Publications

August 2003
Case

Mercury Computer Systems: The Evolution from Integrated Technology to Open Standard

By: Rebecca Henderson and Nancy Confrey

For 20 years, Mercury Computer Systems has thrived, providing products and services that support ultrafast processing of real time data. Now Jay Bertelli, the CEO, faces a critical question: How can the firm compete once the standards on which its products are based... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Open Source Distribution; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

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24 Oct 2012
News

How 'luck' can be used to enhance success

Keywords: News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Supplement

Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (B)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Toyota Argentina (TASA) and the union representing automotive industry workers in the country had been working together since 2011 to address the challenges faced by Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Zárate (Argentina). The strategy for moving forward was built on an... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing Performance; Production; Performance Improvement; Strategy; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Agreements and Arrangements; Strategic Planning; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Auto Industry; Argentina

July 2010
Supplement

Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Pricing and Profitability Analysis (CW)

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Jill Avery

Pricing is one of the most difficult decisions marketers make and the one with the most direct and immediate impact on the firm's financial position. This toolkit will introduce the fundamental terminology and calculations associated with pricing and profitability... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Decisions; Strategic Planning; Price; Partners and Partnerships; Cost; Demand and Consumers; Revenue; Profit; Mathematical Methods; Measurement and Metrics

Web

Patients - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Health Care Health Care Value-Based Health Care Health Care Courses Fast Facts Value-Based Health Care Value-Based Health Care Cases & Teaching Notes Key Concepts Key Stakeholders Publications Team Work With Us Presentations Key Stakeholders Key Stakeholders... View Details

01 Dec 2009
News

The Fab Four

cofounded in 1998. He also advised a number of student teams competing in the HBS Business Plan Contest, an event he judged in previous years. “It made me feel good that three of the four finalists that year, including the winning team,... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; contests; Technical and Trade Schools; Educational Services; Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services; Information; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

Web

Employers - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Health Care Health Care Value-Based Health Care Health Care Courses Fast Facts Value-Based Health Care Value-Based Health Care Cases & Teaching Notes Key Concepts Key Stakeholders Publications Team Work With Us Presentations Key Stakeholders Key Stakeholders... View Details

27 Mar 2019
News

Fulfilling Their Promise

The founding of Girls Group began in 2003 with a single handwritten question pulled from a box. A group of middle school girls had scribbled questions onto scraps of paper and dropped them into the box to prompt discussions. The young women were sitting with a group of... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon; mentoring

November 1996
Case

Del Webb Corporation (C), The

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

Dion and the other Del Webb directors were open to having Industrial Equity Pacific (IEP) and Webcott Holdings representation on the board. The IEP representative was perceived as reserved and lacking in sophistication. Cotter of Webcott, however, struck the directors... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Governing and Advisory Boards; Horizontal Integration; Conflict Management

March 1999 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Xerox: Book-In-Time

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Book-In-Time, developed at Xerox, can dramatically reduce the cost of printing "one" book. Combined with the possibilities of digital content storage and transmittal, the new technology has vast opportunities. Xerox needs a commercial plan. The case describes the state... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Distribution; Planning; Opportunities; Commercialization; Technology Adoption; Publishing Industry

08 May 2023
News

How Do I Define My New Role to Set Myself Up for Success?

01 Nov 2018
News

Showing Girls the Possibilities

Ann Fudge (MBA 1977) is the former chairman and CEO of marketing giant Young & Rubicam Brands and serves on a number of corporate boards. In this interview, she talks about another, more personal focus of her efforts and energies. “If I look for the common thread of... View Details

01 Jun 2001
News

Making A Difference: HBS Club of Puget Sound Reaches Out to Young Alumni

Tracy E. Kwiker (MBA 1995) arrived in Seattle three and a half years ago when she was promoted to manage store operations for a Toys “R” Us region in the Pacific Northwest. Eager to establish contacts in her new community, Kwiker began attending HBS Club of Puget Sound... View Details

Keywords: Elena N. Berg

November 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

ConAgra Foods: The Next Chapter

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mary L. Shelman

In 2005, CEO Bruce Rohde has almost completed the integration of ConAgra Foods' collection of 90 independent operating companies into a focused, value-added firm and was beginning to think about his successor. ConAgra had become the second largest food company and No.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Leading Change; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Food; Agribusiness; Product Marketing; Management Teams; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

December 2007
Background Note

Tools and Tactics for Transformation: Three "Whats" and Three "Hows"

By: James K. Sebenius and Stephen Friedman

Important transformation at Goldman Sachs, where one of the authors was Chairman, required analysis, political leadership, and management in order to fundamentally shift the strategy, people, and culture on a sustainable basis. After describing the actions needed to... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Business Strategy; Organizational Culture; Transition; Strategic Planning; Core Relationships; Multinational Firms and Management; Leadership Style; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Equity

Portrait Project

Anne Morriss

Clarice Lispector used the occasion of New Year's Day, 1968 to remind an adoring Brazilian public that "salvation is achieved by taking risks, without which life is worthless." I plan to stop pretending she's wrong. I View Details

February 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Peter Jacobs at Versity.com

By: Leslie A. Perlow

Peter Jacobs is Versity.com's new professional CEO. This case provides a behind-the-scenes look at his thoughts and feelings about the company's evolution as he takes charge and tries to establish a new direction for the company. View Details

Keywords: Perspective; Growth and Development Strategy; Planning; Leadership; Management Teams

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November 1978 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Hanson Industries (B)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Julie H. Hertenstein

Provides a complete description of the processes used in preparing a budget (annual operating plan). Starting with basic product line decisions, management prepares a budget that integrates production and marketing within constraints of financial feasibility. The... View Details

Keywords: Production; Negotiation; Marketing; Financing and Loans; Budgets and Budgeting; Planning