Case Study No. 10 Trading Scandal at Société Générale In January 2008, Société Générale (SocGen), France’s second largest banking establishment, was a victim of internal fraud carried out by an employee, Jérôme Kerviel. SocGen bank lost €4.9 billion (euros) as an immediate result of the fraud. (At the time of the incident, the euro was worth approximately $1.45.) In 2007, SocGen was rated the best equity derivatives operation in the world by Risk magazine. Its internal control system of checks and balances was world renowned. For example, its trading room had five levels of hierarchy, each of which had a clear set of trading limits and controls, checked daily by a small army of compliance officers.2 In addition, “the bank also [had] a shock team of internal auditors who descend on a corner of the bank without warning and pull apart its operations to ensure they conform to bank rules.”3 During the summer of 2000, Kerviel began his employment at the bank—ironically, in its Comp...
Case Study No. 9 Manufacturers Compete on Green Computing Dell, Apple, and HP have long competed on the basis of price and performance. Recently, the three companies have begun to focus on green computing as a way to differentiate themselves to consumers who have come to see green computing as an excellent opportunity to save money through reduced power consumption and to lessen their negative impact on the environment.92 In 2007, Dell announced that it had set a goal for itself of becoming the “greenest technology company on Earth,” and the company frequently touts its strong recycling program. Apple claims to have the “greenest family of notebooks” and emphasizes the progress it is making in removing toxic materials from all of its computers. HP highlights its efforts to develop more environmentally friendly packaging as well as its long tradition of environmentalism.93 “Power to Change” is HP’s latest green initiative campaign, which urges PC users around the world to shut d...