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- All HBS Web
(6,380)
- People (3)
- News (1,187)
- Research (4,399)
- Events (32)
- Multimedia (61)
- Faculty Publications (2,837)
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- 31 Jan 2018
- Research & Ideas
American Idle: Workers Spend Too Much Time Waiting for Something to Do
Paul Bradbury American workers are usually a pretty busy bunch, yet their time spent idle costs employers an estimated $100 billion per year, according to a new study from Harvard Business School. “We suspected idle time might be more... View Details
Keywords: by Michael Blanding
- September 1989 (Revised December 1989)
- Case
Siemens Electric Motor Works (A) and (B) (Combined)
Explores how a cost system can help support a firm's decision to change strategies. In the process, students are exposed to a simple activity-based cost system. Also examines Siemens policy for transferring products between sales and manufacturing divisions. Transfer... View Details
Cooper, Robin, and Karen Wruck. "Siemens Electric Motor Works (A) and (B) (Combined)." Harvard Business School Case 190-052, September 1989. (Revised December 1989.)
- December 2023
- Article
What Can Stockouts Tell Us About Inflation? Evidence from Online Micro Data
By: Alberto Cavallo and Oleksiy Kryvtsov
We use a detailed micro dataset on product availability and stockouts to construct a direct high-frequency measure of consumer product shortages during the 2020-2022 pandemic. We document a widespread multi-fold rise in stockouts in nearly all sectors early in the... View Details
Keywords: Prices; Stockouts; Inventories; Supply Disruptions; COVID-19 Pandemic; Supply Chain; Product; Demand and Consumers
Cavallo, Alberto, and Oleksiy Kryvtsov. "What Can Stockouts Tell Us About Inflation? Evidence from Online Micro Data." Journal of International Economics 146 (December 2023).
- August 2012 (Revised November 2012)
- Case
Colorscope, Inc. (Abridged)
By: V.G. Narayanan
A small company in the graphic design business faces severe price competition. The company must respond by cutting costs and making process improvements. View Details
Keywords: Cost Management; Price; Business Processes; Performance Improvement; Competition; Fine Arts Industry
Narayanan, V.G. "Colorscope, Inc. (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 113-025, August 2012. (Revised November 2012.)
- October 1990
- Case
Beauregard Textile Co.
By: Francis Aguilar
The sales manager and controller have to decide on a price for a textile that lost significant market share as a result of a recent price increase. Information on manufacturing costs and on the pricing behavior of Beauregard and its only competitor are available for... View Details
Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Inflation and Deflation; Consumer Behavior; Apparel and Accessories Industry
Aguilar, Francis. "Beauregard Textile Co." Harvard Business School Case 191-058, October 1990.
- 07 Mar 2018
- Research & Ideas
Electronic Health Records Were Supposed to Cut Medical Costs. They Haven't.
much evidence for that,” says coauthor Robert S. Kaplan, senior fellow and Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. The research, conducted at Duke University Medical Center in 2016 and 2017, found that generating a single... View Details
- October 1994
- Case
Kamakura Ironworks Company, Ltd.
Describes cost management techniques in a supplier chain in the Japanese automotive industry. Exposes students to interorganizational cost management systems and explores when cost systems are required and when they can be switched off. Also illustrates supportive... View Details
Cooper, Robin, and Takeo Yoshikawa. "Kamakura Ironworks Company, Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 195-056, October 1994.
- March 1989 (Revised March 1999)
- Case
Metabo GmbH & Co. KG
By: Robert S. Kaplan
A privately owned German power tool company was dissatisfied with its existing cost system. The system could not produce timely accurate reports on cost center operations, and newly purchased automated machines were attracting large overhead costs. A new, highly... View Details
Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Cost; Budgets and Budgeting; Capital Budgeting; Cost Management; Reports; Private Ownership; Business or Company Management; Consumer Products Industry; Germany
Kaplan, Robert S. "Metabo GmbH & Co. KG." Harvard Business School Case 189-146, March 1989. (Revised March 1999.)
- Article
A Public Option Can Be a Triple Win for U.S. Healthcare
By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard Boxer
The United States needs to control healthcare costs and quality while reaching universal coverage. The strongest choice is a public option that allows people to choose between Medicare and private payers. But a public option needs sustainable financing mechanisms that... View Details
Keywords: Healthcare; Public Option; Universal Health Coverage; Health Care and Treatment; Cost Management; Quality; United States
Herzlinger, Regina E., and Richard Boxer. "A Public Option Can Be a Triple Win for U.S. Healthcare." Health Management, Policy and Innovation 4, no. 3 (December 2019).
- Article
The Re-Industrialization of the United States?
By: Willy C. Shih
Talk of "re-industrialization" in the United States has been supported by a seeming resurgence in manufacturing, but this is driven more by the end of labor arbitrage and increasing coordination costs of offshore manufacturing. Aggressive restructurings and significant... View Details
Keywords: U.S. Competitiveness; Re-industrialization; Re-shoring; Operations; Production; Supply and Industry; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Geographic Location; Geography; Globalization; Globalized Economies and Regions; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Labor; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Electronics Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; China; European Union
Shih, Willy C. "The Re-Industrialization of the United States?" Wirtschaftspolitische Blätter 60, no. 2 (Second Quarter 2013): 297–312.
