Publications
Publications
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(2,313)
- Faculty Publications (591)
- March 1997 (Revised August 2017)
- Case
Compagnie du Froid, S.A.
By: Robert Simons and Antonio Dávila
The owner of an ice cream company must evaluate the performance of three regional businesses. To do the analysis, students must flex the budget by seasonal temperature; calculate revenue, volume, price, and efficiency variances; analyze the effects of transfer prices;... View Details
- 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
- February 1997 (Revised June 1999)
- Background Note
Committed and Flexible Resources
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Stresses the difference between costs committed in advance of knowing actual demand (committed costs) and cost incurred proportional to demand. Committed costs appear fixed since their supply is independent of the amount actually used. Flexible resources are supplied... View Details
Keywords: Cost
- February 1997 (Revised July 2001)
- Background Note
Introduction to Activity-Based Costing
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Introduces the fundamental notions of activity-based costing (ABC). Motivates ABC by means of a simple example, a single and a diversified pen factory. Proceeds to show how ABC assigns costs more accurately to products and customers by: 1) identifying the activities... View Details
Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management
- February 1997 (Revised March 1998)
- Case
Smith Breeden Associates: The Equity Plus Fund (A)
By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel
In early 1997, Smith Breeden Associates, a money management and consulting firm, was pondering the future of the Equity Plus Fund. The Equity Plus Fund was an S&P enhanced-index fund that tried to outperform the S&P Index by replicating the index using low-cost... View Details
- February 1997 (Revised April 1997)
- Case
Harrington Financial Group
By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel
In early 1997, Harrington Bank, a small Indiana savings and loan (thrift) wondered what its next move should be. Harrington was acquired in 1988 by the principals of Smith Breeden Associates, a money-management and consulting firm specializing in the application of... View Details
- December 1996 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Kidder, Peabody & Co.: Creating Elusive Profits
By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila
On April 17, 1994, Kidder, Peabody & Co. announced a $350 million charge against earnings resulting from the discovery of false trading profits. That same day, the termination of Joseph Jett's employment with the company was made public. By illustrating the mechanics... View Details
- September 1996 (Revised May 1997)
- Case
Mobil USM&R (C): Lubricants Business Unit
By: Robert S. Kaplan
The general manager of a Lubricants Business Unit in Mobil's U.S. Marketing and Refining division launched a project to develop a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) for his unit. The purpose was to provide focus for all employees of the unit, enabling it to operate on an... View Details
- September 1996
- Case
Automatic Data Processing: The EFS Decision (Abridged)
By: Robert L. Simons
The managing director of one of ADP's divisions must recommend whether to divest, harvest, or grow the division. Recent performance has been excellent and the near-term outlook for profitability is very promising. Despite some strategic concerns, the strong financial... View Details
- August 1996 (Revised December 1999)
- Case
J Boats, Inc.
By: Robert L. Simons
During the 20-year evolution of a family-owned, entrepreneurial sailboat company, two founders leverage their design and marketing skills to build one of the most recognized brands in the recreational boating industry. The founder then considers management succession... View Details
- July – August 1996
- Article
Manage Marketing by the Customer Equity Test
By: Robert C. Blattberg and J. A. Deighton
- June 1996 (Revised November 1996)
- Background Note
Economic Gains from Trade: Comparative Advantage
By: Robert E. Kennedy and Nancy F. Koehn
How nations trade and whether they benefit from it are two of the oldest and most important questions in political economy. In the 170 years since David Ricardo formally developed the theory of comparative advantage, it has become one of the principles most widely... View Details
- April 1996
- Case
Confronting the Third Industrial Revolution
By: David A. Moss
Comprises three pieces. The first piece, which forms the body of the case, is adapted from a speech delivered by the author before the Harvard Business School Political Forum in early 1995. Originally entitled "The Economic Foundations of American Social Policy:... View Details
- February 1996
- Case
Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
The pharmaceutical division of a diversified company has been asked to develop a Balanced Scorecard. Research and development projects take about ten years to bring a new product to the marketplace and the division depends on good relations and active feedback from its... View Details
- February 1996 (Revised November 2003)
- Case
Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
A new administration in the City of Indianapolis is initially determined to privatize many municipal services. Before taking this action, however, the city managers want to know the current cost of performing these services with the municipal workers. Existing... View Details
- 1996
- Article
Limits on Interest Rate Rules in the IS Model
By: William R. Kerr and Robert G. King
There has been a substantial amount of research on interest rate rules. This literature finds that the feasibility and desirability of interest rate rules depends on the structure of the model used to approximate macroeconomic reality. We employ a series of... View Details
- 1995
- Working Paper
Managing Marketing by the Customer Equity Criterion
By: Robert C. Blattberg and John Deighton
- September 1995 (Revised June 1996)
- Background Note
Preparing and Using the Statement of Cash Flows
By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila
Explains the concepts and procedures behind the statement of cash flows. Presents an overview of the reporting objectives of this report, and describes in detail the preparation of the cash flow statement using both the indirect method and the direct method. A complete... View Details