Publications

From 1960 to 1965, Gulf and Western’s growth was largely through expansion of its auto parts business. In 1965, Bluhdorn began to move toward diversification. He acquired such companies as New Jersey Zinc Company, Paramount Pictures, the South Puerto Rico Sugar Company... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

John H. Bryan, Jr.

When Bryan took over Consolidated Foods, later renamed the Sara Lee Corporation, the company was a $2.5 billion dollar conglomerate. Bryan made significant acquisitions including the Hanes Corporation, which experienced a doubling of... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

01 Jun 2007
News

Delta’s Flight from Bankruptcy

the fall of 2005, but it also had the lowest revenue per available seat mile of the major airlines. The turnaround focused on three areas: the balance of nonstop versus connecting flights in the United States, the mix of domestic and international travel, and customer... View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Transportation

Amadeo Peter Giannini

Giannini grew Bank of America into the world’s largest bank. Three years after surviving the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, Giannini’s banking operations expanded by opening its first branch in San Jose. He continued to open banks throughout California, View Details

Keywords: Finance

October 2013
Supplement

Alcoa's Bid for Alcan (B)

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: Strategy; Acquisitions; Alcoa; Alcan; Rio Tinto; Aluminum Industry; Accounting; Financial Analysis; Consolidation; Market Participation; Financial Statements; Acquisition; Mining; Mining Industry; Canada; United States

Wanamaker thought his “new kind of store,” which was a consolidation of many different kinds of shops into one, was the future of shopping. Not only did his department stores become very successful, they were also part of a merchandising... View Details

Keywords: Retail

04 Aug 2014
Op-Ed

Why Small-Business Lending Is Not Recovering

Structural barriers also appear to be impeding bank lending to small businesses, including consolidation within the banking industry, high search costs, and higher transaction costs associated with small business lending. A decades-long... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking; Financial Services

Web

Financials | Annual Report 2024

CFO Statement of Activity & Cash Flows Consolidated Balance Sheet Supplemental Financial Information Financial Highlights From the Chief Financial Officer Operating revenues increased 3 percent to $1.1 billion, while operating expenses... View Details

April 2016
Teaching Note

Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

This Note was created for the purpose of aiding classroom instructors in the use of the Harvard Business School case, "Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016." As chairman and CEO, David Kenny guided the Weather Company's transformation from a cable television... View Details

Keywords: Weather Company; IBM; Digital; Technology; David Kenny; Television; Weather Channel; Legacy Business; Mainstream; Newstream; Reorganization; Acquisitions; Transformation; Information Technology; Television Entertainment; Acquisition; Consolidation; Change; Leadership

January 2016 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

CEO David Kenny led the transformation of the Weather Company from a television business to a Big Data technology company from 2012 until 2016, when IBM acquired its digital assets. This case discusses major decisions taken by Kenny starting in 2014 as he sought to... View Details

Keywords: Weather Company; IBM; Digital; Technology; David Kenny; Television; Weather Channel; Legacy Business; Mainstream; Newstream; Reorganization; Acquisitions; Transformation; Information Technology; Television Entertainment; Acquisition; Consolidation; Change; Leadership

September 1988 (Revised January 1989)
Case

Unisys: The Merger of Burroughs and Sperry

Mike Blumenthal, CEO of Burroughs, successfully executes the merger of Burroughs and Sperry in 1986. The case discusses the putting together of the two firms in a fast time period in order to achieve cost savings, high earnings, and an integrated culture. Blumenthal... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Structure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Consolidation

23 May 2019
News

Marla Beck, MBA/MPA 1998

Return to Alumni Achievement Awards main page TIMELINE 1970 Born, Oakland, California 1993 Earns BA, Political Economy, UC Berkeley 1993 Joins McKinsey, Business Analyst 1998 Earns MBA/MPA 1998 Joins Consolidation Capital Corp., VP... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

15 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Growing Pains: Prescriptions for U.S. Health Care

realize the potential threat posed by these new technologies, they invariably enter a downward spiral of cost-cutting and consolidation in a futile effort to become competitive again at the market's low end. Ironically, this 'thumbscrew... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Health

20 Jun 2012
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching Leadership: What We Know

handbook with the following three goals in mind: Take Stock and Consolidate Progress. Our primary goal is to share what we have learned after almost three decades of accumulated experience teaching leadership. To do this, we cast a wide... View Details

Keywords: by Scott A. Snook, Rakesh Khurana & Nitin Nohria; Education

February 1998 (Revised August 2006)
Case

House of Tata, 1995: The Next Generation (A)

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Danielle Melito Wu

The Tata Group began the 1990s as a confederation of loosely coupled firms. This case considers the rise to prominence of the new CEO of Tata Group, Ratan Tata, and his attempts to strengthen the inter-relationships among the group companies at a time when critics... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Business Conglomerates; Organizations; Corporate Strategy; Consolidation; Business Strategy; Alignment; Consumer Products Industry; Service Industry