Amanda Bowen

Amanda Bowen is the case centre operations coordinator. She has been writing and editing case studies for the WBS Case Centre since 2009. She comes from a work background of retail management and English language teaching. Amanda holds an MA degree specialising in TESOL and a D Litt et Phil degree in English. She has written case studies on a range of business topics including education, organisational design and development, marketing and sustainability.

McKinsey & Company: Hard Lessons Learned in South Africa

CASE STUDY. The Gauteng High Court “set aside and declared unlawful all the decision-making processes through which Eskom had concluded [a] contract with McKinsey”. Subsequent events and the high court judgement meant that the partners at McKinsey SA had to assess the lessons learned from this project before embarking on further projects with South African state-owned entities (SOEs).

KPMG: Rebuilding Trust in South Africa

CASE STUDY. Six months had passed since KPMG South Africa had released its integrated annual report titled Rebuilding Trust, Redefining Professionalism. Had the company done enough to acknowledge and rectify its legal and ethical lapses, and restore trust?

Deloitte South Africa: Complicit, Conniving or Caught Unawares

CASE STUDY. Two years had passed since Deloitte South Africa (SA) had released its Transparency Report which detailed its journey of self-reflection as a firm and the ways in which it intended to rebuild trust and restore professionalism. Had Deloitte SA done enough to acknowledge and rectify its ethical and governance lapses, and restore trust?

WACSI: Striving for Sustainability

CASE STUDY. WACSI had taken steps to diversify its donor base, generate its own income and strengthen internal sustainability. Afadzinu wondered whether WACSI’s strategies to ensure its future sustainability would succeed.

The South African Post Office: On the Brink

CASE STUDY. Barnes had hoped to turn SAPO around and that the organisation would achieve financial self-sufficiency and be able to raise its own capital within five years. However, he and his team were already three months behind in their plan to change the Post Office’s fortunes. Barnes wondered if he needed to revise his strategy.

Lehman Brothers: The Fall from Grace

CASE STUDY. On 15 September 2008, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection at the United States Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, New York.

The Washing Powder Wars: Ariel versus Omo

CASE STUDY. On 12 November 2014, Omo, Unilever South Africa’s premium washing powder brand, was facing the biggest challenge yet to its 50-year dominance of the South African washing powder market.

A Tale of Three Houses

CASE STUDY. The first thing Thandie Dhlomo, sales partner at the Rawson Property Group, did when she arrived home on a chilly Friday evening in July 2016 was pour herself a glass of red wine, kick off her shoes and curl up on her couch.

The JSE/BESA Merger: Navigating the Integration Minefield

CASE STUDY. A few days before the JSE Limited (JSE) and the Bond Exchange of South Africa Limited (BESA) merged on 22 June 2009, Nicky Newton-King, deputy CEO of the JSE, –who had been tasked with leading the integration of the two organisations – reviewed what she had done so far and the plans she had put in place to ensure a smooth integration.

Woolworths SA : Something in the Yoghurt Mix

CASE STUDY. In May 2008, alerted by a primary dairy supplier that one of its raw material suppliers may be including gelatine in its products, Julian Novak, divisional director of food at Woolworths SA.