N. Craig Smith

Senior Affiliate Professor of Ethics and Social Responsibility
This short case study is a snapshot of the ethical challenges faced by members of a supply chain as they work on an apparently fictional high-rise renovation project.

Published 20 Nov 2023

Reference 6783

Topic Responsibility

Industry Architecture & Planning Construction

Region Europe

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This short case study is a snapshot of the ethical challenges faced by members of a supply chain as they work on an apparently fictional high-rise renovation project. Although the story is set in the construction sector, it is relevant to any supply chain in any industry or any set of individuals working on a business project with real-world consequences.

Published 20 Nov 2023

Reference 6783

Topic Responsibility

Industry Architecture & Planning Construction

Region Europe

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The mobile phone industry is notorious for its lack of sustainability. Fairphone started as a campaign to draw attention to ‘conflict minerals’ and the plight of tantalum miners. It became a social enterprise by launching its first ‘fair phone’, the FP1, with conflict-free tantalum.

Published 20 Dec 2022

Reference 6585

Topic Responsibility

Industry Telecommunications

Region Europe

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Do we have to completely change the way we eat to save the planet? If so, can business lead the way? Case protagonist Sandhya Sriram, a Singapore entrepreneur, is attempting to do just that. With a cofounder, she launches a start-up to ‘grow’ shrimp meat by replicating cells in a lab setting as an alternative to aquaculture settings that pollute the ocean.

Published 10 Jun 2022

Reference 6706

Topic Responsibility

Industry Food and Beverages Production

Region Asia

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Without action on sustainability, the supply of cocoa beans – and hence chocolate - cannot be maintained. Barry Callebaut (BC), the world’s largest B2B cocoa and chocolate company, has gone from taking little interest in “sustainable cocoa production” to embracing it fully.

Published 01 Jun 2020

Reference 6512

Topic Responsibility

Region Africa

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After years building a solid customer base by cross-selling its financial service offerings, Wells Fargo was engulfed by a scandal over unauthorized accounts opened in customers’ names. Regulators discovered that hundreds of thousands of fake accounts had been opened by bank employees scrambling to meet sales quotas.

Published 29 Nov 2019

Reference 6430

Topic Responsibility

Industry Banking

Region North America

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This case puts participants in the shoes of the directors of Barry Callebaut (BC), a cocoa-sourcing and chocolate manufacturing company. Chairman Andreas Jacobs is passionate about cocoa sustainability in West Africa – ensuring the cocoa crop (endangered by poor farming and climate change) and the farmers who grow it will survive and thrive.

Published 26 Jul 2019

Reference 6440

Topic Responsibility

Industry Food and Beverages Production

Region Africa

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This case puts participants in the shoes of the directors of Barry Callebaut (BC), a cocoa-sourcing and chocolate manufacturing company. Chairman Andreas Jacobs is passionate about cocoa sustainability in West Africa – ensuring the cocoa crop (endangered by poor farming and climate change) and the farmers who grow it will survive and thrive.

Published 26 Jul 2019

Reference 6440

Topic Responsibility

Industry Food and Beverages Production

Region Africa

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In 2013, India passed a law to make corporate social responsibility mandatory for large companies. The case examines the context in which the CSR legislation was introduced and how Tata Motors Ltd (TML) responded to it. Case (A) explores the meaning of corporate social responsibility and the question of whether a company should put community projects before profits.

Published 25 Apr 2019

Reference 6396

Topic Responsibility

Industry Automotive

Region Asia

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In 2013, India passed a law to make corporate social responsibility mandatory for large companies. The case examines the context in which the CSR legislation was introduced and how Tata Motors Ltd (TML) responded to it. Case (A) explores the meaning of corporate social responsibility and the question of whether a company should put community projects before profits.

Published 25 Apr 2019

Reference 6396

Topic Responsibility

Industry Automotive

Region Asia

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The mobile phone industry is notorious for its lack of sustainability. Fairphone started as a campaign to draw attention to ‘conflict minerals’ and the plight of tantalum miners. It became a social enterprise by launching its first ‘fair phone’, the FP1, with conflict-free tantalum.

Published 20 Dec 2022

Reference 6585

Topic Responsibility

Industry Telecommunications

Region Europe

View case
In 2013, India passed a law to make corporate social responsibility mandatory for large companies. The case examines the context in which the CSR legislation was introduced and how Tata Motors Ltd (TML) responded to it. Case (A) explores the meaning of corporate social responsibility and the question of whether a company should put community projects before profits.

Published 25 Apr 2019

Reference 6396

Topic Responsibility

Industry Automotive

Region Asia

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The case is a detailed ‘inside’ account of the ‘dieselgate’ scandal at Volkswagen which revealed how engineers had programmed software that enabled its cars to cheat emissions tests.

Published 28 May 2018

Reference 6346

Topic Responsibility

Industry Automotive Transportation/Trucking/Railroad

Region Global

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Recent MBA graduate Majed finds his dream job: high-tech, entrepreneurial, senior, social – contributing to the economy of Palestine, a cause close to his heart. But the new CEO of WebTeb, an online medical information service in Arabic, finds it more challenging than expected. Recruiting IT talent in Palestine is particularly tough.

Published 28 May 2018

Reference 6343

Topic Responsibility

Industry Wireless Medical Practice Information Services

Region Middle-East

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This case explores the changes wrought by the “sharing economy”, examining the innovations and controversies surrounding the online ride-hailing service Uber. It provides a unique overview of the challenges posed by new business models like Uber’s, which use the internet to link individual providers of goods and services to customers.

Published 29 May 2017

Reference 6209

Topic Responsibility

Industry Transportation/Trucking/Railroad

Region Global

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When a Greenpeace campaign to boycott PVC products seemed to spell disaster for Hydro Polymers, it embraced the challenge and embarked on a drive for sustainability using The Natural Step framework. The strategy was maintained after Hydro was acquired by INEOS, and ultimately led to significant changes throughout Europe's PVC industry.

Published 26 Aug 2016

Reference 6078

Topic Responsibility

Industry Chemicals

Region Europe

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This exciting case is about a whistle-blower who exposes bribery and corruption in defence contracting in the Middle East. Sebastian is hired to manage a $3.25 billion military contract, but must figure out what to do when he realises his company is paying bribes to local officials.

Published 29 Jun 2015

Reference 6073

Topic Responsibility

Industry Defense & Space

Region Middle-East

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Sweta Mangal, CEO of Ziqitza Health Care Limited, must decide how to respond to a government official who has demanded a bribe to release payment for the ambulance services ZHL provides. Bribery is commonplace in India, but there is also a growing anti-corruption movement.

Published 27 May 2013

Reference 5897

Topic Responsibility

Industry Hospital & Health Care

Region Asia

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Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability, Business/Marketing Ethics, Consumer Boycotts, Sustainable Consumption, Deception in Marketing, Stakeholder Theory, Stakeholder Engagement