Navigating the 21st Century Business World

Part 1: Introduction

• Business cases: what are they, why do we use them and how should you go about doing a case analysis?

Part 2: Strategy and General Management

• Corporate strategy in the UK vehicle components industry: a comparison of Lucas Industries and GKN
• The collapse of Carillion plc
• On what matters: Unilever plc – purpose or performance?

Part 3: Governance, Accounting and Control

• Asset allocation and governance at the Imperial Tobacco pension fund in the mid-20th century
• The fall of the Maxwell empire
• Activist investors: Alliance Trust and Elliott International
• The failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland

Part 4: Economics, Politics and the Business Environment

• China National Petroleum Corporation in Sudan
• TRQ and Rio Tinto: the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine and the obsolescing bargain in Mongolia
• Activist investors versus Big Oil: how should ExxonMobil and British Petroleum respond?
• Environmental impact: why fast fashion is bad for the environment

Part 5: Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour

• The UK’s National Health Service: teams, conflict and performance
• Redesigning a performance management system
• Transformation in the automotive sector: the management challenges of AI and the digital revolution
• auticon: promoting a neurodiverse workforce

Part 6: Public Management

• Planning and programming for a government-hosted mass-gathering event in India: the 2019 Prayagraj Kumbh Mela
• Socio-economic background and career progression within the UK Civil Service
• Index

Case studies have long been an integral part of business and management education. As artificial intelligence transforms teaching and learning, they are assuming even greater importance. Cases provide the opportunity to learn from real-life scenarios, equipping students with the analytical skills required to critically examine data, apply theory, and interpret complex situations in what is an increasingly noisy and uncertain world.

Navigating the 21st Century Business World: Case Studies in Management is a fully open access collection of management cases, featuring examples from the health sector, media, oil and gas industries, fast fashion, financial services, and the public sector.

Written by LSE academics and tested in the classroom, the case studies in this book challenge students to evaluate classic issues of management, such as corporate governance and leadership, and to address contemporary dilemmas, from considering a company’s responsibilities in the face of man-made climate change to how to create inclusive workforces.

Each case details the core dilemmas raised and includes questions for students to consider when preparing the case. Academics and industry trainers can use the collection to make their lessons more hands-on and to enhance their curriculum. The case studies provide practical examples of management decision-making to spark thought-provoking discussions for university students, experienced executives looking to improve their leadership skills, and entrepreneurs seeking a competitive edge.