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An instructor engaged students in managing and reporting sustainability initiatives at an organisation. After completion of the case study discussion, the students will be able to critique the sustainability initiatives that can be undertaken at an organisation; understand sustainability reporting; analyse how result-based management aids in sustainability report preparation; recommend critical considerations for conducting a sustainability impact assessment by an educational institute.

The case contributed to the growing knowledge base about reporting sustainability initiatives at an organisation and managing them to aid in decision-making. The case called for better integration between sustainability activities and reporting under organisations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.

Ajay served as the head of the management department and a leading member of the sustainability initiatives at University Alpha, Delhi NCR, India. He was assigned the task of publishing the university’s annual report. The management had requested him to consider preparing a standalone sustainability report for the university.

He began the task by examining the benefits of standalone sustainability reporting. He proceeded to analyse the specifics of SDG reporting, SDG Accord reporting and ESG reporting using the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. During discussions with a consultant, the necessary steps for creating an SDG-only report and an integrated SDG and ESG sustainability report were clarified.

Guidance from an expert led to an intention to use a result matrix in preparing the sustainability report and ongoing impact assessment of SDG initiatives for reporting. The dilemma involved deciding between continuing with the sustainability initiative listing in the annual reports or opting for a standalone sustainability report. Critical considerations concerning the sustainability impact assessment of SDG-related activities at an educational organisation were also explored.

This case is intended for discussion in the graduate-level program in strategy, general management, sustainability management, environmental management and environmental economics. The case may also be used for participants in executive program.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 4: Environmental Management.

The case may give students experience with the types of a situation they may encounter when running their own companies or serving as consultants in terms of identifying relevant information and appropriate approaches to dealing with local communities in projects involving the exploration and exploitation of natural resources. The case encourages students to critique the strategy of a firm in managing their different stakeholders. The case may also enhance their understanding of the “new” roles expected of corporations when engaging in projects involving local communities in developing countries. The case can be used to promote awareness of the social and environmental impact of industries associated with the exploration and exploitation of natural resources. Within developed or developing countries, master’s students are often employed by multinational corporations, many of which operate in natural resource industries. A greater understanding of the economic, social, and environmental challenges inherent in corporate social responsibilities programs in these industries may enhance their ability to deal with such situations. Such students are also increasingly likely to find work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) helping local communities deal with largescale projects and confront major corporations.

The case is about the POSCO-India’s project to build 12 MTPA integrated steel plant in the Indian state of Odisha in 2005. The case presents the history of the project, recognizing the different stakeholders groups, the perspectives and interests of different stakeholders groups, the various actions taken by POSCO-India, and the results of the various engagement efforts of POSCO to develop the project. The case deals with the perspective of POSCO-India, Government of Odisha (GoO) and the local community getting affected by POSCO’s project on the issues of social, environmental, and economic sustainability. The case also discusses POSCO’s effort to engage with the local community and state government. The case tries to analyze the issues that come with developing big infrastructure projects. The case provides a framework for evaluating the complexity in engaging with the different stakeholder groups. The paper uses a framework for analyzing stakeholders based on their power, legitimacy, and urgency of their claims. The case will also demonstrate the complex institutional set-up in emerging markets and due to which sometimes it becomes difficult for organizations to implement such exploration projects to fulfill their social and environmental commitments. Finally, the case helps students to explore the implications of large-scale industrial projects especially in developing countries and analyze critically the corporate-society relationship.

The case was developed for master’s level course in business strategy, consulting, business policy, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility, business ethics, and corporate sustainability in a 90 minutes session.

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 11: Strategy.

This case presents the dilemma of a multinational oil and gas company, ExxonMobil, as it factors in the ethical issues related to the environment and cultural differences in deciding whether to proceed with building a pipeline in Chad and Cameroon, two of the poorest and most corrupt developing countries in West Africa. The many players in this project included the World Bank--which cofinanced the project and put restrictions into place that would hopefully prevent pipeline-related government corruption in both Chad and Cameroon--and many environmental and human rights groups that warned of potential disaster. The case also covers the environmental and social analysis of the areas that would be affected by the pipeline.

Roger Cagle, the co-founder and deputy CEO of SOCO International, watched the dreary London rain outside his office window one February morning in 2015. Never had SOCO, the oil-and-gas exploration and production player that ranked among Britain’s top 200 companies, experienced such a public backlash against its operations. For nearly 20 years, Cagle had helped steer his company’s projects around the world—often in volatile regions where others feared to tread, such as Vietnam, Russia, and Yemen—while delivering significant returns to investors. But the international uproar surrounding SOCO during the past year had been nothing short of mind-boggling.

The proposed areas of study for this case are strategic management, marketing, tourism planning and development, hospitality management, attraction management and special event planning and management.

The case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing courses in the areas of strategic management, marketing, tourism planning and development, hospitality and tourism management, attraction management and special event planning and management.

The Denbigh Showground located in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica, is the venue of the annual Agricultural and Industrial Show. Three separate studies conducted indicated the need for its development to enable the use of the facility all year round and to contribute to the socio-economic development of the parish. Suggested development options from these studies included a fun and amusement park, a site for eco-tourism and a multi-purpose agri-cultural facility with linkages to the parish's cultural legacies and places of interest. The large land acreage could facilitate its development, making the property a leading “agri-cultural” attraction concept.

he students should be able to: identify the typology of the Denbigh Showground as an attraction; categorize the product offerings of the Denbigh Showground from a marketing perspective; explain the factors to consider regarding the development of the showground; analyze the socio-economic contributions of the facility to the parish of Clarendon and the community's attitude towards the development of the showground; discuss the potential uses of the Denbigh Showground that can make it a leading international “agri-cultural” attraction; synthesize the concept of sustainable tourism development and its importance to the development and viability of the attraction for future generations; and assess other tourism concepts such as community-based tourism, special interest tourism and alternative tourism and how they relate to the development of the Denbigh Showground.

