Managing change in the face of a pandemic: the case of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC
Publication date: 28 August 2023
Issue publication date: 2 January 2024
Abstract
Research methodology
This case study has been developed based on the primary data obtained through a series of interviews held with the senior management of Cargills, and the secondary data obtained from the company’s corporate website www.cargillsceylon.com/,annual reports and publicly available sources of information such as newspaper articles.
Case overview/synopsis
This case study focuses on the strategic responses employed by Cargills (Ceylon) PLC – a leading business conglomerate in Sri Lanka – in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The duration of this case study is from January 2020 to September 2021. The case study particularly examines the key business sectors of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC – retail, food manufacturing and quick service restaurants – which elaborate on the change management practices and strategies deployed by the company in each of these sectors during this challenging period. This study is based on the primary data gathered from the interviews held with the Cargills (Ceylon) PLC team, and the secondary data obtained from the corporate website of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC. This case study is most suitable to be taught in academic courses related to strategic change management.
Complexity academic level
The case is most suited to be discussed with undergraduates (3rd year and 4th year) following business and management studies related disciplines. While the pivotal area around which the case has been developed is strategic change management, covering environmental analysis, strategic analysis and process of change management, the case could also be used in strategic management classes, to discuss environmental analysis, strategic planning approaches and business and corporate level strategies.
Subject code
CSS 11: Strategy.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Disclaimer. This case is intended to be used as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. The case was compiled from published sources.
Since acceptance of this article, the following author has updated their affiliation: Sanduni Ishara Senaratne is based at the School of Information Systems, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Citation
Senaratne, S.I., Deyalage, P., Wickremasinghe, H.T., Navaratne, T. and Piyasena, K.G.C.C. (2024), "Managing change in the face of a pandemic: the case of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC", , Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 93-125. https://doi.org/10.1108/TCJ-07-2022-0128
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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