Publications

July 2005 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Understanding Customer Profitability at Charles Schwab

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

Charles Schwab is transforming into a customer-centric organization. Central to this cultural and organizational change is the utilization of customer profitability at different decision-making levels. Examines several technical aspects of the ABC cost system, as well... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Activity Based Costing and Management; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Profit; Performance Evaluation; Budgets and Budgeting

November 2014 (Revised January 2016)
Teaching Note

CFW Clinics in Kenya: To Profit or Not for Profit

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

December 2003
Article

Profit Globally, Give Globally

By: John A. Quelch and V. Kasturi Rangan

Keywords: Profit; Global Range; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

Find at Harvard

fall 1992
Article

Trust, Uncertainty, and Profit

By: A. V. Bhide and H. H. Stevenson

Keywords: Trust; Profit; Risk and Uncertainty

Find at Harvard

08 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

A Balanced Scorecard Approach To Measure Customer Profitability

Yet amid all these measures of customer success, some companies lose sight of the ultimate objective: to make a profit from selling products and services. In their zeal to delight customers, these companies actually lose money with them.... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

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

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Family and Family Relationships; Market Design; Management Systems; Planning; Profit; Performance Evaluation; Segmentation; Corporate Strategy; Investment Return; Publishing Industry

19 Jan 2017
News

Finding Purpose in Profit

expanding her focus to principles as well as profits has enabled her to become more the person she hoped to be when growing up. “I’m sure some measure of feeling abandoned—by my mom through death, by my dad through sadness and alcoholism,... View Details

Keywords: Robert S. Benchley; B corporations

July 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Background Note

Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Pricing and Profitability Analysis

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: Forecasting and Prediction; Price; Profit; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Measurement and Metrics; Strategic Planning; Mathematical Methods; Retail Industry

Article

Interfirm Profitability Differences: Comment

By: M. E. Porter, R. E. Caves and B. T. Gale

Keywords: Profit

Find at Harvard

“This comprehensive layman's guide is a must-read for senior management, boards, committees, and their advisors. Writing in largely non-technical language, the expert authors provide the most concise and complete road map to understanding, preventing,... View Details

01 Oct 2018
News

For Profit and Nonprofit

Carla Harris (MBA 1987) is vice chairman of Morgan Stanley and a 2018 recipient of the HBS Alumni Achievement Award. In this interview she talks about how her role allows the opportunity to work with nonprofits in a variety of ways. “Being a banker, I often get the... View Details

Keywords: Finance

01 Aug 2017
News

Finding Purpose in Profit

Growing up, Kim Coupounas (MBA/MPA 1995) explored careers as varied as attorney and Anglican priest. “I knew that I wanted to lead and to fight for justice and social good,” she says. “Ironically, I’m doing that now but on a far different path than I originally... View Details

02 Jul 2010
What Do You Think?

Is Profit as a “Direct Goal” Overrated?

Summing Up Why do managers choose to pursue profit so directly? The word "profit" in this month's column provoked a wide range of issues and emotions among respondents. It set off several debates. They ranged from definitions of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

07 Feb 2017
News

The Prophet of Profit

07 Aug 2023
Video

Technology, Race, and Profits

February 2003
Other Article

The Emergence and Sustainability of Abnormal Profits

By: Michael E. Porter and Anita M. McGahan

In this paper, we examine the emergence and the sustainability of abnormal profits among businesses that were part of U.S. public corporations between 1981 and 1994 and that reported financial results for at least six years. Our results reveal strong asymmetries... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; United States