Publications

November 1995 (Revised November 1999)
Case

National Power and the Privatization of the British Power Generation Industry

By: Willis M. Emmons III and Ed Simnett

The British government privatized the nation's electric utility sector in 1991 through a complex process involving the restructuring of the industry as well as the creation of a new regulatory oversight body. National Power plc, the largest of the privatized power... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Trade; Energy Generation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Markets; Monopoly; Privatization; Opportunities; Diversification; Expansion; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry

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April 1993 (Revised December 2001)
Case

General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function (B)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Katherine Seger

Designed to look at outsourcing from the perspective of a major computer services company trying to get into the business. View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Business Startups; Business Plan; Business Strategy; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Financial Management; Management Teams; Communication Strategy; Organizational Design; Product Design; Accounting; Activity Based Costing and Management; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

June 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Continental Media Group: Business Highlights

By: Robert L. Simons and Kathryn Rosenberg

Continental Media Group has a series of business reviews struggling to achieve profitability. This case focuses on the use of management control systems to identify emerging opportunities and the formulation of new strategies. The interactive system used by top... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Governance Controls; Management Systems; Risk Management; Business Strategy; Publishing Industry

September 1996 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Mobil USM&R (C): Lubricants Business Unit

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The general manager of a Lubricants Business Unit in Mobil's U.S. Marketing and Refining division launched a project to develop a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) for his unit. The purpose was to provide focus for all employees of the unit, enabling it to operate on an... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Employees; Customization and Personalization; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Management Teams; Projects; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

The dot-com boom of the 1990s had changed the rules of business forever, it seemed; all you needed was a sexy IPO, cold nerve, and the magic carpet of momentum trading. But even as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists were dismissing... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

Forthcoming
Article

Human Capital and the Managerial Revolution in the United States: Evidence from General Electric

By: Tom Nicholas

This paper estimates the returns to human capital accumulation during the first era of mega-firms in the United States by linking employees at General Electric—a canonical enterprise associated with the “visible hand” of managerial hierarchies—to the 1940 census. I... View Details

Keywords: Returns To Education; Management Practices; Hierarchies; Management Practices and Processes; Rank and Position; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Business History; United States

March 2008
Case

Novartis AG: Science-Based Business

By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington

Novartis is a science-based drug company, which has important implications for its business strategy. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world with over $38B in sales in 2007. Pharmaceuticals account for slightly over $24B of that total. In 2007,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Resource Allocation; Product Development; Partners and Partnerships; Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Pharmaceutical Industry

16 Feb 2015
News

Should Business Keep it in the Family?

February 2008 (Revised February 2015)
Exercise

Your Strategy—A Strategy Formulation Exercise for the General Management Program (GMP)

By: Tarun Khanna, Robyn C. Davis and Stephanie R. Khurana

This exercise is meant to help students take strategy concepts learned and adapt/apply them to their organizations. View Details

Keywords: Learning; Business or Company Management; Practice; Strategy

September 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

CP Group: Balancing the Needs of a Family Business with the Needs of a Family of Businesses

By: William C. Kirby and Tracy Yuen Manty

As a second generation business leader, Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont took over the family agribusiness company and built it to become a major diversified conglomerate in Thailand and expanded the business in SE Asia and China. While growing the business, he and his... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Conglomerates; Family Ownership; Growth and Development; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Thailand; China; Southeast Asia

2011
Book

Detour: My Unexpected, Amazing, Life Changing Journey With OnStar

By: Chet Huber

Detour is the story behind the launch of OnStar’s now well known blue button, as told through the eyes of its founder and CEO of over fourteen years, Chet Huber. It’s a personal narrative that describes the events that led up to General Motors’ unexpected choice... View Details

Keywords: General Motors; OnStar; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Transportation; Safety; Personal Development and Career; Creativity; Success; Business History; Auto Industry

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