This case study will help students understand the concept of an agri-cultural attraction and its impact on the socio-economic development of the surrounding communities and the country as a whole. The case will contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the areas of community development and residents’ perception regarding tourism development. It offers insights to both potential and current investors; provides practical guidance to the government and other tourism planners to enable better planning for the areas’ future growth and development; and serves as a reference for academicians as well as undergraduate and graduate students.

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

The case looks at the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project from its inception in the year 1860 to 2012 when the Pachauri Committee was about to submit a report on the latest canal alignment (4A) as suggested by the Supreme Court. It takes the reader through a series of developments starting from the initial proposals and alignments to formation of Sethusamudram Corporation Limited and highlights the impact of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute Report, Tsunami Detailed Project Report, and Subramaniam Swamy Report on various issues including environmental, political, religious, security and legal. The case brings out multi-dimensional aspects involved in an Indian infrastructure project and gives both students and the faculty an opportunity to explore the complexities faced by the Indian decision makers in today's context.

This case study seeks to develop the analytical and critical thinking skills of the students so that they can not only understand and carry out a comprehensive diagnosis of the case in its facets of entrepreneurship but also see reflected the inherent difficulties of the process and how these can be overcome, based on available resources and capabilities. In the same way, it seeks to develop students’ capacity for critical analysis when making a decision in which, on the one hand, there is a very large market potential that they can try to exploit, taking into account the political transformation that modifies the rules of the game with which the business began, in addition, of course, to the case of a security breach specified in the case and, on the other hand, the possibility of resigning, avoiding greater losses.

This case study exposes the situation of the company Max Drone Venezuela, which had been dedicated to the service, repair and training of drones. This family-owned company had gone through a series of stages that clearly exemplified how environmental factors served to identify opportunities in the early stages of the business, promote strategic actions to maintain itself, guide the course to sustain itself and seek development in hostile environments.

Given the characteristics of this case study, it can be used for the teaching and learning of business or business administration, marketing, economics or related students, at higher or postgraduate levels (graduate school).

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS3: Entrepreneurship.

Business ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate strategy and public administration.

Undergraduate (final year) and Master level course (e.g. MBA, EMBA, Master in management and Master in public administration).

This case accounts the experience of a Malaysian Governmental Development Agency cum City Council, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA), in organizing and strategizing its CSR initiatives so as to discharge its self-interests and societal expectations. BDA was established following the discovery of huge reserves of natural gas and oil offshore in Bintulu, an industrial town in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the governmental instrument to undertake and coordinate development initiatives in Bintulu. There have been several driving forces prompted BDA to be more vigilant in discharging its social obligations along with its statutory obligations as a development agency and municipal services provider. They are, namely, the BDA Ordinance 1978 that governs its legitimate existence, the emergence of social media era that alters the access of people to information, the growing ecological and social concerns, and the unpredictable geopolitical environment that makes the logic of long-term strategic planning questionable. To ensure discharging its statutory and social obligations, BDA articulated vision and mission statements with strong social orientation. Two master development plans, embedded with social and environmental considerations, have guided BDA in translating its strategic mission into real structured development and action plans from 1978 to present. Through institutionalization of CSR elements as part of the organization's core business routines, annual budget allocation, performance control and reward mechanisms, CSR becomes an organizational routine of value to BDA.

This case has three learning objectives: it assists students to understand the contextual background of the case so as to establish the strategic position of CSR initiatives within the organization; it assists students to assess the embeddedness of CSR in an organization's core business routines and its potential sources of value creation; and it encourages students to examine the possible critical factors that enable or impede the initiation and implementation of regular CSR programs in an organization.

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

Leadership style and organizational change.

The case study level is rated medium to difficult depending on the depth of the analysis undertaken. Managers and executives who undergo training in leadership related issues will benefit from the case study through development of analytical- and decision-making skills. In addition, this case study is written for high level managers and postgraduate students in business courses.

This case study revolves around a man whose name is Rozano Saad. He was a man with strong will, imagination, and ready to explore the new world of Huntsman Tioxide. To him, development of people was necessary. Development of people is the process of getting people to progress from dependent to socially and economically self-reliant. This man with positive views saw difficulties with enthusiasm and noted obstacles as opportunities. He was brave enough to go that extra mile into moulding the organization in the “right pattern.” He was an optimistic angel who was sent to the bleak area of Teluk Kalong, though others might just pack their bags and leave. He was eager for improvement and never stopped looking for ways to make the situation better.

The target users of the case study are expected to:

• Identify the critical success factors (CSFs) of successful leader.

• Examine the leadership and decision making styles employed by the leader.

• Develop the competencies or capabilities of a leader.

• Determine programmes or initiatives and strategies used by the leader in transforming the organization.

• Apply the lesson learnt of a successful leader to their organization.

Identify the critical success factors (CSFs) of successful leader.

Examine the leadership and decision making styles employed by the leader.

Develop the competencies or capabilities of a leader.

Determine programmes or initiatives and strategies used by the leader in transforming the organization.

Apply the lesson learnt of a successful leader to their organization.

Teaching notes.

This case deals with several types of uncertainties faced by project team in an oil company north east in India. These challenges and uncertainties are in the areas drawing approval, supply chain, critical equipment availability, soll type, control room, soil type, employee availability, environmental clearances, safety and wildlife clearances. This project demonstrates the ownership issues, why it is difficult to complete a project on time in the Northeast of India or why public sector project gets delayed.