Publication records

This short (1 page) case describes 38 year-old George Martin, who is having second thoughts about the possible 'toxic' effects of video games - the main business of the division where he is currently CFO. His concern is focused on violent video games in particular, and the widespread concern that they are easily accessible to children of all ages, some of whom may be influenceable by what they see. Apparently George may soon be offered an opportunity to take over as General Manager of the division, and on an evening out with two friends from 'B'-school days (one with responsibility for a sport utility vehicle automobile line, and the other working for a leading tobacco brand) they discuss the recent financial crisis and the 'toxic' products which triggered it. A conversation in a bar raises the question about the toxicity of their own businesses, and implicitly the issue of their own responsibility as executives, relative to that of the consumer who buys the product, or government who might provide oversight and regulation.

Greta Braun, a well respected German Professor of Management, joins the board of Infotech as one of only two non-executive directors. The first board meeting is a surprise since a 5 million euro acquisition decision is passed without any significant questioning or debate. After the board meeting she questions the board chairman about board functioning and procedures. The upshot is that she, as a newcomer and relative outsider, is asked to prepare her thoughts on these issues for the next board meeting. The board chairman suggests that two main subjects should be put on the table: First, how the board, which includes three founder-owners, should relate to the CEO (who is one of these); second, what kind of information the board should expect to get from management to do its job and fulfill its legal obligations.

Personal Career Workout for Executives is a courseware developed to help instructors and executive coaches and consultants discuss topics related to careers and career management with experienced course participants and coaching clients. This courseware is developed to introduce the topic of careers and career management to adult audiences and to help program participants engage in reflection and/or discussions related to their own careers.

The case opens with a brief overview of the successful past of "Bayern", introduces the main players in Bayern Munich's leadership team, gives an insight into the club leadership's aspirations for European Champions League title, and illustrates the club's indispensable demand for short term success. The case continuous reporting the many changes that Klinsmann introduced to club and team after taking over his new responsibilities before it then gives an account of the season 2008/2009. The case culminates in Klinsmann getting fired and the club management's return to the exact same philosophies that were valid before Klinsmann's arrival.

The cases are used to introduce the concept of collective responsibility and leadership in team situations by applying the concept of Crew Resource Management for teams in a management setting. By drawing from the metaphor of aircrews to corporate scenarios challenges in leadership teams could be discussed in a wider context. Both cases describe the interaction of airline crews who are confronted with a non-routine problem that they have to solve. In the case of United Airlines 173 the crew ceases to function as team and the fully functional plane eventually crashes. As a result of this accident the concept of Crew Resource Management has been developed to optimize teamwork within the hierarchical structure of a cockpit crew. The case of United Airlines 232 complements the first case as it describes an airline crew that was confronted with a severe engine failure making their plane almost uncontrollable (similar prior accidents always resulted in the loss of the aircraft in non-survivable crashes). Using core elements of Crew Resource Management the crew was nevertheless able to achieve a survivable landing of the plane. Both cases cover essentially the last 30 minutes of both flights and focus on the communication of the flight crews.

The cases are used to introduce the concept of collective responsibility and leadership in team situations by applying the concept of Crew Resource Management for teams in a management setting. By drawing from the metaphor of aircrews to corporate scenarios challenges in leadership teams could be discussed in a wider context. Both cases describe the interaction of airline crews who are confronted with a non-routine problem that they have to solve. In the case of United Airlines 173 the crew ceases to function as team and the fully functional plane eventually crashes. As a result of this accident the concept of Crew Resource Management has been developed to optimize teamwork within the hierarchical structure of a cockpit crew. The case of United Airlines 232 complements the first case as it describes an airline crew that was confronted with a severe engine failure making their plane almost uncontrollable (similar prior accidents always resulted in the loss of the aircraft in non-survivable crashes). Using core elements of Crew Resource Management the crew was nevertheless able to achieve a survivable landing of the plane. Both cases cover essentially the last 30 minutes of both flights and focus on the communication of the flight crews.

