Publications

March 1998 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Lehigh Steel

By: V.G. Narayanan and Laura Donohue

Lehigh Steel is a specialty steel manufacturer that plummeted from record profits to record losses in less than three years, driven by an inability to distinguish between profitable and unprofitable business. The scale and growth of service activities and overhead... View Details

Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Product; Cost; Activity Based Costing and Management; Profit; Accounting; Corporate Finance; Steel Industry

March 1998 (Revised November 1998)
Case

Empresas CAP, 1994

By: Tarun Khanna and Danielle Melito Wu

Empresas CAP began as a private-sector steel company in 1946. Over the next 40 years, CAP's ownership structure moved from nationalization to reprivatization. Unrestricted by state ownership, CAP began to diversify its holdings. The case considers the viability of... View Details

Keywords: Ownership; Privatization; Diversification; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Management; Planning; Steel Industry

February 1998
Case

Lyondell Petrochemical Company

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Daniel P. Erikson

In August 1994, Lyondell Petrochemical Co.'s corporate parent and largest single shareholder effectively shed its stock, resulting in the resignation of 5 of its 11 directors. The remaining outside directors immediately acted to overhaul the executive compensation plan... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Design; Business or Company Management; Management Teams; Mining Industry

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November 1997 (Revised April 2017)
Teaching Note

Purity Steel Corporation, 2012

By: Robert Simons and Antonio Dávila

Teaching Note for (9-197-082). View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Performance Measurement; ROI; Transfer Pricing; Steel Industry

October 1997
Teaching Note

Mobil USM&R Series TN

Teaching Note for (9-197-025), (9-197-120), (9-197-121), (9-197-026), (9-197-027), and (9-197-028). View Details

Keywords: Mining Industry; Mining Industry; United States

October 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Busang (A): River of Gold

By: Debora L. Spar

In 1995, Bre-X Minerals, a tiny Canadian mining firm, struck gold. Deep in the heart of the Borneo jungle, it discovered what appeared to be one of the world's largest and most cost-effective gold deposits. Almost immediately, the firm's stock price shot upwards and... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Mining; Mining Industry; Canada; Indonesia

August–September 1997
Article

Mining Knowledge Assets for Innovation

By: D. A. Leonard

Keywords: Knowledge Acquisition; Innovation and Invention

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July 1997
Teaching Note

Phelps Dodge Corporation (TN)

By: W. Carl Kester

Teaching Note for (9-295-132). View Details

Keywords: Mining Industry; Arizona; United States

June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (A1)

First of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. Split from the original (A) case to give students an opportunity to suggest objectives and measures for the division's initial BSC, without... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Measurement and Metrics; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Marketing Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Mining Industry; Mining Industry; United States

June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (A2)

Second of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. This case describes the completed BSC, and how this was linked to the BSCs of the independent business units and the internal service... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Performance Evaluation; Management Teams; Management Practices and Processes; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Strategy; Mining Industry; Mining Industry; United States

March 1997
Background Note

Copper and Zinc Markets 1996

By: Peter Tufano

Provides background information on copper and zinc markets as of mid-1996. Discusses supply and demand conditions, forecasts of the spot prices of the metals, and contracts for future delivery (forwards, futures, and options). View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Metals and Minerals; Supply and Industry; Mining Industry

March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Purity Steel Corporation, 2012

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Judgments; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Efficiency; Compensation and Benefits; Salesforce Management; Performance Consistency; Performance Productivity; Steel Industry

February 1997 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Bidding for Antamina

By: Peter Tufano

In June 1996, executives of the multinational mining company RTZ-CRA contemplate bidding to acquire the Antamina copper and zinc mine in Peru. The Antamina project is being offered for sale by auction as part of the privatization of Peru's state mining company. RTZ-CRA... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Mining; Mining Industry; Peru

January 1997
Case

Dr. Sergio Ceccuzzi and SMI: Negotiating Cross-Border Acquisitions in Europe (B)

By: James K. Sebenius

Since the 1960s, SMI has quietly executed a series of brilliantly negotiated takeovers throughout Europe, often acquiring companies much larger than itself. Despite formidable obstacles, SMI has managed to acquire state-owned competitors in Italy and France, as well as... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Governance; International Relations; Negotiation Tactics; Consolidation; Mining Industry; Europe

December 1996 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Brent Spar Incident, The: "A Shell of a Mess"

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Seeking to dispose of an outmoded oil drilling platform in the North Sea, Shell finds itself confronted by Greenpeace and other environmentalists. The protesters land 12 people onto the rig and initiate media coverage of their "occupation." The case follows the events... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Media; Social Issues; Mining Industry; United Kingdom

October 1996 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (D): Gasoline Marketing

Mobil US Marketing & Refining has shifted from a centralized staff-driven organization to decentralized business-units. Staff functions now must negotiate service agreements with a buyer's committee consisting of representatives from the profit-center business units.... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Management Teams; Human Resources; Agreements and Arrangements; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customers; Situation or Environment; Business Units; Mining Industry; Mining Industry; United States

September 1996 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Grupo Sidek (A)

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Alberto Moel

A large Mexican conglomerate, active in tourism, real estate, and steel, is faced with difficult macroeconomic conditions beginning with the Peso crisis of December 1994. The conglomerate had extensive dollar-indexed liabilities and was caught in a crunch when the... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Exchange; Real Estate; Debt Policy; Tourism; Steel; Business Conglomerates; Macroeconomics; Currency Exchange Rate; Crisis Management; Valuation; Mexico

September 1996 (Revised November 1996)
Supplement

Grupo Sidek (B)

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Alberto Moel

Supplements the (A) case. Designed to be handed out midway through class. View Details

Keywords: Foreign Exchange; Real Estate; Debt Policy; Tourism; Steel; Crisis Management

September 1996 (Revised September 1999)
Case

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

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