The case study

Assignments

• A team of journalists specialized in corporate scandals. They will provide a legal update on the Theranos case. Since the scandal occurred and the case was written, both Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani were put on trial. Explain why they were trialed separately, how these trials went, the legal arguments of the accusation against both of them, and the final decisions of the judges.
• A boutique consultancy specialized in corporate PR. They will provide an analysis of the construction of Elizabeth Holmes’ public image. Based on the case and additional sources (see suggestions below), they will detail how she presented herself in the media, with precise quotes and illustrations. Attention will be paid to the chronological progression of this image.
  • Episodes 1 « Myth-Making » and 3 « A star is born » of ABC’s podcast The Drop Out.
  • Episode 6 « Holmes and the Media » of the podcast Bad Blood: The Final Chapter
• A group reads and analyses Gottschall (2016). The group will present the article’s thesis and main arguments, trying to illustrate with concrete examples as much as possible. After objectively synthesizing the text, some critical perspective will be given, based on other academic material (from the group’s own research), and the conclusion will express the group’s position regarding the thesis of the article.
• A crisis management consulting firm. They will analyze Elizabeth Holmes’ defense after John Carreyrou’s article was published in the Wall Street Journal, both in the media and during the trial (see suggestions of sources below). In particular, they will underline the claims and arguments she used to justify that she was not responsible and/or could not be held accountable of what happened in Theranos. Particular attention will be paid to the diffusion strategies (how she blames other) and their organizational aspects (delegation of responsibility, size of the company, lack of experience or expertise, etc.)
  • Episodes « Bombshell » and « Setting the stage » of ABC’s podcast The Drop Out.
  • Episode « The Sympathy Play » of the podcast Bad Blood: The Final Chapter
• A group reads and analyses Beu & Buckley (2004). The group will present the article’s thesis and main arguments, trying to illustrate with concrete examples as much as possible. After objectively synthesizing the text, some critical perspective will be given, based on other academic material (from the group’s own research), and the conclusion will express the group’s position regarding the thesis of the article.

Final exam

For your final assessment, you are going to pitch a “Critical Issues in Management” case study. It should follow the criteria of what constitute a critical issue presented at the beginning of the course (i.e. wicked problems). You can obviously use the cases studied during the sessions to get an idea of what represents relevant material.

You are encouraged to take advantage of your personal curiosity, professional interests and/or cultural background to identify cases that are more diverse than the ones tackled during the sessions (recognising most of them came from US or Western European, for-profit, multinational corporations).

Presentations

During Sessions 11 & 12, groups will present their pitch (see schedule at the bottom of the page), as a last opportunity for feedback before submitting the final essay. Presentations should not exceed 10 minutes and include:

• Short introduction to the company or sector
• Description of the critical issue faced (outlining its ‘wicked problem’ nature)
• List the main stakeholders concerned (outlining divergence in viewpoints)

Please advise: The choice of issue and stakeholders is critical to evidence the complexity of the case and show the richness of your analysis. Be specific, not generic. Complexify, don’t simplify. Subtle analysis will be valued over action plans.

Final essay

Your pitch document should include a short description of the issue at hand, along with a presentation of the organization(s) and stakeholders. You have to provide at least 10 sources from legitimate media (e.g. press articles) to evidence the case. Finally, like the ones studied in class, you should suggest an assignment for 5 five different groups (1/2 related to consulting specialties and 3/4 to other relevant stakeholders).

• Deadline: April 5^th
• 1,500 words (+/-10%)
• Pdf document
• To: yoannbazin@yahoo.fr

First tutorial

Preparing for the final exam, this week we will discuss your ideas for a CIM-like case study. You are expected to come with suggestions of companies or sectors and be able to explain how they are facing critical issues akin to a wicked problem. You do not have to all agree at this stage, and it would be normal to come to the tutorial with several ideas we could discuss.

Second tutorial

Preparing for the final exam (see reminder below), this week we will finalize your idea for a CIM-like case study. You are expected to show progress since the previous tutorial, in the form of a decision on the precise company or industry chosen and the critical issue they face.  You should have conducted your research on the case, based on press articles from legitimate sources, and to identify several relevant stakeholders as a base for the assignment.

2024/2025 Case pitch

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Session 1 – Introduction to critical thinking

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Session 2 – Coca Cola case study

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Session 3 (23/01)

Case study: Facebook case study

Assignments for next session

• Everyone studies “Why think critically?” and “Being evidence-based”, and prepares a pitch (see next week) and schedules their tutorial (form here)

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Session 4

NO ONLINE COURSE ON THURSDAY

Preparation: see Tutorials

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Session 5 (06/02)

Preparatory assignments

• Everyone studies “Freeman (1984) Stakeholder theory”
• Groups 1, 2, and 3 prepare their assignments

Case study: Koch Industry

• Research notes (2 pages, presenting your work, your main arguments, including the 5 most relevant quotes, along with the detailed references used) are due by 6pm two days before the session in PDF format to yoannbazin@yahoo.fr
• Presentations (10-15 minutes) during the session

