Publications

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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

September 1987 (Revised November 1992)
Background Note

Note on Operating Exposure to Exchange-Rate Changes

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Describes the effects on operating cash flows of a real change in exchange rates. Describes different elements of operating exposure and includes illustrative examples. View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Fluctuation

01 Sep 2003
News

Incentives and Operational Excellence

Operational problems can be the cause of an organization’s demise. Often they can be traced to poor controls in interorganizational settings, according to HBS associate professor V.G. Narayanan, a specialist in measurement systems and... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Retail Trade

March 1974 (Revised June 1996)
Case

First National City Bank Operating Group (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Growth in the banking field has produced new demands on the "back office." Traditional management practices in check processing and paper handling operations have resulted in ten years of cost increases and quality loss. New manager of the operating group faces an... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transition; Banks and Banking; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Production; Banking Industry

April 2008
Teaching Note

Exercise: Challenging Operational Assumptions

By: Frances X. Frei and Christine van Keuren

Teaching Note for [608128]. View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Performance Improvement

30 Jun 2015
News

The History and Future of Operations

12 Sep 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Can Remote Surgeries Digitally Transform Operating Rooms?

Keywords: Health

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

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Building Competitive Advantage Through Operations

At the HBS Executive Education program Building Competitive Advantage Through Operations (BCAO), executives charged with leading and building operations and manufacturing strategies enhance their... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

The Honor Foundation: Accessing Special Operations Talent

By: Boris Groysberg and John Masko

In 2020, The Honor Foundation (THF), a nonprofit dedicated to helping U.S. military special operators to transition into civilian careers, was facing a series of strategic challenges. THF had been founded in 2013 by former Navy SEAL trainee Joe Musselman, who observed... View Details

10 Jun 2015
News

High-Tech Tools Won’t Automatically Improve Your Operations

August 1986 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Wal-Mart Stores' Discount Operations

Facilitates a discussion of the sources of Wal-Mart Stores' competitive advantage in discount retailing, and the future sustainability of that advantage. Also profiles the company's major diversification move in the early 1980s. View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; United States

Dataset

Ford: Countries of Operation

fall 1991
Article

Beefing-up Operations in Service Firms

By: R. H. Hayes and R. B. Chase

Keywords: Operations; Business Ventures; Service Industry