Publications
Publications
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(2,476)
- Faculty Publications (574)
- February 1998 (Revised September 1998)
- Case
Insteel Wire Products: ABM at Andrews
By: V.G. Narayanan and Ratna G. Sarkar
Insteel implements an activity-based costing (ABC) system in 1996. It finds pallet nails to be its most profitable product and decides to expand the number of cells making pallet nails from two to four. A repeat of the ABC study in 1997 shows pallet nails have become... View Details
- January 1998 (Revised May 1999)
- Case
General Scanning, Inc. (A)
By: H. Kent Bowen, Sean McClenaghan and Charles Tillen
General Scanning, Inc. was founded by Jean Montagu and Pierre Brosens, two MIT mechanical engineers with an interest in developing innovative products based on the early application of lasers. They invented proprietary technology for laser beam positioning and scanning... View Details
- January 1998 (Revised May 1999)
- Case
General Scanning, Inc. (B)
By: H. Kent Bowen, Sean McClenaghan and Charles Tillen
After meeting with a mediator, Montagu and Davis decided their goals were not in accordance, and Davis left General Scanning. Montagu and Brosens wrote three-year objectives for the company and proceeded to search for a new professional manager. Chuck Winston took on... View Details
- December 1997 (Revised May 2017)
- Teaching Note
Kidder, Peabody & Co.: Creating Elusive Profits
By: Robert Simons and Antonio Dávila
Teaching Note for (9-197-038). View Details
- November 1997
- Case
Colly Cotton Ltd.
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay
Colly Farm is an entrepreneurial cotton farm complex that has to compete on a world market. In going public it has to satisfy the market that it can remain profitable in volatile times. View Details
- November 1997 (Revised February 1998)
- Case
WESCO Distribution, Inc.
By: Das Narayandas
In 1996, WESCO, a national distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, charted out a growth of 6 to 8 percent in sales, and 12 to 16 percent in profitability over the next five years. The centerpiece of this growth strategy is the National Accounts (NA) program... View Details
- October 1997 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
C-Car
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell
C-Car was the first automobile retailer in the United States to go public. Subsequently the owner, Mr. Gilliland, must decide how to invest the capital raised from the public ownership. This case describes in detail C-Car's highly profitable strategy of managing its... View Details
- July 1997 (Revised June 2001)
- Case
H.E. Butt Grocery Company: A Leader in ECR Implementation (B) (Abridged)
By: Robert D. Austin and F. Warren McFarlan
H.E. Butt Grocery Co. led the grocery industry in adopting many innovations, including category management, electronic data interchange, and continuous replenishment. They have also moved aggressively and profitably into newer applications such as Scanner-based payment... View Details
Keywords: Information Management; Independent Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Invention; Business Organization; Risk and Uncertainty; Science-Based Business; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Risk Management; Electronics Industry; Computer Industry
- July 1997 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
Chase Manhattan Corporation: The Making of America's Largest Bank
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Cedric Escalle
Chase Bank and Chemical Bank intend to merge, producing the largest commercial bank in the United States, the fourth largest in the world. Projected financial benefits under the merger reflect significant planned reduction in operating costs, including 17,000 employee... View Details
- June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
- Case
Mobil USM&R (A1)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
First of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. Split from the original (A) case to give students an opportunity to suggest objectives and measures for the division's initial BSC, without... View Details
- 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
- April 1997
- Background Note
Note on Value Drivers
By: Benjamin C. Esty
Presents a framework for analyzing strategic decisions. Takes as given the practice of value-based management whereby managers use value as a primary criterion when making financial, strategic, or investment decisions. Through a simple valuation model, it shows how... View Details
Keywords: Decisions; Equity; Financial Strategy; Investment; Profit; Framework; Growth Management; Value Creation
- March 1997 (Revised March 1997)
- Case
Business Teams at Rubbermaid, Inc.
By: Teresa M. Amabile and Dean Whitney
Rubbermaid, a consumer-products company widely praised for its innovation, has instituted a company-wide experiment to stimulate innovation even further. The experiment consists of creating small cross-functional business teams within each division, with each team... 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 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
- February 1997
- Case
Transportation Displays, Incorporated (D): Exiting from a Successful Restructuring
By: Stuart C. Gilson, Vincent Hemmer, Eric Rahe, David Shorrock and Stephen Voorhis
Following a successful corporate turnaround and, more recently, a leveraged recapitalization, management of a highly profitable, fast--growing outdoor advertising company must consider alternative ways to harvest cash flow from the company without jeopardizing the... View Details
- January 1997
- Background Note
Buy Low, Sell High: Creating and Extracting Customer Value by Enhancing Organizational Performance
Provides an integrated framework for creating customer value and managing the firm profitably. Focuses on the use of product/service line management and effective customer service to achieve customer satisfaction and high profitability. View Details
- 1997
- Simulation
Managing Customers For Profits - Interactive CD-ROM Simulation
By: N. Narayandas and Steve Peterson
- October 1996 (Revised December 1996)
- Case
United Electric Controls
By: H. Kent Bowen, Jody H. Gittell and Sylvie Ryckebusch
United Electric Controls (UE) was a small, traditional family-owned manufacturing company when Dave Reis, the youngest member of the Reis family, took over the business. This case describes Reis's efforts to change UE's traditional work practices in order to make the... View Details
- September 1996 (Revised June 1997)
- Case
QVC, Inc.
Illustrates the "Service Profit Chain" in action. QVC, whose initials stand for Quality, Value,, and Convenience, demonstrates clearly how a strong customer focus can lead to establishing a strong franchise in the retail sector and a highly profitable business whose... View Details