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Financial reporting.

Postgraduate (honours and masters in financial reporting).

Transnet is the utility company responsible for, inter alia, the operation, construction and management of South Africa's fuel pipeline infrastructure. The company is wholly owned by the South African Government and prepares its financial statements in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). One of Transnet's capital projects involves the construction of an upgraded multi-fuel pipeline. The expected costs of construction ballooned from ZAR12.6 billion (approximately USD120 million) to ZAR24 billion (approximately USD240 million) over a five-year period. This has raised questions about the prudential management of the company's capital projects and the basis on which the government subsidises Transnet's capital costs. The significant increase in project costs also begs the question: how should the cost of the self-constructed pipeline be accounted for in Transnet's annual financial statements?

Describe and explain the qualitative characteristics of useful information in terms of the Conceptual Framework (2010) and summarise the framework's key principles. Evaluate these principles, drawing connections between them and the relevant academic theory (as per the prescribed readings), with specific reference to the accounting for self-constructed plant and equipment.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance

The learning outcomes are as follows: to use advanced frameworks and tools to convey complex ideas related to strategy and sustainable business practices; apply relevant concepts and theories of corporate social responsibility and governance to a practical situation while making decisions; demonstrate understanding of the importance of stakeholders when developing socially responsible thinking; and analyze the different strengths and weaknesses of the organization when making a decision that would affect the company strategy.

Claire Humphry was the General Manager at the renowned The Nacre Hotel in Penang, Malaysia. Claire had a very busy job as she had many people who reported to her, and the hotel was always full of guests. One of the things Claire also managed was the restaurant OceanSound that was owned and operated by her hotel. OceanSound was a very thematic restaurant that specialized in making sculptures of food for special events. On the New Year’s Day in 2023, Claire came to work ready to tackle what was sure to be a long and busy day. However, Claire had not anticipated exactly how taxing the day would end up being. During Claire’s talks with her colleagues throughout the day, her conversation with her friend, the head chef of OceanSound, Poh, would nag at her head for the rest of the day based on the events that followed. The New Year’s special sculpture at OceanSound was to be a large rabbit made of cake to commemorate 2023 being the year of the rabbit according to Chinese zodiac. This is usually kept secret until the sculpture is revealed; but somehow this information had been leaked. This led to The Nacre Hotel and OceanSound being in the spotlight for bad reasons as this sparked a debate online regarding food wastage. This escalated quickly and even led to a famous food influencer commenting on this using specifically The Nacre’s name. Activists also quickly emerged in front of the hotel to protest the creation of sculptures and the food wastage in Malaysian hospitality industry, seeking to make an example out of The Nacre Hotel. The online criticism died down and was eventually replaced by praise for the sculpture. The activists were also eventually asked by the hotel security to leave, which led to the rest of the day to go as expected for a New Year’s Day at The Nacre. However, Claire’s nagging suspicion that they were not out of the woods led her to start looking into food wastage in the hospitality industry in Malaysia to educate herself and bring it up in a future meeting. Two days after this incident, on January 3, 2023, Claire found The Nacre Hotel posted on the newspaper headlines, dissecting the food wastage associated with the hotel now. After getting an urgent phone call from the Regional Manager, who was pressured by the board and shareholders, Claire decided the time to address this issue could not be delayed any longer. She wrote an email to her strategy team to come up with some ideas for possible solutions to the issue and to present them in a group meeting within a week’s time. At the conclusion of the meeting, Claire was contemplating about the decision that she had to make if she wanted The Nacre Hotel to continue operating successfully in Malaysia’s hospitality industry.

