Publications

March 1989 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Daniel Dobbins Distillery, Inc.

A distiller increases whiskey production and income declines because of accounting methods in use. Questions are raised regarding the treatment of expenditures which can be classified as production, inventory, or period costs. The necessary aging process raises added... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financing and Loans; Cost; Accounting; Food and Beverage Industry

21 Feb 2022
Video

Professor Krishna Palepu: Integrated

May 2019
Case

The United States Air Force: 'Chaos' in the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron

By: Francesca Gino, Jeff Huizinga and Nicole Keller

In the spring of 2019, Lt. Col. Matthew “Chaos” Nussbaum is nearing the end of his two-year term as commander of the U.S. Air Force's 99th Reconnaissance Squadron. In this position, he has focused the majority of his energy on finding new ways to organize, train, and... View Details

Keywords: Empowerment; Culture; Innovation; Motivation; Military; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Change; Leading Change; Innovation Strategy; United States

August 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Consumer Payment Systems — United States

By: Benjamin Edelman and Andrei Hagiu

In 2008, the U.S. consumer payments landscape was characterized by the ongoing prevalence of credit and debit card networks, the decline of checks, the rise of stored value cards, and the growth of new payment methods such as PayPal, Bill Me Later, and decoupled debit.... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Financial Management; Personal Finance; Digital Platforms; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; United States

2007
Working Paper

Fair (and Not So Fair) Division

By: John W. Pratt

Drawbacks of existing procedures are illustrated and a method of efficient fair division is proposed that avoids them. Given additive participants' utilities, each item is priced at the geometric mean (or some other function) of its two highest valuations. The... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; Price

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April 2013 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Justin Anson Distillery, Inc.

A distiller increases whiskey production and income declines because of accounting methods in use. Questions are raised regarding the treatment of expenditures which can be classified as production, inventory, or period costs. The necessary aging process raises added... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financing and Loans; Cost; Accounting; Food and Beverage Industry

21 Sep 2023
Blog Post

Hands-on Learning About Global Markets

issues—in just eight days. That’s the concept behind FGI, a required course for first-year MBA students. Since 2011, it has become an important learning-in-the-field complement to the case method used in the... View Details

February 2016
Case

Express Scripts: Promoting Prescription Drug Home Delivery (A)

By: John Beshears, Patrick Rooney and Jenny Sanford

The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. This case follows Bob Nease, Chief Scientist at Express Scripts, as he considers methods to promote home... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Prescription Drugs; Pharmacy Benefit Manager; PBM; Healthcare; Behavioral Economics; Choice Architecture; Active Choice; Service Delivery; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Care and Treatment; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Compensation and Benefits; Pharmaceutical Industry

13 Dec 2018
News

HBX Launches Course to Help Startup Leaders Navigate Rapid Growth and Change

June 1951 (Revised November 1982)
Background Note

Because Wisdom Can't Be Told

Concerns the effect the case method has on both teachers and students. Points out the growth in maturity of the incoming student, accustomed to the role of receiver in undergraduate school, to the point where he or she becomes an active participant as an adult member... View Details

Keywords: Teaching; Cases; Business Education; Learning

October 1981 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Walton Instruments Manufacturing--1980

Provides an opportunity for students to examine the impact of different manufacturing control methods on the manufacturing infrastructure. Information flow, inventory control, quality control and process flows interact and different trade-offs are examined. Introduces... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Infrastructure

Find at Harvard

September 1986 (Revised March 1987)
Case

Graves Industries, Inc. (B): Lohnes Marine Hardware Division

Describes events occurring over a four-year period in one division of Graves Industries. The division goes through a business cycle and uses several methods of managing earnings to meet its budget targets. The purpose of the case is to allow the exploration of the... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Crime and Corruption; Ethics

12 Feb 2019
HBS Seminar

Gary Loveman, Harvard Business School

March 2016 (Revised January 2020)
Teaching Note

Behavioural Insights Team (A) and (B)

By: Michael Luca and Patrick Rooney

The Behavioural Insights Team case introduces students to the concept of choice architecture and the value of experimental methods (sometimes called A/B testing) within organizational contexts. The exercise provides an opportunity for students to apply these principles... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Experiments; Choice Architecture; Public Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Mathematical Methods; United Kingdom

February 2016 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Express Scripts: Promoting Prescription Drug Home Delivery (B)

By: John Beshears, Patrick Rooney and Jenny Sanford

The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. This case follows Bob Nease, Chief Scientist at Express Scripts, as he considers methods to promote home... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Prescription Drugs; Pharmacy Benefit Manager; PBM; Healthcare; Behavioral Economics; Choice Architecture; Active Choice; Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Decision Choices and Conditions; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Compensation and Benefits

April 1999
Teaching Note

Finding New Markets for New and Disruptive Technologies: Managing Innovation, Overview Teaching Note for Module 2

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Provides instructors with an overview teaching note for the second module of the Managing Innovation course in which students explore the challenges and methods for defining and creating new markets for new technologies. In addition to summarizing each of the cases... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Emerging Markets; Planning; Problems and Challenges

Video

Immerse Yourself in Real-World Learning at HBS Online

September 2015 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Intuit: Turbo Tax PersonalPro - A Tale of Two Entrepreneurs

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Joseph Fuller and Michael Roberts

The case provides a vehicle for teaching about both corporate intrapreneurship and the use of lean startup methods. It tells the story of a product manager within Intuit who develops an idea for a new product that spans two of the company's existing business... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Business or Company Management; Applications and Software; Accounting; Product Development; Financial Services Industry