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[eBay] have got to get their act together and decide what they are – they cannot be black-marketeers of tickets. Harvey Goldsmith, Live 8 promoter for Bob Geldof Anything to do with the Lions tour bought over the Internet [from TradeMe] runs a grave risk of this being a scam or tickets that have been procured illegally and can be shut down. Steve Tew, Deputy Chief Executive, New Zealand Rugby Union Who are the ‘movers and shakers’ that influence a firm strategy?: 1. What are some of the subsequent constraints upon Chief Executive power in a firm? 2. Who actually determines strategy and for whom is the company run? 3. How can different stakeholder interests be managed? Figure 2.1 Principal-agent chain Figure 2.2 A stakeholder map The classic stakeholder conflicts include: 1. short term results to suit equity markets versus long term investments to secure the future success of the firm; 2. improve efficiency versus substantial job loss; 3. the need for professional managers versus the loss of family control; 4. reduce costs versus providing a social necessity; 5. public share ownership versus need for more openness and accountability; 6. operating locally in one country versus parent ways of operating and expectations located in a different country; How would you manage these conflicts? GE, then and now: same company, different CEO styles, different movers and shakers. 1. What is the evidence that there is a corporate governance issue in Disney? 2. What are the problems you see in the case with Eisner holding several offices? 3. How should the Board have gone about appointing a new CEO? 4. How should an independent director be defined and how should directors be appointed to the board? 1. What, or who, were the drivers for this takeover battle and how are they moving or shaking Morrison’s strategy? … 2. Using the stakeholder power/interest matrix, discuss the main issues the regulator should consider… 3. Which bidders you think the regulator should recommend to proceed and which should be prevented from continuing? 4. If you were CEO of Safeway, what would you have looked for in a deal? 5. If you were CEO of one of the bidding companies, and you thought that you wouldn’t win the battle, what would you have done next? 1. Why did a group of institutional shareholders want the removal of Michael Green? 2. How did the shareholders bring about Green’s demise? 3. Why does Tony Bolton have such power? 4. What can other CEOs do to avoid a similar fate to Michael Green? 1. Why was Ms Fiorina appointed to HP? 2. Why did the merger with Compaq take place? 3. Why was Ms Fiorina ousted from HP? 4. How was she ousted? 5. What can we say about the distribution of power in the board of a large firm such as HP? 1. Why was Blue Circle bid for? 2. Was it in the interests of Blue Circle’s shareholders for the hostile bid to fail? 3. Were the defence strategies adopted by Blue Circle consistent with reducing the chance of takeover but not prejudicial towards its shareholders? 4. Did Hawthornthwaite act in his own best interests or his shareholders? 1. Why were consultants from Virgin used to advise the NHS? 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of hiring management consultants to move or shake a company’s strategy? 3. Having read this case, how would you now approach the situation if you were asked to act as a consultant advising Robin Hood about the best way to deal with the predicament outlined in the first part of this case? 1. Why might a company’s strategies be so easily moved or shaken by fads and the management guru’s that issue them? 2. What are the dangers of following fads or trends like BPR? 3. What could you as a manager do to help your company resist following the latest fads blindly?