Elon Musk was charged with contempt-of-court for tweeting that Tesla would produce about 500,000 vehicles in 2019. The lesson is obvious—even a rocket scientist can get into trouble using social media. However, seemingly rational social media interactions can also land a brand in hot water with consumers. While an organization can still exert some control over who speaks to the press, it is nearly impossible to control employees’ use of social media. .....more

BP's horrible missteps after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded were almost predictable, given the culture of deceit and arrogance that executive actions had encouraged. While the accident could have been prevented, BP might have avoided its intense and deserved public flogging if only it had respected the best practices for managing a crisis and for managing. Readers of this article will learn what BP could and should have done differently.

The year 2007 had to have been one of the worst in the history of British Petroleum plc (BP). In the span of four months, two separate independent reports (the first one commissioned by BP itself) had identified a deeply rooted culture of risk within BP where money and profits were valued above worker and environmental safety. These reports were in response to an explosion in 2005 at an oil refinery in Texas City, in the United States, which killed .....more

This supplement to product 9B08M002 examines the role played by the board with respect to the personal integrity of Lord Browne, who had been several times identified as the chief executive officer of the year by the Financial Times.

Teaching note for products 9B08M002 and 9B08M003.

Teaching note for product 9B06M096.

In 2004 CCL Industries Inc. was a leading producer of value-added outsourcing custom products and packages for numerous large consumer packaged goods companies. CCL's chief executive officer and vice-chair faced an important strategic decision. The CEO was contemplating selling the custom manufacturing division of CCL that was the basis for its founding, and still contributed approximately 34 per cent of overall earnings. Although the firm had .....more

A government-owned bank is struggling to transform itself into a modern, internationally competitive financial institution. However, as a state-owned bank, it had limited freedom to reduce and train staff, to be selective in its lending, or to experiment with new kinds of financial services. Furthermore, many concepts that were common in non-communist countries had not yet become part of the Chinese banking system, such as collateral, security, risk .....more

Teaching note for product 9B03M028.

CCL Industries Inc. is one of the top packagers of consumer products in the world. Over its 50-year history the company had grown from a small room to a multinational firm employing 7,500 people with over $1.6 billon in sales. CCL faces an uncertain environment that had already led to a major strategic reorientation when its plan to sell its largest division was cancelled. A global economic slowdown and lower consumer confidence coupled with extensive .....more