Business Ethics & Corporate Governance

Dear students get fully solved assignments
Send your semester & Specialization name to our mail id :
help.mbaassignments@gmail.com
or
call us at : 08263069601



QUESTIONS FOR
CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT








Business Ethics & Corporate Governance






Licensed for use by the students of the
Executive MBA Program,
The Icfai University.
Not to be reproduced.

QUESTIONS FOR CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT

Business Ethics & Corporate Governance

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS FOR ANY TEN CASE STUDIES

 

Questions for 18 case studies are given below. Each case study assignment has 2 questions. Students are required to answer questions for any 10 case studies (20 answers). Students are advised to submit answers for all 10 cases in one go, for results to be adjudged in one instance.


1.      The Chinese Tainted Milk Scandal

a.            The Chinese tainted milk scandal raises doubts on the safety of food products in the country as well as the ethical standards of the companies involved. Discuss the situation from the perspectives of different ethical principles that stakeholders, namely, the company, the consumers, and the government, might have adopted (or ignored) in the situation leading to the scandal.

Answer: The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a food safety incident in China. The scandal involved milk and infant formula along with other food materials and components being adulterated with melamine.
China reported an estimated 300,000 victims in total. Six infants died from kidney stones and other kidney damage with an estimated 54,000 babies being hospitalized. The chemical gives the appearance of higher protein content when added to milk, leading to protein deficiency in the formula. In a separate incident four years prior,


b.            Do you think the corrective actions taken by the government after the revelation of the scandal were timely and sufficient? Explain with reasons. What steps should the government and regulatory agencies take to prevent the occurrence of such incidents in future?

Answer: China's eggs exports in the first eight months of 2008 were valued at USD92.7 million. More than 90% went to Asian countries, and 6.5% went to North America, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
International agencies: Jorgen Schlundt, head of food safety at the WHO criticised China's food-safety system for being "disjointed", saying that "



2.      Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Revisited after Twenty-five Years

a.            Discuss the Bhopal gas tragedy – its reason and consequences (short- and long-term). Discuss the stand taken by the main stakeholders (namely, UCC, Dow, the government, and the survivors) of this industrial crisis. Who, according to you, should be held responsible for the human tragedy caused due to the disaster? Justify. Do you agree with critics who claim that this disaster and its outcome show the dark side of contemporary capitalism? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer: On the night of 2/3 December 1984, a major accident occurred in Bhopal, India, at a pesticide plant owned by the Union Carbide Corporation (Bogard 1989). This accident triggered a long-term industrial crisis for the entire population of Bhopal, for government agencies in India, and for the Union Carbide Corporation. Industrial crises are processes of severe disruption and harm that originate in industrial activities and


b.            Even 25 years after the disaster, the survivors continue to struggle as they have not been adequately compensated and the disaster site had not been cleaned up. Dow too refuses to take responsibility for the disaster and the clean up of the site. Since Dow acquired UCC, should not it accept the public liabilities of UCC? Clearly state the ethical principles and reasoning underlying your stance.

Answer: A multiple-perspectives approach also acknowledges the complexity of causes and the importance of contextual factors. It interprets causes in systemic terms (Mitchell, Devine, and Jagger 1989). Technological, organizational, and societal systems are susceptible to multiple, simultaneous, and interacting failures. A main limitation of the traditional systems view of causation is that it does not indicate which causes are more or less important, and from whose point of view. The multiple-perspectives approach addresses this limitation and accepts the impossibility of unambiguously fixing blame for industrial crises. Attempts to affix blame are reductionist: they merely divert analysts from proper

3.      Treading on that Fine Line?: Caselets in Marketing Ethics

a.            In the light of the two caselets, critically examine the strategies adopted by these companies in marketing and promoting their products, which raised ethical concerns. Discuss whether the companies were justified or not. Suggest the steps the two companies can take to overcome and avoid ethical breaches in marketing their products and services.

Answer: The profession of business ethics has long needed a highly practical resource that is designed particularly for leaders and managers -- those people charged to ensure ethical practices in their organizations. Unfortunately, far too many resources about business ethics end up being designed primarily for philosophers, academics


b.            Discuss the role of celebrities or professionals (doctors) in reinforcing stereotypes and encouraging „disease mongering.‟

Answer: Although there is a growing number of policies, at least in Spain, aimed both at increasing women's presence in the population forming part of a CT and encouraging analysis of the results by sex, women are still under-represented in CTs. The first of the articles identified gender bias in the context of rationale, based on the under-representation of women in CTs of etoricoxib, particularly in the initial phases. These initial phases are important for detecting sex-related differences regarding pharmacokinetics and

4.      The 'Bernard Madoff' Financial Scam

a.            Discuss in detail how Madoff operated the Ponzi scheme and the methods he used to conceal it. Explain the events and the factors that led to the disclosure of the fraud?

