Olympus (A)

Jay W. Lorsch; Suraj  Srinivasan

Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | February 2014

Olympus (A)

Abstract

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 world-wide, 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; Corporate Accountability; Electronics Industry; Japan;

Language: English

Format: Print

10 pages

Purchase

Citation:

Lorsch, Jay W., and Suraj Srinivasan. "Olympus (A)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 114-072, February 2014.

This case explores a new board director who asks a detailed question about a footnote in the lengthy board packet distributed to directors by management. The case allows for discussion about the amount of information and level of detail provided by management, the level of preparation directors engage in prior to board meetings, and the appropriate strategic focus of the board. This case is part of a series of vignettes that capture different dilemmas faced by directors as they join boards of companies and understand the dynamics of the new boards that they join.

This case explores a new board director who wants more detail from the management team than his fellow directors are willing to press for. New board director Sam Pesca is frustrated that CFO Alex Marotta provides only a minimal two-page financial summary at board meetings, despite Pesca’s requests for more comprehensive information. The other directors object to pressing Marotta for more detail, and young CEO R.J. Oscott asks Pesca to refrain from pressing the CFO. This case is part of a series of vignettes that capture different dilemmas faced by directors as they join boards of companies and understand the dynamics of the new boards that they join.

Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2020

Driving Transformation at the Majid Al Futtaim Group

Suraj Srinivasan and Esel Çekin

The case opens with Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Holding, anticipating on the Group’s next phase in the multi-year transformation journey and reflecting on the initiatives he implemented to create the Group’s growth-oriented culture. Founded in 1995, MAF Group was a regional conglomerate, operating shopping malls, and retail and leisure establishments across 12 businesses in 15 markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The case describes the series of structural changes that Bejjani undertook since he became the CEO in 2015, how he transitioned the Holding company from a passive investor to a strategic architect model, and assumed ownership of the brand, culture, and talent across the entire organization for all its operating companies: MAF Properties, MAF Retail, and MAF Ventures. The case discusses the steps that the Group undertook—creation of the Leadership Institute, a new performance management system, investments in digital technology and analytics capabilities, and the launch of the School of Great Moments to instill a focus on customer experience. By November 2019, Bejjani recognized that the organization had evolved considerably in the past five years. He wondered about the next steps in scaling and ability to execute strategy. How much more could he push the organization to continue to change?

Keywords: Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; United Arab Emirates; Middle East; Dubai;

Citation:

Srinivasan, Suraj, and Esel Çekin. "Driving Transformation at the Majid Al Futtaim Group." Harvard Business School Case 121-002, July 2020. View Details

Cite View Details Educators Purchase

Faculty & Research

Olympus (A)

Abstract

Citation:

About the Authors

More from these Authors