The main theoretical concepts illustrated in the case include corporate governance approaches, types of corporate social responsibility, stakeholders’ prioritization, organizational culture, organizational structure, industry analysis and strategic choices. Therefore, this case study can be used in a upper-level undergraduate business courses in the field of Strategic Management and Corporate Social Responsibility. The case study can be successfully used in a capstone course on Business Policy and Strategy, when tackling the concepts of corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability strategy and corporate governance. Under this scenario, the usage of conceptual frameworks from Chapters 2 and 3 of the textbook titled “Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy: Toward Global Sustainability” by Wheelen and Hunger would be required. This case study can also be successfully applied to MBA level courses on Strategic Management in a Globalized World. In this case, the latest edition of the textbook titled “Exploring Strategy” by Whittington et al., could be used (particularly, the material from Chapters 2–9, 11, 14 and 15). Additionally, the case could also be used in courses related to Tourism and Hospitality, especially in schools which have specialized programs in this field.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 12: Tourism and Hospitality.

Human resource management, Training and development, Competency development and team spirit.

The case is intended for MBA/PGDM level students as part of a human resource management curriculum. The case is more diagnostic in nature and should be discussed in the same spirit. The case is suitable for developing conceptual thinking and community orientation of professionals aspiring or pursuing a career in the area of human resource management.

The case examines the imperatives behind Sterling Tools Limited (STL), a leading fasteners manufacturing Indian company's decision and strategy adopted to inculcate team spirit through outdoor experiential training (OET). The case explores in detail the process undertaken to execute the OET at STL. The case also briefly mentions the tangible benefits of OEL. The case is structured to enable readers to: understand the basic objectives of OET; understand the innovative approach adopted by STL; and understand how an organization responds to changes and challenges in the external environment.

This case is structured to enable students to: understand the meaning and significance of outdoor experiential training (OET); analyze the challenges faced by HR managers in modern day organizations; learn the conceptual framework and understand the principles of OET; examine the measures that can be taken by management to ensure a smooth induction and socialization process of employees; and understand the need of inculcating team spirit among employees.

Teaching notes are available.

There had been many pieces of research on international expansion approaches, and they continued to grow. However, research about the firms belonging to emerging nations and that went global were still in the early stages. It had been argued that most theories on international expansion had focused on explaining the internationalization of large firms, majorly originating in developed countries. This case study offers an intriguing reading about an Indian MNC, successfully entering the developed markets and competing thereof amidst tough and complex world. Moreover, the leaders like Baba Kalyani met the stiff challenge from complexities and disruption successfully through entrepreneurial mindset. The case study offers insights into “Creating Value Through Entrepreneurial Leadership Framework”.

The case study has been developed through secondary data sources. The published online resources, the firm's annual reports formed the basis of the research work. Author accessed online news articles, auto component industry experts' views and reports from global consultancy firms, and auto industry body such as SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) reports helped the research. The views and interviews by promoters of the company are available online for deeper insights and analysis.

An Indian multinational, Bharat Forge Limited (BFL), was a shining example of achieving global manufacturing standards through perseverance and entrepreneurial leadership. For more than the past four decades, BFL faced complexities, uncertainties and disruptions multiple times, and every time, the business world saw a resurgent company, Bharat Forge. The company achieved growth through diversification, related and unrelated, acquisition, product innovation, portfolio expansion and expansion in domestic and global development. Competitive market, economic slowdown, innovation and technology disruption had not deterred BFL from growing into a worldwide auto component giant. BFL overcame all hurdles with grit and enterprise. It achieved a paradigm shift with over half the revenue from non-automotive sectors such as defence, electric vehicle components, e-mobility, power electronics and aluminium light-weighting.

This case is planned for MBA students, primarily in the second half of the course curriculum. It can be executed in marketing, strategic marketing and strategic management courses. The conceptual framework pertaining to corporate strategy, global expansion, diversification, product development, innovation, disruption, market development and entrepreneurial leadership can be taught through the case. The case is suitable for MBA executive students as well, in courses mentioned above in addition to courses such as strategic leadership.

This case study concerns self-managed teams (SMTs) and high-performing work stations.

This study is applicable to training, employee satisfaction and developing economy in the society at large.

