Publications

July 1990
Case

Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (B)

By: Kim B. Clark and Brent D. Barnett

Ceramics Process Systems (CPS) is an advanced ceramics company facing problems with lead time in product/process development, and late delivery of prototype parts to its customers. Engineering is confronted with difficult technical problems and multiple objectives... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Business Processes; Management Practices and Processes; Supply Chain Management; Machinery and Machining; Goals and Objectives; Resource Allocation; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Manufacturing Industry

07 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 7

return on their flagship investment. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/search/113058-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 313-110 Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter? Google's View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

29 May 2013
Blog Post

“A place to grow personally and professionally.” - Yolanda Anton

Every individual is a prism with many faces. This is why, when HBS requested a short introduction of me, my mind went blank. Who should I talk about? Should I talk about the certified project manager who led... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Technology

October 2003 (Revised November 2003)
Case

Foremostco, Inc. (A)

Describes the rocky transition from an outdated, nonintegrated information system to a new customized system built by programmers in a small, IT-dependent foliage company that distributes plant material. The old system has increasingly become a "burning platform," but... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Information Technology; Crisis Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

27 Sep 2015
News

Pharma gives drug development the Hollywood treatment

16 Apr 2013
News

New Guidelines to Help Companies Report on Sustainability Issues

July 1993
Case

Richardson Hindustan Limited (Abridged)

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Deals with the problems of a country manager building and balancing a constituency relationship. Explicitly examines the demands and responsiveness of four major constituencies: corporate headquarters; the national organization; the Indian government; and the public... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Business and Government Relations; Adoption; Multinational Firms and Management; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; India

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September 2008
Supplement

Adobe Systems: Working Towards a "Suite" Release (B)

By: David A. Thomas and Lauren Barley

The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to launch Creative Suite 3, the biggest software release in the company's 25-year history. The protagonist, Yvonne Murray, is a group program... View Details

Keywords: Change; Interpersonal Communication; Crisis Management; Product Launch; Projects; Conflict of Interests; Integration; Software

September 2008
Case

Adobe Systems: Working Towards a "Suite" Release (A)

By: David A. Thomas and Lauren Barley

The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to launch Creative Suite 3, the biggest software release in the company's 25-year history. The protagonist, Yvonne Murray, is a group program... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Product Launch; Projects; Groups and Teams; Conflict Management; Power and Influence

March 1998 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Concordia Electronic Systems Test

By: Thomas R. Piper

The management of an electronics company must decide whether to use a single hurdle rate for all projects or to move to a system of different hurdle rates for each of its two divisions. The divisions differ substantially in terms of risk and seem to have substantially... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Risk and Uncertainty; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Business Divisions; Electronics Industry

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Alan MacCormack is the MBA Class of 1949 Adjunct Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, a member of The Digital, Data, and Design (D^3) Institute at Harvard, and a core faculty member... View Details

Keywords: automotive; communications; computer; e-commerce industry; electronics; high technology; information technology industry; internet; semiconductor; software; telecommunications; venture capital industry

June 2021
Case

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments): April 2021

By: Josh Lerner, Reza Satchu and Alys Ferragamo

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is one of the largest pools of investment capital in the world and follows a rigorous “Total Portfolio Framework” in its approach to investment management. In April of 2021, John Graham was just two months into his role... View Details

Keywords: Pension Funds; Investment Strategy; Capital Markets; Financial Strategy; Investment; Asset Management; Financial Institutions; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Assets; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry; Canada

January 2015
Teaching Plan

Residencial Los Andes

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas and Lisa Strope

In 2011, Mauricio Levitin and Josef Preschel, Managing Directors of Peninsula Investments Group (Peninsula) are deciding whether or not to recapitalize an equity investment in Residencial Los Andes, a residential development project in Santiago, Chile, or exit and take... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Property; Real Estate Industry; Chile

Tony Mayo is the Thomas S. Murphy Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator in the Organizational Behavior Unit of Harvard Business School (HBS). He currently teaches and serves as the course head for... View Details

Keywords: advertising; airline; education industry; nonprofit industry; publishing industry; service industry

August 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Waltz on the Danube

By: Arthur I Segel, Vincent Dessain and Anais Loizillon

Describes the intricate parts of an early real estate deal from the standpoint of the developer including feasibility analysis, market choice, acquisition of land, project development, design and construction issues, investment returns, and equity financing issues.... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Management; Property; Project Finance; Real Estate Industry; Germany; Hungary

October 2001
Case

SchoolSuccess.net

By: James E. Austin and Arthur McCaffrey

The mission of the nonprofit Jumpstart for Young Children was to address the problem of school readiness of low-income family preschoolers. It had been growing significantly, and to achieve its projected expansion would require major increases in funding. After... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Early Childhood Education; Venture Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Startups; Management Teams

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December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney (A): Negotiating a Client Service Predicament

By: Ashish Nanda

Sherif Mityas, recently promoted as project manager at A.T. Kearney, faced a client service challenge in his very first project experience. Mityas had been working closely for six weeks with the management team of the U.S. subsidiary of a Japan-headquartered consumer... View Details

Keywords: Management; Conflict of Interests; Business Subsidiaries; Trust; Consumer Products Industry; Japan; United States

October 2001 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Le Petit Chef

By: Alan D. MacCormack, Sandra J. Sucher and Suraj Rangashayi

Brigitte Gagne, Le Petit Chef's director of microwave R&D, is deciding on the product development agenda for next year. She has to decide which of the available projects to fund, and evaluate the overall portfolio of projects currently under development. The recent... View Details

Keywords: Production; Product Development; Projects; Planning; Research and Development; Performance; Problems and Challenges; Management Teams; Resource Allocation