Case Studies for business 100 Flashcards
What does Amazon tell us about the corporation and its stakeholders?
Amazon illustrates on a large scale the challenges of managing successfully in a complex network of stakeholders
What are two ways Amazon has mismanaged stakeholder relations?
Amazon’s success has come at the expense of brick and mortar stores (like Target and JC-Penny) which has voided thousands of jobs (1). Amazon’s control of both online and voice-activated search (Alexa) gave it a powerful advantage over its competitors, which was seen as unfair competition (2).
What is one way Amazon has correctly managed stakeholders?
Amazon announced that it would be building another headquarters outside of Seattle; the prospect of more jobs benefits stakeholders (1).
What does Robinhood tell us about Managing Public Issues and Stakeholder Relationships?
Robinhood’s lack of communication and effective stakeholder management led to a public issue and scandal as one of their consumers commit suicide believing that he owed over 700,000 dollars.
What does Gravity payments tell us about Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Citizenship?
Gravity payments shows us how listening to your stakeholders is a more successful strategy than pursuing self interest. The CEO’s decision to raise the starting wage to 70k (a 1-1 ratio of CEO to employee pay, versus the standard 20-1) to combat social inequalities, which greatly pleased the stakeholders. Though this decision is financially hypocritical, it benefited the business overall, as this policy generated more business and revenue for gravity payments in the long run.
What does Corporate Governance and Executive Misconduct at Wynn Resorts tell us about Shareholder Rights and Corporate Governance?
The executive misconduct at wynn resorts shows us the necessity of having an unbiased board of directors. Steve Wynn was accused of sexual misconduct and because of this backlash he stepped down from being a CEO. The board was in the palm of Steve’s hands and did whatever he told them, despite being primarily consisted of outside directors. The board essentially let Steve resign without being held accountable, which created federal backlash. This scenario demonstrates the power of the board, which can be used to support or stop the CEO’s conduct, and how it was not used properly. “The powerful preying on the powerless”
What does 3M and N95 respirators for Americans tell us about ethics and ethical reasoning?
3M and the N95 Respirators demonstrates a “conflict of interest” ethical problem in business. Donald Trump wanted to make the sale of N95 exclusive to US citizens, citing a defensive act, when the Pandemic hit hard in 2020. This put 3M into a Dilemma as they could not suddenly halt all exports to other countries who were also suffering from the Pandemic, giving USA special privileges. 3M took on a utilitarian solution to this problem and did not halt exports, as this would create political controversy, and promised to work closer with FEMA in the future.
What does the Vale Mining Company Dam Collapse tell us about Organizational ethics?
The Vale Mining Company Dam Collapse demonstrates a company climate with high egoism present. This is seen through the managers actions who prioritized their own self-interests, a percentage of company profit, over the safety of their stakeholders. This ultimately led to the dam’s collapse and the deaths of 19 people, but this also shows how a company climate of integrity could have been used to prevent this disaster from occuring
What does the Government’s Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic in the United States and EU tell us about Business-Government Relations?
The Government’s Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic in the United States and EU demonstrates the impacts of public policy on businesses. Businesses were struggling because of lockdown and the stimulus packages provided by the government, estimating up to 2 trillion dollars in relief overall, enabled businesses to linger throughout the pandemic. This shows positive Government-Business relations, or a collaborative partnership, because with businesses remaining opened; this helped support the economy from collapsing.
What does the Political Action by the US Steel Industry 2015-2020 tell us about Influencing the Political Environment?
The political action by the US Steel Industry in 2015 to 2020 highlights many business strategies for influencing the government. The Steel industry implemented a variety of information tactics, such as lobbying and direct communication, financial tactics, such as donating to politicians, and constituency building, through public relations and challenging the legality of Chinese imported Steel. However, though they advocated for a tariff, the result was that it not only made Chinese Steel more expensive to buy, but more expensive for American companies to produce.
What does Intel and the responsible minerals initiative tell us about globalization?
This case study deals with conflict minerals, such as tantalum, tungsten, tin, gold, and COLTAN, and cleaning up supply chains. Intel is committed to not buying these minerals from controversial sources, like the DRC and nearby countries.
This case mainly focusses on COLTAN which is a mineral used in electronics. The UN and NGO’s reported that military groups would loot this mineral from the eastern Congo, and sell it to the global market to fund their operations. This level of violence caught the attention of governments who began to step in.
Intel specifically played a role in this case by taking initiative to clean their supply chains. They began “bagging and tagging” minerals to determine where they were sourced from and they stopped buying conflict minerals from conflict regions. Intel and a variety of other companies became part of the responsible minerals initiative.
This connects to globalization due to the global effort put forth by intel to remove conflict minerals from their supply chain and their interactive behavior with the global market and ethics.
what does the “clean cooking” case tell us about businesses role in the environment?
Indoor air pollution from open cookstoves are a killer due to the soot particles they produce. The World Health organization has identified them to be a leading cause of health problems in developing countries.
Primitive methods of cooking has drastic negative consequences. Cutting down trees for fuel leads to deforestation, and the time spent gathering wood is often done by women and girls, which is time they are not spending in schools.
The united states and other nations have launched the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves with the intention 100 million households worldwide adopt clean cooking stoves.
Many companies saw an opportunity to partner with the alliance. One company in Ghana, Toyola, invented a stove that was more carbon efficient than burning a regular fire. Toyola sought funding from the alliance and other government organizations to spread their product which had a great success. The prices of these stoves were made affordable and went as low as $7.
This connects to the theme of environment because it shows how businesses came together to tackle an environmental issue by having a cooperative relationship with the government.
What does General motors drive for carbon neutrality tell us about managing for sustainability?
It tells us that regardless of the intentions, movements to sustainability will always be met with skepticism or have profit focused motivations.
This was seen in the GM case where they pledged that they would become carbon neutral by 2040. Some hailed this pledge while others questioned the solution. GM’s solution was switching to EV’s, however, these cars are powered by the electric grid, which in turn is carbon emissive
GM also flip flopped their promise based on who was in the presidential office leading some to question their commitment to carbon neutrality and whether this movement is profit motivated.
What does China’s social credit system tell us about the role of technology?
China’s social credit system tells us about the interactive role that technology plays in our society and how technology can be abused.
The case reveals that China’s social credit system is a system implemented by the state which tracks the behaviors of their citizens using facial ID. This system is integral to Chinese society and can effect whether Chinese citizens have access to certain privileges like finances, and the ability to leave the country.
What does “The arrival of autonomous cars - bright future or looming threat” tell us about regulating and managing technology?
The arrival of self driving cars is a double edged swords:
On one end, the prospect of self driving cars could reduce traffic accidents by 90% in the USA. This is because self-driving cars do not tire or get upset on the road, which makes them safer in theory.
On the other end, there is massive job loss from truck drivers. This is because through automation, there is no need for human input, thus decreasing the need for truck drivers.
