C A S E T E A C H I N G N O T E S
In the boardroom at HomeCo
Gerry Johnson
1. Introduction
This case study takes the form of a role playing exercise based on a fictitious company,
HomeCo. The substantive issues are to do with governance and business strategy. However, the
case provides students with the opportunity to consider how such issues may be addressed in
2. Position of the case
The case can be used in different positions in a strategy course.
3. Learning objectives
The key learning objective is to develop students appreciation of how strategic decisions
are influenced by the political and personal interests of various stakeholders, as well as
rational analysis.
438
4. Teaching scheme
Pre-reading: it is suggested that students read Chapter 4 of Exploring Strategy, in particular, in
Case preparation
Students should read the case itself, their own role and the role of all other characters prior to
the class for three reasons.
1. It allows them to think themselves into the role they are to play, and be prepared to argue
the case from that point of view.
With this in mind, it is important that tutors choose the allocation of roles carefully to ensure
that the points of view expressed by those involved achieve airtime in the session. If there is
more than one group, it is also possible to assign roles to see to what extent different personal
styles influence discussion and outcome (e.g. one group could have a dominant Derek and
another a more passive one; one group a strong chair and another less so).
The class itself might then be as follows:
1. Unless it has been covered elsewhere on the course, it may be useful to hold a brief class
discussion on corporate governance prior to the role play to ensure students understand the
concepts.
439
5. Questions for discussion
The tutor has a choice in terms of the use of questions. One option is to prompt preparation for
the role play by posing questions on issue identification relating to the competitive position of
In either context, the questions posed might be:
1. Undertake a strategic analysis of HomeCo. What are the key strategic issues it faces?
2. What are your views about Michaels desire to prioritise the governance issues? (This can
be addressed both objectively and from within the role of the different characters.)
There are also questions relating to the meeting itself that can inform a discussion of strategy
making in practice. These might include:
1. Did you arrive at a decision? What was this decision based on?
6. Case analysis
Strategic analysis
Whether conducted by the students prior to the role play or as part of the de-brief, an objective
440
It is difficult to see why the business needs two divisions. This may be more to do with its
acquisition history than strategic or structural logic.
So presumably the options are:
Sell the business whilst they can get a good price. (Dereks position)
Build capabilities and differentiation in an area of focus which probably means
or as coalitions of interest.
The role play:
A central question is to what extent an orthodox, objective analysis of the position of the
The plenary de-brief
The de-brief might include four elements:
1. Feedback from the groups and the observers (if used) on what decision, if any, was reached
and on what basis. So, for example, questions which might be addressed include.
Did the chair set down an agenda and follow it?
(My own experience is that in student groups the strategic options get emphasised over the
governance issues because:
Thats what students get taught
2. Influence in the meetings. How did individual members of the board seek to be influential
and how might they have been more influential? This gives the opportunity to consider what
tactics were employed to influence the debate? These might include:
Pre-meeting meetings and coalition building. Did these take place? They would almost
certainly have done so in reality. (It might be interesting to explore who students think
the board members would have met with in such pre-meetings and therefore what
alliances might have formed.)
3. An analysis of the case in line with a conventional strategic analysis such as that above and
a comparison of the outcome of this with the discussion and decisions made in the meetings.
There are likely to be differences, and the discussion can address why this is so.
4. How the meetings might have been more effective. Would clarity and agreement on the