The Rise and Fall of Mike Sears

4) What advice would you offer John Chambers in managing Cisco’s culture through the transition?

Although the top level managers benefited in this situation, the shareholders suffered greatly. They lost a total of around $6 billion dollars in the market value of Waste Management’s stock. By the end of the scandal Waste

SEC alleged that Mark Cuban violated misappropriate insider trading. To be qualified as misappropriate insider trading, an individual wrongfully obtains (misappropriates) inside information and trades on it for her or his personal benefit. In this case, Cuban actually traded his shares based on the material inside information he was told and saved him $750,000 in losses. Wrongful misappropriation means violation of a fiduciary duty.

Do you think Jim Sinegal is an effective CEO? What grades would you give him in leading the process of crafting and executing Costco’s strategy? What support can you offer for these grades? Refer to Figure 2.1 in Chapter 2 in developing your answers.

1. Identify the key factors responsible for the success of Gordon Biersch to date. What concerns, if any, do you have as the company looks ahead?

1. What types of decisions must Chad Thomas make daily for his company’s operations to run effectively? Over the long run?

1. How would you describe Boeing’s approach to project management? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

Assess the need for a change in Best Buy 's strategy when Brand Anderson became CEO.

(Farrell, 2005, para 1). Unfortunately for Ebbers, the grand jury wasn’t ignorant to the facts of the case and found Ebbers guilty on nine counts of fraud. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Many critics felt that the sentence was too harsh and others not harsh enough. The sentencing of Ebbers did not change the situation of the shareholders and employees who lost more than $100 billion in stock value, 17,000 jobs and their entire retirement savings. Ebbers was allowed to keep one of his homes, $50,000 in cash and a retirement account (Ernst & Young, 2005, para 6). Many supporters of Ebbers still questioned how much of a role he actually played in masterminding the WorldCom scandal. The

Boeing was recently faced with the scandals which hurt the reputation of Boeing. The top management recognized the problem and tried to figure it out by effective management strategies.

Detailed examination of the impact Jack Welch has had as CEO over the past twenty years reveals a leadership style that is the driving force behind a

In the middle of 1990’s, Boeing began its plan of acquisitions and in 1996 it paid $3.2 billion for the aerospace and defense holdings of Rockwell International which was responsible for the Space shuttle and International Space Station programs, as well as activities in launch systems, rocket engines, missiles, satellites and military airplanes. Furthermore, in 1997 Boeing completed a $14 billion acquisition of McDonnell Douglas which was the world’s number three maker of commercial aircraft. The acquisition

Just eight months after the fire, three of the four production lines at Malden Mills were fully operational and all but 500 of the nearly 2,400 employees were back to work in the factory. But unexpected downturns in the apparel industry challenged the wisdom of Feuerstein’s actions. By 1998, employees at Malden Mills experienced steady layoffs and the firm acquired $120 million in debt. Under the leadership of new chief operating officer Gerald Bowe, following the values of the company’s founder, Malden Mills experienced a turnaround in 1999. Hourly employee recalls numbered 1,500, bringing the total number of employees back to the level at the time of fire. Government and overseas contracts countered the decline in sales in the competitive domestic market, and Malden Mills appeared to be recovering from its financial setbacks as the firm entered the twenty-first century. Aaron Feuerstein’s commitment to both the company’s economic and social mission and goals appeared to have emerged from ashes intact.

The entrepreneurial sprit which began the foundations of Lockheed Martin remains alive within the company today. Although, the companies’ stricter guidelines do not allow an employee to simply begin an entrepreneurial venture on their own, the company has evolved from an airplane manufacturer to an organization that is involved in everything from defense to space exploration. This massive diversification of interests was brought about by intrapreneurial ventures. It was Lockheed Martin that coined the phrase “Skunkworks”, meaning specialized teams dedicated to discovering new projects. The origin story of “skunkworks” is well known and shows the tenacity and innovation that Lockheed Martin is capable of. In 1943, an engineer named Clarence “Kelly” Johnson and a group of young engineers were asked to design and build a jet fighter to help the US Army prepare for the growing German threat. The small group was isolated and the project was kept secret operating out of a circus tent because available and private space was scarce in the Lockheed Martin facility. The group was given one hundred and fifty days to complete the project, and they completed the jet in one hundred and forty-three (Miller, 1995). This spirt of innovation and growth marked the true beginning of the boom in product development which continues to this day under the same name, but this time trademarked.

Generally, the original unauthorized disclosure (leak of confidential board deliberations) incorporated the chain of various events that caused the company to face the court a hearing that took place twenty months earlier before Patricia Dunn became the Chairman. The entire board made an agreement of asking the company outside counsel and make sure that they conducted investigations due to possible leaks. According to reports, there were possibilities that, few board members were leaking confidential conversation of the board.