Claire Beswick

Claire Beswick heads up the case centre at Wits Business School (WBS), having joined the institution as a case writer in September 2001. She has more than 20 years’ experience in research and writing: as a researcher at the South African Institute for Race Relations, a journalist, and now at the WBS Case Centre. In her position at the case centre, Claire has written a wide range of cases herself and overseen the writing of most of the cases that are currently in the collection.

SAP SA and CAD House: Of Conduct and Commission

CASE STUDY. The management team managed to exploit loopholes in the group’s integrity management systems so as to take advantage of the influence that members of the Gupta familya had over state machinery and land lucrative contracts with state-owned enterprises. When SAP’s own investigations showed the leaked information to be true, CEO, Bill McDermott and the company’s executive team had to decide how best to respond in order to prevent similar dishonesty in the future.

Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve: Towards Sustainability

CASE STUDY. The board had established Gouritz Enterprises as a social enterprise that would be responsible for profit-driven activities which would fund the NPC’s core costs. The enterprise had not yet started work in any formal way, and Crane was not sure if establishing a separate profit-driven entity was the best way of achieving the self-financing goal.

Flowers4U.co.za: Satisfaction Infraction

CASE STUDY. The client was still not satisfied with a solution Quinn had proposed the day before to make up for unmet expectations regarding flowers delivered on Valentines’ Day. He wondered how best to respond.

Legendary Retail Brands: A Sustainable Business Model?

CASE STUDY. With many years of experience as an entrepreneur and businessman, Alan Reeves, chief operating officer (COO) of Legendary Retail Brands (LRB), which was the shareholder and administrator of the Mica, DIY Depot and House of Paint and Décor voluntary buying group (VBG) brands, was continuously thinking about the next step for the group.

Kagiso Trust: Investing for Development Impact

CASE STUDY. In November 2014, as the South African development agency, Kagiso Trust (KT) prepared to celebrate 30 years of existence in 2015, Themba Mola, KT’s chief operating officer, reflected on the development work that the organisation had done since it started out in 1985.

Ellerines and African Bank

CASE STUDY. The primary teaching objective of this case is to understand the principals of mutually beneficial mergers and acquisitions.

Kagiso Trust: Deciding its Future

CASE STUDY. In November 2014, Kagiso Trust (KT) was at an important crossroads. Anti-apartheid struggle icons such as Dr Beyers Naudé and Archbishop Desmond Tutu had established the organisation with European Union (EU) funds in the 1980s to promote the struggle against apartheid.

The Don Group: Bitter End to Suite Dreams?

CASE STUDY. By January 2011, Thabiso Tlelai, chief executive officer (CEO) of The Don Group, South Africa’s largest all-suite hotel chain, knew he had to take drastic measures to save the company.

OreCo North West: The Strike that Wasn’t

CASE STUDY. In August 2012, 44 people were killed during an unprotected strike by employees of platinum miner, Lonmin, at its Marikana mine in South Africa’s North West province.

Ndaba Ntsele: Entrepreneurial Vision

CASE STUDY. On 19 May 2010, Ndaba Ntsele – Ernst & Young World Best Entrepreneur (SA, 2007) and CEO of Pamodzi Investment Holdings (PIH), a diversified investment company – was preparing for the launch of Pamodzi Aviation the next day.

Discovery Ltd: Entrepreneurship in its DNA

CASE STUDY. On 1 September 2009, as financial services firm Discovery Ltd was about to release its annual results for 2008/2009, its chief executive officer (CEO) and founder, Adrian Gore, took some time to consider the company’s trajectory since its inception 16 years ago.