Publications

May 2021 (Revised February 2025)
Teaching Note

Migros Turkey: Scaling Online Operations

By: Antonio Moreno and Anibha Singh

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 621-026, 621-027, and 621-062. As Migros, one of Turkey’s largest grocery chains, forays into online groceries, the company faces operational challenges related to inventory management, fulfillment and last mile delivery and strategics... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Management; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey

March 2006
Background Note

Customer-Introduced Variability in Service Operations

By: Frances X. Frei

Presents a typology of customer-introduced variability and offers guidance on how to manage each type. Central to the ideas developed is how to mitigate the effects of the apparent trade-off between reducing variability and diminishing the service experience or... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Six Sigma; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Performance Efficiency

April 2003 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Operational Execution at Arrow Electronics

By: Ananth Raman and Zeynep Ton

Distribution center operations (from order taking to order fulfillment) and the importance of attending to process details at Arrow Electronics, a large distributor of electronic components and computer products are described. The case also details the actions the... View Details

Keywords: Information; Distribution; Logistics; Strategy; Electronics Industry

April 2010
Module Note

Balancing Specialization and Diversification in Operations

By: Robert S. Huckman

This note describes a module—taught as part of Operations Strategy, a second–year MBA elective at Harvard Business School—that helps students understand and manage the tradeoff between specialization and diversification in operations. The module introduces students to... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Diversification; Organizational Design; Curriculum and Courses

April 2012 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Merck: Operating Science-Based Business

By: Ananth Raman, Inga Maurer and William Schmidt

Merck is known for its commitment to investing in basic R&D. Are Merck's long-term investments justifiable when the firm faces extreme earnings pressure? View Details

Keywords: Science-Based Business; Management; Research and Development; Business and Shareholder Relations; Operations; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

The world of retailing has changed dramatically in the past decade. This edited book examines the challenges and opportunities arising from the shift towards omni- channel retail. We examine these issues through the lenses of operations management, emphasizing... View Details

Dataset

Carrefour: Countries of Operation

Dataset

McDonald's: Countries of Operation

February 2016
Exercise

Jim Sharpe: Operational Cash Flow Tool

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

In this exercise, you will examine the cash flow implications of different operating model assumptions and the effect that this has on financing decisions. View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Financing and Loans

30 Jun 2015
News

The History and Future of Operations

Research Summary

Managing the Operating Role of Customers

By: Frances X. Frei

Customers in operating roles introduce considerable variability into the production environment including differences in the demands they impose on the environment and the unpredictability of those demands. When customers are the source of production variability, the... View Details

05 Mar 2019
News

Make Customers Happier with Operational Transparency

Research Summary

Technology and Operations Management

Last updated: Aug 2007

View Details

2013
Other Teaching and Training Material

Operations Management Reading: Forecasting

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Ann B. Winslow

This reading provides an introduction to forecasting methods. It includes a brief summary of methods based on judgment and a longer section on quantitative analysis. It also provides sample data so students can develop an understanding of concepts such as correlation,... View Details

November 1994
Case

Hewlett-Packard: French Manufacturing Operations

By: Robin Cooper, Patricia Bost and Robert S. Kaplan

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Cost Accounting; France

Find at Harvard

November 1999 (Revised June 2011)
Background Note

Accounting for Foreign Operations

By: David F. Hawkins

Students are required to compute and explain the quality annual earnings per share figures and major differences between managing domestic and global operations. View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Financial Statements; International Accounting; Globalized Firms and Management