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Required Curriculum - MBA

investment Portfolio capital Global environmental issues Strategy The objective of this course is to help students develop the skills for formulating strategy. It provides an understanding of: A firm's operative environment and how to... View Details

March 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Looking for Opportunity in Adversity: Iqbal Quadir and Grameenphone (A)

By: Bhaskar Chakravorti and David Lane

Iqbal Quadir, a former New York investment banker, set about to bring universal telecommunications to his native Bangladesh. He was convinced that, GSM, the same advanced wireless technology that penetrated developed countries in Europe was also the right solution for... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Personal Development and Career; Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry; Bangladesh

Program

Private Equity and Venture Capital

Summary Tax reforms, regulatory uncertainty, and global market volatility are creating a more complex investment environment, but the outlook for private equity remains strong. This investment management... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Finance

July 2015
Case

Vita: Cosmetics in the Nordics

By: Das Narayandas, Krishna Palepu and Kerry Herman

Vita is a Norwegian cosmetics retailer owned by FSN Capital, a Scandinavian private equity company. The company has a strong market position in Norway. The case focuses on two strategic issues: how to develop an e-commerce strategy to supplement the company's... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Norway; Cosmetics; Managing Under Private Equity Ownership; Strategy; Private Equity; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry; Norway

20 Jul 2020
News

Investors line up for the post-pandemic green recovery

November 2001 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Whirlpool Europe

By: Richard S. Ruback, Sudhakar Balachandran and Aldo Sesia

This case presents a capital budgeting problem. Whirlpool Europe is evaluating an investment in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that would reorganize the information flow throughout the company. Students derive the cash flows from working capital, sales,... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Cash Flow; Investment; Capital Budgeting; Consumer Products Industry; Europe

21 Oct 2012
News

Social media is a thorny issue in the US

05 Mar 2015
Video

EiR Jim Sharpe, former president of Extrusion Technology

15 Sep 2021
Video

Okechukwu "Okey" Enelamah

Okey Enelamah, the former Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment (2015-2019) and Founder of African Capital Alliance, explains the foundations of his religious values and the importance of family. View Details

October 2012
Case

Hill Country Snack Foods Co.

By: W. Carl Kester and Craig Stephenson

Hill Country Snack Foods, located in Austin, Texas, manufactures, markets, and distributes snack foods and frozen treats. The CEO is passionate about maximizing shareholder value and believes in keeping tight control over costs and operating the business as efficiently... View Details

Keywords: United States; Financial Strategy; Debt Management; Retail Trade; Risk Management; Food; Capital Structure; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas

January 2000 (Revised September 2000)
Case

Casablanca Finance Group

Examines the founding and development of an investment bank in Morocco. Two Moroccan expatriates return from Paris and enter the brokerage business. Over the next six years they build the leading financial services firm in the country. Concludes with a series of... View Details

Keywords: Investment Banking; Business Startups; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

November 2017
Teaching Note

Amazon.com, 2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-402. On January 28, 2016, Amazon announced record 2015 operating profits of $2.2 billion on $107 billion of sales, and the markets responded with cautious optimism. For years, founder and CEO Jeffrey Bezos had prioritized growth and... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Market Platforms; Two-Sided Platforms; Competition; Internet; Corporate Strategy; Online Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Hardware; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Technology Networks; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Price; Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

November 1972 (Revised December 2000)
Background Note

Note on Forms of Real Estate Ownership

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Thierry Liverman

Examines the legal forms of ownership of real property. Included are the corporation, partnership, limited partnership, business trust, real estate investment trust, sole proprietorship, and joint venture. Tax factors and business management considerations are... View Details

Keywords: Ownership; Property; Taxation; Business Organization

24 Sep 2010
News

Small biz, banks may spurn Obama's $30 bln program

2021
Working Paper

Going by the Book: Valuation Ratios and Stock Returns

By: Ki-Soon Choi, Eric So and Charles C.Y. Wang

We study the use of firms’ book-to-market ratios (B/M) in value investing and its implications for comovements in firms’ stock returns and trading volumes. We show B/M has become increasingly detached from common alternative valuation ratios over time while also... View Details

Keywords: Valuation Ratios; Book-to-market Ratios; Investment Return; Investment; Decision Making

SSRN

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Career Coach

Philippe Taieb

Philippe (HBS '99) has been a Coach at HBS since 2006. He has been fortunate to work with scores of MBA Students and Alumni having a wide array of backgrounds (e.g. Investment Management, Consulting, Entrepreneurship, General Management,... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consumer Products; Education; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Government; Health Care; Manufacturing; Social Enterprise; Sports; Clean Technology; Energy

January 1999 (Revised March 2004)
Case

AMB Consolidation, The

By: William J. Poorvu and Daniel J. Rudd

Anne Shea, assistant vice president at the Curators' Fund (The Fund), is responsible for investing roughly $80 million in real-estate assets. Less than three years ago, Anne invested $40 million into a commingled fund run by AMB Institutional Realty Advisors, Inc., a... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Conflict of Interests; Industry Structures; Property; Investment; Public Ownership; Real Estate Industry