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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2012 version)

  Olympus (A)

  Jay W. Lorsch, Suraj Srinivasan and Kathleen Durante

  As 2012 approached, the woes of the financial crisis seemed to be fading, companies were resuming business as usual, and some of the scrutiny on corporate governance practices began to recede as well. That is until another major financial scandal emerged in Japan in the fall of 2011. It was slowly revealed that the 92-year-old camera and medical photo-imaging company, Olympus, had been hiding its losses for more than a decade—to the tune of $1.7 billion—long before the current economic pressures, slow job growth, and poor investor confidence plagued the global economy. The fraud renewed the focus on corporate governance policies worldwide, but especially in Japan, where the lack of board independence and a deep-rooted corporate culture entrenched in personal loyalties fostered an environment that made it difficult for scandals such as this to be unveiled, let alone for whistleblowers to come forward about them.

  Keywords: accounting; corporate governance; Accounting; Corporate Governance; Electronics Industry; Health Industry; Japan;

  Citation:

  Lorsch, Jay W., Suraj Srinivasan, and Kathleen Durante. "Olympus (A)." Harvard Business School Case 413-040, March 2013. (Revised from original October 2012 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2012 (Revised from original 1997 version)

  Jim Sharpe: Extrusion Technology, Inc. (A)

  H. Kent Bowen and Barbara Feinberg

  Jim Sharpe, 11 years after receiving his MBA from Harvard and working for others, has finally become his own boss and 100% owner of manufacturer of aluminum extrusions. After 10 months of an unfunded search, he acquires the business in an LBO and prepares to face his employees on the first day.

  Keywords: crisis management; Acquisitions; Search Funds; entrepreneurial management; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; turnarounds; bank loan; leveraged buyouts; manufacturing; metals processing; entrepreneurial finance; Labor unions; Experience and Expertise; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career;

  Citation:

  Bowen, H. Kent, and Barbara Feinberg. "Jim Sharpe: Extrusion Technology, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 697-078, December 2012. (Revised from original February 1997 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2012 (Revised from original 2002 version)

  Jim Sharpe: Extrusion Technology, Inc. (Abridged)

  H. Kent Bowen

  Jim Sharpe, 11 years after receiving his MBA from Harvard and working for others, has finally become his own boss and 100% owner of manufacturer of aluminum extrusions. After 10 months of an unfunded search, he acquires the business in an LBO and prepares to face his employees on the first day.

  Keywords: Business Model; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Borrowing and Debt; Banks and Banking; Personal Development and Career; Manufacturing Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Bowen, H. Kent. "Jim Sharpe: Extrusion Technology, Inc. (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 603-084, December 2012. (Revised from original December 2002 version.)

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