Publications

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June 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

De Beers at the Millennium

At the time of the millennium, diamond demand was threatened by an increasing awareness among jewelry customers that diamond production and trading in some countries was being linked to growing inequities and human rights violations. This, in turn, had an impact on De... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Value Creation; Strategic Planning; Social Issues; Luxury; Mining Industry; Mining Industry; Africa

September 1996 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Mobil USM&R (A): Linking the Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The CEO of the marketing and refining division of a major oil company is in the midst of implementing a profit turnaround. He transforms the strongly centralized, functionally-organized division into 17 independent business units and 14 internal service companies. The... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Measurement and Metrics; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Design; Balanced Scorecard; Corporate Strategy; Mining Industry; Mining Industry

August 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Molycorp: Morgan Brothers' Reverse Convertible Notes (C)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

In August 2011, Morgan Brothers Bank was issuing a $2.5 million reverse convertible note with payoffs linked to the price of Molycorp's common stock. These financially engineered securities were just one of many kinds of structured notes available in the retail market.... View Details

Keywords: Structured Products; Reverse Convertible Notes; Replication; Option Pricing; Bond Pricing; Financial Engineering; Valuation; Metals and Minerals; Debt Securities; Finance; Investment; Mining Industry; Mining Industry; Canada; California

26 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Yes, You Can Raise Prices in a Downturn

That is what defines a good deal: From their perspective, those customers got more than they spent. Great pricers constantly mine this gap to identify opportunities, and they mind the gap over time, seeking... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Consumer Products

September 1992 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc.

By: Jay O. Light

A New York-based money manager owns a sizable percentage of the common shares of Cleveland-Cliffs, a U.S. iron ore producer. The money manager would prefer that Cliffs pay out or otherwise return $100 million of "excess cash" to the shareholders. The management resists... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Mining; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry

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Teaching Interest

Overview

Globalization and Emerging Markets (Elective Course) The world order has changed significantly in the last two decades. The influence of western-style varieties of capitalism has been challenged by new forms of capitalism that rely less on private enterprise and on the... View Details

Teaching Interest

Overview

21st Century Energy — Dr Crawford teaches this EC course, which exposes students to business models and management diilemmas, all along the energy value chain — from oil sands and pipelines, to coal and natural gas, hydro and nuclear, wind and solar, to biofuels. The... View Details

January 1982 (Revised June 1983)
Case

International Drilling Corp. (A)

Details the moral conflict experienced by Don Taylor, a new high-level executive in an oil drilling firm, when he discovered that the firm was deceiving its investors. What should he do and how should he go about it? Presents the emergence of Taylor's suspicions about... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Business and Shareholder Relations; Mining Industry

08 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 8, 2010

describes the growth of Guggenheim Brothers as one of the largest mining companies in the world in the early twentieth century. Global expansion led the firm to Chile, first in copper and later in natural... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2001 (Revised May 2010)
Case

BP Amoco (B): Financing Development of the Caspian Oil Fields

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane

British Petroleum and Amoco were the two largest members of the Azerbaijan International Oil Consortium (AIOC), an 11-firm consortium that was spending $10 billion to develop oil fields in the Caspian Sea. As of March 1999, AIOC had completed a $1.9 billion development... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Policy; Capital Budgeting; Project Finance; Emerging Markets; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Mining Industry; Mining Industry; United Kingdom; Europe

Web

HBS Latino Student Association Spotlight: Mireya Iglesias Ayala (MBA 2025) - MBA

Blog Blog MBA Voices Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author Career and Professional Development Staff Author HBS Community Author HBS Faculty Author MBA Admissions Author MBA Students Topics Topics 1st Year (RC) 2+2 Program 2nd Year... View Details

July 1996 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Continuous Casting Investments at USX Corporation

By: Clayton Christensen

Focuses on the difficulty established companies face when confronted with disruptive technological innovations. The power that their prior asset investments, their cost structures, and their customers have in constraining their investment and innovation decisions are... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Assets; Cost; Investment; Technological Innovation; Problems and Challenges; Mining Industry; Mining Industry

23 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 23

http://hbr.org/product/Opening-the-Valve--From-S/an/415016-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 415-023 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling With 24,000 staff and over 300 stores, Belk Inc. sought to replace... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 1999
Case

PDVSA & Citgo (A): Seeking Stability in an Uncertain World

By: Ashish Nanda

In order to secure demand for its heavy oil, PDVSA buys 50% of the U.S. refining and retail company Citgo. In 1990, it buys the remaining 50% ownership of Citgo. The case describes the challenges faced by PDVSA and Citgo managements as they try to make their... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Business Subsidiaries; Mergers and Acquisitions; Energy Sources; Mining Industry; Mining Industry