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ONGC vs. Sumitomo – Supreme Court of India, 28 July, 2010 – is an example of a dispute in an international contract, with an arbitration clause, which could have been avoided. Ironically, it took almost two decades to be finally decided. The purpose of this case is to make the readers think about dispute avoidance vis-à-vis dispute resolution. The case presents the most relevant aspects of the judgment in simple language, devoid of legal jargon. A number of questions have been suggested towards the end.

The case deals with the issues of technology transfer and protection of intellectual property in an international contract, with the International commercial arbitration as the dispute resolution method. The case highlights the distrust between parties when they do not want to continue doing business together and the use of legal technicalities to delay the matter from settling and utter confusion due to international nature of contract, multiple court proceedings in different countries and even questioning the status of the contract – whether a concluded contract or not.

The case is supported with a teaching note, discussion questions and suggested responses to those as well as verbatim transcripts from interviews conducted with managers and others for purposes of a research project after the strike had ended. Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

The learning outcomes are as follows: students will be able to critique the approach to collective bargaining of both the company and the union in the case and suggest alternative approaches; identify the steps the company could take to both deal with the aftermath of the strike and develop preventive measures for the future; and advise the company on a series of questions it needs advice on.

A violent strike erupted after failed wage negotiations. It laid bare deep divisions between African and non-African employees and between permanent employees and those appointed as temporary employees only. It also revealed the mindsets of people on both sides of the conflict, as well as several errors made by management in the manner in which they viewed the role of the union and failed to build strong relations with employees on the shop floor.

The case is suitable for students at honours or masters level in conflict studies, dispute resolution, employment relations, human resource management and negotiation.

CSS 6: Human resource management.

The case authentically illustrates a common problem encountered within the business scope of an agent who is representing a European food ingredients manufacturer in an emerging market. The case describes the kind of legal set-up and contracts that are necessary to safeguard the long-term prospective of the business for both parties, the agent and overseas supplier. It explains what each party has to observe in case of a termination of the agency agreement.

This is a longitudinal case study of a market entry by a European food ingredients manufacturer through a foreign-owned third agent. The authors studied how sales developed over the first few years and then concentrated the investigation on the fact that after the sales volume was reached, the overseas manufacturer wants to cancel the agency agreement and do the business directly without getting the agent involved.

This case describes and explains a common problem encountered frequently by overseas manufacturers who want to enter an emerging market through a third-party agent representation. The overseas supplier uses the agent’s service and solid reputation to enter an emerging market with limited exposure to costs and risk. The agent works towards guarding the relationship with the overseas supplier for as long as possible. The development of the relationship illustrates what kind of conditions have to be stipulated in advance to provide an acceptable solution to both parties concerned once they part ways.

This research is based on a European food ingredients manufacturer, who was expanding its business in different Asian emerging markets, namely, Vietnam and Cambodia. The agent was a long-time established trading house who acted frequently as agent for overseas companies that wanted to get a foothold in these promising Asian emerging markets.

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

CSS 5: International Business

The case discusses the legal journey of the Bajaj — TVS patent dispute from the Madras High Court to the Supreme Court and back to the Madras High Court. Almost four years have passed, yet the final verdict is nowhere in sight. The Supreme Court has recommended a period of four months for such cases to be finally decided. In such instances, the warring parties either settle it out of court or adopt other means to do business. The value of patent is undermined if the patentee has to fight so much for its protection.

This case provides an opportunity to discuss the design and implementation of a Public Private Partnership project. It describes the Delhi Airport Metro Express Line project from conception to completion, and the subsequent dispute between the Public and Private partners leading to the Concession Agreement going into arbitration. Students discuss the reasons for failure and come up with suggestions for another metro rail project currently in the design stage.

This case study draws on interviews conducted with officials from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), City of Woonsocket and Town of North Smithfield. Additionally, it pulls from relevant legal documents, recordings and minutes from meetings of the Woonsocket City Council and North Smithfield Town Council, City Council resolutions, state legislation and local press coverage.

From 2012–2017, the communities of Woonsocket and North Smithfield engaged in a protracted dispute concerning wastewater disposal. For 30 years, the two jurisdictions had maintained a signed service agreement. Following its expiration; however, Woonsocket imposed a new host fee on North Smithfield. Woonsocket needed to upgrade the facility to comply with mandates from the RI DEM. Over the next five years, leaders from both jurisdictions vociferously fought over the new fee. At the same time, leaders within communities experienced their own divisions. This case study highlights the challenges that decision-makers faced in both communities.

