Publications

March 1987 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Au Bon Pain: The French Bakery Cafe, The Partner/Manager Program

By: W. Earl Sasser

In recent years, Au Bon Pain (ABP), a chain of upscale French bakeries/sandwich cafes based in Boston, confronted a set of human resource problems endemic to the fast food industry (i.e., a labor shortage which made it difficult to attract and maintain quality crew... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Managerial Roles; Retention; Employees; Performance Improvement; Recruitment; Problems and Challenges; Compensation and Benefits; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry; Boston

January 1987 (Revised March 1987)
Case

MCI Communications Corp.: National Accounts Program

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Keywords: Telecommunications Industry

August 1986 (Revised February 1991)
Supplement

Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh, Video

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Population Services International, a not-for-profit agency founded to promote family planning information and to market birth control products, had an agreement with the government of Bangladesh to conduct a social marketing program using modern marketing techniques to... View Details

Keywords: Social Marketing; Health; Advertising; Marketing; Nonprofit Organizations; Government and Politics; Agreements and Arrangements; Health Industry; Bangladesh

April 1986 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Alloy Rods Corp.

By: Frank V. Cespedes

In July of 1985 the managers of Alloy Rods (who recently purchased the company through a leveraged buyout arrangement) find that their chief competitor (a company more than 6 times as large as Alloy Rods) has introduced a new product clearly aimed at Alloy's most... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Business Strategy; Business or Company Management; Financial Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Product Development

January 1986 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Horizon Group

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a situation confronting the co-founder of a company planning to produce software for microcomputers. The company has just completed raising money from some wealthy investors by forming an R&D Limited Partnership. Development of the program (an... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Business Plan; Outcome or Result; Research and Development; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Information Technology Industry

September 1985 (Revised September 1987)
Case

H.J. Heinz Co.: Plastic Bottle Ketchup (A)

By: John A. Quelch

The Heinz Ketchup product manager must decide whether or not to launch a new plastic bottle and, if so, what marketing program and support to place behind it. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Food; Product Launch; Innovation and Invention; Food and Beverage Industry

1985
Working Paper

Managing Change—Beyond Quick Programs

By: Michael Beer

May–June 1985
Article

How to Build a Product Licensing Program

By: John A. Quelch

March 1985 (Revised November 1985)
Case

Wilmington Tap and Die

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The general manager of a division manufacturing taps and dies must decide whether to continue a major capital investment program. The program was designed to replace aging mechanical machines with modern, electronically controlled equipment. A post-audit, after an... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Investment; Accounting Audits; Cost Management; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Performance Productivity; Production; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Manufacturing Industry

November 1984
Background Note

Black-Scholes Option Pricing Program for the HP 12C Calculator

By: Andre F. Perold

Contains a program that can be used on the HP12C pocket calculator to compute the Black-Scholes option price and the associated hedge ratio. The program must be given the following parameters: the exercise price, the risk-free rate, the time to expiration, and the... View Details

Keywords: Stock Options; Investment Funds; Price; Management; Software

November 1984 (Revised March 1985)
Case

First Interstate Bancorp Franchising Program

By: Dwight B. Crane

November 1984
Article

Nutrition Policies and Programmes: A Decade of Redirection

By: Alan Berg and James E. Austin

Keywords: Food; Policy; Programs

August 1984 (Revised March 1994)
Case

The Toro Company S'no Risk Program

By: David E. Bell

Toro introduced a promotion in which purchasers of their snowthrower would receive a refund if the next winter brought only modest snowfall. The principal focus of the class is to understand what the risk implications are for the customer and for the company. May be... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Customers; Insurance

May 1984 (Revised August 1987)
Case

Raymond Mushroom Corp.

By: Benson P. Shapiro

In April 1984 Deborah Raymond, president of Raymond Mushrooms was deciding whether or not to raise prices on Raymond canned mushrooms in conjunction with an advertising promotional program to build consumer preference. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Advertising; Decisions; Price; Management Teams; Food and Beverage Industry