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The case compares two U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) programs from the 1970s and 1980s: (1) “stealth” combat aircraft, capable of evading detection or engagement by anti-aircraft systems, and (2) precision attack of hardened ground vehicles from “standoff” distances, i.e., far behind the battle lines. Conceived at roughly the same time, motivated by the same strategic challenge, and initially driven by the same DoD organization, stealth combat aircraft progressed from idea to deployment in less than eight years---an astounding pace for a complex military system---while a demonstrated system for standoff precision strike against mobile ground targets was not fully implemented. The case highlights the critical role of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the DoD, regarded as one of the most innovative entities in the U.S. federal government.

The case highlights factors that facilitate rapid, successful implementation of radically innovative or disruptive concepts. Students are introduced to the organizational realities facing such projects, including issues of strategic clarity, interdepartmental competition and cooperation, executive leadership, and timing. Comparing the differences in implementation of the two programs in the case reveals issues relevant to any large organization seeking to bring innovative concepts to fruition.

This case has two primary purposes. First, it allows students to examine how cognitive bias can affect decision making in stressful situations. Students explore why individuals make flawed choices. They learn about how managers shape the context and the process through which teams make decisions. For instance, automation can create a climate in which people then struggle to cope with the unexpected when it happens. Students examine why individuals make these systematic errors in judgment. The case demonstrates that leaders need to be aware of the traps that individuals and teams encounter when they make decisions in crisis situations, and it enables students to discuss the strategies that leaders can employ to avoid these traps. Second, the case provides an opportunity to examine a catastrophic failure in detail. Students discover that it can be nearly impossible to identify a single factor that caused the failure. Instead, they learn how to apply multiple theoretical perspectives to examine a serious organizational breakdown. They become familiar with important concepts from behavioral decision theory, such as complex systems theory and how it interacts with cognitive bias.

The technical report released by the French Aviation Authority along with the primary flight cockpit voice recorder data were used as the basis for this case. Other available public data such as news reports were used to round out the case study.

On June 9, 2009, on a routine flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, Air France 447 (AF 447), carrying 220 people crashed in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Drawing from various first-hand accounts (cockpit voice recorder) and secondary evidence of the tragedy, the case provides a detailed account of the key events that took place leading up to the accident. The case describes how the pilots on AF447 were confronted with a scenario they had not faced before, and through the confusion made a series of errors. Through many of the quotes in the text, readers gain an understanding of the impressions and perceptions of the pilots, including how they felt about many of the critical decisions and incidents during the last minutes of the flight. The case concludes by highlighting the main findings of the BEA report.

This case study is appropriate for undergraduate students studying organizational behavior. It is also appropriate for MBA-level leadership and behavior classes.

At the end of this case study discussion, students should be able to critically analyse the strategic options for a global small and medium-sized enterprise seeking competitive advantage in a highly specialised industry, determine the strategic management and operational approaches to introducing a new product line using the case study options as an example, determine the best investment approach for a global operational strategy considering the financial analysis of associated costs and the best form of financial capital/investment in terms of risks and control references and carry out a financial analysis and make evidence-based decisions with respect to addressing how strategic recommendations will affect the future of a firm’s competitive advantage.

In 2021, Mike Blyth and his business partners, James Pitman and Andrew Pitman, were facing new challenges the business had never faced before. Despite the global upheaval and economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 had been a productive year for the South African small-aircraft manufacturer. Globally, sales of Sling Aircraft’s aeroplanes had been good and the company had just finished a development prototype of a high-wing four-seater. Blyth, Andrew and James felt certain that there was space in the market for a five-seater aeroplane and they were meeting to discuss how to set up the business for further success. The strategic choices required to take the company in the new direction seemed clear and obvious, but it became apparent that they faced a dilemma regarding how to set up or restructure the company for success by exploiting the new opportunity without putting all of the hard work of the past 15 years in jeopardy.

This teaching activity is aimed at Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This is a case of a crisis project management which showcases the unpredictable nature of the project and the role of management in handling the crisis. It is the case of a very severe cyclonic storm hitting the city of Visakhapatnam plant during October, 2014. The whole city was devastated and so was the situation in the Steel plant as it was under zero power conditions for around 10 days. This case gives need for managing an integrated steel plant in case of very severe cyclonic storm and documents the sequence of events and managing unforeseen uncertainty using NTCP concepts.