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To download this short case study (No. SCBSTR155) click on the link below, and select from the list: » Business Strategy Case Studies
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| Abstract In January 2004, Royal Dutch/Shell (Shell), the third largest oil exploration and production company in the world, announced that its financial statements had shown inflated oil reserves in the earlier years, and that it would downgrade nearly four billion barrels of its ‘proven'oil and gas reserves. This announcement created a furor among the investors and industry analysts who blamed the complex and opaque twin-board governance structure for the company's problems. Experts believed that this structure lacked accountability and facilitated financial manipulations. The case study examines in detail the twin board governance structure of Shell and the loopholes in such structure. In order to restore investor confidence, Shell announced a merger of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies under a single parent company in October 2004. The case highlights the key proposals and examines the pros and cons of this merger plan. | ||||||||||||||
| Issues: » Conduct an in-depth study on the twin-board governance structure of Royal Dutch/Shell. » Examine how the twin-board governance structure of Shell resulted in lower accountability and transparency. » Study the circumstances that necessitated organizational restructuring at Shell. » Examine the solution of merging Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies under a single parent company. » Analyze the pros and cons of the proposed solution. | ||||||||||||||
| Key words: Royal Dutch/Shell Oil Reserves Controversy Corporate Governance Management Structure Twin-Board Structure Three-Way Matrix Structure Organizational Restructuring Accountability Management Control Merger Proposal |
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