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Publications
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(5,570)
- Faculty Publications (1,067)
- February 1989 (Revised November 1991)
- Case
Science Technology Co.--1985
By: Thomas R. Piper
The CEO of a U.S. electronics firm is assessing the financial forecasts and the financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Given the cyclicality of the industry and the volatility of the firm's performance, the CEO is unsure as to the usefulness of... View Details
- January 1989
- Background Note
Managing Information Technology: System Development
By: James I. Cash Jr. and Thomas H. Davenport
Provides an overview of the system development process in large organizations. Describes traditional life cycle approaches as well as more recent methods, e.g., prototyping. The objective is to familiarize students with the terminology and issues involving system... View Details
- September 1988 (Revised September 1993)
- Case
Mrs. Fields Cookies
Mrs. Fields Cookies is a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage... View Details
- September 1987 (Revised October 1987)
- Background Note
The Job of the General Manager
By: James L. Heskett
Describes elements of the job of the general manager that are addressed in the Management Policy and Practice course at the Harvard Business School. These include: 1) establishing strategic direction, 2) setting goals and managing standards of performance, 3)... View Details
- July 1987 (Revised October 2009)
- Background Note
A Method For Valuing High-Risk, Long-Term Investments: The "Venture Capital Method"
By: William A. Sahlman and Daniel R Scherlis
Describes a method for valuing high-risk, long-term investments such as those confronting venture capitalists. The method entails forecasting a future value (e.g., five years from the present) and discounting that terminal value back to the present by applying a high... View Details
- July 1987 (Revised May 1993)
- Case
Atlas Copco (A): Gaining and Building Distribution Channels
Atlas Copco, a Swedish company, holds the highest market share for air compressors worldwide. However, its attempts to enter U.S. markets have been unsuccessful. The case describes a series of strategic distribution maneuvers implemented by the company which enable it... View Details
- November 1986 (Revised June 1987)
- Case
Fieldcrest Division of Fieldcrest Mills, Inc.: Compensation System for Field Sales Representatives
Focuses on the compensation plan for Fieldcrest sales representatives. Management is reviewing the structure of the plan and must decide how to establish compensation goals and guidelines for the following year so that sales efforts are allocated among products and/or... View Details
- April 1986 (Revised September 1993)
- Case
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A)
Sun Microsystems managers must decide whether to launch a new product into manufacturing. Teaching objectives include: 1) an analysis of the competitive environment, 2) examination of technological choices, 3) understanding of the new product development process, and... View Details
- January 1986 (Revised December 1986)
- Case
Smartfood
Contains a description of a major financing decision confronting the management and advisors of Smartfood, Inc., a company which hopes to market a cheese flavored popcorn product. The primary pedagogic objective is to teach students about matching the financing plan... View Details
- September 1985
- Background Note
Finding a Job with a Small Company
Describes a process of self-evaluation for working in small companies, discusses small company issues, focuses on some basic search techniques, and ends with a little how-to section. The goal is to facilitate the process of securing a job in a small company and to show... View Details
- September 1985 (Revised July 2007)
- Case
Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh
Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency founded to disseminate family planning information and to market birth control products, primarily in less developed countries seeking to curb their population explosions. In 1976, PSI concluded an... View Details
- August 1985 (Revised July 1991)
- Case
Universal Circuits, Inc.
By: Thomas R. Piper
The manager of international finance of a major U.S. electronics company is concerned about the exposure of the firm to changes in exchange rates. Of particular concern is the exposure of operations to changes in real exchange rates. The teaching objectives include: 1)... View Details
- July 1985 (Revised March 1994)
- Background Note
Exposure and Hedging
By: David E. Bell
Describes the concept of exposure; the dependence of a goal on an uncertain external event. Describes in detail how hedges may be constructed to eliminate exposure, including the algebra of cross-hedging and hedge ratios. The relevance of regression analysis is... View Details
- February 1985
- Case
Business Research Corp. (B)
Contains a description of a set of related decisions confronting the management and directors of Business Research Corp. (BRC) in April of 1984. BRC needs more capital to finance continued development of the market for a full-text database comprised of Wall Street... View Details
- January 1985 (Revised March 2003)
- Case
Conex do Brasil
By: Christopher A. Bartlett and John Young
Describes interactions between Brazilian local, Latin American regional, and USA headquarters staff during the three years after establishing a manufacturing subsidiary in Sao Paulo. In a highly protected national environment, a market entry plan is developed to meet... View Details
- January 1985 (Revised February 1997)
- Case
Lotus Development Corp.
Contains a description of the history and venture capital financing of Lotus Development. Focuses on issues related to the possible terms of investment in Lotus by a major venture capital firm. The pedagogic objectives in the case are: to explore the elements of the... View Details
- January 1985
- Case
Business Research Corp. (A)
Contains a description of a decision confronting an entrepreneur: which of two investment proposals should he accept to fund the creation and marketing of a database that comprises the full text of research reports produced by Wall Street investment banking firms? The... View Details
- October 1984
- Background Note
Goals: The Problem of Balancing Multiple Constituencies
By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Richard R. Ellsworth
- October 1984 (Revised July 1988)
- Case
Mark Twain Bancshares, Inc.
Describes the history, management, and organization of an extremely successful bank holding company. The company has had a very charismatic chairman, has made MBAs bank presidents at very early ages, and has a long record of innovation. Now deregulation and a coming... View Details