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- All HBS Web
(696)
- People (2)
- News (219)
- Research (328)
- Events (2)
- Multimedia (14)
- Faculty Publications (162)
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- Article
What It Takes to Reshore Manufacturing Successfully
By: Willy C. Shih
The data on comparative labor and energy costs may seem compelling, but the process of bringing assembly work back to domestic factories from abroad is substantially more challenging than the economics alone would predict. This paper looks at some of the issues firms... View Details
Keywords: Manufacturing; Manufacturing Costs; Manufacturing Strategy; U.S. Competitiveness; Competitiveness; Labor Force Participation; Labor Management; Trade; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China
Shih, Willy C. "What It Takes to Reshore Manufacturing Successfully." MIT Sloan Management Review 56, no. 1 (Fall 2014): 55–62.
- February 1996 (Revised February 2008)
- Case
Toshiba: Ome Works
By: H. Kent Bowen, Janice H. Hammond, Sylvie Ryckebusch and Hiroshi Uchikoga
In 1995, Toshiba was the market leader in portable computer sales worldwide. This case describes the assembly of portable notebook computers in Toshiba's Ome factory in Ome, Japan, providing insights into some of the reasons for Toshiba's success. In addition to... View Details
Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Employees; Job Design and Levels; Production; Hardware; Japan
Bowen, H. Kent, Janice H. Hammond, Sylvie Ryckebusch, and Hiroshi Uchikoga. "Toshiba: Ome Works." Harvard Business School Case 696-059, February 1996. (Revised February 2008.)
- March 1995
- Case
Procter & Gamble: Improving Consumer Value Through Process Redesign
The evolution of Procter & Gamble's development of efficient consumer response (ECR) involved a series of trials, a resolve to distribute diapers on the basis of product movement, a conscious effort to move to a new means of distribution across all lines, a first cut... View Details
Keywords: Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Consumer Products Industry
McKenney, James L., and Theodore H. Clark. "Procter & Gamble: Improving Consumer Value Through Process Redesign." Harvard Business School Case 195-126, March 1995.
- September 2017 (Revised March 2023)
- Background Note
Production Processes
By: Willy Shih and Michael W. Toffel
This note describes four broad categories of process architectures and then examines the nature of task assignment that typically would be found in a factory organized along the lines of each process type. It then delves more deeply into work flow policies, materials... View Details
Keywords: Production Management; Production Planning; Production Scheduling; Process Analysis; Process Maps; Processing Times; Process Improvement; Production; Management; Product; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry
Shih, Willy, and Michael W. Toffel. "Production Processes." Harvard Business School Background Note 618-023, September 2017. (Revised March 2023.)
- February 2010 (Revised April 2010)
- Case
China: Getting Richer Still
By: Diego A. Comin and Richard H. K. Vietor
In the last quarter of 2009, China's GDP growth rate again approached 10%. While the global financial crisis had certainly hurt - causing layoffs of as many as 20 million factory workers - a huge stimulus package on top of continuing domestic demand had restored... View Details
- February 2007 (Revised May 2007)
- Case
Li & Fung 2006
By: F. Warren McFarlan, William C. Kirby and Tracy Manty
Describes the opportunities and strategy facing one of the most innovative global supply-chain companies, and the strategy it has chosen to deal with the expanding demand for its services. Li & Fung links thousands of factories in India, China, and elsewhere to nearly... View Details
Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Supply Chain Management; Distribution Channels; Global Range; Strategy; Information Technology; Service Industry; Distribution Industry; China; India; United States; Europe
McFarlan, F. Warren, William C. Kirby, and Tracy Manty. "Li & Fung 2006." Harvard Business School Case 307-077, February 2007. (Revised May 2007.)