This case describes the events that led to the near-collapse of Bankgesellschaft Berlin and the subsequent restructuring that was completed in July 2007. The state-owned bank was saved from failure by a capital injection of 1.8 billion euros and a guarantee for the covering of losses of up to 21.7 billion euros provided by the state of Berlin. These measures almost bankrupted the state of Berlin and had wide-ranging political consequences. The case therefore highlights the current problems of the German banking system, which is dominated by publicly-owned savings banks. The case covers the events of Bankgesellschaft Berlin between 1996 and 2006. It opens with Thomas Kurze, a member of the management board of Bankgesellschaft Berlin, in November 2000. He has to decide on a proposal for raising cash to prevent the looming collapse of the bank. The dilemma of Thomas Kurze is told from two angles: (1) the managerial angle focuses on saving the bank through recapitalisation or restructuring, and on the limits set by the co-determination of the supervisory board; and (2) the personal angle focuses on his individual responsibility to the bank versus the pressure and demands of the politicians involved. This includes the discussion of his personal values being in conflict with the bank. The case has students analyse the impact of a public shareholder with multiple interests on a major German bank, and the flawed governance structure of which has led it to near-collapse. Students will furthermore discuss the choices a business leader has when faced with this dilemma. The case was written entirely using publicly available information - especially information from public hearings and a special report of the Berlin parliament published in 2006.

On July 29, 2004 the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußballbund; DFB) announced that Jürgen Klinsmann had been chosen to prepare the national soccer team for the World Cup, to be held in Germany in the summer of 2006. The public responded to this announcement with a great deal of surprise and skepticism; two years later - on July 11, 2006 - it would respond to Klinsmann's announcement that he would not renew his contract with even greater regret. During the two years in which Klinsmann led the team, Germany experienced a soccer revolution. True, the team and Klinsmann's staff had not realized Klinsmann's goal of winning the World Cup; the Germans came third. But in this period Klinsmann would succeed, despite considerable resistance, in introducing major reforms. He would steer a team that had hit rock-bottom both psychologically and technically back to a world-class level. The soccer team's appearance on and off the field galvanized ordinary Germans and contributed significantly to the World Cup's huge success: all its games were sold out; the mood was euphoric in the stadiums, in the public viewing areas set up in many cities, and in the streets; hundreds of thousands of Germans and foreign fans celebrated together; and images of a friendly, open Germany circulated around the world, correcting the cliche about dour Germans.

Leadership and management development programs at the world's leading business schools and consulting organizations are increasingly using multirater (multisource, 360-degree) feedback as an instrument for their participants' learning. Despite a plethora of publications about 360-degree instruments and several solid analyses of the method for HR practitioners and consultants, there is not much information that explains the process to the ultimate recipients of the information gathered through feedback, i.e. executives. The purpose of this technical note is to explain to participants of executive education programs who are going through the process of 360-degree assessment the rationale behind using multirater feedback instruments, explain the main principles and the process of going through the exercise, provide guidance on preparation for assessment and selection of respondents, make suggestions on ways to solicit input from the respondents, and briefly outline possible methods of using the feedback results in the context of a leadership development program.

The case study presents the situation faced by Faurecia over the last few years in terms of strategic direction and operations management in the highly competitive environment of car seating. In a consolidating market, in which survival is based on cost containment and performance excellence, Faurecia, the third largest car seat supplier worldwide, decided to launch an ambitious program to promote innovation and to optimize the new product development process. The case study analyzes the evolution of the supply chain for car seats, its market demand, the evolving business model imposed by carmakers and the impact it has on sourcing and manufacturing. The central issue of the case is how Faurecia should organize its new product development process in order to increase its performance and involve its customers and its suppliers earlier in the process. The case provides an opportunity to discuss how a large multinational company can leverage a changing market demand by tuning its business model and adapting its product offering while staying abreast of competition with increasingly innovative solutions. The case lead to discussing issues relative to the organization of the new product development process in a price sensitive market, the design for manufacturing concept and the cooperation/competition role that different companies have to play in a complex supply chain.