Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(120,134)
- Faculty Publications (296)
- November 1997 (Revised December 2000)
- Case
Corn Products International, Inc.
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay
A firm that started in corn processing and moved up the value-added food chain decides to spin-off the original commodity part of the business. How does the new spin-off survive and how does it develop a strategy? Firms in the food system are separating out their... View Details
- October 1997 (Revised May 1998)
- Supplement
Asda (B)
By: Michael Beer and James Weber
Describes Archie Norman's efforts over a five-year period to turn around the company by regaining financial control, delivering management, creating experimental projects where individuals felt free to innovate, instituting a back-to-roots strategy that put customers... View Details
- February 1997 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
first direct (A)
Describes the operations and strategy of the world's largest, fastest growing branchless bank. Using a person-to-person interface over conventional phone lines, First Direct provides standard banking and related financial products to nearly 700,000 customers throughout... View Details
- winter 1997
- Article
The Effects of Market Structure and Ownership on Prices and Service Offerings in the Cable Television Industry
By: Willis Emmons and Robin A. Prager
- September 1996 (Revised June 1997)
- Case
QVC, Inc.
Illustrates the "Service Profit Chain" in action. QVC, whose initials stand for Quality, Value,, and Convenience, demonstrates clearly how a strong customer focus can lead to establishing a strong franchise in the retail sector and a highly profitable business whose... View Details
- 1996
- Chapter
Commercial Technology: Imaginative Understanding of User Needs
By: D. A. Leonard and J. Doyle
- February 1996 (Revised November 2003)
- Case
Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
A new administration in the City of Indianapolis is initially determined to privatize many municipal services. Before taking this action, however, the city managers want to know the current cost of performing these services with the municipal workers. Existing... View Details
- November 1995 (Revised March 2004)
- Case
Massachusetts General Hospital: CABG Surgery (A)
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and James Weber
A cross-functional team at Massachusetts General Hospital tries to reengineer the service delivery process (the "care path") for heart bypass surgery (CABG) in order to shorten hospital stays (and lower costs) while maintaining/enhancing the quality of care provided. View Details
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Business Processes; Mission and Purpose; Product Positioning; Product Marketing; Management Practices and Processes; Customer Satisfaction; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Fair Value Accounting; Ethics; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts
- January 1995 (Revised September 1997)
- Case
TV Guide (B)
TV Guide, the nation's most profitable and largest magazine, attempts entry into the world of electronic publishing. The crux of TV Guide's strategy is to transform the magazine's content into a centralized database that can be accessed by new businesses, like... View Details
- October 1994 (Revised November 1994)
- Case
British Airways: Using Information Systems to Better Serve the Customer
By: W. Earl Sasser and Norman Klein
Explores the uses of scanning technology, interactive software, and powerful data bases to assist customer relations representatives in resolving customer complaints. Competitive alliances in international markets are noted, but the focus is on the evolving commitment... 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
- August 1994 (Revised January 1999)
- Case
Taco Bell Corporation (Abridged Update)
By: James L. Heskett
Taco Bell's management has developed plans to establish 100,000 points of service for its fast food business. Clearly, this will require significantly different approaches to management and organization. View Details
- July 1994 (Revised January 1997)
- Case
Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation
The largest ski resort in Colorado must determine how to select customer segments to focus its promotional and service-delivery efforts. Making segmentation work depends on reordering its pricing policy and "service packages." View Details
- May 1994 (Revised September 1994)
- Case
STAR TV (A)
By: Michael Y. Yoshino and J. Peter Williamson
Concerns the decision whether or not to launch a satellite television service in Asia in the 1990-1991 period. STAR TV was a joint venture between Hutchison Whampoa and Li-Ka Shing and was established to launch such a service. Li-Ka Shing's son, Richard, was CEO.... View Details
- January 1994 (Revised May 1995)
- Case
Xerox: Design for the Environment
In 1990, Xerox undertook an "Environmental Leadership Program" designed to make Xerox an industry leader in non-polluting operations, recycling, and products actually designed for the environment. This effort flowed naturally out of the system of total quality... View Details
- May 1993 (Revised July 1995)
- Case
Air Miles
By: John A. Quelch
The chairman and CEO of a U.K.-based frequent buyer travel award program is planning on launching in North America. Management must determine the marketing strategy to be used, specifically how the U.K. program should be altered, whether the U.S. and Canadian markets... View Details
- April 1993 (Revised May 2009)
- Case
Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India: In Service for Sight, The
Starting as a modest 20-bed hospital, Aravind had grown into a 1,400-bed hospital complex by 1992. It had by then screened 3.65 million patients and performed 335,000 cataract surgeries, nearly 70% of them free of cost for the poorest of India's blind population.... View Details
- March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
- Case
IBM After-Sales Service
IBM has established a service delivery system to provide service and maintenance parts for its installed base of computers. The case outlines the competitive pressures IBM faces from alternative providers of maintenance services (e.g. other OEMs, third-party... View Details
- August 1992
- Case
Otis Pacific Asia Operations (A): National Challenges
Describes the elevator market and Otis's competitive position in four markets: Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, and Japan. The student is asked to evaluate the strategic and competitive challenges in each market, especially in light of strong Japanese competition across the... View Details
- August 1992 (Revised June 1993)
- Case
Euro Disney: The First 100 Days
By: Gary W. Loveman and Leonard A. Schlesinger
The Walt Disney Co. theme parks historically have thrived on the basis of a formula stressing excellent customer service and a magnificent physical environment. The formula has proven successful in Japan, as well as the United States. With the controversial opening of... View Details