ICAN 2024 Corporate Strategic Management and Ethics | Mixed

Bascon Foods Plc is a producer of fast-moving consumer goods in Nigeria. Since it commenced business in 1960, the company has been providing Nigerians with high quality food products, such as cereals, cocoa beverages, confectionaries, and soaps, all at competitive prices. The following product brands had consistently commanded 10% of the market share in their respective segments: Bascon Cornflakes, Bascovite chocolate beverage, Rave cream soap, and Bascon digestive biscuits; all of which have grown to become household names among Nigerian consumers. In 2021, the company launched Rave Ice-cream. This was done as part of its growth strategy through diversification and in response to the growing demand for ice-cream. Unfortunately, one year after the launch of Rave Ice-cream, sales have been very low with Bascon Foods Plc., thereby, struggling to break-even on this product line. The ice-cream market is said to be growing at the rate of 5%, but the market share of Rave ice-cream has been less than 0.5%. In addition, Bascon Cornflakes, the company’s flagship product experienced a sharp decline in total annual sales by 5% per annum between 2019 and 2021. Investigations show that this is partially attributable to the intense competition in the market, which resulted from the entry of a major global brand; Nekloggs to the Nigerian market. The market share of Bascon Cornflakes currently stands at 2% in a market that is growing at 16%. On the other hand, annual sales growth of Bascovite chocolate beverage has consistently risen by 6% per annum between 2016 and 2021. The market for chocolate beverages is believed to be growing at the rate of 8% per annum. Also, the market shares of Rave cream soap and Bascon digestive biscuits have been fairly stable in the last 7 years at 5%. Market growth rate for cream soap and digestive biscuit market is 7%. Profits made from Bascovite Chocolate beverage, Bascon digestive biscuits, and Rave cream soap have been high and stable. Despite the challenges faced by the company in each business unit, all product brands enjoy dominant positions in their respective markets, except Rave Ice-cream, whose market share is currently negligible. Also, all of the company’s products are in fast growing markets. As a strategy to reduce costs and thus, increase profits across all its product lines, the Board of Directors of Bascon Foods Plc is also planning to outsource a number of its non-core activities. It is hoped that within a short period of time, after the proposed outsourcing strategy has been implemented, Bascon will become a low-cost producer of household food items.

An oil exploration company is planning to overhaul its risk management infrastructure. Prior to this time, there has been an upsurge in the number of oil spillages and fire outbreaks at its production facilities. Preliminary investigation narrowed the cause of these incidents to inadequate and ineffective risk identification system. You have been appointed to head the newly constituted risk committee, saddled with the responsibility of strengthening the company’s risk identification system.

ZAAN Pharmaceuticals, is a public limited liability company currently confronted by a severe crisis between the shareholders and the Board of Directors over how the company is being managed.

You work at a company that produces table water and you know that a colleague in connivance with one of the company’s drivers, steals packs of water from the store and sells to customers. You are not sure if you should turn a blind eye to the ongoing theft or report to your boss?

The Governing Council of Zeebeedee University reviewed the school’s curriculum with a view to making acquisition of ‘Soft Skills’ a pre-requisite for graduation. This was as a result of the feedback from various employers of their alumni across the globe, pertaining to their graduates’ weakness in this area.

The cultural web within an organisation shapes its corporate ethics, Edgar Schein believed that organisations take time to develop a culture as employees go through various changes and adapt to the external environment and solve organisational problems.

At an in-house seminar for the top management staff of your organisation, you have been appointed to present a report on the significant risks that have negatively affected the profitability of the two lines of business as presented in the Annual Report and Accounts of an insurance company with branches both within and outside Nigeria.