High-performance work systems (HPWS) are processes in which organizations utilize a fundamentally different approach for managing work in place of the traditional hierarchal approach. HPWS uses an approach that is fundamentally different from the traditional hierarchical or bureaucratic approach otherwise known as the control-oriented approach. The fundamental difference between control-oriented and involvement-oriented approach is in organizing and managing at the lowest level in an organization. The basic purpose of HPWS is to create an organization based on employee involvement, commitment and empowerment. In these kinds of highly involved organizations, employees demonstrate more responsibility and commitments because of high empowerment and have access to information/knowledge and awareness to perform at the highest level. In this case study, the authors make a complete study about the ten pillars of SMTs in Dr Reddy's Laboratories Private Ltd. and the situation of FTO-4 at the Yanam plant and FTO-7 at the Visakhapatnam plant post-implementation of the SMT concept. This paper attempts to demonstrate how SMTs differ from conventional teams, as well as how effectively they contribute to the organization objectives.

To understand HPWS and concept of SMT; to understand how the concepts of HPWS and SMT were implemented in Dr Reddy'S Laboratories in *FTO-4 AND *FTO-7; to understand the key difference between traditional hierarchical systems and SMTs; to find out how continuous process improvement has made SMT initiative an evolving one (from 2002 to 2011); to understand how involvement of different stakeholders has made SMT initiative a sustainable one; and to understand the importance of SMT in this twenty-first century as they lead to a better and brighter future for everyone.

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A student can evaluate the variables related to the corporate governance decision for the future of the companies while simultaneously facing other internal factors, such as understanding the owner's address style. In addition, the student will be able to balance and weigh current resources, understanding that the conceptual frameworks of agency theory, resource dependence theory, agency and transaction costs, as well as the types of leadership and power are useful to understand this type of companies, common in emerging markets.

This case describes the actions of Nestor Salcedo Guevara, founding partner of Industrial Andina S.A. and owner of NSG Service Stations, companies focused on industrial manufacturing and retail fuel sales, respectively. The case covers a period of 40 years, from the founding of Industrial Andina S.A. in 1978, its restructuring into a family business in 1982, the strategic decisions concerning the political and economic situations from the eighties to the new millennium, and the creation of NSG Service Stations in the year 2000, until August 2018, when Nestor faced the decision to expand NSG Service Stations and reactivate Industrial Andina SA with new projects. Therefore, Nestor must decide the next steps for the future of both companies. This case study highlights several challenges of business economics and administrative strategy facing entrepreneurs or experienced managers and allows to discuss in class concepts of corporate governance such as ownership structure, incomplete contracts, management styles and defensive strategies associated with the power of the CEO - Owner.

Undergraduate students in Business Administration or Economics and post-graduate MBA. Business Economics courses, Strategic Management, Corporate Governance courses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

To complete this case, students will need to access financial statements from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s webpage. The links are provided. Students will also need to review the conceptual framework that is typically covered in Intermediate 1 to respond to question 5.

This case is based on the three financial statement restatements that Weatherford International Ltd. made over an approximately 18-month period. The restatements were due to a fraud committed by manipulating the income tax accrual in the financial statements. The manipulation used was to overstate the amount of income used to calculate the dividend exclusion and then use a relatively high tax rate to calculate the resulting tax benefit. The tax rate used for the fraud was substantially more than Weatherford’s effective tax rate (ETR), which was a prominent part of the company’s strategic growth plan. The tax senior with the external auditors who reviewed the entry made for the dividend exclusion captured the inconsistency with the comment that “This [the entry] deserves a huh?” The case is intended for students in Intermediate 2, where financial statement restatements and their effect on the company’s financial statements are typically covered. During the years covered in this case, Weatherford was also under investigation for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Weatherford’s FCPA violations included multiple instances of bribery, the inappropriate use of volume discounts, improper payments and kickbacks in the United Nation’s Oil for Food program. Weatherford received the eighth-largest fine in the history of FCPA violations (at that time) of $152m. Weatherford’s FCPA investigation expanded, and the company paid another $100m in fines for violations of sanctions law and export control law. This case focuses only on the fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements through the tax accrual and does not delve into the other investigations. However, the linkage between those investigations and the fraud in this case is Weatherford’s nonexistent internal controls.

