Publications

October 1994 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Ritz-Carlton: Using Information Systems to Better Serve the Customer

By: W. Earl Sasser, Thomas O. Jones and Norman Klein

Explores the interface of an information system that keeps track of guests and their preferences, and the people systems that deliver multiple services at Ritz-Carlton hotels. The luxury hotel chain's unique service credo and commitment to quality principles are... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Customer Satisfaction; Training; Recruitment; Service Delivery; Supply Chain Management; Luxury; Balance and Stability; Information Technology

March 1994 (Revised December 1998)
Background Note

Managing Your Career

By: Linda A. Hill

Designed to serve as background reading for the "Managing Your Career" module of the second-year MBA elective Power and Influence. Describes the way in which managers learn and develop through on-the-job experience. Outlines a model for launching a "success syndrome"... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career

July 1993
Case

ABB Deutschland (Abridged)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Focuses in detail on implementing a corporate restructuring program in ABB's German subsidiary. Special attention is given to Germany's unique form of industrial governance. Two major problem areas--power plants and power transformers--are described in detail. ABB's... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Energy Generation; Corporate Governance; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Salesforce Management; Policy; Organizational Culture; Energy Industry; Germany

September 1992 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Chrysler: Iacocca's Legacy

By: Nitin Nohria and Sandy Green

Describes the changes fashioned by Iacocca during his tenure as CEO of the Chrysler Corp. Pays particular attention to the rhetoric he employed in mobilizing change and the actions he took to implement change. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Communication Strategy; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry

May 1991
Article

Presidential Commitment and the Veto

By: Daniel E. Ingberman and Dennis Yao

A president's power to veto is widely recognized as an important weapon in the struggle with Congress over legislation. In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of the veto weapon with a simple model of presidential powers that incorporates informal institutional... View Details

Keywords: Government Legislation; Laws and Statutes; Financial Markets; Value; Taxation; Conflict and Resolution; Research; Performance Effectiveness; Legal Services Industry

January 1991 (Revised March 1992)
Case

USA Today

By: Robert L. Simons

USA Today is a national newspaper struggling to achieve profitability. This case focuses on the use of management control systems to identify emerging opportunities and the formulation of new strategies. The interactive system used by top managers--the Friday... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Forecasting and Prediction; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Labor and Management Relations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Journalism and News Industry; United States

January 1991
Article

Strategic Orientation and Top Management Attention to Control Systems

By: R. Simons

Keywords: Management; System; Strategy

August 1988 (Revised February 1992)
Case

Norton Group PLC: To Be or Not to Be in the Motorcycle Business (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Jon Skofic

Norton, a once famous motorcycle manufacturer, soundly beaten by Japanese competition, turns its attention to developing rotary engines. The company is acquired by Norton Group PLC, which is headed by a dashing entrepreneur. The new management must decide what... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Crisis Management; Resource Allocation; Production; Competition; Auto Industry; Motorcycle Industry; Japan; United Kingdom

April 1988 (Revised May 1992)
Case

Gaz de France

By: W. Carl Kester

The treasurer of Gaz de France is an aggressive, proactive manager of his company's liability structure, running one of the largest swap books of any non-financial corporation in the world. Currency futures, interbank forwards, and currency options are also frequently... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Borrowing and Debt; Currency Exchange Rate; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Policy; Management; Organizational Structure; Energy Industry; Europe

August 1987 (Revised December 1998)
Background Note

Capital Market Myopia

By: William A. Sahlman and Howard H. Stevenson

Focuses attention on a phenomenon we call capital market myopia, a situation in which participants in the capital markets ignore the logical implications of their individual investment decisions. Viewed in isolation, each decision seems to make sense. When taken... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets

March 1987 (Revised April 1987)
Background Note

Specialties vs. Commodities: The Battle for Profit Margins

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Explains the differences between commodities and specialties and defines four different types of specialty products. The analysis is customer oriented. Special attention is given to the distinctions between functions (product- ) and relationship (vendor-oriented)... View Details

Keywords: Goods and Commodities

1981
Article

A Consumer Based Approach for Establishing Priorities in Consumer Information Programs: Implications for Public Policy

By: Rohit Deshpandé and S. Krishnan

Although there exists substantial research on the style and format of consumer information programs, little attention has been devoted to the critical issue of whether consumers need new information at all. A conceptual approach to systematically assess this... View Details

Keywords: Information; Consumer Behavior; Research

Read Now

1982
Article

Correlates of Deficient Consumer Environments: The Case of the Elderly

By: Rohit Deshpandé and S. Krishnan

Although much research attention has been given to the format of consumer information environments, there has been little study of the effects of consumer environments lacking in information. This paper describes an empirical study of elderly consumers functioning in... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Age; Information