Case Title:

Managing Crises: Built To Last Companies

Abstract:
The Great Depression, the Oil Crisis, the South East Asian financial crisis, the 2008 US financial crisis and many such crises in history have created very challenging circumstances for companies to operate in. While some companies were lost in oblivion some managed to weather the challenges and survive. What was so unique about these companies? How did they manage to overcome the tough market conditions?

The Managing Crises case series tries to address many such similar questions covering several aspects of a company’s operations during times of crisis like leadership, strategy making, innovation, employee concerns etc.

This is the first case in this series which attempts to detail the various crises which have occurred over the years, the repercussions of those crises on different economies and more specifically different companies. It illustrates companies which have successfully tackled various crises and the strategies employed by them. It tries to identify the commonalities between the companies which have survived and ascertain whether leadership played a major role in their success. It also tries to evaluate the impact of the 2008 US financial crisis and its ramifications.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand various economic and financial crises during the last century and to develop a holistic perspective on those crises
• To examine the companies that have successfully weathered those crises and analyse the reasons for them to have faced those crises successfully
• To assess the role of leadership in managing the companies during those crises times
• To debate on the possible ways and means for managing the crises arising out of US financial crises

Course: Strategic Management

Managing troubled times: Competitive strategies

Key focus: Strategies adopted by companies during times of crisis