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Session 6 (13/02)

Assignments

• Everyone reads the case study on Theranos
• Everyone studies “Unveiling Holmes’ rhetorics »
• Groups 4, 5, and 6 prepare their case study assignments

Case study: Theranos

• Research notes (2 pages, presenting your work, your main arguments, including the 5 most relevant quotes, along with the detailed references used) are due by 6pm two days before the session in PDF format to yoannbazin@yahoo.fr
• Presentations (10-15 minutes) during the session

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Session 7 (20/02)

Assignments

• Everyone studies « Crimes of obedience » and « Hannah Arendt on the Banality of evil »
• Groups 7, 8, 1 and 2 prepare their case study assignments

Case study: Entrepreneurship & Deception cases

• Research notes (2 pages, presenting your work, your main arguments, including the 5 most relevant quotes, along with the detailed references used) are due by 6pm two days before the session in PDF format to yoannbazin@yahoo.fr
• Presentations (10-15 minutes) during the session

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Session 8 (27/02)

Case study: Whistleblowing at Theranos

• Research notes (2 pages, presenting your work, your main arguments, including the 5 most relevant quotes, along with the detailed references used) are due by 6pm two days before the session in PDF format to yoannbazin@yahoo.fr
• Presentations (10-15 minutes) during the session

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Session 9 – Tutorials

NO ONLINE COURSE ON THURSDAY

Preparation: see Tutorials

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Session 10 – Uber (13/03)

Assignments

• Everyone reads the case study on Uber
• Groups 1, 2, and 3 prepare their case study assignments

Case study: Uber’s toxic corporate culture

• Research notes (2 pages, presenting your work, your main arguments, including the 5 most relevant quotes, along with the detailed references used) are due by 6pm two days before the session in PDF format to yoannbazin@yahoo.fr
• Presentations (10-15 minutes) during the session

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Session 11 – Presentations (20/03)

Session 12 – Presentations (27/03)

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Groups assignments and feedback

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Assessment

For your final assessment, you are going to pitch a “Critical Issues in Management” case study. It should follow the criteria of what constitute a critical issue presented at the beginning of the course. You can obviously use the cases studied during the sessions to get an idea of what represents relevant material.

You are encouraged to take advantage of your personal curiosity, professional interests and/or cultural background to identify cases that are more diverse than the ones tackled during the sessions (recognising most of them came from US or Western European, for-profit, multinational corporations).

Your pitch document should include a short description of the issue at hand, along with a presentation of the organization(s) and stakeholders. You have to provide at least 10 sources from legitimate media (e.g. press articles) to evidence the case. Finally, like the ones studied in class, you should suggest an assignment for 5 five different groups (2 related to consulting specialties and 3 to other relevant stakeholders).

Presentations

During Sessions 11 & 12, groups will present their pitch, as a last opportunity for feedback before submitting the final essay. Presentations should not exceed 10 minutes and include:

• Short introduction to the company or sector
• Description of the critical issue faced (outlining its ‘wicked problem’ nature)
• List the main stakeholders concerned (outlining divergence in viewpoints)

Final essay

Your pitch document should include a short description of the issue at hand, along with a presentation of the organization(s) and stakeholders. You have to provide at least 10 sources from legitimate media (e.g. press articles) to evidence the case. Finally, like the ones studied in class, you should suggest an assignment for 5 five different groups (1/2 related to consulting specialties and 3/4 to other relevant stakeholders).

• 1,500 words (+/-10%)
• Pdf document
• Deadline: April 5^th
• To: yoannbazin@yahoo.fr

Facebook case study

Assignments

• A boutique strategy consultancy with academic expertise in intra- and inter-organizational power and politics. Specifically, you have been asked by the conference organizers to focus your presentation on using your academic expertise to address the following questions: Who are the most relevant and/or influential stakeholders for Facebook to consider as it formulates its policies in response to accusations of potentially unhelpful influence in how people are informed? Given your stakeholder analysis above, how should Facebook go about deciding how to balance these different interests in its decision-making?
• Brad Parscale’s team. Parscale served as digital media director for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and senior adviser for data and digital operations for Donald Trump’s 2020 digital campaign. The group will present Parscale, his approach to social media in general and Facebook in particular, and how they collaborated with Facebook’s teams. They will also present some of the critics that were expressed against Parscale’s methods, along with his response.

Academic perspectives

• A group reads and analyses Frederick (1979). The group will present the article’s thesis and main arguments, trying to illustrate with concrete examples as much as possible. After objectively synthesizing the text, some critical perspective will be given, based on other academic material (from the group’s own research), and the conclusion will express the group’s position regarding the thesis of the article.
• A group reads and analyses Jamali (2008). The group will present the article’s thesis and main arguments, trying to illustrate with concrete examples as much as possible. After objectively synthesizing the text, some critical perspective will be given, based on other academic material (from the group’s own research), and the conclusion will express the group’s position regarding the thesis of the article.