Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(6,587)
- Faculty Publications (1,305)
- December 2001 (Revised November 2002)
- Case
John Smithers
By: Nitin Nohria and Todd Jick
Describes an ill-fated effort to institute a total quality program. Using the vantage point of one of the managers selected to be a quality instructor, the case traces the rise and fall of the quality effort during its very brief existence over the course of six... View Details
- December 2001 (Revised July 2005)
- Case
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company: The Conoco Split-off (A)
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Perry Fagan
After taking 30% of its Conoco oil and gas subsidiary public in the largest domestic initial public offering (IPO) in U.S. history, management of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DuPont) is considering divesting its remaining interest in Conoco. This goal is to be... View Details
- November 2001 (Revised September 2007)
- Case
Children's Hospital and Clinics (A)
By: Amy C. Edmondson, Michael Roberto and Anita L. Tucker
Describes the major phases of an initiative designed to transform the organization and enhance patient safety. Raises interesting questions about how to encourage candid discussion about failures while continuing to hold people accountable for their performance. View Details
- November 2001 (Revised March 2002)
- Case
Digital Angel
By: Youngme E. Moon and Kerry Herman
Digital Angel is considering the appropriate marketing plan for the launch of its new locator device. The device, a watch and pager worn in combination, provides GPS location information and monitors heart rate and body temperature via body sensors. Parents of young... View Details
- October 2001 (Revised November 2002)
- Case
Herman Miller (A): Innovation by Design
By: Sandra J. Sucher and Stacy McManus
Gary Van Spronsen, president of Miller SQA, has been asked to leave the thriving subsidiary he helped to reinvent to join Herman Miller's corporate initiative on innovation. Miller SQA has pioneered processes new to the Herman Miller organization, such as... View Details
- October 2001 (Revised March 2003)
- Case
Exxel Group, The: March 2001
By: Josh Lerner and Alberto Ballve
The Exxel Group, a leading Latin American buyout fund, faces a challenge when deciding whether and how to exit its largest investment. The capital markets are very weak, precluding an initial public offering. Undertaking a trade sale of the firm, however, proves to be... View Details
- October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
- Case
Provident Life and Accident Insurance: The Acquisition of Paul Revere
By: Mihir A. Desai, Frank Williamson, Mark Veblen and Yuming Zou
Provident Life & Accident Insurance Co. has made an initial bid to acquire a primary competitor, Paul Revere, from conglomerate, Textron. The due diligence process uncovers a significant block of problematic disability insurance policies. Provident is forced to assess... View Details
- 2001
- Other Unpublished Work
Clusters of Innovation: Regional Foundations of U.S. Competitiveness
Competitiveness has tended to be seen primarily from a federal perspective, and national policies and circumstances surely affect the prosperity of our economy. However, the Clusters of Innovation Initiative was undertaken with the realization that the real work of... View Details
- September 2001 (Revised January 2002)
- Case
The American Medical Association-Sunbeam Deal (C): Denouement
By: Ashish Nanda and Kimberly A. Haddad
On September 5, 1997, the American Medical Association(AMA) withdrew from a contract with Sunbeam Corporation, the maker of small home appliances. Sunbeam sued the AMA to pay for the damages or to comply with the contract. The fracas led to the dismissal of three top... View Details
- September 2001 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
Eskimo Pie Corporation (Abridged)
In early 1991, Reynolds Metals, the makers of aluminum products, decided to sell its holding of Eskimo Pie, a marketer of branded frozen novelties. Reynolds had an offer from Nestle to acquire Eskimo Pie. However, Reynolds decided instead to make an initial public... View Details
- September 2001
- Background Note
Financial Reporting Environment, The
Provides a framework for understanding the role of financial reporting and various intermediaries as mechanisms for reducing both adverse selection and moral hazard problems in capital markets. Financial reports reduce adverse selection by providing basic information... View Details
- August 2001 (Revised May 2002)
- Case
Worldzap
By: Rohit Deshpande, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Suma Raju and David Kiron
In February 2001, the CEO of a new technology start-up had to decide how to present his firm's value proposition to future clients, customers, and business partners. The technology allowed distribution of full-motion video clips of sports highlights to "third... View Details
- August 2001 (Revised April 2003)
- Case
International Trachoma Initiative
By: Diana Barrett, James E. Austin and Sheila McCarthy
In an effort to combat trachoma, a major eye disease, the Clark Foundation entered into a partnership with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. After a successful pilot project, a joint initiative was established (the Trachoma initiative) that has as its goal to eradicate the... View Details
- August 2001 (Revised February 2005)
- Case
Dakota Office Products
By: Robert S. Kaplan
The senior management team of Dakota, an office products distributor, is concerned about the company's first loss in history. Explores the role for activity based costing and customer profitability measurement in a distribution company. Dakota's customers are... View Details
- August 2001 (Revised August 2005)
- Case
Guinness PLC: Managing Negotiations
Describes an initiative by Guinness, LLP to revise the process by which it centrally authorizes, supports, and reviews negotiations that are undertaken worldwide on its behalf. Senior managers wished to give regional officers enough discretion to respond to local... View Details
- June 2001 (Revised September 2011)
- Case
PepsiCo's Bid for Quaker Oats (A)
By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Leonid P Sudakov
Throughout 1999, PepsiCo closely tracked several potential strategic acquisitions. In the fall of 2000, it appeared that the right moment for an equity-financed acquisition had arrived. At this time, PepsiCo management decided to initiate confidential discussions with... View Details
- June 2001
- Case
GE's Early Dispute Resolution Initiative (A)
By: Michael A. Wheeler and Gillian Morris
GE's chief litigation counsel sought to rationalize litigation flow by viewing it as a manufacturing process. By applying the principles of Six Sigma, P.D. Villareal created an Early Dispute Resolution (EDR) system that enabled both lawyers and managers to work... View Details
- June 2001
- Supplement
GE's Early Dispute Resolution Initiative (B)
By: Michael A. Wheeler and Gillian Morris
Early Dispute Resolution (EDR) has proved successful at GE. Yet, when Michael McIlwrath, new counsel at an Italian subsidiary, attempted to translate it to his company, problems arose. He had to gain internal acceptance, and explain the concept of early mediation to a... View Details
- April 2001 (Revised November 2001)
- Case
AvantGo
By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman
Richard Owen, CEO of AvantGo, is preparing for a meeting in which he will set the human resource policy for the firm going forward. It has been three months since the company's IPO, and given the tremendous cramp in hiring over the six months prior to the IPO, he knows... View Details
- April 2001 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Color Kinetics Incorporated (A)
By: Das Narayandas and Mary N. Caravella
Two-year-old start-up Color Kinetics has developed unique colored lighting technology using digitally controlled LEDs, and has developed that technology into a successful line of products for its first targeted market of "retailtainment." Now in November 1999, the... View Details