This case is appropriate for graduate and executive level courses in environmental policy, communication and leadership.

The case deals with comparison of two events namely Bhopal Gas Tragedy and BP Oil Spill Tragedy. Specifically, the case compares the negotiation process and its outcome. In other words, the case compares how negotiation was carried out on behalf of victims of these tragedies and resulted in optimal outcomes in one situation and sub-optimal outcomes in another situation. It case also provides insights into cross-cultural issues in negotiation process as one of the events took place in emerging economy (India) and other one in a developed economy (USA). The case gives insight for individuals on how handle communication process during the course of negotiation.

Human resource management, business ethics, public policy.

The case can also be taught in MBA/postgraduate in management programmes in general management or HR classes to give a lesson in organizational conflict and resolution, negotiation skills (strategies, tactics and power in negotiation) towards the middle or end of the course. The course can also be taught in MBA/postgraduate in management programmes in business ethics classes to make students appreciate the various approaches to ethics – end-results, duty, social contract and personalistic ethics. It also helps students learn how to institute ethics into the cultural fabric of the organization. In public policy programmes, it could be taught to illustrate the crucial role and at times unintended outcomes of actions of street level bureaucracies in policy implementation. The course can also be taught in refresher training programmes for executives to give lessons in conflict management, mediation strategies, union negotiations and ethics.

This teaching case is based on a real incident that took place in a defence production factory of India in the year 2009. It succinctly unfolds a small showdown between two officers that acquires a disproportionate size and explosive dimension and vitiates the environment of the entire organization. The case is a narration of a small row that in no time became a full-blown organizational dispute with layers of issues. Two officers, one very senior and the other influential, got entangled in a conflict, unfortunately in the presence of a large audience; dissatisfied workers and officers fanned the sentiments and encouraged them to unethically leverage legal privileges by gaming in the name of caste and sexual harassment to gain power in the messy dispute. The protagonist Ram Sharma, the General Manager (head) of the factory, is in a precarious situation as the conflict not only puts his managerial skills but also his moral standards and ethics to test.

After discussion and analysis of this case, the students should be able to: appreciate and evaluate the complexities and multiple facets of an organizational conflict including ethical challenges faced in a real life situation, recommend the options and course of action a manager could resort to in a high stake and time bound situation, learn to develop a basic framework for analysing, negotiations and strategize to resolve a conflict as a manager-mediator in such a situation, learn to handle difficult negotiation bound by complexities of unethical and legal disputes, answer to themselves the criticality of ground level bureaucracy's role in implementation of public policies (optional if the faculty decides to discuss the part provided in the teaching note). For international students, this is a case to learn dynamics of “negotiations in Indian context”. Overall development of critical thinking and analytical skills.

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

Determine when to resolve conflict through arbitration and when to resolve conflict through the court system. Reflect upon the types of organizational misconduct and determine what behaviors constitute organizational misconduct. Argue whether the behaviors that constitute organizational misconduct are universal or may vary according to the context. Analyze whether actions that might be considered misconduct might be acceptable in certain situations and contexts. Build additional definitions of organizational misconduct that might pertain to non-Western, developed country contexts. Analyze how media and popular opinion might influence perceptions of organizational misconduct.

Carlos Mattos (he/him/his) was the founder/president/CEO of Hyundai Colombia Automotriz S.A. from 1992 to 2015. He and his company introduced the Hyundai brand to the Colombian market and made it one of the best-selling automobile brands in the nation. When the company began experiencing losses, Hyundai headquarters terminated the contract and awarded the distribution to an Ecuadorian firm.The contract between Hyundai Colombia Automotriz S.A. and Hyundai Motor Company stipulates that arbitration is the appropriate dispute mechanism. However, Mattos contemplates whether arbitration is his best option or if he should take Hyundai Motor Company to court. He also contemplates suing the Ecuadorian firm for unfair competition.As students analyze Mattos’ decision, they will determine whether the actions of the any of the parties might be considered organizational misconduct. This case is not about assigning blame. It is not about deciphering whether anyone is guilty. Instead, the case is designed to promote critical thinking about the concept of organizational misconduct. Most literature and understanding of organizational misconduct are from a Western, developed country point of view. In this case, there are three key actors, all from emerging markets. Each may have participated in some sort of misconduct, depending on how the term is defined.

This case is appropriate for advanced, undergraduate or master's level international business students in classes such as international management, intercultural management, international negotiation or business ethics.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International Business.