Publications
Publications
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(12,170)
- Faculty Publications (2,046)
Needs
→
- November–December 1996
- Article
Looking Inward
By: Michael Beer and Russell A. Eisenstat
For a business to be successful, there must be a fit between strategy, organizational design, and leadership. Unfortunately, the landscape is littered with failed programs and initiatives. One major reason that the process is so difficult is that most people, when... View Details
- October 1995 (Revised September 1996)
- Case
Dell Computer Corporation
By: Das Narayandas and V. Kasturi Rangan
Traces the evolution of the personal computer industry over the last 20 years and uses this as a backdrop to look at how Dell Computer Corp. grew from a small start-up to a multi-billion-dollar company in a decade. Dell is now faced with a set of decisions on the... View Details
- October 1995 (Revised May 2006)
- Case
Andersen Consulting - EMEAI: Reorganization for Revitalization
By: Ashish Nanda and Michael Y. Yoshino
Vernon Ellis, managing partner of Andersen Consulting -- Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India (AC -- EMEAI), is considering how best to reorganize. AC -- EMEAI has grown rapidly over the past five years to become Europe's largest consulting operation. However, Ellis... View Details
- August 1995 (Revised January 2007)
- Case
The Schneider Building
By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.
In May 1995, Jonathan Schneider, the president of the Schneider Co., is faced with several related problems. First, he needs to find a new facility that can accommodate his expanding business. Second, he needs to decide whether to lease or purchase this new facility.... View Details
- August 1995 (Revised October 1996)
- Case
Futures on the Mexican Peso
By: Kenneth A. Froot, Matthew McBrady and Mark Seasholes
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange needs to decide how to design, and whether and when to introduce, a futures contract on the Mexican peso. View Details
- June 1995 (Revised October 1996)
- Case
Lexus and the USTR
By: John A. Quelch
Lexus executives and dealers in the United States are debating how to respond to the U.S. Trade Representative's announcement of 100% tariffs on 13 models of Japanese luxury imported cars. View Details
- April 1995 (Revised December 1997)
- Case
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (A)
By: Marco Iansiti and Ellen Stein
Based on a Silicon Valley company that has developed the capability to compete in a rapidly growing, highly turbulent environment. This capability hinges on its flexible and rapid development process, which the case characterizes in detail. Focuses on the development... View Details
- April 1995 (Revised January 2003)
- Case
Anasazi Exclusive Salon Products, Inc.
By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green
Anasazi, a hair-care products start-up based in the Midwest, is having growing pains as it tries to develop a new distribution model for the professional hair salon industry. The company has completed several rounds of venture financing but, to continue, needs to raise... View Details
- April 1995 (Revised September 1997)
- Case
Frito-Lay, Inc.: A Strategic Transition, 1987-1992 (Abridged)
A new CEO must take action to return the company to profitability, to clarify the vision, and then to build the infrastructure (human, capital, and information) needed to support the long-term change in strategy and organization. The case provides a rich description of... View Details
- February 1995
- Case
Promus Companies, The: Harrah's Casinos
By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood
Provides an overview of the U.S. gambling industry and the rapid expansion of gambling beyond Nevada and New Jersey since 1988. Focuses on Harrah's, a traditional top-tier casino company, which was the first to aggressively expand into emerging gaming markets and that... View Details
- February 1995 (Revised September 1995)
- Case
The Bourland Companies
By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.
Michael Bourland, the president of the Bourland Companies, needs to refinance two properties, an office building in southern New Hampshire and a retail property in Massachusetts. He is considering three alternatives: a renewal of a bank mini-perm, a 15-year mortgage... View Details
- February 1995 (Revised August 1995)
- Case
Microsoft in the People's Republic of China, 1993
By: Tarun Khanna
Explores some of the economic and political tradeoffs that need to be negotiated by a firm seeking to influence industry structure. The setting is the nascent personal computer software industry in the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1993. Microsoft has to localize... View Details
- January 1995
- Case
Understanding User Needs
By: Marco Iansiti and Ellen Stein
Presents an introduction to methods for understanding user needs in product development. Describes a number of techniques including the use of focus groups, interviews, questionnaires, the Kano method, Lead User analysis, the Product Value matrix, OFD, etc. Provides a... View Details
- December 1994 (Revised May 1999)
- Case
3M Optical Systems: Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship
By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Afroze A Mohammed
A middle-level division manager must decide whether he should support an investment request for a third attempt at launching a new product developed by a struggling business unit. Describes the long, difficult process by which the unit has developed the product--a... View Details
- December 1994 (Revised September 2011)
- Case
The Millegan Creek Apartments
By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.
Fleet Bank is considering a construction loan for a 390-unit apartment project in Austin, Texas. The case describes the location, market, product, and other real estate factors the bank needs to consider in making this loan. Also discusses the financial and... View Details
- December 1994 (Revised December 1995)
- Case
The JKJ Pension Fund
By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.
The JKJ pension fund currently has $187 million invested in 14 properties. Sarah Griffin, the portfolio manager for real estate, needs to value each of the properties and recommend which ones should be sold and which ones to hold. She further needs to recommend... View Details
- November 1994 (Revised May 1998)
- Background Note
Strategic Sales Management: A Boardroom Issue
By: Benson P. Shapiro, Stephen X. Doyle and Adrian J. Slywotsky
Explains why sales management has become an increasingly important and complex topic for top managers. Demonstrates the financial impact of a superior salesforce and then describes a way to gain superiority. The focus is on a salesforce that is responsive to customer... View Details
- November 1994 (Revised February 1996)
- Case
Toy World, Inc.
By: W. Carl Kester
A shift from seasonal to level production of toys will change the seasonal cycle of Toy World's working capital needs and necessitate new bank credit arrangements. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details
- November 1994 (Revised November 1995)
- Case
SweetWater
By: H. Kent Bowen and Thomas D. Everett
Focuses on developing a promising idea into a viable product design by considering customer needs early in the design process. Following an Alaskan fishing trip, Sandy Platter, a computer peripherals engineer, has a new idea for a portable water-filter device for use... View Details
- 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