- October 2019 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
Nehemiah Mfg. Co.: Providing a Second Chance
By: Michael Chu, Brian Trelstad and John Masko
In 2009, Dan Meyer and Richard Palmer, two veterans of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, founded Nehemiah Manufacturing to build FMCG brands while providing jobs to Cincinnati, Ohio’s beleaguered urban core. Two years later, the pair made their first... View Details
Keywords: Fast Moving Consumer Goods; Social Entrepreneurship; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employment; Human Capital; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Social Marketing; Mission and Purpose; Prejudice and Bias; City; Urban Scope; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Ohio; United States
Chu, Michael, Brian Trelstad, and John Masko. "Nehemiah Mfg. Co.: Providing a Second Chance." Harvard Business School Case 320-008, October 2019. (Revised August 2022.)
- June 2006 (Revised June 2007)
- Background Note
The Challenge Facing the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System
By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Discusses the challenges currently facing the U.S. health care delivery system. These challenges frame the problems managers of delivery organizations are currently facing. They include a burgeoning gap between demand and supply. Demand for health care services is... View Details
Bohmer, Richard M.J., and Carin-Isabel Knoop. "The Challenge Facing the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System." Harvard Business School Background Note 606-096, June 2006. (Revised June 2007.)
- 16 Feb 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Fostering Authenticity and Employee Engagement at John Deere
- August 2014
- Case
Three Jays Corporation
By: Paul Marshall and Mark Davis
Brodie Arens is an MBA student and summer intern at Three Jays Corporation, a jam and jelly manufacturer in Michigan. Brodie's first assignment as an intern is to update the inventory and production planning system. Initially, he begins by updating the Economic Order... View Details
Marshall, Paul, and Mark Davis. "Three Jays Corporation." Harvard Business School Brief Case 915-531, August 2014.
- June 2012
- Article
The Transparency Paradox: A Role for Privacy in Organizational Learning and Operational Control
Using data from embedded participant-observers and a field experiment at the second largest mobile phone factory in the world, located in China, I theorize and test the implications of transparent organizational design on workers' productivity and organizational... View Details
Keywords: Transparency; Privacy; Organizational Learning; Operational Control; Organizational Performance; Chinese Manufacturing; Field Experiment; Rights; Interpersonal Communication; Management Practices and Processes; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Performance Productivity; Boundaries; Organizations; Social and Collaborative Networks; Labor and Management Relations; Power and Influence; Manufacturing Industry; China
Bernstein, Ethan S. "The Transparency Paradox: A Role for Privacy in Organizational Learning and Operational Control." Administrative Science Quarterly 57, no. 2 (June 2012): 181–216.
- February 2022 (Revised October 2022)
- Case
Ample Hills Creamery
By: Tom Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Tom Quinn
Ample Hills Creamery started in 2010 as a temporary ice cream pushcart in Brooklyn, New York City. On the strength of inventive flavors and clever marketing, husband-and-wife founders Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna built a premium, artisanal dessert empire of 16 retail... View Details
Keywords: Brands and Branding; Business Growth and Maturation; Partners and Partnerships; Logistics; Profit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Food and Beverage Industry
Eisenmann, Tom, Lindsay N. Hyde, and Tom Quinn. "Ample Hills Creamery." Harvard Business School Case 822-073, February 2022. (Revised October 2022.)
- 2020
- Book
American Business History: A Very Short Introduction
By: Walter Friedman
By the early twentieth century, it became common to describe the United States as a "business civilization." President Coolidge in 1925 said, "The chief business of the American people is business." More recently, historian Sven Beckert characterized Henry Ford's... View Details
Keywords: American Economy; Democratic Capitalism; Business History; Economy; Entrepreneurship; United States
Friedman, Walter. American Business History: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020.
- April 2025
- Supplement
Velong: Rethinking “Made in China” (B)
By: Krishna G. Palepu, Billy Chan and Nancy Dai
After much deliberation, the founders of Velong formed a joint venture with two local partners in India as they calculated that India could remain intact amidst the rising tensions over trade between the U.S. and China. By choosing India to diversify away from China,... View Details
Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Globalization; Supply Chain Management; Risk Management; Diversification; Joint Ventures; Manufacturing Industry; China; India
Palepu, Krishna G., Billy Chan, and Nancy Dai. "Velong: Rethinking “Made in China” (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 325-111, April 2025.
