like: Can the CAW survive? Will the Big Three be producing cars in Canada in the 21st Century? Where else would they go? What are the concerns in moving production off-shore? What kind of strategy should the CAW follow to ensure its survival? How does Canadian automobile production relate to the global industry? How will governments impact the industry?