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The contribution of the present case lies in the critical view that every business actor should exercise – be it general manager, middle management, supervisor or executive – when building a strong organizational culture in corrupt political environments.

The purpose of this case study is to explore the dilemma in which Marcelo Odebrecht, once CEO of Odebrecht, found/determined whether to continue with the business model established by the founders of Odebrecht or take a new path for the organization. After exploring the corrupt acts of Odebrecht and the scope of Operation Lava Jato, the reader can reflect on the importance of organizational culture (according to the three levels proposed by Schein) in the face of the emergence of corruption. By generating discussions about organizational culture, business ethics, political culture and corruption, the organizational culture of Odebrecht is problematized in relation to its real behavior.

Students of administration, business and international business undergraduates and graduates, as well as members of senior management in companies in the infrastructure sector. Also, given the plurality of possible readings, it is recommended that the case also be used in courses or specializations in organizational psychology, organizational sociology or organizational anthropology.

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.

Strategic Planning for family businesses.

MBA family businesses courses and/or executive education courses that focus on family businesses. The case can be used in introductory sessions related to family business strategy.

This case tells the story of two generations of coffee plant growers at Hacienda Flandes in Colombia’s coffee region. It describes external and internal factors that affected the family business from 1970 to 2013. The case presents antecedents and consequences of environmental circumstances and family members’ decisions that drive this business from boom to decline and later on to its potential reinvention. Through an analysis of this family-owned coffee plantation across generations, students are expected to understand the importance of strategic planning in family businesses, in a changing and competitive environment. Family businesses in emerging economies are the most common type of businesses. In Latin America, most of family businesses might be younger than those in Europe and even in North America. Therefore, family businesses in these economies can be going through or will soon go through a succession. Succession success rate is low, regardless of the culture or country in which the family business develops. This case deals with the preparation (or lack of preparation) of the next generation in family businesses management and its consequences and helps students suggest alternatives and better decisions to run family businesses in an emerging economy.

Students will be able to know and explain the concept of a family business as a dynamic system: firm, family and individuals, each one with actions and outcomes; analyze opportunities for and threats to family businesses across generations; and formulate strategies that balance business and family demands.

The teaching note has specific reading materials to support class discussion.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to analyze host market characteristics and consumer behavior to develop sound value propositions; to distinguish the characteristics of traditional retail as opposed to the ones of modern retail; to identify the potential benefits and challenges of working with traditional retail; to discuss how informality may affect business relations; and to identify potential avenues to align divergent interests between the focal firm and traditional retailers.

The case described the situation faced by French International Company (FICO), a leading manufacturer of cigarettes, after the acquisition of Fosforera Colombiana (FOCOSA) in Colombia. FICO aimed to leverage the leadership position of FOCOSA and of its flagship brand Ferrari Lights that possess a 60% market share. However, after just a few months, it was clear that the acquired subsidiary was not performing adequately. The financial results obtained were disastrous. To face this situation, FICO appointed as the new marketing director to Waldo Tarantini who has experienced dealing with informal markets. To be aligned to the Colombian consumption pattern of five cigarettes daily, Waldo decided to launch a new presentation of the leading brand denominated Ferrari five, a package of 5 cigarettes at COP 1000. Considering that more than 60% of the sale can be explained by traditional retail, it was mandatory to secure its participation. Nevertheless, traditional retailers obtained up to 56% margin by selling single sticks. Waldo and his team rapidly needed to craft a commercial strategy to secure the participation of traditional retailers in a market plagued by informality, smuggling products and lack of control from national authorities.

The case is intended to be used at the early stages of post-graduate studies and in executive education programs addressing issues such as emerging markets, informality, the base of the pyramid, trade marketing and product launches. In particular, the case can be used in MSc in Marketing’s students, first-year MBA students or executives following short courses. The field of studies in which the case should be taught is marketing or trade marketing in particular when analyzing emerging economies.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

An instructor could link the case to lean production principles and Kurt Lewin’s change management model, key reading materials on these theories are, namely,  Lewin, K (1947) Frontiers in group dynamics: concept, method and reality in social science; equilibrium and social change. Human Relations 1(1): 5–41  Stewart, J. (2012). The Toyota Kaizen continuum: a practical guide to implementing lean. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Wickramasinghe, V. and Wickramasinghe, G. L. D. (2020). Effects of human resource management practices, lean production practices and lean duration on performance. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(11), 1467–1512.

This case was developed from both primary and secondary sources. The primary source included three face to face meetings with Mr CK in University Putra Malaysia (two meetings) and WSAE factory (Rawang, Malaysia – one meeting), respectively. Interviewed three workers at Rawang factory. The secondary source was taken from the company website and company reports.

Dr Wan, the Chief Executive Officer of WSA Engineering Sdn Bhd (WSAE) accepted the invitation from Small Medium Industries Development Corporation to participate in a Malaysian-Japanese Industry Cooperation program that focused on Lean Production System (LPS). Dr Wan was worried about Malaysia’s culture incompatible with Japanese-originated LPS. The case shares how the organization and behavioral change took place, for LPS buy-in. Successes and challenges WSAE faced in the 10-year journey of implementing LPS were elaborated.

This case was written for use in an operations management course, on the topic of lean production. It can also be used as a training material targeting the operation managers of a manufacturing company aiming to implement lean production or any change management process.

Professors of undergraduate, graduate, doctoral or certificate programs can use this case study.

Human resource management, employee relations, women in business

Historically, only men have worked as tourist porters in Peru. The owner of a tour company in Peru wants to hire female porters in their company. Currently, all the porters in the company are male, and they are hesitant to work with women. The entrepreneur wants to build an inclusive organization to improve their company’s branding but is afraid of workplace harassment issues. This case examines the challenges of employee safety and business continuity while building an inclusive workforce. What should the owner do?

• Evaluate the factors that lead to the bias or discrimination of women or other minority groups in business; •discuss what reasonable accommodations an organization can undertake to become inclusive; and •explore business opportunities and challenges while being inclusive.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human Resources

After reading and analysing the case study, the students would be able to distinguish the leadership styles based on leaders’ traits and behaviours, argue the importance of trust in leader–follower relationships thanks to the real-life examples presented and defend their side on the debate of whether leadership is born or made with the related theories and examples.

The teams coached by the successful Turkish basketball coach, Çetin Yılmaz, had reached the finals of the Turkish Basketball League six times and became champions three times. He assumed the coaching position of the Tuborg basketball team in December 2005. Although Tuborg’s Turkey branch made a serious financial investment in basketball, they were at the bottom of the league in the middle of the season. When Yılmaz took over the coaching position, the Tuborg basketball team’s main objective was not to be relegated from the top league in the 2005–2006 season. The team, working very hard, overcame the fear of relegation in two months but still had a very symbolic goal in front of it: winning the most prestigious game of the season by defeating the Karşıyaka team. However, in the last minutes of the game, with the influence of passionate Karşıkaya fans, the Tuborg team got scared and lost the game. At the end of the match, the club president entered the locker room and started shouting at the players, forcing the coach to face a severe dilemma. Either he would remain silent and risk damaging his leading position in the eyes of the players, or he would risk being fired by going against the president, even though he thought the president was right in what he said.

The target audience of this case study is undergraduate students. The field of study is sports management, leadership and coaching. This case study can be used in management, organizational behaviour and sports management courses while covering leadership and coaching topics.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human resource management.