February 2013

		Featured Case in Organizational Behaviour & Leadership
		Ivey Cases Win in Six of 14 Categories at 2012 EFMD Case Writing Competition
		Opportunities in China
		New Director of Ivey Publishing

Food for Thought: The 2008 China Milk Scandal

In 2008, a scandal in China involving milk products tainted with melamine (a chemical used in plastic production) brought regional and global attention to the country. More than 290,000 infants were affected and several died. At a time when international trade was important for China’s economic development, the tainted milk scandal raised concerns about the safety of products and food made in China. The case illustrates how the pressure of rapid economic development resulted in measures to cut costs at the expense of consumer safety and health, bringing into question the ethics underlying business practices in the country. The lack of quality control and corporate governance processes on the part of the company and government facilitated the ease with which the milk was tampered. The case also documents remedial efforts that followed the scandal, including recall of the tainted milk products, putting new government policies and regulations in place, arrest of top executives and the companies’ public apology in the unique form of a New Year text message.

Learning Objective:
This case is suitable for class discussion, group presentation, or inter-group debate at the undergraduate, MBA and executive levels. It can be used for instruction on topics related to ethics, management in Asia or emerging economies, corporate social responsibility and organizational or employee misconduct. The case will introduce students to the broad range of factors (individual, organizational, cultural and political) that facilitate corruption and misconduct. It provides a clear understanding that corruption is a complex phenomenon, as it often involves different groups of people at various levels of the organization and the government. Students should also be made aware of the role of the different constituents (e.g., customers, manufacturers, government, international business partners and audience, watchdog bodies) in perpetrating or controlling questionable practices. They should be able to reflect on how their ethical values affect their own business or work-related decisions. They should also be asked to reflect on how they would behave if faced with similar pressures to perform.

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We are pleased to announce that the following Ivey cases were winners in the 2012 EFMD Case Writing Competition. There were more winning cases from Ivey than any other business school in the world. Over 200 cases were submitted by authors from 30 countries to this prestigious case competition. The goal of the competition is to facilitate quality case writing involving European companies and institutions as well as topics concerning other geographical or subject areas which are generally underrepresented among available sources.

• Chabros International Group: A World of Wood, Paul W. Beamish, Bassam Farah (MENA Business Cases)
• Veja: Sneakers With a Conscience, Oana Branzei, Kim Poldner (Latin American Business Cases)
• Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor, Charles Dhanaraj, Oana Branzei, Satyajeet Subramanian (Indian Management Issues and Opportunities)
• Launch of Durra: Women in Islamic Banking, Alexandra Roth, David T.A. Wesley (Euro-Mediterranean Managerial Practices and Issues)
• Danfoss - Global Manufacturing Footprint, Torben Pedersen, Jacob Pyndt (Supply Chain Management)
• Novo Nordisk: Managing Sustainability at Home and Abroad, Jette Steen Knudsen, Dana Brown (Corporate Social Responsibility)

Winning cases have been entered into the "Best of the Best" category and the overall winner will be announced in April. Congratulations to all!

The Ivey collection contains over 3,800 cases and 600 articles. Hundreds of these cases focus on issues specific to China and over 540 of which are available in Simplified Chinese. We are in the process of translating over 100 additional Ivey cases and have recently hired dedicated staff in China to respond to the increasing market demand.

To learn more about the opportunities in China, please contact our office.

In late January, Ivey Publishing welcomed Matthew Quin as its new Director. The latest member of the Ivey Publishing team joins the organization with a background in marketing, PR and communications.

“This is a very exciting role in an important part of the Ivey family,” notes Quin. “Ivey Publishing has a great team and publishes a world-class product.”

Quin joins Ivey Publishing from King’s University College where he established the communications and media relations department. He also brings experience from the non-profit and corporate environments.

"Ivey Publishing is a leader in the industry which is something that London and Canada should be proud of,” he continues. ”Ivey Publishing cases are used around the world and connect students and faculty to the latest business thinking and to the case method - I’m excited to be a part of the organization that does such important work.”

Many thanks go to Greg Yantz for his tremendous leadership and dedication during his tenure. We wish him all the best in his new role as Director, Admissions & Recruiting in the Ivey MBA Recruiting & Admissions office.