Answer: Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff is an American fraudster and a former stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier. He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.
Madoff founded the Wall Street firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in 1960, and was its chairman until his arrest on December 11, 2008. The firm was one of the top market maker businesses on Wall Street, which bypassed "specialist" firms by directly executing orders over the counter from retail brokers. He employed at the firm his brother Peter, as Senior Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer; Peter's


b.            What were the affects of the financial scam on its many investors? What were the red flags or indicators that were ignored by regulatory authorities such as SEC and FINRA? How could have SEC handled/acted in order to prevent the scam and its ripple effects?

Answer: Madoff was chairman of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC from its startup in 1960 until his arrest on December 11, 2008.
The firm started as a penny stock trader with $5,000 ($40,000 today) that Madoff earned from working as a lifeguard and sprinkler installer. He further secured a loan of $50,000 from his father-in-law which he also used to set up Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. His business grew with the assistance of his father-in

5. Gap Inc.'s Ethical Procurement Practices


a.            Critically examine and comment on Gap‟s journey towards implementing ethical procurement practices. In spite of comprehensive guidelines and compliance checking, violations were reported among Gap‟s suppliers, as the incident in North India brought out. What measures should Gap take to ensure adherence to the VCC by the suppliers? Explain.

Answer: (Gap), one of the largest specialty clothing retailers in the world. Founded in 1969, Gap witnessed rapid growth in its business soon after its inception. To meet the growing demand, Gap started procuring garments from several countries. In 1992, Gap laid out sourcing guidelines for the suppliers covering labor, environment, health and safety standards. The responsibility of implementing these guidelines was on the suppliers.

b.            If you were a compliance officer at Gap, how would you conduct assessment of factory conditions of the vendors? What according to you will amount to serious violations? Explain.

Answer: Monitoring continues to play a key role in our strategy for working with factories. While we recognize that monitoring alone is not



6.      Facebook's Data Privacy Controversies

a.            Discuss the utility of social networking sites like Facebook. Do you think the very nature of social networking puts the responsibility of protecting users‟ privacy on the users themselves? Substantiate your answer.

Answer: Social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. Privacy concerns with social networking services is a subset of data privacy, involving the right of mandating personal privacy concerning storing, re-purposing, provision to third parties, and displaying of information pertaining to oneself via the Internet.
Social network security and privacy issues result from the astronomical amounts of information these sites process each day. Features that invite users to participate in—messages, invitations, photos, open platform applications and other applications are often the venues for others to gain access to a user's private information. In addition,


b.            Critically examine the features of Facebook which attracted criticism from its users as well as industry experts. Do you think by introducing these features, Facebook tried to control user‟s information and the content they created? Take a stand and justify. Bring forward the facebook‟s dilemma in sharing information versus ensuring privacy.

Answer: There are several reasons why invasion of privacy occurs among social network sites.
Various levels of privacy offered: Social networking sites vary in the levels of privacy offered. For some social networking sites like Facebook, providing real names and other personal information is encouraged by the site(onto a page known as a ‘Profile‘). These information usually consist of birth date, current address, and telephone number(s). Some sites also allow users to provide more information about themselves such as interests,



7.      Success at What Cost? - A Case Study in Managerial Ethics & Compliance

a.            What, in your opinion, are the factors that contributed to the unethical practices in SuperDrugz? Why do you think Sanjib was not ready to be part of the unethical practice being followed by his colleagues? Suggest alternate measures Sanjib could have followed to bring out the ethical lapses in the company. If you had been the MD of SuperDrugz, how would you have handled Sanjib?

Answer:


b.            Do you think forming an ethics committee will be enough to ensure that the employees followed ethical boundaries? Justify. What else can be done to ensure that such a situation does not arise in the future? Discuss the role of various stakeholders of the company so that such a situation does not arise in the future.

Answer:


8.      Some HR Dilemmas in Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing Firms

a.            Discuss the underlying cause(s) of stress in the workplace and the strategies that organizations could adopt to cope with stress. Are the employees in IT and BPO industries more likely to suffer from stress than in other industries? Justify.

Answer:


b.            Assume that the top management of your (IT or BPO) firm has asked you to provide an action plan to prevent data theft by employees. What would your action plan be? Keep in mind that your plan should not have an unacceptable level of adverse impact on the morale of committed employees.

Answer:


9.      Think Global AS: In Search of the Triple Bottomline

a.            Critically analyze Think‟s product offerings and its business model. Discuss the challenges ahead of Richard Canny in taking Think to profits and in creating a platform for sustainable growth.

