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Case study
Publication date: 26 April 2018

Stephanie Giamporcaro and Marilize Putter

The case presents a responsible investment dilemma case. Swedish institutional responsible investors have to make a choice about their investment in Lonmin, a platinum mining…

Abstract

Subject area

The case presents a responsible investment dilemma case. Swedish institutional responsible investors have to make a choice about their investment in Lonmin, a platinum mining company whose operation are located in South Africa and has been the theatre of workers’ killings.

Study level/applicability

The case targets MBA students and can be taught in a corporate finance course, a corporate governance course, a business ethics course or on sustainable and responsible investment.

Case overview

The teaching case follows the journey of Hilde Svensson, the head of equities for a Swedish responsible investor. She has been tasked to visit the site of Lonmin in South Africa which is the theatre of a tragic workers’ unrest that led to the killings of 44 workers in August 2012. She must decide what the best responsible investment strategy is to adopt with Lonmin for the future.

Expected learning outcomes

The students are expected to learn about what responsible investment entails and the dilemmas that can be faced by responsible investors. The case also gives insight to business students and the complexities of environment, social and governance (ESG) analysis and how to integrate financial and ESG analysis when you are a responsible investor.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CCS 1: Accounting and Finance

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

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Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Ronald T. Wilcox and Carlos Michael Santos

Route 11 Chips, a regional potato chip company, is struggling with whether to reduce the number of flavors it markets. Additional flavors add operational cost, but management…

Abstract

Route 11 Chips, a regional potato chip company, is struggling with whether to reduce the number of flavors it markets. Additional flavors add operational cost, but management believes that some of the flavors are important to Route 11's brand image and that trimming the line might damage the brand. Route 11 has also taken a price increase recently and management is interested in finding out if there is additional room to raise prices. To analyze these issues in the case, students have access to five years of data on sales by flavor and package size as well as actual price and margin information (in a supplemental Excel spreadsheet).

Details

Darden Business Publishing Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-7890
Published by: University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

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Case study
Publication date: 29 August 2023

Rita J. Shea-Van Fossen, Janet Rovenpor and Lisa T. Stickney

Data for the case came from public sources, including legal proceedings, court filings and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The authors perused hundreds of court…

Abstract

Research methodology

Data for the case came from public sources, including legal proceedings, court filings and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The authors perused hundreds of court documents and identified 28 that were most relevant to this case. The authors also used press interviews with the women highlighted in the case. The authors have no relationship with the company and no one from the company has reviewed the information presented in this case. As the case is drawn from sworn legal testimonies, interviews and related documents in the public domain, the authors did not have to seek approval for publication.

Case overview/synopsis

Pinterest touted itself as “the nicest place on the Internet.” It had an almost 80% female user base and purported to have an inclusive culture that embraced diversity. However, in June 2020, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, two former female employees of color violated their non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to publicly accuse Pinterest of racial and gender discrimination. In August 2020, Pinterest’s former Chief Operating Officer, Francoise Brougher, filed a lawsuit charging the company with gender discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination, and authored a public blog post titled, The Pinterest Paradox: Cupcakes and Toxicity, detailing her own experience with the company’s discriminatory culture. Three days later 236 of Pinterest’s 2,545 employees staged a virtual walkout and 445 employees signed a petition in an attempt to change Pinterest’s policies and culture. The case provides a brief overview of Pinterest, including its mission, values and organizational culture, and details several incidents and complaints by female and minority employees. The case questions whether employee complaints are a relatively narrow issue involving disgruntled former employees who did not fit at the organization or a much broader issue involving discrimination and managerial neglect in creating and maintaining a nondiscriminatory, inclusive culture. Students are encouraged to evaluate the situation in which Co-Founder, Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Ben Silbermann finds himself, evaluate the actions taken and decide if Silbermann should take any additional actions to address the discrimination claims and ensure a positive culture for all employees.

Complexity academic level

This case is appropriate for graduate and advanced undergraduate level courses in organizational behavior, human resource management and business law or any course where discrimination and workplace culture are discussed.

Details

The CASE Journal, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 1544-9106

Keywords

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Abstract

Subject area

Organizational behavior.

Study level/applicability

Upper-level undergraduate courses, introductory MBA courses.

