Publications

2011
Teaching Note

UFIDA (C) (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donglin Xia and E. Chen

This case documents the evolution of UFIDA's management control system over a decade as it grew five-fold from a 325 million RMB to a 1.66 billion RMB company, while its staff grew by more than three-fold. View Details

Keywords: Budgeting; Computer Software; Emerging Markets; Management Controls; Performance Management; Planning; China; Applications and Software; China

January 2013
Case

Brannigan Foods: Strategic Marketing Planning

By: John A. Quelch and James T. Kindley

The soup division at Brannigan Foods contributes over 40% of the firm's revenue. The general manager is concerned that the soup industry is declining and that the soup division shows declining profits and market share, especially among the important baby boomer... View Details

Keywords: United States; Consumer Marketing; Acquisitions; Forecasting; Quantitative Analysis; Risk Management; Decision Making; Budgeting; Supermarkets; Strategic Planning; Demand and Consumers; Marketing Strategy; Food; Resource Allocation; Acquisition; Product Development; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Supplement

Cottle-Taylor: Expanding the Oral Care Group in India, Faculty Spreadsheet (Brief Case)

By: John A. Quelch and Alisa Zalosh

Keywords: Forecasting; Budgeting; International Marketing; Product Planning ＆ Policy; Sales Promotions; Marketing Plans; Products; Consumer Behavior; Marketing; Product Design; Emerging Markets; Forecasting and Prediction; Budgets and Budgeting

March 2014
Article

Information Environment and the Investment Decisions of Multinational Corporations

By: Nemit O. Shroff, Rodrigo S. Verdi and Gwen Yu

This paper examines how the external information environment in which foreign subsidiaries operate affects the investment decisions of multinational corporations (MNCs). We hypothesize and find that the investment decisions of foreign subsidiaries in country-industries... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Multinational Firms; Cross-border Frictions; Agency Frictions; Transparency; Financial Reporting Quality; Information Quality; Information; Multinational Firms and Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment

SSRN

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2014
Other Teaching and Training Material

Marketing Reading: Sales Force Design and Management

By: Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas

This Core Curriculum Reading introduces students to (1) the importance of sales force design in implementing organizational strategy, and (2) the role of sales force management in linking structures and processes to behaviors. The material combines theoretical... View Details

Keywords: Sales Budget; Sales Compensation; Sales Cycle; Sales Force Management; Sales Forces; Sales Management; Sales Operations; Sales Organization; Sales Planning; Sales Strategy

October 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 6: Evaluating Strategic Profit Performance

By: Robert Simons

This module reading demonstrates how to calculate and analyze the profit generated by different business strategies. Formulas and examples are provided to calculate profit generated by changes in market share, revenue growth, efficiency improvements, and support costs.... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Evaluating Business Performance; Profitability Analysis; Variance Analysis; Measuring Effectiveness; Measuring Efficiency; Activity-Based Costing; Flexible Budget; Accounting; Strategy

December 2001 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Borealis

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Bjorn N. Jorgensen

When Borealis, a European producer of plastics, used a traditional, time-consuming budgeting process, the budget was quickly out of date in a competitive environment characterized by continually changing input and output prices and dynamic market conditions. This case... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment; Governance Controls; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Manufacturing Industry; Europe

June 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Simulation

Managing the Customer Journey Marketing Simulation: Adobe's Data-Driven Operating Model (DDOM)

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Celine Chammas

Adobe started monitoring Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), one of its primary metrics, when it shifted from selling its software in a box to selling the software as a subscription-based cloud service. They wanted to know when, where, and how much to invest in marketing.... View Details

Keywords: Customer Acquisition; Customer Journey; Marketing Strategy; Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Budgets and Budgeting

August 2012
Case

Danshui Plant No. 2

By: William Bruns, Julie H. Hertenstein and Kelvin Liu

Danshui Plant No. 2 in southern China has a one-year contract with Apple Inc. to assemble 2.4 million iPhones. In the first three months of the contract, the plant is unable to assemble as many phones as expected and is operating at a loss. The plant manager must... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Production; Budgets and Budgeting; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; China

15 Apr 2024
Book

Struggling With a Big Management Decision? Start by Asking What Really Matters

Business leaders face a wide variety of difficult decisions: whether their companies should stay small or go big, whether layoffs are necessary for survival, whether a proposed partnership is a good idea or a recipe for disaster. When faced with difficult decisions, it... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

November 1978 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Hanson Industries (B)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Julie H. Hertenstein

Provides a complete description of the processes used in preparing a budget (annual operating plan). Starting with basic product line decisions, management prepares a budget that integrates production and marketing within constraints of financial feasibility. The... View Details

Keywords: Production; Negotiation; Marketing; Financing and Loans; Budgets and Budgeting; Planning

December 1996
Case

Case of the Colored Post-It Notes

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin, Michael C. Jensen and Karen Wruck

An example of how policies about budgeting and resource decisions are commonly misallocated is presented. View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Policy; Resource Allocation

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21 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

The Parable of the Bungled Baggage And the Unhappy Customer

Late-arriving luggage proved to be a parable about customer service for Harvard Business School professor W. Earl Sasser. In this excerpted transcript from a new video CD presentation, Sasser discusses how a seemingly harmless budget trim... View Details

Keywords: by W. Earl Sasser

Research Summary

Research Interests

Budgeting and planning, forecasting, incentives, management control systems, conflicts of interst in accounting. View Details

23 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Why White-Collar Crime Spiked in America After 9/11

white-collar crime. The findings not only highlight the potential perils of devoting limited law-enforcement resources to one area of crime, says Nguyen, but they offer a cautionary tale for any organization considering a radical budget... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

November 1991 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Pressco, Inc.--1985

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

A capital budgeting problem is viewed from the context of a marketing representative attempting to make a sale of energy saving heavy industrial equipment. Tax law changes promise to have a significant impact on the customer's decision process. Teaching purpose: To... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Machinery and Machining; Valuation; Taxation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Cost vs Benefits; Inflation and Deflation; Cost Management; Product Marketing; North and Central America

September 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Pepsi-Lipton Brisk

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Alison Caverly

This case showcases key decisions in promoting the re-launch of Brisk, a ready-to-drink iced tea by Pepsi-Lipton. The decisions are: creative, media and metrics selection. It also deals with budget allocation to traditional (Super Bowl, television) and new (viral ads... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Advertising Campaigns; Decision Making; Media; Product Launch; Resource Allocation; Performance Effectiveness; Budgets and Budgeting; Food and Beverage Industry

November 2010
Case

Morgan Asset Management

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Sarah Abbott

It is 2010 and Guillermo Araoz, the equity research director at Morgan Asset Management (MAM), is considering his research budget for the year. Due to recent declines in the equity markets and MAM's sale of its mutual funds business, MAM has seen a decline in its... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Investment; Resource Allocation; Research and Development; Financial Services Industry