- April 2014 (Revised January 2015)
- Background Note
Note on Mobile Healthcare
By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez
Delivering health care to the global population was a challenge. Health care costs accounted for ten percent of world GDP by 2013. In the U.S., health care costs were expected to top $3.1 trillion in 2014. New technologies, shortages of trained personnel and... View Details
Keywords: Health Care; Mobile; Mobile App; Public Health; Startups; Hardware; Software; Telemedicine; Global; Medical Devices; Medical Services; Medical Solutions; Entrepreneurs; Government And Business; Technological Change; Health Care and Treatment; Entrepreneurship; Government and Politics; Technological Innovation; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Health Industry; Technology Industry
Quelch, John A., and Margaret L. Rodriguez. "Note on Mobile Healthcare." Harvard Business School Background Note 514-122, April 2014. (Revised January 2015.)
- February 2006 (Revised September 2006)
- Case
Sippican Corporation (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Presents a time-driven version of the Wilkerson Co. activity-based costing case (101092). Faced with declining profits, Sippican Corp. is struggling to understand why it is encountering severe price competition on one product line. The controller collects data that... View Details
Keywords: History; Business Model; Strategic Planning; Cost Accounting; Motivation and Incentives; Resource Allocation; Activity Based Costing and Management; Profit; Business Strategy; Budgets and Budgeting
Kaplan, Robert S. "Sippican Corporation (A)." Harvard Business School Case 106-058, February 2006. (Revised September 2006.)
- November 1990 (Revised February 1991)
- Case
Commonwealth Blood Transfusion Service
For the first time, the Commonwealth Blood Transfusion Service (CBTS) has to determine product costs for the output of its plasma fractionation center. The motivation for determining product costs is political in nature. Therefore, the CBTS has to find a way to report... View Details
Cooper, Robin. "Commonwealth Blood Transfusion Service." Harvard Business School Case 191-087, November 1990. (Revised February 1991.)
- November 2006 (Revised December 2012)
- Background Note
Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures
Describes the cost structure and spending policies of U.S. public school districts. View Details
Childress, Stacey M., and Stig Leschly. "Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures." Harvard Business School Background Note 307-070, November 2006. (Revised December 2012.)
- November 1984 (Revised March 1999)
- Case
Mayers Tap, Inc. (B)
Mayers Tap, Inc. has decided to redesign its cost system. In this case, the budgeted costs have to be allocated to the machine level. The teaching objective is to demonstrate two-stage allocation and the sensitivity of cost data to allocation base selection. View Details
Cooper, Robin. "Mayers Tap, Inc. (B)." Harvard Business School Case 185-025, November 1984. (Revised March 1999.)
- 2002
- Case
Southwest Airlines
By: Vijay Govindarajan and Julie Lang
Southwest used its short-haul and point-to-point strategy to achieve the lowest operating cost structure in the domestic airline industry. Flexible contracts and a rigorous peer recruiting process aligned its 35,000 employees with this strategy. View Details
- June 2010 (Revised February 2011)
- Case
The Fox Islands Wind Project (A)
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, James Thomas Corcoran, Max Gazor, Dylan Hogarty and Alexander H. Somers, Jr.
The market for electricity on the Fox Islands of North Haven and Vinalhaven, Maine is unique and costly for residents. Historically, electricity prices on the islands had been three times the national average because of the high cost of importing electricity via an... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Cost; Financing and Loans; Projects; Business and Community Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry; Maine
Lassiter, Joseph B., III, James Thomas Corcoran, Max Gazor, Dylan Hogarty, and Alexander H. Somers, Jr. "The Fox Islands Wind Project (A)." Harvard Business School Case 810-129, June 2010. (Revised February 2011.)
- October 2016 (Revised January 2017)
- Background Note
The U.S. Health Club Industry, 2005–2016
By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth
In 2015, the U.S. health-club industry generated revenues of $25.8 billion, up from $14.8 billion in 2004. Members of health clubs accounted for 17% of the population, up from 14%. The number of clubs had grown from 26,830 in 2004 to 36,180. In the process, the list of... View Details
Keywords: Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Obesity; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; YMCA; Gold's Gym; Curves; Franchise; Franchising; Subscription; Promotional Sales; Promotions; Fixed Costs; Body; Business Ventures; Strategy; Health; Investment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Health Industry; United States
Wells, John R., and Gabriel Ellsworth. "The U.S. Health Club Industry, 2005–2016." Harvard Business School Background Note 717-421, October 2016. (Revised January 2017.)
- 29 Jun 2016
- Research & Ideas
The $1 Trillion Link Between Mental Health and Economic Productivity
In April, the World Health Organization released a groundbreaking study that established a definitive link between mental health and economic productivity. The findings were both depressing and hopeful. On the downside, depression and anxiety disorders View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel
- February 2019
- Article
Who Benefits Most in Disease Management Programs: Improving Target Efficiency
By: Timothy Simcoe, Maryaline Catillon and Paul Gertler
Disease management programs aim to reduce cost by improving the quality of care for chronic diseases. Evidence of their effectiveness is mixed. Reducing health care spending sufficiently to cover program costs has proved particularly challenging. This study uses a... View Details
Keywords: Health Economics; Target Efficiency; Diabetes; Disease Management; Program Evaluation; Heterogeneity; Economics; Health; Quality; Health Care and Treatment; Cost Management; Health Industry
Simcoe, Timothy, Maryaline Catillon, and Paul Gertler. "Who Benefits Most in Disease Management Programs: Improving Target Efficiency." Health Economics 28, no. 2 (February 2019): 189–203.