Publications

SSRN

August 2001 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Operations at the Donner Company

By: H. Kent Bowen

A small manufacturer of circuit boards faces product and operations-management problems. This case analyzes the production capacity at various stages and examines bottlenecks and product flow decisions. A detailed look at the problems and a discussion of the tools and... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Production; Performance Capacity; Business Processes; Logistics; Electronics Industry; Manufacturing Industry

2021
Working Paper

Granular Corporate Hedging Under Dominant Currency

By: Laura Alfaro, Mauricio Calani and Liliana Varela

Foreign currency use can be a source of risk associated with currency mismatches, which firms can hedge using FX derivatives. This paper uncovers five novel facts about firms’ use of foreign currency (FX) derivatives employing a unique dataset covering the universe of... View Details

Keywords: FX Derivatives; Hedging; Currency; Cash Flow; Emerging Markets; Chile

October 1981 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Walton Instruments Manufacturing--1980

Provides an opportunity for students to examine the impact of different manufacturing control methods on the manufacturing infrastructure. Information flow, inventory control, quality control and process flows interact and different trade-offs are examined. Introduces... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Infrastructure

Find at Harvard

1 Mar 2012
Talk

German Health Care: Moving to a Value-Based System

By: Michael E. Porter

Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School assesses the German health care system and offers suggestions for reforming to a value-based system, where rewards flow to those practices performing best. Introduced by Karl Lauterbach, professor of health economics and... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Germany

Article

Contextual Intelligence

By: Tarun Khanna

The author has come to a conclusion that may surprise you: trying to apply management practices uniformly across geographies is a fool's errand. Best practices simply don't travel well across borders. That's because conditions not just of economic development but of... View Details

Find at Harvard

January 2009
Article

Spatial Diversity in Invention: Evidence from the Early R&D Labs

By: Tom Nicholas

This article uses historical data on inventor and firm R&D lab locations to examine the technological and geographic structure of corporate knowledge capital accumulation during a formative period in the organization of US innovation. Despite the localization of... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Geographic Location; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Knowledge Acquisition; Research and Development; United States

Find at Harvard

Previous research has shown that network centralization—the degree to which communication flows disproportionately through one or more members—interferes with collective problem-solving by obstructing the integration of ideas, information, and solutions. But this... View Details

TeachingInterests

Finance I

By: Archie L. Jones

This course examines the role of finance in supporting the functional areas of a firm, and fosters an understanding of how financial decisions themselves can create value.

Topics covered include:

Basic analytical skills and principles of... View Details

12 Jan 2017
News

Bond Covenants and Skeptic Skepticism

08 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Monetary Policy and Global Banking

Keywords: by Falk Bräuning and Victoria Ivashina; Banking

January 1993 (Revised October 1994)
Background Note

Note on Adjusted Present Value

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Describes the "adjusted present value" (APV) approach to discounted cash flow analysis. Much of the note is devoted to a critical comparison of APV and an approach based on the wrighted average cost of capital (WACC). Argues that APV is usually, if not always, simpler,... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Cost of Capital

August 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Jones Lang LaSalle: Reorganizing around the Customer (2005)

By: Ranjay Gulati and Lucia Menzer Marshall

Peter Roberts, CEO of Jones, Lang, LaSalle (JLL) Americas division, has been charged with expanding the company's presence in its core geographic markets while simultaneously growing its corporate account business. Roberts and his task force have narrowed their options... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Real Estate Industry

October 2023 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Rheaply: Circularity For Every Business

By: Rembrand Koning and Alicia Dadlani

In March 2023, Garry Cooper, cofounder and CEO of Chicago-based Rheaply, needed to demonstrate that Rheaply’s expanded vision could translate into building cash flows and metrics needed to raise a Series B and turn the business into a model for financial and... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Social Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Entrepreneurial Finance; Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

October 1995
Background Note

Coordination: An Overview

By: Ananth Raman

Designed to accompany Module II of the first-year required course on Technology and Operations Management. Particularly useful in conjunction with Corning Glass Works: Erwin Automotive Plant, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc., Johnson Controls, Automotive... View Details

Keywords: Management; Operations; Technology; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

October 2000 (Revised November 2018)
Exercise

Web-Based Beer Game Exercise

By: Janice H. Hammond

The Web-based beer game is an exercise that demonstrates supply channel dynamics. Simulates the flow of material and information in a simplified channel of beer production and distribution, focusing on the linkages between a beer manufacturer, its distributors, a... View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Production

31 Mar 2020
News

Companies Form #paytoday Coalition Encouraging Enterprises And Government Agencies To Pay Their Small Business Suppliers Today

February 1999 (Revised March 2004)
Case

JAFCO America Ventures, Inc.: Building A Venture Capital Firm

By: Walter Kuemmerle, Kiichiro Kobayashi and Chad S Ellis

JAFCO, a large Japanese venture capital firm, is making a second attempt to enter the U.S. venture capital market. The U.S. subsidiary, JAFCO America Ventures, is in the midst of a challenging turnaround. Going forward, the U.S. subsidiary's leadership needs to make a... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Market Entry and Exit; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Japan; United States

June 1994 (Revised October 1999)
Background Note

Beer Game, The: Board Version

By: Janice H. Hammond

The beer game is an exercise that demonstrates supply channel dynamics. Simulates the flow of material and information in a simplified channel of beer production and distribution, focusing on the linkages among a beer manufacturer, its distributors, a wholesaler, and a... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Information; Distribution Channels; Production; Supply Chain Management; Problems and Challenges