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- Faculty Publications (793)
- June 1994 (Revised September 1994)
- Background Note
Commercializing Technology: Imaginative Understanding of User Needs
The transformation of technology into commercially successful products is a process fraught with risk and uncertainty, and increasing pressure on time to market is exacerbating the difficulties. This note first describes a study conducted by Hewlett-Packard to improve... View Details
- May 1994 (Revised July 1995)
- Case
Taco Bell--1994
Taco Bell CEO, John Martin, boldly proclaims a growth goal of 200,000 points of access by the year 2000 (the company had approximately 3,600 in 1991). To realize such growth, Martin embraces a philosophy of continual change. The implications for Taco Bell are dramatic... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Food; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Goals and Objectives; Change Management; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Communication; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States
- March 1994 (Revised April 1994)
- Case
Eli Lilly and Co.: The Flexible Facility Decision--1993
By: Gary P. Pisano
In 1993, Eli Lilly is preparing to build manufacturing capacity for three new pharmaceutical products that it expects to launch in 1996. Management wrestles with a decision of whether to add specialized manufacturing capacity or flexible capacity. This question touches... View Details
- March 1994 (Revised October 1994)
- Case
Reading Energy
Reading Energy builds facilities that produce energy from nontraditional fuels. A privately held, entrepreneurial organization, it has spent six years developing a plan to build a waste-to-energy plant in the town of Robbins, Illinois. The plant would burn municipal... View Details
- December 1993 (Revised November 2009)
- Case
Manville Corporation Fiber Glass Group (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Sarah Gant
Manville Corp.'s senior managers must decide how to respond to a new scientific study suggesting that fiberglass, the source of 75% of the company's profits, may be another asbestos and must act under conditions of great uncertainty. In particular, when should a... View Details
- August 1993 (Revised August 1994)
- Background Note
Rhetoric of Change
By: Nitin Nohria
Describes the ways in which managers communicate the need to change, specifically the way in which they use vision, crisis, and transition as rhetorical strategies to mobilize change. Also discusses strategies used by those trying to resist change, setting up what may... View Details
- July 1993 (Revised September 1995)
- Case
Block 16: Conoco's "Green" Oil Strategy (A)
By: Malcolm S. Salter and Susan E.A. Hall
Conoco's attempted to win an oil development contract in Ecuador's tropical rain forest. The case discusses government perspectives, environmental perspectives, and indigenous people's perspectives. Allows role playing in a "negotiating forum" set up by Conoco to get... View Details
- June 1993 (Revised December 1995)
- Case
Frito-Lay, Inc.: The Navigator Project (A)
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Richard O. Mason and Melinda Conrad
Provides an overview of the company's recent organizational changes followed by a discussion of the company's new sales promotion software, "Promotion Planner." The president of Frito-Lay's central division must decide how he should proceed with the rollout of this new... View Details
- April 1993 (Revised July 1994)
- Case
MathSoft, Inc. (A)
MathSoft's VP of sales has doubled the size of the company's direct field sales force to support the launch of a new, high-end workstation software product priced at almost $9,000. However, sales of the new product are far below plan. At the same time, the VP of... View Details
- April 1993 (Revised June 1994)
- Supplement
MathSoft, Inc. (B)
Describes the president's decision regarding MathSoft's marketing channels and communications methods, and the company's sales results during the next five quarters. The (A) case market response model is also updated. View Details
- April 1993 (Revised December 2001)
- Case
General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function (B)
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Katherine Seger
Designed to look at outsourcing from the perspective of a major computer services company trying to get into the business. View Details
Keywords: Communication Technology; Business Startups; Business Plan; Business Strategy; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Financial Management; Management Teams; Communication Strategy; Organizational Design; Product Design; Accounting; Activity Based Costing and Management; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry
- March 1993
- Supplement
Burroughs Wellcome and AZT (B)
Describes Burroughs Wellcome's response to protests over the pricing of its AIDS drug AZT in September 1989. Also presents short-term reactions by government officials, AIDS activists, and investors to Burroughs Wellcome's strategy. View Details
- March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
- Case
IBM After-Sales Service
IBM has established a service delivery system to provide service and maintenance parts for its installed base of computers. The case outlines the competitive pressures IBM faces from alternative providers of maintenance services (e.g. other OEMs, third-party... View Details
- December 1992
- Case
BASF: Corporate Advertising for 1992
By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein
Describes BASF's corporate advertising program in the United States. In 1992, BASF's U.S. companies extended an existing corporate advertising campaign to continue to build awareness of the German-based multinational's corporate identity. The core theme of the campaign... View Details
- December 1992
- Case
Du Pont: Corporate Advertising for 1992
By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein
Describes Du Pont's 1992 corporate advertising campaign, and its objectives and key messages. The campaign is set in the context of Du Pont's historical corporate positioning ("better things for better living"). Includes target audiences, budget considerations, and the... View Details
- November 1992 (Revised May 1993)
- Case
American Mobile Satellite Corporation
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Laura Goode
American Mobile Satellite Corp. (AMSC) has a license to provide wireless mobile communications via satellite throughout the United States and 200 miles of coastal waters. The first satellite launch is scheduled for 1994 and, in the interim, AMSC is providing limited... View Details
- October 1992 (Revised October 1993)
- Case
MCI Communications Corporation: National Accounts Program (Condensed)
Concerns the early stages of a major-account program at MCI, a telecommunications firm seeking to penetrate the corporate-account market. Among the issues are: 1) coordination of field sales efforts with national account selling efforts; 2) sales strategy for major... View Details
- September 1992 (Revised January 2002)
- Case
Chrysler: Iacocca's Legacy
By: Nitin Nohria and Sandy Green
Describes the changes fashioned by Iacocca during his tenure as CEO of the Chrysler Corp. Pays particular attention to the rhetoric he employed in mobilizing change and the actions he took to implement change. View Details
- May 1992 (Revised June 1993)
- Case
Jan Carlzon: CEO at SAS (A)
Describes Jan Carlzon's actions on assuming the CEO's responsibility at SAS in a time of financial and organizational difficulty. After tracing Carlzon's development as a manager, it focuses on the way in which he developed, then communicated a clear and motivating... View Details