Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,347)
- Faculty Publications (451)
- May 1992 (Revised August 1996)
- Case
NIKE in Transition (A): The Ascendancy of Bob Woodell
Explores Bob Woodell's tenure as Nike's first COO. Describes development of Woodell's management style, his attempts to develop the organization, and his responses to unforeseen business problems. Changing market forces, new competitors, a build-up of low-end... View Details
- October 1991 (Revised November 1993)
- Case
Dynashears, Inc.
By: Thomas R. Piper
A senior loan officer is reviewing the recent performance of a company that has failed to repay its loan as scheduled. The failure results from a cyclical downturn in sales, coupled with a lag in cutting back production. Inventory risk is minimal. Teaching objective:... View Details
- April 1991 (Revised July 1994)
- Case
Southland Corp. (B)
Examines Southland's financial difficulties following the LBO in 1987 up to the first restructuring plan in July 1990. The teaching objectives are: to explore the complexities of a failed leverage buyout and the operating restrictions that result from financial... View Details
- March 1991 (Revised May 1991)
- Case
New York Life Insurance Co.: Pension Department
By: Robert J. Dolan
Analyzes competition in the pension fund industry. In particular, New York Life must decide whether to compete head-to-head with mutual fund giants by offering record-keeping services or to just continue to focus on selling investment products. Presents the results of... View Details
- October 1990
- Article
Bankruptcy, Boards, Banks, and Blockholders: Evidence on Changes in Corporate Ownership and Control When Firms Default
By: S. C. Gilson
In 111 publicly traded firms that either file for bankruptcy or privately restructure their debt between 1979 and 1985, bank lenders frequently become major stockholders or appoint new directors. On average, only 46% of incumbent directors remain when bankruptcy or... View Details
- May 1990 (Revised September 1994)
- Background Note
Note on Financial Reporting Strategy and Analysis When Managers Have Proprietary Information
Provides a framework that helps explain these real-world observations about accounting and financial statement analysis. When managers have superior information on firms' strategies, and when investors suspect that managers have incentives not to fully disclose this... View Details
- March 1990 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A)
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
Describes the incentive system by which Mary Kay Cosmetics motivates the sales force of 200,000 independent agents who comprise the firm's only distribution channel. Illustrates the powerful effect on sales-force behavior that results when creative types of employee... View Details
- October 1987 (Revised November 1991)
- Case
Fiat--1986
By: W. Carl Kester and Richard P. Melnick
Describes Fiat's 1986 Euro-equity offering of $2.1 billion of stock. The offering proved to be highly problematic, particularly for the lead manager, Deutsche Bank, and raises questions about the future of the Euro-equity market. Students are provided opportunities to... View Details
- February 1987 (Revised February 2000)
- Case
Polysar Limited
By: Robert L. Simons
Canada's largest chemical company produces and markets butyl rubber in two divisions, each treated as a profit center. The new plant in the North American Division operates below capacity resulting in a significant volume variance and an operating loss. The European... View Details
- June 1986 (Revised May 1989)
- Case
Biltwell Shears, Inc.
By: Thomas R. Piper
A senior loan officer is reviewing the recent performance of a company that has failed to repay its loan as scheduled. The failure results from a cyclical downturn in sales, coupled with a lag in cutting back production. Inventory risk is minimal. This case is an... View Details
- January 1986 (Revised March 1997)
- Case
Horizon Group
Contains a description of a situation confronting the co-founder of a company planning to produce software for microcomputers. The company has just completed raising money from some wealthy investors by forming an R&D Limited Partnership. Development of the program (an... View Details
- August 1984 (Revised June 1985)
- Teaching Note
Great Depression: Causes and Impact, Teaching Note
- August 1984 (Revised January 1986)
- Case
Great Depression: Causes and Impact
- October 1982
- Supplement
Ideal Standard France: Pat Paterson, Video
A two-part taped interview with Pat Paterson. Paterson describes the action he took in dealing with his company's profit problems, then talks about the outcome. His decision to dismiss 1,500 workers may have accelerated the company's bankruptcy. View Details
- 1980
- Article
Consumer Impulse Purchase and Credit Card Usage: An Empirical Examination Using the Log Linear Model
By: Rohit Deshpandé and S. Krishnan
Most of the work in impulse purchase behavior has investigated the association of socioeconomic variables and unplanned purchases with equivocal results. This paper examines the interrelationship between impulse purchases, credit card usage, cost of items bought, and... View Details
- November 1974 (Revised May 1994)
- Case
Science Technology Co.
By: Thomas R. Piper
The president of a medium-sized electronics company is evaluating the financial forecasts and proposed financing program submitted by the chief financial officer. The forecasts are prepared in constant dollars, on which basis the proposed financing plan seems... View Details
- March 1974 (Revised June 1995)
- Case
First National City Bank Operating Group (B)
By: Jay W. Lorsch
Growth in demands on the bank's "back office" required a totally new approach to management. New stress on systems orientation, objectives, measurement, process design and control has resulted in lower costs, fewer people, and higher quality. Also resulted in fear,... View Details
- March 1974 (Revised June 1996)
- Case
First National City Bank Operating Group (A)
By: Jay W. Lorsch
Growth in the banking field has produced new demands on the "back office." Traditional management practices in check processing and paper handling operations have resulted in ten years of cost increases and quality loss. New manager of the operating group faces an... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Article
Arbitrage Capital of Global Banks
By: Alyssa G. Anerson, Wenxin Du and Bernd Schlusche
We show that the role of unsecured, short-term wholesale funding for global banks has changed significantly in the post-financial-crisis regulatory environment. Global banks mainly use such funding to finance liquid, near risk-free arbitrage positions—in particular,... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Article
Bank Risk-Taking and the Real Economy: Evidence from the Housing Boom and Its Aftermath
By: Antonio Falato, Giovanni Favara and David Scharfstein
We present evidence that pressure to maximize short-term stock prices and earnings leads banks to increase risk. We start by showing that banks increase risk when they transition from private to public ownership through a public listing or an acquisition. The increase... View Details