Publications

January 1998 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Cafes Monte Bianco: Building a Profit Plan

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Alert: This case has been revised since its original publication; all amounts have been converted to euros and the dates have been updated to 2020. If you’ve taught with this case in the past, please note that changes may affect teaching plans and classroom use. Using... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Profit; Financial Statements; Food and Beverage Industry; Italy

March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Purity Steel Corporation, 2012

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Judgments; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Efficiency; Compensation and Benefits; Salesforce Management; Performance Consistency; Performance Productivity; Steel Industry

October 2024
Teaching Note

Albert Einstein: Changing the World

By: Robert L. Simons and Shirley Sun

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-025. View Details

April 1998 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Hamilton Financial Investments: A Franchise Built on Trust

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Provides a vehicle for students to evaluate risk management in the fast-paced mutual funds industry. A new risk manager has been hired to install new management controls and procedures. A series of decisions will determine how much business and franchise risk the... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment Funds; Performance Evaluation; Corporate Strategy; Change Management; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry

August 2017
Supplement

Quiet Logistics: CEO Bruce Welty Discusses New Robotics Company

By: Robert L. Simons and Jennifer Packard

This is a video supplement to Quiet Logistics A (HBS No. 115-001) and Quiet Logistics B (HBS No. 115-003). View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Risk and Uncertainty

June 1997 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Walker and Company: Profit Plan Decisions

By: Robert L. Simons and Ramsey Walker

Ramsey Walker, a second-year MBA student, must decide how to control a family business as an absentee owner. After providing background details on the publishing industry, the case requires the reader to: 1) make a product segmentation decision; 2) prepare a profit... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Family and Family Relationships; Market Design; Management Systems; Planning; Profit; Performance Evaluation; Segmentation; Corporate Strategy; Investment Return; Publishing Industry

July 1990 (Revised April 1998)
Supplement

Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (B)

By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston

Presents a follow-up to the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Rank and Position; Conflict and Resolution; Consumer Products Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

November 1989 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Automatic Data Processing: The EFS Decision

By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston

Illustrates how ADP's top management uses formal planning and control systems to establish strategic boundaries for its business units. Top management has developed a detailed list of strategic criteria that ADP managers use to evaluate products and business units, as... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Strategic Planning; Management Systems; Accounting; Acquisition

September 2003
Teaching Note

Bausch & Lomb, Inc.: Pressure to Perform (TN)

By: Robert L. Simons and Indra Reinbergs

Teaching Note to (9-198-009). View Details

Keywords: Public Relations Industry

June 1999
Teaching Note

Hamilton Financial Investments: A Franchise Built on Trust TN

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Teaching Note for (9-198-089). View Details

Keywords: Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry

11 May 2015
News

Washington, DC Alumni Connect Around a ‘Vision’ for the New HBS

region to reconnect with classmates and meet other alumni in the region, as well as with HBS faculty members and administrators. The evening featured remarks by Dean Nitin Nohria, Professor Robert Steven... View Details

01 Aug 1998
News

Year-End Roundup: Dean's Award, Other Honors Conferred as Class of '98 Graduates

In early June, with students and their families gathered for graduation, Class Day ceremonies took center stage at HBS as notable speeches, prizes, and events highlighted the festivities honoring the Class of 1998 and its 851 graduates. Class Day's featured speaker,... View Details

01 Mar 2011
News

Faculty Research Online

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution In his new book, Seven Strategy Questions, Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration Robert Simons explains how managers can... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Apr 1998
News

World Economic Forum

Those who attended a Harvard Dinner at the Davos conference included (top) Dean Clark and Michael Bloomberg (MBA '66), and (bottom) Bruno L. Schroder (MBA '60), Yoh Kurosawa (83rd AMP), and Yasko Kurosawa. Photographs View Details

May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Asea Brown Boveri

By: Robert L. Simons and Christopher A. Bartlett

In 1987, two European rivals--Asea AB of Sweden and BBC Brown Boveri Ltd. of Switzerland--merged to form Asea Brown Boveri. The new company employed 150,000 employees in 850 legal entities operating in 140 countries. The case describes the challenges facing Percy... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Globalization; Problems and Challenges; Leadership Style; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Structure; Reports