Case Studies

In 2012, one of Singapore’s richest megachurches, City Harvest Church, took the country by storm when six of its leaders were arrested and charged with criminal breach of trust and falsifying accounts. An inquiry conducted by the Commissioner of Charities and the Commercial Affairs Department revealed several questionable practices involving concealment and misrepresentation of the church’s transactions and activities. At the heart of the scandal was the mismanagement of over SGD 50 million of the church’s funds, funneled through sham bonds. About SGD 24 million was allegedly used to further the music career of Sun Ho, co-founder of City Harvest Church and wife of founder and senior pastor Kong Hee. After a long-drawn-out trial, the six accused were found guilty, and sentenced to imprisonment. Despite the guilty verdict, City Harvest Church’s members stood by the pastor and his team, arguing that everything they did was in good faith. The case highlighted the tension between faith and good governance.

In May 2020, Benjamin Chua, the founder of Spic & Span, a cleaning company with a stated social mission to employ marginalized Singaporeans, was reviewing the company’s strategic goals. Since its founding in 2017, the start-up had become an award-winning company, and with the introduction of its new cleaning technology, Speco, in September 2019, new job opportunities had been brought to the table for cleaners and management staff alike. The company’s workforce had effectively doubled in size in less than a year. Spic & Span was expanding its services from condominiums and offices to schools, restaurants, hotels, transportations, hospitals, and homes. While the new technology had opened up new job opportunities for marginalized Singaporeans, it had also increased the level of job complexity. As a consequence, the turnover rate of newly employed staff had increased. Why were the cleaners not motivated by the new job opportunities? How could Chua motivate cleaners to stay with the company? For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

Since early 2015, Uber had been investing heavily in research and development for its autonomous vehicles to revolutionize the ride-hailing industry and provide better ways of competing and fulfilling its promise of profitability to investors. Constant innovation was crucial to stay ahead of its competitors. While this strategy was groundbreaking for the ride-hailing industry, concerns were sparked when one of Uber’s autonomous vehicles was involved in a fatal accident involving a pedestrian in 2018. This accident brought safety lapses in autonomous vehicles into the public eye and was deeply controversial. Consequently, Uber was forced to examine its corporate strategy pertaining to its innovation portfolio. Should Uber continue its current investment in autonomous vehicles? If so, what business models and strategies could Uber adopt with autonomous vehicles to move the company towards profitability? For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

On November 3, 2016, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) launched a bid for Singapore-based food and beverage company Super Group Ltd. (Super). JDE had already acquired 60 per cent of the shares but needed another 30 per cent in order to delist the company and take it private. The minority shareholders of Super faced the task of evaluating whether the offer from JDE was reasonable and whether they should tender or hold on to their shares. Their decisions would depend on the valuation of Super’s shares, based on financial and other relevant and available market information. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

Hyflux is a global sustainable solutions company that provides integrated water management services. In order to fund its rapid growth and the development of its long-term projects, Hyflux raised funds through numerous rounds of financing by issuing perpetual preference shares and bonds, as well as obtaining bank loan facilities. In May 2018, Hyflux filed for court supervision to facilitate debt restructuring and reorganization. This case seeks to analyse the evolution of Hyflux’s capital structure over the years, trace the causes of its financial problems, and discuss the options available to its bondholders and shareholders.

This is a case study on OWNDAYS Pte Ltd. Owndays is an optics shop established in 1989 in Japan. It was previously on the verge of bankruptcy due to humongous debts until Shuji Tanaka, the current president and CEO, decided to acquire it in 2008. Under Tanaka’s leadership, as of 2018, Owndays has successfully penetrated 11 Asian markets as of 2018 and they plan to open more than 500 stores across the Asia Pacific Region over the next 5 years. The factors behind the success of OWNDAYS are closely examined in this report alongside the major turning points. We also seek to identify potential difficulties OWNDAYS will face in the coming years and how they could potentially overcome them to be the leading company in the eyewear industry. The report aims to uncover the reasons for the unprecedented growth of OWNDAYS by focusing on the major turning points that were led by successful business strategies envisioned by Mr Tanaka and his team. A profound analysis of this case study gives companies a better understanding of both the optics industry and also helps companies better understand how to maneuver through an unpredictable, fast-paced realm of business. Awareness of the challenges and fundamental reasons for OWNDAYS’ success in surmounting these obstacles would provide great insight to namely failing companies seeking to revive their businesses. Keywords: Eyewear, Asian, Fashion Accessory, Management

In 2018, the Singapore-based real estate agency OrangeTee launched a new, online platform in response to disruptive innovation in the real estate sector. Property Agents Review allowed clients to rate and review OrangeTee’s agents upon the completion of a real estate transaction. After a hard-fought campaign to overcome initial resistance to the idea, agents credited the new platform with an increase in referrals. OrangeTee proudly championed Property Agents Review as an example of embracing technology and a future-focused outlook. Nevertheless, the management team understood that there was more work to be done. For example, the platform’s technology could be easily copied by competitors. What could they do to stay at the forefront of technology? For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

As family businesses progress and are transferred to the next generation, the founding family often develops explicit rules in the form of a family constitution. This case explores one aspect of the family constitution, namely the interaction between family members and the business. After turning 80 years old, Ongky Lim decides it is time to develop family rules to deal with his expanding family and their diverse needs and talents. This case helps family owners appreciate the benefits of family rules and understand the types of rules required.

As family businesses implement more sophisticated governance, the founding family often develops explicit rules in the form of a family constitution. This case explores one aspect of the family constitution, namely the ownership and control of the business in the second and third generation. An Asian patriarch, Ongky Lim, grapples with how to best preserve his legacy for future generations as he weighs advice from different people. The case helps family owners to evaluate different ownership and control options.

In September 2018, WaterEquity, a US-based investment vehicle for both financial and social returns, had to raise US$50 million in total funding capital. The sales team had to propose sales pitches for alternative investments for three types of investors. From a financial perspective, the investment was essentially a risk-free asset with an annual return of 3.5 per cent. However, this investment could also positively affect four developing countries—India, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia—by providing clean water solutions for billions of people. Through the lending facilities of the local microfinance institutions of these four countries, WaterEquity could offer support to the poor and empower more women, generating both financial and social returns. Different groups of investors might be attracted by different levels of these social returns as well as the financial returns. The sales team planned to use a simple extension of the standard Markowitz portfolio theory framework to incorporate social returns and account for two distinct types of returns, customizing the sales pitches for each of three groups of investors. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)