Case overview

This case study unveils the story of Al Qatef Holding, a Gulf-based real estate company that was created on the vision of one ambitious businessman. The case begins in 1999 when Faisal Al Qatef decided to pursue his dream of establishing a full-fledged corporation to serve the mounting real estate needs in the Gulf region. Faisal started his company by launching a number of residential and commercial property developments in his home country, Kuwait. During its early years of operation, Al Qatef Holding witnessed an impressive success and an increasing appetite for growth. A couple of years down the road, the founder made the strategic decision to open a new branch in Doha to seize the opportunity that the Qatari real estate market presented at that time. Yet, along with the rapid expansion came the company’s incapacity to deliver on its promises, generating many customer complaints and a damaged reputation owing to poor construction quality and significant delays in project delivery. The case describes the multiple challenges experienced by Al Qatef Holding throughout its evolution and portrays the external and internal dynamics that led to its initial success and subsequent decline.

Expected learning outcomes

Assess the internal dynamics and challenges that are associated with the management of small firms; discuss how leadership styles and characteristics affect the organizational climate and employee performance; demonstrate understanding of how corporate culture drives human behavior in the workplace; perform an analysis of firm structure to estimate its impact on individual and organizational outcomes; apply different techniques for enhancing employee motivation in organizations; and evaluate the effectiveness of managerial decisions and provide recommendations for securing corporate survival.

Supplementary Materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

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Case study
Publication date: 21 November 2016

Sarah Babb, Tina Retief and Geoff Bick

The subject areas are marketing, entrepreneurship, strategy or organisational design, operating in emerging markets and social entrepreneurship.

Abstract

Subject area

The subject areas are marketing, entrepreneurship, strategy or organisational design, operating in emerging markets and social entrepreneurship.

Study level/applicability

The study is applicable to MBA students, masters-level students and students of executive education.

Case overview

The case outlines the context and current decisions and dilemma facing Essay Gifts, which is a successful enterprise based in Cape Town, South Africa, supplying a local market in corporate gifting since 2006. The emerging market is facing economic decline and rising unemployment sitting at 25 per cent and up to 48 per cent in the youth market. After seven years of operating from a home-based office, Beatrice has moved into an office block in an upcoming area in Cape Town as they anticipate bullish targets for the upcoming year. The decision facing her now is whether to also sign a lease for a vacant retail shop downstairs from her office to sell ready-made gifting solutions. To meet the social mission, Essay Gifts is using township-based suppliers to develop the products, and this is proving an often unreliable and inconsistent source of supply and the current orders may not even be met at this particularly busy end-of-year period. How does Beatrice scale the business and what business is she in after all? Is she an entrepreneur, striving to increase the size of her business and her revenue, or is she a social entrepreneur creating employment opportunities for others?

Expected learning outcomes

The paper enables to identify the determining features of a social enterprise and the dynamics involved in balancing the social and commercial missions; understand the complexities of entrepreneurial operations in emerging markets; identify scaling up and strategic growth strategy options for social enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises; and distinguish entrepreneurial marketing strategies in contrast with traditional marketing strategies.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

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Case study
Publication date: 5 June 2018

John L. Ward

As founders of First Interstate BancSystem, which held $8.6 billion in assets and had recently become a public company, and Padlock Ranch, which had over 11,000 head of cattle…

Abstract

As founders of First Interstate BancSystem, which held $8.6 billion in assets and had recently become a public company, and Padlock Ranch, which had over 11,000 head of cattle, the Scott family had to think carefully about business and family governance. Now entering its fifth generation, the family had over 80 shareholders across the US. In early 2016, the nine-member Scott Family Council (FC) and other family and business leaders considered the effectiveness of the Family Governance Leadership Development Initiative launched two years earlier. The initiative's aim was to ensure a pipeline of capable family leaders for the business boards, two foundation boards, and FC.

Seven family members had self-nominated for governance roles in mid-2015. As part of the development initiative, each was undergoing a leadership development process that included rigorous assessment and creation of a comprehensive development plan. As the nominees made their way through the process and other family members considered nominating themselves for future development, questions remained around several interrelated areas, including how to foster family engagement with governance roles while guarding against damaging competition among members; how to manage possible conflicts of interest around dual employee and governance roles; and how to extend the development process to governance for the foundations and FC. The FC considered how best to answer these and other questions, and whether the answers indicated the need to modify the fledgling initiative.

This case illustrates the challenges multigenerational family-owned enterprises face in developing governance leaders within the family. It serves as a good example of governance for a large group of cousins within a multienterprise portfolio. Students can learn and apply insights from this valuable illustration of family values, vision, and mission statement.

