AIG or American International Group and its subsequent failure are one of, if not the most well-known company failures in financial history. Of the more recent bankruptcies filed for companies like Enron and Worldcom, the effects and unforeseeable consequences of the failure of a company like AIG would be much more widespread and felt by many more Americans at the lay person level. AIG is primarily an insurance company that sells Property casualty, life, and travel insurance to customers the world over. However, there was another arm to the company known as AIG FP or American International Group Financial Products division. This division dealt in the financial markets as more than an intermediary, but actually as a trader. The most publicized and understood version of what happened at AIG is that the federal government bailed them out. The term bailout has come to be understood as a final resort transaction Continue reading
Management Case Studies
Management case studies are real-life examples of issues and problems found in particular workplaces or business organisations. Case study assignments give the opportunity to relate theoretical concepts to practical situations. Most case studies are written in such a way that the reader takes the place of the manager whose responsibility is to make decisions to help solve the problem. In almost all case studies, a decision must be made, although that decision might be to leave the situation as it is and do nothing.
Case Study: Starbucks Social Media Marketing Strategy
With more than 17000 Starbucks stores in the world, spanning throughout 49 countries , and with significantly higher prices than the market average, the Starbucks enterprise is a tale of success, and a direct result of a genius social marketing and branding strategy. At the core of the business their signature fresh, dark-roasted, full-flavored coffee brews and beans consorting with specialty teas and blended beverages, the special ambiance, its principles and its sense of connection and community; it’s all about creating the ‘Starbucks Experience’, which is the soul of the business, a place to gather, talk and enjoy the allures of their savory brews, a ‘Third Place’ in people’s lives between home and work, for customers to feel perfectly comfortable and imbued with familiarity. Connecting and engaging with the customers is a very important aspect of Starbucks philosophy and one of the reasons why they have been so successful in Continue reading
Case Study: Failure of Vodafone in Japan
Vodafone Group plc is a British multinational mobile network operator, its main headquarter is in Newbury, England. It is the world’s largest mobile telecommunication network company, based on revenue, its market value on the UK stock exchange is about £80.2 billion as of August 2010, making it Britain’s third largest company. It is currently operating in 31 countries and has partner networks in a further 40 countries. In 2001 Vodafone announced to get into Japanese market with acquiring AT&T’s 10% economic interest in Japan Telecom Co., Ltd. (“Japan Telecom”) for a cash consideration of US$1.35 billion ( £0.93 billion). Japan Telecom was one of Japan’s leading telecommunications companies and parent of the fast growing mobile network, J-Phone Communications Co., Ltd., and its regional wireless operating companies (collectively known as “the J-Phone Group”). After this deal, Vodafone held 25% of Japan Telecom’s equity. The reason for Vodafone going into Japanese market Continue reading
Case Study: Delta Airlines Successful Business Turnaround Strategy
In 1924 Collet Everman Woolman and an associate started the Huff Daland Dusters crop dusting operation, this was the first agricultural airplane made for the purpose of crop dusting for getting rid of boll weevils and insects. The dusting speed was 80-85 mph and the advantage it had was low speed flying, heavy payload capacity and low maintenance cost. This creation was the roots of Delta Air Lines. In 1928 the crop dusting operation broke away from the parent company and became Delta Air Service. The company began getting contracts in delivering airmail and then in 1929 Delta began transporting passengers flying them to Dallas, Jackson and Mississippi. Later other routes were added to Atlanta and Charleston. Delta’s success was growing and began getting popular when the U.S. government awarded it an airmail contract in 1930. It remained in business during a temporary but costly suspension in the airmail contract Continue reading
Case Study of Starbucks: Creating a New Coffee Culture
Is it possible to convince ordinary Americans who routinely open 3-pound value cans of coffee, shovel the grounds into a paper filter, push a button, and go about their business to suddenly change their ways? Will they be willing to spend $2 or more per day on the same item? Will this eventually evolve into a $1400 per year habit of a latte and a scan each day? The answer to these questions, according to Starbucks, is “absolutely!” Starbucks began as a coffee importing firm. Howard Schultz, an employee in the organization, toured Italy in the early 1980s and watched as crowds of city dwellers began each morning with a stop at a coffee bar. Schultz tried to convince the owners of Starbucks to do something similar in the United States and was roundly rejected. Quitting the firm and launching out on his own quickly turned into a lucrative decision Continue reading