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Case Study

WWF and the ivory trade (A)

By Philip Rosenzweig and Els Van Weering

19 pages

June 2004

Reference: IMD-3-1269

The WWF and the Ivory Trade A and B cases serve as a base for discussing an issue that most complex multinational organizations grapple with: How to align global and local priorities in a complex and multinational organization. The issue is illustrated with WWF’s internal debate on its position on ivory trade. Some WWF offices–mainly in Southern Africa–are in favor of opening a restricted trade in ivory. Other offices–mainly in Asia and Eastern Africa–are squarely opposed to reopening the trade. Offices in affluent donor countries like the USA, the UK and The Netherlands emphasize the fine balance between listening to donors and WWF’s principle of making decisions based on scientific data. Subject matter experts and regional experts have to come to terms with the different opinions, some of which are quite strong. The case describes how WWF–despite all the different viewpoints–rallies the troops to formulate one statement that –almost–everyone can live with.

Keywords

Multiple Dimensions Management, International Management, Decision Making, Non-Governmental Organization

Settings

World/global
2002

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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