Answer: Think Global was an electric car company located in Oslo, Norway, which manufactured cars under the TH!NK brand. Production of the Th!nk City was stopped in March 2011 and the company filed for bankruptcy on June 22, 2011, for the fourth time in 20 years. The company was bought soon after by Electric Mobility Solutions AS and production ceased in August 2012 with no more announcements regarding future production. As of October 2010, a total of 2,500 units had been manufactured at Oslo-based TH!NK’s production facility.
Think Global AS (Think), a Norwegian


b.            Suggest ways by which Think can gain economic stability and grow its sustainability-driven business model to become „the car company of the 21st century‟.

Answer: “Our delivery today is part of a larger effort to help transform the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet from one that is mostly dependent on imported oil, to one that is fueled entirely by domestically produced electric energy,” said Barry Engle, THINK CEO. Engle continued, “As part of that goal, we’ve made a strategic decision to target initially the many millions of fleet vehicles in operation in the U.S. market…These fleets can jumpstart vehicle electrification in America’s cities and help push the industry past early



10.    The Coca-Cola – Honest Tea Deal: Promoting Sustainability or Corporate Greenwashing?

a.            What is sustainable business? Explain Honest Tea‟s sustainability practices. Do you think Honest Tea is running a sustainable business? Justify your answer.

Answer: Seth Goldman’s HONEST Tea is one of the most successful companies around today. They championed a business model that incorporates both social good and corporate consciousness — making them part of a revolution that is changing the way we think about and do business. And Seth is an exemplar from this new



b.            Honest Tea is built on the principles of environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Do you think its sale of 40% stake to Coca-Cola means that it has compromised on its values and principles or it was creating next level of impact through higher reach? Justify. What impact can Coca-Cola‟s acquisition of 40% stake have on Coca-Cola?

Answer: The Honest Tea case is about an entrepreneur, Seth Goldman, who built a successful social venture in the alternative beverage industry. After building Honest Tea to become an industry leader, Seth faced with the decision of whether to merge with Coca-Cola and how to successfully manage the post-merger transition. Information about the alternative beverage industry and Seth’s use of social media is presented to help determine how Honest Tea can continue to grow after merging with Coke yet maintain


11.    Environmental Sustainability at Wipro: 'Green IT' and 'IT for Green'

a.            Transnational corporations such as IBM, who were pioneering environmental sustainability initiatives, were increasingly focusing on business from emerging economies. Moreover, Wipro‟s Green IT and/or IT for Green initiatives are liable to be imitated by its Indian competitors. Given this context, will Wipro be able to derive sustainable competitive advantage and long-term profitability from its green initiatives? Justify your answer.

Answer: Wipro Cares is focused on certain key developmental issues faced by communities, such as, but not limited to, primary health care, education, environment, disability and providing rehabilitation to communities affected by natural calamities. It is a trust formed in the year 2003 that seeks to work with communities proximate to Wipro’s center of operations. Wipro Cares is currently engaged in 16 projects across India.


b.            According  to  Ashok  Tripathy,  General  Manager  and  Business  Head,  Systems  & Technology Division of Wipro, “Wipro is pushing for e-waste legislation so that there is a level playing field in the market. Today, Wipro is doing it out of its own initiative and cost, while most competitors don‟t.” On whom should the responsibility of taking up e-initiatives rest --- the Government, the stakeholders, the organization, or all the three? Justify pointing out the pitfalls/benefits of standalone initiatives by any of the parties.

Answer: Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) today announced that it has entered into a strategic technology collaboration with Wipro, a leading provider of IT and business transformation services, to offer co-branded products and services on Hitachi Technology. The charter is to jointly work on technology insights early in the cycle, co-develop products for the Indian market, and build strong solution sets, practices and services on core Hitachi technology. Commencing with Hitachi’s Adaptable Modular Storage 2100 (AMS 2100) range, this alliance will open up


12.    Wal-Mart's Sustainability Initiative: The Packaging Scorecard

a.            Critically analyze Wal-Mart‟s Packaging Scorecard? Do you think, with the Scorecard, Wal-Mart will be able to achieve its goal of reducing packaging by 5% by the year 2013? As of November 2008, a total of 250,000 products had been entered into the Wal-Mart Packaging Scorecard system. Analysts opined that the high costs involved with hiring a packaging and supply chain solutions provider and changing packaging were the reasons behind the poor response. In your opinion, what steps must Wal-Mart take to achieve its goal of reducing packaging? Explain.

