Publications

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September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Alessi: Evolution of an Italian Design Factory (A)

By: Youngme E. Moon, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Alessio Alessi, head of distribution at family-run Alessi S.p.A., is facing price and brand confusion among customers and is considering reorganizing Alessi's worldwide network of distributors. By describing the challenges facing Alessi, an internationally acclaimed... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transition; Cost Management; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Production; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Consumer Products Industry

September 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Alessi: Evolution of an Italian Design Factory (B)

By: Youngme E. Moon, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Since the 1970s, world-renowned architect and designer, Alessandro Mendini, has acted as adviser and counselor to Alessi, the Italian household goods design factory. By discussing Mendini's role as art director, the case introduces the artistic side of Alessi, where... View Details

Keywords: Design; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Consumer Products Industry; Italy

September 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Alessi: Evolution of an Italian Design Factory (C)

By: Youngme E. Moon, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Design; Consumer Products Industry; Italy

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Alessi: Evolution of an Italian Design Factory (D)

By: Youngme E. Moon, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Design; Consumer Products Industry

March 2006
Teaching Note

Alessi: Evolution of an Italian Design Factory (A)-(D) (TN)

By: Youngme E. Moon

Keywords: Fashion Industry; Italy

December 1998
Case

Pioneer Hi-Bred: Turning Seeds Into Factories

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Melissa Dailey

The agricultural sector is among the preeminent information technology users in our economy," exclaimed an August 1998 Forbes ASAP survey of the U.S. economy's best and worst users of information technology (IT). The survey designated Pioneer Hi-Bred International,... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Multinational Firms and Management; Information Management; Infrastructure; Business Strategy; Information Technology; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Iowa

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September 2006
Exercise

"Shad" Process Flow Design (A)

By: Roy D. Shapiro

Provides detailed instructions to prepare for factory demonstration day. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise. View Details

February 1999 (Revised June 2003)
Exercise

"Shad" Process Flow Design (C)

By: Roy D. Shapiro

Provides detailed instructions to prepare for factory demonstration day. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise. View Details

Keywords: Production

February 1999 (Revised September 2006)
Exercise

"Shad" Process Flow Design (B)

By: Roy D. Shapiro

Provides detailed instructions to prepare for factory demonstration day. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise. View Details

Keywords: Production

February 1996 (Revised August 1998)
Exercise

Process Flow Design Exercise (C)

By: Janice H. Hammond

Provides detailed instructions for auditors to help them prepare for the factory demonstration day. Each audit position is described and a time line outlining responsibilities for the four phases of the simulation is provided. View Details

Keywords: Business Processes

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10 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Homers: Secrets on the Factory Floor

did a job not designated for their employer. In 40 percent of these cases, that "something" was an object. Homer making is not, however, a French phenomenon—court proceedings of fired homer makers point to its prevalence in... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

28 Mar 2012
What Do You Think?

Are Factory Jobs Important to the Economy?

manufacturing jobs as a share of total non-farm employment have fallen from 20% to 10% over the same time frame." Worse yet, there is the possibility that the jobs created today and tomorrow may not be as good as the factory jobs of the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing

01 Dec 2004
News

A Life by Design

creations. Her unique metalwork designs are now in the permanent collections of a dozen museums, including the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The jewelry business grew to the point that Ross... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; toys; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment; Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores; Retail Trade

20 Nov 2019
News

Factories without walls: How Autodesk is redesigning the work of architecture, construction, and manufacturing

21 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Grundfos: Innovation & Inspiration for Sustainable Product Design

circular design to be embedded within its design, engineering, and manufacturing processes so that pumps can be separated and broken down into subcomponents. To enable easier recycling, the company embeds sustainable design, and their... View Details

August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Supplement

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (B)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

May 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Building the Digital Manufacturing Enterprise of the Future at Siemens

By: Willy Shih

This case describes the motivation for and the development of Siemens' digital manufacturing enterprise vision, which became the foundation for its implementation of Industrie 4.0. While the effort started with a purely defensive move by Anton Huber, head of the... View Details