Assignment Instructions
It is hard to imagine shoes bigger to fill than those of Warren Buffet, the legendary founder of Berkshire Hathaway. Very few investors in corporate history have ever had the golden touch of Mr. Buffet when it comes to consistently making wise and profitable investment choices. He is now one of the world's richest men with a net worth of over $40 billion, and his keen leadership at Berkshire Hathaway has made his business partners and investors wealthy as well.
However, as he is now over 80 years old, it has become time for him and his top management team to come up with a succession plan. Some say his leadership style and decision-making processes can survive after he's gone, although others say he will be impossible to replace.
Do some research on Warren Buffet . These articles will get you started:
Life after Warren; Berkshire Hathaway. (2014, Apr 26). The Economist, 411, 14.
Guerrera, F., & Lemer, J. (2010). Corporate succession: Warren Buffett. FT.Com
When you have finished doing your research on Warren Buffet and reviewed the background materials on succession planning, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following questions:
1. Do you think Berkshire Hathaway has done enough to prepare for succession, or should they have started preparing much earlier?
2. What succession plan do you think is best for Berkshire Hathaway? Possible options include, but are not limited to, putting Warren Buffet's son in charge, choosing one of the top managers from Berkshire Hathaway, finding a talented CEO from another firm, or selling off the different companies within Berkshire Hathaway to other companies.
Assignment Expectations
- Answer the assignment questions directly.
• Stay focused on the precise assignment questions. Don't go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to general background materials.
- List supporting references and cite sources in proper format.
• Use appropriate writing style in essay form (organization, grammar, and spelling).