Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(3,415)
- Faculty Publications (692)
- May 1992
- Supplement
Fabtek (B)
By: Rowland T. Moriarty Jr. and Benson P. Shapiro
Presents an urgent order for repair service from an important customer who had purchased an item from a competitor. The item, which TiFab had bid on, went out at a price that TiFab predicted was below the amount necessary to ensure quality manufacture. Now the customer... View Details
- November 1991 (Revised April 1994)
- Case
Taco Bell Corp.
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Roger H. Hallowell
John Martin, Taco Bell CEO, brings the company into line with its competitors through incremental change during the 1980s. In the early 1990s, he adopts breakthrough approaches to improve service levels while reducing prices, providing a distinct competitive advantage.... View Details
- September 1991 (Revised January 1997)
- Case
Manzana Insurance: Fruitvale Branch (Abridged)
Deals with performance assessment and improvement of a service operation in the insurance industry, a market that is highly sensitive to response time. Two branch offices in direct competition are described, and the impact of response time on performance is suggested.... View Details
- 1991
- Article
Job Satisfaction, Service Capability and Customer Satisfaction: An Examination of Linkages and Management Implications
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Jeffrey Zornitsky
Survey data from 1,277 employees and 4,269 customers of a personal lines insurance organization were analyzed with the following results: (a) employee perceptions of service quality are positively related to both job satisfaction and self-perceived service capability;... View Details
- spring 1991
- Article
Breaking the Cycle of Failure in Services
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Heskett
Most managers recognize that good service is a direct result of having effective, productive people in customer contact positions. However, most service companies perpetuate a cycle of failure by tolerating high turnover and expecting employee dissatisfaction. This... View Details
- March 1991 (Revised August 1993)
- Case
ISS--International Service System A/S
- 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
- February 1991
- Case
Burlington Northern: The ARES Decision (A)
By: Julie H. Hertenstein and Robert S. Kaplan
Burlington Northern's decision whether to invest in ARES, an automated train control system, is a ($350 million) strategic investment in information technology. Although set in a service industry (railroad) the issues around this decision arise in many organizations... View Details
- November 1990 (Revised June 1991)
- Case
American Airlines (A): Strategy in the 1990s
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Gary W. Loveman
American Airlines is pursuing a growth strategy through international and domestic route expansion. At the same time, the airline is working hard to cut costs while trying to provide the best customer service possible. Is this strategy achievable given the recent surge... View Details
- October 1990 (Revised March 1993)
- Background Note
Note on Cable Television Regulation
Examines the evolution of the U.S. cable television industry since its inception in the early 1950s. Particular emphasis is given to the roles played by technology, consumer demand, and regulation at both the local and federal level. Designed to facilitate a conceptual... View Details
- September–October 1990
- Article
Zero Defections: Quality Comes to Services
By: F. Reichheld and W. E. Sasser Jr.
Keywords: Quality
- May 1990 (Revised August 1990)
- Case
Campbell Soup Co.
Describes the engineering effort at Campbell Soup Co. to develop a microwavable package and product for the growing convenience segment. Focuses on the role of engineering services in developing the production process, acquiring and installing equipment, and getting... View Details
- March 1990
- Case
Lehrer McGovern Bovis, Inc. (Abridged)
Describes the growth of a construction management company and the operating problems it now encounters. Designed to introduce students to the value of competition in the construction industry, to show how the techniques of value analysis can be used to strategic... View Details
- February 1990 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Merloni Elettrodomestici SpA: The Transit Point Experiment
By: Janice H. Hammond and Maura G Kelly
Merloni Elettrodomestici is a leading Italian manufacturer of domestic appliances. In 1986, an exposition for Merloni customers is scheduled at its Milano regional warehouse. During the two-month period preceding the event, when the warehouse must be free of inventory,... View Details
- January 1990 (Revised February 1990)
- Teaching Note
Sedalia Revisited, Teaching Note
By: Roy D. Shapiro
Teaching Note for (9-687-004). View Details
Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Design; Quality; System; Employees; Framework; Competition; Production; Strategy
- October 1989 (Revised May 1996)
- Case
Xerox Corp.: Leadership Through Quality (A)
By: Todd D. Jick and Leonard A. Schlesinger
Describes the "Leadership Through Quality" effort undertaken by Xerox in the 1980s. Includes the history of Xerox in the 1970s and its need to make major changes in quality by the 1980s. Most of the remainder of the case details the step-by-step process by which Xerox... View Details
- Article
Fly-by-Night Firms and the Market for Product Reviews
By: Gerald R. Faulhaber and Dennis A. Yao
This paper presents a model that permits third-party information provision in a market characterized by information asymmetries and reputation formation. The model is used to examine how the market for information provision affects prices and supply in the primary... View Details
- June 1989 (Revised July 1993)
- Case
CIGNA Worldwide
By: John A. Quelch
A CIGNA Worldwide (CWW) task group of European country directors and key functional managers is meeting in November 1988 to discuss how CWW should respond to the European Community's plan to remove existing internal barriers and restrictions to the free flow of goods... View Details
- February 1989 (Revised October 1994)
- Case
Asahi Breweries Ltd.
Focuses on competitive repositioning, organizational renewal, and personal leadership. Describes how Asahi Breweries was faced with a major capacity expansion decision after succeeding in increasing market share dramatically in the traditionally stable Japanese beer... View Details
- January 1989 (Revised March 1995)
- Case
Du Pont Freon Products Division (A)
In 1988, the Du Pont Co. is abruptly confronted with solid scientific evidence that chlorofluorocarbons are destroying the earth's ozone shield. Du Pont, with its Freon brand product line serving markets for foam insulation, electronics solvents, and especially... View Details