- January 2019 (Revised July 2019)
- Case
New Balance: Managing Orders and Working Conditions
By: Michael W. Toffel, Eileen McNeely and Matthew Preble
New Balance Athletics, Inc., a major U.S.-based athletic footwear and apparel brand, sources most of its footwear products from independent suppliers whose factories are located in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Monica Gorman, vice president of responsible leadership... View Details
Keywords: Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Manufacturing; CSR; Sustainability; Quality Management; Supply Chains; Operations; Management; Production; Working Conditions; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Labor and Management Relations; Supply Chain Management; Supply Chain; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Consumer Products Industry
Toffel, Michael W., Eileen McNeely, and Matthew Preble. "New Balance: Managing Orders and Working Conditions." Harvard Business School Case 619-002, January 2019. (Revised July 2019.)
- February 2015 (Revised May 2015)
- Supplement
Nokia's Bridge Program: Outcome and Results (B)
By: Sandra J. Sucher and Susan J. Winterberg
Nokia's leaders reflect on the Bridge program, lessons learned during its implementation, and the business benefits it brought to the company. Nokia's Bridge program resulted in 60% of employees knowing their next step the day they exited the firm. It also helped... View Details
Keywords: Layoffs; Plant Closure; Outplacement; Shared Value; Business or Company Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Restructuring; Employee Relationship Management; Telecommunications Industry
Sucher, Sandra J., and Susan J. Winterberg. "Nokia's Bridge Program: Outcome and Results (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 315-003, February 2015. (Revised May 2015.)
- February 2004 (Revised March 2006)
- Case
Pratt & Whitney: Engineering Standard Work
By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington
As the engineering of state-of-the-art jet engines becomes more and more complex, Pratt & Whitney leaders face major competitive problems. Product development projects are not meeting the cost, quality, and lead-time targets. The leadership develops a design,... View Details
Keywords: Design; Engineering; Cost; Knowledge Management; Time Management; Product Launch; Standards; Product Development; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Creativity; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry
Bowen, H. Kent, and Courtney Purrington. "Pratt & Whitney: Engineering Standard Work." Harvard Business School Case 604-084, February 2004. (Revised March 2006.)
- August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
- Case
Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)
By: Willy Shih
This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details
Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan
Shih, Willy. "Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)." Harvard Business School Case 614-010, August 2013. (Revised November 2013.)
- November 2019
- Case
Celebrity Fashions Limited (A)
By: V.G. Narayanan, Tanvi Deshpande and Shreya Ramachandran
In May 2017 in Chennai, India, the chairman of Celebrity Fashions doubted whether the company could last until the end of the year. Venkatesh Rajagopal had found that the company, a readymade garment manufacturing and exporter he founded in 1989, was having a hard time... View Details
Keywords: Turnarounds; Operations; Management; Financial Condition; Problems and Challenges; Communication; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transformation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Manufacturing Industry
Narayanan, V.G., Tanvi Deshpande, and Shreya Ramachandran. "Celebrity Fashions Limited (A)." Harvard Business School Case 120-053, November 2019.
- February 2005 (Revised April 2011)
- Case
Haier's U.S. Refrigerator Strategy
By: Pankaj Ghemawat, Thomas M. Hout and Jordan I. Siegel
Haier, the first Chinese consumer durable brand in the United States, succeeded in the compact refrigerator, freezer, and air conditioner markets and then built a U.S. factory to enter the full-size market. Issues include the value of a local entrepreneur to the Asian... View Details
Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; China; United States
Ghemawat, Pankaj, Thomas M. Hout, and Jordan I. Siegel. "Haier's U.S. Refrigerator Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 705-475, February 2005. (Revised April 2011.)