This case was designed to be used in Intermediate 2 financial accounting classes to highlight financial statement restatements and review the conceptual framework and materiality. The students who used the case did not have difficulty with the tax aspect of the case. However, most of the students had taken one tax class previously or concurrently. If students have not had any exposure to tax, the instructor might want to walk students through the tax aspects of the case.

Manufacturing, Western management theories and Japanese management practices.

This case can be used in project management or management-related courses at tertiary institutions at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level.

This case provides students with an opportunity to find out what make Toyota so successful in manufacturing through its famous production system as well as the underlying Toyota Way principles. All students are expected to understand the Toyota Way model with a balanced view that goes beyond a set of lean tools such as just-in-time. This case opens a historical account for the Toyota Way model by connecting with possible Western management theories and Japanese management practices.

It is expected to significantly benefit students with industry experience with the intention of initiating appropriate changes in their own industry and/or organization by applying what they have learnt from the Toyota Way, through bridging with Western management theories.

Teaching notes.

This case serves as a useful backdrop for discussing a few important conceptual frameworks in the field of finance. The dilemmas are still evolving for Sharīʿah-compliant asset management company (AMC); i.e. Al Meezan, and may seem complex to the students – particularly in the Pakistan’s financial structure – but framing the discussion from a market perspective ought to help the students of finance.

This case study focuses on Al Meezan Investment Management Limited (Al Meezan) journey since inception. Al Meezan is a full-fledged Sharīʿah-compliant AMC and one of the major players in the mutual funds industry of Pakistan. Al Meezan offers a comprehensive range of Sharīʿah-compliant investment solutions especially designed to meet the financial goals of their existing and potential clients. The case study covers all the key events before the inception of Al Meezan, from late 1990s till March 2020. The case is based on interview with chief executive officer (CEO) (the protagonist) of Al Meezan. The case also covers various challenges faced by Mohammad Shoaib, CEO and his senior team, to make Al Meezan a vibrant institution offering Islamic financial services.

This case is aimed at undergraduate students in their final year (i.e. taking electives in the field of Finance/Islamic Finance) or graduate students majoring in Finance/Islamic Finance.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS1: Accounting and Finance.

After reading this case, the students will be able to comprehend the conceptual framework of entrepreneurial learning to tap business opportunities; identify the challenges of small businesses; understand the structure of the franchise business model; and recognise the need for succession planning for business sustainability and evaluate various options for succession.

“Jute Cottage”, the two-decade-old brand, was operating through its own stores and franchise outlets. The brain behind the brand was Nasreen and her husband Bilal. Dire times led the duo, venture into this business. It was in 1992, the family had relocated from Kolkata and was trying to make a living in Bangalore. Nasreen joined as a teacher and her husband focused on his existing trading business in jute packaging material. This was when Nasreen tried selling jute bags from home that were bought from Kolkata. After a few years, when Bilal’s business had a setback, Nasreen thought of giving a push to her home business. This was how a business that was started at a small level grew slowly and steadily under Nasreen’s leadership to become a brand and reach the current level of owning four stores and 10 franchise outlets across South India. As Nasreen and Bilal were growing old and wanted to retire, they expected their only son, Ataullah, to take over the reins of their business. But to their dismay, he was not interested, as his focus was on movie-making and designing.

The case can be taught to MBA/PGDM students to give them experiential learning in the courses on Entrepreneurship and Strategy. It gives insight on how to tap the business opportunities, grow and sustain. The case also highlights the need for succession planning for business continuity.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.