BUSINESS UPDATES
KeyBank : Firing a Hero?
© 2010 ICMR Center for Management Research. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic or mechanical—without permission. To order copies, call
+91-08417-236667/68 or write to the ICMR Center for Management Research, IBS Hyderabad, Survey No. 157, Dontanapalli Village, Shankerpalli Mandal,
Hyderabad - 501 504, India. Website: www.icmrindia.org
BUSINESS UPDATES
Bank of America : It's the Bank Policy!
© 2010 ICMR Center for Management Research. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic or mechanical—without permission. To order copies, call
+91-08417-236667/68 or write to the ICMR Center for Management Research, IBS Hyderabad, Survey No. 157, Dontanapalli Village, Shankerpalli Mandal,
Hyderabad - 501 504, India. Website: www.icmrindia.org
CASE IN FOCUS
Business Model Innovation by
Better Place : A Green Ecosystem for the Mass Adoption
of Electric Cars
-- Besta Shankar and Ramalingam Meenakshisundaram
Shai Agassi started Better Place with the ambition of setting up an ecosystem - including a `smart grid'
of charging stations and battery swapping facilities - for electric vehicles. These charging stations were to
be powered by electricity generated from renewable sources to eliminate indirect emissions due to the
operation of electric cars. This case discusses the innovative business model of Better Place, which proposed to offer
transportation services to consumers through miles per month subscription plans, with the cost of the electric car
being subsidized based on the tenure of the plan. The software used in the electric cars, which was designed
and developed by Better Place, provided the information necessary for the drivers. However, it remained to be seen whether the proposed ecosystem and business model would
encourage widespread adoption of electric vehicles, reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, and contain the levels
of environmental pollution.
© 2010 ICMR Center for Management Research. All Rights Reserved. For accessing and procuring the case study, log on
to www.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk or www.icmrindia.org
BUSINESS ETHICS
Bhopal Gas Tragedy : Revisited After Twenty-Five Years
-- Hadiya Faheem and Debapratim Purkayastha
December 3, 2009, marked the 25th anniversary of the world's worst ever industrial disaster — the gas
leak that occurred at Union Carbide India Ltd's (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh, India).
The tragedy that instantly killed more than 3,000 people and left thousands injured and affected for life,
occurred when water entered Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) storage tank No. 610 of the plant on December 3, 1984.
What compounded the tragedy was that the victims failed to get adequate compensation and the generation
that followed continued to suffer from health complications However, the US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), the parent company of UCIL, still
continued to evade responsibility. The fact that UCC and then Dow had been able to evade the real costs of
compensation and clean-up, was viewed by critics as an example of the power and impunity enjoyed by
multinational corporations. The victims' struggle against UCC, and then Dow, were recognized as the world's longest
running struggle against corporate excesses. The case covers important issues relating to people's right,
government responsibility, and corporate accountability.
© 2010 ICMR Center for Management Research. All Rights Reserved. For accessing and procuring the case study, log on
to www.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk or www.icmrindia.org
Orient Marketing Pvt. Ltd. : A Case Study in
Business Communication
--T Kalyana Chakravarthi and Debapratim Purkayastha
This case study details the predicament faced by Nand Kumar, who worked as a Marketing Manager in
a consumer packaged goods company. Aggrieved at the cost-cutting measures introduced at the company,
Kumar shot off an email to the CEO of the company. Now, after receiving the response from the CEO, he
wondered whether he had approached the issue in the right way.
© 2010 ICMR Center for Management Research. All Rights Reserved. For accessing and procuring the case study, log on
towww.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk or www.icmrindia.org
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