Answer: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. today released a packaging scorecard to continue its commitment of reducing packaging across its global supply chain by 5 percent by 2013, helping Wal-Mart and its suppliers improve packaging and conserve resources. The company first announced this packaging initiative at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City in September 2006, but did not reveal the specific metrics until today’s PACK


b.            Wal-Mart along with ECRM staged a „Virtual Trade Show‟ in which suppliers could find packaging and supply chain solution providers who could help them to improve their score. However, the suppliers were required to pay a subscription fee to avail this facility. In your opinion, was Wal-Mart unethical in putting pressure on its suppliers by asking them to comply with its Packaging Scorecard and also charging them while educating them about the Scorecard? Justify your stance based on the underlying principles of business ethics.

Answer: As part of Wal-Mart’s continuing efforts to address its environmental footprint, the company established a goal to reduce packaging used by suppliers by 5% by 2013. In an effort to achieve this target, the retail behemoth has announced an innovative scorecard system. The scorecard will allow manufacturers to rank their current use of packaging. Scores will be given on several relevant categories including: greenhouse gas emissions produced per ton of packaging, raw material use, packaging size, recycled content, material recovery value, renewable energy use, transportation impacts, and


13.    The Le Clemenceau Controversy: Business vs. Safety

a.            Discuss the future of the ship-breaking industry at Alang in the wake of the Le Clemenceau controversy. In your assessment, is there any basis to perceive the action of environmental activists as unethical from the perspective of one or more stakeholder(s)? Explain.

Answer:


b.            Imagine that you are the MD of SRV/SDIC and detail the measures that should be taken from the perspective of your firm to avoid repetition of this kind of controversy in the future.

Answer:

 

14.    Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives at ExxonMobil – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

a.            Do you agree with the criticism that CSR initiatives undertaken by organizations like ExxonMobil are nothing but public relations (PR) strategies? Take a stand and justify your answer.

Answer:


b.            ExxonMobil faced lot of criticism for the environmental impact of its operations, especially that it promoted the use of fossil fuels. As the largest publicly traded petroleum and petrochemical company in the world, how could ExxonMobil address these issues? Discuss.

Answer:


15.    Corporate Governance Issues at Satyam Computers

a.            Discuss the constitution of the board at Satyam. What were their roles and responsibilities? If you were an independent director on the board of Satyam which planned to acquire another company in an unrelated field, what factors would you consider before agreeing for the acquisition? Considering the facts given in the case, do you think the board at Satyam failed to fulfill its duties? Take a stand and justify your answer.

Answer:


b.            The Satyam fiasco had a wide range impact on the corporate governance in Indian companies as a whole. What steps should the regulatory agencies take to safeguard the interests of its shareholders, especially minority shareholders? Elaborate.

Answer:


16.    Corporate Governance Issues at Refco Inc.

a.            The Refco scandal happened in spite of several strict rules and regulations. What can investors learn from the Refco scandal? Answer the question with specific emphasis on the limitations of investor protection laws in preventing fraud.

Answer:


b.            Was the Refco board too hasty in going public with the news about the accounting scandal? What else could the board have said or done to avert the crisis that put the company on the road to financial collapse?

Answer:


17.    Governance Problems at Royal Dutch/Shell

a.            Critically examine Royal Dutch/Shell‟s twin-board governance structure. Explain how the structure enabled the company to effectively control its global operations.

Answer:


b.            Comment on the circumstances that necessitated the organizational restructuring of Shell. Was the merger proposal of Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies under a single parent company the best solution to Shell‟s governance problems? Justify. What alternate methods can you suggest to tackle these problems? Elaborate.

Answer:


18.    Bonnier Group – Sweden’s Leading Family Owned Business

a.            Under the sixth generation, the governance practices and governance structure of the Bonnier Group was changed significantly. Critically analyze the changes made and comment on their impact on the Group‟s operations.

Answer:


b.            Bonnier Group‟s operations have largely been restricted to Sweden and other nearby European countries. What measures should the management take to further globalize its operations without losing the family‟s control on the Group‟s businesses?

Answer:


19.    Corporate Governance at Ahold

a.            Ahold was a combination of several disparate entities, and accounting irregularities were unearthed at several of its operating companies. Do you think that Ahold‟s strategy of acquisitions and aggressive expansion was unplanned and irresponsible? Also, are large corporations with dispersed operations more susceptible to financial and other irregularities? Give reasons for your answers.


Answer:

b.            Soon after the scandal, Ahold affected a number of structural and accounting reforms in its operating companies. Do you think they were satisfactory? Suggest measures that Ahold should adopt that would prevent the recurrence of such scandals.


Answer:

Dear students get fully solved assignments
Send your semester & Specialization name to our mail id :
help.mbaassignments@gmail.com
or
call us at : 08263069601

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.