Howard Schultz, Executive Chairman and former CEO of Starbucks (USA)

Video link: https://youtu.be/XUBeH7VQaFY [07:39]

From this video on the history of Starbucks, we can learn how Howard Schultz managed to improve the company’s financial results after it had come into severe difficulties in the 2007-08 financial crisis.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- What are the main factors that influence the profitability of Starbucks?

- How did Schultz achieve this financial turnaround after the financial crisis?

Video link: https://youtu.be/6fAC4ApY07s [06:20]

In this video, Schultz explains why he believes that profits shouldn’t always be the first priority for business managers.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- What kind of results does Schultz feel responsible for in his role as a senior executive at Starbucks?

- What does Schultz mean when he postulates that “success is best when it is shared”?

Lars Rebien Sørensen, former CEO of Novo Nordisk (Denmark)

Video link 1: https://youtu.be/URchiBcC17Q [11:57 minutes]

In this video, Lars Rebien Sørensen, the former CEO of the Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, shares his perspective on the importance of integrating social and environmental issues in business.

Video link 2: https://youtu.be/xPuJKoDHrPY [05:37 minutes]

In this video, Sørensen explains what the triple bottom line means for Novo Nordisk. The video also provides examples of what “living the principle of the triple bottom line” means in practice.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- Why does Sørensen see social and environmental impact as equally important results categories for businesses as financial results?

- What kind of value does Novo Nordisk create and for whom?

- How can the principles of the triple bottom line be integrated into the everyday work of every single manager at all hierarchical levels within an organization?

Michael Whittaker, President of Bonté Foods (Canada)

Video link: https://youtu.be/a3aLQ3v4cJk [03:31 minutes]

In this video, Michael Whittaker explains how he managed to improve profitability and overcome cash flow problems at Bonté Foods, a Canadian food manufacturing company.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- Which measures did Whittaker take (a) to improve the profitability of his company and (b) to better manage cash flows?

- How would you evaluate the effectiveness of these measures? Would they also work in other types of organizations?

Article link: https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/money-finance/manage-finances/pages/cash-flow-management-tips-small-companies.aspx

This article provides further background information about how Whittaker managed to overcome the cash-flow and profitability-related challenges at Bonté Foods.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- What does it mean for a manager to “put an organization′s financial house in order” (as stated in the article)?

- Do you agree with the author of the article that it can be a complex task for entrepreneurs (and managers) to manage cash flows?

Asuka Ashida, Project Manager Sustainability Reportings & Ratings, Allianz SE (Germany)

Video link: https://www.whatchado.com/en/stories/asuka-ashida [03:57 minutes]

In this video, Asuka Ashida describes her job as Project Manager Sustainability Reportings & Ratings at the globally active German insurance group Allianz SE.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- What does it mean for business managers when, as Ashida says, “more and more stakeholders are interested in the environmental, social, and governance aspects” of companies?

- What effects can the decision to compile and publish a sustainability report have on the management of a company?

- How can managers select the right issues and measures to include in a sustainability report?