This case examines the role of Cisco led by John Chambers in facilitating web filtering in China. It begins by tracing the origins of Cisco as a pioneer of networking equipment. John Chambers, who had worked as a sales manager at IBM and Wang Laboratories, joined Cisco in 1991 and became CEO in 1995. The company expanded rapidly thereafter, acquiring many firms and growing globally, including in China, where it virtually created the internet. The case explores how the firm facilitated surveillance and monitoring of the internet under the Golden Shield project launched in 2000, and in 2004 served as a key participant in the CN2 upgrade which greatly enhanced official capability to filter content online. The case ends in 2007 with Chambers announcing further capital expenditure in China, but facing growing criticism by US Congress and others for Cisco's human rights record. At the same time, Cisco faced a powerful domestic competitor in China, Huawei, which had grown rapidly by investing in innovation even as Cisco pursued a share buy-back campaign after experiencing a sharp fall in its share price following the end of the Dot Com bubble. The case provides a vehicle for exploring the ethical and human rights responsibilities of corporations in the technology sector, as well as the impact of the internet on democracy.
Brian Perkins, chief architect of the $6 billion Budweiser brand, was excited about 2018, in which the company would launch Budweiser into several new markets in Africa and Latin America. He was also feeling the pressure to finalize a global brand strategy that would define Budweiser’s value proposition and guide its development and execution around the world. The problem was that Budweiser actually had two distinct brand realities that differed across geographies and that often interfered with each other. He worried whether the company could keep selling a premium brand proposition abroad as the brand's reputation faced challenges at home in the U.S. and whether he needed to force a monolithic global brand strategy everywhere or allow for local market customization. Could Budweiser simultaneously accommodate two or more brand realities?
Soon after being named regional managing partner for Ernst & Yong (EY) China in September 2009, Albert Ng reflects on the enormity of challenges facing EY China. Despite EY Global's commitment to the China practice, EY China’s growth agenda has been reversed, post global financial crisis. The smallest of the Big Four global accounting firms in China, EY China’s reputation has weakened in the market, morale of its professionals has plummeted, and it faces the threat of a major lawsuit. Ng is musing how to address all these challenges confronting EY China.
See more research