Arkansas - Publications - Faculty & Research

27 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

Want a Happy Customer? Coordinate Sales and Marketing

ground in Bentonville, Arkansas to sell and service Wal-Mart. Large individual accounts are now separable market segments, and even profit centers supported by their own multi-functional organizations. The days of easy separation of sales... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro

19 Jun 2014
Blog Post

Exploring the World of Retail as an Intern at Walmart

at a CPG company. While both options fit my checklist, the final interview at Walmart Home Office in Arkansas really made the decision clear for me. The employees really seemed to value the MBA interns (not a given in retail!), all the... View Details

John H. Johnson

Johnson built the world’s largest black-owned publishing empire. He is the founder and publisher of Negro Digest, Ebony and JET magazines. He also owns Ebony Cosmetics as well as radio and TV production companies. View Details

Keywords: Publishing & Print Media

Carl R. Gray

Under Gray’s direction, Union Pacific Railroad became one of the few railroads in the nation to pay dividends on common stock during the Depression. During this time period, Gray also became a pioneer in the introduction of streamlined diesel-powered passenger trains.... View Details

Keywords: Transportation

James E. Davis

At a young age, Davis and his 3 brothers helped their father open the family’s first store in Miami, FL. As the brothers grew older, they increased the number of family owned stores to 34, and eventually acquired the Winn & Lovett chain, which added 78 stores. As... View Details

Keywords: Retail

20 Feb 2018
News

David Perry’s Green Revolution

Studio Nouveau/Courtesy of Indigo Ag Studio Nouveau/Courtesy of Indigo Ag The latest issue of Harvard magazine includes a feature on agricultural innovation, and highlights the work of Indigo Ag CEO David Perry (MBA 1997) The piece traces Perry’s background, from... View Details

Dorothy Shaver

Joining the firm in 1924, Shaver instituted a number of highly successful changes before becoming the head of L&T. Among her best ideas were the founding of the Lord & Taylor Design Awards and the creation of a special department for teenagers. Under her... View Details

Keywords: Retail

08 Mar 2017
News

Energy Efficiency as a Common Purpose

Duane Highley (AMP 177, 2009) is president and CEO for the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation. In this interview, he explains how the organization is united behind a common purpose—the concept of energy efficiency as a benefit to... View Details

01 Jun 2003
News

Portraits from the Class of 2003

accent Other Degrees: BS in civil engineering, West Point; MS in industrial engineering, University of Arkansas Acting Experience: extra in TV series Savannah Previous Job: company commander, U.S. Army Sports: marathon running, boxing... View Details

C. Kemmons Wilson

After a family vacation exposed the need for a lodging alternative to tourist courts, Wilson decided that he would build a string of slightly upscale motels to fill that void. Opening his first Holiday Inn in 1951, Wilson expanded his chain through an extensive... View Details

Keywords: Restaurants & Lodging

William P. Stiritz

Stiritz was instrumental in streamlining Purina’s business operations – divesting of non-core, mature business lines and investing in brand name growth products. Through his leadership, Purina’s stock price increased 15-fold, outpacing the tenfold increase in the... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

Frank L. Gillespie

Having worked in a large, successful white insurance firm, Gillespie saw the need to bring better insurance services to Chicago’s black community and founded Liberty Life in 1919. Unlike other insurance firms, Liberty Life was the first to offer whole life insurance,... View Details

Keywords: Finance

Portrait Project

Jason Sanders

traveled from biochemistry to English literature to medicine to business, from Arkansas to Oklahoma to Oxford to Boston. Serving the ill, fulfilling the mission, these too have many faces: hospital CEO, medical oncologist, global health... View Details

01 Mar 2007
News

Pharma Suits a Farm Gal

roping and bull riding. “On my HBS application, I put that I was Miss Rodeo Arkansas 1976,” she recalled. “I am convinced that the people looking at the application said, ‘Well, we’ve never had one of those; we should have her come in.’”... View Details

Keywords: biopharmaceutical company; Health, Social Assistance; Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices; Management

15 Jul 2014
Blog Post

Discovering a new organization and state as an intern

festival / charity event / bike ride every single day for the whole summer! I’m thankful that Walmart is helping us get to know the Northwest Arkansas area while we’re there, since they understand that not every MBA student is clamoring... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

02 Jan 2018
News

Bringing Teachers to All of America

Jared Henderson (MBA 2007) was executive director of Teach for America in Arkansas until winter 2017, when he announced a run for governor of the state. In this interview, conducted during Spring Reunion in May 2017, Henderson discusses... View Details

27 Apr 2015
Blog Post

2+2: Building on Business Basics at HBS

afraid to. Working for Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas turned out to be great! But I would not have been as likely to take that chance without 2+2.What’s your best advice for someone who’s considering applying to the 2+2 program?The... View Details

January 2018 (Revised October 2020)
Case

The Rise and Rise (?) of Walmart (A): Battling Kmart

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Eric Van den Steen and Karen Elterman

This case, set in 1990, describes the history of Walmart and asks what competitive strategies Kmart might adopt in response to Walmart's success. It discusses the strategy and organization of both companies in terms of HR practices, store location, distribution,... View Details

Keywords: Walmart; Kmart; Organization; Company Culture; Pricing; Procurement; Supercenter; Strategy; Competition; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; Bentonville; Arkansas

Citation

Educators

Purchase

01 Aug 2001
News

Robert B. Stobaugh (DBA '68)

distinguished thirty-year career at HBS. An Arkansas native who began his education in a two-room schoolhouse, Stobaugh entered Louisiana State University at 15 and earned his bachelor's degree in 1947. He then spent eighteen years... View Details

Keywords: Alumni Achievement Award; Educational Services