Publications

January 1995 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Schweizerische Maschinenfabrik Zug, A.G.

Schweizerische Maschinenfabrik Zug (SMZ), a 110-year old Swiss machinery firm, faces several issues at the end of 1992. It's not clear whether the company will be able to maintain its traditional price premium in the face of foreign competition. The firm must chart a... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Machinery and Machining; Globalized Markets and Industries; Manufacturing Industry; Switzerland

Find at Harvard

10 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

American Auto’s Troubled Road

a dealer's back lot, it will nonetheless embody a defining moment in a global race for supremacy. Manufactured by Toyota, this is the car that will propel the Japanese company ahead of General Motors as the world's largest automaker, a... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Manufacturing

01 Apr 1998
News

Professor Ramchandran Jaikumar Remembered

Ramchandran Jaikumar, the School's Daewoo Professor of Business Administration and a renowned authority on manufacturing management and technology, died on February 10 of a heart attack while mountain climbing in Quito, Ecuador. He was 53... View Details

02 Dec 2019
What Do You Think?

How Does a Company like Boeing Respond to Intense Competitive Pressure?

inevitable; it will never be eliminated. This is an oversimplication of a complex phenomenon, with nuances in every large organization that has grown beyond the “one for all and all for one” startup spirit. But when it rises to a level that affects marketing plans,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Air Transportation

Web

Early Years at HBS - Georges F. Doriot : Educating Leaders, Building Companies, Baker Library, Harvard Business School

Library Visionary, Innovator, Educator G eorges Frederic Doriot's interest in manufacturing began at an early age . He was born in 1899 in France, where his father Auguste was a successful engineer for the... View Details

27 Mar 2025
Blog Post

IFC India 2025: Driving India's EV Future: Insights from Ather Scooter and Exponent Energy

net-zero goals. Transportation is one of the largest contributors of carbon emissions in India. With 300 million 2- wheelers on the road, the vast majority powered by internal combustion engines (ICE), the decarbonization of... View Details

01 Dec 2011
News

Li & Fung's Global Footprint

entrepÃ´t to China. After the Communists came to power in 1949, Hong Kong had to transform itself as a manufacturing center, and our company changed to one of exporting what Hong Kong produced. It built its reputation exporting... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Miscellaneous Manufacturing

September 2014 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Samuel Colt: An American Gun Maker

By: Tom Nicholas and Casey Verkamp

Samuel Colt not only perfected and patented the technology for a gun that could fire multiple times without reloading, but he also developed and applied early principles of mass production more completely than anyone had done before. Until the nineteenth century,... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Positioning; Machinery and Machining; Production; Independent Innovation and Invention; Manufacturing Industry; United States

23 May 2018
News

John A. Paulson, MBA 1980

Return to Alumni Achievement Awards main page TIMELINE 1955 Born, Queens, New York 1973 Launches clothing manufacturing business in Ecuador 1978 Earns BS, Finance, New York University 1980 Earns MBA, Baker Scholar 1980 Joins Boston... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

11 Apr 2019
Blog Post

Kel Jackson, MBA 2019: "[My Job] Matters. I Didn't Want a Role that Would Box Me In."

hobby-class radio-controlled cars. Jackson went on to attend Auburn University for his undergraduate education, earning a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, Jackson worked as a jet engine View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing

Web

Bringing the Next Pandemic Vaccine to Your Doorstep with MIMIX - Blog: Health Supplement

tag Biotech/pharma Clinical Trials Health Care Entrepreneurship Health Care Innovation Health Care at HBS As an HBS student in Professor Vicki Sato’s Commercializing Science class, I wanted to tackle an unmet global health care need by applying my View Details

Frank A. Seiberling

Despite being forced out of his firm during its post World War I financial troubles, Seiberling’s diligence and faith in the growth of the rubber business allowed his company to become the largest manufacturer of both carriage and... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

October 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Komatsu Ltd.: Project G's Globalization

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

This case describes the major strategic and organizational transformation at Komatsu aimed at changing it from a Japan-based producer of construction equipment to a truly global company with the ability to leverage its groupwide portfolio of resources and capabilities... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Construction; Asset Pricing; Investment Portfolio; Global Strategy; Leadership; Resource Allocation; Risk Management; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

Profile

Rob Humble

Rob Humble's degree in mechanical engineering gave him entrée to Raytheon's Operations Leadership Development Program. In the course of two years and three rotations, Rob managed a 45-person team that View Details

October 2013 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Alcoa's Bid for Alcan (A)

By: Paul Healy and Penelope Rossano

In spring 2007, Alcoa CEO Alain Belda was concerned about the company's market position in light of increased competition from developing markets. China's recent entry into the aluminum market was affecting both supply and demand. Furthermore, downstream and upstream... View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Strategy; Aluminum; Accounting; Financials; Alcoa; Rio Tinto; Alcan; Metals and Minerals; Competition; Consolidation; Emerging Markets; Acquisition; Financial Statements; Manufacturing Industry; Canada; China; Russia

August 1997 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Fabritek, 1992

By: Janice H. Hammond

Describes a large-volume automotive parts contract in a high-quality machine work company. Quality and delivery problems arise when one of the four men on the job is replaced with a high producer who cannot earn a substantial bonus because of machine interference. View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Compensation and Benefits; Selection and Staffing; Production; Quality; Manufacturing Industry