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Case study
Publication date: 1 December 2005

Pauline Assenza and Alan B. Eisner

After decades of successful expansion, The Reader's Digest Association's products were mature. With an average readership age for the flagship Reader's Digest magazine of 50.3 in…

Abstract

After decades of successful expansion, The Reader's Digest Association's products were mature. With an average readership age for the flagship Reader's Digest magazine of 50.3 in 2004, efforts to develop new products had so far failed to entice a significant number of younger customers. Following a financial downturn in 1996, positive financial results remained illusive. Several major changes instituted by Thomas O. Ryder, CEO since 1998, including acquisitions, re-capitalization, restructuring and systematic re-engineering of the corporate culture, had proven mildly successful, but RDA, as well as the entire publishing industry, faced a persistent decline in profitability. Could RDA fulfill its stated mission to create “products that inform, enrich, entertain and inspire people of all ages and cultures around the world”, and could it do this by continuing to rely on the 80-year old Reader's Digest magazine?

Details

The CASE Journal, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 1544-9106

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Case study
Publication date: 5 March 2014

Motsomi Ndala Marobela

Management: human resources management.

Abstract

Subject area

Management: human resources management.

Study level/applicability

Undergraduate and postgraduate.

Case overview

This case gives critical insights in the complex issues surrounding the management of employment relationship in Africa, specifically focusing on Botswana. It is set in the context of explosive industrial relations involving Debswana Diamond Mining Company and the Botswana Mine Workers Union over the contentious issues of pay bonus and collective bargaining. Failure to reach an amicable compromise by both parties' results in a debilitating strike which costs the company millions of funds and affected it's the corporate image contrary to its well crafted social responsibility. More painfully, the end game is a loss of employment and dreams shattered for 461 dismissed workers who depended solely on this work as their only source of income.

Expected learning outcomes

At the end of reading the case students are expected to: understand the limits of managerial prerogative and the right to manage; appreciate the inherent conflict of interests between labour and capital; consider more equitable compensation schemes in dealing with collective bargaining; and discuss the concept of social responsibility in the context internal customers-employees.

Supplementary materials

Teaching note.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

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Case study
Publication date: 2 January 2020

George Marachly, Virginia Bodolica and Martin Spraggon

Learning outcomes of this study are as follows: conduct a comprehensive organizational diagnosis to uncover the peculiarities of managing a family business; evaluate the spirit of…

Abstract

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes of this study are as follows: conduct a comprehensive organizational diagnosis to uncover the peculiarities of managing a family business; evaluate the spirit of innovation of the new generation to drive rejuvenation initiatives in the family firm; reflect on the concept of stealth innovation and its manifestation in the context of transgenerational entrepreneurship; and assess the effectiveness of managerial decision-making and provide recommendations for securing the sustainability of a family firm.

Case overview/synopsis

This case starts with the entrepreneurial beginnings of Jack Misakyan, who transformed the small blacksmith venture of his father into a large and profitable family enterprise with operations across different countries and industrial sectors. Since the establishment of Misakyan Technical Solutions (MTS), Jack relied on the help of his brothers, Ara and Hovik, who have joined the ranks of owners and managers to drive the expansion efforts of the family firm. Over the years, the brothers were successful in pursuing a strategy of continuous growth and diversification by taking advantage of opportunities in several industries and regions of the world. They opened branches in Kuwait, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Armenia, and operated in industries of heavy-truck maintenance, pharmaceuticals, marine shipping, construction materials, quarry and restauration. Yet, four decades after its launch, the company was entering in a phase of stagnation and was in need for entrepreneurial rejuvenation. The members of the third generation, who have recently joined the family firm, believed that it was their obligation to restructure the operations and revive the entrepreneurial spirit in their fathers’ organization. Moreover, after several months of market analysis and investigation, two of the cousins came up with a new business idea that was pursued entirely in a stealth mode. By describing the strategic events and family dynamics that shaped the evolution of MTS over time, the case offers an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of managerial decision-making and provide recommendations for ensuring the longevity of the family enterprise.

Complexity academic level

Upper undergraduate classes.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

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Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Shane Greenstein and Michelle Devereux

Encyclopædia Britannica was the leading provider of encyclopedias in the English language, but after sales declined rapidly in the early 1990s the company was forced to file for…

Abstract

Encyclopædia Britannica was the leading provider of encyclopedias in the English language, but after sales declined rapidly in the early 1990s the company was forced to file for bankruptcy. Many different organizational and market factors contributed to this crisis, such as the diffusion of the PC, the invention of Encarta, the technical challenges of moving text to electronic formats, and the difficulties of inventing a new format while also operating the leading seller of books. Looking back, what could the company have done differently?

To illustrate important themes on a leading firm's response to technical opportunities and threats; teach students about technological waves, technological disruption, and different concepts of obsolescence; and examine strategic concepts such as attacker's advantages and skunk works.

Details

Kellogg School of Management Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-6568
Published by: Kellogg School of Management

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