Case Study Of The Hershey Trust Company

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1. How do you think the members of the Hershey Trust Company board view their responsibility? How do other community members view the responsibility of the trust board? The Hershey Trust Company viewed their responsibility to be with the school which was to be run in perpetuitity. The trust felt that the lack of diversification and investment into one in industry was too risky. The communities view came from a more stakeholder value and everyone involved in the community. 2. Assume that you are a member of the Hershey Trust board. To whom (or what) do you owe your fiduciary responsibility? How does the legacy of Milton S. Hershey affect your thinking as a member of the board? I would owe my fiduciary responsibility to the community.…show more content…
The towns population in 2002 was 22,400 people. In this total, 6,200 were Hershey employees. That means that 27.68% of employement in the town comes from the Hershey Co. 4. Is diversification a valid reason to sell HFC? How would such diversification have served the Hershey School 10 years ago, for example? Selling the school ten years ago would “have left money on the table” because there value has steadily increased. Diversification is a logical reason to sell because of such volatility in commodity prices. 5. How would you describe the changes in the trust’s board structure over the past 10 years? (See case Exhibits 5 and 6.) Why do you think the changes occurred? How would you have expected the 1990 board to react to the attorney general’s recommendation to diversify the assets of the trust? The changes occurring to the trust’s board structure over past 10 years can be described as diversified. Previously, the board was comprised of individuals who were also on the Hershey Food Board of Directors and others with large shares. I assume the changes occurred because of a conflict between personal and professional interest. The reason I believe this is because the 7 individuals who voted in favor of the sale are no longer on the board. The previous trust board was not as community oriented when they were growing up so they would not have acted in the best interest of Hershey, Pennsylvania. The current board has a lot more people who grew up in the town, went to the schools, and are products of this
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